Ignorance is bliss

A yellow, translucent screen, just like the one that had materialized in front of me, appeared inside the artwork with what I could identify as its simplistic drawing representation of myself looking at it. On it were the words, 'Uncle Ally's Safe Zone'.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I noticed it.

'What the hell is going on? She could see the screen too!'

My mind spiraled into a panic as I contemplated what this meant. Was Mia communicating with me through Lianne somehow?

Instead of facing the issue head-on, I decided to keep it a secret until I figured it out. For now, I needed to focus on getting the hell out of here.

"Oh wow, Lianne! That looks great! How did you draw it?" I exclaimed, genuinely impressed. "You really are a talented young girl, aren't you?"

Lianne pointed at herself, smiling brightly.

"Because Lia special," she responded. "Like my momma says."

She turned her head to look at me and added, "And like Lia, uncle too!"

Her words hit me hard, but only for a moment. I knew deep down that Mia was probably right about her suspicions, but seeing it with my own eyes was even more convincing.

"Alright, well, I'm glad you think so," I replied as I stood up. "Now let's get our asses moving! We don't want to be late for our adventure!"

I picked up the bag and tossed it over my shoulder. Then I grabbed Lianne by the hand and started walking towards the front door.

When we reached it, we heard footsteps approaching from behind us. Frederick came back into view, carrying several items in each hand. He approached us with a grin on his face.

"Here you guys go!" He said it cheerfully as he set the bags down in front of us.

"You really are prepared," I said as I took them and examined their contents. They consisted of food, water, clothes, toiletries, flashlights, batteries, fuel, and other survival necessities. It looked like they were all ready to go, which meant we wouldn't have to waste time searching for these things once we got outside.

"Thanks, bud," replied Frederick. "Where are we headed? Wherever it is, it's gotta be better than being stuck in this place."

"Magic Castle!!!" Lia shouted excitedly.

"Magic Castle?" Fredrick repeated, glaring in my direction while mouthing the words. "Are you fucking serious right now? That's a week's drive from here!"

I sighed loudly and shook my head.

"Yes. Yes, I am. Sorry for not telling you sooner, but it would've been pretty stupid if I had, considering how dangerous it is there."

Frederick scowled.

"Yeah... Well, whatever, let's just hurry up and leave already."

We packed everything up quickly and made sure nothing was left behind. When we were done, I grabbed Lianne's hand again and led her outside the house. As soon as we stepped outside, Frederick and I stopped dead in our tracks.

The sun had risen high into the sky, but we weren't able to enjoy its warmth due to the thick layer of clouds covering the skies above.

The air was cold, making it difficult to breathe. There was no wind to speak of, meaning the air felt stagnant and suffocating.

"What the hell is this?" I muttered under my breath.

The trees surrounding us didn't feel quite right either. They looked brittle, almost lifeless. Their leaves hadn't fallen off yet, which suggested that they'd been barren since summer.

But most importantly, there were no birds or other animals around. The silence was unsettling, especially with the way the woods seemed to be alive. Every single tree looked like it had eyes, watching us.

"Is this some kind of dream? Or maybe a nightmare?" asked Frederick.

"It doesn't seem real to me." I answered truthfully. "Just start up your car, and let's get the f..."

I paused and looked at Lianne, who batted her long lashes, anticipating my next words.

Sigh!

"Let's get out of here." I managed to correct my words.

Frederick smirked and nodded.

Then he placed a hand on the hood of his car. A few seconds later, the engine roared to life. It was louder than usual, as if trying to mask something else.

He put the car into gear and backed up slowly, turning around before patting the side and saying, "Get in."

We both climbed inside, and Frederick pulled away from the house without another word.

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"Are we there yet?" Lianne whined. She was sitting next to me in the passenger seat, holding onto my arm for dear life.

"Soon," I promised. "Just hold on a little bit longer. You'll see the castle soon enough."

'We have six days before we get there. There's no telling if we can make it work! This could turn out to be a disaster!' I thought desperately. 'What if she gets hurt?'

My mind went straight back to my last conversation with Mia.

Mia had always wanted to visit the Magic Castle. It was her dream place to go when we were kids, but our poor living conditions limited our opportunities.

Now her daughter could finally get the chance to experience the place firsthand, but unfortunately, only after the world had gone completely insane.

Lianne grunted. Then she wrapped her arms tighter around me, bringing my attention back to reality.

"Does Uncle Ally promise?"

'No! We can't teleport!'

"Of course." I lied.

A smile spread across her lips as she relaxed in my embrace.

"Thank you, Uncle Ally," she whispered softly. Her voice was soft and sweet, and I found myself smiling too.

A wave of nostalgia flashed before me as I stared at Lianne, who had similar attributes to the portrait of Mia as a child.

She must have sensed me staring at her, because she turned to look at me. Our gazes met, and I couldn't help but return her smile.

"Don't mention it," I replied.

Ding!

[Serotonin level: 0.5/12.5%]

'Baby steps, I could work with that.' I smiled to myself. 'Just keep her blissfully happy and ignorant.'

I glanced over to my right and saw Frederick looking straight ahead. His jaw was clenched tight, and his hands were resting firmly on the wheel. I knew he wasn't happy about going to the Magic Castle, but he was still cooperating with us.

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After driving for what felt like an eternity, we finally saw Estrovale's exit ahead of us.

"This has to be it," whispered Frederick. "There's nowhere else around for miles. This must be the place."

I looked out the window and saw a sign pointing towards a town called 'New Haven'.

As far as names went, it wasn't too bad. At least it sounded normal. I hoped that this town would have some people living within its borders, which would make escaping our city easier.

"How long do we have until sundown?" I asked.

"What sort of shit are you asking me, Allen? Am I some lackey that's supposed to know how many hours we've got left?!" snapped Frederick. He shook his head, then sighed, "Well, assuming your phone's battery died, we've got at least four hours to figure something out. Maybe five."

"Where's the Magic Castle?" Lianne interrupted.

'Magic Castle isn't until six days from now, if things go well for us!! You aren't getting anything until we find a way to get into this town.'

But I couldn't say any of those, so I went for the best approach.

Distraction!

"Do you want some candy? I'm pretty sure I packed plenty." I reached into the bag but stopped when Lianne grabbed my hand.

"What is i—"

"Allen, duck!!!!" shouted Frederick.

I reflexively pulled Lianne along with me as we crouched down behind the seats as bullets came flying through the windshield. Several holes appeared along the front glass, making the airbag deploy.

"Hehehehe!!! Pow! Pow!" Lianne quipped as she watched the action unfold with glee.

Then it stopped.

If I hadn't known better, recalling what I had told Lianne since the start of all this madness, I might have assumed she was enjoying this whole situation. But I did know better; I remembered very well what lies I had fed her a few hours ago. And I didn't want to think of the fact that she probably believed everything I said.

'Was this the carefree nature of childhood innocence? Or the ignorance of believing anything you're told?' I wondered.

"My car, my sweetie," cried Frederick, holding onto shards of glass from his shattered window. "She was my precious! Noooo!!!"

His tone of voice reminded me of the first time I met him, mourning the loss of his last ride to loan sharks. The way he spoke made it clear that he had lost something dear to him. I just wish he wouldn't keep using that word 'sweetie' whenever he mentioned his car.

It sounded so cheesy.

I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself. There was no point panicking now. We needed to stay calm and focus on the task at hand—try not to get killed.

"State your place of business, or we will not hesitate to shoot again," commanded a deep, booming voice from outside the car.

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Author's note

¶ If the story is engaging so far, a +1 could be added here (⁠ ⁠╹⁠▽⁠╹⁠ ⁠)

¶ If we can get a steady comment henceforth, little comic strips will be made.