𝐢𝐝𝐲𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐜 | 𝐫𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐩𝐧

𝟑𝟖| 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚: 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧... 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐛𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧.

   "𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧. 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭. Or yall gonna die right here," the strange man said, "come on. Fork it over already. I'm tired of your faces."

   The children could sense the fear in the older kids, especially Ray. This made them all ten times more uneasy. His mind raced a million thoughts a minute. No way we can just leave. We're in the middle of a deserted wasteland. How cold can it get? And what about our pursuers? We can't just go make fires. And what could we do out there anyway? Where should we go? Which path should we follow? Just wander aimlessly? It's too dangerous, especially with the kids. No, worse... Even if we decided to put up with it and face the risks, leaving this place would mean giving up on our only lead to Minerva. Doubly do if we lose our pen! We can't afford it, not that! Not that... but... Y/n..!

   "Well?" The man said in a bored voice.

   Y/n had enough. He insulted their family, their efforts, everything they worked so hard for. He was scaring the children. He was threatening their lives. So, she did the only thing she could think of. Y/n raised her arm and swung it back down with force, right where the sun didn't shine.

   "Wha-" Ray gasped. All the boys in the group watched in horror, they couldn't imagine how much that would hurt. The man doubled over in pain as Ray reached out for the girl, "Y/n! Quick, get out of this room, everyone!"

   "Ack, my neck hurts! I thought he was going to choke me," Ray felt a tug on his arm, Y/n wasn't moving.

   "You idiot! What are you even doing!?"

   "Right!" Don said as he ushered his siblings out the door," what if he'd pulled the trigger?!"

   "But he didn't!" Y/n shouted, "he was bluffing. He doesn't want to kill anyone, just chase us out. Am I right?"

   A bullet whizzed right by her head, "like hell I was bluffing."

   "Well, see? You just missed again," she stared at him right in the eyes, "you don't want us around. But you don't really want to kill, either. That's why you're trying to make us leave."

   Nat scratched his chin, "she's right. If it's all the same to him, he could have just killed everyone from the beginning. What's more, by kicking us out, he's risking that we make a ruckus and end up leading the demons here."

   "Bull crap!" He yelled, "I don't wanna deal with fifteen bloody corpses in my home, that's all. I couldn't care less about you stupid brats. Dont think youre worth a damn. Next one ain't for show! I'm serious! For real this time, get outta here or I'm gonna blow your frigging head off!"

   "I refuse," Y/n stated, unmoving, "we can't afford to leave this place. We can't give up on our pen, either. And also, my family isn't dead weight! 'You will all die'. 'Worst dead weight of all'. Whatever you think of death and weighing down... comrades... hope... caring... Those are important things! All of them! All of them are important!"

   The man looked at all of them, his hands and legs shaking. He saw the hope in their eyes. The love they had for each other. His eyes landed on Ray and Y/n, their intertwined hands, and observed the way Ray looked at Y/n. He fell onto his knees and held his head, whispering to himself, "stop... that's not it, that's not it. It's wrong, John. You shut the hell up, Lucas! No.. Dina... God damnit! They're... really... awful."

   The man fainted, his body dropped onto the table with a loud thud. Y/n carefully went to check his breathing. He was alive, just passed out, "he's not faking it.. He's out for good." She covered him with his jacket.

   "What's with him all of a sudden?" Don asked.

   "Dunno..."

   "Who's Lucas anyways?" The children murmured, "is he alright? What could've happened? And who does he mean by 'they'?"

   They filed out the door and recollected themselves, trying to rid themselves of the fear they just went through. Ray held Y/n's cheek as he checked her over, "you sure you're alright? Your neck is all red..."

   Y/n nodded, "it was pretty nerve wracking and my neck feels sore but I'm fine..."

   Ray nodded, smiling as he placed a chast kiss to her forehead. He pulled out his compass, "well then. At any rate, our colleague here is out of the game for now. In the meantime, let's go ahead and gather some information.

   "Ray.." the children grumbled, shocked at how quickly he could get right to business.

   "This shelter was set up by Minerva. But, contrary to what we expected, he's not around to meet us. Therefore, we'll search for any leads about him, and about the outside world, too. Starting with the archives."

   Y/n and Emma nodded, "right."

   "You heard the guy mention it, right? That this shelter has materials and information about the world. Y/n and I will try to find the archive room. Don and Nat, you keep guard on that man, please."

   "Got it," the boys agreed.

   "Everyone else, look for rooms where we can sleep and rest safely."

   "Okay!"

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𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫

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