The Dreamers of the Day

So… we're finally doing this.

Yeah. I- I'm… I'm a little nervous.

That's okay. I am too.

But we'll always stick together, right?

Of course. We'll always stick together, no matter what.

Forever?

The serene smile from Nora's face faded and she glanced to the side away from Anna. When she looked at Anna again there was a tight, pained expression on her face.

Nora? What's wrong?

You need to wake up Anna.

What? But I'm not asleep.

It's time for you to wake up now. I can't stay.

Anna scrambled forward and pulled Nora tightly into her embrace, but already she was fading into airy wisps of nothingness as the scenery of Anna's dreamland began to disintegrate.

No, no, don't go. Please… don't go! Don't leave me Nora, I don't know what to do without you.

I'll find my way back to you Anna, I promise.

Nora!

Anna woke from her dream with a start, rising up like a shot out of a cannon with her hand outstretched, reaching out for the last vestiges of her sister who had once more returned to the hallowed realm beyond. She let her hand fall limply to her sheets as she breathed in and out heavily, gradually returning to dreadful reality as her senses returned to wakefulness.

"Fuck," Anna whimpered as she buried her face in her hands in an effort to stop some of the tears that had begun to flow down her cheeks. "Fuck fuck… fuck!" she repeated angrily as she pounded her fist against her covers, desperate to feel anything at all against her skin once more.

As much as Anna wanted to return to the realm of her dreams, she knew she would not be able sleep again. Her covers suddenly felt hot and stifling and Anna roughly swept them aside as she padded over to her bathroom to wash up. She stopped in front of her mirror and barely glanced at her own sad reflection as she turned the knob on the sink and splashed cold water over her face. Now more awoken, Anna shut off the sink with a deep sigh and then towelled her face dry before exiting her bathroom.

Anna made her way over to the door and exited into her living room, where she found a familiar head of white hair poking out from underneath her long-coat. Elsa was fast asleep and curled up into a ball on her couch, using her own coat as a blanket.

She looks… really sweet when she's sleeping, Anna mused as she quietly went over and glanced over Elsa's sleeping form. Better not wake her. At least she can get a good night's rest.

Elsa's expression was serene and calm, almost regal like a queen in repose. Outside, the day was breaking and a single shaft of pale sunlight pierced through the blinds on the windows and landed directly on her head of white hair, making it glow brighter than anything else in the room. Upon closer inspection, Anna finally noticed that Elsa also possessed a dusting of freckles, though they were considerably more faint compared to her own. At first glance they could easily be missed, not unless one was examining her this closely.

As if sensing her presence somehow in her sleep, Elsa shifted over and pouted her lips for just a moment before settling into a new position facing more towards Anna. It was the first time that Anna had ever caught Elsa asleep and the sight of it brought a small measure of peace to her own restless mind. At the same time, the brief pout of Elsa's lips made something tug on Anna's heart and despite the sullen mood with which she woke, she found herself smiling as she studied the white-haired woman.

I wonder what she's dreaming about, Anna thought. What do androids even dream of? Electric sheep?

Thinking no more of it, Anna turned and made her way towards the kitchen where she pulled down a single plate, glanced over to Elsa, then pulled down another. She set those aside then bent down to open a cupboard by her feet where she retrieved a frying pan. Setting the pan down on the electric stove, Anna turned on the heat and as the pan began to warm up, she went over to her fridge and pulled out a carton of eggs as well as an opened packet of bacon. Afterwards, she returned to the stove where she set those items off to the side, then opened another cabinet above her head and pulled down a pack of dehydrated shelf-stable bread.

Anna then turned her attention back to the pan which was now sufficiently warmed up and tossed in the remainder of the bacon. As she cooked the bacon, it squelched and popped while the fat rendered out and formed a small pool of grease. As soon as it was finished, she served an equal amount of the bacon on to each plate, then turned her attention to the eggs. She cracked four eggs into the pan to cook them in the bacon fat, then whisked them with a spoon to scramble them. As they finished, she added a touch of salt and pepper for seasoning, then scooped an equal amount of the eggs onto each of the two plates.

After that, Anna turned off the stove, then removed two slices of the dehydrated bread. In their current form were just small dense tablets that looked more like stone, but as soon as water was added to them they would fluff up to their full size. She put one each plate, then went over to her sink and filled a glass with water then poured a small amount onto each piece. She watched with mild interest as the tabletes sucked up the water and expanded into two small loaves of bread.

Now that breakfast was ready to be served, Anna picked up both plates then carried them out to the living room. She set them down, then went back and retrieved some cutlery after which she paused and examined her roommate.

Elsa still hadn't stirred from her sleep and Anna debated whether or not she should wake her. A small whimper caught Anna's ear and she snapped up, gazing over at Elsa whose face was no longer a mask of serenity but one of pain. Her lip was trembling and her eyes were darting around beneath her eyelids, a look which Anna recognized from when they were at the Memory Palace.

Is she…? Should I do something? Anna asked herself. I better wake her.

Elsa tossed more violently, flipping over onto her back as her whole body began to tremble as if she were plunged into an ice bath. Anna couldn't bear to watch Elsa's anguish anymore and she leaned forward, gently shaking her by her shoulders to rouse her from her sleep.

"Elsa, hey," Anna said gently. "Come on, snap out of it."

Elsa continued to whimper fearfully when suddenly, her eyes snapped open and she sprung up like a rocket. She gasped loudly as she woke, breathing in and out heavily while her blue eyes that were still clouded over by her nightmare darted around in panic.

"Woah! Hey now," Anna said as she laid a hand on Elsa's shoulder. "Take it easy, it was just a dream."

"A- Anna?" Elsa whispered as her eyes settled and cleared.

"Yeah, it's me," Anna nodded. "You're okay now, don't worry."

"I- I was dreaming… I thought I was back inside the…"

Elsa didn't finish, but made a soft mewling sound as she buried her face in her hands. Anna understood the pain of an unpleasant nightmare all too well and the one she had just had still lingered in her mind.

"I'm sorry," Anna said softly.

Elsa released a few shuddering breaths then looked up. "It felt as if I was back at VanirCorp… back inside the FMR machine."

Definitely not electric sheep, Anna thought.

"I- I could feel everything… the pain,," Elsa continued as she laid a hand over her heart. "It was as if I was being torn apart, piece by piece, before being stitched back together again. Over and over again.

Anna swallowed a lump in her throat and nodded. "That must have been awful."

Elsa's eyes began to shimmer with tears as she pulled her knees in close to her chest. "I thought they had me again… I- I thought… I was scared they made me forget again."

Anna leaned in closer and pursed her lips tightly together, feeling sorrow for Elsa for the greatest thing that they shared in common was pain.

"I thought I forgot you," Elsa said quietly.

Something about the way she said it and the tone of her voice made Anna think that nothing could have been more horrifying to Elsa. There had once been a time when Anna yearned to forget and lose her memories of Nora. It was the primary reason for her drinking habit, for the remembrance of her sister only served to deepen the grief she already felt. If she forgot who Nora was, or forgot that she even had a sister entirely, Anna thought it would spare her some of the pain and loss she felt day in and day out. However, now that she had met Elsa, the very notion of losing one's memories, identity and the very conception of one's sense of being terrified her beyond belief. As much as it was a burden at times, memory was a gift that Anna had long taken for granted until Elsa came along.

Anna looked up and smiled thinly to comfort Elsa. "Well, you didn't. And you're still here, right?" she said reassuringly.

"Right," Elsa nodded shakily.

"I didn't think it was possible for you to get nightmares," Anna admitted.

"Me neither," Elsa said as she shook her head morosely. "It's not often that I dream, but when I do…"

"It's bad. I know the feeling… it's kinda the same for me too," Anna murmured as she turned her head to the side and frowned. "I had a bad dream as well."

"What did you dream of?" Elsa asked quietly.

Anna sharply turned her head back to Elsa, causing her to recoila and take back her question almost immediately.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't press-"

"No, it's fine," Anna waved away her concern. "I just can't really remember it anymore, that's all," she lied.

"Oh," Elsa nodded.

A silence settled upon them as each of them returned to thoughts of their nightmares. After a while, Anna remembered their food which was getting cold and gestured towards it.

"For some lighter news, I made breakfast. Eggs, bacon, toast," Anna said lightly. "We should eat it before it, uh, you know, gets cold."

Elsa brightened immediately as the dour expression on her face disappeared. So quick and earnest was her change of mood that Anna found that some of her own gloom was dispelled.

"Nobody's ever made me breakfast before," Elsa said shyly as a delicate smile crept across her face.

She pulled her knees down from her chest and then realized that she was still covered with Anna's long-coat, which she promptly removed and placed to the side.

"Really?" Anna quirked an eyebrow. "They didn't feed you at VanirCorp?"

"No, they did," Elsa shook her head. "They just always passed it to me through the door, and it was never anything as good as this. What they gave me was always this textureless, flavorless sustenance paste."

Anna made a face as she knew exactly the kind of paste she was referring to. "Yuck. Sounds more like prison."

"In many ways, it was," Elsa said then she smiled valiantly so as not to let the mention of her time there sour her mood any further. "It smells delicious," she said as she bent down to smell Anna's cooking, closing her eyes as she did.

Anna felt her flush with color from Elsa's compliment and she turned away, preferring to examine the stitching on the fabric of her couch. "Oh, this is nothing really… just something that I whipped up, I guess."

Elsa smiled tenderly as she shuffled slightly closer to Anna. "Hmm, beautiful and modest," she muttered to herself.

Oh crap, not this again, Anna thought. Does she even know what she's doing? Stop that Elsa, stop saying things like that, stop being… so goddamn sincere. Stop making me feel things!

Anna decided to ignore her comment and instead focused on the food sitting on her plate. She set to devouring it immediately which much gusto. Elsa took that as her cue to begin eating as well though she did it with considerably more grace. As they ate, neither of them spoke though the silence was actually pleasant and comfortable rather than stifling and awkward. Anna finished her plate first, then once Elsa was done, she collected their plates and returned them to the kitchen where she set them in the sink. She was just about to start rinsing them when Elsa's pale hand shot out as she appeared by Anna's side.

"Please, allow me," Elsa said.

"Elsa, it's fine, I don't mind doing it."

"You've been kind to me Anna," Elsa said softly. "It's the least I can do."

Anna stood paralyzed for a moment, transfixed by the beauty and kindness of Elsa's eyes as they gazed upon one another. She could see her own reflection there but more than anything else, Anna could see how Elsa hid nothing from her. Everything she said and did was always completely earnest and honest, even the tremendous amount of pain and sadness that was also contained within those prismatic, expressive pools of light.

"S- sure," Anna swallowed thickly, still mesmerized by Elsa's eyes. "Whatever floats your boat."

Stepping aside to let Elsa clean the dishes, Anna leaned back and twiddled her fingers together while glancing around. She happened to catch the end of Elsa's ponytail, which trailed down the slope of her back. Anna's gaze was pulled further downward, tracing the curve of Elsa's lower back where it then rose up to meet the curve of her shapely rear.

Oh no…

Anna turned away, made a fist and bit into it all the while shooting furtive glances back at Elsa from the corner of her eyes. Still, she couldn't help but gawk at Elsa's form, who remained unaware that she was being studied so intently busy as she was with the dishes. From her rear, Anna went downwards and traced the smooth planes of Elsa's thighs, thinking for just a moment if they felt as strong as they looked. She recalled the time she felt the muscles in Elsa's arms which triggered a fantasy in which Anna pictured herself running her fingers over the pale flesh of her legs, feeling the warmth and strength coursing within.

This can't be happening to me right now. I'm sober!

"Anna, did you hear me?" Elsa said, cutting into Anna's thoughts and bringing her back to attention.

"Huh? I mean… err, yes! Well, no," Anna rubbed the back of her neck and chuckled nervously. "Sorry, w- what did you say?"

Elsa looked amused then shut off the sink and set the dishes aside before drying her hands with a towel. "I asked what are we going to do next?" she said.

"Oh, right… of course," Anna straightened up. "We need to get our bearings straight, you've got the drive, right?"

"I do," Elsa said as she reached beneath her shirt and removed the thumb drive. "This omni-pad that K gave me should accept this so we can access the data."

"Great," Anna rubbed her hands together and walked out of the kitchen back towards the couch where she took a seat. "Let's find out what our next heading is."

Elsa went alongside Anna then sat next to her as she inserted the drive into a port on her omni-pad. The interface blinked to life, bringing up a file selector containing all of the data within. Anna watched as Elsa swept through the files using buttons on the omni-pad until she found the one she was looking for and pulled it up. The display was small, so Anna had to lean in closer to Elsa to see it, catching a pleasant scent on the white-haired woman as she did. It was crisp and cloyingly sweet, like peppermint mixed with notes of vanilla and honeysuckle.

My god… she even smells great, Anna thought as she breathed in through her nose. Does she smell like this all the time?

The location of Gjallarbru was some ways beyond New York City, lying to the north along the Hudson River near the former United States military academy known as West Point. However, the only issue was that due its strategic location and importance, much of the academy had been reduced to rubble and what remained was buried beneath the swollen waters of the river. The land surrounding West Point was a toxic wasteland much like the immediate area surrounding the city, though the levels of radiation they would encounter there were notably higher and therefore, much more dangerous.

"There it is," Elsa pointed out the highlighted location on the display of her omni-pad. "Roughly 86 kilometers from the city."

"There's not much to find up there other than an old military academy. Though… I guess it would make a lot of sense to put a secret lab up there," Anna said. "86 klicks away and it won't exactly be a walk in the park either. Everything to the north of the city is glowing with radiation or burnt to the ground. Nobody goes up there, not even gangs or scavvers."

"We have the booster shots that K gave us," Elsa replied.

"Those will help, but we'll also need respirators, extra filters, detoxicillin," Anna counted off the items on her fingers. "Guns too, if the stories I heard about packs of mutated wolves are true.

The wolves that Anna spoke of were in fact Gray Wolves, a species long thought to have become extinct in upstate New York prior to the collapse. However, following the decimation of America's population, the wolves returned to haunt the abandoned settlements to the north, carving out their own territory which they fiercely defended. The radioactive fallout that blanketed those lands had drastically mutated the wolves, transforming them into vicious, bloodthirsty beasts that were considerably larger and stronger than their ancestors.

"Most of that gear I already have, which is why I wanted to come back here so we could pick it up. The only thing we don't have are detox meds," Anna explained. "And those we'll need because I don't know about you, but I'm not too keen on sprouting any extra limbs or anything. Those meds will flush the gunk from our systems and, you know, stop us from turning into radioactive soup."

Elsa nodded. "Where can we find them?" she asked.

"PharmaCorp sells them but they've got a stranglehold on all meds in the city. We won't be able to get our hands on them especially since we're wanted fugitives," Anna frowned. "Only other places that would have them are hospitals but… all the ones here in the city are guarded and we definitely won't be able to break in and steal them."

Elsa panned out on the map and traced a route from the city center to West Point. "What if we searched the hospitals outside the city? There's one here, in Yonkers, right by the river," she said as she zoomed in on a location that was along the halfway point to their destination.

"Yeah," Anna nodded and scratched her chin. "Yeah, maybe. I know the one, it's abandoned but we might be able to find some there. It's on the way to West Point, so it wouldn't hurt to check," she frowned then brought up her own omni-pad and pulled up a map. "Hang on, the map I have is more up to date than yours… I think there's a way to- yes, got it!" she swiped through map filters until she found one that revealed areas of radiation around New York. "That hospital is right on the edge of the hot zone, so the rads shouldn't be too high there. It's definitely worth a shot."

"I agree," Elsa said before a pensive expression settled over her face and her voice dropped to a more serious register. "But… it will be very dangerous Anna. I can't ask you to risk your life for me."

"I still owe you," Anna said firmly. "You saved my life twice now and besides, if I stick around here, VanirCorp will find me eventually. If we stick together, we got a better shot and I can't think of a better place to hide then a… highly radioactive, mutated wolf infested, hellhole."

Elsa considered the latter part of what Anna said for a moment as she kept her searching gaze focused solely on her. "Sarcasm?" she asked.

"Yes, but you get what I'm trying to say."

"Okay," Elsa smiled sweetly.

"Alright then, we better leave while we still can," Anna said as she rose from the couch and started making her way towards her bedroom when she paused and turned back towards Elsa. "Come on, it'll be faster if you help me pack up our gear," she said.

Elsa beamed and immediately came over before hesitating at the open threshold before Anna's bedroom. She carefully took the tiniest step forward and dipped her head as if she were a pilgrim approaching consecrated ground.

Anna sighed deeply. "Oh for- look, I know it's messy but it's not like I have a roommate or anything. Would you please just come in already?"

That was all the encouragement that Elsa needed as she entered the room and shyly glanced around, soaking in Anna's most personal and intimate space. The room was indeed a mess, as piles of clothing were scattered about complemented by the occasional empty food wrapper or casing. In the center, against the wall opposite from the entrance was a double bed which Anna somehow in her sleep managed to cover the entire area of. Adjacent from the bed were windows which were almost always covered by blinds as well as a walk-in closet. Next to the entrance to her room was the ensuite bathroom that Anna primarily used.

Anna left Elsa where she was standing by the door and went over to her closet where she clicked on the light and knelt down to begin rummaging around.

"Okay," Anna muttered to herself as she rifled through the unorganized piles of her belongings, tossing out random items over her head. "Now where did I put the… no, that's not it… no, that's not it either… no… nope… hmm, no."

Meanwhile, Elsa remained a small distance away from Anna and looked on with mild amusement as Anna depleted one pile while forming another one just behind herself.

"A ha! Here they are," Anna stood up with two canvas travel backpacks. "You take this one," she said as she passed a bag to Elsa then returned to digging through her closet. "Here we go, one for me and one for you," she set aside one respirator and tossed the other one blindly over her head towards Elsa.

Elsa caught the items easily and tucked them away in her own bag while Anna stood up and reached around on a shelf above her head until she pulled down some spare filters for their respirators.

"Take these," Anna said as she handed a few to Elsa without looking at her, focused as she was on packing her own bag. "Definitely can't forget those, now what the hell else did we need?"

"Weapons," Elsa replied.

Anna snapped her fingers. "That's right! This way, to my office," she said as she slung one strap of the backpack over her shoulder and made her past Elsa, nearly tripping over a random pile of miscellaneous things on the floor.

Together, they entered the office where Elsa came to a stop in front of the desk while Anna went over to her safe. She punched in the code then withdrew her backup sidearm then examined it for a moment. Though Anna's preferred brand of firearms was Ronin, the extra weapon she kept on hand in case of emergencies was an ArmaRex T-45 'holdout' sidearm.

The gunmetal frame was sleek and black and it sported several built in features. Along the top was a reflex sight which allowed for easier target acquisition, attached to the bottom of the barrel on a picatinny rail was a flashlight, the magazine well was flared out to allow for faster reloads, and finally the fire selector allowed the weapon to shoot semi-auto as well as in two round bursts. It's magazine capacity held 14 rounds and though the holdout sidearm was common, it was certainly rugged, versatile, and a capable addition to any ballistic arsenal.

With it in hand, Anna offered it to Elsa.

"You're giving me a gun?" Elsa asked.

"Yeah, take it," Anna said. "I trust you."

Anna had already seen what Elsa was capable of doing with just her bare hands and she wondered if that same level of lethality translated over to her proficiency with firearms. Normally, handing a gun over to an android would have been an outlandish thought that Anna never would have once entertained and she would have even felt much the same when she first met Elsa. But now, things were different and Elsa was certainly different. Anna didn't think of her as such, not anymore. Now, she trusted Elsa.

"You know how to use one of those?" Anna asked as she pulled out a few spare magazines and some boxes of ammunition, then handed those over to Elsa.

With practiced ease, Elsa took one of the magazines and inserted it into the magazine well, then racked the slide to chamber a round. She then ensured that the safety was on, then as an extra precautionary measure, she kept her finger off the trigger as she tested its weight in her hands and examined the sights.

"I'm familiar with them," Elsa replied nonchalantly as she finished her inspection and tucked the gun away behind her back in the waistband of her jeans.

"Alright then," Anna said as she packed some ammunition for her own hand cannon in her bag then turned around and went back towards the kitchen once she was finished. "Now, we'll just need some grub for the road. If I still had my skycar, we could have just flown there but those asshole scavvers shot it down which means we'll have to hoof it. Guess it'll be easier for us to slip out of the city this way. They've gotta be monitoring all air traffic going in and out right now."

"Have you been out beyond the city often?" Elsa asked.

"Now and again, if I'm tracking somebody or looking for something that needs finding," Anna replied as she opened a cupboard and pulled down the remaining tinned foodstuffs. "On foot, I'm guessing it'll take us at least two days to reach West Point, maybe more," she said as she split their food items in half and passed over Elsa's share.

Elsa packed away her new possessions in her bag. "Even then, I imagine it'll take some time to find Gjallarbru. We only know it's location, not specifically how to find it. That facility may still be operational and it's possible we could run afoul of VanirCorp."

"Those are good points," Anna agreed. "But between you and me, I think we can handle it. I mean you've got your super intelligence and superpowers and I've got… well, I can probably do what you do just… slower, and clumsier."

"I think you are quite a capable woman Anna," Elsa said sincerely. "You shouldn't speak so lowly of yourself."

Anna perked up and fixed Elsa with a curious look. "Why? Does it bother you?" she asked.

"It does," Elsa nodded.

"Hmm," Anna shrugged as she withdrew a few water bottles and packed them into her bag. "I guess I'll try and… keep that in mind then."

The bright smile returned to Elsa's face as she nodded happily and continued to help Anna with the packing. Anna went over to her fridge to examine its contents for anything else she might have missed, then paused as soon as she spotted the sustenance paste ration packs.

Ugh, starving would be preferable, Anna thought as she gagged at the memory of the first time she tasted one.

She had been hanging on in case of an emergency, and after some thought she came to the reluctant conclusion that their situation qualified as such. Anna packed away the sustenance paste into her bag and then closed her fridge, after which she glanced up and met eyes with Elsa who had finished her own packing.

"Ready?" Elsa asked.

Anna nodded. "Ready."