Ella

I move as fast as I can from my bed, and wrap him in a hug, burying my face in his uniform, despite how uncomfortable the material it is. "Ella," he breathes as he hugs me tight. "I thought you were gone, I thought--I thought I'd never see you again." I can't even reply, the sobs taking over as I just hold him. I hold him as if I'll never let him go, because at one time I did. I let him go and it was horrible and hard, and I never want to go through that again. My best friend, he's alive, he survived the asteroid along with Dean and I. He survived.

"You're alive," I cry, before pushing him away just enough so I can look into his face. "I didn't even recognize you, where's your glasses?"

"Contacts," he smiles, and it's the same familiar smile that I can remember. "I didn't recognize you either, not until she said your name," he admits before motioning to Carol. "What happened? Are you alright? You look so worn and--"

"Sunburned, I know," I half laugh. "You're not the first person to tell me that. How did you get out?" I ask, knowing he'll know exactly what I'm talking about.

"I was in my basement, the only place I could even think was safe. My parents were down there with me, but when it hit it took everything down in its path. My house, my basement, my parents," he pauses, and I can tell this is still a hard subject for him. It's still a hard subject on us all. "I was able to get out, and when I did, I seen it destroyed everything. I thought I was the only one to survive, but I wasn't," he smiles, and I instinctively hug him again, while he continues his story. "It wasn't long afterwards when I was wondering in the desert, that these trucks came and picked me up. I didn't know what was going on, I was torn up inside after losing everyone, and I was as thirsty and hungry as I have ever been, so I went with them, told them I was the only one left in the town and they brought me here. I'm so sorry, I didn't think anyone else survived." I let go of him, not understanding his story as I sit on the edge of my bed.

"How did the trucks pick you up but not us?" I ask.

"Us? Who else survived?" He questions, before sitting next to me.

"Dean." At the mention of his name, Hunter lets out a cruel laugh.

"That bastard survived, but no one else? Out of everyone, he survived?" He mutters, and I can't help but wonder where his sudden mood change came from.

"Don't call him that," I defend, remembering calling my brother that before he died. I never want to hear that word again. "He's different, Hunter, he's not the same boy that used to go to school. It changed him."

"It should have. We've all been changed from that thing hitting us," he looks down at the floor, and I wonder what's going on in his head.

"How did we miss the trucks, though? I don't get it. How did me miss you either? We went searching through houses for food and whatever we could find that might help us," I say, even though it was Dean to search while I say on a rock and let him do all the work.

"I didn't get out till later, it was dark and when I checked my watch it was past ten P.M. When did you get out?"

"In the morning."

"What direction did you travel?"

"East, well, South East, I think."

"They came in from the North of Cheyenne, so that's probably why. They weren't originally at the base, they found out about the asteroid and the military wanted to grab up all the survivors that they could. It consisted of only a few states they raided though, for the asteroid took out most of North America and parts of Canada. They brought me here and when they did they told me this was a base to protect people, and that I had to protect this base because it was my new home. They gave me a uniform, and here I am now. You can consider me a soldier if you want, I've even defended this base against forces that wanted to shut us down." I look up at him, not liking where this is going.

"What did you do?" I ask, trying not to show my panic.

"I did what I had too, Ella. I protected the people inside so they could come and get wanderers like you."

"But, I thought someone else took care of the radical," I whisper.

"I did. I took care of him, and his wild party that came in later that day for revenge on what I did. Now, they have radars to alert them when something is within a few miles of the base." I don't say anything, what is there to say? My best friend that was loving and kind and never would even go out hunting because he hated the idea of killing an animal, murdered people. He murdered people. Radicals or not, they still were lives he just wasted.

Another Guard comes in, and asks Carol and I what our names are. I can hear Carol faintly tell them her name, while my mind processes everything that I've just been told. Before I know it, Hunter is nudging me. "Name," he mouths, and I tell the Guard my name, before he writes it down and tells Hunter that it's okay for us to leave our rooms if we wish, since our room was the last one they needed the names from.

I don't want to leave, not now. I want to take in everything that my friend just told me, and I want to think it over. He may not believe that this is a big deal, but I know that it is a big deal.

"I need to get going, but I'll see you around? I'm so glad you're alive," Hunter tells me, before hugging me tightly. I hug him back, for I'm so relieved that he's okay, but I'm also unsure of the other feelings that are swimming inside of me.

"I'm going to leave too," Carol speaks up after Hunter exits the room. "I'll be back in a bit, or do you want to come?" She offers, and I can tell it's because she feels bad for me. I want to tell her not to feel bad for me, that she should feel bad for the people he killed, not for me.

"No, I'm going to stay here," I mutter, and she nods before walking off and I'm left alone. I'm glad I'm alone, I haven't been alone in God knows how long.

I shut the door, before walking back to my bed and lying down. I'm sad, I'm sad that he's not the same person he was only weeks ago, and that bothers me. How could such a short time, change someone so much? I don't understand that, and I'm not sure I want too.

I want to talk to Dean about this, but I also don't. I don't want him to say mean things about Hunter's actions, just like I didn't want Hunter to say anything about Dean. I don't know where Hunter's anger came from when I told him Dean survived along with me. He looked as if he was regretful, and I wonder if he thought the same thing that I thought when I found out that Dean was the survivor I was calling to among the smoke and rubble of my town. A feeling of regret that he survived and my family didn't, I wonder if that's what he thought, too. Dean survived and his family didn't. The cocky Norovian that gets whatever he wants, but he's wrong if he thinks that. Dean's not that cocky boy anymore, he's grown quite a bit in these last three weeks.

I continue to lie here, and I'm just about to take a nap, when I hear a light knock on the door before it opens. Sitting up, I see it's Dean, and I can't help but smile. "Hey," I greet as I move over so he can sit next to me.

"Hey, thought I would stop by, since we are now allowed to walk around. I asked about five Guards, but they didn't know where you were, or who you were," he rolls his eyes. "I eventually seen Carol and she told me. I was actually glad--for the first time--that I found her, God knows how much longer it'd take me to find you. So she's your roommate then, how is it? Is she nice to you?" He genuinely asks, and I wonder if Carol is right. He always does jump her when she says crap to me.

"Yeah, she's okay. She's Carol," I half laugh. "What do you expect from her?"

"That's true," he smiles. "So why aren't you out and about? Loving your jail cell too much?"

"No," I scoff, not being able to contain my smile. "I seen Hunter," I break the news to him, and the smile immediately vanishes from his face.

"You're best friend Hunter?"

"Who else?" I retort. "Anyway, he's not the same person I knew. Like, he's the same, but he's not the same, if that makes sense."

"It really doesn't, you need to clarify what exactly your hinting on," he says and I roll my eyes.

"Remember the radical? He's the one that killed him. The guy's friends came in later to get revenge on what Hunter did, and he killed them as well. It's as if he's not even bothered by it. Before, he wouldn't even go hunting, Dean, and that was animals. These are human lives." I look down at my hands, before interlacing my fingers and twiddling my thumbs. This is one of the reason Dean hates the humans, and I don't really blame him anymore.

"War changes people, Ella," he mumbles after a moment of silence.

"This isn't a war, Dean, it's an asteroid," I state.

"It's a war, between the Heavens and the Earth. Space wants to take us out, but we keep holding on and surviving. It's one sided, but it's still a war. I'm sure he's the same person deep down, but he's gone through a lot of stuff, just like us, and we all go through things differently. He's the same, Ella, he's just hurting." I stop staring at my hands, and look up at Dean. His yellow eyes stare right back at me, and I lay my head against his shoulder, wondering if he's right. If my best friend is still my friend.