Wendy could barely keep her eyes open by the time they landed, while Nolan appeared more awake than he had been his entire life (she assumed). He held his backpack tightly – appearing to be barely filled but Wendy knew that it was packed with all sorts of equipment and notes. She was still confused as to how he managed to make it look so empty from the outside.
"The Poplin Library is about a two-hour drive North of Dublin, just outside of a small town called Wickward," Nolan stated, turning back to Wendy. He hissed through his teeth as he spotted her.
She held onto her backpack with one hand, the other hung loosely at her side. She had on a black t-shirt with a yellow and green flannel paired with gray sweatpants, all of which added to her extreme tiredness.
"Are you okay?" he asked, placing a hand on her arm.
"I'm exhausted," she said with a heavy sigh. "I've never been out of the country so this jet lag is killing me."
"You've never been out of the country before?"
"Well, when your parents are wanted by the government and are most likely marked as shoot on sight, they don't usually take trips that extreme. Why do you think I had to go through that whole passport process?"
"That's... Okay yeah, fair point." He turned away, pulling out his phone as he appeared to be typing something in.
"What are you doing?" she questioned, her throat dry and her voice hoarse.
"I'm calling a taxicab for us. I'm not totally sure if they'll be able to take us all the way out there, but we can just keep switching from cab to cab until we get there."
"Or, we could just pay them a lot more than they're usually paid," Wendy suggested, walking past him to sit on a nearby bench.
"Do you think I'm made of money?" Nolan quipped as the phone began to ring.
"More than I am."
Even in her exhausted state, Wendy knew that Dublin was easily one of the most beautiful places she'd ever seen. Of course, she'd seen pictures – but that didn't measure up nearly as much as the real place did.
People were walking around with either the weight of the world on their shoulders or without a single car. She watched as they passed around her, pulling out phones, notepads, cigarettes and lighters, or whatever else fit in a purse or a pocket. Some got into cars that sped away while others continued to just walk around to wherever they're going.
City life was almost an artform.
"They'll be here in about ten minutes," Nolan said as he took off his backpack, plopping down in the seat next to her. "I managed to get a driver that's willing to take us all the way to Wickward. We can get a room there for the night and walk down one of the trails to the Poplin Library in the morning."
Without a second thought, Wendy let her head fall onto Nolan's shoulder as she replied, "Sounds like a plan."
For what felt like hours, but was most likely two minutes, Nolan and Wendy simply watched as the people around them kept up with their own lives. Living as they were the main characters of their own story.
"I'd like to move into a city like this one day," Wendy tiredly said, nearly slurring the words out.
"Oh yeah?" Nolan scoffed. "Where people are constantly yelling at each other, fighting one another off to get to the top, traffic accidents happen every two seconds, and the noise just doesn't seem to ever stop. Yeah, sounds like a dream come true."
"I don't want to move into a city because of that. I want to live in the city because when it all comes together, life is beautiful. You can't have a system without one thing working with the other. Whether that's where almost everyone knows to obey traffic laws – always stop at the red light – or superhumans know that they have to stay hidden to stay normal."
"Yeah, I suppose you make a good point." She could feel him nod slightly. "But I don't get why you'd want to move into the city when you live in a great small town outside of one of the greatest cities in the country. You should be getting the best of both worlds."
"I sleep in the small town," she corrected. "I live in the city."
Nolan didn't say anything else. The two waited in silence for the taxi to come pick them up. When it finally did, he pretty much had to drag Wendy to the car and throw her inside after putting their stuff into the trunk.
--
Wendy woke up about an hour into the drive, preparing to rub her eyes before she realized that she was once again leaning on Nolan's shoulder. She could feel her face heat up again but ignored the feeling as she saw what was pulled up on his phone.
On his screen was the photo of a young woman along with what looked to be a younger version of himself. She had long straight hair that was just a shade lighter than his, everything else about her was almost completely different – except her smile. They had the exact same toothy smile that seemed to light up the room.
"Is that your sister?" Wendy quietly asked.
Nolan let out a sharp breath, not moving as he allowed her to continue resting head on his shoulder. "Yeah, my older sister Tatum."
"She's really pretty."
"I know. She definitely knew that too," Nolan laughed dryly. "Yeah, she was pretty and smart as hell. You couldn't get anything past her – unless it was social cues. She was never very good at parties or new environments in general. She'd always struggle at first, then she'd find her group and become the brightest in the room."
"Tatum sounds great." Wendy looked up at him. "What happened to her?"
Nolan swallowed the lump in his throat, his Adam's apple bobbing in response. "About seven years ago, we were driving past this town outside New York City – I'm pretty sure not Wadesburg – to drop me off at NYU – she came back from college for the summer to see me off. The road we were on was right on the edge of this forest and I guess some hunters decided it was hunting season in the middle of August.
"A stray bullet came out of the forest, pierced through the roof of the car, and nailed Tatum right in the head." He readjusted himself, lifting up the side of his shirt. There was a small scar right above his hip. "It went through her and killed her instantly, then the bullet nailed me right in the side."
"That's some bullet," Wendy said. She wanted to reach out and touch it, craving to trace her fingers lightly over the scar. She knew it'd send chills up his spine – hell, the thought of it sent chills up her own. But she didn't. She couldn't.
"Yeah it was." He pulled down his shirt and looked back down at his phone. "Tatum had a whole world ahead of her – and some jackass took that away."
"Did they ever catch the guy?"
"No. That's the worst part."
"Oh. I'm sorry." Wendy reached out, lightly brushing his arm with her hand.
"Me too. I was eighteen when I lost her and she was twenty-three when she lost her life."
Wendy kept her hand on Nolan's arm for a little bit, eventually pulling away. She kept her hands folded in her lap and turned away to look out the window. They had left the city and were now in the countryside.
Grassy plains and the occasional tree would pass by, shielding them from what little sunlight was out there. It wasn't rainy, but there weren't clear skies either. It was just... gray.
"Do your parents still live in Wadesburg?" Nolan asked, breaking the silence. "I mean, it's clear they don't live with you anymore or you with them."
"No, I don't really know where they are." Wendy shook her head. "About seven years ago, when I was about sixteen, my parents came to me and told me that they had something to take care of in the next town over. They told me to stay at the apartment, keep the doors and windows locked, and the curtains closed. If anyone came to the door to just ignore them and stay silent."
"Let me guess: they never came back."
"Ding, ding, ding! Give the man a prize!" She weakly gestured to him, letting her arms flop back into her lap. "I never even got the chance to ask why it was all happening. They just left. At this point, I just assume some government operatives found them and killed them – like I said, shoot on sight."
Nolan patted her thigh, letting his hand rest on her knee for a moment. He ran his thumb in circles as he said, "I'm sorry that happened to you. I guess we've both got our own struggles."
"Yeah, I guess so." Wendy looked ahead towards the driver, who hadn't said a word the entire trip. She leaned over practically pressing her lips against Nolan's ear as she whispered, "This has got to be the most interesting yet depressing conversation this man has ever heard."
"For the amount I'm paying him, he won't repeat any of it to another soul."