Above

37

Estelle
I wake up in a cold sweat, gasping. 
I was in a taupe tent, with a cot, water and a small oil lamp. 
I hear footsteps, coming toward the tent, which makes me sit up, looking at the silver door.
Someone sighs from outside the tent before separating the doors and walking in. 
It was Leeciy, and he didn't look in the best shape. 
He had bruise-like bags under his eyes, and his shoulders we're drooped, as if he were carrying the world on them. 
"Leeciy?" I ask .
He looks up, shocked. "You're awake." 
I nod. "I am." 
He crosses the tent in two long strides before enveloping me into a tight hug. "I thought I'd never talk to you again." 
"It's okay." I say, burying my hand in his hair, that had grown a bit.
His grip tightens, and he buries his head into the crook of my neck. 
I rest my head on his shoulder, closing my eyes. 
He pulls away, holding me at arms length. "What do you remember?" 
I shrug. "I dunno." 
"Are you okay?" He asks, one of his hands going to my cheek, his thumb stroking my cheekbone. 
I nod. "I'm fine." 
"Like actually fine? 'Cause Logan told me that girls say they're fine, when they're not fine." Leeciy rambles. 
"Leeciy." I say, silencing him. "I'm okay." 
He grins. "Thank god."
I smile at his happiness. 

He furrows his brows. "You remember August now right?" 
I nod. 
"Don't you still feel things for him?" He asks. 
I shake my head. "That version of me died when he did." 
"What do you mean?" He asks. 
"Everyone has different versions of themselves, like you. You had the whole, one-night-stand guy phase, then the Cirus phase, now you have this phase." I explain. "The version of me infatuated with August died when he did, the grief-stricken version died when Cirus changed all my memories, now this is me." I motion to myself. 
He nods. "I think I get it now." 
I smile. "Good, now, will you show me around camp?"  
*** 
The tour of camp was brief, maybe about twenty minutes, but everybody was happy to see me.
Now, Leeciy and I are outside of camp, on some hill, with his jacket wrapped around my shoulders. 
"Do you miss it?" He asks. 
I look over at him, cocking my head. "Miss what?" 
"Your manicured nails, your styled hair, your designer clothes, and an actual bed?" He asks. 
I shake my head. "Well, I miss having a bed but besides that, nothing else." 
He smiles, plucking a wild flower, weaving it into the ring he's made. "I think we all miss having beds." 
"I miss Willowdale." I sigh. 
He shrugs. "I don't, I like this whole traveling thing." 
I lean my head on his shoulder. "August's family buried an empty casket." 
"Really?" He asks. 
I nod. "They also quoted one of his books on the gravestone." 
He stays quiet. 
"It was pretty weird, seeing a grave for a man we burned." I say, looking up at Leeciy. 
He nods. "Must have been." 
I close my eyes. 
"Are you tired?" He asks. 
I shake my head. "I feel great." 
"Good." He says. "So do I." 
I hum, opening my eyes, to look down at the flower ring on his lap. 
"Tell me everything you remember." He says. "I'll tell you if it's true." 
"Titanios beat you with his cane." I say. 
He chuckles and nods. "Then you fixed me up, with dinosaur bandages." 
"We ate ice cream on a roof in Colorado, while a bunch of stoners partied." I say. 
He nods. 
"We went to Chicago, and I jumped off a bridge." I say. 
"Then I saved you." 
I look up at him. "I remember everything." 
"I know, just trying to fill the silence." He says. 
I look off across the horizon. 
He finishes his flower ring, putting it on my head. 
"You know what would be awesome right now?" I ask. 
"What?" He asks. 
I sigh. "Lamb soup." 
He smiles. "It really would." 
I look down at our intertwined hands, my heart skipping a beat. 
He takes a deep breath through his nose. "We can't stay in Canada long." 
"Why not?" 
"Food supply's down and the nuke killed everything, including the animals." He says. "The tribes around here survive off each other, killing off the meatiest and eating them." 
"How do you know that?" 
He shrugs. "We'll visit, then we'll visit and someone will be missing." 

I furrow my brows. "Where could we go?" 
He shrugs. "We're playing it by ear, seeing what'll happen." 
"What if we have to resort to cannibalism?" I ask. 
He shakes his head. "We won't. If it gets that far we'll pack up our stuff and head straight back to the US." 
I squeeze his hand and he squeezes mine.
One of the dead trees behind us rattle, their branches knocking against each other. 
We both turn and look at it, then at each other. 
"Reiba?" Leeciy calls. "C'mere." 
Nothing comes from the bush. 
I stand. "Maybe we should head back to camp." 
He gets up too. "You're right, it's getting late." 
We start down the hill, walking on the the small path we located earlier. 
I felt weird, like someone was staring holes into the back of my head. 
"Don't look behind us." Leeciy says. 
I nod, fighting the urge. "What's happening." 
"Let's just say, we're being tailed by someone." He says, keeping his eyes focused on the road. 
I clear my throat, trying to move a piece of debris to smack them out of the way, but nothing happened. "My Oura konnes isn't working." 
Leeciy just looks at me with wide eyes, before glancing behind us. "They're getting closer." 
"Should we run?" I ask. 
"They have guns, they'll shoot." He murmurs. 
I look at the camp in the distance, which had a little trail of smoke from a fire earlier, but now it seemed empty. 
Leeciy grabs my hand. "It'll be okay." 
I nod, swallowing the air in my mouth. 
It didn't take long for the tailers to catch up, and put a needle in our necks.