𝐖𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 ━ five hargreeves

7│I'VE WALKED FOR MILES. . .

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❛ ᴡᴀsᴛᴇʟᴀɴᴅs ᴏғ ᴛɪᴍᴇ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ɪ'ᴠᴇ ᴡᴀʟᴋᴇᴅ ғᴏʀ ᴍɪʟᴇs. . .꒱


❝ JUST REMEMBER, 
DON'T EAT MOLD ❞

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Lola had surprised even herself when she started talking again. When she'd come out of the basement, her voice had died in her throat to match the death and destruction around them. Her reasoning had been shock. The night before the end of the world, everything had been normal. Then she'd been stuck in a basement for an estimated two weeks and when she'd finally, finally come out, the world around her had changed so drastically that it had struck a fear that she'd never felt before.

Then, when Five had threatened to leave her behind in his anger, the fear had resurfaced in the reverse effect and her voice returned. The unspoken promise of Five's departure still lingered like an elephant in the room but neither teen paid attention to it; it was better that they work in harmony as often as possible and that was definitely a point of disagreement. The brunette remembered how fiercely he'd spoken, the anger in his eyes sharp as lightening even behind the safety of his goggles. She pushed it away, not wanting to think about the fact that she hadn't liked to see him angry (especially at her.) If he was going to leave her behind they shouldn't get close. The thought of living alone for the rest of her life made shivers run down her spine.

"How did you know?" Five's voice broke the silence suddenly and the girl startled.

"How did I know what?"

"That forty-two days have passed," he explained impatiently as they trudged along.

Lola shrugged. "My Uncle Ed says I'm a counter. I count things and they just stick in my head. I'm terrible at math, though," she admitted, "but I can pick out patterns in equations and things like that. I don't know, it's just something I do without really trying. Of course," she added as she waved her arms around emphatically, "I don't really know how many days have passed in this damn hell. It's more of an estimation."

Five was glad that his mask hid his smirk. "So, what, you count everything? The number of rocks that we pass?"

She rolled her eyes slightly, "not exactly. My brain just picks up on certain things and I do it. Like I knew how many steps my basement held. Things like that."

The boy gave her a curious look before he quickly faced forward again. He almost preferred her silence because at least then he could tell himself that she was dumb. Now he wasn't so sure. Not as smart as he was, certainly— there were very few people that were— but definitely smarter than he'd given her credit for. She'd also picked up the slack in finding useable items which made herself less of a burden. He still hadn't apologized for lashing out but he wasn't one for admitting his mistakes; besides, why should he apologize when he didn't feel sorry?

"Shouldn't we find somewhere more permanent to live?" Lola asked.

He shook his head. "If we do, the supplies will run out too soon and we'll have to move again. It's better to just constantly roam around."

"What about your spacial jumps?"

Sometimes he was surprised with how well she knew him until he remembered Vanya's book. "What do you mean?"

"Well, couldn't you use them to find resources farther away?"

As good of an idea as it was, he didn't want to admit it and went for irritation instead: "I've already told you. My powers don't work here."