STRANDED

THIRTEEN

Amy awoke to see Travis sitting next to the doorway. Angelina, however, was still in bed, almost covered by the blanket.

Amy sat up. "Morning," she said sleepily.

Travis's head darted over to her. "Hey."

"Sleep well?" Amy asked.

"Yeah," Travis said uneasily. He looked a little shaken.

"Are you... okay?" Amy approached the question cautiously, aware of Travis's previous signs of a short temper.

"Yeah," he repeated, still uneasily. "Just... had a nightmare. Happens to all of us, no big deal."

Amy decided she wouldn't push him any further. Angelina shifted in her bed before sitting up, her eyes weary and her head bedraggled. She rubbed her eyes and said something Amy made out as "morning".

Angelina got out of bed. "I need a drink," she walked out of the room and into the bar.

Travis looked up at Amy. "Hey."

Amy acknowledged to Travis that she heard him.

"Y'know how I said that Angelina and I weren't too friendly, and I was a bit cautious to join this whole expedition because of it?"

"Yeah," Amy said, remembering their walk to Jörg's house.

"Well, we were kinda in a relationship, see? It ended badly." Amy didn't want to ask. "Well, this whole thing's got me thinking about her, y'know?"

Amy nodded.

"Fuck it. I shouldn't have told you. Why would you care?" Travis looked back to the floor.

Amy got up and walked over to him. She sat cross-legged in front of the hulk. "C'mon," she pestered him. "Just let it out. It's not healthy to keep this in. I'd know..."

"Hm?" Travis looked up. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, when I was in high school, there was this really cute boy I knew. His name was Davie. He had the best hair. It was always slicked back. He looked like he came from the sixties." Amy chuckled at the thought of him. "We were really good friends, and I had a huge crush on him. Now that I think back, he might've had one on me as well. Anyway, the point is that I never opened up about it, and by the time I graduated, I'd never seen him again. I honestly regret it because nobody knew."

"And what you're saying is that if I don't open up, I'll regret it for the rest of my life?"

"Exactly. Why don't you tell her?" Amy tapped Travis's shoulder.

"Y'know what, you're right!" Travis said rather boldly. "But now's not the time. I'll tell her after Chervobskii's dealt with."

"Sounds good to me," Amy said.

Amy sat around the table with Travis and Angelina. They had not yet eaten today and had decided to eat in the bar. They gathered around a table, Amy having to help Angelina with the Italian the bartender was speaking.

"I need to tell you guys something," Amy leaned into the table as the bartender walked off to get their orders.

"What is it?" Angelina sounded concerned.

"I was up last night by the fire and I saw this... figure. I couldn't make out who or what it was. It was a human, I know that. I chased it through the bar, but they escaped. I don't know who they were, but I worry."

Travis's eyes widened. "Did Chervobskii send them?" he theorized quietly.

"Maybe," Amy said. "All I know is that they were watching us."