“And you can?”
She shakes her head. “But my strength and speed?—”
“No. That will not happen. You are mine to protect. I won’t send you to the battleground for me. By the Seven! That’s the most preposterous thing I’ve ever heard.”
“It was just a suggestion,” she mumbles.
“Delete that from your head. It willnothappen.”
“But—”
“No buts. I may not know how to fight but I will learn. And I willnotdie,” I vow.
She smiles. “All right. Then I’ll help you as much as I canwithoutfighting.”
I chuckle. “You’re the brains, Moe. I fight, you command.”
“Fine, fine. You do your manly stuff and I’ll do the intelligence gathering,” she says with a wink.
Once we have a plan for tomorrow, we spend some time looking around and sifting through the various items left behind by the ‘terminated individuals.’ All of them will be useful. Thereplates, cutlery and pans—though I don’t know if there’s a kitchen around to cook our own food or if we’ll have to buy everything.
There are various clothes left behind, and luckily, there’s something for both Moe and I. The feminine clothing is too big for her, however, so she has to find a way to make them fit. The male ones, however, are perfect for me if not a bit worn.
“More things we’re going to have to spend points on,” she grumbles under her breath when she sees some holes in my new shirts.
“Consumerism at its finest,” I joke.
There are four blankets and two pillows.
For Moe’s comfort, I place the most worn blanket between us and give her the softest one to cover herself.
She shakes her head at me but doesn’t refuse.
Sleep comes easy even when it shouldn’t. We’re too worn and we end up falling asleep within minutes of getting in bed.
Sleepingin isn’t an issue when a horn blares loudly in the air, signaling the start of the day.
A little disoriented, Moe and I look at each other as if confirming that everything we’ve been through was real and not a dream.
“Damn it,” we both mutter at the same time.
My lips tip up as she giggles at our well timed outbursts. The more time we spend together the more our minds seem to be in alignment.
“It’s time,” I say solemnly and walk toward the exit.
She takes my hand in hers as we leave the room.
The doorless exit is eerie. Once moment we’re inside the room, the next we’re outside.
The sky is still that endless, suffocating crimson. The ruins still stretch in every direction, more proof that none of it was a dream.
We’re in Aimaxion for better and for worse, and from now on we can only do our best to survive.
Far in the distance, there are barely visible figures moving between the ruins. They’re too far to make out anything specific, yet the implication is clear. They’re other fighters. My potential future opponents.
The realization sharpens something in my chest.
Is it fear? Excitement? Something in between?
