Chapter 153: Chapter 153: A Slice of Life
"Where... are the children?"
Pauline’s father had just finished prepping the barbecue to grill, and when he brought out the marinated meat, she found the ladies all laughing with each other—their faces already flushed. He even looked up to see if it was already nighttime, but no. The ocean was still blue, and the horizon was still blinding his eyes.
What wasn’t there, however, was the group of children who were just playing around at the beach.
"Lisa, where are the children?" he asked her wife, but Lisa only glanced at her and smiled.
"Relax, Ed. We’re on vacation. Oh, wait. Take a photo of us!" Pauline’s mother, Lisa, quickly grabbed the tray from Ed and placed it next to the grill. "Quick, grab the camera!"
A wide smile crept on Ed’s face, grabbing the camera and quickly motioning for the ladies to huddle up for a photo. After taking a picture of them, however, he quickly remembered his question.
"No, wait. Where are the children?" Ed asked again as he handed the camera to his wife.
"Relax." Lisa sighed, rolling her eyes at his husband, giggling at him before glancing at the other ladies. "See what I have to deal with every day?"
The other ladies also started laughing, leaving Ed with a single question in his mind.
What... did I even do?
"They should be fine," Diana said, gesturing to Ed to calm down and relax. "This place might seem isolated, but there are actually cameras and alarms set up everywhere since it’s filled with tourists. Even in the woods."
"Seriously?" Ed’s eyes widened.
"Aw..." Lisa groaned in disappointment. "Ed and I were hoping to have a good time in the woods."
And with those words, the ladies once again burst out into a fit of laughter.
"Mister, relax." And now, even Tanisha was telling Ed to relax. "Bella might seem like a bad kid, but she is very protective. If anything, it is the other people I am... worried about."
"Right!" Lorraine pointed at Tanisha. "A bunch of super kids roaming the streets, the other people should be the ones worried."
They laughed again, but then the ladies all looked at each other and their laughter slowly died down. And all of a sudden, it turned quiet to the point that only the calm waves of the ocean could be heard.
"R-Riley is with them. My daughter told him he’s a very responsible kid." Lisa forced out a chuckle, glancing at Diana with an awkward smile on her face. "How old was Riley again?"
"Twelve," Diana quickly said. "But yes, he is a very responsible kid... sometimes."
"They... should be fine, right?"
"...Tomoe’s with them." Diana quietly chuckled while waving her hand. "She’s very mature for her age. And Gracey is there too."
"Never trust my daughter with anything," Lorraine bluntly said. "They should be fine. Pauline’s with them."
And then, it all came back to Ed and Lisa, who looked at each other and then just shrugged.
"Right," Lisa said. "That kid is even more responsible than us. And you’re right. Tomoe’s with them. I only spoke with her for a couple of minutes, but she seems like a good kid."
"Bless that child," Tanisha whispered, closing her eyes as she clutched the beer next to her chest. "No one should go through anything like that. This is really a good thing you’ve done for the kids, Diana."
"Oh, it was all Hannah’s idea. And yes, I feel... really sad for her."
"She must be so confused," Lorraine joined in. "To be abused your entire life, and then—Let’s talk not talk about it."
"Hmm."
"Oh... You’re right..." Lisa gulped, looking at the beer in her hand, "This is strong."
***
"Hey girl, what’s up?"
"I’m fourteen."
"Okay."
"...How many times was that now?"
The sun was now blistering high up in the sky, and the Baby Crew opted to stop playing in the water because of the scorching heat. They did not, however, stay away from the sun. They were now walking around the streets of Siargao—and it was a complete contrast to the concrete jungle of the city.
Maybe street wasn’t exactly the right word either. It was more like a path where tricycles occasionally travel.
There were, however, surprisingly a lot of people considering they were in a somewhat isolated place, and most of the men they had passed by had approached Hannah to ask for her number or to take her on a date night.
"Fuck! Do I look that old?!"
Another group was about to approach them, but when Hannah suddenly screamed, the group chose to stay away instead. The rest of the Baby Crew found it amusing, however, and chuckled at Hannah each time someone approached them.
"Girl, look at you. You fine as shit," Bella raised an eyebrow, bobbing her head to the side as she pointed at Hannah from head to toe. "They probably think you a full adult with them thick legs. Honestly, if I was into snow bunnies, I’d try too."
"Ew. Please, never say that again. And what do you mean a full adult?" Hannah’s eyes glared at Gracey. "Gracey’s literally walking with us! She looks at least twenty!"
"No, I don’t."
"She don’t, though." Bella quickly agreed to Gracey. "She unusually tall, but she has them baby face and limbs."
"What the fuck does that even mean?!"
And while Bella, Gracey, and Hannah were walking in front, the more reserved members of the group followed behind them.
Pauline, surprisingly, was more similar to her parents than they all thought, as she brought a large camera and took photos of everyone from time to time. She was mostly taking photos of V, as her green hair and eyes looked incredibly good surrounded by all the trees—and V didn’t seem to mind at all, the two of them had their own world as they stopped and ran around from time to time to take photos of each other.
Mostly, they took photos of the stray dogs.
And then, the even more reserved members of the group, Riley and Tomoe, were just quietly following everyone else.
"Riley," Tomoe whispered. "Are you sure the website idea is safe?"
"Should I not be the one asking you that, Tomoe?" Riley blinked, tilting his head to the side as he glanced at Tomoe.
"But... you’re the one who suggested it." Tomoe also blinked, her usually stoic face twitching as she slightly leaned away from Riley.
"And you are the one who said you are confident in staying out of sight of Father’s sight, Tomoe."
"Being confident and actually being right are two different things."
"Let us hope you are both, then?" Riley shrugged. "I trust you, Tomoe. If you said you are confident about not being discovered by Father, who has been known to track even the most remote terrorists hiding in the most remote places anywhere in the world, then I trust you and the system you have placed. It is too late anyway, an order has been completed."
"Already?" Tomoe placed her hand on her chin. "Hmm. I suppose the website is temporary. We’re moving to analog sooner or later once it has been blocked by several providers."
"Yes."
"...Thank you, Riley."
"For what, Tomoe?"
"For listening to my idea," Tomoe whispered. "I know... that you and I are evil for what we’ve done. And—"
"You are not evil for what you have done, Tomoe." Riley cut her off, sounding slightly confused at her words. "You merely killed someone who had tormented you, mentally and physically. That is justice. Never put yourself on the same level as me...
...You are not evil. You were merely trapped with one. No, you are now trapped with an even bigger evil, me."
"Let’s... talk about something else." Tomoe closed her eyes, hastening her pace as they were being left behind by the others. "It’s not proper to talk about this here."
"You are the one who started the conversation, Tomoe. But what is a proper conversation to be had here between us?"
"I..." Tomoe blinked a couple of times and finally realized something. She and Riley had never had a normal conversation between them that didn’t involve murder and horrible things. And she never was one for any conversation in the first place.
"I... don’t know."
"Then, may I suggest something?"
"Hmm?"
"Pauline!" Riley suddenly raised his voice, causing the rest of the Baby Crew to stop walking in surprise. Pauline and V, in particular, quickly turned their heads at him.
"Tomoe said she also wanted her photo taken, and is being shy about it."
"Riley..." Tomoe’s eyes widened. And before she could even say anything, Pauline was suddenly right in front of her.
Pauline’s eyes were... different from usual as she held the camera.
"I-I’ve been waiting for this," she whispered, looking at Tomoe’s face. She sounded a little weirder than usual, and her breath trembled while her eyes darted at Tomoe’s figure from head to toe. "Where do you want?"
"I don’t really—"
"He... He... He."
Hannah also appeared close to them out of nowhere, the chuckle that was escaping her lips... causing a small tingle to crawl on the back of Tomoe’s neck.
"I know a place to take good photos. But it’s very...
...very dangerous."