I tensed, pulling my arm back and putting some space between us. The intensity in her gaze was almost overwhelming, and for a moment, I felt my resolve waver. Maya was close, too close, and I could see the way her chest heaved from the adrenaline still coursing through her. Her breaths were quick and shallow, her cheeks flushed, and there was no mistaking the heat in her eyes. The aftermath of the battle had her keyed up, and there was something undeniable in her expression.
Before I could react, Maya closed the distance between us, her lips pressing against mine with a sudden, desperate hunger. The kiss caught me off guard, and for a brief moment, I didn’t resist. My mind went blank, the exhaustion and the remnants of the fight fading into the background as I found myself kissing her back. It was as if my body went on autopilot, responding to the closeness, to the warmth of her skin against mine. Her lips were warm, softer than I expected, and for a fleeting second, I was drawn into the moment—the taste of her, the way her breath mingled with mine, the distant sounds of the dead city muted by the thundering of my pulse in my ears.
But then I felt her tongue brush against my lips, forcing them open, and her hand slid down to my inner thigh, squeezing gently as she leaned in closer. That was when something inside me snapped back to reality. The image of my ex-girlfriend flashed in my mind—her smile, the way her eyes sparkled when I made her laugh, causing her to look at me with a kind of love I hadn’t felt anywhere else. The sudden memory hit me like a cold shock, the warmth of the kiss turning to ice in my veins. She was gone, dead, but the emotions tied to her weren’t. The guilt was suffocating, tightening around my chest as I realized how far I had drifted from the mission, from the person I was supposed to help and the person I wanted to be.
I broke away from the kiss, pulling back sharply as if her lips burned me. Maya blinked in surprise, her expression a mix of confusion and hurt as she tried to understand what had just happened. For a moment, her eyes widened, and I saw a flash of something darker—anger, no betrayal, before she quickly masked it. She laughed then, but it was hollow, forced, and her body stiffened as she stepped back, trying to reclaim some of the composure she had lost. The way her hands clenched into fists at her sides didn’t escape me.
“Maya,” I began, my voice thick with apprhension. The words felt heavy on my tongue, weighed down by the guilt gnawing at me. I had to be clear, to make sure there was no misunderstanding. “We need to stay focused. We’re not out of this yet. Elyria is here somewhere, and we need to find her.”
She stared at me, the wild light in her eyes dimming slightly as she processed my words. For a moment, I thought she might argue, or push further, but then she forced another laugh, stepping back and shrugging it off like it was nothing. “Right, of course,” she said, her voice tight, the earlier fervor in her tone replaced by something colder, more distant. “We’ve got a mission, after all. Can’t lose sight of that.”
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She tried to smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes, and the tension between us thickened, an uncomfortable silence settling between us. Maya turned away, her movements more mechanical now, as if she were on autopilot herself. The anger was still there, simmering just below the surface, and I could see how she struggled to hide it, her shoulders tense, her jaw clenched. The spark that had driven her before had been replaced by a heavy, palpable resentment.
Unfortunately, I did not have time to waste dwelling on her hurt feelings. So, I stood up, testing my strength after the effects of the potion. I wasn’t back to full health, but I was stable enough to continue. The kiss lingered in my mind, and I felt a sharp pang of guilt for even briefly letting go of my mission, for allowing myself to be distracted. The image of my ex-girlfriend still haunted me, a ghost of what I had lost, and I knew I couldn’t afford to lose focus, not now. I couldn’t lose anyone else.
“I’m ready to continue,” I said, adjusting my grip on my axe. The weight felt good and comfortable, a nice reminder of what we were doing here. “This place is still dangerous, and we need to find Elyria before something else shows up.”
Maya nodded, her voice clipped as she responded, “Right. Let’s go.”
We moved through the city in silence, the tension between us thick as the decaying streets of Ebonfall. Neither of us knew exactly where we were headed, but the increasing signs of decay pointed us in a direction—deeper into the heart of this forsaken place. It was a silent agreement between us: wherever Elyria was, it had to be where the danger was greatest. That’s just how these things worked.
The air grew heavier as we advanced, the stench of rot thickening with every step. The buildings around us seemed to lean inward, their skeletal frames groaning under the weight of centuries of neglect. Windows stared down at us like hollow eyes, empty and accusing, while the cobblestones beneath our feet were slick with a dark, viscous substance I didn’t want to identify.
“We’re getting close,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. Maya didn’t respond, but I could feel her tension in the air, a taut string ready to snap.
As we rounded a corner, I noticed the streets were narrowing, forcing us into tighter spaces. The signs of life—or unlife—grew stronger here. Bodies, or what was left of them, were strewn about, their faces twisted in agony, their limbs splayed at unnatural angles. The decay was worse here…
“Keep your eyes open,” I muttered, gripping my axe tighter. Maya just nodded, her lips pressed into a thin line. Her earlier fervor had been replaced with a grim cold. I could still feel the simmering anger beneath the surface, but for now, we were united by a common goal—finding Elyria and getting out of this hellhole alive.
It wasn’t long before the sound of shuffling feet reached our ears. I glanced back and saw them—the zombies we had narrowly escaped earlier were closing in, their hollow eyes fixed on our direction.
“Shit,” I hissed, quickening my pace. “We’ve got company.”