Chapter 20: Keeping her Safe
Sometime in the middle of the night, Simon was awoken. Not by the sound of zombies overrunning the place like he’d expected, though, but by Freya crawling into bed with him.
“I had a nightmare,” she whispered. “Do you think that I could… maybe…”
“Sure, fine,” Simon answered, yawning. “Don’t worry. I won’t let anyone hurt you.” He scooted over as much as he could on the narrow twin bed, and Freya crawled under the two raggedy quilts he was sleeping under along with a burst of cold air. There was no way he could not touch her, but Simon rolled over to avoid any misunderstandings, and promptly fell back asleep.
He was somewhat surprised when he woke up later in the night and found her clinging to him while she slept like a drowning victim. It was both adorable and creepy, and Simon lay awake for almost an hour appreciating it. It had been a long time since he’d hugged anyone but his parents, and he hadn’t been in a bed with a girl this pretty since his freshman year in college. He’d forgotten how soft and warm they could be, as well as how good they could smell.
Simon fell asleep again sometime before dawn, and when he woke up, she was gone. That realization made him bolt upright protectively, but as soon as he smelled the familiar scents of breakfast, he calmed down.
“Everything is fine,” he told himself. “Helades probably just hasn’t found the time to fuck you over yet.” It was funny, he reflected as he got dressed and came downstairs. He’d had one tiny little taste of normalcy and a brief human connection, and suddenly he was worried it was all going to get jerked away from him.
Breakfast was fried potatoes and sausages. “I’m sorry that we’re out of eggs,” Freya apologized. “We ran out of those a few days ago.” That statement sparked a conversation that lasted longer than breakfast. She’d been trapped in here longer than he’d thought. Over a week now, and though there had been ten people here at first, as of a few days ago she was the only one left. It sounded like there was a lot to that story, but Simon didn’t want to pry.
After breakfast, Simon busied himself methodically searching the inn from top to bottom as he opened every door and cupboard one at a time. This led to some strange looks from Freya, though Simon ignored them until she finally asked, “What is it you are doing?” Freya demanded. “If you need something, I can show you where—”
“I’m looking for a way out to the next floor.” he said simply, not bothering to stop what he was doing.