Memorable Chapter 6

Marianne sighs as she watched the two run down the road. “Please, keep them safe.” She whispers to her God. She crawls back to her room to gather the fruits and vegetables to sell at the market today. She ignores the questioning looks from Rileigh and Matt, as she walks out the door, carrying sacks of her produce. When Marianne arrived at the market alley, she set up her stand. Not many people buy her products, because they can’t afford the food. She often gives them out for free with a friendly smile plastered on her face to keep them coming back. She never understood how she could keep her business running without the proper cash flow. Her God must love her, to allow it to stay afloat. As the sun begins to set and the flow of consumers dwindled to a minimum, Marianne began to pack up the leftovers for dinner that night. She was always the one in charge of making the salads from the leftovers she had. Once inside the building they called home, she was greeted with a little boy by the name of Benjamin screaming and hiding behind her. Rileigh came around the corner almost tripping over her should, shouting, “come back here, you little brat!” Benjamin screams again, hiding his face in Marianne’s leg.

“Rileigh Ann, give the poor child a break. Remember what happened when he has a problem with his breathing?”

Rileigh rolls her eyes. “That brat burned a hole in my favorite shirt!” She rushes to grab at Benjamin, but Marianne places a small force field around the two of them. Rileigh groans in frustration. Rileigh pouts as she leans against the wall. Marianne hands Benjamin the bag of leftovers. “Sweetheart, can you take this into the kitchen?” Benjamin nods his head enthusiastically. “Yay! We get Miss. Marianne’s lettuce bowls” She smiles at the young boy, shaking her head. “No, child. The name is salad.” He squeezes his eyes shut in an attempt to make a pouty face. “It’s a lettuce bowl!” He shouts as he runs into the kitchen with the bag. Rileigh pushes herself off the wall towards Marianne. “They’re gone?” Her eyes told the older woman that she already knew the answer.

“Yes, child. No more on this subject here.” Rileigh nods ever so slightly, and then heads in the direction of her bedroom to wait the short while till dinner. Marianne walks to the kitchen to prepare her salad. Benjamin jumps up and down, excited to help. She couldn’t control herself; she had to laugh at the eager boy. “Are you ready, sweetheart?”

“Yes!” He shouts, loud enough to bring Matt into the kitchen. “Hi Matty!” Benjamin says, distracted from the salad…for now.

“How many times must I tell you not to call me that!” The little boy steps of the stool so his head is just below the countertop. “Child, why don’t you go set the table.” He nods as he dodges Matt to the dining room. “Look you old hag. I know you helped them escape. You know where they are headed as well. That is a small piece of information that I need from you.”

Marianne attends to making the salad, when she replies, “Matthew, I do not know what you are talking about. The last time I saw Nick and Alex, they weren’t even speaking to each other.” Her forehead creases with concentration as she places a block on her mind.

“You’re lying to me, Marianne.” Matt swings open the door to the dining room to sit at the head of the table. Rileigh soon joins them, and takes a seat next to Benjamin. “Hi, Rileigh.” The little boy says in a hushed tone, as he hugs her. She can’t help but smile, when she hugs him back. “Hey, brat.”

Marianne comes in carrying a large bowl of salad, topped with tomatoes and cheese. Benjamin begins to jump up and down in seat saying, “lettuce bowl, lettuce bowl, lettuce bowl!” She places the bowl on the table and then sits down at the opposite side of Matt. Everyone begins digging into the food after a long day. “What did you do today, Benjamin?” Marianne asks to quench the silence. The biggest smile appears on his face. He always loves to tell everyone what he did.

“Well, me and Rileigh played a lot of games. She kept winning and that’s when I burned her shirt.” He sticks his tongue out at her, but quickly replaces it back into his little mouth before she saw. Marianne tsks at the little boy. He knows what he did wrong. Rileigh never truly answers the daily question, so she asked Matt.

“My day was great, until the person I was studying mysteriously disappeared.” His glare never left Marianne as he answered.

“Matty, don’t be so grumpy!” Benjamin yells at him. “Nick took the new girl away because you were acting funny! Don’t blame Miss. Marianne!”

Matt stands up, raising his hand high and brought it down with enough force to knock Benjamin out of his chair. Rileigh rushes over to the now crying boy to calm him down. Matt continues to stare at the two on the floor as his chest rises and falls quickly from adrenaline.

“What the hell is wrong with you, Old Man?” Rileigh jumps to attack Matt, but he blocks her with ease. He holds her wrist tightly, refusing to loosen his grip. Marianne does not move, while the action is happening.

“Matthew, let’s talk in the kitchen so the children will not get hurt any further.” He smiles as he shoves Rileigh away with enough force to create a hole in the wall. “Gladly.”

Marianne never truly trusted Matt, but she still walked first, leaving her back toward him. Once inside the kitchen, she walks over to the sink to get a head start on the dirty dishes. “Matthew, they do not know the whereabouts of Nick and Alex. There is no need to take your anger out on the younger children.”

He walks closer to her, running his hand along the countertop. “There is a need, because they know exactly where the other two went.” There was a rustling in the dining room as they continued to talk. Matthew’s fingers wrap around the handle of a large steak knife. In the dining room, Marianne could hear Benjamin struggling, because he wanted to say goodbye. “Good bye children. Stay together and nothing will stand in your way.” At that moment, Matt plunges the knife into Marianne’s back; piercing her heart. Benjamin screams loudly, but the front door shutting cuts him off. Marianne slides slowly to the floor. She uses the rest of her energy to say, “You will not win, Matthew. They know the secret.” She closes her eyes as he breathing gets heavier. Matthew smiles as he places a hand on her cheek. With that small touch, he was able to see her last few memories. “So they went through the north gates. Thanks for the help Marianne.” He stands up slowly, as her heart ceases to beat. Outside, Rileigh had keep dragging Benjamin behind her.

“Miss. Marianne.” He continued to wail her name with tears streaming down his cheeks. Rileigh was also close to crying, but she could not. She had to stay strong for the little boy. “Don’t worry Ben. Miss. Marianne is in a better place where someone stronger can protect her.”

“Will Miss. Marianne be okay?” He asks, trying to calm himself down.

“Of course.” Rileigh replies.

Neither of them said another word as they reached the correct gate. The guards allowed them through after hearing their fake story. Rileigh’s iron will slipped for a minute, allowing a single tear to make a trail down her cheek.