The group headed toward a large hut and I followed behind Luke. Inside, an old man with many wrinkles got up from his rocking chair and smiled. It was an old smile, but carried years of kindness and warmth. I couldn't help but smile back.
"Ah Luke, it seems you've come again." The old man smiled at Luke, who only blinked in confusion. I didn't know what to think, did the old man know him? "This must be your new group." He said, and looked at me.
"Jaylynn Meza. You always keep a kind smile, no matter what you're going through." The man looked at me with wise eyes, and I almost felt as if he knew my memories and thoughts.
"Luke was knocked out, and he lost his memories. Is there any way to regain them?" Asher interrupted, and the old man nodded and led the reluctant Luke over toward a small bed. Luke laid down on it, and I watched the old man chant words from a foreign language as he placed his hands on Luke's forehead. Luke kept his eyes shut, and I examined his expression from where I was standing. It morphed from anger, to sadness, shock, and occasionally happiness. Some expressions he showed I couldn't even describe. Luke's eyes suddenly flung open, and he stared right at the witch doctor. He looked quite confused, as the witch doctor took his hands off his forehead and backed up.
"Luke, do you remember me?" I walked toward him, cautiously.
"Of course Jay! What am I doing here though." He had an extremely confused expression as he looked around.
"You got quite a large blow to your head, and forgot everything. We're here in hopes to regain them." I smiled, and held out my hand to help him up. He gladly took it, and I pulled him to his feet.
"I'm so glad you're back." I hugged him tightly, taking in his familiar scent. Luke gently hugged me back, and I clutched his hand, before looking at the witch doctor.
"Thank you," I said warmly, and the witch doctor smiled. "Is there anything I can do to repay you?" He just shook his head,
"No dear, all I ask is that you keep your beautiful smile. Times are going to get rough, but things will get better. I know." He said, and I nodded and the group thanked him one last time.
---
The whole way back through the city, I couldn't stop the bubbling fear in my stomach. What was about to happen?
When I looked at Luke, he looked even more terrified and sad than I did. I suddenly wondered what he'd have been like if none of this had happened to him. What would we all be like? But, if none of it would have happened, I wouldn't be as good of friends with Melody, Dash and Lev. I wouldn't have met wonderful people, and I would never have met Luke. I squeezed Luke's hand,
"Remember what he said though. Times will get better." I smiled, and Luke pushed my hand off and clenched his fists.
"I can't deal with anything more at the moment." He said, and I gently touched his back.
"I know, neither can I." I whispered.
"We found another abandoned hotel!" Kylen, Kayleigh, Melody and Lev called out from ahead. I stared up to see a hotel that was in decently good shape. It still looked pretty broken down though.
"Good enough." I shrugged, and headed toward the building. I instantly headed up to the third floor, just to see if it wasn't heavily effected. Sure, it wasn't the nicest and smelled of mold and rotting flowers. The thing that made up for it was that the windows weren't broken, and it didn't seem affected by radiation. Luke followed in behind me, and examined it for a few seconds.
"It's nice. I guess." I chuckled softly, and Luke shrugged,
"Oh well." He walked toward one of the beds and laid down. Melody came up beside me,
"Well, I guess everyone is staying on floor three then." She grinned, and I laughed.
"I'll let you two have some 'time'." She winked when she said that word, and left us in peace. Apprentice walked in after her, and I smiled at my dog, before checking his collar. Once again, zero percent.
"You can take your gas mask off." I smiled at Luke, who nodded and slowly peeled it off. I then took of my own, and crawled under the covers next to him.
"I'm so glad you're okay." I said, and snuggled into his arm. Luke said nothing, and ran his hand through my hair.
"We're going to make it through this." I said, and sat up, looking down at his gas mask.
"Yeah." He said, and dragged my waist to lay me back beside him. I giggled, and laid my hand on his chest. The two of us just listened to our quiet breathing and relaxed for hours, until I finally shut my eyes.
---
Morning came quicker than I thought, and when I awoke, the bed beside me was empty.
"Luke?" I looked around, worry building up.
"Right here." He said and walked out from the bathroom, his hair dripping wet.
"Did you have a shower?" I asked, smiling slightly. He nodded, and I kept to my feet and ran into the bathroom. I could hear Luke softly chuckling as I shut the door behind me. The shower was pretty cold, but I guess it was a shower. I peeled off my gross, sweaty clothes and eased into the shower. It felt cold at first, but I got used to it as I ran my hands through my hair, and tried to relax.
When I finished my shower and wrapped a towel around me, I felt clean and refreshed. I instantly remembered I forgot my backpack outside. Hissing, I pulled open the door and walked straight for my backpack. Luke had seen me, and out of the corner of my eye, I could tell he was trying hard not to blush.
"Sorry." I muttered and walked back into the bathroom, taking off my towel and changing into clean clothes.
"There." I smiled to myself, and walked out into the bedroom.
"I forgot to say good morning." I said, and walked toward Luke. I planted a quick kiss on his lips, and Luke reacted by pulling me closer and kissing me harder.
"Luke, we should meet the others." I let go of him, blushing.
"Right. Sorry." He blushed, and averted his gaze.
"It's not that I didn't enjoy that though. We just don't want to get too carried away." I said awkwardly. Luke's eyes went wide, and his face turned a deep shade of red.
"Let's go." He got up and headed for the door, and I followed. The two of us walked down the hallway, and I knocked gently on the doors to see if anyone was awake. Everyone was, and we all decided to meet on the main floor. While my group got ready, Luke, Apprentice and I made our way down to the main floor, and we stood awkwardly while waiting. Apprentice sat at my feet, and I giggled before petting him on the head, and I watched his eyes close.
"You have a strange dog." Luke joked, and I chuckled,
"I defiantly do." He walked toward me, and then leaned forward, kissing me. I placed my hands on my back, and was about to continue when Apprentice let out a bark. Luke and I let go of eachother, and looked to see my dog who continued barking. I instantly laughed, Apprentice always did this to draw attention so he would get pet.
"Oh Apprentice." I sighed, and Luke and I laughed,
"I guess we should be happy he stopped us though." Luke shrugged and I smiled.
"Good point."
"We're here!" Melody smiled and wrapped me in a quick hug. The group followed after her.
"Let's get moving!" Kayleigh grinned, and we headed out of the hotel. We kept heading down the city streets, but when we stopped at one street to examine our surroundings, I realized it looked all too familiar. This was the street where Nova told me about my future. About me crying. I froze for a second, and the others seemed to notice exactly why I was scared.
"This is the place." Nova spoke, her voice shaky. I nodded, and then heard the horrible noises of mutants. When I turned my head, I looked to see an army of them approaching.
"No." I whispered, pulling my handguns from my belt.
