"You think the bike shop's man will be mad at Rasputin for failing to protect the house?" Ella asked while she was walking with Toivo on their way to the bus station.
"I would be. But what can we do about it now? At least we didn't steal anything too valuable so I hope he won't get too mad at his dog." Toivo answered.
"Just a passport and a jacket and his tablet. I'm sure he can get new ones easily. These people make a lot of money."
"And we broke his door and his living room table. Why did you do that anyway?"
"I don't know what I was thinking. Just the sight of his whiskey made me so disgusted that I wanted to see you destroy it and I felt like giving you an example would get you to do it. I feel so bad about getting Rasputin hurt because of that."
"Maybe when the guy sees his dog hurt like that, he might feel some empathy and not get mad." Toivo guessed.
"And that just made me think. What might the man think when he sees that whoever broke into his house, also put a bandage around his dog's paw. He'll be confused when he sees that." Ella said and giggled a little.
"Let's just hope he doesn't ask the police to investigate the case. We really don't need that right now."
"He won't. People of his trade don't want anything to do with the police. The man himself is taking part in an illegal business and owns things that are illegal to own." Ella reminded.
"I hope you're right about that. But would it really even matter? I mean, the police already knows what we look like and they'll arrest us if they see us." Toivo said.
"Speaking of that, let's hope we don't run into any police on our way to the bus or while we wait. It's not even that far away so if we're quick, we might make it before any police come around. In a small town like this, there's not too many of them, especially at these hours."
"Well, that's good to... Oh no." Toivo said when he saw two familiar faces on the other side of the road.
They were the same officers who were standing at the steps of the police station the previous day and who Toivo had to run away from alone. But the officers were not in uniform.
"What is it?" Ella asked.
"I remember those guys. They're not in uniform. Does that mean that they're not on duty?" Toivo asked.
"Don't make it so obvious that you're looking at them. Let's just act natural." Ella said quietly and Toivo listened to the two officers on the other side of the street talking.
"Hey. Those two match the description of the two fugitives that we're supposed to look for." One officer said.
"They are them. I saw the camera footage. They trashed the office without even touching anything and then injured Ahlqvist badly. Don't look at them. Let's just pretend like we don't see them and get to your car and leave town. We're not dealing with this." The other officer answered.
The two officers walked past Toivo and Ella on the other side of the road and didn't look back.
"Did you hear that? We're notorious now." Toivo said to Ella.
"That can't be a good thing. We've been caught on camera. If the footage goes around, we can't go anywhere without being recognized." Ella said worriedly.
"But if people know what I can do, they won't get in our way."
"You want to just cause havoc and scare people everywhere you go? I don't think that's the best way to go about this."
"I understand. Let's hope we can at least buy the bus ticket without getting recognized." Toivo said and picked up the pace, and so did Ella.
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When they arrived at the town's bus station, Ella noticed how there was only three buses instead of the usual four.
"Oh no, did it leave already? It shouldn't have left yet!" She wondered.
"Are you sure ours is not one of the other three? The missing one is probably the one that Sampo stole." Toivo guessed.
"They should have the routes on that map board over there. Let's look."
"Is this even the right place? There's nobody else here."
"It's usually empty anyway. Not many people want to come here or go from here."
"Huh. Why do they even keep this place up then?"
"This is just the final stop and the bus depot. It has to be somewhere, so this is the place. We'll probably be the only people who jump aboard here but more people will probably join along the way. It'll be a long way." Ella explained while walking towards the map board with Toivo.
Ella looked at the map board which had the four bus routes.
"None of these routes go all the way to Stockholm." Ella said worriedly.
"Well. Looks like I'll walk there then." Toivo said calmly.
"Wait! We can still get as close to it as we can. And besides, we can switch to a train at the final stop of route 3. It says here that there's a strain station there."
"So we'll need to switch to a train then. Do you have enough money for two train tickets as well?"
"I don't know. Depends on how much they cost. I've never bought train tickets myself."
"Well, if you can't afford them, we'll just get on board without paying."
"They'll kick us out if they catch us freeloading."
"We'll come up with some idea before that happens. When does route 3 leave the station?"
"Well, there's nobody in or near any of these buses so I think when somebody shows up, that would be a good time to ask. Usually they expect people to have a ticket in advance but fortunately they still let people buy a ticket from the bus itself. Even with cash! I love small towns." Ella explained.
"Well, let's wait then and try not to look suspicious."
"Good thing I'm not wearing the same thing I wore at the station. That might help us if any police go by." Ella said and popped the collar of her new coast guard jacket.
"I think all of the local police are either injured or leaving town." Toivo joked.
"I hope they all get better and can return to their work soon." Ella said sympathetically.
Toivo disagreed but chose not to mention it after what Ella said about compassion the previous night.
"This waiting is boring. Can you read something from the tablet?" Toivo asked, changing the topic.
"I can't. There's no internet here. Wait, there's a very weak network but it's locked. The name even says that it's only for employees."
"Locked? What does that mean?"
"It requires a password."
"Can you just guess the password?"
"I can. Let's try that. I'll try 123456789." Ella said and typed the numbers.
"Well?" Toivo asked when looking at the screen.
"It worked! They need a better password. I should tell them about it when we go." Ella said and Toivo quietly chuckled at Ella's never ending care for other people.
"Oh, look who's in the news again. Let's see what the defense minister has said now." Ella said when she saw an article.
"Again? How much does that guy talk?" Toivo wondered while looking at the article's picture where the minister's bald spot and eyeglasses were handsomely on display.
"Defense minister Granlund says it's worse than previously thought. The disease carriers who came from the no-contact zone are not the only disease carriers living in society among us. The number of Swedish citizens caught going into the no-contact zone has always been low, but now some Swedish citizens have been caught running trading enterprises in the no-contact zone, making frequent boat trips there and coming into contact with the people of that land, thus likely bringing their disease to the Swedish state as well. Some have even smuggled people from the no-contact zone over the gulf. In addition to that, these traders have acquired goods and materials that are not authorized by the International Regulatory Board, and some goods that are illegal for private citizens to own at all. Authorities have been ordered to go after all these illegal traders, but we need help from the brave Swedish people as well. If you know anyone who takes part in this trade, or who makes suspicious income, report them. These people are disease carriers as well, and must be treated as such." Ella read from the article.
"So sounds like we're not the only ones in trouble." Toivo commented.
"The police will be busy all over the place. Maybe that's a good thing for us."
"How many people take part in the illegal trade anyway?"
"Hard to tell. No statistic obviously counts them, and I haven't been around enough to know. Enough people to make it a problem in Granlund's mind at least."
"And what's the International Regulatory Board?" Toivo asked curiously.
"Ohh, my father hates them so much. So basically the United Nation Project has hand picked a few companies to give them the exclusive rights to... Everything, and the International Regulatory Board enforces it. They only authorize products and services that are provided by those companies, and ban everything else. So basically, if you started making something and selling it, the IRB wouldn't authorize it because you're not one of the hand picked companies, and so the authorities would force you to seace your operations. Which is what happened to dad's old enterprise. So he chose to go the illegal route." Ella explained.
"I didn't understand most of that but your dad sounds like he made the right decision. I hope he doesn't get in trouble simply because of his work." Toivo said and Ella sighed.
"Me too." She said with worry in her voice and looked at the ground.
Toivo put his palm on Ella's back to comfort her.
"He'll be fine. He's a smart man. Just like we'll be fine." He said, trying to lift the spirits.
"You're right. As long as he stays in that bike shop and lies low, nobody will find him until he's forgotten by the police."
"And once we've gotten my family out of trouble, you can return to him while me and the others go our own way."
"Yeah. I could." Ella said, not sounding certain about it.
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After some waiting at the bus station they saw three people in blue polo shirts walking to the buses and unlocking the doors.
"There they are. Let's go get our tickets!" Ella said and pointed to the bus of route 3.
They both got walking to that bus and both dug their passports from their pockets.
"Uhh. Hello, madam! Is it still possible to get bus tickets straight from the bus with cash?" Ella politely asked the driver who was already sitting on the driver's seat.
"Yes, it's still possible, but after orders from the government, we are more strict about who we let travel." The driver replied.
"More strict? In what way?" Ella asked.
"With the fear of disease carriers going around, they don't want them going around the country. You'll have to prove your identity and you have to state your reason for travelling." The driver explained.
Ella showed her passport.
"My reason for travelling is that we're on official government business." Ella said and pointed at the coast guard symbol on her jacket.
"Uh-huh. And what about your companion here? He'll have to prove his identity too." The driver asked.
Toivo showed the bike shop owner's passport to the bus driver. The driver looked at the picture in the passport. Then looked at Toivo. Then at the passport again. Then at Toivo again. The man in the passport's picture looked nothing like Toivo, but the driver just shrugged.
"Sure. The price of two tickets is on the sign." The driver said.
Ella looked at the sign and dug the cash out of her pocket and then handed the driver the right amount. After receiving their tickets, they sat down on their seats near the back of the empty bus. Ella sat on the window seat.
"So far so good." Ella said joyfully.
"And when is the bus supposed to leave?"
"Shortly. Oh hey, they have their own internet connection here. And it's open!" Ella noticed.
"Neat. Something to do during the ride. Maybe the defense minister says something during the trip." Toivo said back.
"Have you ever even been in a bus?" Ella asked.
"I haven't. I've been on horseback, and inside a trailer that's pulled by a horse, and on the bed of a truck, but not in a bus." Toivo answered.
"Heh. Yeah, you've told those stories."
"At this point there aren't that many stories from my life that I haven't told you."
"But there will be plenty of new stories in your future, I bet." Ella said and bumped her elbow into Toivo's arm.
"And I'll tell you all of them if we ever meet after this." Toivo replied and Ella's mood suddenly came down.
"Right. If we ever meet. Anyway, let's see what's on the internet!" Ella said, changing the subject and trying to be more cheerful.
She opened the tablet again and scrolled.
"Oh hey. We're on the local paper. Not in the way I'd like though." Ella said and showed Toivo the article.
There were two pictures. One was of the trashed office of the police station, and the other was a still from security camera footage where the blurry characters of Ella and Toivo could be seen.
"So that confirms it. We've been caught." Toivo said, not sounding too bothered.
"I hope no one recognizes us based on this blurry image." Ella said.
"I revealed a little too much back there when I asked that man those questions. Now he knows what cause we're on and where we're going and I bet he's already told others. Mister minister will probably have something to say about that too." Toivo added.
"Oh no, can you imagine? He'll say that the disease carriers have superpowers now." Ella said slightly jokingly.
"Don't talk about it so loud. We're not here alone." Toivo said and looked at the driver who didn't seem to pay attention.
"Right. I shouldn't." Ella said and got quiet.
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After a little more waiting and chatting, the bus started to move and drove out of the station. No people got into the bus from the station. The town was quiet as usual as the bus drove through it.
"You're going to see some world like you always said you wanted." Ella said to Toivo.
"Yeah. The world. We're not exactly going far away." Toivo said back.
"Still. You've been in one place the last ten years. So it has to be nice to see something new, even if it's in these circumstances."
"That's true." Toivo said and looked out the window.
It didn't take long for the bus to get out of the small town. The sights outside the town were snowy fields surrounded by coniferous forests. On the further edges of the fields were wooden barns and silos with familiar logos.
"Look at these beautiful landscapes, Toivo. This reminds me of when my parents would take me on long trips on summers. Very similar sights, just a lot more snowy." Ella said while looking through the window and admiring the landscape.
"Beautiful." Toivo just commented.
"I know. I could look at it for hours. Did it look like this where you came from?" Ella asked.
"Similar. My travels there happened in the late summer or autumn, I think. So I never saw snow there."
"Right, because you were under ground for most of your life there. Imagine being stuck under ground when such a beautiful world exists out there."
"That's why my dream has been to go around it for so long."
"I understand that. I mean, I'd want to travel somewhere further someday, but I wouldn't want to live like that. A peaceful and simple life is good for me."
"I hope we can both get what we want someday then." Toivo commented, which again brought Ella's spirits down a little.
"Yeah. But let's worry about that later when it's relevant. Now I just want to see the beautiful sights of my country." Ella said and kept looking through the window as the winter landscape flashed by.
After some time on the road, the bus arrived at another small town. This small town was also surrounded by a fence and at the main entrance the bus had to stop. A uniformed man came from a booth and circled the bus.
"What is happening now?" Toivo asked Ella worriedly.
"They're doing the usual thing. They count us before we enter so that they can know how many people are in the town. Standard thing." Ella answered
"But we're not even staying here. What's the point?"
"It's just what they do. And when we leave, we'll be counted again."
"We weren't counted when we left the last town."
"That's because it works a little differently there. Since that's where the station is, the bus sends the number of sold tickets directly to the exit guard so that way they don't have to waste time with this." Ella explained.
"How do you even know that?"
"Dad told me lots about these things." Ella said and watched the uniformed man walk past the window and make eye contact with her.
"Good thing they didn't do this at the last town. We would have been caught right then and there. I hope nobody here knows us." Toivo said queitly.
The uniformed man returned to the booth and the bus entered the town. The roads were quiet and the buildings were small in this town too. The bus stopped at a stop, as one might expect, and at the stop were four people waiting. The door was opened but before anyone stepped in, the driver blocked the door.
"Due to orders from the government, movement is restricted. Only people with an acceptable reason can travel. If you've bought tickets in advance, you can get them refunded at the website. State your reason for travelling before getting in." The driver said to the four people who had gotten into a neat and organized queue.
"Holiday." The person at the head of the queue replied.
"Not an acceptable reason. Sorry. You can get your refund at the website. Next!" The driver said back and paid no mind to the customer and his companion walking away angrily and complaining.
"Relative's funeral." The next one answered.
"Not an acceptable reason. Sorry for your loss. Next!"
"Official government business." The third one answered.
"Prove it." The driver requested but the person in the queue couldn't show anything to prove it and gave up, walking away.
"That was quick and easy. But the schedule says that I have to leave ten minutes from now, so here I'll sit for ten minutes then." The driver quietly said and got on the wheel.
"Looks like they're strict about those orders and it isn't just limited to our little town." Toivo said to Ella.
"It's a good thing that we have a good reason to go. That girl can't go to her relative's funeral. That's sad." Ella said back.
"Yeah, it's sad. But now we don't have to be so careful about what we say because we're still the only passengers here."
"I guess that's a good thing. And listen to what mister minister has to say now." Ella said and showed the tablet to Toivo.
"How much does that guy speak?" Toivo asked in wonder.
"I discovered that he actually posts his own videos online. So if he thinks of something to say, it's there in public within minutes. So that's why the news are so quick to know what he said. He seems to like being heard."
"Fools like to hear themselves talk."
"Well hey, I may not like him but he's no fool. He has some degrees that I don't remember. He's actually very popular because he's the only Swedish minister in the United Nation Project. A lot of people are proud of that."
"So what did he say this time?" Toivo asked.
"Well, our visit to the police station has now reached his ears and it looks like he's not intending to keep it a secret. Let me read the most interesting quote. The disease carriers may be more dangerous than originally thought. In a house without an address in the northeast coast of the country a man was arrested for harboring disease carriers, and when he was being arrested, he along with two others escaped the police. None of the three have been caught yet. The same day, two of those people who are likely disease carriers were caught on camera breaking into a police station, and the footage is worrying to say the least. Doors and other objects broke even when no one touched them. The two people didn't have any weapons with them, and the officer who tried to arrest them suffered a mysterious injury that nobody can explain. This disease that these people carry may be more scary than we thought. If disease carriers cause things to break and people to get hurt simply by being near, then I must urge all people to stay away from anyone who you suspect to be infected with this disease." Ella read and Toivo just laughed.
"This is actually fantastic. They know about my ability yet they don't know that not everyone has it. They'll be scared of all the so called disease carriers just because of me. And they'll think that you're one too." Toivo said.
"I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing for me." Ella said.
"Well, like you said, it's not like anyone will recognize us based on that blurry image anyway."
"Right. So let's not worry about that. Let's not think that we're celebrties outside of that little town." Ella said and put the tablet down on her lap and closed her eyes.
"Are you worried about something?" Toivo asked.
"Of course I'm worried. Do you understand what we're doing and where we're going?"
"Well, we don't know exactly where we're going. We're just going to find out where the facility is, and then I have to go there." Toivo reassured.
"Right! And how do we find that out? Not legally, that's for sure."
"At this point I can't turn back. I have to commit, no matter how scary it may be. I could just move to another town where no one recognizes me but I'd hate myself for the rest of my life if I abandoned my family. With the way that the defense minister talks about the "disease carriers" I don't think they'd ever be let go unless I intervene a little."
"I know. And I'm with you all the way. Like you said, it's just scary. But where would I even go? You don't even have a citizenship or a passport so you can't be identified. I can be. So if they recognize me from the camera footage, my normal life is over. I couldn't go back to dad because that town is too risky. I'll have to find a new home somewhere. But if I get a home or a job anywhere, I'd have to identify myself and I'd be caught. So what do I do?"
"I'm sorry that I got you into this. If me and my family never came, you could have had a peaceful life there and eventually inherited the house like your dad promised you." Toivo said sincerely.
"Don't be sorry for coming into my life. It's been a wonderful thing! You couldn't have known that this would happen. It's not specifically your fault that they came to my door. If you weren't there, me and dad would be in jail right now. I've made my choice, and I'll help you as long as I can." Ella said in high spirits.
"And I hope I can help you too. In whatever way."
"You already did. Not that I keep track of favors or anything."
"I'm glad to know that you're on board." Toivo said.
"And I'm glad to be on board." Ella replied.
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It didn't take long for the bus to drive through this small town once it got moving again, and at the exit of the town the heads in the bus were counted by another uniformed man.
"Doesn't look like we were recognized, even though the video footage is out there." Toivo pointed out after they had been checked again.
"If they find out that it's me in that footage, our journey is over." Ella replied and watched yet another uniformed man pass by the window.
The bus passed small town after small town until it was on its way to the final stop at the town of Sundsvall where another checkup awaited them.
"In this town is the final stop. There's the new train station here so we can take a train from here to Stockholm." Ella said to Toivo in the stopped bus.
Another uniform wearing man came out of a booth at the entrance of the town and circled the bus where Ella and Toivo were still the only passengers. When seeing Ella, the man squinted his eyes and pulled out his phone.
"Oh no. What is he looking at?" Ella wondered out loud.
The man then looked at Ella again who looked nervous. He then put his phone in his pocket and entered the bus, ignoring the driver completely and walking to where Ella and Toivo were seated.
"Ella Nyman?" The man called out while looking Ella straight in the eyes.
"Oh well, time to go." Toivo said and made the window next to Ella shatter.
The uniformed man jumped back and the driver turned to look at what was happening.
"Go!" Toivo screamed at Ella who put her hand on the window frame and cut her palm on some of the shattered glass, but didn't stay to lick her wounds.
She vaulted out of the window and Toivo followed. They ran through the entrance into the town and the uniformed man got out of the bus to chase after them.
"He knew my name! They've indentified me now!" Ella shouted at Toivo while they were running away.
Behind them they heard a siren and they looked behind them. The uniformed man was now starting a motorcycle. Toivo and Ella picked up pace but were no match for a motorcycle, especially with Toivo's hurt foot. The uniformed man caught them and got off the bike. He first grabbed Ella's arm and then Toivo's arm and held them still.
"You are both under arrest for destruction of property and resisting arrest." The uniformed man managed to say.
Before he could get a good hold of the two, Toivo focused on the motorcycle and broke it. He broke it completely to pieces, making lots of noise and distracting the uniformed man. Toivo then took the can or air spray from his pocket and sprayed it in the man's eyes, causing him to let go, allowing Toivo and Ella to run away again.
"I didn't hurt him." Toivo proudly said to Ella as they were running along the highway and into the town.
"You actually did, but not too badly. Good work." Ella proudly said back.
They ran along the highway for a little until they saw the actual town begin. They entered the town and Ella pointed at the first open door she saw.
"There! Let's go there. We can't run forever." Ella said to Toivo with great exhaustion in her voice.
Toivo didn't even answer but just followed Ella while limping and panting. Just as they stepped inside, they heard sirens outside, so they went deeper inside.
"Okay, get in here. We can take a breather here." Ella said and led Toivo inside.
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There were other people inside the place sitting by tables and Ella noticed that this is a restaurant.
"Okay, let's sit down here and rest a little bit and see when the train leaves." Ella said and sat down at a vacant table and Toivo sat down on the other side of the table.
"How is your wound?" Ella asked once they had both sat down.
"Hurts. That running was not good for it." Toivo answered and got low to hold his shin while sitting down.
Ella then saw from the corner of her eye a police van driving outside and so she also got her head down.
"What are you doing down here?" Toivo asked as their heads met under the table.
"We're not off the hook just yet." Ella replied and then peeked out of the window to see that the police van had gone away.
She then noticed some other people in the other tables looking at her. She just politely smiled back at them and kicked Toivo's healthy foot. Toivo then got his head up from under the table, but not before hitting his head on the table on the way up.
"We shouldn't act weird here." Ella pointed out.
"You're right. We came here to take a breather and hide."
"Do you need to change the bandage?"
"No. Not yet."
"Good good." Ella said and nervously looked around.
Somebody then walked up to their table and acted politely.
"Excuse me, but we won't allow you to stay unless you order something." The apparent waiter said.
"Oh. I'm sorry. We'll leave then." Ella replied politely and was about to stand up but then saw a police van pass the window again.
"Actually, no we won't." She said and sat back down before she could fully get up.
"Can we afford to waste money? How much are the train tickets?" Toivo asked Ella.
"Just bring a glass of cola." Ella said and flicked a coin at the waiter, who caught it and went away.
"So now the police know who you are." Toivo said to Ella.
"Seems so. The man called me by my name. I don't know how they found out, but now they'll know me everywhere I go."
"How will this affect our chances of getting in the train?"
"Well, if nobody asks for our passports there, and if we can still buy tickets at the station and if nobody recognizes us on our way there, I think we'll be good. I hope." Ella said.
"But wouldn't the same policy apply to trains too, where you can only travel with a good reason?" Toivo asked.
"That's a problem for sure." Ella simply said back and pondered.
A glass of cola was brought in front of her and she politely thanked.
"Couldn't order me one?" Toivo asked jokingly.
"I can request a second straw if you want to share." Ella replied in a straight manner and looked Toivo in the eyes.
"Uhh, no thanks. Ahem, anyway. Anything in the news? I'm actually impressed that you managed to hold on to the tablet after all of that." Toivo asked.
"Well, let's see. Ooh, my favorite singer has a new cat and..."
"Anything that's relevant to us?"
"Oh no. Look at this." Ella said and showed the Tablet to Toivo.
In a news article was the blurry still from the camera footage and next to it was Ella's passport picture and the article: "One of the police station attackers have been identified by the police."
"That's not good. Read a little more from the article." Toivo requested.
"The brown haired woman from the camera footage from the much talked about police station assault has been identified as 20 year old Ella Nyman who was born in the same town where the incident happened. The police connected the camera footage to their database of passport pictures and managed to identify the person that way. The local official who witnessed the attack said that the two attackers mentioned wanting to go to Stockholm for the central police headquarters. All public transport routes going to Stockholm are now under supervision and for the time being, will require passport identification from all people because of this." Ella read.
"So your passport is now worthless. If you show it to anyone, they'll know." Toivo said.
"Oh no. So now what? I can't come with you now. I mean your passport should still be good but there's no way it'll work a second time. The bus driver accepting it was just dumb luck to begin with." Ella said and put her elbows on the table and hands on her forehead.
"We'll find another way then. Even if I could take a train with my bogus passport, I wouldn't leave you here on your own. Unless that's what you want." Toivo said.
"There's no way that's what I want to do. Where would I even go?"
"I guess we'll have to think of something then." Toivo just said and also put his elbows on the table.
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They both stayed there for several hours, thinking of ideas and presenting them, and then rejecting them. After several hours of thinking, Toivo heard something interesting in the television that was on the wall. It was a news broadcast talking about their visit to the police station. It was about to mention Ella's name but just as the news reader was about to say: "identified as" Toivo made the television shatter. Everyone still remaining in the restaurant turned to look at the television while Toivo tried his best to not look guilty, but not doing a very good job at it. Just covering his mouth with his fist and side eyeing the window with wide open eyes.
"Did somebody throw something at the television?" The hairy man at the counter asked angrily.
Nobody said anything back. Some people just kept talking to each other without caring much.
"It was you, wasn't it?" The man at the counter said and pointed at Toivo.
"Okay. Time for us to leave." Toivo said and got up.
Ella didn't argue and got up too and they both quickly got out and ran away. They heard being shouted at and also heard the word Police mentioned into a phone, but they didn't stay to listen.
"Well that was a little rude of you to do to them." Ella said while running.
"I couldn't let them hear the broadcast." Toivo replied.
"I understand. I appreciate it. So it looks like we have to now decide on the spot where we go. I think he just called the police."
"Let's just run to the next place and think there."
"How did it get dark already? How long were we in there? I didn't even look out the window much while we were in there." Ella wondered and looked around the dark streets illuminated by street lights and lights coming from windows.
"It can get darker." Toivo said and made a few street lights shatter.
"Was that needed?" Ella asked.
"Makes us harder for the cops to see if it's darker."
"The lights coming from these apartments still light up the streets. And so does the moon."
"Let's go somewhere where the apartments won't matter then." Toivo said and pointed at the long bridge that crosses the bay between the two parts of the town.
"The bridge?" Ella asked.
"Who would find us there? There's not much traffic here anyway." Toivo said and heard a distant siren.
"Did they seriously put on sirens because they think someone threw a rock at a televison?" Ella wondered out loud.
"Maybe they figured out who it was. Let's just go!" Toivo said with pain in his voice.
Ella took his hand and led the way to the bridge which was very easy to see from where they were. They ran on the sidewalks of the streets and bumped into pedestrians who looked at them strangely as they passed by.
"Hey, isn't that the miss from the news?" Some old man said when noticing Ella run by.
She just picked up the pace as best as she could, but Toivo couldn't really keep up. Ella essentially dragged Toivo behind her by the hand as they ran to the long bridge.
"Almost there! Just a little longer. How's the foot?" Ella asked while running.
"It's still there." Toivo replied in pain.
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No sidewalk led to the bridge as it was a part of a highway. They had to run across parking lots and spots of grass to get to the highway and from there to the bridge. They got to the bridge and since there were no cars driving, they felt safe running in the middle of the road while the lamp posts on the edges of the road shone down on them as Ella led the way closer to the middle of the bridge. Toivo looked to the left and saw the city below and in the streets he saw flashing red and blue lights far away. Once they got to the middle of the bridge, everything was quiet. The only sound either one heard was the sound of their exhausted breathing. Ella let go of Toivo's hand and put her hands on her knees to take a breather.
"I don't think they'll look for us here." Toivo managed to say while holding his shin.
Ella straightened her back and looked around.
"I don't think they will." She said.
She looked around at the empty and quiet bridge where only the lights of lamps reflected on the dry asphalt.
"So peaceful." She said out loud and enjoyed the the atmosphere.
"Yeah. It's nice." Toivo said back and also straightened his back to look around.
"It's just us two here then. Nobody around bothering us." Ella said.
"Heh. Yeah. For once." Toivo said and both got quiet.
"I left the tablet in the restaurant." Ella said to break the silence.
"It's fine. We can do fine without it."
"Yeah. Now I'll have to be entertained some way to waste time." Ella said deviously.
"Entertained? We have to think about how do we get to Stockholm without a train."
"We can think about it tomorrow when we're more fresh and less tired. Let's just enjoy tonight."
"Maybe we should." Toivo said and sat down on the guardrail at the edge of the bridge.
He focused on one lamp post and made it shatter, scaring Ella. He chuckled at her reaction.
"Not funny! That spooked me!" Ella complained.
"Yes, it was funny." Toivo replied and laughed.
"It looked cool though."
"I bet it did."
"Can you do it again?"
"Should I?"
"Come on, just do it one more time. I want to see it." Ella egged him on.
Toivo didn't argue and shattered another light, making the sparks rain down on the asphalt.
"Wanna see something really cool I've learned?" Toivo asked.
"What would that be?" Ella asked back with intrigue.
Toivo then stood up and walked to the middle of the road where Ella was. He looked into the far end of the bridge and focused there.
"What are you doing?" Ella curiously asked and looked where Toivo was looking.
The furthest lamp that that they could see shattered far away in the distance. And then all of the lamps from the distance all the way to Ella's location shattered one by one rapidly, sparks raining everywhere along the way. The sound of breaking glass and sparks flying got closer and closer to Ella until it got to her location. Toivo shattered both of the lights around them at once and let the sparks rain down around them, and then turned around to destroy every light along the other side of the bridge as well, sending the sparks flying as far as the eye could see. Ella looked in amazement at all of it, and when all the lights were broken, the bridge was entirely dark, only lit by the moon and the reflection of its light on the ice below the bridge.
"That was awesome." Ella said and looked at Toivo while standing there next to him.
Toivo didn't say anything back.
"Wasn't it?" Ella asked.
"What? I mean, yeah." Toivo replied and didn't look at Ella, but instead looked over her at the landscape that was viewable from the bridge.
Ella turned around to look at what Toivo was looking at and saw moon lit ice below surrounded by lit up streets and a small island in the frozen bay.
"Ohh, look at this." Ella said and got to the edge.
She stepped over the guardrail and sat down on it with her legs dangling over the edge.
"Be careful. You might fall." Toivo said worriedly.
"Don't let me fall then." Ella egged on while looking at the landscape.
"So... What do you mean?"
"Make sure I won't fall."
"Right. Like... This?" Toivo said and grabbed Ella's shoulders while she was sitting on the railing.
"If I slip, that won't prevent me from falling." Ella said and smirked, even though Toivo couldn't see it.
Toivo tensed his facial muscles and put his arms around Ella's waist to protect her from falling better. Ella sounded satisfied which made Toivo even more nervous. Ella enjoyed looking at the landscape and the moonlight that was reflected on the clear ice while she was being held tightly, and Toivo tried to focus on the landscape.
"Hey, Toivo."
"Yes?"
"I've been wanting to tell you someth..." Ella was about to say until she stopped when she heard the sound of sirens in the distance.
From the corner of her eye she saw flashing red and blue lights, and Toivo saw them too.
"Oh no." Ella just said and climbed over the railing back to the bridge properly.
"We need to run again." Toivo said.
"Where? It's a long bridge!"
"Anywhere! We've run before."
"We couldn't outrun them!"
"Then I have no choise but to hurt someone again." Toivo argued.
Ella looked around and got an idea. She looked over the edge and down below.
"You can break ice, yes?" Ella asked.
"Are you really suggesting what I think you're suggesting?"
"I just don't want to hurt anyone but I don't want to get caught either."
"You'll hurt yourself if you jump down there."
"I've dove from a board before."
"A diving board isn't as high as this!" Toivo argued while the sirens got louder.
"You there! On your knees!" Somebody shouted from a distance.
"Too late now." Ella said and dove over the guardrail.
"Ella!" Toivo shouted behind her and looked below.
He thought quickly and focused on the ice below and shattered it before Ella fell down. He saw her splash into the big hole in the ice and then he jumped over the guardrail too. When Toivo fell, he barely caught the hole in the ice and his back scraped a sharp edge of the ice, leaving a long wound in his back. When he fell under the water, his body collided with Ella. Ella was surprised by it and it made her open her eyes under the cold dark salty water, and the light coming from the hole in the ice allowed her to see what was it that hit her. She took Toivo's hand and swam upwards with little assistance. She got her head above the surface and a few seconds later Toivo managed to get above the surface too. Ella started trying to climb on the ice but couldn't pull herself up. Toivo gave her a push from below which helped her get up on the ice.
"Thank you." She quietly said while gasping for air and then pulled Toivo up by the hand as well.
She sat down on the ice while Toivo layed down on his front, allowing Ella to see that the back of his jacket was sliced open and under it was a long and deep red wound. They were both too freezing to even move.
"That...That looks pretty bad." Ella quietly said but heard no response.
"Please say something." Ella said while shivering, but still heard no response.
She then made a great effort to crawl to Toivo and turn him on his back. She noticed that he was breathing quietly but not responding. She turned him back on his stomach so that the wound on his back wouldn't leak.
"We need to get away from here." She quietly said, and carefully got on her feet.
"But not to the city. We'd be caught." She added and looked at the island ahead.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpVz43AS1Zi
She took Toivo's hand and used all of her remaining power to drag his unresponsive body along the ice.
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The distance from the bridge to the island felt like a great journey to Ella while she was soaked with freezing cold water, wearing wet clothes, feeling how her hair was beginning to freeze and dragging Toivo without getting any help.
"Just... A little longer." She said to herself while getting closer to the island and stepping carefully so the ice wouldn't break.
She got to the island without any trouble, and by the time she stepped on the soil of the island, she was ready to collapse, but didn't allow herself to. On the shore where she landed was a wooden pier and a wooden fishing hut.
"I hope somebody is in that hut to let us in. We need a place to warm up." She thought to herself as it was getting increasingly more difficult to drag Toivo behind her.
She got to the door of the hut and it was locked. She hit the door with three weak knocks with long pauses between them, but heard no response. No light was coming from anywhere either.
"Somebody open the door, please!" She cried at the door but for nothing.
She then turned to Toivo and raised him up to his knees.
"Toivo! Are you awake? Do you hear me?" She asked desperately.
Toivo just let out a weak sound and had his eyes closed.
"Can you break the lock of this door? That's the only thing you have to do!" She begged.
She then tried to force his eyelids open but they wouldn't stay open.
"I guess I'll have to assist him just a little." She said and grabbed his head from the sides to point his face at the door.
After that she forced his eyelids open and kept them open. Toivo sounded like it hurt him.
"I'm so sorry but I have to try this!" Ella said.
Toivo was conscious enough to see the door of the hut in front of him. He couldn't really control his ability at that moment, but his sight was pointed towards the door and a large hole was blasted in the middle of the door.
"No! Not that big! Well, at least we'll get in now." Ella said and let go of Toivo, who instantly closed his eyes again.
Ella put her hand through the hole in the door and opened it from the inside, and then returned to Toivo and dragged him inside through the open door.
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