A Light That Never Fades

𝟮𝟮

Day 87

Amina crossed the day out on her sketchbook. It was nearing midnight now, the group were all sitting around a campfire that was ignited just outside of a convenience store. The girl was pleased to have taken her drawing book with her before they had abandoned their school. She would still try to find the pleasant time to do some quick sketches whenever the group would settle down somewhere to take a break. It helped put her mind at ease. The teens had been traveling around the outskirts of the city for at least seven days now.

They had been extremely fortunate to have found plenty of nutritious food from some grocery stores such as canned soup and even beans. Along with many other supplies that will undoubtedly benefit them into providing them enough strength to keep plunging forward.

Just across from Amina, Maia brought her trembling hands near the flames in order to get warm. She could feel her teeth chatter from the unbearable cold, strongly wishing that she had found a nice cozy sweater by now. Maia felt a hand land on her arm from her right, the girl smiled when she took notice of the brunette taking off her black jacket and handing it to her.

Maia shook her head, "No, you don't have to-"

"Come on", Samy insistently said, revealing a grin on her face. Maia only smiled again at the girl's thoughtful gesture, she allowed the brunette in helping her slip her arms into the black jacket. Maia sighed in relief as she now wore the cozy jacket, already feeling herself become warm. She expressed her thanks to the brunette, wondering if Samy would be okay sleeping throughout the night with only that white t-shirt that she still wore. Her bare arms would not be shielded from the cold wind.

"Won't you get cold later?", Maia asked with a bit of concern in her voice. Samy waved that question off, reassuring her that she was not bothered at all by the frigid temperature. "Don't worry about me, I'm already getting used to dealing with the cold at night", she calmly assured. Maia's gaze softened at her, she observed Samy's slightly bruised face a little more. The brunette didn't appear so badly beaten anymore, Maia had also noticed lately that Samy's fractured ribs weren't becoming so bothersome anymore. The stitches from Samy's grazed eyebrow had even started to become removed gradually over time, revealing the noticeable small scar that is marked on her skin. Maia's eyes traveled to Samy's hair, acknowledging just how pretty long the girl's bangs had grown.

She brought her fingers up to brush over the brunette's bangs, "Your hair has been growing a lot recently. You should let me trim your bangs". Samy smiled at that, "Sure. I don't think I can trust myself with a pair of scissors anymore anyway". She recalled an old memory when she was about fourteen years old, the time she had poorly cut her bangs up after watching a simple tutorial on the internet. Maia lightly giggled, remembering when Samy had cried to her on the phone about it so many years ago.

Maia laid her head on Samy's shoulder, feeling like sleep would soon overcome her. Samy brought an arm right over Maia's shoulder, bringing the girl closer. She laid her head on top of Maia's, watching the flames from the campfire blazingly dance. Zane, who sat not too far from the girls, cringed to himself as he watched the two lovebirds cuddle alongside each other.

—

Day 88

The occasional sounds of birds chirping were heard throughout the bright sunny day as Samy and her friends ventured through more of the deserted streets of Boston. A gleaming blue dragonfly fluttered right above their heads, zipping past them in a flash. They had been treading on the path of back bay, following the same route towards the northeast side. The teens had contemplated amongst each other on whether they should explore through South Boston, but they later on disagreed and came to terms with sticking towards the same pathway within their state.