The Boy from the Bunker - Season 4

Episode One, Part 2:

Episode One, Part 2:
R e a l   o r   N o t   R e a l

And if you have a minute why don't we go
talk about it somewhere only we know? 

Wynnlow draped the damp cloth over Elara's forehead, moving as carefully as he could so he didn't wake her. She was finally asleep; they couldn't be certain how long it had been since she was - and every time she managed to get halfway there, she would scream herself awake again, but this was the longest time she had been still for, and Wynn was hopeful that she would be able to get some rest. 

He sighed in complete exhaustion, having been awake himself for nearly 3 days, and dropped the cloth into a bucket of water by his feet, collapsing backwards into his chair. 

A part of him was waiting for the screams to come again. He thought it was only a matter of minutes before the drugs that were still lingering in his sister took control again, and the line between her nightmares and reality couldn't be separated. It made him scared to leave her side, even though she wasn't short of people that cared about her, afraid that something would happen if he left. 

The door behind him opened slowly, and Ares tiptoed in, relieved that the room was silent, and to see her asleep. Wynn stood up, stepping slowly over towards his brother to update him on her condition. 

"I think she's finally out.  It's the longest time she's been quiet for." Wynn whispered, both boys looking over to Elara. 

"Quill's over there." Wynn motioned to corner of the room where their brother was curled up, asleep himself. "He said to wake him when it's his shift to watch her." 

Ares nodded, swinging his bag from his back and pulling out a bottle of water. He passed it to Wynn as he yawned, his eyes already closing slightly, even as he stood there. 

"How are you?" He asked. 

"Tired." Wynn joked, amused with himself, letting out the softest chuckle. He went to walk past him and make his way back to his tent, but Ares pushed him by his shoulder, stopping him from going. 

"I'm not talking about that." Ares said, implying that they both knew what he meant. 

Wynn shrugged, taking a sip of the water like there was nothing to say, but he was perfectly aware of the sorrow he was building up in his heart. 

"She's gone." He said nonchalantly. "But she left a lot of times before that." He tried to play it out like it was no big deal. He had lost her before, and he survived. Surely this would be the same. Right? 

"It's different this time, and you know it." Ares answered Wynn's thoughts, reminding him that there was no escaping the grief he was holding in. 

"Yeah, but I wish it wasn't." Wynn replied, as if what he wished for was enough to change it. That if his heart wanted so bad for something to be true, then it could be; Lyra could just be gone, and not dead; he could live with her choosing to never come back again, because there would be a choice - but they didn't have one anymore. 

"It's okay if you're not okay." Ares faced him completely. He had always felt a strong obligation to look after his siblings - and everyone else in the Bunker as he was the oldest, and since arriving at Basilisk, that responsibility mattered now more than ever. 

"A lot has happened. Quill on that cliff, getting Elara back, losing someone you cared about-" 

"Ares, I-"