Periodical (3)

(Ophelia)

***

We soon set off again after grabbing a bite to eat, snatching some rice from behind a restaurant. Nearly rotten, the grains gave off a faintly awful smell. However, I wasn't one to be too picky about things by then; consequently, I had to convince Koharu to shove the stuff in her mouth for subsistence if she didn't want to pass out.

Although I offered to feed her, (surprisingly) she declined. I supposed she wanted to come to terms with eating the rice at her own pace. She was stingy like that.

We carried around two metal containers resembling ones she showed me in her castle's museum while she skipped around.

*Where does she get her energy from?*

My best guess was that she must have been invigorated by the perceived freedom of the outdoors. I couldn't blame her, but I didn't feel like joining. I was still weak as I chuckled to her back.

When she decided she was thirsty while passing a few farmhouses, she peered at the red can in her hand like it was some peculiar species.

She shook it around, and faint popping noises alerted my ears to possible danger.

"How do you open this?" she asked while scrunching her nose.

I thought back to when she showed me a similar item before.

"Hand it here," I said as I gestured towards her.

Without a second thought, she placed it in my hands, and I played with the metal flap at the top.

*How did it go again?*

With enough twirling the thing around, I noticed the perforated part of the flask and pulled the metal upwards. My assumption was correct but—

*Shit!*

When the canister burst open, a white foam surged from the hole like it leaked from the mouth of a rabid dog. A brown, bubbly liquid soon followed it, and both Koharu and I were splashed in the face, getting the soda in our eyes.

"Ow!" Koharu yelled while blinking aggressively to clean the drink out.

I did the same, and the pain soon subsided. However, we dirtied our new shirts, which made me frown.

"Are you okay, Koko?" I asked, and she continued closing her eyes rapidly.

"Yeah," she replied a few seconds later as her pupils almost rolled to the back of her head. "I'm drenched."

"Not just you."

She looked at me and laughed. "You look ridiculous. What happened to your hair? That wasn't a cyclone."

I giggled, too. "You have no right to say that when yours completely flattened."

I stroked my hair to fix it somewhat. (Making it look good was impossible with all the tangles. I had to settle for a *presentable* appearance.)

She felt for her locks, which were lower than expected. "What did that do? Drag a plow over it?"

As she leaned her head on my shoulder, she continued chuckling and grasped my hand.

"Don't get that on me," I commanded playfully.

She placed her chin on me instead of her cheek. "What's another inch gonna do when you already have it all over yourself?"

*Fair point.*

"How much did you have to shake it to make it go into explosive mode?" I asked. "Maybe Jisoo would want to hear about this cool new weapon."

We still smiled at each other as she squeezed my palm.

"I think Jisoo would. Tell that general you just need to skip a few times and *pow*! For real, though." Her tone dropped some. "I didn't think it was going to be *that* bad."

Admiring how sweet her features appeared right then, I just giggled at her. I placed the green container (gently) under my armpit and ruffled her hair.

"You can have some of mine if you're still thirsty. Don't worry."

"Can I?" she asked enthusiastically. "I haven't had anything to drink in a while."

"Do you really think I'm going to say no?" I joked as I grabbed the canister and removed my hand from hers to open it.

"No."

She pressed a soft kiss to my neck, which was a bit sensitive.

My inhale was sharper than normal. I placed my palm back in her grip after I heard a popping noise, slightly red in the face. I extended the drink to her.

"Here."

She reached for it; however, a thought occurred to me, and I pulled it away.

Seeing that, she pouted, her fingers slowly curling into a wimpy fist.

"I thought you said I could have it!"

Taking a quick sip from the jar, I gulped the fluid down. I nudged the beverage towards her again.

"I was messing with you. Take it."

"Cheap trick," she muttered while seizing it from me.

She removed her head from my shoulder so that she wouldn't choke as she drank.

"I'll get you back sometime." She pointed at me with a pinky. "Just wait."

I giggled back, applauding myself for the smoothness of that indirect kiss.

"I look forward to that," I said as I met eyes with her, staring her down teasingly like I was a suave noble.

In the end, we both were giddy, not able to maintain any amount of seriousness between us as we crashed our foreheads together.

I ignored the people around us, but I heard some vague whispers across the barren street from a few ladies in overalls.

*I almost forgot we're in public. I can't do that.*

The murmurs brought me back into reality until a faint humming noise permeated the background. I snapped my head away from Koharu, examining the area around us. Nothing stood out as strange, but I still wasn't comfortable around strangers.

Yet that buzzing grew noisier, higher.

"What's wrong?" she asked, perking up.

"Dunno," I told her. "I think I'm hearing things. I don't see anything that hums like that."

"Huh?"

She shut her mouth to listen. Her lip tilted downwards.

"No, you're not hearing things. But I don't see anything either."

I walked forward as the buildings thinned out, giving way to family ranches. We passed a red sign attached to a metal pole, and I saw the faint reflection of lights flashing ruby and sapphire. They grew brighter—blindingly so—and the humming became louder and louder until it practically screeched in my ears for me to look backwards.

I turned my head and saw a metal bull in the distance labelled: *FLOR CITY POLICE.*

*Fuck.*

But there was nobody around when I cleaned the plaque…? I couldn't have been guilty!

Absolutely. I had the alibi I was reading the newspaper. Just sitting and observing—not acting.

Or did I? Maybe someone knew I wasn't reading it. But there was *nobody around in the first damn place.*

I was entirely conflicted. If I ran away, I already implicated myself in the crime.

*But if I don't.*

That was the thought that scared me even more. I didn't want to consider it—what would happen to me if I was caught disrespecting the statue of a former leader. (Ignoring the fact the thing was desecrated in its own right.)

Operating on a guilty consciousness, I pulled Koharu's hand and dragged her off to the side.

"We need to run. Now. Hurry. Move."

I ushered her around one of the last few buildings placed in a group. She didn't question me as she nodded, trusting me, and I noticed her face turned deathly pale before I even mentioned a thing to her.