Their egress was the drunken escape from a murder, at least that was what she felt. Mensha didn’t say a word and gazed vacantly at the world. Not the same apathy she had seen earlier but lost in thought.

They found their belongings and Summer a bottle to wash her tired hands. Mensha stared at the ever-changing cityscape.

“Mensha, wash your hands we need to sleep, We,” She looked at the field of corpses and up at the unknown skyscrapers surrounding them. “We’ll sleep in the building we cleared earlier.” She sighed and forced her tired legs to walk.

He followed wordlessly, she barely glanced at the bodies as she led them to an empty room.

She discarded her dirty clothes in a heap, but the filth caked her skin. She didn’t bother sighing and dragged Mensha to wipe down in the bathroom. He stared at his hands as he cleaned them.

“I killed him.” He said as if commenting on a cloud.

“Do you,” she said swaying on her feet. “ want to talk about it?” she said and raised her head from checking herself for yellow threads.

“Do you?” he looked into her eyes.

“No,“ she said and turned away, “But,” she took a breath. “When we wake up we should. Otherwise, I don’t think we ever will.” She chuckled and didn’t know why, she met his gaze.

“Okay,” tired sadness painted his words, she smiled against burgeoning tears.

They fell into the stranger’s bed and she held him close. Her hands traced familiar lines though life had never been stranger, at least she still had him. Her thoughts faded to a light glow.

She burst awake, a scream caught in her throat as her eyes snapped open to a bright unfamiliar room. She rocked to her feet tripped and fell to the Cold hard ground. She tried to kick free something tangled her flailing limbs.

A voice called to her and she jerked to meet Mensha’s tired, worried eyes. She froze, and he walked off the bed and picked her up, and brought her back to the bed while she tried to do the same with her racing heart.

She noticed neither of them were dressed and her mind spun in a new direction. “Nightmares?” he said and pulled her into a hug.

“Ya,” she supplied, “Ah shit sorry for waking you.” She said and leaned into him, as her body relaxed.

“Do you want to talk about them?” He said perfectly relaxed.

“Talk, I can’t remember them,” she chuckled but stopped as the hint of a memory came to her. “But I think you have some ideas.”

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“Hmm.”

‘So,” she said

“So?” Her replied

“We, were going to talk.” She said and left his embrace to meet his eyes. He sighed and glanced away. “Were you hoping I’d forget.?”

“A bit,” he said returning his gaze with a smile, “But, your right.” He straightened, and she forced her gaze not to wonder, too far. “Where’d we stop.”

Her gaze settled as her hazy thoughts parted into seriousness. “How do you feel.”

He stared through, in that way he always did when he tried to order thoughts without looking away. “Okay,”

Her lips curled in confusion.

“I mean my legs hurt, I didn’t sleep well, I’m anxious, I still have no idea what we’re doing but on the whole.” He paused,” Were alive, not hurt, we’re learning more about all this.” He lazily waved. “Okay.”

“But what about,” she couldn’t say it.

“Jerico,” she fled his gaze, she couldn’t escape the dissonant wistfulness in his voice. “I, regret the situation we were in, I’m sad thinking about what happened to him and it wouldn’t be honest to say I’ve fully processed it, but I’m fine.”

She turned to stare at him. “What?”

He shrugged, eyes calm but tinged with sadness. “It’s something I did, and maybe there something was better we could do, but I panicked and all I could think is that he was a minute away from turning into something and eating us.” He smiled but there was no joy in it. “And I didn’t want you to do it.”

A silence passed between them. He did what he couldn’t and was fine. She was glad, but. “I’m sorry,” she said and looked down then to the side as she saw something that distracting.

“What have I told you about apologizing for other people’s choices.” He said with faint humor.

She sighed. “Be serious, Mensha.”

“I am.” She glanced at his face. Gravitas co-mingled with levity in his eyes, she sighed again.

“If I’d done it,” she said through grit teeth, “You wouldn’t have had to choose.” Her glare rose to the uncaring ceiling “If I’d been strong enough If I’d -”

“Summer,” a finger pressed against her lips and brought her gaze to his. “Don’t say that. You’re the strongest person I know.” The quiet love in his eyes burned, and she looked away.

“Just not where it counts.”

“Now you’re being silly,” He laughed and fresh heat came to her cheeks. “I mean it, with or without the magic. You’ve gotten us here,”

“Where we can get killed.”

“Where we can help people.”

“We’ve helped no one, Mensha.” She hissed and looked back, he smiled at her.

“Maybe but we’re trying.” His hand found hers and squeezed. “We failed,” She tried to channel his calm, “but it doesn’t your wrong for trying.” She failed and sorrow slipped across her face and anger followed swiftly

She laughed at the tears threatening her eyes., “Why are you always so positive? Be miserable with me for once.”

Love softened his dark eyes. “Sorry, but someone has to be positive, and I’ll hold that role until you’re ready for it.”

She closed her eyes and breathed. A thorn stabbed her heart. “I was relieved,” her eyes opened to his confused expression. She hurried before courage fled her. “I’m glad it wasn’t me.” She shut her eyes and hunched up.

A hug shot her eyes open. His fingers curled lazy circles on her back. Tension escaped and the light dimmed.

“Don’t you have anything to say,” she said and wrapped her arms around his waist.

“Contrary to what you may believe, I don’t always know what to say.” The smile tinged his voice.

She closed her eyes, Remnant blood, warm skin, soft blankets, and the silence beyond them greeted her. Outside the world wasn’t waiting people were dying. For a moment it all rushed into her, the certainty of death, the breadth of destruction weighed on her heart until it threatened to break.

She laughed and let it slip by. She choose warmth, she’d meet the world and all its challenges despite her failings. She would learn. “Are hugs your secret weapon?”

“No,” He pulled back, “This is,”

He kissed her, and for a moment she forgot the world.

Her eyes blinked open, to his playful eyes