Until He's Gone

Chapter Seven

I can feel you're nervous
I can hear the knock on the door
But it's your destiny
We can't stop it anymore
•●•●•●•●•

"Lily!" I heard Kevin calling. I was in my room as I grabbed the paper and pen he had asked for and hurried back to him. He said he had to send an urgent message to a friend.

  "What's wrong?" I questioned breathlessly.

  "Come here," he gestured at me as he looked outside the window anxiously. "Look."

I approached the window hesitantly to find out that Normandy had turned into a terrible chaos. Soldiers were everywhere fighting, the women wailing, the children crying. Men were battling and screeching as the ground became greasy with gore. Combat tanks were to be seen everywhere. The air was heavy with dark smoke and only a single scar of bright light hung in the bat-black sky.

A chill ran down my spine as I thought of my father. He must have been worried about me. I suddenly shrieked as a soldier raised his sword and drove it straight into his enemy's heart. Kevin drew the curtains hastily and gripped my arms.

  "Listen, it's not safe outside," he said. "Promise me that you'll never get yourself into trouble. You'll just stay here, okay?"

  "Where are you going?" I snapped.

  "Just promise me you'll be safe." His grip tightened around me. "Please."

  "Tell me where you are going first," I demanded.

His face went pale, and he looked so distant in the way he was looking at me. He shook his head in a dazed manner as if he was completely lost. "Lily, I..."

But I never found out what it was he wanted to tell me. The doorbell rang and he went silent.

  "Damn. Are you expecting anyone?" Kevin asked, confused.

  "No," I replied, looking as perplexed as he was.

Kevin's eyes widened, and I sensed a feeling of horror inside him.

  "Do you mean that Monsieur Elliot...?" he gulped, and it was obvious that he wasn't able to continue.

  "Kevin..." My voice was wavering. "I don't know. We can do nothing to stop fate," I said.

  "Wait!" he uttered as I headed to open the door.

He walked nervously around the room, clenching his fists. I was lost, and the silence made me nervous too.

  "You could hide in my wardrobe if you like. It's pretty huge, and you can stay safe there until-"

  "No Lily, I'm not hiding away from anyone anymore. There's no way out of this. I want to confront the soldiers--" his voice was suddenly harsh and his eyes bright with anger. I felt stupid at my suggestion.

The doorbell rang again.                             

Kevin cursed under his breath, his body shook, and his adrenaline rose. I felt his fear and guilt control him.

  "Kevin???..." I whispered.

He looked at me with weary eyes, where hints of shiny tears had formed.

  "Lily..." he whispered back. There was pain in his low voice.

The doorbell rang for the third time.

  "Crap. Go open," he said quickly.

  "Are you sure--"

  "Go open!" he shouted nervously.

I hesitated and looked at him one more time to make sure he was really ready to be caught and taken to prison, or somewhere even worse than prison. As far as I knew, no one could be ready for that.

I shrugged and went downstairs to open the door. I felt my hands shake on the doorknob, and I wasn't sure myself if I had to open or not. What would the soldiers think about me after they find Kevin in there? And what would I do if they murdered him in front of me? I knew there wouldn't be a way out of this mess. Besides, disappointing my father was the last thing I'd ever thought of.

Shame on you Lily was all that came to my mind.

I finally took a deep breath and opened the door slowly as the freezing air swept in.

It was Monsieur Elliot standing there. His grey eyes were serious but dispirited, his grey hair mostly stood up like he'd just experienced an electric shock, his suit of armor was tinted, and his shivering wrinkled fingers engulfed a sealed envelope.

I had heard previously that he was suffering from lung cancer. He was a tough man and God knew how to punish those in his own way, I thought. I noticed that he wasn't interested in searching our house, for he was alone. He had no soldiers with him, nor weapons, except for the hilt of a sword visible just over his left shoulder.

He handed me the envelope he was holding quietly, and murmured, "A letter for you". A wave of relief broke over me and my shoulders relaxed as if a huge burden was taken off them. Once I took it without any word, he turned his back to me and walked away without even looking back or explaining. I shut the door behind him. Something had left me curious and confused.

Why would Monsieur Elliot send me a letter?

I ripped the envelope open and took out the letter, when I heard a thud upstairs. I had left Kevin alone, and I silently hoped he wasn't messing up the whole place up there. I returned the letter to the envelope quickly and hurried upstairs.

I went directly to my room, and placed the letter on my desk so that I could read it later. Something moved swiftly in the dark shadows, but I barely paid attention. I drew my jacket closer around my body and shivered for cold air had swept in through the opened window. I felt glad Monsieur Elliot hadn't searched our house, and I wanted to relieve Kevin. I hoped he was all right.

Therefore, I returned to the room where we had been sitting together to find out that Kevin wasn't there.

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~Mira xx