''Have they stopped following us?'' Helen asked, gripping the rope holding Angelique tightly.

Standing closely behind them was Isabel, who gazed back across the horizon from where they came, listening carefully for the slightest hint that the Vipers were tailing them. After a moment of waiting and being met with complete silence, Isabel turned to her mother. ''I think they heard me loud and clear. There's no one following us.''

''Well, at least that's one less thing we have to worry about.''

Angelique scoffed. ''They're the least of your concerns. Was there any doubt that your daughter couldn't handle a few bandits?''

''We don't want to take any chances.'' Isabel said. ''I may be able to take care of myself, but I won't let anything harm my mom. And we need to alive to guide us to Thane.''

''Happy to hear you value me so highly.'' Angelique said sarcastically, earning a glare from the young woman.

Isabel wanted to snap back at their prisoner, but one stern look from her mother was enough to tell her that it wasn't worth the trouble. While Isabel wasn't happy about letting Angelique get the last word, she knew that her mom was right. They had more pressing matters. If Angelique's word was correct, they would be coming upon her camp any time now. Their trek across the hard landscape had been quiet with the exception of the Viper attack. Isabel and Helen weren't sure if that was a good thing. Things were far too quiet and easy for their liking.

At times, it didn't even feel like the earth was alive anymore. Everything was at a standstill. Only on the odd occasion did the wind pick up. The howl was almost deafening and the strength would cause trouble for any normal person. Luckily for them, Isabel was far from normal. She fought against the wind, trudging through it and letting Helen and Angelique stay behind her for cover. While Isabel wasn't too willing to go out of her way to help their guide, she was careful with her mother. She kept a protective arm wrapped around her mom's waist, holding her close as they battled the elements.

While they wanted to focus on their mission, they couldn't help but think of each other as Isabel held onto her, helping her through the wind. Their bodies were pressed together and Helen couldn't help but think of how nice it felt to have her daughter's strong arm around her. Likewise, Isabel liked the feeling of protecting her mom and holding her in her arms. Despite the fact they had done far more taboo things with each other over the last few days, something about this felt so sweet and intimate. They didn't share a single word until the word had stopped, yet they both felt like there was nothing that needed to be said.

Suddenly, Isabel felt something wet hit her face and she panicked. ''What was that?''

They were all on guard, expecting another attack. Isabel then felt another wet drop on the top of her head. It was soft but it was still enough to startle her. Then, Helen felt the same thing and she looked up towards the sky. Dark clouds stretched out as far as the eye could see. Then there was the roar of thunder in the distance that made Isabel flinch, but Helen knew right away what it was.

''It's rain.'' She said, unable to stop a smile spreading across her face.

''Real rain?'' Isabel gasped.

She tilted her head up so that she was directly facing the sky and that's when more water droplets began splashing down on her face. In seconds, torrential rain washed down over them. Angelique held up her arms to cover herself. ''I wouldn't stand out here for too long, not unless you want to be crushed. Let's find a spot to take cover.''

She walked ahead but then jerked back when the rope holding her didn't move. She could already tell that it was Isabel now holding the rope because there was no struggle. Angelique turned to them. Isabel and Helen were rooted, staring up at the sky with beaming grins, letting the water come down on them.

''Hey!'' Angelique shouted. ''Get a move on. I'd hate to die by drowning in a world burnt to ashes.''

Helen was brought back down to earth and she tugged on her daughter's arm. ''Isabel, baby, let's go.''

''I've always wondered what real rain would feel like.'' Isabel said softly, staring into her mother's eyes. ''I want everyone else to feel it like we can.''

''I'm sure they will.'' Helen said.

XXX

It wasn't too difficult to find another cave to take shelter in. Isabel and Helen found that the earth's surface was littered with craters and tunnels. Whether they were created by human survivors trying to escape or mounting a fight back, it wasn't fully clear, but either way there wasn't another person to be seen or heard from for miles.

Once Isabel made sure that Angelique was tied up and unable to escape, she decided to sit at the mouth of the cave and watch the rain fall. The storm was harsh, with lightning lashing out in the distance. It was too far away to cause them any trouble, so Isabel was happy to sit and watch. Somehow, the sound of thunder was soothing for her. It almost reminded of her of the echoes in the tunnels around the colony. She liked this balance of new and the familiar.

''I see your clothes are already dry.'' Helen said behind her.

''Huh?'' Isabel replied, still transfixed by the rain.

She turned around to see that her mother was approaching her and almost bit on her tongue when she when she saw how her mom's wet clothing clung to her body. There was very little left to the imagination as Isabel's eyes lingered for a long time on Helen. While Helen could see that Isabel was staring, she didn't shy away, even with a blush creeping on her face. She folded her arms behind her back and looked out towards the rain. Her movement resulted in her pushing out her chest, her top clinging tightly to her breasts with her hard nipples poking through the drenched material.

Isabel turned away and took a deep breath. Going back to what her mother mentioned, she touched her own clothes and noticed that they were dry despite being in the downpour only a moment ago. ''I guess my body heat dried my clothes.''

''That's convenient.'' Helen said before she then sneezed.

Instantly, Isabel grabbed Helen and pulled her down with her. The young woman's arm wrapped around her mother's shoulder and held her close. ''I'm not letting you get a disease. I can warm you up.''

Though Helen was lost for breath with how Isabel held her, she could feel her daughter's warmth radiating off of her and it felt so nice. She sighed and rested her head on Isabel's shoulder. ''Thank you.''

Isabel gulped. ''You know…I know it's not right to say I enjoy the other stuff we did…''

''Don't think like that,'' Helen said. ''I don't want you to feel like you've done anything wrong. What we do together is shared between us.''

''I just meant to say that I also enjoy the innocent stuff too. This is nice.''

''Yes, it is.''

The two sat together in shared silence with only the sound of the rain to welcome them. Isabel could tell that the rain was calming down. The downpour wasn't as strong as earlier. She suspected that soon the storm will pass over them. She gazed up at the sky once again. ''I meant what I said earlier. I want everyone back home to feel the rain again. I think Jess would like it too.''

''I know she would,'' Helen lifted her head and stared into her daughter's eyes. ''Listen, I am so proud of you. But, I don't want you to feel like you have to take all this responsibility on yourself.''

''But, shouldn't I? With these powers, it feels like I'm the only one who can carry the weight on my shoulders.''

''Even if that's the case, I'll be there to hold your hand through it. We're a team. We fail or succeed together.''

Isabel cupped her hand on Helen's cheek. ''We won't fail. I'm not going to let these powers go to waste. Even I can't control them fully right now, I'm going to do the best I can for our friends. I'm going to do the best I can for you.''

''I know.'' Helen replied.

In that moment, Isabel's eyes drifted down from her mother's eyes to her lips and then back up again. She thought that maybe her mom didn't notice her staring, but then Helen repeated the motion. Their faces were inches from each other. Helen could feel her daughter's warm, soothing breath brush against her face. It sent shivers running down her back. She couldn't stop herself from moving closer. It was at that moment that both of them seemed to realize that even though they had done lewd things together, they haven't shared a true kiss yet.

Without a word, they closed their eyes and moved closer. Their lips were within touching distance. But, before Isabel could taste Helen's lips, she pulled away. Something else caught her attention.

''I smell smoke.'' She said.

''What?'' Helen asked, still trying to move forward closer to Isabel. She couldn't smell anything, but then she remembered that her daughter had a head start on all her senses.

Isabel rose to her feet and sniffed the air a few times. ''Yeah, there's definetly a fire. It's not too far away. Could it be the lightning? They can cause fires?''

''There shouldn't be any trees it could have struck,'' Helen said, thinking for a moment. ''It could be manmade.''

''But fire would attract Drakes…'' Isabel replied then it clicked in the back of her mind. ''Unless, it was made by people that don't care about attracting a Drake.''

''Angelique's camp.''

Isabel nodded. ''We're close. When this rain stops, I think we'll make it there before the next nightfall.''

XXX

HELLO THERE MY SWEET SUPERSTARS! I AM SO HAPPY TO BE BACK WITH A NEW CHAPTER. I AM SO VERY SORRY FOR HOW LONG IT TOOK. I WAS FEELING PRETTY BAD OVER THE PAST WEEK. I'M NOT SURE IF IT WAS YOU KNOW WHAT AS I DIDN'T HAVE ALL THE SYMPTONS, BUT IT DID LEAVE ME OUT OF ACTION FOR A FEW DAYS. THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT I AM BACK AND FEELING BETTER. I WANT TO THANK EVERYONE WHO MESSAGED ME TO CHECK ON ME AND EVERYONE ELSE WHO HAS BEEN SO PATIENT AND UNDERSTANDING. YOU ARE ALL THE BEST READERS EVER.

AS I WASN'T FEELING FULLY FIT, THIS WAS A SMALLER CHAPTER WITH SOME MORE CUTE ISABEL X HELEN MOMENTS. THEY ARE STILL YET TO HAVE THEIR FIRST PROPER KISS. WHAT DO YOU THINK? WILL IT BE SOON? WILL THEY DO OTHER STUFF FIRST? WE WON'T KNOW YET AS THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL FINALLY INTRODUCE ANGELIQUE'S CAMP. WILL THINGS GO TO PLAN FOR ISABEL AND HELEN? WILL THEY GET THANE BACK? ALL I CAN SAY IS THAT THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE AN EXCITING ONE. IM GOING TO DO MY BEST TO MAKE IT THE BEST CHAPTER IT CAN BE AND I PROMISE I WON'T TAKE AS LONG WITH WRITING IT NOW THAT I'M FEELING BETTER.

STAY SAFE AND STAY AMAZING ALL YOU LOVELY PEOPLE. TA-TA FOR NOW.