Page 81 of The Runaway
“There’s nobody in the stall next door,” Fay said, once they’d finished eating and were settling down for the night. She and her three friends had spread out in the stall they’d rented, but Gabriel had been anticipating having to lie in the aisle. A couple of the stalls housed actual horses, while a few more had been rented out to desperate protestors. “It’s probably not as nice as you’re used to, but I reckon you’d have trouble finding anything else for tonight.”
“Thank you,” Gabriel said, with a smile. “And believe me, I’ve slept in far worse places than a clean stable.”
“I haven’t,” Lucas said, not as a complaint, but as a simple, factual comment.
“Well, you’re about to learn, then,” Gabriel said, shooting him a sly wink.
“I don’t think this is what Antoine meant when he said I should have a well rounded education.”
“Then perhaps you should have thought of that before you insisted on coming to Paris.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
The protests went on for another two days. Niles, unfortunately, was forced to sit things out. He objected when Gabriel advised him to stay behind, until Gabriel pointed out that with a cracked rib, one hard jolt could potentially puncture a lung, and then a painful inconvenience rapidly became a lethal wound.
The rest of them headed out each day, along with their newfound friends, to shout and wave, and every now and then to set fire to a carriage or break a shop window. Gabriel, for his part, wasn’t keen on damaging private property for the sake of making a point to the government, but if the others wanted to go that way, he wasn’t about to stop them.
By the end of the fourth day since they’d arrived in Paris, Connor was in a foul mood. He’d lost his temper at a soldier mid-afternoon, who’d deliberately provoked the crowd by saying the omegas deserved death for being so fucking useless, and then he’d lost his temper at Gabriel, who’d dragged him forcefully away from the melee when the protestors had promptly beaten the soldier to death.
“What’s the fucking point of being here if you’re not going to let me do anything that actually makes a difference?” Connor yelled at him outside the stable that night, after they’d returned to get some sleep.
“Wearemaking a difference,” Gabriel told him, not at all upset about the outburst of anger. “Sometimes it takes longer to see the results, but every day we go out there and show the military that the nation of France is not going to stand by and see its own citizens slaughtered, we are creating history. But my purpose here is to change the worldandsee you all safely home again afterwards, not just the first part. Do you think Niles likes having to sit out the protests entirely? Do you think Lucas likes being dragged back to my side every five minutes? I’m nothindering your freedom, Connor, I’m making sure you don’t get yourself killed.”
Connor had no reply to that, so he’d gone inside and lain down in his makeshift bed in the straw. Later that night, though, he rolled over and put a hand on Gabriel’s arm. “Sorry,” he muttered, his voice barely a whisper, so as not to disturb the rest of them. “I know you’re just trying to protect us. And I’m grateful for it. I’m grateful for being here at all. So, sorry for biting your head off.”
Gabriel tugged Connor closer, tucking his head under Gabriel’s chin and wrapping an arm around his shoulder. This was how they slept, more and more often, curled up together for both warmth and comfort, and Gabriel found himself reluctant to think about what would happen when they went back home, knowing he’d no longer get to sleep with Connor curled up beside him. The thought of sleeping alone made his chest ache in a way he wasn’t sure he entirely understood.
But their return to peace and normality ended up coming a lot sooner than any of them had expected. The following morning, the general of the army met the crowd in the centre of the city, a large group of soldiers behind him – more likely to offer him protection, should it be needed, than to make a public display of strength. With the amount of damage that had been done to the city, the latter was already a moot point.
“After prolonged discussions with a number of companies in Paris,” the general announced, “we have reached an agreement which will provide all omegas currently enrolled in the army with gainful work. The Bohen-Boche company has agreed to take on all remaining omegas in their textile factory, where they will be given work suitable to their various disabilities, which will provide for their accommodation and upkeep. The army has also agreed to provide the Bohen-Boche company with a doctor for the purpose of treating any ongoing medical needs of said omegas. That is all.” With no further comment or explanation, the general turned and climbed into a waiting carriage, which rolled swiftly away up the street, between the lines of soldiers. The soldiers then reformed their defensive line, but made no move to engage with or disperse the crowd.
“Was that it?” Adalene asked, as the crowd milled around uncertainly.
“I think we did it,” Lucas muttered. “That’s what he said, right? The omegas are going to be taken care of?”
“As well as omegas are ever taken care of,” Gabriel said. “So mediocre food, draughty accommodation and ill-fitting clothing.”
“But they’re not going to shoot them,” Connor said, sounding neither pleased nor disappointed. In all likelihood, the news hadn’t sunk in yet.
No one seemed able to confirm the news, so the gathered protestors lingered for another hour or so, talking amongst themselves, trying to tease out the details of the brief statement, until a beta finally climbed up onto a shop awning and yelled for the crowd’s attention.
“My esteemed colleagues,” he began. “We have been in conversation with a number of officers from the French army, in combination with legal advisors, and I can proudly now confirm the following: The army has agreed to cease all efforts to shoot or otherwise harm any omegas in its employment. Legal ownership of all omegas engaged to fight in the war against England, who have not yet been sold, will be transferred to the Bohen-Boche company, at no cost to the company, aside from a nominal legal fee. The Bohen-Boche company has agreed to provide suitable work to all omegas, with regard to their various injuries and physical disabilities, in order to make sufficient income from their labour to provide for their food, accommodation and any other physical needs, and it is intended under currently foreseeable circumstances that this employment will continue for the full lifespan of said omegas. This arrangement is set to take place within the next week.
“Ladies and gentlemen, our efforts here in this arena of violence and protest have been victorious! Our joint efforts have secured the safety of hundreds of omegas and shown France as a whole that its citizens cannot be treated as expendable! Thank you, my friends and countrymen, for your valiant efforts, and you may now return to your homes, secure in the knowledge that France holds a brighter future for all!”
A thundering cheer went up all through the streets. People yelled and waved, some climbing up the sides of buildings, a few particularly enthusiastic protestors removing their shirts and waving them above their heads. Gabriel felt himself nearly knocked over as Connor threw himself into his arms. Adalene hugged Lucas, and the group of omegas from the stable were locked in a four-way hug, bouncing up and down on the street.
“All right, all right, let’s get out of here before someone sets fire to something,” Gabriel advised the rest of them, leading the way back to the stable where they’d left Niles. They’d have some good news to deliver for once. “I don’t mean to cut the celebrations short, but we should get out of Paris sooner rather than later,” he said, once they were clear of the bulk of the crowd. “There are thousands of people here who are all going to be trying to barter a lift out of the city, and if we leave it too long, we’ll end up stuck here for days while we try to find a carriage.”
“Okay, I get that we need to move,” Connor said, peering up at him, “but you don’t seem terribly enthusiastic about the fact that we just kicked the military’s collective asses. Tell me you’re at least alittlepleased about that?”
Gabriel slung an arm around Connor’s shoulder, a gesture that had become so familiar he no longer thought about it. “I’m very pleased,” he said. “But it’s a strange day when the reason we’re celebrating is because the army announced that it’snotgoing to needlessly slaughter their own citizens. I just feel like… how did we even get to this point in the first place?”
“By too many people turning a blind eye when bad things happened,” Adalene said. She was strolling along, her arms swinging freely, looking like a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. “I’m glad we came. But I’m ready to go home.”
“But I wanted to see the city,” Lucas said, his lower lip jutting out in a pout. “We haven’t got to see any of the monuments or the theatres or even the really nice shops. Can’t we stay a little bit longer?”
“You don’t get a say in what we do next,” Gabriel said. “For one thing, you’re too young to know the first thing about how dangerous Paris is, and secondly, you’re not even supposed to be here.”