Don't Let Them See You

Chapter 3

Unprepared, I was awoken by someone shaking me using abrupt force. My cautious reactions, caused me to instinctively grab the person and then slam them straight down on their back. The girl from the night before released a scream, but quickly I covered her mouth to stop us from gaining potential attention.

Eventually, after she calmed down, I removed my hands from her mouth and spoke gently to try and assure her. "Sorry about that, it's a reaction I've built up for the past few years. I mean you no harm, swear to you by it", I said in hopes she would believe me. Though she continued shaking and looked awfully frightened by my actions. It took some time before she finally came to terms that I wouldn't hurt her, and was able to calm herself down within a few deep breaths.

"U-um, I just wanted to thank-you. I can't remember everything completely, but I know you must have helped me. Not a lot of people would do that, you're quite admirable", she spoke with a soft voice. "Well you know I could very much relate, plus I couldn't stand what those monsters were doing. My name's Armineh and this is my little brother Aadil. We are going to leave the country", I told her instantly regretting the fact that I gave my plan away to a complete stranger. Way to be careless Armineh, great going.

I decided to play it cool, acting as if I didn't make a mistake The girl sat quietly, her face full of shock. I didn't exactly understand what was so surprising, but patiently waited for her to speak up.

“C-Can I come with you", she eventually whispered quietly, and I honestly didn't know what to reply. In one way she would be endangered and I would feel extremely terrible if something happened. On another note, though I helped her, it wasn't my problem, and allowing her to be with us would endanger not only myself but Aadil as well.

Making a decision was difficult. I stared blankly at her while thinking to myself, as she bit off her fingernails most likely in anticipation. To follow the heart or to follow the mind, I never did understand what that meant until now. The heart and the brain should work together, each job was just as important after all for the chance at survival.

"If you came, you'd have to be disguised. You can't just frolic around as a woman. The attention we would receive could be life-threatening, and I have no means of endangering my brother. I hate to be harsh, really I know how tough it is to hide. There is only shame in being a woman in the eyes of those demons, I truly mean this in the best way possible".

I wanted her to come I really did, and I hoped she could tell that. Aadil hadn't been very responsive at the time. I assumed he was taking everything in a negative light. It was precisely why I was trying so hard to make things better in the first place. I also really didn't want to deal with such burdens alone.

But was it worth the risk? What if she was some sort of spy given freedom on the exchange of her services? Would having her along lower our chances of survival? After all, to be able to survive meant you’d have to take others down no matter the cost.

Though when I saw the sadness in her eyes , I became lost and familiar with the feeling of hopelessness. There was no way I could leave her there to get fed on by the wolves. We would have to do something about her looks though. The raw innocence she possessed definitely couldn’t be shown to the enemies.

"You can join us, but your looks have to go. If this is going to work, we will have to draw attention far away from ourselves. It won't do any good to have you spotted and captured because of our feminine genes". She stared at me for a few seconds as if trying to process something. "Did you say 'our' feminine genes"? I looked right back at her as if she grew two heads. Did she not think I was a female this whole time? It's either my small changes made a big impact, or this girl wasn’t very observant. Though I guess none of that mattered, did it?

Getting closer to her ear I whispered the words that would be considered haggard to most men around. "I'm a female". She backed away and turned her attention to my face while observing its every feature. Realization hits, and her mouth curves up into a smile as her eyes began to twinkle with newfound hope.

"Please teach me your ways, and I will follow you to a new country". The formality in her voice was weird to hear, but nonetheless I accepted her offer. What could a new companion hurt?

With that said we began to try and discover the girl's new identity. I learned her name to be Raisa, and that she only lived with her father. Her beautiful brown hair was mixed with a few strands of golden locks. Easily they outshined my foreign silver hair. While she looked like a beautiful bright lily flower, my rough exterior reached no spotlight.

The tattoos and nose ring I self-inflicted only added to my rough features. My dull green eyes darker than the finest grass, telling the stories of my many sleepless nights. Our looks were the complete opposite, and I knew that making her into a boy would be difficult.

Of course, we had face covers, homemade cloth stitched from scratch. At the time they held convenience to both Aadil and I, as they not only hid our identities, but helped block the debris from sandstorms that happened during the day and especially at night.

I felt satisfied knowing I made plenty, finding no problem giving Raisa one. Her full disguise consisting of hard work, cutting her lovely hair. In doing so I shedded a mental tear, watching her beautiful locks fall to the ground. I mean it was just too beautiful and cutting it was a compete waste. Natural beauty thrown away in hopes of freedom. It truly was the pain of our reality.

After some time I finished her look. The ending results not disappointing me in the slightest. Finished she turned around and felt her head, before giving me a high five. And then it was finally time to make our move.

Her once polished long hair became short and messy. She wore the rags that we found and together we posed a few times. I was acting for just a moment without a care in the world. The feeling so foreign, making me question our circumstance, but I knew that having this feeling last was near impossible. Pain was something that could never be washed away completely.

My high walls were slowly falling down because of her, as if I was accepting her into my world. It would take some time for her to get to see the true me, but there was a lot of hope with our new quickly found friendship. After all as long as she didn't betray my trust, I was more than happy to protect her along the way.

For days we walked together while taking turns to gather the food. We stayed hidden mostly away from all crowds, attempting to avoid their rickety behavior. The never-ending tunnels helped greatly in our journey, keeping us mostly out of plain sight.

I didn't know what laid for each of us ahead, but it was obvious we would soon find out. The matter relied on the thought of when, and where fate planned to bring us.

Stubbornness was my specialty and not giving up a big part of my personality. I would make it to my destination at whatever cost. Even if I had to crawl my way there with both of them on my back. Even if I had to die trying.