Unmatchable

Chapter 11

As the door opens sunlight shines through and smacks me right in the face. Since I've been stuck in this hell for the past few days I haven't been able to see any sunlight, since there were no windows in the compound. I squint, attempting to adjust my eyes to the sun.

Thomas ducks underneath the door as its still opening, Lily and I follow. We bolt towards the wall. Then we follow the rest of Thomas's instructions to get over it. Once we're over it I see mountains ahead, covered in snow. Trees and meadows of grass and wildflowers cover the landscape. How far did they take me from the demolished place I was in before?

"Its so beautiful." I say in awe.

"Yeah, but unfortunately we won't be staying there.... come on."

We start walking, following Thomas, and I hope he has a plan.

+++

Two hours later we are halfway up one of the mountains, my calves feel dead, and Lily is trying to become my "friend".

"What's your favorite color?" Lily asks me in an excited tone. She grins at me in a way that makes me unsure if she genuinely cares, or if she's putting on a facade.
"Blue." I tell her, trudging up the mountain. Thomas is about 20 feet in front of Lily and I. I of course can walk pretty fast, but I've had to slow things down to stay with Lily.
"Ooo!" She exclaims elatedly. Wow. I think to myself. Is she this enthusiastic about everything. "Like, what kind of blue? Sky blue, ocean blue, blueberry blue..." Lily starts naming all the blues she can think of.
"I think ocean blue." I tell her "I've never seen the ocean, but I saw a picture once, it just looked so..." I think for a moment, grasping for the word.
"Magical?" Lily smiles at the ground and pulls out a water bottle. She takes a gulp and puts it back inside her backpack.
"Yeah, that's the word."

Maybe Lily isn't all that bad...

+++

"Can we stop... please?" I ask, my hands on my knees as I try to catch my breath.
"Yeah, Thomas, I think we need to rest." Lily says in agreement.
"We need.. to keep..going.." Thomas pants in between words, clearly exhausted. Seeing as we've been walking up a steep mountain for the past temp hours, who can blame him?

Lily walks to him and rests her hand on his back.

"Hey," she says. Thomas keeps going. "Hey!" Thomas stops and looks at her.

"If you want to get to wherever we're going faster, we need to have the energy to do it, love." Lillian smiles faintly and rests her hand on Thomas' cheek.

Thomas looks at the ground and gives a very small smile in return.

"Okay fine."

I roll my eyes.

+++

I put my cold hands out in front of the fire Thomas and I built a few hours ago.

Lily is asleep inside the cave we found. Thomas walks out of it, and heads over to me.
"Long day." He sighs, sitting down across from me. The flames rise up, creating the image of his chin being tickled by the flames. I smile to myself and look down at my hands.
"Yes," I reply. "Long, Long day..." I yawn and lay down on the shirt I bunched up earlier. My eyes drift shut and my face glows in the warmth of the fire in front of me. Crickets chirp in the distance, singing their lullaby to me.
What a calm night. I think.
That's when I hear the gunshot.
+++