Through The Ashes

19

Jorn shuddered awake.

Her body ached, muscles stiff from days of pushing beyond their limits. She blinked groggily, looking for Mara.

She was sitting next to Eli, rifles resting across their laps as he slept on her shoulder. Mara's eyes were fixed on the door, but Jorn could tell by the subtle tension in her posture that her mind was elsewhere.

Jorn slowly pushed herself up, grabbing her weapon and slinging it over her shoulder.

"You're awake," Mara said. "Are you feeling better?"

Jorn nodded, ready to go upstairs and get Becca and Yosef. "I've rested enough, I think."

She watched Mara gently ease Eli off her shoulder and stand up, brushing herself off. Mara stepped closer, shaking her head. "You should rest a bit more. You were out cold, Jorn. You barely got any real sleep."

Jorn frowned, the stubbornness she was known for rising to the surface. "I'm fine," she repeated. She wasn't completely fine—her body still felt like a log, her mind slower than usual—but she couldn't stay down any longer.

Mara stepped into her path, her eyes catching Jorn's in the dim light. "You're tired," she said quietly, her voice just for Jorn, not wanting to disturb Eli. "You don't have to keep pushing like this."

The memory of that night, when they had given in to each other, flashed in her mind. It was complicated now, tangled with everything unsaid between them.

Jorn swallowed hard, her gaze drifting from Mara to the floor. "I can't unravel right now."

Mara's expression softened, though there was something unreadable in her eyes. "I'm not asking you to. Just... let me help." Her hand brushed Jorn's arm briefly.

Jorn exhaled slowly, her defenses lowering just a little. "Alright," she conceded, her voice quieter now, though the struggle within her was evident. "We go together."

"Deal."

Jorn glanced at Eli, still peacefully asleep, his head slumped awkwardly against the wall. "What about him?"

"He can stay asleep," Mara said, looking at him with a mix of fondness and amusement. "He'll need all the rest he can get before carrying guns."

"Alright. Let's go."

Jorn and Mara moved away from Eli, their footsteps careful not to wake him as they climbed the stairs to take their watch. The house was quiet, except for the occasional groan of old wood settling, the air cool and still.

Becca and Yosef were sitting down in the foyer, chatting with each other until they noticed Jorn and Mara.

"Go rest," Jorn said. "Mara and I got it from here."

"How's Eli?" Becca asked, standing up.

"Asleep," Mara answered.

"I'm gonna go join him," Yosef said, yawning.

The pair disappeared behind the door and Jorn and Mara found themselves in a small room just off the hallway, the window partially covered with a torn curtain that let in slivers of moonlight.

Jorn settled down near the window, her back against the rough wall as she laid her rifle across her lap. Mara followed, sitting close enough that their knees almost touched. Moonlight cut through the ragged curtain, casting soft shadows on Mara's face as she leaned against the wall beside Jorn.

For a few minutes, they sat in silence, listening to the creaks of the old house and the faint whispers of wind outside. Jorn's body still ached, but there was a different kind of tension now, one she couldn't quite shake—one that had nothing to do with the fight for survival.