A Ticking Bomb

Lily opened her eyes, her head resting on Ren's lap. The boys had cleaned the blood from her face, so she had no idea what had happened. Haku was nowhere to be seen after the ritual. Zel and Ren took turns keeping watch, with Zel sleeping peacefully next to the fire as if he had no worries. Ren was still haunted by what happened with Sonja. He tried to focus on the peaceful crackle of the fire, but his mind kept replaying the scene—the sound of the waves and her soft lips on his before everything went into a nightmare. He shivered. The fire’s warmth was a gentle pressure on his face, but he felt a cold knot of dread deep in his gut.

He pushed down the bitter taste in his mouth, a flavor of regret and fear, forcing himself to give his full attention to the injured and clueless Lily.

"Your hand," Ren's voice was quiet, so as not to wake Zel. "Did I do that, too?"

She pressed her burnt hand to her chest in an attempt to hide it and turned onto her side. The fire painted her beautiful side profile the same orange as her hair.

"Yes, but not at the water. Back in the city, when you were arguing with Haku. Did you feel something strange?"

"Let me think." Ren tried to search through his foggy memories. He had barely woken up, but this was the second time he had to confront his past. "There was a weird feeling. Like my blood had warmed up in my hand, and it went all the way to my index finger."

"That wasn't just 'like.' It really happened. Even then, you almost blew us and the city up. When I grabbed your wrist, I sealed your power. That's what burned my skin. I thought you would be okay, as long as you didn't get angry. But I was wrong." She put her long nails between her lips and bit down, as if the knowledge that she had messed up was annoying her. "Actually, any kind of heightened emotion triggers your power."

"So, I'm a walking ticking bomb?"

Lily slowly nodded. Her head suddenly turned toward Ren to look him straight in the eye. He looked down at her, and their gazes met. Lily opened her mouth to speak but changed her mind and closed it. Ren felt like he was staring at her smooth face for an uncomfortably long time, so he awkwardly looked away. Lily cleared her throat. Her earlobes turned red, but it was barely visible in the dark.

"Anyway... what happened with Grandma?"

"She said things..." Ren reluctantly pursed his lips. He didn't really know what to make of the events either. The image of Haku's sad eyes, gleaming with a hopeless search for a meaningful answer, was still vivid in his head. "Haku's master is dead. He is in another world. Probably the one I'm fro—"

Ren regretted it as soon as he said it. He had so little connection to Earth, his own world, that he barely felt it belonged to him anymore. He had completely forgotten that no one but Haku knew about it. He tried to act as if nothing had happened and he hadn't just given himself away, but the girl jumped up with such speed that Ren could almost see the streak her hair left behind.

"You came from another world? It makes sense why you're so weird!"

"I'm not that weird!" Ren argued, taking a step back.

"You're pretty weird!" Lily smoothed out her face. "And when were you going to tell me this information?"

"Like, never?"

Lily's eyebrows furrowed and her hand clenched into a fist, as if she wanted to hit him. She angrily punched the ground next to Zel's head, just barely missing him. Ren defensively held his hands up in front of him before he became the next target and tried to find an acceptable excuse. Without one, he was just about to flee the scene.

"Did you hear that? I think Haku called me!" Before the girl could interfere, he jumped up and stormed off in one direction.

"No one called!" the girl yelled after him, as if she had super hearing. But in reality, no one had called him.

He walked in one direction until he was sure Lily couldn't follow, but he could still easily find his way back to the camp. He was acting foolish, but it was better than sitting still and letting the crushing weight of his memories consume him. He ended up at a river, where the air was thick with the scent of wet earth and moss. The view of the water at night brought up painful memories. His throat constricted, like something got stuck in it. A tiny girl with short red hair was sitting on the bank with her back to him.

Ren sat down next to her without saying anything. Haku pulled her legs up and hugged them to her chest. She peeked out between her knees and stared into the distance. The mud had soiled his bare feet, and it almost looked like her horns also drooped.

"I messed up."

"What are you talking about?"

"I just realized how selfish I am. I was really mean to you back in the city when I told you that you have no one. Just because I am lonely." Haku buried her head even deeper between her knees.

"I would appreciate a 'sorry'!" Ren said with a playful tease.

Haku, as if she hadn't even heard him, continued, "And right after that, I did the same thing with Lily. I almost killed her to hear a little more about Master. Then I got mad at Zel and you, even though you were right."

Annoyed, Ren pinched the girl's face and moved it to form the letters. "Sor-ry."

"I-ll-u." Haku slapped Ren's hand and, with an uncovered face, said, "I-will-kill-you."

"I think you need to see a speech therapist." The oni threateningly showed off her sharp canine tooth. "I'm sure Lily isn't mad at you."

"Why are you so sure?"

"First, because I didn't tell her what happened. And secondly, because she's too busy to be mad at me right now."

Haku suspiciously released her legs and raised her eyebrow, "What did you do?"

"Well..." Ren scratched the back of his neck. "I might have accidentally mentioned that I'm not from this world."

Haku’s eyes widened, and he stared at Ren as if he were an idiot. "Have you completely lost your mind?"

"To be honest," Ren said, shrugging, "I almost forgot about it."

Haku jumped up and started dragging Ren by his top toward the camp. The fabric tightened around his throat, and he could barely breathe. He flailed his arms, but Haku didn't care. She purposefully dragged the boy after her and only let go when they reached the fire.

Ren was suddenly overcome with nausea. He didn't know if it was just the usual pain or the recent lack of oxygen. He didn't get up from his all-fours. His back arched like a cat's as he gasped for fresh air. His heart pounded wildly, he could feel the blood in his ears, and he thought he was going to vomit. Lily brushed the bangs from his sweaty forehead. He winced as her crimson-coated hand drew or wrote something on his forehead that slightly reduced the pain. But the girl was also coughing badly, covering her mouth with a hand that became even bloodier. Ren looked at Lily, who gave him a weak smile before another coughing fit caught her. Her thin, fragile body fell back to the ground, an example Ren followed. Lying there on the ground, he found Lily's hand, and their pinky fingers interlocked. Which either actually helped the agonizing pain, or he just imagined it.