Marco is so sweet Part 3 :p

“We actually have time to make a decision this time,” Claire said, looking from door to door.  “Not that it matters. We still don’t know what door leads to where though.”

         Dane smirked and made his way over to a random door. “Actually, there is a way to tell the difference between doors. Claire, come over here and I’ll show you.” Claire walked over cautiously. “Here,” he said, grabbing Claire’s hand and pulling her closer to the door. “Put your ear up to the door and close your eyes.” Claire did just as he instructed, pressing herself against the door. At first, all she felt was the smooth wood against her face. After everything faded away though, she could hear the crashing of waves as if they were on a beach. The smell of the sea was faint, but still managed to seep through the doorway to her nose. The crashing of the waves was accompanied by squawking of seagulls. The breeze blew through the bottom of the doorway, sending a few grains of sound out with it. Claire’s eyes bolted open. “Do you see what I mean now?” Doni asked.

         Claire smiled, stepping away from the door. “That’s amazing,” she exclaimed. With her excitement at an all time high, she bounced over to Nicholas. “There’s a beach on that side of the door. I heard the waves and felt the breeze. We should go through that one.”

         Emma, who had been gazing lovingly at Doni and his wide array of knowledge, interrupted abruptly. “What good would a beach do us? Do you really expect the Snake to just be lounging out in the sun and collecting sea shells?”

         “I don’t know about that. Besides, it really doesn’t hurt to take a break every once in awhile. I’m sure everyone’s exhausted and sometimes, a little bit of fun can do wonders for someone’s stress.” Before Emma knew it, Doni had his arms around her. With one swift motion, Doni swept her up into his arms and carried her over to the door. “Em, I’m not going to travel with you so why not spend the time we have together in a stress free environment?”

         She pouted. “How can I stop from being stressed when we have to worry about being attacked by the bots?”

         “They only attack at night and if we go now, we’ll still have some daylight left to enjoy.”

         In his arms, she melted. “I guess the rest of the day can be spent at the beach. I never got to go there anyway.” With her agreement, he let her down to stand on her own feet, opening the beach door for everyone.

         On the other side, the sun shone brightly. However, after taking a second look, the sunshine was the only normal element. In the sand were caved in holes and the buildings around were nothing more than heaps of rubble. “I guess we can’t expect every place to be untouched,” Claire muttered, running her hand through the sand.

         “Don’t look so upset, Claire. So what if this place is a bit beaten down? We might as well just get used to it now while we’re out here. Look, this place is still a beach just with a few quirks,” Nicholas said, taking a spot next to Claire.

         “What if it just stays like this forever?”

         “We can’t worry about that right now. The point of coming here was to forget about all those things right now. Are you really going to let this little bump in the road ruin that?”

         “I guess not. Race you to the water?” she asked, perking up a bit. Nicholas nodded and took off running. Claire latched her hand onto his ankle, sending him crashing to the ground. “Excuse me but ladies first,” she giggled, taking the lead.

         Behind the two were Emma and Dane, watching the waves from a distance. “You need to score some major points to catch up to Nick.” Emma shoved Dane who was in a trance, watching Claire race to the water with someone other than him. “Don’t roll over like a pathetic puppy that can’t do anything himself.”

         Dane struggled with his words. “I wanted to tell her how I really felt, but when I try, she seems to shy away as if she’s about to run away from me forever. I’m afraid that if I jeopardize our friendship, it will just be too awkward to put up with.”

         “What if she feels the same way, though? You could just be taking everything the wrong way.”

         “Look at them, Emma. Do you really think I’m taking it the wrong way?”

         “No, but it doesn’t seem like her feelings are set in stone, you know. If you would just try, you might be able to turn around the play and put the game in your favor.”

         Dane turned, his face turning red. “Just try? Just try! I’ve been trying for over a year to get Claire to like me. If she was going to like me, she would have by now. Nothing I do right now is going to make a difference, especially since Nick is here.”

         Emma left Dane storm off angrily, turning her attention back to Doni. “What do you think, Doni? Do you think he really has no chance?” she asked, wrapping her arms around his neck.

         Doni looked at Claire and then at Doni. “Why don’t you ask Claire?”

         “Ask her? It’s not as though we’re best friends who tell each other everyone. I hardly know the girl. She isn’t going to spill any secrets to me anytime soon.”

         “I have an idea if you’re willing to let me help.”

         “I’m all ears.”

         Emma found Claire over by the sea where they left her with Nick. They were throwing sand at each other childishly, running through the water barefoot, and soaking up the daytime they still had left. “Claire!” she yelled, running up to her with a grin plastered on her face. “We should go on a walk together. I need to talk to you about something.”          Claire looked back at Nicholas who gave her an encouraging thumbs up. “Go on, Claire. You should have some girl time. I’m sure Doni needs some male bonding time. Emma’s been hogging him this entire day.”

         Emma glared, taking Claire by the arm and leading her down the beach, farther from the group. “I just want to apologize for our argument way back in the woods. You know it goes, right? We all have bent up frustration, and that was a bad way to let it out.”

         Claire nodded. “I appreciate that. Thank you. I’m sorry if I was a little bit unbearable, too. You’re right though. We’re all stressed and tired. No hard feelings, right? Is that really all you wanted to tell me?” she asked suspiciously.

         “Well, not quite. I actually wanted to collect seashells while we’re here since I’ve never actually been to the beach. I’m sure the guys would think it’s silly, though. Won’t you please help me find a souvenir to take with me?”

         Surprised, Claire nodded. “Sure. Guys just don’t understand,” she laughed. They began with their collecting, picking up the few shells they could find in the vicinity.

         Emma bounced back to her, holding two different shells in her hand. “Claire, come look at these shells,” she said, holding one in each hand. Claire rushed over to see what Emma had found. In her left hand was a common shell, one that resembled a fan with its wavy edge. It went from white to a light pink as the shell fanned out. In her right hand was a hermit crabs shell, one that had been abandoned and left lying on the beach. Its opening was devoid of anything and it was covered in light brown splashes of color. The inside was too dark to see inside, though. “Aren’t they nice?” Claire nodded, absentmindedly. “Which do you like?” She held out the fan shell first. “This shell is a classic. It’s always there, reliable and there for you whenever you may need it. It may seem like just any other shell but once you see the things that make it unique, it’s beautiful.” Giving Claire no time to speak, she held out the hermit crab shell next. “This shell is popular among people because of the curiosity we all have about it. While it may be interesting and captivating, it may be hiding something inside the shell that you can’t see when you first look at it. Secrets aren’t always good things, though.” Emma held them next to each other once more. “So Claire, which shell do you prefer?”

         Claire smiled, looking from shell to shell. “Emma, you really take your sea shells seriously. I’ve really never thought of them like that, but your descriptions do seem pretty accurate. I do like both sea shells. It’s hard to pick just one. I mean, they both have good qualities, but to be honest, I prefer the hermit crab shell. It protects the hermit crab and gives it a place to call home. Secrets aren’t always bad, you know. Sometimes, secrets are a good thing and are necessary. That’s why I like the hermit crab shell more,” she said, holding the shell in her hand, admiring it.

         Emma forced a smile, wondering if Claire had realized what Emma was really asking her; however, her admiration of the shell told her she was completely oblivious. “Let’s go back, now. I think I found a shell I like,” she said, staring down at her own shell.

         “We’re not going back until you tell me what you picked,” Claire insisted, stepping in front of Emma. She reluctantly opened her hands for Claire to see. The shell resembled a large screw with its twists spiraling down into a sharp point at the end. “That’s a screw shell, I think. The sharp point kind of makes them seem dangerous. They’re very pretty, but they hold more secrets than a hermit crab shell,” she teased.

         Emma laughed nervously. “Yeah, can we go back to the guys now? I want to spend some time with Dane before we have to separate.” Claire nodded eagerly, leading them back to the guys, watching the sun lower itself slowly behind the horizon.

The guys welcomed them warmly—all in good spirits from the male bonding they had. Doni guided Emma off to separate themselves from the group. “So, what did she say?” he asked.

“Can you really tell who she likes just by what kind of sea shell she prefers?” she asked tiredly, ready to collapse and sleep the rest of the day.

“There’s a good chance that you can tell if you explain the shells in such a way that reminds her of each of the guys. Besides, it’s just a harmless experiment. The results aren’t a big deal whether they’re accurate or not. Which did she pick?” he persisted.

Claire sat in between Nicholas and Dane, watching the sun set. “Can’t we just stay here like this for awhile longer?” she asked in awe.

“I’m sure we all wish that, but we have to be out of sight by the time that sun is gone and you know that,” Nicholas said, crushing her spirits. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to go tell Emma that we should be finding the portal soon.”

“Claire, do you remember watching the sunsets back at home together?” Dane asked as he scooted closer to her just after Nicholas left. Claire nodded, sighing in content. “I need to tell you something.”

Claire snapped back to reality, remembering how she had dreaded this conversation ever since he had first brought it up. She bit her lip, looking around for Nicholas to save her from his possible confession. Nicholas was over with the happy couple though, his back facing her. Her eyes caught side of the movement of metal soaring through the sky. “Dane, there’s a bot,” she whispered, freezing and holding her breath.

Dane jumped to attention, grabbing Claire’s hand and pulling her along with him off of the beach and among the rubble. Her feet dragged, catching on every small piece of rock that was in their path. “Slow down. We have to warn the others,” Claire spat out, trying her best to catch her breath and keep up at the same time.

“They’re fine. I saw Nick take off, too. We’ll just meet up with them later,” Dane spat, annoyed by her concern for people she hardly knew.

“Why don’t we just run to them and meet up now?”

“Maybe you should focus on us finding a place to hide rather than people that are fully capable of taking care of themselves. Do you really feel the need to spend every second with them? Do you not feel safe with me or something?” he accused, stopping for a moment to catch his breath and shoot Claire a stern look.

Claire avoided his eyes. “It’s not that.”

“Then what is it?”

         “It’s just best if we travel as a group, okay?”

“Fine,” he muttered, running yet again. The bot wasn’t in sight anymore, but nevertheless, Dane ducked into the first basement he saw with Claire following closely behind.

Nicholas had spotted the bot first, making an attempt to gesture for Claire and Dane to join them so they could take off. However, when he turned to do so, Dane was already running in the opposite direction, leaving them with no warning or help. “That bastard…” he grumbled, pushing Emma and Doni away from the beach and towards the collection of destroyed houses.

“Where did Dane and Claire go?” Emma asked, lagging behind the two guys that were speeding through streets left and right.

“Dane took off without telling us, apparently,” Nicholas spat.

“Is he known to do this?” Doni asked.

“No, not really. He might have just panicked, Nick. Give him the benefit of the doubt until we can ask him about it,” Emma chimed in feeling bad for Dane and his unrequited feelings.

“He doesn’t seem like the type of person that would just panic and take off, Emma,” Nicholas growled.

“And you generally aren’t the type of person that would get angry this quickly. We’re all tired so let’s just cut him some slack,” Emma retaliated.

Doni spotted a house in fair enough shape and directed them to safety. “It doesn’t look like we’re getting out of here any time soon. What should we do about the portal?” he asked.

Emma sighed. “It’s all of our faults for not realizing that we were running out of time sooner. We should have looked for the portal station before having fun on the beach.” She sat herself down on a dusty couch. The room consisted of two couches, a broken dresser, and other smaller increments of items thrown into the chaos. “So I guess we’ll have to wait it out for the night since we don’t even have the rest of our group here.”

“We can’t leave Claire behind,” Nicholas said.

“Dane too, right?”

“Sure, whatever,” he scoffed in response, laying down on the empty couch and facing away from them. “I’m just going to sleep while we can."

Emma rolled her eyes, turning her attention to Doni. “Well, I’m not nearly tired enough to sleep just yet. Is there anything you want to do now since we have a little bit extra time together?” she asked hopefully, batting her eyelashes.

         “Sure. I want to talk to you about something anyway. How about we find another room away from Nick so he can get some sleep and cool down a bit,” Doni suggested, smiling back at Emma.

         “I can still hear you,” Nicholas growled from the couch.

         Emma and Doni shared a laugh before heading down the hallway until they reached the last room on the left. It was barren of everything but a bed, a dresser, and other heavier objects that couldn’t be moved in a hurry. “So, what did you want to talk to me about?” Emma asked dreamily, taking Doni’s hands and snuggling up next to him on the bed.

         Doni gave her a slight smile, a warning that the conversation wasn’t as carefree as she may like. “Emma, you know I care about you, right?” Emma nodded, her own anticipation fading away and turning abruptly into worry and anxiety. “You’ve always been there for me and I try to be there for you, too. I know that I’m not doing a very good job though since I keep leaving you every time something happens or something comes up and for that I am truly sorry.”

         “I understand that you want to travel around, Doni. I just wish you would take me with you. It’s almost as if you don’t trust me,” Emma pleaded.

         Doni shook his head sorrowfully. “I have told you many times before that it’s not that I don’t trust you, Em. There are just some aspects of who I am that have to stay secret, even from you. I don’t want to upset you with what I do.”

         “What could be so bad that you can’t tell me?” she snapped.

         “Can you just trust me for a little while longer? I want to get out and look around through all the doors I can before we can really have a solid relationship. I just want you to know though that if you find someone else, I’ll understand since I have it coming to me. I can’t expect an amazing and beautiful girl like you to wait around on a lame guy like me to get back and settle down.”

         “You’re not seeing someone else, are you?” Emma asked timidly.

         Doni laughed. “Of course not. That would be a big mistake on my part. Although I may be a sweet gentle guy to you, I don’t have the same compassion for everyone else. I’ve seen so many people struggling in every portal I go through and yet, I don’t do a single thing to help them. That’s what I don’t want you to see, and if I can prevent you from seeing me in such a bad light, I will. Because…” he trailed off nervously.

         “Because why?” Emma asked curiously, letting out a sigh of relief that this wasn’t about another girl or something that had been her fault.

         “It’s because I love you, Em. Just wait a little bit longer and I swear I’ll come back for you to stay. I promise,” he said, holding out his pinky.

         Emma giggled, wrapping her pinky around his. “Good. I can handle it. I’m pretty fierce after all. Besides, no guy can replace you Doni. You mean the world to me.” Emma laid her head on Doni’s chest, listening to his steady heart beat until she dozed off into a deep sleep at last, content with their heart to heart talk. She had missed those days of their talks and city adventures, but mostly she missed just having him there, protecting her like the girl she knew she was. It was difficult being a hard ass all the time, doing everything that the guy traditionally would. She thought back to her family that had been just scraping buy and her having to work every day just to keep them afloat and in good spirits.

In her dream, she was back at work, waiting desperately for the clock to chime so she could hurry home and rest for awhile. Just as her shift ended, she bolted out of the diner, still in her uniform. In the process of her anxiousness, she had unexpectedly opened the door on a customer and slammed the door into him. “I’m sorry,” she yelped, helping him up off the ground. His jet black hair was messily covering his head and once he was standing straight up, she caught a glance of his eyes—the eyes that would undoubtedly be the most beautiful things she would see day in and day out. One ice blue eye accompanied by a deep green eye stared into her less impressive hazel mix.

“Its fine,” he said with a pained smile. “That was the highlight of my day, after all.” His words were comforting even though she was convinced that they couldn’t possibly be true.

Emma looked at him with a confused look. “Getting hit in the head with a door is the highlight of your day? How bad do you have it?”

“It’s not so much the getting hit in the head rather than getting to come in contact with the cute waitress that works here,” he said with a more confident smile but still rubbing his head gently where it had come in contact with the metal frame.

Emma blushed, not used to getting complimented in just a few seconds of meeting a person. “Well, thank you. I’m really sorry about that though,” she insisted, hoping her bosses hadn’t seen what had just taken place.

“You wouldn’t have to be sorry if you ate dinner with me.”

Surprised, Emma stood in place, her answer caught in her throat, slowing choking her and leaving her breathless. “Are you…” she trailed off slowly.

“Am I asking you out? Yeah, I do believe I am. Unless you’re just going to say no, then I’m just kidding. But of course, that’s just a defense mechanism for being rejected by you,” he said, his smile persisting on. “You act surprised.”

“I am. I don’t really get asked out all that often or at all for that matter,” she confessed nervously.

“That can’t be true. Why wouldn’t a guy ask you out?”

“Something about me being a tad intimidating at times, I suppose,” she said glumly, not wanted to lie but yet not wanting to scare him off at the same time.

“I’m willing to take that challenge on if you’ll let me. I bet you that you can’t intimidate me. I mean, someone who’s intimidated by you must just be a wimp or something.”

Emma sighed, seeing now that people behind the mysterious and new boy were waiting impatiently to get inside to eat. “We’re in some people’s ways.”

Doni smirked. “They can wait until I get a yes.”

A shy smile spread across her face. “Then I would like to have dinner with you. My name is Emma Steen by the way,” she said, holding open the door for him and leading him inside to an empty table. The irritated people behind them pushed through in a rush, each giving them some glares and under the breath comments.

The boy, now sitting at one of the corny diner tables, was gazing at this new interesting creature before him intensely with nothing but excitement in his being. “I’m Donovan Ringler, but I’d really prefer it if you just called me Doni. Everyone else does. I literally just moved here a few days ago.”

Her dream slowly faded away from her, the memory of two years ago still as fresh and unforgettable as yesterday if not more. After their dinner date had ended, she recalled being sure that nothing further would happen with a certain Donovan Ringler; however, he persisted to find her no matter where she was. He would be at the diner, secretly sneaking peeks at the employee schedules from behind the counter just to run into her just as she was leaving her shift. Now, they would just laugh at how misguided and strange they must have acted in their younger years, but still, Emma would think back to those perfect memories when she wouldn’t have to worry about everything else going on. It had just been them. Gradually, he had started disappearing from time to time, only coming around once in awhile. He claimed he was studying in different schools every month in order to get acquainted with the opportunities that were presented to him. She assumed his parents must have had much confidence in his abilities if they gave him so many different changes of scenery. Even though she enjoyed every second she spent by his side, he was a constant reminder of how low she really was on the food chain of life. With their families divided and miles away, everything was almost perfect, as if the detrimental state of the country was better for their relationship. All that mattered at that point was his sweet smell and his slow rise and fall of his chest as he slept soundly with her in his arms.

On the other end of town, Claire and Dane hid in a dark basement without the comfort of a bed or couch to aid their journey to sleep. They both curled up against parallel walls, using what they had on them as pillows and covers. With their makeshift beds ready, Claire shut her eyes tightly, trying her best to sleep away the current state of the country. “Claire?” Dane’s soft whisper rang out from a few feet away. Claire turned towards him, trying to see him despite the darkness.

“Yes, Dane?” she whispered back.

“Do you remember when we first met?”

“Of course I remember. Why are you asking?”

“It’s just that nights like these make you think a bit about what really matters. At least, that’s what I think about. I remember it so well that it’s as if it had just happened the other week only that doesn’t make sense since we were a lot shorter back then. I was sitting at school in math class in grade five, learning something I’m sure was relevant at the time. A teacher walked in with you, practically clinging to her back.”

“I was a very shy kid back then,” Claire answered with a small laugh.

“You still have your shy moments. Anyway, because of the kid sitting next to me being homeschooled a few months beforehand, you got to sit beside me at the group of four tables. You don’t even know how excited I was.”

“Were you excited because I was the cutest girl you ever saw?”

“Well, I was ten so I wasn’t really concerned with girls. I was more excited to have someone to sit next to so I didn’t look so alone all the time when we had to partner up.” They shared a quiet laugh. “But really, I had no clue that you would become my best friend. I guess it helps that you knew nobody so I kind of became your automatic friend.” He laughed again.

“I tried being friends with some of the other people, but apparently my lack of understand about how town life works made me seem pretty stupid compared to you other kids,” Claire said sadly.

“I almost forgot that you lived in the city beforehand. You never really talk about it. Why?” Dane asked, sure that this had come up numerous times before.

“The city was nice, don’t get me wrong, but it wasn’t for me,” Claire answered vaguely. “Just be happy that you got a best friend out of this deal.”

“Aren’t you cold?” Dane asked randomly.

Claire shivered a bit; taking notice of the cold air that blew faintly through her blanket for the first time since they began talking. “I am a little bit cold.”

“Come here, then. We can keep each other warm,” Dane suggested. Claire froze in place, but not from the cold. She didn’t speak, unsure of what she should do. If she were to cuddle up to Dane, would that be leading him on? “Claire, I’m not suggesting it because I think you like me. I’m suggesting it because I’m freezing and I figure you are too.”

With that confirmation, Claire crawled over to Dane, covering the both of them with her blanket and their other articles of clothing they had stolen from the empty town of Craterquake. She could now hear his steady breathing, feeling almost instantly warm in the process. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close, sending all the heat to her face out of embarrassment. With her heart beating so hard that it was about to explode out of her chest, Claire shut her eyes again, trying desperately to fall asleep and escape the awkwardness of the whole situation. Feelings of guilt bubbled up inside her. No matter what she tried, the only thing that calmed her was the faint and distance memories of Nicholas.

Before she could sleep, she allowed her own bit of recollection, remembering her old home in uptown Middleton. Right before she was ten, her family had packed up and moved to the small town where she had met Dane, but before that, they were neighbors with the White family. With a boy around her age living right next door, Claire spent all her time with Nicholas that started at a very young age. The move had been devastating to their friendship, almost causing a complete disconnection of their communication with each other. Nicholas had gotten his pen pal assignment nearly three years after the move and had been determined enough to make Claire his pen pal as an excuse to keep in touch. While they had always made plans to take a portal trip to visit each other, it had never happened due to portal prices rising and no time on either of their halves. However, their distance just made her miss him more, even when they were both in other relationships on and off. With the pang of missing Nicholas fresh in her chest, Claire finally put herself to sleep, drifting off long after Dane had.

Nicholas, simmering down slowly but surely, was the last of the group to sleep, kept up by constant worries and bouts of frustration. He growled, angry partly at himself but mostly at Dane. “Why do I have to like you so much?” he spat, shuttering in anger before forcing himself to sleep after tossing and turning constantly. “I swear Claire, you better be unscathed or else someone is getting thrown into the sea tomorrow.”

The next morning didn’t wake them with a happy sun like previously but with a downpour of rain and nothing but dark, ominous clouds filling the sky. Claire and Dane awoke unexpectedly to a young woman’s shrill screaming voice. Their eyes locked with the terrified woman’s after the rude awakening ended their pleasant dreams. “Get out!” she screeched, looking at them as if they were covered in her family’s blood or something to that degree. “I swear, if you’re not gone by the time I get my husband, we’ll force you out by any means necessary,” she continued to threaten.

“I’m sorry,” Dane said, speaking up. “We were just looking for shelter last night and wandered in here. We’re not here to harm you or anything, I swear.”

This promise didn’t appease the woman though who proceeded to act like a lunatic. “I said get out! Harry!” she yelled, bolting up the stairs to undoubtedly retrieve her husband.

Dane stood up, quickly accessing their surroundings now that they were enveloped by the light that had been switched on by the woman. In a rush, he made a grab at a garbage bag, emptying the contents on the middle of the basement floor and quickly turning it inside out. “Help me put everything in the bag,” he whispered, beginning to stuff everything into the one bag. Claire quickly jumped to assist him. “One bag will be easier to carry around than a couple.” The woman was approaching the top of the steps, a man in tow. “Let’s go,” Dane ordered, pushing open the basement door they had wandered in through, practically dragging Claire out with him and making an attempt to distance themselves from the strangers before they decided to do something obscure like chase after them. Immediately, they were attacked by rain drops that fell at the speed of small bullets being shot from the clouds.

“I don’t understand why they would behave like that. If we were they to do something horrible to them, wouldn’t we have already done so rather than lurking in their basement for the entirety of the night?” Claire asked, already too exhausted to run. Dane, noticing her lack of energy, guided her to a house with a porch so they could rest and take shelter from the rain.

“They were probably just scared and nervous. Not everyone these days can afford to be as trusting as others. If something similar were to happen to us back when we were still in town with Ms. Speck, do you really think we would handle it well?” he questioned.

“I still don’t think we would chase them out without at least asking them some questions first,” Claire muttered.

“Not everyone is as trusting as you are, though. Ms. Speck probably would have been beating us upside the head with the broom almost instantly. At least that lady gave us some time to get out of there.”

“I guess you’re right,” Claire whispered, staring off into the streets that were being pelted by the bullets of rain. “Why does it seem like you’re much more understanding of people’s situations than before?” she asked curiously.

“You must not have noticed before. It’s fine, though. I don’t expect you to know every little thing about me, even if they are some of my best qualities,” he teasingly bragged. “Now, as for our situation, what should we do?”

“We should go back to the beach to wait for Nick and the others,” Claire said with complete certainty.

“I don’t mean to sound like negative voice of reason here, but how do you know they didn’t leave in the portal last night?” he asked.

“They wouldn’t just leave us behind like that. Nick wouldn’t do that.”

“How can you be so sure that he wouldn’t?” Dane said, raising his voice more than he had originally intended.

“I just know he wouldn’t. He’s not that type of person,” Claire shot back.

“So you know a guy through writing letters and knowing him for only a few days and you’re already completely sure you know exactly how he acts? I’m not sure you understand what it means to actually know someone,” Dane argued harshly.

“I know more about Nick than you could ever comprehend,” Claire growled.

“Writing letters is not the equivalent to actually knowing someone. Knowing someone requires months or years of being with that person.”

“You don’t know anything,” Claire muttered, turning away from him in disgust.

“Actually, I do know something. I know you which means I know how unnecessarily trusting you are about everything and frankly, it’s not always the most helpful aspect to have when you’re in situations like this.”

Behind them, the front door to the house slowly opened, a young boy standing in the doorway. “You need to leave before my parents get home,” he said meekly. “They don’t like strangers hanging around our house.”

Without giving Claire another look, Dane quickly directed his attention to the boy. “We’ll be out of here as soon as we can. If you tell us where the portal station is, we can leave right now,” he said reassuringly.

The boy nodded, pointing forward. “It’s just a few streets down. All you have to do is keep going straight. Now will you leave?” he asked.

Dane nodded, walking off into the rain. Claire looked from the boy to Dane’s back, reluctantly following him but from a distance this time. When she looked back to the house, the door was closed, the boy succeeding in his mission to dispose of the undesired people on his porch. The portal station greeted them after a few streets just as the boy had promised. Claire was relieved to know that he hadn’t lied just to get them away from there. The rain had been reduced to a mere sprinkle while they had been walking. Soon enough, it completely stopped but left no sun in its absence. “Can we go to the beach now?” Claire asked sourly, hating arguments and the fact that she was soaking wet from the downpour of rain. Also nipping away at her patience was the people’s attitudes toward strangers that had even affected their children.

“Fine, lead the way,” he grumbled. Claire rolled her eyes in annoyance, walking down a road that had looked fairly recognizable. Soon enough, she could smell the sea and the sand accompanied by the sound of crashing waves. When she arrived on the beach, she squinted, making out the distant figures of three other people who were just standing in the middle of the beach. Excitedly, Claire took off in a run, leaving Dane selfishly with the bag of clothes and food.

When the back of Nicholas’s brown haired head came into view, Claire lunged at him, catching herself hugging his back. “I knew you guys wouldn’t just leave through a portal without us,” she said happily, her bad mood blowing away with the breeze.

Nicholas turned, peeling Claire off his back so he could look at her in the eye. “Hello there. I’m happy to see you too,” he snickered, picking her up and hugging her, spinning in circles. “Who would even think that we would abandon our own group?” Claire looked back at Dane who was slowly approaching them. Her glance gave him a silent, unspoken answer. Nicholas nodded, understanding completely. “I should have seen that coming,” he growled. “Now that we’re together again though, we should find the portal station before anything else.”

“We already did,” Claire chimed in happily. “It’s not too hard to find so we can just show you where it is when we go there tonight. I don’t think I can take another night in this place.”

“Really?” Nicholas asked, confused. “Did you have a bad night?”

“The night wasn’t bad. The morning resulted in us getting chased out of a basement though by a crazy lady. We tried to take cover from the rain on a porch later on, but a boy came outside the house and asked us to leave because his parents would be home soon. The people here seem terrified by strangers even though we aren’t dangerous in the least,” Claire rambled.

“It’s understandable. Everyone’s living in fear, after all,” Nicholas said, nodding his head. “The house we stayed in was completely empty of people, though so we haven’t had that experience yet.”

“I hope we don’t have to again. Can we just go over to the house you guys were in? I’m starving,” Claire complained, noticing that they were the only two really talking. Doni and Emma were confined to their own worlds while Dane faded into the background, brooding over the day’s events.

Nicholas nodded. “Sure, jump on my back and I’ll carry you there.”

Eagerly, Claire jumped onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Thank you. My feet are killing me. I’m really not used to walking this much.” With Nicholas in the lead, the reunited group of five backtracked to the empty house with only a few wrong turns and stops to try to identify familiar looking landmarks. Once they were safely inside, Nicholas dropped Claire off on his couch and grabbed at his small bag of food. Soon enough, they were all eating like vultures that had been starved and then released into a pit full of lively mice. Watching the couple that was Doni and Emma left a few regrets in Claire’s mind, wishing and hoping for something like they had together.

While Claire was completely distracted by Doni and Emma’s behavior, Nicholas snuck off to search the house. In one room, most everything remained minus clothes and the bed’s comforter. Nicholas quickly grabbed for the closet door and swung it open. Anxiously, he raced back to the main room, hiding his new treasure behind his back. “Guess what I found.” Everyone stared blankly at him without an answer. After it was apparent that no one was going to play his guessing game, he reluctantly brought out a box from behind his back. The cover was recognized by everyone almost instantaneously. It had been a card game that most had played by the time they were in high school. Nicholas grinned as he watched everyone’s faces light up. “Let’s play.” Hours of cards passed by, lifting the sour mood that the rain had left them all with and chasing in the laughter that filled the house. The laughter echoed throughout the halls, leaving a few grasping their stomachs in pain.

“I can’t remember the last time that I actually had this much fun,” Claire giggled in pain, tears spilling out from the corners of her eyes.

“Sometimes it’s nice to just take a break from it all. My legs are so stiff from sitting like this for so long though.” Emma stood slowly, looking out the window for the first time in hours. “It’s already dark!” she exclaimed in surprise. “Dane, what time is it?”

Dane shot up and ran to the bag, sifting through its contents until he reached his watch. “It’s already ten,” he said resentfully, not wanting the night to end. No one was arguing or quietly cursing another. Emma had been completely right when she said it was nice to take a break from all the high tension and stress. “If someone wants to stay up to watch the time, the rest of us can take a nap before we have to leave for the portal.” Emma was the first to answer.

“I want to spend some time with Doni before we have to separate so I’ll do it,” she offered, holding her hand out for the watch. Dane placed the watch into her hands, heading for the closest bedroom. Claire and Nicholas stood there for a moment, unsure of where to go. Emma stared back at them, waiting impatiently for them to leave. As a hint, she placed her lips on Doni’s, wrapping her arms around his neck to bring him closer in the process.

“I get the hint, Emma. You want to be alone,” Nicholas said with a shake of the head, pushing Claire down the hill. Emma snickered, waving to Nicholas as he disappeared out of sight. “I’ll see you soon,” he said to Claire as they claimed rooms opposite of each other.

“Good night, Nick,” she said in return, thinking back to the night before with Dane. She grimaced at the thought.

She was awakened by that same face in what felt like a few minutes even though her tired bones told her that she had been in bed much longer than that. “Wake up, Claire,” Nicholas said, gently pushing her until her blue eyes flickered open. Half dazed, she looked at him half confused. “We have to leave,” he persisted.

“Why do we have to leave?” she asked, still feeling too groggy to think clearly.

“How are we supposed to get to our honeymoon spot if you lay in bed all day?” he asked, wondering how much he could convince her of in this state.

“Stop kidding around, Nick,” Claire said, grabbing a hold of her pillow and swinging it so it came in contact with his face. “I’m a slow riser.”

“I can tell. Shouldn’t you be used to waking up in a rush by now, though?” he questioned.

“I should be, but I’m not. Is there a problem with that?” Now she was sitting up, rubbing her eyes tiredly. The bright light that came from the small light bulb over head was almost unbearable. “Why does light even work? Can’t it just be completely dark?” she grumbled.

“I guess the Snake didn’t think to shut off everyone’s light and power. Do you really think that it’s his first concern? Now get up. We really do have to leave,” Nicholas prodded, grabbing her arms and pulling her into a standing position. Claire glared, allowing him to lead her back to the front door to everyone else.

“Why do I seem to be the only one that isn’t a morning person here?” Claire questioned, seeing that everyone else was already bright eyed and bushy tailed.

“I don’t think you can consider the middle of the night morning,” Emma said.

Claire mentally slapped herself for her own stupidity, realizing how ridiculous she must have made herself sound. With everyone now clear on what was going on, Claire and Dane began to lead them down the numerous streets to get to the portal station. Bots casually had passed by as they ran through the alleys, managing to go unseen the entire time they spent outside. They made perfect time, stepping through the portal right as midnight struck, taking in the familiar sight of the copious doors once more.

“This is where I have to leave you to be on your own way,” Doni said, pulling Emma into a final embrace. “I’ll miss you, but I will meet up with you later.”

“How will you know where we are?” Emma asked sadly.

“I’ll follow your trail of tape. That shouldn’t make it too difficult,” he said with a snicker, trying his best to lighten up the situation.

“Can’t you just come with us?” Emma pleaded.

Doni gave her a long, hard look. “We have already talked about this, Em. You know the answer.” She turned her attention to the ground, feeling the tears threatening to spill out onto her cheeks. “Em…” he said, holding her chin and lifting her face to his, placing his lips on hers, forgetting the witnesses they had watching them. “I love you, Em. See you around,” he said as he darted into one of the farther away doors.

Emma wiped her eyes in an attempt to hide her sensitivity. “I love you too,” she whispered to herself as she watched him leave, wanting so badly to follow him through the door. For a moment, she considered it, but concluded the consequence of his displeasure with her wasn’t worth it in the end. “Let’s go,” she ordered, facing away from everyone while she tried to collect herself as best as she could manage.

Claire approached her first, wrapping her in a hug. “I’m sorry, Emma,” she whispered, allowing Emma to squeeze her back. Still, she refused to cry, holding it back in order to uphold her reputation. Claire on the other hand cried softly, feeling the sadness that Emma refused to show.

“It’s alright, Claire. He’s not dead so you can stop your crying,” Emma said, patting her on the head reassuringly, thankful that Claire was there to take the place of the fragile girl in need of comforting.

While the girls shared their moment, Nicholas made his way to one of the doors that lingered on the far left of the group. “Let’s go in this one,” he said, wrapping his own tape on the door knob.

“Why?” Emma asked.

“I don’t know. No one else was picking a door so I figured I would. Are we going to go or not?” he asked, tapping his foot against the floor. Everyone seemed appeased by his simple explanation and stepped through the portal one at a time.

         What awaited them was a large building, and impressive in size and quality. “It’s an airport!” Claire squealed, taking in her surroundings. Behind them was the portal station and to the side was a clerk’s desk along with a vast amount of room for people to line up and hurry to their flights. “I always loved the airport,” she whispered more to herself than anything. With a sudden jerk, Nicholas pulled her behind the clerk’s desk where everyone else had taken refuge. He played a finger over his lips, indicating that she silence herself at once.

         Nicholas peered over the clerk’s desk, seeing a bot far across the room and ducking his head before it took notice to him. He repeated the silencing gesture to everyone, trying to point upwards to indicate a bot was in the vicinity. He slowly began to crawl his way to the employee bathroom door that was only feet away. He glanced over the desk once more, noticing the bot had luckily turned the corner. In a hurried manner, he directed everyone into the bathroom as if he were herding cattle. Once the last was in, Nicholas closed the door with all of them inside. Feeling a bit more secure, he whispered. “We should wait it out for the night in here. I don’t see the bot opening a restroom door for no apparent reason so as long as we all stay quiet, we should be good.” Everyone nodded in agreement. The employee bathroom had a few stalls, not giving them much room to sprawl themselves out in order to sleep. Claire curled up in one of the small stalls, awkwardly contorting her body so it wasn’t imposing in on the next stall over. Emma took the larger, handicap stall, curling up so none of her limbs would kick anyone else in the midst of her sleep. Nicholas and Dane both lay on the fairly open floor outside of the stalls, undoubtedly having less safety but more comfort than both of the girls. Despite their worrying and discomfort, they all managed to sleep through the night only a few complaints.