As Alex covered the manhole again with leaves, Abigail felt a little relieved to be back out in the open, breathing in the fresh air. It was strange how much more comfortable she felt in the night air. Just days before, she would have felt much trepidation about going outside into the night, and even more to go anywhere near the woods at this hour. But tonight, the treetops felt like a comforting cover, concealing their movements from any watchful eyes that may have been looking for her.

They continued on as they had the previous night, with Alex leading the way and Abigail stumbling through the underbrush to keep up. Once again she wished she had more familiarity with making her way through this area like Alex did, and she wished that the air of awkwardness hadn't been left like it had. But she wasn't going to use this time to press the issue. They had a lot of ground to cover and it was taking almost all of her energy and concentration to keep up with Alex.

It wasn't long before Alex came to a stop in front of her. For a moment she worried that something bad had happened, and briefly, she worried they would be spending another night in the bunker like before. But, instead, he turned to her with a serious look on his face.

"Look, Abby," he started, making her worry about what was about to come out of his mouth, "what I said back there in the bunker...." He was stammering. "I didn't mean to make things awkward. I was just picking on you and I guess I took it too far." He looked sincere, and Abigail had to admit that their time since then hadn't been pleasant. But, then he continued, "I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry."

For a moment she wasn't sure how to react. "It's okay, Alex," she began, choosing her words carefully, "I'm not sure why things got so awkward back there after your comment, but I don't like it either." As she looked up to his face, she saw a ghost of a smile lingering on his lips.

"Aww, Abigail," he began sarcastically, "don't try to hide the fact that you like me. I mean, look at me," he waved his hand down his body as if to show off something impressive, "who wouldn't love me?" He was back to teasing her again. She smiled at the comment and then gave him a small push.

"Oh hush, Alex," she jested, "let's get a move on, okay?"

He kept his sarcastic smile as he turned and started walking ahead of her once again. As the night wore on, she kept replaying it all in her head again and again. Maybe she did have feelings for him. He was fun to be around, for sure. But, she knew better than to trust her feelings right now. They were out here alone and her brain was attached to him because he had given her a hope of a better future, and she was just thankful, she reasoned. With such thoughts bouncing around in her head, it didn't take long for the night to press on, and before she knew it, she could see the light orange and pink dancing in the sky of daybreak.

"Alex," she questioned, "are we almost there?"

"Yes we are!" she could hear the glee in his voice as he tried to quiet his excitement. "We should get there just before the sun is fully up!"

It didn't take long to reveal that he was right. As the trees began to become more and more scarce, she could see the outline of a city in the distance. But, it wasn't anything like the city she had left. There were no lights shining, no people walking around beginning their day. The place looked desolate.

"Is this some kind of trick," she accused Alex, "where are we, really?" The panic had begun to rise in her chest and it took considerable effort to keep her voice quieted.

"Abby," Alex tried to calm her down, "I promise you I haven't lied to you. Just please, trust me a little bit longer."

It took a few moments of breathing in.... and out... one... and two... before she felt her heartbeat calm back to normal. She had come this far, hadn't she? There was no point in trying to start questioning him now. Turning back home meant certain punishment, possibly even death, and though she worried she was risking the same thing by going forward, she knew that this way, at least, wasn't guaranteed misery.

Hesitantly, she took a step forward, and following her lead, Alex grabbed her hand and lead her deeper towards the town center. As they passed several buildings, it was obvious to Abigail that this had been a town at one point: but that point was many many years ago. Abandoned storefronts littered the cracked and desolate streets. Plant life had started working its way between the cracks of the sidewalk, pushing the old cement farther and farther apart: coming between what would have been frigidly perfect pathways in Louxe.

Finally, after they had walked past all of it, they came to what was approximately the middle of the town, or whatever she would have rather called it. Before her stood a dilapidated warehouse, worn with old chipped bricks and broken windows. The sight wasn't a pretty one, and it certainly wasn't what she had imagined when she dreamt of freedom. Putting it aside once again, though, she put her trust in Alex and followed him through the front door.

While she had hopes that he would redeem himself once they entered the ramshackle warehouse, the inside wasn't much different. She could still see the broken windows that littered the top of the building, and on the walls she could see every color of paint they had ever been from all of the chipped and scaling away places. She could barely even tell what the floor would have been in its heyday, as it now just appeared to be a layer of dirt so thick and permanent that some wildlife was growing out of it in places.

Before she could comment on any of this, though, Alex pulled her again towards one of the walls. As they neared the door, she pulled her hand back, her trust finally reaching its limits.

"Alex!," she nearly shouted, with an echo that bounced off the walls in a way that amplified her voice to a terrorizing level, "where the hell are we?" She had never used such language before in her life, but in this moment, it felt good on her lips.

"Please," he began, "just trust me enough for one more step. Just let me show you behind this door and I promise everything will work out, okay?"

Before she could respond or even think of a response, he had opened the door and pulled her through it. As she looked around, though, she was certainly surprised. While she had expected more of the decrepit building and littered ground, the walls around her were pristine. There was a short hallway, and then a set of stairs that went down so far she almost couldn't believe it.

"What are you all, mole people?" she questioned. Alex only chuckled at the accusation and started making his way down the stairs. With some trepidation, Abigail pulled the strap of her bag tighter against her and started after him. The number of stairs they descended was truly daunting, and just as she was beginning to think they would never reach anything other than more stairs, they came across another hallway coming off of one of the turns on the stairs.

"This is the highest level we have," Alex explained, "we pretty much exist underground."

They passed it and continued their downward descent, eventually passing two more hallways that Alex didn't even bother stopping to explain. When they reached the fourth one, however, Alex stopped.

"This level is one of the living quarters," he quickly explained, but he had grown a lot more serious, "this is the floor my parents live on."

At first she didn't understand why he had gotten so serious at the thought of seeing his parents, but then it hit her: Daniel.

When he saw the realization on her face, he continued, "I have to talk to them about Danny first," she just nodded in understanding as he spoke, "do you mind just waiting outside the door?"

"Of course I can do that for you," she immediately responded. The urge to hug him was there, but she didn't want to push the boundaries of whatever kind of friendship they had created. Instead, she followed him as he made his way down the hallway, making sure to leave him some space as they headed down the many halls and turns.

When he finally made it to the door, Abigail was certain she would never be able to make it out of this facility if she wanted to. She stood to the side as he knocked on the door, not wanting to interrupt what would surely be a family moment. From her position beside the door, she could hear his parents, but stayed out of sight.

"Alex!" she heard a woman's voice exclaim, "You're back! We were beginning to get worried!" Abigail could hear the relief in her voice, and instantly she saw her arms reach out to embrace Alex, pulling him into the door. Before she could fully react, she heard the door shut and their conversation was nothing more than a muffled mumble. With a curt sigh, she turned against the wall beside the door and leaned against it, slowly letting herself slide down to sit on the floor. From this position, she could just make out some of the conversation coming from beyond the wall she was leaning against. She heard the mention of Daniel, followed by a high shriek.

Grief is a powerful thing. She had never lost anyone directly, but she had attended a few funerals of people in town and they were always rightfully somber events. Each time she would be shaken by the sounds of the family, of their cries and true guttural pain. But, this was the first time she was close, or semi-close, with the family who was going through it. One thing that came rushing back to her was her father's comforting words he would mumble each time they attended such events: "Death is the only thing you are promised in this life, Abigail."

Beyond the mourning sounds of his mother, she could just make out Alex's voice as he continued telling his parents of his journey. She felt unsettled at the sound of her own name coming from him. Did he really think now was the proper time to be introducing her to his family? After that, she tried to tune out the rest of the sounds coming from the room. Instead, she leaned her head back against the cool metal walls of the hall, which held a coolness to them that soothed her warm neck and calmed her nerves. Despite being underground, Abigail felt like she could breathe here: like this was the source of all fresh air. It was comforting.

Instantly Abigail was being jostled awake by Alex, who she hadn't seen come near her. She jumped to her feet, embarrassed for letting herself doze off in the hallway.

"Abigail," he turned to his parents, "this is my mom, Linda." Linda was strikingly beautiful to look at. She had bright red hair that was styled in a messy braid that hung across one shoulder. Her eyes were a vibrant green, which held a spark that Abigail was unfamiliar with. If it weren't for the few wrinkles that surrounded them, Linda could have easily passed off for a much younger woman.

Abigail instantly reached her hand out to shake hands with Linda: this woman with Alex's eyes and the flaming vibrant hair.

"And this," he continued, "is my father, Paul." Paul was a tall man, with jet-black hair that was longer than she had ever seen any man's hair be. It reached nearly to his shoulders, and though she found it odd, she had to admit it fit him well. Paul reached to take her hand this time, seemingly studying her just as she had studied the two of them.

"It's so nice to meet you, Abigail," Paul politely said to her. "I'm sure you are tired from such a journey," he continued on.

"Oh yes," Alex's mother interjected, "you should let Alex show you to his room. For tonight why don't you stay in Daniel's bed? We will try to work out something more permanent tomorrow." Abigail could hear the grief in her voice at the mention of Daniel's name. Immediately her green eyes seemed to turn a red around the edges, and Abigail knew that tears were coming soon.

"Okay, Alex," she turned to him, "why don't you show me where to go."

He reached up to hug his parents once again, and then turned to lead Abigail down the ever-confusing hallways. They ventured back to the stairwell, and headed down another flight. On the floor below, Abigail was gleeful to find that Alex's room was right near the entrance to the stairwell. As they entered the room, she had to work to contain her shock.

While she had been expecting the grey metal walls of the hallway, she was instead greeted to walls painted a deep and beautiful blue, which she could just make out beneath the art and various things that covered the walls. Against the wall directly in front of her were two twin beds, with a dresser between them. 
Alex made his way deeper into the room and abruptly leapt onto the bed on the right, chuckling as he bounced and settled. She cautiously made her way to the other bed and sat her bag down beside it.
"Do you always do that when you get near a bed?" she teased Alex. But, when he turned to her, he wasn't chuckling at all. He was trying his hardest to hold back the tears.

"Danny," he began, trying to hold back his emotions enough to speak clearly, "Danny would always do that when we got home. It just made me think of him," he explained.

She didn't really know how to respond to him, so she tried again to give him some space. She quietly looked more around the room. Both beds had matching tan comforters on them, and on the wall by the door was a large bookcase.  She hadn't realized Alex was watching her until he interrupted her thoughts.

"Danny loved to read," he quietly commented. He was holding himself together better now. "I always told him he would grow up to run this place the way he was always studying and learning." As she looked at him she saw the half smile on his face: a comforting sight amongst grief.

"Do you read much?"

"I like to read some, but not nearly as much as he did," he replied. "I guess he did leave me plenty of reading material." Alex had a half smile as he said it, almost as if he was remembering some private joke the two of them had shared.

"Umm, Alex," Abigail began, she really didn't want to interrupt the moment but knew they both needed some rest... and showers. "Where can I get cleaned up?"

As he got up from his bed, she grabbed her bag only to realize something: she really needed to wash clothes, too. "Oh, and where can I get some clean clothes?" she added.

Alex smiled at her and walked over to the dresser that sat between the beds, opening a drawer to expose neatly folded clothing. She waited as he dug through the contents until he held out some grey soft sweat pants and a black t-shirt.

"These were Daniel's," he explained, "they may be a little baggy, but I know mine would swallow you whole."

She didn't know how she felt taking his brother's clothes, but thanked him for the gesture and carried them with her as she followed him to the other side of the room, where a door led them to a small bathroom. With some instructions from Alex about working the shower, she settled her things on the counter and once he had gone, stepped into what seemed like the most relaxing shower she had ever had.

The hot water seemed to rain over her tense muscles in a way that pulled out the stress and aches she had deep in her body from the trek here, though she knew she would still be feeling the aches and pains of the journey for a few days yet. As she washed her hair, she could feel the grime going down the drain and a fresh new life before her being opened up. With this shower, she deemed, she was washing all of the hurt and fear and disappointment from her old life away: she was baptizing herself into this new world.