35;

The man behind the glass was wearing a white dress shirt with a formal black vest layered over it. A red tie hung from his neck as did a badge that featured his picture and some other identifying features about him. His nametag read 'Heath H.' and the company name 'Trans-U-port' below that.

He slid two pieces of paper through the small gap of the glass barrier and spoke through the pattern of five small holes just above that.

"Two sharp."

"Yeah I know."

He gave her an annoyed look before turning around and disappearing into the backroom where he was stationed before Riley had knocked on the glass.

"Oh yeah, no, you're welcome. Don't worry about saying anything. Dick."

She stashed the pieces of paper into her pocket and made the mildly warmer trek back towards the middle of the city. She walked past the obese lady in her smoked filled glass den and climbed the two flights of dim, grimy stairs back to the apartment.

Ellie went to lean against to the kitchen counter after opening the door for her. "Well?"

Riley walked up next to her with her hand in her pocket then pulled it out and dropped the two tickets onto the counter.

"That them?"

"Yep."

"…fuck. Okay."

"Cold feet?"

"Just a bit. How could I not?" Ellie shuffled back and forth a bit in discomfort. "When?"

"Tomorrow at two."

"That soon, huh?"

"Yeah, that soon. Still got tonight to get out of it."

"…I'm good."

"Sure? You're a little fidgety."

"I know. But I'm fine. I am."

"Okay."

"You?"

Riley exhaled while slowly nodding her head. "A little on edge, sure. But overall okay."

"Yeah…" Ellie rubbed the back of her neck. "Anyway, we've only got a day. Should we, I don't know, get ready or something?"

"Like how? We're only going to be there for a few days."

"Clothing? Food? Stuff like that?"

"Well, we can if you want. But I don't think we need to."

Ellie stood still but tapped her foot repeatedly. "What about… like mace or something?"

Riley scoffed. "We never did get any did we? Probably would've been useful a month ago."

"Yeah no shit. Might as well now, right?"

Riley agreed and soon they were both out the door, leaving the apartment unusually empty. The staircase seemed to have more blotches and stains on it than usual, but the dim lighting helped disguise them. They carefully talked as they descended its steps.

"So, where are you planning to get this stuff?"

"I don't know yet. I was gonna ask the dragon lady."

Riley shot her a confused glance before having to quickly turn back forward to watch her step. "Dragon lady?"

"Yeah. Woman at the entrance."

"Her?"

"Well, a really fat dragon, I guess, but still a dragon."

"Uh huh, and why is she the dragon lady?"

Ellie smirked at unexpected conversation. "Because, she's always down there in her little cave, just smoking up the place. You know, like a dragon would if it breathed smoke."

"Bit of a stretch, don't ya think?"

"Would I be calling her the dragon lady if I thought it was a stretch?"

"Uh…"

"That's what I thought. Shut up."

Riley smirked back. "Alright, chill. Guess I hit a bit of a sore spot there."

They reached the bottom of stairs and stopped in front of the glass barrier that provided them safety from the dragon. The woman inside was again watching TV towards the back corner of the room under a dim light and sitting in her few sizes too small chair. Ellie knocked on the glass which caused her to slowly spin around and finally waddle her way to the glass.

"Hey, um… what's your name again?" Ellie stuck out an open palm but received only silence from the other side of the glass. "Okay, right, well… do you know a place that sells, like, pepper spray or mace?"

The woman raised her lip a bit, forcing the cigarette to slightly droop. Her voice, if it was even possible, seemed even hoarser and lower than the last time they spoke.

"And why the hell would you want to know that?"

"Really? Have you seen this place?"

The woman stared Ellie down for a moment before the faintest trace of a smile tugged at the edges of her mouth. "Hoplophile Aisle."

Riley burst out with a laugh. "The fuck is that?"

Ellie immediately punched her in the arm and turned back toward the woman. "…that's a good question, actually." Her admission received her a retaliation punch.

"Store that sells guns and stuff like that. They'll probably have a spray there." She could hardly finish a sentence with hacking up a lung or getting caught in a coughing fit. She cleared her throat and pulled a napkin from a pocket and wiped her mouth. "Take a left out of here and keep going until you hit Carver."

She explained the route in more detail as the girls semi-listened, splitting their attention between the directions and the overall experience of seeing this woman speak. Her throat, with its multiple layers, flapped as she talked; her skin was dirty and dry, as was her hair; and the smoke escaping her lips threatened to break through the glass as the room neared its saturation point.

They thanked her and pushed their way through the doors and into the cold, but fresh, air and headed left.

"Gross."

"So gross."

"If I ever get like that just kill me."

They continued along the main road until they spotted their first marker and turned right. They followed the next few steps in their list of directions and eventually ended up at the doorstep of a surprisingly kempt store. The sign above the door read exactly as the dragon lady had said. They headed inside but were almost immediately ushered back out by one of the employees.

"Hold on, you two can't be in here. You need to get going."

"Relax, we're both eighteen."

He eyed them up and down with skepticism. "You look younger than that. Got any ID's on you?"

"No. Listen, we're just here for some pepper spray. That's it."

The man thought it over for a moment before nodding his head. "Alright, spray we have. Sorry about that. We're not in the best part of town and we've been having issues with some of these kids lately."

He led them over to an aisle with a small section stashed with rows of the stuff. He described the differences between them including their potencies and constituents. Ellie picked out a rather small pocket sized canister.

"What about this one?"

"That one there is a doozy, it's called 'Tiger's Blood'. It's small so it'll easily fit in a purse… or I guess just your pockets. The concentration ratio of pepper to water is also a bit higher than most of the other ones here."

"So it's strong?"

"Very."

"Cool." She turned toward Riley and passed her the little bullet shaped spray. "What do you think?"

Riley looked it over and shook it for no other reason than to feign like she knew anything about the stuff. "He says it's strong. Good enough for me."

"It's very easy to use." The man interjected to try and convince them further. "You rotate the tab at the top until it lines up with the other mark and then just push down. It'll spray out about ten feet, not quite."

"Shake it first?"

"Doesn't matter."

Ellie paused for a moment to consider the other options but gave them no real thought. "Alright."

She handed it to the man who then led them to the counter before letting them out with their small canister. They left the store and headed back towards the apartment but stopped a little over halfway.

"Hey." Riley nudged Ellie who returned an annoyed look. "We should test it."

"On you? Sure, stand over there."

"Funny..." She looked around and pointed to their right. "How about that wall?"

"A wall? Come on, that's not as fun."

"Just do it."

Ellie shrugged and pulled out the spray and twisted the little tab on top. She outstretched her arm towards the wall and turned her head away.

"Ready?"

"Go."

Ellie squeezed the tab and held it for just a second before easing off. The orange liquid came streaming out freely and danced as it traversed its arcing trajectory. She palmed the canister and stood still looking at the small spot of orange against the brick wall.

"I don't smell-" Her eyes widened and then shut quickly as she backed up as fast as possible. "Oh my god!"

Riley followed right behind her but had idled too long in the target area and started coughing.

"Come on, keep moving!" They hurried down the sidewalk laughing and coughing until they got out of range of the orange mist. "Strong enough?"

"Yeah, I would say so. Geez."

"Make sure that thing is locked."

Ellie looked back into her hand and fingered the tab back and forth to make sure it was. "Done. Here, you take it."

"Why?"

"Because I fidget with things. And I know I would accidentally set that thing off."

"That's true. Alright, give it."

Riley stashed the spray and then the two finished their second half of the walk back to the apartment. They walked by the obese lady, who was preoccupied by a show, and back to the apartment which was now occupied again.

"Hi girls." Marlene was predictable, almost never saying anything different when greeting them.

Ellie reciprocated and turned to whisper at Riley. "Probably should mention… you know."

Riley motioned toward Marlene to give her the go ahead.

"Hey, Marlene. We need to tell you something real quick."

She twisted her head away from the TV without a word and looked on in interest.

"Riley and I are gonna be gone for just a few days starting tomorrow. We're not sure exactly how long. Maybe a few, maybe more."

"Okay… where are you going?"

Ellie reactively glanced toward Riley who took over the answer. "Uh, just a trip out of town."

Marlene lowered her head and raised her brow slightly. "You don't have to tell me. But whatever it is, I hope you have fun."

"…yeah. Well that's it I guess."

"Okay." She sympathetically smiled at them and turned her attention back to her show.

The rest of the day felt much more tense even than it had been for the past couple weeks. Every hour, every minute, that ticked away they felt themselves becoming more and more anxious. Night was of no relief, rather worse as they realized it was the last time they'd sleep in their own bed for a few days.

Blackness had settled over the city with the moon as a sliver high above. A faint yellow light was creeping from the gap underneath their bedroom door and the somewhat comforting familiar pattern of black and white shadows spread itself across the room.

Ellie had her head laid on Riley's chest listening to her heartbeat, Riley herself lying on her back with a hand on Ellie's shoulder. They both remained completely quiet as they looked out at the room but stayed completely within their thoughts.

"How you feeling?" Riley broke the silence first but just barely in volume. Ellie grunted quietly in reply. "That doesn't count."

"I don't know. I guess I'm… nervous obviously. But at the same time I don't really care. It's confusing."

"Weird."

"Kind of. Like I just want it over with or something."

"I get that. And it will be soon." They were silent again for a few minutes longer while simply listening to the ambiance. "We need to go to sleep. Get as much rest as we can for tomorrow."

"I'm fine like this."

"If you say so."

A rare eight hours had passed, the clock showing almost ten in the morning. Riley was the first awake and stretched as she opened her eyes. Ellie had rolled over to the other side of the bed sometime in the night, sleeping half in and half out of the covers. Riley reached over and gently nudged her her back and forth until a hand rose and attempted to swat her away.

"I know it sucks, but we should get up."

Ellie groaned as a response which prompted Riley to get up without her. She slid out of bed and groggily headed to the kitchen to make them some simple breakfast, Ellie following soon after to get her share. They sat at the couch and ate their breakfast as a series of cartoons played from the television. A simple morning in contrast to their planned day, the rest of which they spent preparing themselves mentally.

The time rolled past noon and the two were dressed and had packed their bags with some basic items to last for just a few days. Clothing, of which Ellie convinced Riley to bring some, some food, a little money, and their tickets among them.

They spent the next hour alternating between talking about everything and pacing through the apartment, both seeming appropriate. As the time hit exactly one they decided to leave in order to ensure they wouldn't be late.

Riley took a deep breath and heavily exhaled in hopes that it would drag the nerves out of her with it. "Ready?"

"Maybe."

"Probably the most we'll ever be."

"Yeah..."

They shut the door behind them and walked back to the same spot in the city Riley was at just the morning before. The station was simple square building with, seemingly, a single employee manning it. Just outside its door was a narrow protruding covered sitting area full with benches lined side by side and back to back.

The girls sat at an empty one near the center since most of the others were already occupied by just one or two people. They sat restlessly waiting out the time. Riley was tapping her foot incessantly while Ellie was picking at her fingers.

Buses came and went every five to ten minutes. A knot would form in their stomachs for the length of time it took to spot the bus until being able to read the bus' number. Each differing number from their own was a momentary relief. However, just five minutes prior to the inevitable two o'clock, the dreaded number came pulling in and stopped at the curb just next to them.

Ellie started breathing quicker as she watched the people around them stand up and slowly start funneling into the bus. A hand on her shoulder slowed her breathing slightly.

"Last chance."

Ellie stood up without a word, nodded, and walked toward the door of the bus. The driver took the tickets before they walked through the narrow hallway of the tinted cabin and took two seats near the back. The bus soon jerked from its idle position with a roar and pulled away from the station.

Ellie started picking at her fingers even worse than before as the buildings became less familiar and the skyscrapers of the city started shrinking in size. Riley reached over and entwined them with her own hoping it would help.

"Relax. You're a mess."

"How are you not?" Her voice was quiet yet panicked. "We're going back to this fucking place."

Riley stared her in the eyes. "Because we know what we're doing and how to do it. We know where to look and how to behave. And sure I'm nervous, how the hell would I not be? But we've been over this so many times that I'm just… confident that we got this. We do."

"I know we have, but still…"

"Hey. We've got each other. We'll be okay."

Ellie smiled with minimal assuredness to it before turning back forward and rested her head against the headrest.

The asphalt jungle they've accustomed themselves to living in soon began giving way to nature. The bumps in the road made it hard to get rest, whereas the pervading thoughts made it impossible, at least for Ellie.

She nudged Riley awake after some buildings started reappearing to the sides of the bus rather than the trees and grass she had been mesmerized by for the last few hours. They soon began recognizing familiar sights as they neared their stopping point. Ellie had again started messing with her fingers which caused Riley, again, to reach over and stop her.

The bus' brakes squeeled as it jerked to a hard stop outside of an equally small building as the one they left from, the seating arrangement outside of it similar as well. They waited for the others to finish flowing out before following. They stepped out into a slightly cooler air, the lack of tall buildings and car exhaust contributing to that difference.

They stood at the edge of the sidewalk and simply looked around in disbelief.

"We're here."

"Yeah… we really are, aren't we? Hate to ask, but which direction?"

"We're just a bit east."

They took each other's hand in their own, seizing whatever comfort they could get, and walked west along the main road. They soon started walking past familiar buildings before eventually ending up at a street with which they have a strong history.

"Never thought I'd see these stores again."

"Me neither. We'll have time later to check 'em out if you want."

"Really? I don't plan on spending a second longer here than we need to."

They continued past the storefront street and within a mile spotted a red brick building with a large white wooden sign sticking out of the ground in front of it. It looked no different than how they remembered before they left.

Ellie froze up and clenched the hand in hers tightly. "Shit, shit, shit. Oh fuck. Maybe this was a bad idea, Riley."

"Stop. Breathe."

She tried but her rapidly beating heart caused her breaths to escape staggered.

"Look at me. Ellie. Come on." She managed to get the girl to stop her eyes from darting around and focus in on her. "You know how much I love you, right?"

Ellie meekly nodded.

"And you know that we'll be together in there. And that we'll be fine as long as we stick to the plan." She sighed before continuing with the less comforting bit. "But I need to rely on you right now. I need you to breath out whatever nerves you can and get yourself under control. Can you do that?"

"Yes."

"You sure?"

Ellie took a steadier deep breath. "Yeah."

"We've been over our lines plenty. You'll be fine. We've got this, right?"

"Right..."

"I'm gonna need more than that. Right?"

"Right."

"Fucking right. Come on."

They walked across the street, up the pathway, passed the white wooden sign, and up to the large looming wooden door. They stopped on the porch and turned to each other, each doing their best to remain calm.

Riley glanced at the door handle and back at Ellie. "Ready?"

"Wait."

"What?"

Ellie hesitated for a moment before wrapping her arms around Riley and pulling her into a tight desperate hug, burying her face into the side of the girl's neck. She stayed frozen for some time until she eventually eased up on her grip and fell away.

Riley smiled nervously. "Better?"

"A little."

"Good." Riley, too, hesitated before reaching forward and putting a hand on the handle. She took a heavy breath, turned to face Ellie one last time, and pushed it open.