Love Comes In Many Dangerous Forms

I sighed as Zach helped me into the black carriage, and I placed the handkerchief covered gun under the seat and I saw Audrey in the window.

“If you miss your party even if your one second late, I will bite your head off,” Audrey threatened.

“I promise I’ll be back in time for the torture,” I gave her a small faked smile – hating myself for lying to everyone.

“Party?” I heard Shane ask.

“It’s Cassiel’s birthday in about a month, and we always hold a birthday ball for her,” Vera explained and gave me a large basket, “Don’t give all of your food away again.”

I forced a laugh, “Okay.”

“We’re set to go,” Colton told me, through the open door, “Who wants first shift?”

“On what?” Zach hissed at him.

“Driving the carriage,” he answered.

“We’ll we have absolutely no idea we’re going,” I told him, “You should probably drive first.”

“Alright,” he sighed closing my door and climbed the latter up to the bench.

“Oh, Zane is coming too,” I told them.

“Zane?” Shane asked.

“He’s a merman,” I explained, “Well he’s actually more of a boy, he’s sixteen.”

“Why is he coming?” Zach asked testing the strapping that held the luggage on the top of the carriage.

“Because I won’t have a signal on my phone where we’re going, the only cell tower standing is here,” I explained, looking through the food basket.

“Okay,” Shane said climbing into the small carriage and sat across from me and Zach followed after, but he sat next to me.

And then we were moving, farther and farther away from safety, from my haven.

“Hey Colton,” I called, “Can you stop outside the village?”

“Sure!” he shouted back in a confused voice.

“Where’s my cloak?” I asked Zach.

“Not this again,” Zach sighed handing me the bundled up piece of fabric lying next to him reluctantly.

“What are you doing?” Shane asked.

“Doing my job,” I answered tying my cloak around my neck and masked my face with the shadows of the hood.

The carriage stopped and I opened my door grabbing the heavy food basket.

“Colton you have your own food right?” I asked making sure I wasn’t taking his.

“Yeah,” his eyebrows frowned before jumping of the top of the carriage.

“Good,” I sighed walking towards the edge of the small village, and glanced around until I found two very young and familiar faces.

“Juliana! Fredrick!” I called out to the young eight year old siblings.

They looked over to me and smile, “Nicole!”

“Nicole?” Colton asked.

“I go by my middle name when I’m in the village,” I explained and smiled at the two.

“We missed you,” they said in unison hugging me.

“I missed you guys too,” I smiled as I ruffled Fredrick’s red hair.

“I need you guys to do me a favor,” I told them.

They nodded their green eyes wide with excitement.

“Could you give everyone some of this,” I asked handing the basket over to Fredrick.

Juliana peeked inside and her eyes were confused, “All of this?”

“Yes,” I laughed.

“Thank you, Nicole,” Fredrick smiled and went off with his sister.

“You care about them,” Colton noted as we walked back to the carriage.

“Of course I do,” I told him, “I love all of them, and I would do anything for them.”

He tilted his head to the side as I said this, contemplating something, but then he just shook his head and climbed onto the carriage.

“Oh, and Colton?” I called up to him.

“Yeah,” He answered looking down at me.

“We are going to have to stop when it gets dark, I don’t like Aidan or any of us out at dark without setting up camp, is that okay?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he nodded his head.

“Thanks,” I told him climbing into the carriage.

“Your food is gone,” Shane took noticed.

“I gave it to some people who needed it the most,” I told him shutting the door.

“How are you going to eat then?” he frowned.

“I’ll do what I used to do as a slave,” I told him, “Scavenge.”