Sarain darted back and forth through the rooms of her docile. She grabbed what few things she had and shoved them into the two duffle bags on her bed. Kit had already packed up the bag that he had brought with him when he came to live with Sarain. He now sat there on the floor against the wall, trying to keep out of the way; his eyes followed her as she moved about so franticly.
Sarain was in a panic, the enemy knew where she lived; it was a mistake she had never made before. She had hidden her distress well enough from Winston the night before, but she wasn’t going to wait for him to come back.
Sarain had already purchased bus tickets for her and Kit, and they would be leaving town the next day; the soonest she could get. It would bring them to a new city for a new start, and it would be hard at first for Sarain to get established, especially having to care for a child now, but she would do her all to make sure that Kit was safe and provided for. But this wasn’t her worry now, protecting him was.
In the meantime, Sarain had put a fresh barrier around the house, so that she would have peace of mind. While the beasts did know where she lived, it was still safer than a motel; a motel, with so many people coming and going, couldn’t be properly sealed, nor would she have enough herbs and supplies to try.
Sarain figured that it would be a few days before Winston would come back looking for her, if he indeed wanted a fair fight. She knew that he had an inkling that she healed fast, but he couldn’t possibly know exactly how fast. She felt her side, where her stab wound had once been, now it looked like a mere scratch. Kit was curious as well to how Sarain had healed so fast, but she wasn’t sure if she could properly explain it to him, nor was she sure that he would believe her.
Sarain stopped and glanced around. That was everything, except for a shoebox in the back of her closet; something that she kept in case she would ever need it. She called it her emergency kit. Inside it was a red dress, sunglasses, perfume, and a blond wig; simple things that Sarain did not like to use. She knew that one day she might need a disguise if her presence had ever become compromised. The wig was obviously to alter her appearance; it was made with human hair and was in a common style so that she wouldn’t stand out. The sunglasses were to hide her eyes, something that could easily give her away. The red dress, while it was an attracting color, women frequently wore it at night, when the creatures hunting for her would be out. It was such an extreme change from her normal attire, that someone looking for her wouldn’t expect her to wear it. And lastly the perfume was high in oils and would cover her scent and last for a good while after being sprayed.
Sarain stared down at the contents of the box, she knew what she wanted to do with the disguise, but Kit would never agree to it, and he deserved a say in this too. Nevertheless there was something that still bothered her about the day she went down into the catacombs under The Purge. One of the vil sangs had commented that she had been heading towards the master’s chambers, which would have been down the hall further from the stairs, and then down another long hall after that. But yet, soon after she was attacked, Winston was already standing in the background, leaving her to believe that he had to have come from the same door as the other vil sangs. So then, would that mean that he wasn’t their master, even though he ran The Purge?
If there was a greater beast down there, one that for some reason couldn’t let itself be seen by the public, then Sarain wanted to know why. She had found plenty of hideous demons wandering out on the streets at night, and while they did try to stay hidden, they wouldn’t spend all their time underground. Besides, this demon had to be fearsome enough to get other creatures to do its bidding.
Sarain closed her eyes; she knew she couldn’t just walk away, not without one final attempt. There would only be another night before their bus would leave, and that last night would be tonight.
Sarain slipped into the revealing red dress. She strapped her machete to her thigh - the only place she could hide it - and attached her switchblade to her shoe. They weren’t the most elegant footwear, but she doubted anyone would be looking at her feet. She adjusted the wig, it wasn’t really her color, but with her pale skin it didn’t really matter. She sprayed the perfume over her body, it was a strong scent, but it was not her scent, and that was what she needed.
Sarain stepped out into the living room, and Kit looked up at her with his eyes wide. “Where are you going dressed like that?” he asked with astonishment.
Sarain gave him a look to let him know not to pry, but Kit got up and said loudly, “No, you are not going after that man!” After a moment of Sarain still not explaining herself, Kit added, “You got hurt so bad last time, can’t you just stay here?”
Sarain gazed down at Kit and said, “If my actions tonight could stop what happened to your brother from happening to someone else, wouldn’t you want me to do it?”
Kit gave her a pout. Sarain knew that she hadn’t given him a fair choice, but there was a bigger picture to look at, and her strength had to be shared and put to use. He finally nodded with a sad face and Sarain gave him a smile. She looked down and saw that he was wearing her ankh necklace.
“I’m glad that you’re still wearing that,” she said gesturing to the ankh, she then changed to another subject by saying, “I’m going to need you to keep all the lights off while I’m gone and to not make a sound. It’s better if it looks like no one is home. And I’m sure I don’t need to tell you to not leave the house.”
Sarain began to head for the door, but stopped short and said, “If I don’t make it back in time, I want you to get on that bus without me, and not to worry.”
Kit’s eyes turned sad and he asked, “But you will come, right?”
Sarain looked up at him and replied, “Sure I will.”
They both knew it was a lie, but neither said anything else about it. Kit gave Sarain a hug goodbye, and tried to play it off as a hug for good luck, but he held on a bit too long, and she heard him sniffle when his face was behind her back.
Sarain closed the door behind her as she stepped out and waited, leaning against it until the lights turned off before she left. She put on her sunglasses and headed down the street towards the club.
She thought of Kit as she walked, she hoped she wouldn’t be leaving him forever like his family had done before her. He was a strong child, but growing up alone was easy for no one.