We Fall Like Rain

If Only We Had A Time Machine

Kalen found Maggie in a small alcove down a dark hallway. She was looking up at the ceiling, leaning against the wall.

"Anything?" He asked, making her jump slightly.
"No, nothing." She said with a sad smile.
"What now?"
"Now... we..." she didn't know. Kalen knew it was a stupid question to ask. Of course, she had no idea what to do, just the same as him.

"We'll leave when Lia's better, go to a barricaded town or something. We can't risk you getting dragged into the war, Kalen."
"We could just stay here."
"This is a safe haven, yes. But it's mostly for the sick or those in desperate need. We can get by on our own." Maggie said, the eternal optimist.

"Because that worked out so well last time" Kalen responded. Maggie sighed at his sarcasm.
"What do you want me to do? We can't time travel at will, we don't have a time machine and we certainly aren't Gods. It's out of our control, Kalen." Her voice was steady, firm but not harsh. Maggie could never really be angry at anyone for a while. She'd never liked fighting, even when she dealt with her idiot boyfriend, Josh.

Kalen ran a hand through his hair and nodded. Maggie leant off the wall and walked down the hallway towards the back door. He decided to let her be, she'd come back after a breather and some space.

Kalen headed to Thalia's room. She was sat up taking small bites of porridge. Charlie was sat beside her on the bed talking quietly.

"Hey" Thalia smiled up at him when she saw him by the door.
"You're looking better... that's good." He said, a small smile of relief appeared on his face.
"Yeah, still feel a bit dizzy when I stand though."

Charlie stood and smiled at Lia.
"I'm going to go find Maggie."
She left when Thalia nodded.
Kalen walked over to the bed and sat at the
other end of it.

"Drink something."
"I've drunk plenty."
"Well drink more. You need your strength. Can't have you dying on me."
She huffed a laugh and shook her head.
"It will take a lot more than a little fever and a few scrapes and bumps to finish me off." She responded, her voice more upbeat than the words she just said.

"I'm sorry" Kalen breathed. She looked at him with confusion written all over her face, then it hit her.
"Don't be stupid. You have nothing to apologise for, Kal."

"No, but I do. You were there for days. All sorts could have happened to you. I made a promise to keep you safe-"
"-And you have kept that promise since we were eight years old. Stop blaming yourself." Her eyes were deep blue and held his stare. "You are not responsible for the actions of others."

He looked down at his hands and sighed. When he looked up, a smile was on his face. Kalen knew better than to challenge her, she was kind but fierce when it came to her friends' well-being and he knew she would have shouted at him until he stopped blaming himself.

"As long as you're ok, that's all I care about." He finally said. She tilted her head and smirked.
"Promise, I'm good. What do we do next?"
"We'll go to a Town up North, it's not as bad there."
"I should be back to myself sometime tomorrow. We can leave then?"
"I'll talk to the others."

The next day, Kalen found himself helping Niki pack a small bag of supplies the monks had generously given them. They'd head straight for the backcountry roads and keep walking until they hit a village. Then They'd try as far North as their legs could take them.

Niki zoned out for a moment, sitting on the edge of her bed with the satchel next to her.
"What's wrong?" Kalen found himself reaching for her hand and giving a small squeeze, in which she returned.

"Just thinking about how different it is back home." She shrugged and her eyes drifted towards Kalen's.
"Yeah, like a different world." He said in agreement.
"Do you think they're looking for us?" She almost whispered it.

Kalen had wondered the same thing. If the time ran parallel to the twenty-first, then they would have been missing for almost a month now.

"I don't know. Maybe." He couldn't give her the answer she wanted- The answer they all wanted. He didn't want to guess before, so naturally, he didn't think too long on that topic.

"Come on, get your things together. We're leaving in a few hours." He said, standing up and heading towards the door. He spun quickly on his heels to meet her eyes from across the room. "Try not to think on it too much, you'll only find yourself upset." She simply looked towards the half-full bag and gave a small nod.

It was almost noon when they left the monastery. They walked for a long time in silence, passing small streams, open fields and breezy woodland trails.

Eventually, night came like a sweeping wave overhead and they settled down in the woods.
Maggie and Charlie set up alert traps all around the perimeter of their makeshift tents.
"This should make a sound and alert us to any unwanted guests." Charlie stated, tying the last string around the base of a thin tree.
They sat back by the small fire Niki had struggled to start.

"Let's hope we don't get kidnapped this time." Niki said. Kalen smirked, but there was no humour in her tone.

"We'll probably freeze to death before that happens." Charlie quipped.

"Don't get my hopes up." Kalen joked. Maggie huffed a laugh and Lia shook her head.

When the smiles faded, and the cold returned once more, Niki spoke up again.
"I really want something stronger than water to drink."

"I want a cup of tea. Proper tea" Lia sighed.

"I just want a chocolate brownie ice cream." Charlie added.
Everyone groaned at that. It had been about a month since they had eaten the food of the twenty-first, and they missed it dearly.

"If only we had a time machine." Kalen said.
A moment of silence settled before they broke out laughing.

"Yeah, the TARDIS would be great right about now." Charlie whispered.
Maggie nodded, staring off into the low burning flames of the fire.