Quinn stares dully into the bonfire, sitting next to Caine, Lana, and other kids. The fire was beginning to get lower, so Caine raised his hand, causing a few desks to fall into the flame, As they caught fire, it began to burn brighter and more intensely. Quinn sighs and glances at Lana, who is also staring into the flames. He wanted so desperately to tell her how much he still cared about her, and how he was sorry he had let her go when he had the chance. How he'd been a coward. But she was the Healer, and he was just Quinn, the Fisherman. Sure he fed the town, but it was nothing compared to her. And Quinn liked Sanjit, he was a great guy. He even volunteered to help Quinn fish once, and he wasn't half bad. He didn't want to do that to her or to him. Plus, it would be super awkward for Quinn if she knew how he really felt, since he enjoyed hanging out with her. Quinn looks backwards into the darkness. He bites his lip. If it really was the end, well… Patrick walks over to Quinn, wagging his tail. He puts his head onto Quinn's lap. Quinn scratches him behind the ears, thinking. He thought about what could have been between them. He could have been living with her, sleeping with her, keeping her company, making her feel better when she was depressed. But no. He should have tried to help her, not run away. Quinn sighs again. Caine looks to him, annoyed.
"Do you mind shutting up? I'm kind of in the mood for silence."
Quinn looks up from the fire. "Sorry. I was just thinking...about stuff." A house catches fire down the street behind where Quinn is sitting. He stands quickly. "Shit. I should take care of that," Quinn says.
Caine laughs. "Don't bother. We're all going to die soon, who the hell cares if a house, or two, or even the whole town burns down?" He shrugs nonchalantly.
Quinn sits back down and took a deep breath. "Yeah. But, still..."
Caine grits his teeth. "No, you don't get it, do you? Once the light goes, we're all done, unless Sam somehow is able to find us. But that wouldn't matter anyway. We won't be able to grow food. We'll all starve." Caine exhales, frustrated.
Quinn swallows and puts his head in his hands. "Yeah. But this is my hometown. I….I can't just..."
Caine shakes his head slowly. "Look, I'm sorry, Fisherman. I really am. But you can't do anything. This isn't like your little strike. You don't have any power here."
Lana picks her head up. "No. Caine, you're wrong." She thinks. "Well, right about the power thing. Sorry, Quinn, We're all hopeless there. But you're wrong that he can't do anything. We all can do something to fight it. To fight the gaiaphage. We need to keep living, for as long as possible. I believe in Sam, I'm sure Quinn does, and I hope you can too, Caine. He'll make it here somehow."
Caine smirks at her. "Wow, were you thinking of that little speech this whole time? Is that why you were so distant?" Lana shoots a dark look at Caine, causing him to swallow nervously.
"Lana, is everything okay?" Quinn asks.
"Why do you ask?" She responds.
"I don't know. Maybe it's the fact that you've been staring into the fire for the past twenty minutes looking like you want to jump in. Or maybe it's the fact that I'm not okay so I just want to hear someone say that they are, but that wouldn't make sense since it's you. Or maybe I'm crazy. Who knows anymore."
The faint traces of a smile appear on Lana's face. "Well, I don't think you're crazy. Not yet, anyway. And I was just thinking. About stuff." Quinn smiles. Lana frowns. "The gaiaphage. It's impatient. It wants a body, and it's so close. And I can't do shit to stop it," she says bitterly.
"I thought you said if we stay alive, that'll help stop it," Caine says.
"No, I said that's how we can fight it. But it'll be much harder to stay alive if it has a body," Lana says, annoyed. "And of course you know it wants yours and Diana's baby. And it needs Diana to get it. Probably sent Drake after her." Caine's eyes widen. He nods slowly. "Don't worry. She's alive. For now. Until the baby is born."
Caine exhales. "Okay," Caine says quietly, nodding. "Okay." He takes a shaky breath.
Lana smirks. "What, no smarm anymore?"
"I...I don't know. It's just...after everything with Penny, I was at my lowest point. So I thought I could build myself back up, get back on my feet. But now, I...I can't stop thinking about Diana. And how much she's suffering. And how I'm so fucking useless that I can only stay alive?! How's that helping her, Lana?!" Caine shouts emotionally, standing up. "She's out there, in the dark, with Drake, or the gaiaphage, and I'm stuck here! All because...because…" Caine sits down again. "I just...I just want to be with Diana," he says softly.
Quinn clears his throat. Lana looks over to him. "Lana, you never answered if you were okay," he says.
Lana thinks for a few seconds. "I guess as much as I could be in this situation." Quinn nods slowly. She holds out her hand. Quinn takes it and squeezes it. She holds one out to Caine, too, but he ignores her. "We have to stay calm and hope that Sam will make it here, somehow. I sent Sanjit to let him know we needed lights." They sit in silence for a few seconds. Lana's eyes widen. "Oh, God, I hope he made it okay. Especially considering I might never see him again," Lana says bitterly.
Quinn curls his lip and sighs. "He's fast and a quick thinker. I'm...I'm sure he's fine," Quinn says reassuringly. "You really like him, don't you?" Quinn asks.
Lana nods. "Yeah. He's great. Probably not someone I'd get together with in the real world, but in here, he keeps me sane."
Caine shakes his head slowly. They both turn to look at him. "No. There's no way. With no light, we're dead. There's no way out. It doesn't matter anymore. The light keeps us all sane," he says softly, beginning to tear up.
Quinn takes a deep breath. Well, I guess it's now or never then, he thinks to himself. Quinn stands up, releasing Lana's hand. "Hey, Lana, um, can I...talk to you about something? In private? Caine can watch over everything for a bit. Probably."
Lana scrunches her brow. "What?"
Quinn swallows. "I just have something important I need to tell you."