Shards of Kairos

XX -- Rise

Rei and Shinsota didn't just come back with the Jeep. Rei had spare clothing for Julian that he'd left behind at the ramen house in case of an emergency like this and another leather jacket. But it was obvious that Rei and Shinsota couldn't go with them. Julian couldn't even protect himself at the moment, let alone Mitch and Connor and Evie. And it would be far safer for Rei and Shinsota if they took shelter from the storm elsewhere. And didn't push on ahead into it. Which was exactly what Evie felt like they were going to do on the long drive to New Mexico.

It would take a day if the three of them drove without stopping. They restocked on supplies and took what they could from the ambulance from Kairos, found a door for the passenger side of the Jeep, and left Detroit as soon as possible. Which was almost a relief. It had felt like the derelict city was closing in on them and Evie felt like nothing was safe now after being ambushed by the Blight. Keeping her grandfather's journal as close as she could, Evie could only wonder what had driven them to pursue it to the point of almost angry, righteous desperation.

Evie was impossibly angry at Adam and now she could feel just a little of the depth of what Julian felt towards the younger man. She also felt desperately frustrated. And Evie felt unreasonably stupid for thinking that the Guardian could be reasoned with. But like Mitch, some part of her stubbornly saw something that could. Because he still looked scared. Like he was only holding onto what he thought was the only thing he could in an otherwise sinking ship. But the anger was there first. And it was almost drowning everything else, especially right now.

Julian was unconscious for hours. It was impossible to make him completely comfortable. The bench seat in the back seat of the Jeep wasn't very big and Julian was just too tall. But they managed to fill the space between the bench seat, the driver's seat and passenger seat with a dense black comforter and some pillows. The Guardian was stretched out mostly across Evie and she accommodated the wounded Guardian the best she could, holding him in her arms. Connor had started another transfusion but it was hours before Julian started to actually show signs of life - of the stable sort anyway.

"How's he doing?" Connor murmured quietly, checking on Julian every hour since they'd left Detroit. And sometimes more than that. A few of those times Julian run hot with fever. They'd had to turn the air conditioning on just to bring it down because there was no way Julian would relinquish his shirt. And Evie, now with a total understanding as to why, didn't blame him.

It was just a polite question. Because Connor was the doctor. He'd know better than her. But Evie answered him anyway.

"He feels restless. I can't explain how."

"That's good." But Connor gave her a questioning look and Evie just smiled.

They'd filled Connor in on everything they could, including the bond she and Julian now shared, but even Evie couldn't explain it better. Maybe even Julian couldn't. It was an accepted part of his culture. So ingrained that by now, to them, it had become second nature - like their empathy. Before... before the end of everything for Kairos, and everyone, that is.

An hour or two later they shifted Julian onto his stomach, facing the other direction. Or mostly onto his stomach. There wasn't enough room for Julian to stretch out completely. Connor though reached out for the hem of Julian's shirt and pulled it up just an inch, carefully, a questioning look in his eyes. Evie couldn't see what he was looking at but tried, and gave up when she couldn't lean that far forward. Connor gave her a glance, looking a bit confused, his voice quiet when he spoke. "Just an old scar on his stomach. Thought it looked like..."

"Like what?" Evie asked. Practically everything about Julian was a complete mystery even now. Even knowing what she did, Evie still didn't feel like it was hardly anything and yet somehow, everything. But there was all this blank space filled with shadows and Julian always evading her inside of them - just out of her reach. She understood, completely. But Evie still wanted to know him as much as she respected that his old life, everything that he had been, was also everything that the Guardian had lost. Including himself.