Our Soul Divided

10| The Clearing

Stetson

Athena and I rumbled to a stop inside the garage and cut the engines. It was such a nice time out with her that I didn't want to come back. She's getting better, but I am worried about her not accepting that Dorian is gone.

When I start for the door Athena grabs my hand and laces her fingers through mine. It feels so good to have her back with me, but part of me feels guilty somehow.

When I really think about it, even if Dorian had made it back with us, this is how things would have been anyway–eventually... right? She would have taken her time to adjust. I only wonder what he was putting into her head.

He could have made things up, or he could have used her previous memories and I am just scared to ask her. I don't want to ignite her trauma, and I part of me isn't sure that I want to know. He loved her, surely. And if I were him, I would have taken the opportunity to make her love me somehow. I mean, I spent half my teenage years trying... why shouldn't he?

When we open the door to the bunker, we are both shocked to find it completely empty. A feeling of dread set into the pit of my stomach. Where the hell did everybody go?

"Hey," Athena speaks up from the desk near the door, "look at this."

She hands me a piece of paper and Rain's sloppy handwriting is scribbled across it.

Meet us in the clearing and hurry your ass up!

Love you,

Tinker

The clearing... but why? Did something happen? My eyes bounce around the bunker looking for any signs of struggle. Everything looks in place, if not a little cleaner than normal.

"What's the clearing?" Athena asks.

"Just a place where we meet sometimes with other factions," he says as he stares at the note and presses his lips together.

"Well?" I ask, waiting for him to respond in some way.

"I just feel like something is wrong," he mumbles.

My stomach bottoms out and my body begins to tremble, "Wrong?" I blurt out.

"No, no. I mean..." He drops the note and it flutters to the floor as he reaches for me and wraps me in his arms.

"You're okay," he whispers into the hair on the crown of my head. "We're okay." Suddenly it feels more like he is talking to himself rather than me.

"Let's go find out what's going on, hmm?" He pulls me back and I can see the worry creeping into his gaze, making him look older than the thirty-two years he's turning today.

He grabs my hand and pulls me back toward the door and I follow suit with no protest. I'm drained from the conversation that we had earlier and the rush from the ATV ride, but he needs me next to him. He hasn't said it, but he doesn't let go of my hand as we exit the bunker on foot.

"Remember the rules, okay?" he whispers to me.

One: never leave the bunker alone without Stetson

Two: never leave Stetson's side. Ever.

Three: watch my back

I glance over my shoulder behind us as I remember the rules.

"Good girl," he praises. My whole body clenches at hearing him say those words. "You're okay with me, but you can never be too careful out here.

I take in the sight again as we walk hand in hand toward the smoke in the distance. I take in the ruined buildings and destroyed homes. It looks like some sort of fiery natural disaster came through this small town and it had no remorse.