Catalyst

Chapter 6

Warnings: Language, Violence

Chapter 6:
402 Years After the Virus; Month 8; Day 20

I woke up later out of a nightmare I couldn't remember. It had left me sweating and my heart beating fast with fear. I sat up to catch my breath and looked around. It was still dark and raining. Taking a breather, I sat there and collected myself before going down to the bathroom to splash my face with cold water.

For a moment I stood there, listening to the rain pattering against the roof. I glanced at myself in the mirror once and walked away. The rain might've been done by morning, so I walked downstairs. The fire was a low glow and Sabre was lying down on the couch. I stood over him a moment and detected the faint rise and fall of his chest. He'd lived. Andon was out of sight somewhere, so I walked to the door that led to the back porch and stepped out.

The cool air was refreshing and I took a deep breath. I stood at the top of the steps, still underneath the porch roof and debated on stepping down into the grass. However, I didn't have any other clothes, so I just went to the first step and stuck my hands out into the water. It was beautiful, the sound, the smell, the feel. It relaxed me as well, taking away the fear of some irrational nightmare. When water had pooled up in my hands, I splashed it up into the air. Before setting my hands out into the water again. It pooled up and I tossed it into the air once more, finding some way to celebrate the rain even if I wasn't dancing in it.

"What are you doing?" Andon's voice made me jump and spin around.

"What are you doing?" I asked quickly, wiping my hands on my pants and noticing that he was sitting in one of the large rocking chairs on the porch. He'd at least taken all his weapons off.

"Sitting here peacefully," he answered.

"Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"Shouldn't you?" I moved away from the rain and folded my arms over my chest.

"You just watched me then?" He sat there quietly and picked up a glass filled with what I could only assume was alcohol and took a sip.

"I wasn't sure if you knew I was out here or not," he said. There was another rocking chair beside him on the other side of the table he'd set his drink on. I walked over and sat down.

"I didn't," I said, letting my head fall back against the boards of the chair while tucking my legs up against my body.

"So you're up in the middle of the night to play with the rain?" he asked.

"Something like that," I muttered, "And you're out here drinking?"

"Having a drink because it helps me sleep," he said and pushed the glass toward me, "It should help you sleep too."

"What if I want to be awake?"

"Then suit yourself."

We sat there quietly for a moment and I wondered if he was a night owl or just had trouble sleeping. My mind started working over everything again and I didn't know what was going to happen tomorrow. My body was already stiff and weak, so I needed sleep. Finally, I gave in and picked up the glass. It would be my first time drinking anything alcoholic. I took a sip and nearly spat it back out. He sat up a little, grinning, and managed to take the glass from me before I did anything to it. After a moment I did swallow it back and it felt like fire running down my throat.

"I think I'm dying," I said, gagging a bit and trying to find some sort of relief from the burning.

"Take another sip, it'll help," he said, smiling and even laughing quietly.