Sing

Chapter 6: We Have a Plan

I woke up a few hours later of my own free will. I rolled over, figuring that it wouldn't be long until Ray and Mikey would come to get me.

I sighed and rolled over so that I was facing where Ray and Mikey were sitting. Mikey was laughing at something, and Ray was smiling.

If I strained my ears, I could hear them.

"So, Ray," Mikey said. "I have a question."

"Ask me anything," Ray said. Mikey reached his arms backwards over Ray's shoulder's, stretched them, then linked his hands around Ray's neck.

"How long have you been watching Grace?" Mikey asked.

Ray reached up and drummed his fingers on Mikey's hand thoughtfully.

"I don't know," he said. "A while. See, the thing is, she's actually my neice. The hair is a dead giveaway, really. Runs in the family. Anyway, my sister, Grace's mom, died in a flush, and we had to look after Grace. Then, when BL/ind realized she was the only person under eighteen in their right mind and she became a prime target, my parents sent her away into a protection program run by Killjoys. Then my parents were killed in another flush, so I joined the program to search for Grace. Then I found her, and I haven't given her back yet."

They were quiet for a bit.

Then Mikey turned Ray's chin to look at him. "Oh, Ray," he said. "I'm so sorry."

"It's totally fine," Ray said. "I mean, I found her, which was my main goal. Now I just have to keep her safe until this whole thing is over."

Mikey sighed. "Sometimes it feels like it's never going to end," he said.

"But it's going to!" Ray said brightly. "Haven't you heard about 'LAS?'"

Mikey shook his head, confused. "No," he said. "What's LAS?"

Ray looked around, then craned his neck to whisper something in Mikey's ear.

"Really?!" Mikey cried. Ray shushed him, laughing. "Yes, really," he said. "But you have to keep quiet. It's just the five of us."

"When can we tell them?" Mikey asked. "When we wake up," Ray said. "Until then, shh."

Mikey sighed, leaning on Ray's back. "When is it happening?" he asked. Ray shrugged. "I'm not sure yet," he said. "I'll let you know as soon as Steve and Ricky get back to me."

"Do you know where it is?" Mikey asked. Ray nodded.

"Mikey?" he said. "What?" Mikey said.

"We're going to California."

~

"California?!"

Gerard groaned and covered his face. "How the fuck are we even going to get there?"

"We're gonna fly," Mikey said. "Duh." Gerard shot him a look. "Sorry."

"We can't fly, dumbass," Gerard said, smacking his little brother in the head. "Have you forgotten already that BL/ind controls nearly every singe interaction in the whole country? They'd catch us immediately."

"Plus, we have Grace," I pointed out. "Every single BL/ind employee has her face burned into their brains."

Gerard jerked a thumb in my direction, nodding. "He's completely right."

Mikey and Ray exchanged glances. "Listen," Ray said. "I have a plan. We have a plan."

"Wait, who's 'we?!'" Mikey said, leaning away from Ray. "Shh," Ray said. "I wasn't talking about you."

"Then who are you talking about?" Mikey asked. Gerard and I exchanged glances.

"I'm talking about my guys over there," Ray said. "Don't worry." He looked back at me and Gerard. "We're going to get to California. We have to. And if you won't go with me, I'll go alone."

"You'd leave us to watch Grace?" Mikey said. Ray shook his head. "No," he said. "You know I wouldn't. I'd take her with me."

"No way," Gerard said, stepping forward. "You can't go with her alone."

"But we can't get to California," I said.

"Didn't I tell you we have a plan?" Ray said. "We're going to fly, and everything's going to be fine."

"Please fucking tell me your goddamn plan," Mikey said. I could tell he was getting irritatated.

"Listen to me," Ray said, grabbing his arms. "My plan is that Steve and Ricky are going to fly us over to California, then we're going to-"

He stopped. "Do that thing I told you about last night."

Mikey nodded. "Okay."

"Woah woah woah," Gerard said, holding out a hand. "What thing?!"

"LAS," Mikey and Ray snapped, turning away from each other to look at us.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS LAS?!" Gerard cried. Mikey tackled him and covered his mouth, shushing him.

"You're gonna get us caught!" Mikey hissed.

"What's going on?"

We all jumped, turning to find Grace yawning.

"Nothing," Ray said gently. "I'll tell you later, okay? It's nothing big."

"Do we have to move again?" Grace asked tiredly. Ray sighed. "Yeah," he said. "Come here. I'll tell you."

Grace followed Ray over to the broken radiator she'd been laying by last night. They sat down beside each other, and Ray put an arm around his neice.

I didn't want to eavesdrop, it just sort of happened.

"Okay," Ray said slowly. "I know you hate relocating, but you know we have to."

Grace nodded.

"We have to go across the country," Ray said gently. "We have to go to California. We're going to have to fly. It's going to be really dangerous."

Grace nodded again. "Okay," she said quietly. "And?"

"And we have to do something even more dangerous," he said. "We might get killed."

Grace nodded a third time. "I know," she said. "I've known that for a long time now."

She was ten.