Attacca ─ Five Hargreeves

02. Dear Name

So, they walked side by side.

The next day after hearing a bellowing sound, and realising that it was coming from the bunker which was now buried underground, Five suggested walking a little at a time. He couldn't risk probing this deserted domain too intensely, he needed to remember that the girl beside him was still notably early to bring pressure to bear upon her body.

Even though she said she felt better, Five was just unwilling to take any small thing lightly. The slightest remissness could shock her body and cause her to lose consciousness. He couldn't carry her, he wasn't that strong. And they had just upgraded the wagon to a scarcely larger one to accommodate both of their belongings, there was no way he would have to use that carriage to hoist her frame.

After searching around the area where Five found her, and getting wind of how enormous her house was, he eventually came across her mother's journal roughly two hundred meters from the vault. It was quite impressive how her mother kept the book in a safe so it wouldn't get torn or anything. Seriously, it made him wonder, why and how the mother prepped everything so thoroughly, was she protecting the girl from someone? Were they being chased by bad guys? Perhaps once they found the place her mother was referring to, he would start asking questions.

For now, Five was going to revel in the silence.

Everything was the same, still with the same scenery, still struggling with the correct equations to get him back to the Academy's gate, still with the unknown of his fate in the future. The wrenching inquiry about whether the apocalypse would be his forever home still reclined inactively in his head, but it was different. It felt dissimilar. It had to be because now, he was no longer alone. The silence wasn't filled by seclusion anymore, he had someone, and everything became quite bearable.

Despite not frankly knowing where they were headed, Five did not mind it at all. They had nothing to do but survive while he also worked on the scheme, it wasn't like this world had anything for them to drop by anymore. All the verges were parched, there was no green to adorn the drab backdrop, no animals that might captivate the eye, the only thing they were required to do for the day was to run down a shelter for the night.

"Here, I found Twinkies," the girl shook off the dirt shrouding the wrapper, and handed it to him.

Five frowned, looking up from the notes he was scribbling. "We don't need that."

"It's for you," said the girl.

Albeit not lusting for the sweetness, Five still took it anyway and put it in his bag. "Go sit somewhere, I don't need you to wail tiredly later."

They were taking a short break after trekking since morning, apart from that, the temperature was wildly abhorrent. Five didn't want to take any chances, the girl still needed a bit of time to wholly recoup. It wasn't really shown, but every time her nose scrunched up, he just knew she was currently disputing the turmoil within her body. He wasn't an expert in medical matters, but the book he had read phrased that cryosleep could cause nausea, headaches, extreme weakness, and shortness of breath.

Although her mother had gathered a lot of supplies and medicines, Five wasn't completely sure about relying on it all. They still had a long way to go, no one knew what the future would be like, they needed to save on all kinds of things they had now. And at the moment, the girl required more nourishment and liquid than he did to replenish her strength which had been dormant for years.

"What's your name?"

The question suddenly made the boy pause, causing him to think they had been one after the other for almost a day and no name exchange had occurred yet. He was sure he saw her name on the monitor, but unfortunately, it didn't stay in his head for long.