a walk on thin ice

Beau, Leah, Federico, and Organic Florist are walking quietly.

Beau takes out of his inventory the Zombie-Bones-Shield. he walks on front. they all know someone wants to kill him. they all know Beau is the target of this duel. jet there is barely anything they can do about it.

Beau feels suspicious of everyone. especially of the teammates who are with him. Beau tries to look cool in front of Leah, but the truth is that he is terrified of dying. he trembles in every step he takes. they all look suspicious.

Organic Florist didn't forgot his promise to Hunter. he promised to be there for Beau. to help him survive. and that is what he wants to do. if there is something to know about Organic Florist, is that he doesn't break his promises.

Federico wants to prove himself. he wants to prove that he is one of the good guys. he also wants to repair his relationship with Pandora. they haven't talk in months. he thinks if he plays Hero once, she may give him a second chance to do right.

Leah wants to protect her lover. she wishes to spend an eternity at his side. she wishes to win the game. if she wins the game she can have a perfect life at his side. the emotions she feels for Beau are genuine. those are as real as the eternity.

Beau takes a step. he starts to think about his past. he thinks about the days on the mental hospital. he thinks about last night. about the things he did on the moonlight with his lover. the things they felt. about the emotions and the skin he felt last night.

last night:

Leah and Beau are on the roof of the base. they are on their underwear. Beau looks at the bright moon. he then looks at Leah.

"give me a name."

said Beau with a gentle tone of voice.

Leah doesn't understand what he is asking from her. she takes four minutes thinking. what name? what is he thinking about?

"I want us to have kids. how will you named our kids. I am thinking about something like Charles Sigmund Darwin or Henry Vlad for boys, Lucy Ferdina or Josephine for girl."

"honey. your taste for names is questionable. why your choices for boys are either a psychologist, the guy of the evolution or two sick former kings? and why those hideous names for girls?"

"okay I am a fan of those four guys. and the girl names. well Lucy Ferdina like Luci Fer. like you get it, it is a joke. and Josephine sounds classic."

"you are stupid, but I love you. for boys I was thinking about something simple. simple but meaningful like Alexander, if I am not wrong it means protector send by God or something alike. I also like Paulo for my favorite Author of all times. for girls something like Flor, flower but in Spanish. or lluvia, rain in Spanish. they sound cute and simple."

"I love you. I fucking love you. damn you are going to make me cry."

Leah kisses Beau on the chin. he laughs like an idiot. the sky is as bright and clear as it has never been. the light of the moon illuminates the two lovers. Leah and Beau are enjoying of the beauty of the moment.

"you are my everything. I can't stop myself from thinking about our future. a tomorrow in which we will be as happy or even more happy than now."

Beau couldn't say anything else.

Now:

Beau is walking slowly. Leah is holding his hand. she looks at him. she tells him that everything is going to be okay. she kisses his ear. she whispers some naughty things. Leah loves Beau's nervous facial expression.

Organic Florist is holding a jar with wine. he isn't thinking about drinking it. he is actually planning using it. he has being training his wine control skills. it ain't perfect, but he is learning step by step. he is becoming better at controlling it.

Joaquin is a gunslinger. he has practice and talent. he came ready with a whole arsenal, there is no enemy who can fight back. or at least he won't let them. he has being thinking about any possible trap. he walks carefully.

the four of them keep moving forward. they don't know what to do. they can't stay in a place for too long. there can be someone following them from far. they must be absolutely discreet with every movement.

they all have a different reason to be here. they all have different motives to fight. but they all share one thing in common. they all have a goal to accomplish.

Leah is running away from her past. Federico hides a deep wish, a wish that can only be accomplish by winning the game. Beau is in search of his past. and Organic Florist wishes to rewrite a mistake of his past.

sadly neither of them dares to share their story or dreams with others. that creates a fracture on the relationship. at the end of the day they are more strangers, than friends. Beau and Leah know about each other, jet they are oblivious about the others.

there are footsteps. they all stop moving. then they hear a voice. it seems like two men are on a room. Beau looks inside of a window. he looks at Rotto and someone else. Rotto seems to be scare of something. the other man is looking away.

the man looks on Beau's direction. Beau is able to hide. but before he saw his face. he saw the face of Bird-E. he is the other man on the room.

Beau looks at Federico. he whispers. he then keeps moving carefully. behind of him are the others going forward. they need to escape from this floor. maybe they can go to the roof of the hospital. that zone can be useful on a strategic way.

Rotto and Bird-E leave the room. Organic Florist and Federico turn around. they look at each other trying to process what happened. Bird-E and Federico aim at each other. Rotto takes his gun out. he aims at Organic Florist. Leah is aiming at him.

there is a silence on the hallway. the six of them are thinking carefully. Rotto and Bird-E are on a complicate position. at any moment anything can go wrong.

Federico trembles a bit. he is feeling nervous in this position. he tries to concentrate on finding a way out. the worst part is that he can't be sure if those two are the only ones. there can be more Fallen Heroes nearby. if they shoot they will only call for trouble.

Rotto seems to be really nervous. he slowly walks back inside of the room. Bird-E stays there unable to move. he can try his luck, or just stay away of them.

it is not his problem to deal with them. the executioner has already marked Beau. Bird-E decides to not move. he will wait for his time. Bird-E makes eye contact with Federico.

Beau aims at Bird-E's head. he isn't going to hesitate to act. he will do what he has to do. Bird-E feels threatened. he walks away. he gets inside of the room. he stays in there with Rotto. he waits for them to leave.

Federico, Beau, Leah, and Organic Florist. the four of them keep moving. Federico starts to think about his early days. he thinks about the past. he feels some sort of melancholy by embracing the past. he sighs and then looks up for the future.

Organic Florist is a man followed by a shadow. he promised himself to win the game. he knows that making friends will only complicate things. it will be harder to fight. and here is he now. he is a man, he is human after all.

it is on human nature to create links. is normal to depend of a desire of companionship. no human can be in absolute seclusion without losing the mind. it is human, it is normal to let your guard down. it is common to make a strong friendship on times of crisis.

Beau holds a shield with one hand. with the other hand he holds a shotgun. he walks close to his lover. they are looking at each other. they make playful faces. she whispers naughty things. while Beau blushing looks down. he feels defeated.

"can someone turn down the suspense. it is killing me. come on, does anyone have a story to share with the rest of us. like something shameful, or something really stupid."

said Organic Florist smiling.

"I tried to impress my crush. I ended burning my pants. I was taken to a hospital with small burns, nothing too serious."

"I had my first period one day that I was wearing a white dress on school."

"I was on a hospital for people with mental struggles. I did some wild things in there."

"well I broke the ice. it will be wrong if I don't give something. one day I drank so much that I crashed my dad's car on church property. I took my clothes off. the nuns saw it all, lets say they screamed with horror at the same time they throw holy water at me. I pee on top of a police patrol. no regrets. well maybe I drank too much, but no regrets."

everyone was astonished by Organic Florist's story. what kind of wild animal is he? Organic Florist seemed to be somehow proud. that was his little achievement. he looks back at them. for a normal person what he did seems wrong. it seems so wrong.

"I mean. who else can say, I gave golden rain to a cop and his car. without doubt that is a once in a lifetime thing."

said Organic Florist with a huge smile.

they keep moving. there is a sound. they ignore it. they all put their guard down. at first they felt like strangers sharing a mission. now they feel closer than before. they don't completely trust each other. there is some doubt among them.

Beau and Leah talk to each other. they talk about love. their romance is too new to know how far it can go. but so far it seems healthy. it seems stable. their romance is something to cause envy.

Organic Florist drinks some wine. he walks behind the others. he feels sad deep inside of his heart. he feels bad for the thing he didn't do, or did wrong. there is so much regret that can inhabit a human heart. too much regret can be unhealthy.

Federico is smoking. he takes a beer from his inventory. he drinks some. he thinks about Pandora. she is precious to him. but if she doesn't want to see him anymore, maybe it is time to give up. he doesn't want to be a hassle to her.

Federico talked to her many times. but she didn't listen to him. he has being trying for the past few months. he has tried to save their relationship. at this moment he is ready to give up on their relationship. if it has ended. then there is no turning back.

Federico remembers the last time he saw her. she was crying quietly. she was still affected by Richie's death. after all he was the one who killed Richie Rubio. he was her right hand. he was her best friend. maybe he doesn't deserve to be forgiven.

Beau turns around. he looks at Federico. he asks him if he is okay. Federico refuses to be honest about his emotions. he pretends to be okay. he smiles like if there is nothing to worry about. Beau then keeps walking.

Leah pulls Beau's hand. she is laughing for a moment. then she stops laughing. a tear falls from her eyes. it is like if she had remember something sad. she asks Beau about tomorrow and the day after.

yesterday:

Beau sits on the roof. he is looking down. he is obviously having doubts. who can't be scare when their life is close to an end. we all mortals fear death.

deep inside of Beau there was something else. he is in pain for someone else. someone else is suffering as much as he is. someone who was forced into becoming a killer, the infamous Executioner. that someone may be as well on pain as is Beau, or even more.

Beau looks at Leah. he smiles at her. he takes her hand. he puts her hand close to his face to feel it. he wants to feel her touch. she is like a miraculous treasure to him. she heals him when he feels sad. she makes him smile even in the darkest times.

Leah wants to know if he has something to say. she doesn't ask. she is feeling concern, but for her is more important his tranquility. if he doesn't feel like sharing certain things. then she won't force him. she will let him reveal it all, when he feels it is the right time.

"tomorrow's event will be like a walk on thin ice. it is practically an official execution. the scarier part is that everyone knows. they know my head will bring a message."

said Beau with a melancholic smile.

"don't say that my handsome cowardly prince. we will make it."

"I know..... I know who the executioner is. and I am pretty sure they are being force to take a life against their will."

"oh honey. and how will you know what a coldblooded killer feels or thinks."

"don't say that. I am sure they are on pain. I want to tell them that everything will be okay, even if they take my life."

"please don't say that. we will make it out. and why are you defending someone like the Executioner. someone infamous for his cruelty."

"it is because the executioner is a close friend. I am sure they are now in between two paths. they are divided between duty and personal goals."

said Beau with teary eyes.

Beau looks up at the moon. it seems like he is making a wish. Leah puts her right hand on his shoulder. she whispers nice things on his ear. she tries to make him feel better. she cries without noticing. her tears fall on the floor. she puts her hand on her face.

"you stupid foolish coward. you are making me cry like an idiot."

"I am sorry honey. I promise it wasn't on purpose."

"you better pay me with a savage night of romance tomorrow. once the duet is over. we will take a whole week for ourselves."

"yes, sure. I swear. I will take a whole week with you. you better not regret it my love."

"we will overcome the walk on thin ice."

"yes."

there was a second of silence. Beau kisses his lover. he kisses her neck. he kisses her shoulders with care. then he moves a bit down. she stops him. he looks at her. he blushes as he looks down. she kisses him. she bites his ear.