Pinpricks burn hot through my arm. There’s something holding me down. Ready to draw my blades, I push energy into the dead limb, and crack an eye open. Golden strands of chestnut hair fan across my chest. 

The captain is curled up into a tiny ball against my side. Her head is heavy on my bicep. My palm is sweaty where it rests on her lower back. The thin silver blanket is down around our knees. I do a quick check of her vitals. She’s steady as ever, no signs of strain to her system from her injury.

Light is coming through the branches above, and we need to leave soon. But I stay still and close my eyes to breathe her in. Calling her calm to roll over me. I can’t remember being this close to someone that wasn’t attacking. 

My heart is loud and I beg it calm, beg for a little more time. She stirs and I jerk my hand off her back. I want to jump to the other side of the nest before she wakes. And stay at the same time. She is so peaceful like this. So fragile. So...drooly? 

"She drooled on me."

“I did not. I sleep like a beautiful princess.” She mumbles into the wet spot on my sleeve. “You make a terrible pillow, warrior.”

 “Sure I did, princess.” I raise an eyebrow and point to the wet spot.

“No.” She pats her hair down and points to me.

I laugh as she tries to appear commanding with lines from my sleeve indenting her cheek.

Her eyebrows shoot up. “You’re laughing.”

“No.” I point back the same as she did.

“Yep, I made the untouchable, mysterious Rain Oren laugh.” 

“We need to change out the bandage." I grab the med kit and our discarded goggles.

“I did it while you were snoring.” She scoots to use the tree trunk to help her stand and holds out her hand for our gear.

“I don’t snore. I’m a master of stealth.” 

“Master of stealth is not what I’d call you.” She’s testing her leg, trying to mask the twinge on her face.

“No? How about a white-haired, blessed warrior?” 

“What? Where did you hear that?” Her face is flush.

“Oh, so she drools and talks in her sleep.” Turning away, I pretend to scan the area. Those painkillers affected her more than I thought.

“What . . . What did I say?” 

“Eh. I can’t quite remember now.” I shrug, deciding to put her out of her misery. 

The area is clear. Not a demon on the ground or in the air. Which is more concerning since the squad must have their attention.

“Well, you slept like the dead. And what’s with the body heat? You’re like a furnace.” She says. “Wouldn’t have guessed you could sleep so deep with your extra senses.” 

My head swings to her. I guess I would run hot considering all the weird energy coursing through me. But she changed her bandage, and I heard nothing. She pulls her goggles over her head to hang around her neck. 

“I don’t sleep like that.” It’s not safe for anyone if my guard is down. “Exhaustion has only taken over one time.”  I’m sharing my thoughts out loud. They come out as natural as me thinking them to myself.

“After the graduation trial.”

I nod my head in answer.

“Hmm. Guess you have your limits.” She says.

I fold my arms across my chest as I think about the amount of power I used yesterday. It was an endless day. I could have drained myself again. She checks her bandage. It’s still dry with no bleeding. Warriors heal fast, not as fast as I can, but the medicine she used likely helped.

“Why aren’t you scared of me?” I already know my time is up. May as well try to understand what she thinks. What others may think when they find out what I can do. 

“I’m not. What you can do can save a lot of lives.” 

She straightens her back and raises her chin against the doubt I give her. She holds my stare ready to convince me. It’s uncomfortable. I want to look away, but I need to measure her words. Does she really believe that? The leaves rustle and a screech echoes in the distance. 

“We need to go.” My words are rushed. I’m worried I’ll believe her if we stay here longer. “You need to jump on my back again. We have to move fast.” 

She opens her mouth to argue, then bites her lower lip with a quick nod. I give her my back and crouch. She jumps up and wraps herself around me quicker than I’m ready.

“Umph. Guess the leg is better.” 

She hikes herself up higher and nestles her chin into the top of my shoulder. Warm breath pulses out against my neck.

“Yeah, it’s actually surprisingly good considering the squeamish, fumbling medic I had helping me.”

“Squeamish? Please.” Although thinking of the bubbling orange goop makes my stomach roll.

“You turned green.” She says, settling in.

I maneuver around the tree trunk to a clear opening and jump off our sturdy perch. Ignoring her gasps and death grip, I move as fast as I can from branch to branch. We hit the ground and I peer over my shoulder. 

“Now who looks green?” I say, even though her face is buried in my back.

She calls me a little shit. I scan the area, it’s still void of any demons.

“Hang on. We're going faster.”

“Faster?” Her voice is thin.

“Got to get you back to the squad before they reach the wall.” I race ahead.

“Get us back.” She corrects. “And why before they reach the wall? I’d prefer if they’re already past it.”

“Yeah, right. I’m focused on scanning the area for threats.” I clench my jaw at the slip.

She’s quiet as we close in on the last location of the squad. The faint sulfur stench of demon ichor hangs in the air. There’s nothing but sludgy puddles and bits of flesh left. Demons are cannibals, so it’s hard to tell if what’s here is demon or human. 

I resume our pace and sprint away following the route we took from the wall. With so many demon carcasses, the squad would have moved from the area. They would’ve wanted to be as far away from the feast as possible. 

“They'd head back to the wall right?” That's protocol but the Elites make their own rules.

“Yes. The squad as a whole is priority over one or two members.”

I definitely don’t want anyone to risk themselves on some foolish mission to save me.

“They won’t leave you.” 

She puffs out a sigh. “Yeah. Maybe. But they’ll at least head that way to get comms online.”

I’m glad we lost our comms. It'll give me time to run before she tells the others about me.

“Oren. When we're back, I have to give a report.”

“Yes, captain.”

She’s talking about the mission report and debrief. The debrief that will include how she was saved when the demons dragged her away.

“You can’t keep this a secret.” 

“That I have abilities?” I confirm her warning.

“Yes." She whispers into my neck. 

“That I can run faster, jump higher, see in the Mist, oh yeah, and teleport?”

I'm robotic, outside myself admitting these things. It’s one thing to confess something under the cover of darkness. But the light of day makes everything too bright, too real.

 “Yes.” Her voice is soft now. 

 “Just like the demons can.” Mine is hard, and defeated. 

I could probably explain away my strength and heightened senses, but teleporting is something only demons do. It’s what we’re both thinking.

“Yes—No, not like the demons.” She stutters.

 “Yes.” I correct her. “Don’t tell me you haven’t thought about it. Haven’t wondered why an Oren has these powers.”

There, I said it. My biggest fear and constant worry. That I am what they think I am. I am a monster. With some unnatural connection to our enemies, to the demons. And like my family, I’ll turn on my own kind.

“No.” She shakes her head.

The loose tendrils of her hair fly across my cheek. But she gives her argument up quickly and I’m glad I can’t see the doubt in her own words.

“I know what they say about your family, but how can that be true?” She speaks into my shoulder.

It’s the big question, isn’t it? The question that drives me back home.

“No.” The surety of her voice slows my pace. “You’re nothing like them. You’re not.” 

Her hands squeeze my shoulders hard, begging me to listen to her in that sweet, soft voice. I stop. My hands shake her legs for her attention, for her to listen to my words.

“I’m not some fairy tale hero, Elia. I don’t know what I am, except dangerous.”

She shakes her head in denial. A distant high pitch hum stops me from saying more. I close my eyes to zero in on its location. It's about three miles out. We're safe and it's moving away. She pulls up higher on my back to see over my shoulder. 

“Rain.” My name falls warm against the shell of my ear. 

She’s ready to keep arguing. She’s making me forget I need to run. I can’t hope she’s right. That my powers could be a good thing. That I could be good. Because she’s only one person, a person that believes in a fairy tale.

 “Shhhh.” I make her think the threats are close by. She goes silent, letting me listen. 

“How many?” She whispers when I start to run again.

I shush her again, not ready for her to talk. She’s making me doubt what I need to do. She clicks her teeth, trying to hold back, trying to stay quiet since she doesn’t know the area is clear. I laugh when she fidgets and grumbles.

“What? Are you kidding me right now? You made me think . . . just to shut me up.”

Her knowing I have these powers might be handier than I thought. 

“Ugg. I liked you better when you were just a pretty, brooding, silent underling!” 

“You think I’m pretty?” Her gasp is loud and my shoulders shake holding back another laugh.

 “What?” No I didn’t say that.” 

“Yeah, you said you like my pretty, brooding face.”

“Silent! I meant I like you silent. Not that other stuff.”

 “Yes, captain.” 

 “Just shut up and run.” She lowers herself to rest her cheek against my back. 

She’s fuming. But at least there’s no chance of her trying to convince me my powers could help people. Convince me I could stay. A blinding pain rattles my head, and my whole body seizes with the piercing frequency of the Rex. My hold on her legs slip as I fight to regain control. She clenches around my waist to stay on my back.

“What is it?” She pulls her goggles on.

“We need to find the others now.” I manage to say. “The Rex is close, which probably means a horde is already on the way.”

I take slow breaths to calm the trembles in my hands. It’s like the Rex is burrowing in my head. That alone makes me question the captain's argument about my powers having no connection to the demons. I race ahead and jump high to clear a span of boulders and drop in a crouch. She clenches her legs and releases a breath.

“I’ll never get used to that." She says.

“No need.”

Because there’ll be no more piggyback rides. No more verbal sparring with this nugget of a warrior. My hands flex in and out of fists instead of holding on to her legs like before.

 It’s dumb to think this bit of physical distance will help with her body pressed tight against me. But I have to build back some semblance of distance. Because there’s a deep pit in my stomach when I think about running and being alone again.