Never let me go

34: Into that good night - Pt. II

34: Into that good night - Pt. II

Jun watches her in the light from the kerosene lamp as she checks the gear they have packed. He is dressed in black, and the dark canisters hanging from his belt gives his legs an odd bulging look. His swords are at his sides and in his hand he holds the stylized gas mask they opt to wear. His custom made pack clings to his form as to not restrict his movement. Hers is the same but she will have to carry an extra for a short while. The syringe is packed along with the container whose label is marked with a circle and three crescents on top an orange base. The pair of boots makes her extra pack bulge, but if all goes well she will not encounter anyone during the time she is over encumbered.

Jun looks ready to go but before he can move she grips him by the shoulders. He meets her gaze calmly and does not pull away.

"Wait for me until you see the first hint of dawn on the horizon. If I have not come by then you go on."

His black eyes look straight into hers. He shakes his head.

"Yes. You go, that's an order. If I am not there by then I never will be."

He shakes his head again. She is about to argue when his voice comes to her.

"Where you go, I go."

There is a finality to his words that makes her think she does not have time to argue.

"I wish you would not do this Jun, my friend." She gives his shoulders a squeeze but sees that he is not swayed by her words. So be it then. We will both chance everything we have on Reiner. "Let's go."

He drowns the light while she shoulders her packs, strapping herself in. As she unbuttons the tent flap she can make out Jun's shape in the darkness. At first it looks to her eyes as if he is becoming darker, like his body itself absorbs any residue of light from the atmosphere around him. Then he begins to fade from view until she can see the tent canvas right through him. To this day the trick unsettles something in her, the same part that stirs at the absurdity of people turned into mindless titans.

She turns the tent flap aside and slips out into the night.

At first he is not sure what it is that woke him up. He opens his eyes but sees only darkness, yet something in him tells him that there is someone inside his tent. He listens but hears nothing.

A hand is pressed over his nose and mouth.

His arms fly up, and he grips the lean arm of the person. When he feels the soft skin he relaxes, realizing that the hand over his mouth belongs to Iris. She shushes him and he nods his confirmation. The hand falls away.

"I will never understand how you do that."

"Do you have a lamp?" Her voice sounds tired.

He feels around for the lamp, and now that his eyes have adjusted to the darkness he can just about see his hands. He strikes a match and lights the lamp. The light flares up and her face comes into view. Something warm stirs in him at the sight of her.

It has been a week since they buried the Bjergsen boy. At first he thought she was handling it well, taking it in her stride. But then he had begun to notice how she never spoke unless spoken to, how she withdrew from their company to spend hours sitting alone staring at a book she was not reading a single word of. Her body moved around autonomously performing any duty set in front of her, but the real Iris had retreated far into herself.

He looks at her in the dim light, the girl with all the secrets, and he sees the plain sadness on her face. He reaches out for her. It is not her fault the boy died, but she seems to want to make it her responsibility. Why is she torturing herself? Nothing good can come of it.