Capítulo 31: Chapter 7.3

The next day she waited at the same café, for a date that would never turn up. We watched her from a few spaces down from yesterday. She sat at the same table cradling a cup of hot coffee, with the blossom snowing above her. It was almost a too beautiful setting for a murder.

Today we will kill by poison.

I climbed out the car first, Rickon closely after. I crossed the street a few buildings down and slowly made my way towards her. Her back was to me, so I had to time it just right to get her attention. When I was adjacent to her, I tripped on an uneven section of the pavement and hoped she was kind enough to help and injured child on the street. Equally, I didn't really want a woman who I'll help kill to be kind. It would be easier if she wasn't.

As I trip, grazing my knees, she notices me and leaps up to help, "Are you ok?" she asks, kneeling down to my level. She smiled at me warmly. I wanted to smile back, but I just couldn't. It weighed heavily on my chest, so that I just stared at her in silence. Behind her I could see Rickon slip past and drop something in her drink. "I'm ok. Thanks." I mummer, trying to avoid her gentle brown eyes as they search me for injuries. But instead, I notice something else, a light roundedness to her stomach that her loose dress couldn't quite conceal. That was probably the real reason why Emmerson Lee betrayed Garlantia.

Suddenly, I'm hit with a heavy feeling in my stomach so strong its nauseating, and her expression narrows in further concern which makes the feeling worse.

Rickon is gone from the table and I knew I should leave. She offers her hand which is warm and soft; I notice a silver band on her ring finger. I try not to look at her as I mutter a thanks and scurry off in the direction I came, looping round the block out of sight before getting back in the car.

We lingered to make sure she finished drinking the poison, but we left before it took effect. When she collapses, they'll be a lot more people arriving (probably police and medics) and it'll be harder to escape.

So, once we'd confirmed she'd drunk the poison, we took off, leaving town. Only when we're far from the town does the tight feeling in my stomach lessen. We headed back down South to the route we entered Paela but as we reached the border we noticed more activity than there should have been; roads that we deserted on our way up we occupied with military vehicles and police. While there weren't yet stopping cars, a tense atmosphere hung over the car and no-one said a word. When we approached the gate that we easily snuck through on the way up, it was swarming with military. The bend in the road gave us enough cover to pull over and observe the situation. Paela rarely bothered heavily patrolling the gates as Garlanita's lock down was self-imposed. Which meant it fell on Garlantia to police it; but not today.

"Looks like we have to use another exit." Rickon mused, almost unaffected. "Quin, radio ahead to Jay and Leon and tell them to use a different way back into Garlantia."

After Leon radioed back that he'd already made it back into Garlantia and Jay agreed, he did a quick U-turn and drove us back the way we came; we turned down the first right turning we came across and avoided the main roads.

That day, every time we came across a new way into Garlantia we noticed a sudden increase in military personnel and vehicles and have to find another way out of Paela. By sundown we'd covered half of the border between Garlantia and Paela and the entire group was getting frustrated.

"That bastard must have warned them somehow!" Quin yelled.

"It could have been another group that tipped them off." Xeon suggested.

"Either way, we can't get back into Garlantia like this. In the morning we'll head North and enter through Reagen."

We used a quiet side road and pulled over to the side of the road to rest for the night. The road was cracked; trees and foliage wore away at its borders as if trying to completely consume it. Once we'd stopped, sounds of the forest consumed the car- tiny animals scuttering in the bracken, the piecing scream of a fox, and leaves beating against leaves as the wind blew. The moon pieced through the gap in the trees either side of the road, illuminating everything in a gentle silver. Soon, soft snoring could be heard in Quins direction and Xeon's soft breathing meant he was asleep. I watched the back of Rickons head until I was sure he too, was asleep.

I was tired but being in the car all day made me restless, so I watched the shadows dance in the forest and tried not to think about Rose Lee and how she was probably dead.

Near midnight the light from another car's headlights shone through the back of the car. I tensed as it slowed down and pulled up behind us. A figure got out of the driver's seat and made his way over, shining a torch through the windows. I looked at each of the men in turn, wondering if they were awake, but even if they were, they wouldn't let on because their accents were too obvious. They would probably let me deal with it unless it turned dangerous.

I opened the door a crack, but careful to only open it enough to be heard and to tightly hold onto the handle encase he meant harm.

"Are you all ok?" He asked.

"Yes we're fine. My Uncles and I are travelling back to Reagan in the morning. We took a wrong turn and we couldn't get home in time, so we just slept in our car." I lied. I think I was getting good at lying.

"Oh I see. Just as long as you're all ok." He nodded, but his expression was filled with suspicion. Regardless, he got back in his car and left us.

A few minutes pass and when we were sure he's gone, Rickon announces that we're leaving for Reaga. Although the risk of getting caught out was higher at night, it also gave us cover if we had to hide, and the risk of sitting still was just too much.

Driving through the night seemed to be the best option; we encountered little other traffic after that, and it was a smooth journey North. The roads to Reagan were strangely quiet; while Quin and Xeon seemed to think it was a good sign and hoped it meant they'd alluded Paelean authorities, I wasn't so sure.