The Aftermath

Chapter Two

Mark flopped down on the bed, sighing comfortably.

"D'you think they bought it?" Yami asked nervously, slinging his pack into the corner of the room and pulling off his jacket, leaving himself in only a white tank top that hugged his slender form.

"Yeah, I think so," Mark replied. He opened his eyes a crack to admire Yami's near-bare chest. "That Krism woman could be a problem, though."

"What if we just told her, too?" Yami sighed tiredly.

"You know we can't do that," Mark snapped. Yami flinched and turned away from the bed. Mark's expression softened.

"Hey," he said quietly, getting up and hugging the smaller man. "I don't like it any more than you do, but if we tell her she could be killed. It's not safe, Aaron."

"I know, Mark," whispered Yami. "But I hate having to lie to them." He turned to face Mark. "Their relationship isn't at their strongest anyways. Forcing this on them..."

Yami burried his head into Mark's jacket, stifling a sob.

"It has to be done," Mark said, his voice hard as steel. "Before more innocents die."

Yami sniffed and pulled away. When he looked up, his eyes were cold.

"You're right," he conceded. "It has to be done."

--

"Whole or skim milk?" I asked, peering in confusion at the endless rows of identical white jugs. After so long in the army, I had forgotten much of how to function in day to day life.

"Skim," Krism replied quietly. The good mood from this morning had worn off, leaving her abrupt and snappish. I grabbed two cartons of milk and tossed them into the cart.

"What's next?" I asked.

"Produce."

"Alright, then," I said, starting off towards the front of the store at a brisk pace. Krism followed silently. When we reached the produce section we split up, each of us grabbing different fruits and vegetables.

I was picking out lettuce when I first heard it. A few desperate giggles here and there. I dropped the plastic bag of vegetables and ran over to Krism just as she erupted into full-blown laughter. I caught her as she collapsed in on herself, falling to the floor.

"Baby? Baby, look, there's proper green shit," I gestured to the shelves of zucchini and basil, trying to distract her from whatever it was that had set her off. She kept laughing like she hadn't heard me. I could feel myself shutting down and retreating as Krism fell farther and farther into her mind. I held her tightly, muttering in her ear.

"Krism's a bit broken, Krism's a bit broken..."