We spend the next few days living in the shed. We both trek out towards the city before the sun rises and we head back when the sun sets, bringing food and other comfort items. I also take more photos but we print two copies, that way he can have one in his universe too. It makes us smile. Mum and Dad are getting better. They believe me when I talk about Cry and sometimes I interpret for him. He does the same with his mother.
The explosion near us was a old factory in disuse. They said that nothing sparked the explosion but me and Cry know the truth. We didn’t tell anyone though. It’s our secret. Our houses are still roped off to the public and we couldn’t salvage anything big. I did manage to find the picture Cry gave me though. It was a little singed at the corners but it survived. It makes me glad.
The explosions are happening more often now. At nights I can stand on the shed and look out at the city, just watching the explosions and the fires that bloom into the sky. It scares me. Because I made this happen. This is my fault in half. It isn’t something we can stop. There is nothing we can do. It frightens me.
“Pewds, come in” Cry calls. I look to him and nod hesitantly, climbing down and heading inside into the warmth. The distant wails of sirens echo in the air and lulls us both to sleep each night.
The hospitals are getting fuller and me and Cry feel more guilty every time we visit Mum and Dad. The beds are filling up faster and faster with all the fires and explosions. Our worlds are whirling faster and crashing more. Mum and Dad comfort me and Cry while Cry’s mother tells us that it isn’t our fault. I believe them but still, the doubt blooms inside me.
“Cry?” I ask, watching him just stare at the walls. He’s taking it a lot worse than me. I feel bad for him and I wish I could comfort him but I can’t. It hurts me. He doesn’t like to go into the cities very much. Whenever we’re there, we keep seeing fires in the corners of our eyes. It scares us. Pertrifies us. We can’t do this anymore. It’s too much. It feels like the world is on our shoulders and it hurts. It hurts so much.
I don’t want to do this anymore...
Neither of us do
