Pyrrha

Episode 3: Where the Hell Are We?

Johnson awoke with a start. There was a burning sensation in his side. He looked down and found it was bandaged with various coloured cloths. He searched around for his armour and suddenly set his gaze on Pyrrha, stirring a pot over a warm fire.

“You got hit.” She said without taking her eye off the pot. “I think it must’ve happened during the fight.” Johnson was surprised. The sweet and innocent Pyrrha was suddenly an amazing fighter.

“Since when did you learn to shoot straight?” Johnson grunted. Pyrrha shrugged.

“Since never.” She leant over and checked his wound, “But it’s not that hard.”

“How did you fare in the fight?” Johnson said, having a peek himself. Pyrrha grabbed his chin and forced him to look at the ceiling. Getting the message, he reluctantly did so.

“I hid.” She said, trembling a little at the traumatising thought. She looked at him, “You’re really heavy, you know.”

Johnson wanted to laugh, but soon as he tried, his side burned with pain.

“So what did you do?”

“I dragged you into a closet after you passed out. I myself hid in an old vent.” Pyrrha said happily.

“That’s very brave of you,” Johnson smiled. He looked down at his freshly bandaged wound, “You’d make a good medic.”

Pyrrha smiled.

For a brief moment, she caught him gazing into her eyes. Again.

She breathed unsteadily and averted her eyes. She nervously stared at the floor.

Johnson caught her chin and gingerly guided her head to face him. To look into his eyes again. She was caught in his deep stare like a deer gazing into a car’s headlights. His large hand slowly brushed the hair out of her eyes, concealing it behind her ear. Johnson could see her beautiful blue eyes, he could stare all day.

Pyrrha's heart melted in her chest and she closed her eyes, waiting for a kiss...

Their lips were millimetres from touching.

"Or a good cook." Alex said pleasantly. Pyrrha and Johnson jumped away from each other. Alex hadn't seen anything.

"So how's it going?" Alex said, leaning down next to the pot and picking up the old ladle. A watery pulp dripped from it.

"Considering we found the food in the pantry we probably shouldn't even be eating it." Pyrrha said with concern.

"It's non perishable." Kevin called out from the next room. He then appeared in the doorway holding a stack of various sachets. "Or at least that's what the packet says."

He then made a small pile nearby the fire.

"That's all we have for the next few days." He said. There was a sachet of chicken stock, a packet of dehydrated corn, a tiny sachet of two minute noodle flavouring and a crumpled box of soup. It wasn't much at all.

It made Pyrrha feel weak all over again. It wasn’t that hungry feeling you got when you hadn’t packed your lunch for an entire school day, but a painful starvation that made her arms feel hollow and her knees quiver. The only thing she’d eaten was a cup of flavourless ration pack noodles the night before and after travelling the distance she did today she felt more than just fatigued, she felt drained. The comforting smell of a steaming soup perfumed the air and it made the feeling worse, like her body was anticipating the feeling of being full again.

"Well then, how about we sit down and enjoy ourselves?" Alex said, preparing his cup canteen. Johnson squirmed on the spot in an attempt to find comfort on the old wooden floor.