Unhappy

25. Kingsley

Kingsley sat, staring at the sky. He brought Kanai here because he was desperate. He really didn't want to bring him, but he ended up doing it. But now, he was confused.

Irene was a friend to Kingsley. Just a good person to hang out with. But the fact that Kanai and her were dating, made it feel weird to him. Maybe it was just the fact that Irene wasn't being true to herself. But either way, it wasn't natural.

Kingsley thought about unwinding. Why were people fine with it? It didn't make any sense. What if the people doing it were sent to be unwound? Would they regret it? Kingsley sat up, looking up to see Irene. He sighed, as she sat down next to him.

"Hey Kingsley." Irene said, smiling at him. Kingsley stared off into the sky. There was a moment of silence. "Do you think we're gonna survive to age 18..." He paused. He knew what this was about. To escape being unwound, you had to survive until you were 18. Then you'd be a legal adult. They couldn't put you in a divided state at that age.
"I..." Kingsley tried to think back to a distant memory. Remembering it nearly made his burst into tears. But he held himself back. But his body was shaking, and his voice quivered. "I don't... know..." He looked over at Irene, who now seemed to be a bit confused, and overwhelmed. Kingsley took a deep breath, whiling away the sudden memory. But it still stuck in the back of his mind. "Listen, as long as we stay safe, make good decisions, and stick together, we'll survive."
"Yeah..." Irene replied. She had a blank expression, as she stared at the floor. Kingsley knew he had done something wrong. Thinking back made him nervous, and that feeling wiped itself right onto Irene.
"Hey, it's okay. We're going to survive. We've already survived getting away from cops, at least twice." Kingsley said. That made Irene smile a bit. He was glad he could comfort her. He had a feeling that something was a bit off about her, with her fake smiles. Getting a genuine grin was enough to make Kingsley think back... to Irene.

Everything paused, as the memory flooded back into his mind. But it was different this time. Irene was crying... but she seemed angry. Screaming, in fact. And then, he began to speak. He was about to figure out what was happening in the memory! It was just within grasp-

"Hey, what's Wendy doing?" Irene asked. The question made Kingsley come back to the present. He nearly punched the ground in a fit of rage. But instead, his expression was a bit more serious than before. He looked up, to see Wendy rummaging through the duffel bag. Kingsley stared, completely and utterly confused.
"What the..." he began. He paused for a couple of seconds, before looking to Irene. "It doesn't matter, I guess. I don't know what she'd do with that stuff anyway." They sat in silence. He wasn't sure for how long. But long enough for Wendy and Kanai to come back.

Kingsley thought about something for a moment, staring at the the sky. Then, he looked to Milo. The kid who nearly died. Was told how unwinding worked.

But he hadn't survived it. Not through the experience, anyway. Something told him that everything was wrong. It all wasn't natural. He wasn't going to keep his feelings to himself anymore. He was going to tell everyone, except Milo. The topic seemed... to personal for him.

"Hey. I need you to go around and invite everyone to tell stories tonight. I... want to share something." Kingsley said to Irene. She looked at him, and smiled, before nodding. She stood up, and began walking around to everyone.

Kingsley knew he wouldn't be able to turn back after this. But he didn't care. It had been haunting him ever since he met Milo. Fear stuck in the back of his mind. Looming there... keeping him from truly letting go. It wasn't going to be easy... but when had life ever been like that? Not when the unwind order had been signed, that's for sure.

It quickly turned to night. Everyone sat in a circle, around a small campfire. It wasn't very big, since they didn't need the police seeing the smoke and following it to find them. Kingsley sat down, looking up at Wendy, Irene and Milo. Kanai had to go home since it had gotten dark.