Unknown L (Book 1)

~~ I Don't Like Surprises ~~

She put her head in her hands and squeezed her eyes shut. The anger and sadness were almost overwhelming. If someone hadn't been shaking her, she would have succumbed to the feelings.

Bryce was looking into L's eyes when she finally resurfaced from her inner turmoil. He looked concerned and was saying something to her that took a few minutes to process.

"L? L, what's wrong? What are you looking for? L?"

"I left it... I left it behind, I don't have it with me and I didn't even realise..."

Bryce was frowning now, but the concern was still outweighing the other emotions.

"You left what behind?"

"My note, the one from my parents... it's back at the base, in the cottage... How could I leave it?"

L knew they couldn't begin to fathom what that meant. To them, it was just a scrap of paper, but to her, it was so much more. She couldn't understand how she hadn't noticed that it wasn't with her. She saw how the others looked at each other, but comprehension dawned on Bryce's face.

He reached a hand out to touch her shoulder, "L, listen to me. It will be safe there until we get back, and so will you. Your duplicate will hold onto it just as you would. I know it's hard, but you need to focus. We have to keep going. I'm sorry to say this, but Robbie needs you more than you need that note right now."

L was jolted back to the present when she heard Robbie's name. He was still in danger and still needed their help, her help. She closed her eyes and tried to pull herself together. She had been without the note for a few days now, so she could survive a little longer. She had to focus solely on what needed to be done and ignore the nagging ache in her chest.

She opened her eyes again and nodded once to Bryce to show she was fine. He squeezed her shoulder before letting go. She didn't look at the others and began to pack her things back into her bag. Bryce turned to talk to the others, and L stood aside. She didn't feel like talking to anyone. They couldn't understand, and she didn't feel like explaining.

She avoided eye contact and waited until it was time to go, falling into formation just as she had before. But this time, they could move a lot faster. Even Folen was moving faster than L had been able to. They were now speeding across the countryside and covering ten times more ground. L didn't even care if Demons saw them. She was looking forward to crossing paths with a few in her current mood. The day fell away, and soon the night. L didn't feel tired or hungry, just determined to find Robbie and his parents.

They stopped the next morning for a quick break, and Bryce was insistent that L rest up for a while, but she refused point blank. She agreed to eat and have some water but she wasn't going to sleep, she knew she wouldn't be able to anyway. Bryce gave up after his fifth attempt, and Emilia tried, L gave a resounding no, and nobody tried again. A few minutes later, they were back to running, and L felt better not having them all staring at her like she'd lost her mind.

Which she genuinely felt like she had. The note was a part of her and a part of the parents she never knew. She wouldn't feel right until they got back to her cottage, and that wouldn't happen until they rescued Robbie and his parents. They ran as fast as they could manage through the late afternoon, and soon Bryce was gesturing for them to stop. L looked around the area, but all she could see were more and more fields. There were two shapes in the distance that could be buildings.

They were separated from each other by some distance, but they did look like farmhouses. L unwittingly thought of the Worcester's farm and the state of their house after the Demons had attacked. She shuddered, and her anger only intensified. She waited in silence, watching Bryce when he pointed to the farmhouse on the far left.