From The Other Side

Chapter Sixteen

(Written on my phone again. Sorry for it being two damn weeks before I updated)

"So, where exactly is this safe house, and just how safe is it?"

Rae Smirked, patting my shoulder. "Kiddo, I've got an army."

"An army of what?"

Rae made the face again and booped my nose, chuckling. "That's for you to find out later, sunshine,"

I glared in return. "If you make that damned face one more time, I'll rip it off you."

They continued to make the damn face, before scruffing my already unruly hair. "Sounds kinky. I'm in."

"Up yours, Hunter."

"With a chainsaw, Becker."

Ashley's oversized (in comparison to us), body was sprawled out on a makeshift bed of whatever velvet carpeting we'd managed to dig up midair. The damn guy takes up a lot of space. And I mean a lot. He's five ten ish. I'm five one, Sierra's five two, Mari's the tallest, Five five, and Rae, without their large platform boots, is five three. With the boots they're five six.

The awkward silence around us since Rae's whatever you'd call that, (does platonic flirting work as a standing title for our interactions?) Mari decided to break the silence a bit.

"So..." She trails off a bit, almost yawning. "Music, anyone? I mean, Rae, you practically scream mid 2000s emo. And Sierra probably listens to girl in red."

If that wasn't the most discreet way to call someone a lesbian, I don't know what is.

"A-... Aahhh-!" That's Ashley, I can tell. "Demon monkeys!" He shot up from the makeshift bed covered in flop sweat.

"Remind me to make you an anti nightmare charm, Dad." Sierra wipes his sweat, throwing the carpets at him like blankets.

That's when he looked toward Rae. I'm not sure when they were disowned, but it must've been recent ish, within a decade in Deity years. He had a face of utter fear and misery plastered on his face like it was permanent. Rae, on the other hand, looked both happy and miserable seeing his reaction.

"Raegan... Is that you?" He did a double take, blinking, and wiping away more of his sweat.

"Sure is, hun'". I swear, Rae's smirk must've been permanent, because there they were, flashing that damn little fang again. "Whatareya more afraid of, the eyebrow ring or the fact I'm still alive and kickin'?" Rae twirled their small dagger around, perching on their chair in the carriage.

Sierra looked about ready to cut the tension in the air.

"Can't say I'd expect either, RaeRae. The ring does suit you, though."

"After getting oh so graciously kicked by your government, I figured it'd be best to make myself more of an outlaw, you know?" They remarked in a rebellious tone.

"Rae, you know I wanted you to stay..." Ashley's smile lost its energy as he sighed.

"That's why I'm not angry, Dad. It's why I hired you and brought you here. Currently, we're on the way to a safe house. You and I have a goal in mind. Fix the corruption and whitewashing of our government. I'd take a rough estimate we're the only ones that want to. So. You with me or not?"

Rae's angry. I can tell. Not at Ashley, but at everything else. Everyone else who suffered a similar or same fate. They're angry for others, not at them.

Quite frankly, I feel the same.

"If ya could have slowed that sentence down, that woulda been nice, considering I just woke up... but I'd say yes. I don't have much of a choice anyway. Plus, I'm supporting my kids."

"I hate to break ya up, but we're landing in five. Buckle up, it's a rocky one." Mari spoke over the intercoms.

The area we'd entered was darker and shaded. Nothing but trees until wed entered the clearing, which blew me away.

This must be the place, then. Glowing lights, fireflies, almost. Mushrooms, small pixie homes. Crystals, and a beaming moon from up above.

You can hear the sounds that birds and animals make here. It's peaceful. Rae steps up to the head of the chariot. They raise their hands.

A violin echoes, I know what it is.

There's a guitar now. Down, down, up down, up.

You can hear the drums now. The forest is an orchestra. Rae is a conductor.

There's singing now. I know the song by heart. Green Day, 21 guns.

It makes sense why. It's about going through rough times and needing someone to lift you. This place does just that.

The song plays its way through. I dare say these guys perform it better than the band themselves. It's impressive.

"Green Day. 21 guns. Rae, that was amazing." I cheered, beaming from ear to ear.

"This isn't just a safe house. It's a home. A home for the exiled. The crimes committed against us, have been hidden far too long."

Ashley, Sierra, Mari's eyes are wide. I'm right there with them. I already have a clue as to why these people, some of them children, are here.

I can imagine what the rulers must be like. An excerpt from a song I used to like comes to mind.

"Round up those rebels. Those deviants. Those wild ones."

They hate rebellion. They want order. I won't give them the order they want. It clicks for my passengers at the same time it does for me. We are the hated ones. We are feared. Here we are accepted. We aren't a danger. The colors have returned.

I suddenly have more pride in my twelve year old self. I didn't give a shit then. Why should I now?

Rae drops their jacket, revealing a tattoo.

"We all have one. Each means something different."

Sierra read the small marking aloud, "exiled." She spoke.

Rae glanced, "your right, Sierra. Exiled. That's the middle one. The dots are a code. Exiled, misfit, deviant, rebel, warrior. Our six marks. It's a part of initiation here. The outer ones represent unity. 'We are one'. It's our sense of togetherness. We don't have unequal and equal here. All are one. We're all here for the same reason. We were different. They didn't like it."

I understood it now. The danger to them wasn't Rae. It was Rae's differences and their understanding and love for differences. The kingdom was white skin, brown eyes, if you were lucky, lighter hair, rarely freckled. Straight, cisgender, people who fit into neat little boxes. We weren't going to be neat little boxes. We never would be.