Page 24 of Rough Love

It was silent as they walked forward. The only sound that surrounded them was the sound of their feet as they crushed leaves under their feet. Mia didn't even want to think about how dirty she was. She tried not to think at all as they tried to find the road. It felt as if they had been walking forever in the dark as they heard the sound of animals roaming around them. Mia held on to Sage's hand tightly as they walked and she didn't want to let go.

They continued to walk through the woods and soon they came to the road that connected to the street that led to their house. They knew they couldn’t risk being seen so they tried to stay out of view of anyone who drove past. Soon cars started driving past them from their house and they could only imagine that the Omens were finally leaving. Clearly, there wasn’t anything left for them to do but leave. A few fire trucks drove past them going toward the house and they waited to see if anyone from the Screaming Demons would show up.

They hoped that even though it was extremely late, someone would have heard about the fire. The Screaming Demons had ways of hearing about these kinds of things. They would both be grateful just to see someone who wasn't an Omen.

It didn’t take long for them to notice Adam’s truck traveling toward the house in the distance. Sage took the lead and walked out into the road to stop him. He was the only person they could trust. As soon as he came closer he slowly came to a stop and recognized them.

“Oh, thank god you two got out of there. I heard that there’s nothing left of it now,” Adam said as he got out of his car to greet them. They were so grateful to see him that they almost started crying. They were starting to lose hope that they’d see anyone who could help them. They weren't surprised to hear that there was nothing left of their house. They had said their goodbyes already.

“We’re honestly so happy to see you,” Sage said as he gave Adam a quick hug. They started to explain what had happened while Adam stood quietly listening. It was a long story and even just retelling it made it all too real for them again.

“Wow. That’s so crazy. Well, I’m glad to see you both out of there and alive,” Adam said as he gestured them to get into the car. It was time to get out of there, finally.

“Can I use your phone to call Fiona? Mine is probably ashes by now,” he said as he turned slightly to the house.

‘Of course. It’s in the cubbyhole,” he said. Sage reached for the phone and dialed Fiona’s number. It went straight to voicemail so he left her a message explaining everything. He looked at the time nf the dashboard of the car and noticed it was just after midnight so she was most likely sleeping which of course would be completely understandable.

“Where should we go?” Mia asked. She was sitting near the window looking out as they drove away from the house and away from the fire.

“I think we should go to the club, it’s probably the safest place for us to be right now,” Sage replied. Adam agreed and drove them to the club.

Once they arrived, Sage and Mia relaxed a bit as they walked into the comfort of the club, their second home. Mia looked around the club and felt all the chairs as she exhaled deeply. She was finding it extremely hard to keep calm. Her emotions were on edge and she was exhausted and ready to pass out.

“Could you imagine if they had burnt this down too?” she asked. She didn't want to think about it but it seemed as though the Omens didn't care about human life at all. Why would they care about burning down another building? Mia could remember hearing them laughing as they had set her house on fire; it was all a game to them.

“I honestly believe I would’ve killed someone if they had and in all honesty, I feel like killing someone now because of the house,” Sage said.

“Don’t worry boss, I’ll take care of that,” Adam said. The thought was scary as Mia heard the tone of Adam’s voice. She knew he could be a scary guy if he wanted to be. She didn’t want to know what they would do and who would kill whom. All she really wanted to do was sleep. Her body hurt and she just needed rest. Sage felt the same. Even though he wanted to be a part of the hunt for the Omens, he knew he could leave it up to Adam to take care of it.

“I think we need to call some of the guys in,” Sage said. He knew that there were 23 Omens that needed to be stopped and as much as he wanted to be the one who ended the lives of the 11 Omens that were at his house, he couldn’t go with them. He needed to be with Mia for a while. It had been a hard day for them both. He looked at her with pride as she stood tall after the long day they had had. He was so proud of her for not giving up and just pushing through it.

Sage also knew that he was too emotional to go after the Omens. His temper was high as he thought back. He couldn’t be involved in killing them because he would probably enjoy it too much. He wasn’t usually the kind of person who found pleasure in someone else’s pain but he knew he would love watching the life leave Lorraine’s eyes while he killed her. The thought was a bit scary for him which is why he definitely could not go with them. He couldn’t become that type of person after everything and especially after all the people he had lost.

Adam started calling some of the guys to help while Sage went over to Mia.

“Maybe we should get a room somewhere for the night?” he asked.

“Yeah, I think that would be a good idea. We don’t really have anywhere else to go,” Mia replied. Maybe it would be good for them to be completely alone for a while. Sage was sure Mia needed to sleep but possibly also needed to talk. She had been through a lot in the last few hours and he was sure it must be taking a toll on her.

“Oh, you guys don’t need to worry about getting a room somewhere, you can sleep at my place,” Adam said as he walked closer to them. He had heard some of their conversation between calling some of the guys.

“Oh, that’s so kind of you, thank you,” Mia said. Adam passed his keys over to Sage before he continued calling more Screaming Demons.

“We’ll just call a cab to get to your place,” Sage said. As he said it he wondered if their new car was alright or if they had done something to it before leaving the scene. He couldn’t remember it being one of the cars that had driven past them earlier. He was happy he had insured it so even if it wasn’t alright they could get something to replace it soon.

“How are you feeling?” Sage asked Mia as they walked out of the club to wait for a cab to collect them. Adam had been nice enough to call a personal one for them considering most taxi companies stopped running at 11 pm.

“I mean emotionally I don’t know but physically my body hurts a lot. What about you?” Mia asked. Sage had to think about it for a while. He noticed that his body wasn’t actually that sore. His shoulders had started to tense up a little after carrying Mia, not that she was heavy but dead weight wouldn’t be easy for anyone to carry. Other than that he felt relatively fine, angry and frustrated but fine.

“I suppose I’m alright, just tired,” he replied. He noticed the slump in Mia’s shoulders and decided to pull her close to him. He wrapped his arms around her and gently stroked her hair while her head rested against his chest.

The cab pulled up and they made their way to Adam's apartment, grateful that they didn't have to sleep in a hotel for the night.

"What do you think we should do now?" Mia asked as they sat in the back of the car.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

“Well, do you think we should stay with the Screaming Demons or is it time for us to find something else? Like, what if something like this happens again but only much worse?" she asked.