Snipers positioned behind the exterior wall stared dumbstruck as Mark confidently walked through the main gates, Horan slung over his shoulder. As the two trudged back to the car, Mark remained quiet while Horan muttered quietly to himself. “Keep it together, keep it together, keep it together…”
Mark walked Horan behind the car and let go. “They can’t see you now.”
Horan brought his head below the rear bumper and emptied the contents of his stomach under the car. Mark waited patiently for him to finish. Once he was done, he waved for Mark to pull him back up.
Mark dumped Horan into the backseat, and he sluggishly shifted back into human form. Mark climbed into the driver’s seat and started the engine. “Wow, we actually did it! I thought we were goners back there.”
Horan crawled into the middle of the backseat and curled up. “Pretty sure that’s the first time I’ve used the wind to sound out full sentences. Also, it turns out that doing that takes a lot out of a Primus. I need sleep, now.”
Mark made a U-turn and started driving around the city. “Hey, you did great with that. Honestly, you deserve some rest after…”
Mark saw in the rear-view mirror that Horan was already asleep. He remained quiet as he hastily drove away from Antioch.
-
“Hngh… Food…” Horan groped limply at the air when he smelled something edible.
Mark moved his small stack of baby carrots out of Horan’s reach. “Oh, you’re finally awake. I thought you’d died in your sleep or something.”
Horan stretched and smacked his mouth. “Guh, I wish I did. I feel like I ate a rabid dog while it was still alive.”
“That’s an… interesting analogy.”
“I’ve been waiting to use it for a while. It’s accurate.” Horan opened his eye. “Where’d the carrots come from?”
Mark took another carrot and popped it into his mouth. “ I stuffed my pockets with whatever I could get my hands on while I rescued you, now I need to eat it all before it goes bad.”
“Oh, gee, glad to see you had your priorities in order.”
“Hey, it worked out! They had potato wedges! How did they even get a working air fryer?”
“Ooh, can I have some?”
“I wouldn’t say yes even if there were any left.”
“Buzzkill.” Horan got up and checked his clothes. “No, I left in my silk clothes! These’ll just get ruined again! We should go back and pick up my travel clothes. Actually, while we’re at it-“
“We’re not going back. We’re not even going near. We’re already 150 miles away.”
“But my clothes! My YA! All I have from our stay is this sweet eyepatch!”
“But nothing. And I can tell you don’t want to risk your life for romance novels. Okay, I can say that with reasonable confidence.” Mark leaned back. “Why do you really want to go back?”
“I…” Horan sighed. “Fine. You got me, I’ll spill.”
“How the tables have turned, huh?”
“Shut up, I’m trying to be vulnerable!” Horan lay down on the backseat. “Remember how I mentioned my uncle Ren giving up the throne?”
“…Vaguely.”
“Yeah, well, I avoided the details because it… doesn’t really look good for us. Ren abdicated because he got old. Went senile.”
Mark nodded slowly. “But Primoi are, like, immortal. That’s kinda their whole thing, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, but Primoi are created and fuelled by attention from humans, the memory of the civilization that created them. You could see the power boost I got from Antioch. I probably still have it, unless they end up completely forgetting about me or something. But, if a Primus doesn’t get enough attention, if their connections to humanity slip enough minds, they end up turning mortal.”
“…Alright then. That kind of took a turn for the morbid.”
“Ayup. We Egyptians first manifested before Egypt got big enough to actually support a Domain of our size, back when Egypt was just a few farmers along the Nile. There were so few people for a while that becoming mortal was a real problem for us, so we were way more hands-on than we are now.”
“I can imagine that would be scary. I guess I’m just more used to the idea, as a human and all that?”
“Yeah, I guess so. Ren and a few others weren’t so lucky. Once a manifested Primus dies like that, there’s not a whole lot you can do. Most other Domains, at least the ones that are still around, aren’t quite as aware of that kind of thing, but the idea that that could happen to me is scary. I just don’t want to throw away my shot at staying around.”
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
Mark paused. “Alright. I guess that that’s an okay reason to want to go back. Honestly, I know how it feels, not knowing for sure if you’ll make it through everything.”
Horan grinned slightly. “And just like I definitely planned, you’re primed to unload your entire life story on me.”
“Oh, come on!” Mark playfully socked Horan in the arm.
“I said I would! And now you have to! I win!” Horan cackled.
“I don’t have to do anything yet.” Mark folded his arms. “But I’m still going to, because I feel like being nice today.”
“That’s out of character.”
“Keep biting the hand and see how much more feeding gets done, I dare you.”
“You don’t feed me at all, remember?”
“Thin ice!”
Horan held up his hands. “Alright, alright, I’m done. Now hit me with all the mysterious dark backstory you’ve got.”
Mark took a deep breath. “Well, I didn’t do too well when I was younger, so as you know, I joined the army as soon as I could and served for five years.”
“And I assume you were good at it.”
“One of the best. But, I eventually got sent back home. Unfortunately, I kinda didn’t set up any fall-back plans, so I couldn’t really get any kind of job. I ended up on the streets until the whole Nabbing business, and it was all because of me not thinking about the future. I killed a whole bunch of people all over the world, got pretty messed up in the process, and ended up homeless, and all I got was this.”
He pulled out his medal. “I don’t even know why I still keep it. I guess so I can feel like my whole life has actually amounted to anything? To remember that I still have a chance to accomplish something? I don’t even know anymore. It’s stupid, I know all that’s a lie. Nowadays, I’ve just been trying to get from one day to the next. I guess that’s what I’ll do until I die.”
Horan, who had been staying quiet so as to not interrupt Mark’s depressing ramble, spoke up. “Well, hey. It looks like things have been looking up for you. You found me, and now you get the honour of driving me across the apocalypse so that I can end up back in power!”
“Yippee.” Mark groaned. “And there I go, telling way too much to someone I know way too little about.”
“Hey, you know you can trust me. I’m Horan! Your ol’ buddy!”
“I’m n… Fine. Sure. Say whatever you want, just don’t expect me to treat you like a friend. That doesn’t work out for people.”
“Ooh, more backstory?” Horan leaned forward teasingly. “It simply never ends with you! Keep going!”
Mark turned back and stuffed the last of the baby carrots in his mouth. “Sorry, that’s all the emotional vulnerability you’ll get from me today. Now back to the road, we’re still going to get the Greeks.”
“You’re no fun.”
“Cry all you want.” Mark continued the trip, back on track. Horan sat in the back silently. After a few minutes of driving, Horan spoke again.
“Hey.”
Mark sighed. “What?”
“What’s your name?”
Mark stopped the car and looked back at Horan “…What?”
Horan shrugged awkwardly. “I’ve just kept you in my head as ‘the human’ this whole time, I don’t think I ever picked up on your name. So, uh, what is it? Your name?”
Mark harrumphed. “Oh, yeah, you haven’t. Actually, when was the last time anyone said my name?”
“Wow, that’s super depressing.”
“Y… Yeah, actually. That is kinda pathetic.”
“Well then, tell me. Break the streak.”
“Right, yeah. It’s… Mark. I’m pretty sure.”
“You’re pretty sure? You don’t even know for a fact?”
“It’s been a long time, alright? Don’t judge!” Mark shoved Horan slightly, who allowed himself to fall back into the seat.
“Hey, I’m not. Don’t humans also have a second last name?”
“Yeah… Okay, that one I actually don’t remember.”
“Well, in either case, it’s nice to meet you. Mark.”
Mark started the car again. “Yeah, sure. Likewise.”
“That’s the best I’m going to get out of you, isn’t it?”
“Yup.”
“Fine then. It’s a start.” Sighing quietly, Horan reclined into the backseat.
Mark gripped the wheel. Was that rude? Horan was making a gesture, and was it insensitive of Mark to not return it? Wait, what was he saying? He didn’t care about what Horan felt. And yet, despite telling himself that…
“Hey, wanna sit up front?” Mark hesitantly patted the passenger seat.
“Oh, absolutely!” Horan instantly unbuckled himself and climbed up front through the gap in the front seats.
Mark stared a little. “What, you’re not gonna question it? No confusion?”
“Nope, I don’t wanna waste the chance.” Horan looked around. “Whoa, so many windows! I can see everything!”
“Calm down, it’s just a seating change.”
“It’s the second best seating change I have ever experienced!” Horan buckled himself in. “Let’s move! Front-row life, how I missed you!”
As Mark started driving again, Horan turned back to him. “Oh, and… Thanks. This helps.”
Mark didn’t take his eyes off the trail. “Yeah, sure, no problem.”
Horan smirked. “Oh, act as careless as you want, Mark. I know you mean it.”
“What? Oh, right, you can call me by name now. That’s gonna be weird.”
“Better get used to it, buddy.”
“You can’t tell me what to do.”
“Oh, we’ll see about that.” Horan patted down his seat and pulled it back. “Ooh. It reclines!”
Mark reached over and pulled the lever, making the seat slam into Horan’s back. “Don’t give me that obvious of a chance, because I will take it.”
Horan rubbed his neck. “Duly noted. Now stop stalling and drive us to our deaths.”
“You got it, boss.” Mark checked his course on the map and continued the trek northwest.