So the Horizon Zero Dawn: Forbidden West trailer dropped today. Anyone else ridiculously excited?! I admit it, I got so excited, I actually cried. This snippet is a direct result of that trailer so if you haven't seen it...what the heck are you doing, go watch it.
Cure
The strange red plants had started as just an oddity. Then the animals started dying.
"It's like the corruption," said the scout, reporting back to Avad. "Only instead of machines, it's corrupting the plants and animals."
"What about people?" the Sunking asked.
"None yet, but . . ."
Avad nodded and dismissed him. He exchanged a worried glance with Aloy, Erend, and Marad, all gathered around the throne. "Could this be Hades?"
Aloy shook her head. "I don't know. But I intend to find out."
"When do you leave?"
"As soon as I gather supplies."
Erend stepped forward before Avad could even ask. "I can help with that, make sure she has what she needs."
The Sunking nodded his thanks and Aloy headed out of the palace, already mentally running through where she would go and what she would have to take. It was after several minutes that she realized Erend, following her, had yet to say anything. When she looked at him, his brows were drawn together in a worried frown and his eyes seemed to see something far away from the Meridian streets.
"Hey."
He blinked, visibly pulling himself back to the here and now. "Sorry. What were you saying?"
"You okay?"
"Just thinking."
She grabbed his elbow, pulling him out of the crowd and over to a relatively secluded corner. "Talk to me, Erend."
"I just . . ." He sighed. "I wish it didn't have to be you."
"You know it can't be anyone else."
"Yeah, I know. But still."
She cupped his cheek gently, beard tickling her palm. "I know."
"I wish I could go with you."
"You're needed here. If this corruption or whatever it is keeps spreading, Avad is going to need you to help keep order. Besides, who else can I trust to keep everyone safe?"
He covered her hand with his. Lightly kissing her fingertips, he smiled. "I love you, you know."
"I never would have guessed."
Their hands dropped to their sides, fingers till entwined.
Erend nodded the direction of the market. "What supplies does the Savior of Meridian need to tackle this new threat?" Aloy squeezed his hand and together they moved back into the crowded street.
The morning dawned with Aloy loading a tame Strider outside the Meridian Gate.
Erend handed her the last pack. "Sure you got everything?"
"Anything else I can get along the way." She turned to face him. "I'll be back as soon as I can, as soon as I find some answers."
"We'll be here."
"I'm counting on it."
He leaned down and kissed her, hard and fierce. "Don't forget about me," he said, "while you're out there saving the world."
"Never."
"Two minutes?"
"Always." She kissed him again and then turned away so he couldn't see the tears filling her eyes. Mounting the Strider, she nudged it into a trot and then a gallop, refusing to look back at the city that was her home and the man she loved more than anything else in the world. She couldn't afford to look back, not if she wanted to save them.