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"You sent us to a forest?" I ask calmly, staring at her with a raised eyebrow. Pink's smile slips into a frown.
"Not me, the portal," she insists with a nod.
"Oh yes, I'm sure that some portal just thought 'I'm going to send this unlucky couple into a forest, today'!" I mock with a cartoony grin. Pink looks angry and I regret my words.
"First, that's exactly what it's supposed to do! Second, we. Are. Not. A. Couple," she took a step closer with each word until her finger was pressed hard against my chest.
"I hadn't meant it that way," I say, suddenly angry. I push her hand away and take a threatening step forward. She doesn't back down.
"We don't need a fight," she says. All my anger drained away and my head bows. I didn't even know where that came from. I know it wasn't her fault, so why was I mad?
"Of course we dont," I agree and look up. "So where to?"
"This..." she turned and looked at the treetops. "Maybe..." she turned again and squinted her eyes. "We'll rest here until we know where we're at."
"Make a camp? I can find some-" I start.
"No. Mojo will send everything he has after you and your brothers. I'll hunt, you stay here," she got up, grabbing her knife and starts to walk away.
"How do I defend myself?" I ask after her. She pauses, turns, snaps off a thick branch, and tosses it to me. I grab it and dug it to my chest.
"There," she smiles and disappears. I lean up against the tree and slip onto the dirt. For the first time I noticed how tired I was and my head bobs forward, jolting me.
I clung onto the branch and my eyes slip closed into darkness.
I was back in the forest, but younger like four with Mojo next to me. I scream and back up only to feel cold metal. Robots.
"Don't be afraid Brick, I'm here to take you home," he assures me with a smile I used to think was kind.
"No! You can't make me!" I say with my squeaky voice and try to run, but the robots grab me and pull me back with their steely hands. Mojo was laughing crazily when I saw a flash of pink. A young girl with shoulder length orange hair and magenta eyes came in with a double bladed spear on her shoulder, smiling.
"Mojo," she says calmly. Mojo stops laughing and looks nervous. Then the nerves change to fury and amusement.
"Ah, my eldest. How nice to see your father!" Mojo laughs. The girl just smiles lightly and spins her spear carelessly in her hand.
"This needs to end," she agrees with a smug nod. I want to scream at her to run but my mouth was tied.
"I guess you're here to beat me up then?" Mojo seems happy.
"You don't give me much of a choice," she says. Mojo and the girl stare for a long moment and then the battle stars.
Mojo had a long sword that kept sparking off of The girl's spear. The girl twirled and struck with a fierceness I had never seen in anyone. Her eyes were hard and steady, yet there was a raging fire behind them.
Just as she was back peeling an attack, Mojo changed tactics and threw the sword. There was a sick crunch and both her and I stared in shock. The golden hilt was still king out of her now red stomach.
"No!" Someone screams. The girl fell to her knees with tears pouring out of her eyes. I felt my heart break furiously in my chest and something warm touch my cheeks.
I screamed out a name.
"Gah!" I jumped and my head hit hard against the tree limb. Pink turned away from a blazing fire and scrunched a nose at me.
"You were asleep?" she questions.
"No, just resting my eyes," I lie, rubbing my head. She didn't look like she believed me, but turns away. I lean back onto the rough bark and watch her cautiously. Her face glowed from the flames, her orange hair looked like flames as they swayed around her waist. Her posture was obviously poor, but the way she pulled back her shoulders showed that she knew something. Her pink eyes were hard as they scanned the area, and her scrawny body twitched slightly as a shadow passed over it.
"You said someone sent you to retrieve the chemicals...who?" I ask. Pink's shoulders squared and her face slips into defense mode.
"That's private information," she insists, turning away from me. I get up and walk over to her. I plop down next to her and look at the dancing flames. We had lost my hat in the escape and now my bang slipped into my eyes.
"There was no order, was there?" I ask quietly. Pink stiffened again.
"I said this is private. What gives you that idea anyway?" she stroked.
"You're too skinny, nearly starved. If there was really someone you would be fit and healthy," I say, turning to her. Pink had her eyes glued to the flames, her hands lightly shaking. I slipped my fingers through hers and she gripped back. A small silver tear sizzles into the fire and she lifts her nose in a sniff.
"We lived on the streets, hunted for food, stole, whatever we had to live," she says quietly, her voice low.
"Why didn't you tell us that? Why lie?" I question. She grips even tighter and my hand behind to hurt.
"We were afraid you would remember us," she whispers quietly. My head jerks up and I stare at her but she was already moving away. My hand was throbbing, but cold without her grip.
Remember her?
