No Sunrise

“I guess those two’ll talk it out when the fuzz shows up… too bad Conrad can’t drive us the rest of the way.”

Frankie's eyes almost stung at the sight. After being cramped in a mostly dark space for the past few long hours, it felt weird to see a horizon with space extending in all directions. Beautiful as it was, the deep orange sunrise was too small a compensation for the girl’s seemingly fatal shortage of good luck.

“Hey. Frankie? How are you holding up?”

She couldn’t respond right away. Her sister expected this, more or less.

“It’s at least a little nice to be back in Missouri.” Katie continued, offering her travelling companion all she could give.

“Why… every time…”

She was mumbling under her breath. Eyes clouded in the enormous weight of the Earth, Frankie felt in both parts like she had been stuck in immovable stone and like she was on a treadmill sending her around all of the land in existence, eternally.

“What’s that?” Katie leaned forwards to look up at her sober face, neck hung low in despair.

“Even now… part of me still wants to go home. Because every minute we’re outside, something horrible happens.”

Katie’s guilt crawled back into her again, restrained only by her undying dream. To her, the girl in front of her was crying, though her slate face was far from letting out tears, showing only the barest signs of a coming understanding she could now put to words. Katie could not respond any more, only waiting as her sister made the claim she’d learned to make over just nine days outside her shelter.

“I get it now. This is the kind of person this world creates.”

Katie took her hand.

“Are you scared?”

“I’m mortified.”

“We’re not like that.”

“Everybody else… it feels like everybody else in the whole world is.”

“Conrad, and Mary weren't. Frank, he-“ She stuttered as the thought of his death cropped up in both of their heads. “He wasn’t all bad either.”

“Yeah, well… look where that got him.”

She hugged her.

“Don’t be scared, Frankie. …I’ll protect you.”

“…Okay.”

“I… I thought Jack would shoot.“ Katie confessed. “When I tased him, I mean. I was almost certain of it. I only took the risk… because it was pointed at Mary, and not you anymore.”

The protector limply hugged back, the minty strands of her hair falling to her big sister’s shoulder as she silently wept.