“I am alright….I’ve had worse…..it looked worse than it was…..I think I had a concussion or something…I was a little out of it…..”

“Ok……if you say so.”

Back to the fire. To the smoke, to the twigs. This is fucking insane. We can’t go like this. We can’t sit here and not have this….thing in the middle. How do I say it? How do I ask her if my brother did this to her?

“All…set….I have a blanket if you get colder….I like it out here…..it quiet and Helena snores a lot.”

“Still?”

“Yeah……still.”

“They are all gone……everyone…..some fled….most died….there were so many of them. And they took out our water and power and our defense grid….they sniped our look outs…..they hit us before we knew what to do….I surrendered and they locked me away for the longest time. no food, no water…..They uh….ha…..they wanted me weak….so I couldn’t fight….We moved around a lot…they traveled on bikes and all terrain vehicles…..the leader….Shay…..he wanted me to beg to die…….he said I was the last one standing so that’s why I got to live….”

“Shay?”

“He uh…..he had me fight for my meals and…..my showers……and…..I was chained to his bike at night…..he called me his bitch in heat……I don’t know how long this went on…..I didn’t count time…..I was living one breath to another……He use to say to me…that it was my dirty mouth that did it for him……You do things that you are not proud of and this…that was my penance. He has your eyes Shane…..your same eyes, your mouth….same hair color…………and it started to hit me who he was……”

“Shamus…..my brother…..my baby brother all grown up…”

“Yeah……he didn’t know that I was the one all those years ago…..I don’t think he knew….but maybe he did…..One night he looked so deep into my eyes that I thought it was you……I pretended in my mind….that it was you……I closed my eyes and there you where….just you……anyway…..I think I said your name….pitiful moan….something…..I said your name and he lost it……and beat me and kicked me till  I told him who Shane was…..”

“………..what did you…say?”

“A girl…..a girl I knew…..A girl I knew and there was no exit this time……He was confused and I hit him with this Tiki statue he had with him…..The god of long life…..I cracked his head open…..blood everywhere and he lunged at me and stabbed me right here…..then he went down….and I ran…..and I didn’t stop……I knew where this compound was and I crawled and clawed my here………We…….where not that far off I think…”

Tbc…….