Chapter 24 - 102nd Floor
Henrick wakes up with a start. Hands sweating, throat dry, and eyes wide open as he recalls the dead faces of the survivors. He looks around the room, noticing the snoring Selene and Leo curled up next to him. The elf-like woman stirs at the soldier’s violent rise, her green eyes locking onto his blue ones.
"You snore." Henrick says crisply as he sits up, hands clenching while his body still aches from prior events. "Asshole." Selene returns, chuckling at the soldier’s shocked face. Henrick simply shakes his head and laughs along with her.
Father David enters the room, widening his eyes at the scene and smiling to himself. He sets down three bottles of water and sits on a chair. "Veronica the water woman, her words not mine, said that Kevin has been stabilising."
Selene and Henrick breathe out a sigh of relief at those words, thankful that they didn’t lose another ally. The trio sit in comfortable silence as they sip on their bottles of water, preparing themselves for future challenges yet to come.
"You know I never asked, but what was life like for you before this all happened, Selene?" asks David, settling onto his makeshift bed and turning towards her. "Hard, but happy. My brother and I were thick as thieves. That’s all gone now, though." she replies, wiping off a stray tear
Henrick feels a pang of guilt as he remembers what he did to her. "I’m sorry for your loss." Selene says nothing and looks to the soldier, clearly asking for his life story. "Marines. Went to some bad places. Killed a lot of bad people. Some good ones too." he says, drinking deeply from his bottle and refusing to elaborate.
The priest coughs into his hands and claps them together to relieve some of the awkwardness from Henrick’s answer. "Ehem, well, I used to be a delinquent in my younger years." Selene scoffs at the revelation and looks at him disbelievingly.
"You’re pulling my leg, aren’t you?" she says, sitting up and staring at David with a challenging gaze. "Honest. I swear. Used to get in and out of juvie for most of my teenage life. Thought jail was gonna be my path, until a kind old woman bonked me on the head and gave me a reality check."
Father David’s face takes on an almost wistful look as he reminisces. "That woman ended up adopting me and taught me the power of God, and how he can heal even the most broken of souls." Selene’s face hardens at the mention of God. She motions to speak but is stopped by a glare from Henrick.
Noticing the silent reprimand, David raises a hand in a placating gesture as he addresses them both. "I understand that my words offer no comfort, but I truly believe that God is watching over us." Henrick nods at David and the conversation abruptly ends.
The awkward silence is punctuated by distant howls of unseen creatures outside the building. Their anguished screams forever a reminder of what the world has lost and become, despite the priest’s beliefs.
Father David looks down at his hands in shame once more, lips trembling at the lives lost. "It’s not your fault, you know." David perks up at Henrick’s words but grimaces as he clenches his jaw in denial.