90 DEADLY DAYS (WEEKLY UPDATES RETURNING THIS DECEMBER)

Chapter 12

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Chapter 12

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Dusk settles on us. It's then I finally break the palpable tension between Kerry and I.

"How did you find me?"

Kerry stops, turning to me slowly.

"I didn't know it was you, actually. Not until I got closer. All I knew was it was a Graduate in need, and I thought I could help."

I shake my head. He would fight a band a Raiders for someone he never meant before? "That'll be your downfall someday Kerry."

"But it brought me you," he grins cautiously. "Seems like the stars are in our favor."

"Maybe." Maybe the sun was listening yesterday morning. 

The silence resumes, though it isn't as tense as before. I take longer strides, ending up swaggering at Kerry's side. He rolls his eyes and smiles, showing two rows of perfect teeth. I grin back, playfully nudging his side.

"Soon, Jewel, me, and you will all be together, and then this won't be so bad. It'll be just like home, except a little more dangerous... and there would be no Adonis."

A lump rises into my throat. Casting my eyes to the cluttered leafy ground, I bite my lip hard. The pinch replaces sadness.

Kerry pauses. "He's alright birdie, I'm sure he is."

My eyes snap to his face.

"He has to be."

Foliage crunches under our feet. I duck my head. Rough warmth suddenly surrounds my fingers. I look down to see Kerry taking my hand.

Grey eyes filling with assurance, he smiles, seeming older than I've ever imagined him. "We're going to be alright, Phoenix. All of us."

We will.

We will be.

Won't we?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Darkness covers the valley, making it easy to spot the fires blazing in distant ruins. But that's all I can see, that and a few distorted shadows of city walls crumbled into a decrepit state. They remind me of all the piles of Helion rubble. Heap after heap of desolate, broken structure choked by vines. I guess it's nature's way of saying that some things won't last forever.

Up above, a few stars twinkle their greetings. Kerry smiles back. I remember his love for constellations and brim with warmth too, but for a different reason.

My heart pitter patters.

"I guess it's sort of true what they say. Darkness can be beautiful," he muses.

I'm afraid I can't agree. Darkness to me hides in a cold, hollow room void of light. The floor bears filthy carpet and bugs scramble up the walls. The music pervading the black depths is the melody of whispered threats. Darkness is something I endure, not enjoy.

But I nod, because right now Kerry is happy and I don't want to become a raincloud.

As we approach the fires, I spot people stalking amidst the orange light. Fire illuminates parts of their faces and figures, making them ghostly and distorted. Out of nowhere one of them charges for us, stopping centimeters away from breaking the laws of personal space.

"What are you doing here?" Their breath smells dry, as if they haven't drunk water in days. Thankfully it smells nothing like their clothes, the scent of those only comparable to death. Ugly, bloody death.