Chapter 14: A Group of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)

Audio Datapoint: PTSD - Sgt. Rivers, 01/14/65: I just couldn't go again...I was supposed to be deployed to France on Thursday, but decided to go AWOL instead. I felt ashamed for a day at my cowardice, but then I remembered my wife waiting for me at home, in Michigan. I remembered the green grass in the front yard, the pine tree across the street. All a stark contrast to the devastation in the Punjab. But how will I be able to look at her face again without seeing those masses of bloodied faces, dissolved by that black smoke? Maybe I'm too fucked up to be with her again...maybe I should just kill myself...

3/26/65: Morning

"…government officials have denied any connection to the mysterious abductions that have..."

Sophie turned off her radio, then rose from her chair and walked to the green wooden railing lining the walkway. She leaned her hands on it. I noticed that the wood of the railing looked to have been painted long ago; there were many chips in the greenish paint beside Sophie's pale hands. It was then that I noticed a light scar on her left forearm. It was about half a foot in length. I wondered if it was related to her time with the U.S.R.C.

Ada and I stood right behind the tall woman, waiting for her to address us. She was looking over the valley to the west, silent. Not a sound could be heard beside the distant chirping of birds. I felt a light breeze blow against my body. It brought with it a sense of renewal. I gazed at the distant Massanutten Mountain ridge in the morning light as I waited for Sophie to speak. The refreshing green of the western scene was a stark contrast to the present state of the eastern hemisphere.

"Japan," she quietly said all of a sudden as if talking to herself.

I shifted my attention to the back of her head, her shoulder length, red-brown hair.

Silence reigned again afterward. Ada and I remained where we were.

"It was a beautiful country…peaceful."

Ada and I glanced at each other briefly. We listened on.

"Not that I've ever been there in person," she said with a low voice.

After a second or so, she slowly turned to us. She looked at us briefly, leaning with her back against the rail, then cast her eyes downward.

"You guys want to visit Japan, for the scenery," she uttered, hesitating. "I don't think…"

Ada and I looked at her lowered eyes with anticipation. What was she meaning to tell us? Then, she raised her eyes to us in deep thought.

"What am I going on about?" She shook her head dismissively. "I haven't even learned your names yet."

"Um, I'm Michael," I meekly said.

She gave a small smile and shook my hand firmly. Her complexion had a kind, yet weary look to it.

"I'm Ada." They shook hands too. Afterward, Ada clasped her hands in front of her.

"You both look so young," she said with a kind smile. "I'm worried that there'll be more amorous behavior in our group now."

Ada and I smiled at her lighthearted words.

"So, what brings you two to my little hideout?" She asked, leaning against the railing and crossing her arms. "Planning to oust me and take over?"

We laughed at her joking insinuation.

"We wanted to visit the park; we were staying at Front Royal. So, we drove here and met Ayame and her husband at the office and…things went from there," Ada explained politely.

"Ah, I see," she said, studying both of us. "Are you two…together?"

"No, were just friends," Ada replied with a smile. "He's celibate, anyway."

Sophie chuckled. I chuckled at Ada's mocking humor.

"Are you really?" Asked the tall woman, studying me.

"Yes, I am," I said, continuing the joke. "No relationships for me."

I saw Ada smiling at me in the corner of my eye. Sophie simply eyed me, amused.

"That's silly," she said. I kept a serious face. "You would deny yourself intimacy."

I chuckled and Ada shook her head with a smile.

"We're kidding," she said to Sophie. "He's not really celibate. He does want to live like Emerson and Wordsworth, though."

I didn't really admire Emerson as much as she might've believed. I had merely mentioned his name earlier in our drive here because his name was easily recognizable as the epitome of nature writing and a nature centered lifestyle. I admired the Zen poets and masters more so than that man. I felt that his writing didn't embody the inherent wonder of nature and solitude as much as the simplistic poems of the Zen teachers.

"Well, you came to the right place then, young man," Sophie said to me with a warm smile.

I smiled too, happy to be in the quiet park. We had the secluded nature all to ourselves. Sophie studied us for a moment more again.

"So…where did you guys come from?" She inquired.

"We came from Alexandria," I replied.

"Alexandria!" She exclaimed, surprised. "When were you guys there last?"

"We were there yesterday evening. We'd just missed the fighting," I explained.

"Yesterday! You guys were close then," she said with a raised voice. "So, you didn't see any fighting at all? You were so near the coast."

"Well," Ada said, looking at me. "We had a close call with one of the robots near the Potomac. It had emerged from the river close to where we had been sitting on the grass."

Sophie stared at Ada with utter surprise.

"You guys saw a Scarab?! Were you guys alone?! Were there any soldiers nearby?!" She asked, intrigued. She was no longer leaning against the railing and was standing upright in her excitement.

"No, there was no one around. It didn't seem interested in pursuing us, though, thankfully," said Ada with an excited voice.

I remembered the sight of that unmoving Scarab as I had seen it from my rearview mirror. It had simply been watching us as we had fled in our cars.

Ada was just as into sharing the story as Sophie was into listening. I merely studied Sophie's expressions, amused by her wholehearted interest in our experience. I was already starting to warm to her.

"And it was alone?"

"Yeah," Ada replied.

Sophie seemed to be pondering something then.

"A scout. You guys were lucky then," she said with a low voice. "They usually aren't as dangerous when they're in that role."

Ada and I trusted her words.

"They are sadistic. They enjoy killing, I know they do," Sophie uttered.

I winced at her words. It terrified me to think of a killer robot being actively sadistic, enjoying the suffering of us humans.

"Do they actually enjoy killing? I don't believe it," I asked, morbidly curious.

Sophie suddenly stared right into my soul. Her gray eyes showed something then, something I couldn't understand. I was drawn into her vacant stare until she spoke again a moment later.

"They can do many things with that tail of theirs," she said with a nervous voice. "They do things to people that are…unnecessary, strange. They're all sadistic, I know it. If they had mouths, they would be laughing at their carnage."

Sophie suddenly lowered her eyes. Ada and I glanced furtively at each other. We were both frightened by her words. I thought that speaking then would be unfitting, so I remained silent. After a few seconds, Sophie lifted her face again, although her eyes remained looking downward.

"Forgive me…I just really hate those…things," she said with a calmer voice. "Follow me. I'll show you to the group. I'm sure you'll love them."

With that, she led us in the direction of the entrance to the Skyland Office, where we had first entered. We passed by its doors and were led to the larger building that was to the right of the registration office. As we walked in silence, I noticed little paw prints and leaf imprints upon the pathway. They were all mixed together. The silence and coolness of that morning was refreshing, and I walked with light steps. Ada looked at me with a smile and pushed on me lightly again. I made a playful show of keeping my distance from her as we walked, and she smiled. I knew better than to linger my eyes on her beautiful face for more than was necessary. Otherwise, my heart would be swelling and dipping like a boat on rough seas and I didn't want to put my heart through any more of that.

"You know, I was just thinking that it's a coincidence that you two arrived here. There's a girl and guy, both single. They haven't taken a romantic liking to each other, but maybe they will with you two," said Sophie suddenly as we walked.

I felt embarrassed by her words. I wondered why she would even bring up such a subject to people that she had just met. I hadn't even met the girl that she'd spoken of, and she was already considering a possible relationship between the two of us. I briefly glanced at Ada and saw that her cheeks were reddened.

"Oh, no," I said dismissively. "I'm not…thinking about relationships right now."

"You're not celibate, though, right?" Sophie added, smiling at me.

"No, I'm not, I'm just…not ready for that yet."

"Ready? When the world's about to end?" she remarked, looking back at me.

We walked along a path adjacent to the parking lot as Sophie led us along. Six cars were parked right beside each other along the path.

"The world's not going to end," I coolly replied, worried by her insinuation.

"Not ending? What do you mean?" She asked, looking at me with a puzzled look as we walked.

"I mean that we still have Zero Dawn," I said self-assuredly.

"Zero Dawn, huh? If I had a V-coin for every time I heard that," she said with a chuckle.

I was taken aback by her mocking tone. What was she trying to say? Her having been a soldier had given her words more weight to me.

"You don't believe in it?" I asked calmly, trying to hide my worry.

"Of course I believe in it. There's not much else to believe in now," she replied.

Her answer didn't placate my worrying mind, but I didn't push the subject anymore. She wasn't one of the secretive scientists behind Zero Dawn after all; she likely knew just as little as about the project as the rest of us. I heard the sound of distant thunder. I looked at the sky to see that it was cloudier and grayer than before. I hadn't paid attention to the change in weather. We were nearing the large building where the group was hanging out.

"I was just taking into account possible future relationships. I don't really care if you guys get together with those two. I like to predict things beforehand. Surprises are not my thing," Sophie explained.

That did make sense to me. She did come across as the analytical type.

"Just abide by rule number five and we will be fine," she said, to our amusement. "If you so choose to fornicate, do so out of earshot or be quiet about it, please."

Only our footsteps were heard in the brief silence.

"So, has that been an issue here? Loud…sex," Ada asked.

"I'm afraid so. You'll meet the two lovebirds soon. They've been the only culprits. I nearly kicked them out with my sec-bots a few weeks back, but they've been well behaved lately. Don't be surprised if your awakened by loud moaning," she explained with a serious tone.

Ada and I chuckled at her dry humor.

"You can see why I worry about your possible relationships with the two that I mentioned. Imagine the sound of moaning coming from all around at once! No, I didn't fight in Hanoi to come home to that!" She exclaimed.

Ada and I chuckled again. She was being unintentionally funny, or so I believed. Eventually, we arrived at the doors of the building. Three signs like the one at registration hung one above one of the large windows of the gift shop. It read the following:

Skyland Dining Room

Crafts & Gifts

Taproom

My memory of being here six years ago with Nicole and her family flooded into my mind then. We had shared a kiss near here when it had been nearly nighttime. We had left our rooms under the pretense that we would go and hang out at the Skyland Dining Room, but we had really escaped to some secluded area nearby. I forgot where exactly that spot was. I briefly wondered why the memory acts the way it does, bringing memories to mind without warning. I remembered the feeling that I had felt on my lips as they had met Nicole's. I remembered her rose colored lips in the dim light of twilight.

I need to get away from this memory, I thought. I won't have it.

In my preoccupation with trying to forget that memory, I suddenly laid my eyes on Ada, who was right beside me as we entered the building. I was momentarily stunned by the sense that Nicole was right beside me as if she had materialized from my sudden memory of her. It was a few seconds before I recovered from my confusion.

She's not Nicole. She's a different person.

I was averse to sentimentality by habit, but I couldn't help noticing that her hair was like Nicole's. It was even short, barely reaching her shoulders, like Nicole's. Ada's hair was slightly darker, but it didn't detract from the stark similarity. However, Nicole had possessed a barely noticeable scar, a quarter of an inch in length, on the right side of her neck, which she had received on her light skin many years ago. I had called it a beautiful adornment of sorts in the past. It had been my excuse to her to kiss it whenever I could. I remembered that she had given me a scar on the same spot on my neck by biting it. That feeling of having been bitten by her all those years ago was ingrained in my memory. Suddenly, I felt a longing for intimacy. How can one simply get used to the absence of the warmth of a loved one, especially after it having been a norm for my whole life?

"You okay?" Ada suddenly asked, snapping me out of my thoughts. "You look down."

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine," I replied. "I was just thinking about my parents…I'm just a little worried about them."

"Don't worry," she kindly said. "They'll be fine. Colorado's the safest place to be."

Sophie was walking about ten feet ahead of us and hadn't heard our talking. She was leading us to the dining room. The muted sound of voices could be heard emanating from the dining room, but we couldn't yet see anyone from our point of view. We followed behind her and were soon at the entrance to the large dining area. Sophie had stopped right at the entrance, looking at the people whose voices we were hearing.

"May I have your attention, please," Sophie commanded.

Ada and I stopped right beside her, and we saw the small group that we would soon be a part of. Little did I know that I was then looking upon the group of people that Ada and I would form the strongest of bonds and share horrific experiences with during the course of the war. There they all sat around a wooden dining table. The picture was etched into my heart. There were five, eight with Sophie, Ayame, and Makoto, the latter two being at the registration office. Ada and I would make ten. They all shifted their attention to us with expectant gazes.

"I want to introduce you all to two new additions to our little gang," Sophie announced. "This is Ada"—Ada smiled with her hands clasped before her—"This is Michael."

After a moment of eyeing us with curious stares, the small group suddenly burst into a noise of warm welcoming.

"Get your asses over here!" Yelled one of the two men in a friendly manner.

He had a short, dark beard and a jolly appearance. The lady sitting to his right had her arm around his shoulders, smiling. The second guy had a serious face, but he had a subtle smile and a look of interest. His dark blond hair looked to be gelled back. Both of the men and the lady with her arms around the bearded guy seemed to be in their thirties. The last two were a woman that looked to be in her late twenties and a younger one that looked to be my age. I would be lying if I were to say that I hadn't noticed the loveliness of the younger woman. They were all beckoning us to join them. Their warm welcomes made my heart soar with joy. It would forever remain with me, that feeling of being welcomed during the end.

Ada and I sat beside each other on chairs that were pulled out for both of us. The five were eyeing us with interested gazes. Sophie had walked toward the large windows of the dining room, looking out toward the gray skies.

"Ada, Michael," said the bearded man with a wide smile and a jovial voice. "I am Bryan."

Ada and I smiled and nodded politely.

"I'm Hannah," said the woman with her right arm around Bryan.

"I'm Albert," said the serious, yet kindly looking blond man.

"I'm Ella," said the lady who looked to be in her late twenties.

"I'm Adele," said the younger of the women.

I didn't linger my eyes on her, but she was undeniably pretty. I don't merely mean physically beautiful, but a beauty that showed in her demeanor and her eyes. She looked reserved and quiet, or so I thought in my first impression of her. My noticing her beauty didn't necessarily mean that I was enamored with her. I simply acknowledged her beauty as I would naturally acknowledge the beauty of a tree or flower. Beauty cannot go unnoticed after all.

"Have you guys eaten yet?" Asked Ella kindly.

"Oh, yes, we have," Ada politely replied. I nodded my head, smiling meekly.

"Are you two together?" Ella asked, intrigued.

"No, they're not. Michael is celibate," she said with a serious tone.

"Celibate?! Are you from the Texas Bubble?" Asked Bryan. "Only they would be so silly as to be…I don't even want to say that word again!"

Ada and I laughed. The group looked at us expectantly.

"He's not celibate. She's joking," Ada explained.

"Good! I was going to perform the Heimlich maneuver on you to oust that celibacy out of your throat!" Exclaimed Bryan humorously.

I laughed heartily. I would likely be crushed to death if he had done so.

"Bryan," said Sophie with a commanding tone. "No violence in my resort."

"Yes, Ms. Murell. I was joking, like you were," said Bryan submissively, yet mischievously.

"Mr. Rost, a joke implies funniness," quipped Sophie.

"Oh, come on Sophie. You know I'm funny," he merrily retorted.

Sophie gave a mechanical laugh to our amusement. Sophie walked by us, gently pushing Bryan's head, then walked to exit the dining room.

"I'm gonna be in the restroom," she said to us. "We'll all walk a trail at o' nine hundred for bonding purposes."

"Did someone say bonding?" Shouted Mr. Rost, to which Hannah smacked him on the shoulder with a smile. They kissed each other in the brief silence.

Everyone in the group happily consented to Sophie's words. Ada and I were smiling at the kindness of our new friends. We had immediately felt received with open arms. An apocalypse has a way of crafting the strongest of bonds between people. If at the time I had been wise enough to learn from my recent loss of my best friend that all friendships are temporal, subject to an inevitable end, I would've cherished every moment even more so with that group of wonderful people.

–—–

About a quarter of an hour later, we were still sitting at the table in the dining room, talking with each other. It had started pouring outside a few minutes ago and our planned hike had been postponed for later. Sophie Murell was sitting alone on a table beside the window, gesturing with the invisible display of her Focus.

"So, your father was in the air force?" Hannah asked of me.

"Yes, he was an officer. I haven't heard from him lately, but I think he was recalled to Colorado for some military assignment there. He had told me of something along those lines a while ago," I said.

I remembered the day when my father had told me that they might move back to Colorado for a new job offer. I had been visiting on my mother's birthday a few months ago. He had told me on that night that he was mostly reluctant to take the job because they had been so accustomed to their home in Alexandria and his job at D.C. However, the new job had listed a plethora of benefits that were hard to pass. When I had asked him what the offer had been, he had told me that it had to do with operations security or OPSEC as it was called. He had also said that it likely had a connection with the revival of the U.S. Air Force of old. There were many air force installations in the state of Colorado after all.

"And yours too?" She asked Ada.

"Yes, he was with the Air Mobility Command," Ada replied.

I was surprised to learn that her father was in the air force too. We had something substantial to relate to each other with, namely the unique childhood that children of military personnel had experienced right before the automation of the U.S. military.

"That sounds important," Hannah remarked, interested in what we had to say. "Is he fighting on the coast?"
"No, he's likely doing behind-the-scenes work. The AMC is responsible for transporting stuff to the frontlines," said Ada.

"Ah, I see. That's good then, he's safe," Hannah said.

Afterward, we each got entangled into separate conversations, Ada with Ella, Hannah, and Bryan and I with Adele and Albert. The rain continued pouring outside and loud thunder could be heard. It made for a cozy and intimate atmosphere.

"So, tell me, young man, what is it that brings you here to a secluded park in the fringes of a warzone. Is it the seclusion itself you seek?" Asked Albert with a monotone, sophisticated voice.

He was intelligent, yet modest in his demeanor. He had a very scientific gaze for lack of a better word.

"It was actually the seclusion that I was looking for, yes," I replied. "And the natural setting."

"I am the same. Seclusion is conducive to observation and studying. Are you in high school?" He asked.

"Oh, no. I'm in college. I'm a second-year student," I answered.

"And your major?"

"Cell biology, and minoring in English."

"Ah, cell biology and English are a wonderful mixture. You see, the discoveries of science, biology, chemistry, and such, are infinitely more sublime than any religious doctrine known to man, yet there are few scientists that have the skill to convey that wonder in writing," he said rather articulately.

I was impressed, especially because I agreed with him. I was drawn in by his monotone, yet strangely soothing voice.

"I agree with you completely," I said. "Are you a scientist?"

"Yes, a professor in virology," he replied. "I had been working on creating a monumental, nanorobotics-based drug to permanently cure the human papillomavirus, but the untimely war had put an end to that endeavor indefinitely."

"HPV? I had read about the mechanism of action behind that virus a while ago. It's interesting, but I've only scratched the surface," I said, intrigued by our conversation.

"Well, we have all the time until Zero Dawn materializes to study. We have the resources at our disposal. What do you say I take you under my wing?" He suggested.

"Yes, I'd be happy to learn more," I replied. "I'll think about it."

I was interested in biology, but I was reluctant to recreate the routine environment of school in what was to be my nature refuge.

"I've been teaching Ms. Doncaster, you can join us," he added, referring to Adele. "Mr. Rost, on the contrary, isn't interested in embarking on my scientific journey with us. "

"It's because your way of teaching is dense," said Bryan, who had heard Albert.

Everyone at the table was listening to the two men with amusement.

"Dense?"

"Yes, you introduce advanced subjects before even laying out the basics."

"Do I?" Inquired Albert with an even tone.

"Yes."

"How hard can it be to grasp that the molecular arrangement of a viral capsid influences its viral properties?" Albert inquired, completely serious.

"See?!" Bryan exclaimed, looking at me with wide eyes as if trying to get me on his side.

Everyone laughed at their disputing. Albert simply shook his head with a gentle disdain.

"Mr. Wester, check this out," Sophie suddenly said.

She was still gesturing with her Focus at the table beside the wet window. Albert immediately rose from his chair and joined her. We all then continued with our individual conversations.

I glanced at Adele, who was sitting across the table from me, and saw that she was eyeing me with some degree of interest. I quickly averted my eyes because she was looking straight into my eyes as if to invade my soul in an amorous way. I looked over to Ada and saw that she was immersed in her conversation with Ella. As I furtively watched, Ella suddenly lifted Ada's right hand in hers and kissed it quickly. I was taken aback by the gesture. It seemed to me that it wouldn't be a man that would divide Ada's attention, but a woman. Of course, that was if Ada was into girls, the possibility of which I hoped against. I studied Ada's face after the kiss. Her cheeks reddened, but she didn't seem smitten by the kiss. I sneaked a glance at Ella's expression and saw that she looked slightly abashed. Suddenly, Ella glanced at me and I quickly averted my gaze. A clap of thunder sounded all of a sudden.

"Michael," said Adele. "How old are you?"

"I'm twenty," I said with a polite smile. "You?"

"I'm twenty-two. I'm old, I know," she joked.

I smiled. We looked at each other for a moment. I realized that I didn't even know how old Ada was yet. I decided that I would ask her later.

"Mind if I call you Mikey?" She asked.

"Um, I guess not. I've never heard that name before," I smiled.

"It's a cute name," she said with playful eyes.

"Is it?" I asked, feeling a bit awkward.

"Yeah," she quipped.

"I prefer Michelle," I joked. She smiled.

"Okay, Michelle," she said with a playful tone. I smiled at her charming personality.

I briefly studied her complexion. She had dark blue eyes and vermilion lips in the shape of a bow. She bore no resemblance to Nicole, needless to say, but she was still beautiful in her own way. I sneaked another glance at Ada to see what she and Ella were doing and saw that she was watching me. She might've been interested in my conversation with Adele. Ella was presently speaking to Hannah. Then, Ella asked Ada a question and Ada shifted her gaze to the woman.

"So, how did you end up here?" I asked Adele.

"I came here with my friend Ella," she said, gesturing toward her friend. "We came here to visit the park before heading further west and we met Ayame. She begged us to stay for a while. We liked it here, so we gave up our plans to go inland."

I nodded.

"What brings you here?" She asked with a sweet smile.

"I came here with Ada. We wanted to visit the park too and we met Ayame. She welcomed us to stay," I replied.

"Well, Ayame got a good catch today," she said, looking right into my eyes.

My face might've reddened, but I couldn't see it. I wondered what she meant by "good catch."

"Good catch? Are you planning to eat us like fish?" I quipped to ease my tension. She chuckled.

"So, she's not your girlfriend?"

"Oh, no. We're just friends."

"Oh."

We eyed each other for a little while. I felt my emotional restraints dissolving. She seemed so inviting and I felt willing to accept whatever interest she had in me. I realized that I just needed to be with someone again. The sporadic resurfacing of my memories of Nicole had kindled a longing for intimacy with someone else. Ada looked too much like Nicole for me to want to be romantically involved with her. It would hurt too much to do so. Yes, she was lovely, and I was attracted to her, but I didn't want to feel the pain of constantly realizing that she wasn't Nicole. At that moment, I decided that I would willingly accept Adele's advances, if they were really that at all. I hoped that they were.

"Are you in a relationship?" I asked, suddenly desperate for intimacy.

"No, you?" She asked, intrigued.

"No."

I saw her glance at my lips. I did the same. In retrospect, the seclusion of our little group in the park, the ongoing apocalypse, and a mutual attraction had sparked our interest in each other as we conversed.

I made a show of eyeing her to hopefully convey my interest. She seemed to be returning the expectant gaze. My breathing quickened. I briefly wondered what Nicole would think if she were to have seen me so brazenly show an interest in another girl. I let that mental restraint go for the time being.

"Wanna hang out in the lounge?" Adele asked with expectant eyes. Her red lips were so alluring then.

"Okay," I obediently said, my heart pounding with excitement.

I remembered that in my relationship with Nicole, I had been, for the most part, romantically obedient to her.

With that, we quietly rose from our chairs and made our way to exit the dining room. Before we were five feet away, Ada spoke up.

"Hey, Michael," She suddenly called in a friendly manner. "Where're you heading?"

I turned around to face her. The whole group was eyeing us both. Even Sophie was watching us with amusement. I thought we had been furtive about our plan to slip away.

"We're just gonna hang out in the lounge," I plainly said.

"Oh, the lounge? I wanna go," she said lightheartedly, rising from her chair to join us.

"Let's go," I said in a welcoming way.

I really wanted to go with Adele alone and get to know her more away from the group, but I wasn't going to say no to Ada. I was happy that she was coming along. After all, I still wanted to develop a close friendship with her.

"Have fun, guys," Hannah remarked.

"Yeah, have fun," said Ella with a playful smile directed at Adele. "You know what, I wanna join in on the fun too."

Ella then rose from her seat and joined us. Hannah was watching us with amusement. Bryan kissed her hand lovingly as she watched us. Albert and Sophie were presently immersed in their important conversation.

"Let's go," said Ella, who wrapped her right arm around Ada's shoulders.

As we turned to walk toward the front lounge ahead of Ada and Ella, I was still feeling enamored of Adele's beauty. It was strange how sudden the onset of the charm was. My desire to get to know Adele more still fired within me, but I thought that the time would come for that.

—

A/N: The names Bryan and Hannah were taken from the names of the real life man and woman that Rost and Aloy were modeled after, namely Bryan Larkin and Hannah Hoekstra. I imagined their real life models as the characters for Bryan and Hannah in this chapter and I'm content with that.