Food was the elf's answer. The berries Sunny brought back were a nice start but he came from further north. Unlike his southern kin, the elfin clan he was a part of were hunters. They ate meat and fish primarily.

"Sorry for the trouble," he finished his lecture.

It was the middle of the night when Sunny began loading up the cart attached to her bicycle with the results of her hunting throughout the week: meat carved from various animals ready to cook; hide armors she crafted; and fur she skinned from bears. Bringing this to the Market every Saturday ensured that she was able to get the supplies she needed with credit left over.

The elf shifted slightly in his sleep, but Sunny wasn't worried. Even if he was a light sleeper, her kind was built for stealth.

Finished with her task, Sunny retreated to her nest built out of scavenged blankets and settled to re-read Frankenstein again.

The next morning, the sky was obscured by fat gray clouds and even without the smell of petrichor, the humidity would have forecast the coming storm. Sunny made a note to get more tarp in case the ceiling started leaking. And more blankets, she added after remembering her living guest.

"You'll be okay?" Sunny asked before she left. "Do you need any of the tea before I leave?"

The elf gave her a wry smile. "I'll be fine. I'll keep myself occupied with this." He waved the book she had handed him that morning, The Fellowship of the Ring. "We didn't have much exposure to human literature where I'm from, so this should be interesting."

Sunny was uneasy about leaving the elf alone in her home, free to snoop as he pleased. But besides the fact that he could barely walk, it would be more suspicious if she explicitly stated that she wanted him to not look around. It would tell him that there was something to look for.

Sunny tugged her scarf up and went outside to mount her bike. The large load on the back was no struggle for her to pull and the ride was only across the street. She rode out of the driveway of the library and smoothly peddled across the street and into the parking lot of the former church. A congregation still gathered in the parking lot every Sunday, filling the air with whatever improvised instruments they could find.

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The vendors were already set up and merrily haggling as she pulled up. She found her station and unloaded her wares before setting up a box and wandering away. By this point, people knew that she ran her shop by an honor system. Drop money or an IOU into the box and take what they want. Sunny, not needing any of it, was indifferent to how much she got as long as she had enough currency to get herself what she needed.

The coming rain couldn't drown out the smell of food, loaded with spices distinct to the area. If zombies hungered for that sort of thing, this place would be a beacon. She followed the strongest smell of spices to Basemath, or as everyone knew her, the Crawfish Lady.

"Hey, my favorite customer," the woman called out.

Sunny gave a casual wave. "I'm here for the usual. Two servings though. I found one of yours on my doorstep."

The spoon Basemath was using to stir slipped from her hands. "One of mine? Everyone's accounted for." As the head of her clan, she would know best.

Sunny looked over the jars of spices the elfin woman had on the table. Would the elf want seasoning for his food in the future? Probably. "Not one of your local ones. He said he was called from up North to help you guys out." She opened one of the jars and let the smell waft up to her. One of Basemath's custom all-purpose seasonings. She showed it to Basemath and tucked it away. Basemath could collect her payment from her stall.

Basemath's mouth made an 'o' of surprise. "Abel. We were wondering where he went off to. A little worried, too. He took a portal to get down here quickly but if he's going to finish his mission, he's going to have to do it soon. Missing the portal will mean a long trip back North overland."

So the elf's name was Abel, she noted. She probably should have asked, but she was more concerned with getting the elf out of her space than what his name was.

"Do you want me to swing him by your place?" Sunny offered.

Regardless of what his mission was, it was probably best that he get back through the portal as soon as possible. Back when the apocalypse began, rifts opened across the world and dumped beings that humans once saw as imaginary onto their doorstep.

In the current day, those rifts still opened and closed after a certain amount of time. They could even be predicted to some extent and used to travel. But they would never take the magical beings back to their homeland.

Basemath sighed then shook her head. "I've seen that rickety thing you call a bike and you know how the roads are. They were terrible even before everything started falling apart. If he hasn't come back yet, it's because he's too injured to be jostled around."

"Alright. I'll keep you updated."

"Thanks! Swing back around in an hour. I'll have your food ready, on the house."

Sunny nodded then walked away to check off the rest of her shopping list.