Imperfect Fear

Fifteen

I  drank all afternoon while I was talking to Tala, which was a bad idea.  The cider wasn't strong enough to do any damage but I feel drunk. Out of  it.

I  am standing next to a man hole that leads down to the sewers, waiting  for my partner. I don't know who it is yet. My schedule didn't say. I'd  find out soon enough.

If  I was lucky, it would be someone I liked, such as Autumn, the woman I  met a few days before I went into hospital. That would be nice. Or it  could be someone I hated, like-

My train of thought is interrupted as, almost like they're on cue, someone clears their throat behind me.

I  turn and try to contain a groan. Standing there with a gun slung over  his shoulder and a smirk on his face is none other than Tyran.

"Why are you here?" I ask, and to my surprise, my voice holds steady, with no slur. I must not be as drunk as I feel.

"Sewerage duty. I'm guessing you're patrolling with me?" He asks.

I nod silently, not sure of what to say. The last time I was with Tyran, I told him his girlfriend was dead.

"Let's  go down, I guess." He says and I nod. He looks kind of sheepish. His  hair shines in the fading sunlight and his eyes glint with an emotion I can't match. It's almost like mischief.

I decide I'm imagining it.

Tyran  slips into the hole first and disappears into the darkness. I follow  soon after and close the metal opening above me, so the only light we  have is the torches in our hands. They're expensive ones that have  really bright, wide beams and can be clipped to our belts if we can't  hold then.

The  ladder is not as long as the ones that go down to the CD, but this one  is slightly wet and I struggle to keep my grip as it descend. When I'm  almost to the bottom, I grin and push off the ladder, jumping down the  last few rungs. It's fun but when I land I stumble into Tyran, almost  sending us falling into the river of human waste beside the patrollers  path. He grabs my arms and steadies us both.

"Sorry." I giggle and his eyebrows scrunch up.

"Are you hurt at all?" He asks, clearly worried about having to drag me around for the rest of the patrol.

"No." I say, still fighting back giggles. I feel like a little girl. It must be the alcohol.

Tyran frowns, suddenly holding me tighter. "Maedana, are you drunk?"

I wriggle away from his grip. "No." I try telling, but the grin I can't contain gives me away.

He  rolls his eyes. "Oh my gosh. My day can't get any worse. The girl I  hate is drunk and I have to patrol the sewers with her tonight!"

I sigh. "I'm not that drunk. Just a little bit." I hold up my thumb and a finger to demonstrate how much alcohol I have had.

Tyran rolls his eyes. "Forget it Maedana, let's just go. But if you need to throw up, do it in the river beside us, not on me."

I  compress my giggle and try to calm down. Tyran pulls a small black  tablet from his large cargo-pant pockets. The devices hold the maps and  information for our patrol. My own tablet was in the small flat backpack  on my back. Each black gets a tab of their own when they go on patrol,  but for some strange reason I really wish we could just share one. I  shake the thought off, realising it's just the alcohol, and pull mine  out as well.

"We're going on the outskirts of the sewers, where the current is strongest." I say and Tyran nods.

"No wonder the entrance we were given was so close to the dome." He says and I nod.