One Last Dream

21. The Collector

The stairwell was as dark and looming as it was before. The girl turned on her small flashlight so she wouldn't end up tumbling down the stairs. To be safe, she made sure to stay a good ways behind John and Emily so they wouldn't notice her. It quickly became apparent, however, that her precautions were not entirely necessary as John and Emily were quite loud.

The metal sled scraped and banged with each step. The acoustics of the enclosed stairwell didn't help much either.

Were we really this loud on the way up? the girl thought to herself.

"You alright?" John said below, interrupting her train of thought.

"I..." Emily hesitantly responded, "I wish we could've stayed with her at least until the end..."

John sighed, "The rust is already leaking all over the tent. These suits aren't doing too hot either. Sooner or later we would've accidentally infected her. Every step we take is toxic. Even right now, we could be inoculating the ground as we go."

"Yeah I know," Emily responded. "But, that girl..." She sighed again, "Her parents left her behind... and now we're doing the same too."

"I'm sure she understands why." John said.

"There's a difference between understanding and feeling." Emily replied, panting a bit from the exertion. "...You still feel it... that feeling of being left behind... even if it makes sense..."

They grew silent as they continued the walk.

The girl sniffled a bit as she followed in the darkness. Wishes for eternity swirled within her as she went.

When they reached the halfways point, they finally stopped for a rest. The girl's legs wobbled under her. It was easier going down than up, but she was still tired from all the jogging from the previous day.

She sat down on the landing above the two adults and reached out with her mind, trying to emulate that woman on that platform in the ocean. She couldn't really tell if it was working... but then, she felt it. Two weary souls in the darkness. Two intents only, wishing only for rest and perhaps some food. John and Emily.

So they were alone for now.

Even so, she could still feel the darkness looming above, giving her a great sense of unease. Perhaps a hand would reach out from the landing door next to her and snatch her away before she could scream. Even though John and Emily were nearby, their torchlights didn't reach her. She sat in the darkness.

The two adults ripped open some ration packs and began eating. This feat was no easy task. They had actually stored the food in their suits next to their bodies beforehand. They had to retract their arms close to themselves and wiggle about to get the food pack before opening it all within their suit.

The girl carefully opened a small box with leftovers from yesterday and began eating quietly.

"You think we're going to find anything out there?" Emily's voice came from below.

"Honestly?" John's voice came out muffled as he was presumably talking while chewing. "I doubt it. Earlier generation nanomachine doses have mostly been recalled, the rest have probably been looted."

"And even if we do find some..." Emily's voice trailed off.

"Yep... pretty much." John mused out loud. "The last dose only lasted like what? Four days? These new nanomachines are growing resistant to the old ones."

"...do you think we should call it?" Emily asked.

"Call it?" John asked, then after a pause: "Oh."

"We've already said our goodbyes to the girl, we can just find somewhere high enough and..."