SWNOVELS Separating (Chapter 27)
Ivy:
Giddean takes charge immediately, “Sean take Ivy back to my parents and then meet us at the Market Square”
“What no, Giddean!” How can he do that? The crowd might kill him!
“Come, Mrs. Senator” Sean grabs my arm a bit roughly, not to hurt me but to draw my attention away from Giddean and James. But I can’t let them go; it’s such a bad idea.
I clutch Giddean's coat in my fist, “No, Giddean. Come to your parents.”
“The market square is designed to deal with protests; the police will have it all organized before we even get there.” He kisses me on the lips before gently prying my hands off of his coat.
I feel panicky as he turns and walks away calmly with James at his side. I want him to stay with me. What good will he do at the Market Square anyway?
Sean wraps one of his large arms around me. He must sense my need for comfort, I’m not sure Sean has ever touched me. But it feels wrong- I want Giddean’s arm around me.
“He’ll be fine, Ivy. The city brigade will have the square locked down and he will immediately get a detail.” Ivy, he called me Ivy. He must be worried. Oh God, Giddean is going to die.
I turn in Sean’s arms to look back at where Giddean had just been. It’s now a dark street with only one streetlamp illuminating the cobblestones. Even for nighttime, it’s strangely quiet, no one walks the streets and there is no noise from the surrounding houses. It’s like they knew- like they all knew.
Sean presses me more firmly into his side and I shiver, not from the cold, but from the deep fear I feel for Giddean and James. Fear pits in my stomach that I try my best to ignore.
“He’ll be fine; I swear it on my mother’s life”
I want to run after Giddean. I want to make sure what Sean says is true and Giddean is safe. But I’m not stupid; I know my presence might distract him and make things more difficult.
So I swallow and do the mature thing, “okay.”
We walk back towards Jona and Linda’s through the darkness. I let Sean hold me close. The darkness creeps closer with every step; its fingers reach out to swipe at us. I feel like such a chicken pressing myself further into Sean, but he makes no complaints.
In the distance, I can hear the hum of hundreds of people yelling quietly waffles through the air. It’s a ways away, but it carries on the wind. I turn my head towards the direction of the wind in a vain attempt to better hear the noise.
I stumble on some broken cobblestone and Sean uses his arm around me to hold me up. I almost groan from my stupidity- I need to keep it together, watch my feet, and keep my eye on the prize- get to Giddean’s parents. But somehow the nothingness around me feels terrifying, and the knowledge that people that I… that I care about are running headfirst into a mob has me deeply anxious.
“Shit” Sean curses quietly into the night as he pushes me back towards a building.
I get a brief look at what has Sean so upset. A group of men, maybe 50 or so Pinns with torches are further down the street. They are setting fire to the plants and bushes around the houses.
Sean directs me so we are in an alley between two mansions. It’s filled with flowering plants letting off a sickly sweet smell that makes me want to vomit. Plants snap under my feet and my dress catches on vines, but neither stops us. He places me against the cold stone of the building.
Sean leans down so his mouth is level with my ear: “Stay here, I’m going to get a better look”
“No” I whisper and reach out to grab him, but I’m too slow.
Sean shimmies along the wall and crouches down before taking a peek down the street. He is partly hidden by dark bushes, but his large muscular body to me sticks out like a sore thumb in the darkness.
Luckily, it seems no one looked his way and he makes his way back to me.
“They are burning effigies in front of the Councilor’s home” He whispers in my face.
“What are we-? Are they going to be okay?”
“I’m sure they are holed up in their stone house, but we will have to hide somewhere else”
My mind blanks, where could we go? Everyone I know on this planet is a senator or the partner of a senator. Will they all be subjected to protests? There is the Captain, but I have to assume he is busy…
“Come”
Sean leads me back between the houses, crunching on the foliage with confidence. I follow, feeling my dress tear and twigs scrape against my bare legs. I really hope there aren’t any critters under all these plants.
We navigate between the two houses, and then we go through the back yard of another, before taking another alley which leads us to a new street. This one is thankfully empty and Sean grabs my hand pulling me along at a fast pace. I try to keep up as we walk through the dark streets. My heart is pumping with nervousness. I want to ask where we are going, but I’m afraid to make any more noise than my shoes hitting the street.
*****
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