Of what had made it through the destruction of the jeep, the group found some cans of food, bottles of water, combat knives, a first aid kit, and, most importantly, a bottle of wine. They didn’t have any cups remaining, so after carefully removing the cork, Helmet took a swig and passed it to Slacks. The sniper took a smaller drink and gave the bottle to Bandana, who did not hold back.

Glasses was next, and he took a fair share, leaving just enough for half a glass. Angela looked at the wine in horror as he placed it in her shaky fingers.

“I’ve never had alcohol,” she admitted, unsure what to say.

“Ha, she kills all those Worms but is afraid of wine,” Slacks said in a mocking tone, which gave way to a nasty cough. Had his condition not been terrible, she might have snapped back, but she slowly brought the bottle to her lips and took a sip.

Angela coughed at the sudden burn of alcohol.

“Ah, it’s terrible; why would anyone drink this?” The others laughed a hearty laugh and coughed softly. Angela rolled her red eyes and choked down the rest of the drink; by the end of the bottle, the taste sweetened, and she felt she was understanding some of the appeal.

Helmet laughed and held out a hand to Glasses. He pulled the boy to his feet and did the same for Angela. Both were shaky, Angela with weakened legs and Glasses with his broken leg. To the boy’s surprise, if his face was any indication, Angela caught him before he fell to the ground. They almost fell over together, but each used what strength was left to remain standing, like an upside-down ‘V.’

“You shouldn’t be helping; when’s the last time you walked?” he protested.

“Says the guy with a broken leg.”

“Ah… fair enough.”

The older man pulled off his Helmet—revealing weary gray hair from underneath—and sat it on Glasses head. Both heads of the young ones turned in a snap to the older man. His eyes were calm, but Angela felt like he was holding back some pain. The young man looked down. The headwear hid his eyes from their view, but streams of water pouring down from underneath said enough. Angela looked back and forth between the two. Bandana swayed behind Helmet, and Slacks had to catch him to keep him from falling over—the sniper looked like he might have gone down just the same. She opened her mouth to say something but was stopped by the old man speaking.

“We got through this, but there is still a long journey ahead. You two should get going, and we’ll meet up with you later.”

“What are you talking about?” Angela shouted. Glasses nodded silently.

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“We are going to hang back here and clean up; I think there are at least three bodies that need burying in that base,” Helmet pointed with a thumb to the worm base where the flames began dying. “We will also want to make sure we intercept any reinforcement. It’s a tactical sort of thing.”

“Bullshit,” Angela shouted. She jerked so violently that the two of them almost fell over. After they stabilized, the girl continued. “I didn’t jump into this fray just so you all could….” Her eyes welled up with tears, and she stopped mid-sentence as she focused on the older man’s armless, blood-covered side.”

She wasn’t stupid enough to assume they might live through it, but she wanted to deny it with all she had. If she had been with them from the beginning, would things have been the same? Angela shook her head and squeezed her red eyes shut.

“We were lucky to have met you on this journey, Angela.” As Helmet spoke, Slacks strung together the surviving supplies and hung them over Glasses back. Bandana had been guided over the jeep and leaned on it while crossing his arms, not realizing he looked like he could pass out at any moment.

“Stop.”

“And I am honored to have traveled with you so long, Gla–well, I guess we can’t call you that now that they are broken.”

“It was an honor for me; I would have been dead so much sooner without all of you,” the boy said through tears.

“Stop, damn it!”

“You kids best get going; the dark will soon grow.”

“I…” Glasses muttered before choking on his words, “I knew this might happen one day, but…. I mean it. It was a real honor to journey with you three! With all of you! You kept me alive for so long; I promise I won’t let it go to waste.”

Helmet smiled a proud smile and nodded. “You better say something now, Angela,” Glasses added in an almost whisper.

Angela ground her teeth together but said nothing. Glasses nodded as best he could, while letting his head hang low. They slowly turned and walked away. Tears welled in her red eyes, and Angela couldn’t hold them back. She had finally been freed but had to part once again.

She turned to the machine and eyed the yellow husk that had been her home for many years. A strong desire to let run back filled her, and she was sure Glasses winced as her grip tightened. Angela didn’t want to let go until they were too far to turn around. Silently, her head dropped low.

“Do you think we’ll be alright?” she whispered to Glasses.

He took a moment before replying.

“We have no choice but to be alright.”

“Shouldn’t we stay here… we both know….”

“They don’t want us to see them pass…. Maybe they just don’t want you to see it up close. It’s an uncomfortable thing watching someone die….” Glasses barely got the word ‘die,’ out. He cleared his throat before continuing. “We should honor their wishes, but if you have something to say, don’t leave it unsaid….”

Angela squeezed her eyes tightly. They continued to hobble forward to an unknown future, and she was suddenly filled with a desire not to leave without one last word. She racked her brain over what to say, and when they were likely just about to get too far for voices to carry, it finally hit her.

“Wait!” Angela shouted; she turned back as best she could to look at the trio, who settled to stand side by side. “At least tell me your names!”

They looked at each other in shock and then chuckled.

“Marco,” shouted Bandana.

“Lucas,” grumbled Slacks.

“Matt,” said Helmet. “You tell her yours on your own, Glasses.”

“Aidan,” the boy added.

Angela bit her lower lip, and her eyes fluttered around momentarily before responding.

“Thank you, all of you,” she said as tears fell from her eye anew. She ignored the streams and continued. “I promise I’ll live well, for your sakes.”

“That’s all we could ask for,” Helmet replied with a smile.