Follow Kenji

Kenji comes to a stop in front of the stone building and jogs up the steps to the entrance. From there, he looks back and points at you. “Just follow the armory - you’re bound to find her in there tinkering with their equipment.”

“I have no idea what she looks like,” you sigh. “I need someone with me.”

“Scarlet is probably hurt. I need Flora’s assistance in patching her up.” Kenji argued. “It won’t be hard; you’ll know her when you see her.”

Flora shifted legs and looked down the street. You followed her gaze and saw a dozen, if not more, armed soldiers, marching towards you. They didn’t seem to notice anyone in your group, but that could change…

Kenji was the last person to notice, but he realized there was nowhere to go as soon as the soldiers came to match by. He darted his face away and yanked Flora towards him. “Do. Not. Look. At. Them.” Kenji warned.

You could feel Flora’s eyes on you as all three of you looked at the entrance. Of course, this wasn’t going to work, though. The soldier in front of the others stopped and barked out a question, asking all of you to present yourselves. When you failed to answer, you could hear him stomping up the steps. Kenji shifted and looked up.

“I got this.” You murmured. This was going to be the best time to split the group. “Kenji. Get ready to run.”

“What?” He hissed.

You grabbed Flora’s wrist and pulled her towards you, allowing you a full view of the soldier that came up the stairs to confront you.

In one fluid motion, you presented your sidearm and pointed the dead-end of your barrel, and squeezed the trigger, sending a full metal jacket from your sidearm straight into the unfortunate man. Kenji cursed you, now presenting his rifle too. Unlike you, he had something automatic and handy, but the column was in the middle of disbursing, so it wasn’t likely he killed anyone.

With Kenji (unintentionally?) covering your entry into the building, you ran through the interior in a panic. You followed the signs that pointed to where the armory was supposed to be. Your mind raced with your feet, praying to God Almighty Himself that you weren’t going to be caught by anyone. Somewhere outside, the battle continued to spiral out of control - which was both comforting and terrifying at the same time. Kenji was surely alive, but you aren’t sure for much longer.

For the moment your mind was blank, you were guided at the rear of the structure. You stood in front of the door with the words “ARSENAL” stamped to a metal nameplate.

“You’re hurting me.” Flora whimpered, twisting away from you.

You looked down and noticed you never let go of her. You blinked and then loosened your grip. “Sorry.”

“It’s OK.” She sighed. “Do you think she’s in there?”

You reached for the knob and twisted. “I hope so.” On the other end was a poorly lit room with shelves filled with boxes and ammo cans. Waco’s filled with metal parts like firing pins, bolts, and tiny springs. It smelled of gun oil and cleaner. Flora shuffled in. “This would make sense…”

“Yeah?” You whispered, stepping in. “Where is she, though?”

“The room can’t be that big,” Flora sounded like she was assuring herself rather than you. “Let’s stick together.”

The corridors were tight. The stock of your rifle kept dragging some of the Waco’s from their regular spots, causing Flora to lag behind and cover the tracks of your movements. Just as you were to turn to another corner, you tripped over a fallen cupboard box but caught yourself on the steel racks.

“That was close,” you said, fighting a laugh. You turned to smile at Flora, but you spotted a figure advancing towards you as you were turning. They’re holding a shotgun with the choked end pointed directly at you.

You stick your hands out in front of you in a defensive manner. You stared into the darkest brown eyes that you have ever looked into. They were fiery and wild, trained and focused - winged by eyeliner that was faintly blue. They were accompanied by dark almond skin and short deep black hair.

That must be her...Amari.

“Amari?” You hardly move a muscle. You fear that even the slightest twitch will set off her trigger finger. She lowered the shotgun and licked her lips.

“What of it?” Amari spits, her accent heavy but unidentifiable.

“Kenji,” you follow up with her. “I’m here with Flora, too.”

Flora comes into view. You relax and then let out a heavy exhale. She shakes her head, now obtaining an angry look. “I told Kenji I wasn’t in danger and that I didn’t need help getting out.”

“Well, we’re here now.” You intend to say more, but Flora cut in.

“We came to rescue you!” She announces gleefully.

Amari snorts, now at a low ready. “I didn’t need to be rescued, first of all. Secondly, who's this?”

She gestures to you with the death-end of her shotgun. Flora knits her brows. “His name is Warren. He’s done a lot to help, so if you could avoid killing him, that would be great.”

Amari lowers the shotgun even more. Her deep brown eyes stare at you curiously. Finally, she blinks as if concluding. Her mouth opens, but as soon as her eyes bounce to Flora, it shuts. You squint, and the gears on your mind start rolling.

“Scarlet recruited this one, didn’t she?” Amari asks, and Flora nods. “Further west from here…Close to Chico?”

Flora’s expression wrinkles. “I dunno where he’s from. Wherever Tiny’s Tavern is.”

Amari’s expression doesn’t do anything, but her eyes do stare at you. “Well, if you two idiots have kicked the hornet's nest, we should get going.”

“Yeah— about that.” Flora smiles, rubbing her arms. “Kenji and Scarlet are still somewhere in town…possibly wounded…possibly captured…maybe all of the above.”

Amari hisses in a language you don’t understand and then glares at you. “Alright, Tavern Boy, you just got promoted until further notice.”

“What?”

Flora steps in, following your question. Amari rolls her eyes. “Flora, you don’t belong in this kind of environment- you’re gonna get hurt. So I’ll lead you out. They don’t suspect anything about me…yet.”

“No!” Flora shouts. “Now, we should help the others. Kenji, Scarlet, they both could be in real trouble now!”

“So, let me get this straight…Your actions had consequences, and you’re taken aback by it?” Amari snorts. “Warren looks like he can handle himself in a firefight. He’ll find them, I’m sure.”

“I’ll do what I can, but I’m not gonna promise anything.” You shift your legs uncomfortably. You didn’t expect Amari to throw you under the bus so suddenly. She jabbed her index finger at Flora and reminded her not to say anything. Flora looked at you, somewhat red-faced, before she crossed her arms. “Where do you want me to meet you guys?”

“We’ll wait for 30 minutes with the horses,” Flora says before she can be interrupted.

When Amari doesn’t say anything, you figure your timer has already started. So you leave the building and begin searching around. The area is a lot more stirred up than it was when you first got here. You wonder how well the girls will fare once they get on the move too.

All your worry was apparently for a reason. You are soon wandering for half your given time. You think about returning empty-handed, but you didn’t want to have Amari thinking you didn’t do your best. You’re down to 10 minutes. Eight minutes. 5 minutes. And then the final 2.

You curse through your clenched teeth and whisper an apology to Kenji and Scarlet, wishing them the best as you retreat to an alley, where you trip and fall into a garbage heap.

The heap groans in protest, and they wrap themselves around you. Your mouth is covered (not that you were going to scream), and the pile begins to ruffle and grow taller. A hooded figure, about 5’8, stands above you with something slender and silver in its hand. It’s then and there, you scream.

“It’s me! It’s me!!” Your words, though mostly muffled, send a message to your would-be-murderer. They knelt beside you, and the grip around you relaxed.

Scarlet scoffs, leaning in to pluck some trash from your face. Then, she removes her hood and meets you with a smile. “That’s the second time I’ve almost stabbed you.”

Kenji crawls out from under you and exhales. “Where’s Flora? Tell me you found Amari after that fucking stunt you pulled.”

Scarlet shifts her legs. “You almost killed Kenji, Warren. What the hell!?”

Kenji continued, now kneeling beside Scarlet. “If Flora is dead and Amari is missing, I’ll gut you myself!”

Scarlet joins. “If you got Kenji hurt, I would have shot your legs and left you screaming in the streets.”

You push them back and glare, explaining to them that everyone else is waiting for you by the horses. Scarlet and Kenji glance at each other and then help you up. There’s a brief discussion between the three of you before a clap breaks from a rifle and a bullet snaps beside you.

All in near-perfect unison, you bolt in different directions, but all towards the same destination.

Once again, you are alone. The entire area is crawling with guards. The cool air is filled with tension and orders being shouted. You can’t help but wonder if Flora and Amari left or if they are still waiting, despite your time limit being well-over expired at this point. Whatever the case, you hope you run into either one of your other companions before you make it to the wall.

You start wondering how to escape in the morning once you are forced to go inside a building to get away from another patrol - your deadline has long passed anyway.

All your plans are put on hold as soon as someone walks inside. First, your back stiffens, and then you hold your breath. However, when you get a better view of the new visitor, you realize it isn’t anyone you need to be worrying about.

You shift your weight, lean against the wall. “Flora? What are you doing?”

Flora spins on her heel, initially surprised by your sudden entry. “Warren? There you are! Where have you been?”

She steps towards you, her face full of concern. However, there’s noticeable relief coming through her emotions as she gets closer to you, a smile curling in the corners of her lips. Before you can say anything in response to her comment, Flora wraps her arms around you in a friendly hug. Heat whips across your face, and you awkwardly hug back.

Flora steps back, her fair complexion untouched by anything other than the smile she put on after seeing you. “The others wanted to leave, so I ran away to find you.”

The heat that was over your face increases. You hope it wasn’t as noticeable as it felt. “I’m alright, Flora. You shouldn’t have come back - it’s dangerous.”

“I didn’t want to leave you behind, though,” she says, crossing her arms. “I couldn’t leave you behind…”

How do you reply to that one? You clear your throat and thank her for her consideration. “Of course,” she smiles again, looking more confident than ever.

Flora is quiet for a moment. Her amber eyes look around and then land on you. “Thanks for...literally everything you’ve done for me these past couple of days. I owed you this much.”

Again, your mind runs blank on how to talk to her. So you go towards one of the windows and look outside. The street is busy with troop movement and other search parties. “How did you get past all the soldiers?”

“It wasn’t elementary, that’s for sure,” Flora admits. “Honestly speaking, I think there’s too much traffic to leave the building. We should stay here until they go somewhere else.”

All the light is coming in through the window. There’s no other source of illumination. You turn back around and check where you had taken shelter in. It looks like a café. Clean tables cover the floor, and pictures blanket the walls. A lingering scent of spices hangs in the air as the building creeks while it settles.

You find an open space along the wall and slide your back down it until your butt is sat firmly on the floorboards. Flora joins you shortly after. You can hear her breathing, which calms you somewhat. After a couple of seconds of silence, she brings her knees to her chest and looks at you.

“Penny, for your thoughts?” She asks, joined by a subtle smile.

You blink and look away. “How did you get back in here?”

She shakes her head. “When Kenji arrived, he was with Scarlet, and they started to argue whether or not they should leave you behind. Amari said no, but Kenji said yes. Scarlet, of course, joined Kenji’s side, but I…” Flora sighs and scoots a little more away from you. “Didn’t want to leave you behind and thought we were just wasting time. So here I am.”

You reach for her and offer a bright smile to her. You can feel the heat on your cheeks flare as you thank her. Flora studies your face and then breaks into a toothy grin. “Your face is so red right now.”

She doesn’t try to get away from you though, she just smiles and stares at you. “What’s on your mind now?”

You scoot closer, making up for the space she put between you two. “You are.” You admit without shame.

She darts her gaze to somewhere else. “What about me?”

You swallow. “I…you remind me of someone I had developed feelings for—“

Flora knows this story and apparently does not want to hear it again. She leans in and presses her lips against yours, shutting you up entirely in a single instant.

Flora tastes…so much sweeter than you had thought. She’s so warm, so soft and inviting too! There’s no tongue, just the smoothness of your lips pressed against one another. You are frozen, unsure how to react or say even when she pulls away from you. There’s a stretch of pinks that envelopes both her cheeks and the middle bridge of her nose.

“What?” Flora stares up, hiding her emotions.

You scoff, failing to hide yours. She lets out a whisper; you think it’s a laugh. “What??”

She presses for information, but your mind is trying to process a million thoughts and things to say. “Come on. Talk to me. That was my first legit kiss in, like, forever! Give me some feedback, Warren.”