A/N: The awesome cover in the picture is by @loveanddrvgs

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He murmurs a name in his sleep. That's when I hear him talk the most, when's he's asleep in the seat across from me. He's reluctant to leave the car, in case it gets stolen.. so we both sleep in here. He often let's me lay across the back seats so it's not terribly uncomfortable. He sleeps in the drivers seat, prepared for a quick escape if needed.

Anyway. Back to the name.

He says it over and over. Shouts it. Screams it. Sobs around it. Sometimes he even gasps it as he wakes up. The first time it happened, he looked over to me and I could tell he knew that I'd heard but as usual, he said nothing and simply started to drive again, softly ordering that I should get some sleep.

Etienne. That's the name. It rings in my ears and I can't help but wonder.

Maybe it was a family member? Obviously, his dreams about this Etienne person aren't positive. Maybe he watched someone die... I know things like that sure as hell haunt my dreams from when I was in Afghanistan, and here too I suppose. So many dead... It's not unlikely that this man has also seen people die, maybe even loved ones.

He's old enough to have a wife, definitely, and maybe even kids too. Maybe Etienne was his child. I swallow thickly at that thought. Sometimes it was easy for me to forget that not everyone is as unattached as I am.

Not for the first time, I find myself wishing that radio stations still operated.

The world truly did seem silent. We don't get news of any kind. There's no phone service, no television and certainly no internet. Everyone is alone.

Well, maybe now I'm not so alone. After all, I've been sort of kidnapped by a gorgeous and mysterious stranger with beautiful curls and seemingly flawless skin.

It's nighttime now. But neither of us is asleep. I can tell by how irregular his breathing is. I can see his chest moving. It's been a total of four days now, since I was informed that my doctoring skills were needed. The road hasn't seemed to get shorter... I've taken to facing my companion when night falls upon us and we pull over to sleep. I'm not even sure why I do this.

To check he's breathing? Maybe.

He always faces away from me and I don't have an issue with that. It'd be a little odd if he were to face me while I watched him fall asleep. And.. I didn't want to watch as he cries out that name.

I wish I could stop referring to the man across me as Him and He.  But it doesn't seem like I'm going to get a name, and I've no chance of guessing. As I've said before, it's sure to be unique and wonderful like this man.

I'm not even sure how I've arrived at the conclusion that he's wonderful and unique. He just has that vibe, I suppose.

He shifts slightly then, the movement echoing loudly in the silent night. He seems to freeze, as if listening to whether he's disturbed something but then his body relaxes. He does this most nights. It takes him a long while to fall asleep and I don't think it's due to my watching him. If it was, I have no doubts he'd say so.

Releasing a soft sigh, I turn so I'm facing the window.

I've always loved the moon and the way it looks on a starry night like this. Maybe it's the old romantic in me. I force back a laugh as the mental image of myself and some pretty young lady sitting on a picnic blanket, gazing up at the stars enters my mind.

Romance. Love. Two things that have no place in the world today.

War and Hate. That's all there is now. And I don't even know why. I want to know why. To have to struggle through each day, to kill so I don't get killed myself and to not even know why is maddening.

If I'm not careful, I will go mad. Not only because of the unsolvable mystery that is life as we now know it but also the mysterious nature of this gorgeous creature I'm travelling with. This gorgeous, unsmiling, quiet and cold creature that sobs in his sleep for some unknown reason.

It's not too much to ask for some answers, is it?

Answers to anything.

There's so many question I have. About the world. About what happened. About why it happened. About this man. About everything.

Fucking life.

Sighing again, I turn back to face the man. Immediately, I flinch back in fear when I realise that he's looking straight at me. God... My heart's racing.

I can't help it. I laugh.

But I quickly stop, seeing how unamused this man is. It's been four days and I haven't once seen him so much as smile, never mind laugh. It's like he has one facial expression.

It's still beautiful.

He stares at me for a long time, as if picking me apart at the seams and then sewing me back together once he understands how exactly I'm put together. Then, when he's supposedly satisfied, he turns to face the door once again.

This man was odd, I'd accepted that.

"How long until we reach the person I need to help?" I ask, voice rough. I haven't uttered a word in two days or so.

"Three days. Two, if we move fast" Simple, straight to the point. This guy didn't mess around.

"I can drive" I tell him. "One of us can sleep, the other can drive. There only seems to be one road so I doubt I'll get us lost"

God, it felt good to talk.

"You don't get as much sleep as I do." I continue when I, unsurprisingly, get no reply. "Let me drive tomorrow. You can take a kip in the back"

"Fine" even though he just said one word, it sounded like he was also telling me to shut up.

So I do. I fall silent again and close my eyes, allowing sleep to take over.

That night I'm woke up by screams that are rapidly becoming familiar to my ears. I sit up quickly, giving myself whiplash, and I go to reach for the man beside me but stop. I do this every night. Go to help but then stop.

What would you do if a stranger constantly woke you at night with their pain filled screams?

Comfort them? Maybe.

But me.. I ignore it as much as humanly possible and then spend the night day wondering why I never help or at least ask him about this Etienne character.

Even if I did ask, the likelihood of me getting an actual answer is extremely low. I mean, he won't even tell me his name so he sure as hell won't be telling me about his nightmares and the star of them.

Really, I shouldn't even be worried about this. I should worry about what happens to me when I've fulfilled my usefulness to this man in two or three days time. He's certainly not above killing people that possibly pose a threat, as I saw at the ranch. He must have shot three people before he took hold of my collar and dragged me to his car.

When he falls quiet, I sigh and lay down again, closing my eyes.

Maybe tomorrow I'll have the confidence to ask...