Okay, just get in there and see if you can wiggle it loose or something. The new technique worked a little. The blade shimmied forward as she wiggled and pulled with slow, deliberate movements. Triumph bubbled up as the hilt oh so slowly came into view.
Then Dani groaned, hooked her arm around Lynn’s forearm, and hugged it close.
Lynn tensed.
Dani sighed contentedly.
The blade fell to the mat on the floor with a dull thud.
I’m trapped. The realization dawned on Lynn very slowly. She shifted.
Dani’s hold intensified. Her face scrunched up.
Baffled, Lynn sat with her front pressed against the backrest, knees planted firmly on the seat and her arm caught in a sleeping vice. What the hell? The thought was followed by a more practical one. Now what?
Again, she could just pull her hand free and be done with the whole thing. Dani would wake up for sure, but she could blow her off. It might be slightly awkward; she would have to explain the what and why, but the problem would be fixed. It was the sensible thing to do… but Dani was quiet again. Her features had mellowed. Her deep breathing blew a lock of hair up from her cheek on every exhale. The nightmare had passed.
Well, shit. Lynn sat and stared. She’ll let go soon. She’ll shift, I’ll pull away, and the moment will be over. No one has to explain anything, and we’ll go on our merry way.
But Dani didn’t. If anything, the hold intensified as she sank deeper into obliviousness. After two days of walking and a night almost entirely without sleep, Dani slept the sleep of the dead.
Lynn sat and did the only thing she could do as her legs went prickly, then numb and her shoulder joint started to ache, then whine, then scream: watch.
She watched the slow rise and fall of Dani’s chest, the slivers of expression that traversed her features—hints of a smile, the barest glimpse of a frown—and the way a tiny droplet of drool made its way down from the corner of Dani’s mouth to the ancient leather below.
It should be boring, excruciating even, but it wasn’t. Dani’s features changed every few seconds, and the wavering light filled the in between with motion. Lynn studied the strong jawline and pronounced cheekbones that had captured her attention when they’d first met. She located the small braid in Dani’s loosened hair and traced it to its source on the side of her head, just behind her ear. She counted little scars and marks—twelve that she could see—left there by claws, teeth, fires, and random accidents.
When the small holes in the garage door started to reveal light, Dani stirred.
Lynn jumped; even in the awkward position, she’d nodded off. It took her a few seconds to realize that Dani was waking up and—more importantly—that her arm was free. It could have been free for seconds or hours, Lynn didn’t know, but it was free. What time is it?
But that wasn’t the priority. She had to turn around and pretend none of this had happened. A groan escaped her as she sat up. Every muscle in her body protested the movement.
Dani yawned. “Is it time?”
For a second, the meaning of the words eluded Lynn. Then she remembered: parting ways, Dani’s quest. “Y-Yeah, the sun is coming up.”
Dani sat. She cracked her neck. “I think I actually slept.”
Lynn chuckled somewhat nervously. “Yeah, I think you did.” She smiled despite herself.
Dani smiled back.
Something fluttered in Lynn’s gut.
After a few seconds, Dani tilted her head. “Are you okay?”
Shit! “Yeah, totally. Just some stiffness, you know?”
Before Dani could ask more questions, Lynn opened the door and all but fell out on legs that hadn’t quite gotten circulation back. She wobbled, caught herself on the door, then was bowled over by something big and hairy.
Skeever landed on top of her. The force of the impact expelled the air from her lungs. He barked, and his tail hit the inside paneling of the door in rapid taps as he assaulted her face with his wet nose and wetter tongue.
“Skeever, no! Stop! Dammit!” But she only halfheartedly pushed at his head, laughing as every lick and nudge allowed her to get a little more distance from the abnormality of the night.
“You’re good with him.” Dani stood over them, apple in hand. She took a bite and smiled. Rest had done her good; she looked strong and confident.
Lynn pushed Skeever’s muzzle under her armpit and looked up from the floor with as much dignity as she could manage. “We get along.” She smiled.
“Are you—” The smile became tense. “Taking him?”
Shit. They hadn’t talked about that yet. She cleared her face of emotions and kept a struggling Skeever down. “Yeah.”
Dani paused a few seconds. “They’ll be pissed.”
“They can kick rocks.”
The silence was awkward. Very awkward. They hadn’t spoken much yesterday either, but Lynn realized now that Dani had definitely been the one to keep the conversation going throughout the day, even if it had been in short bursts. She’d given up on that today, and the result was a trek that felt hollow and tense. It was also headed in the wrong direction—for Lynn, at least. She’d walked Dani to the interstate, and when Dani had turned right, she’d found herself following along.
Dani hadn’t questioned her about it, but a few minutes in, she was casting more and more confused glances her way.
Maybe it was time for an explanation. “I thought I would walk you to the next intersection and turn west there.”
Dani scanned the tree line. She nodded after a moment. “Yeah, that’s fine.”
Silence.
“I guess I wanna make sure you’re on your way.”
“Okay.”
With nothing more to say, Lynn pressed her lips together and walked.
The road was solid the first part of the way. From their elevated position, they had a good view over an almost obscured strip of water, and Lynn wondered if Dani was thinking about that soak of her feet Lynn had promised her last night. She didn’t ask; she wasn’t sure how to.
Before long, she didn’t have to worry about it anymore. The road worsened, and large chunks of it had come off on the edges. They were soon forced onto a single lane that was riddled with cracks. To make matters worse, the canopy had encroached on the deck, and they had to pick their way carefully over and under cars and tree limbs.
Dani hacked at the overhanging branches when they became too tangled to traverse. “Fucking nature.” Her grumbled complaint was the first words out of her since their short conversation at the start of the hike.
Lynn stayed behind her and kept an eye out for any dangers. The noise Dani made seemed to scare off even the ever-present monkeys, though. They howled in the distance and rattled the tree branches, but the sound didn’t come closer.
Skeever had one of Dani’s hacked-off branches in his mouth and lagged behind because he kept getting it stuck on debris.
His tenacity made Lynn smile for what felt like the first time today.
“How long have we been walking?”
Dani’s voice jerked Lynn back to reality. She instinctively looked up for the position of the sun but saw only leaves. “I have no idea. A few hours?”
“Based on the map and how far we came yesterday, I think we should have been at the exit you wanted already. We may have passed it.” Dani stopped and massaged her chopping arm.
“Maybe.” Lynn had thought about that. “We’ve been pretty much crawling along. I think it’s still ahead.”