Me and Her

"What's that building?" Tamamo asks as the Chimera points toward a small, broken-down structure with a dangling coffee cup sign.

"That's a cafe. Can we move on?" I grumble.

"What's a cafe?"

"It's a place where humans get coffee."

"What's coffee?"

"A drink that gives you caffeine."

"What's caffeine?"

I furiously scratch my head and groan. Then I turn to the fox Chimera, feeling the veins on my head about to pop. "Okay, it's just a place where humans used to hang out with each other! Can we please move on now?"

"But I want to know more about humans. Like what's that?" Tamamo dashes off to a building with a gallery of shattered windows.

"Fine. Whatever gets you to shut up, I guess," I sigh, following the fox Chimera. It's not like the tower is going to run off anyway. Might as well entertain the it.

Inside, light rains from above the broken ceiling. Shelves of dirty books are toppled everywhere and leaned against each other. Wooden pieces of tables and chairs lie spread out, and tiled floors cracked from the roots of a tree.

"This used to be a library. A place where humans came to study or play games on computers."

"Oooh. And that?"

I turn to where its human finger is pointing. A white vehicle dirtied in moss with an enormous ice cream cone on top of it.

"That's an ice cream truck. It goes around playing an ominous song and hypnotizes kids to buy their food."

"Really?" Tamamo gasps. "That's horrible."

Finally, we move past the block as Tamamo points at other structures down the road. At least we're slowly moving forward. My shoulders relax as I explain to Tamamo what the structures she's pointing at are. It's nice to actually have someone to talk to, even if it's a Chimera.

We travel deeper into the lush green city filled with trees and vines. Bugs swarm from the terrarium-like vehicles, and there's moss growing all over the seats as I search through them for supplies. I gag as some insects get in my mouth, and I hear Tamamo laughing. I share the last remaining sandwich with it; Tamamo's eyes glow as it takes a bite of the flattened bread and meat.

Morning. The trail to the tower isn't all safe. I get attacked by ferocious hog Chimeras with huge tusks growing from their faces. My gun echoes as I shoot my bullets. A hog charges at me, and Tamamo rushes in, grabbing me out of the way. Then fire bursts from its hands, killing the band of wild pig Chimeras. I thank Tamamo with a nod; it smiles warmly back at me. Then we travel through the city's alleyways and avoid the big streets as they are occupied by bigger Chimeras I don't want to engage with.

A rustle in the bushes alerts me out of sleep, and I instinctively draw my gun out. Behind the leaves, a group of rabbit Chimeras cowers in the corner. They whimper, and their eyes gloss with fear. Then I drop my weapon and leave. Tamamo looks at me with an eyebrow raised.

"What?" I ask.

"I thought you hate all Chimeras?"

I rub my dry eyes and sigh. "I'm tired."

Another day passes, and it's dusk. Tamamo and I take shelter in one of the run-down buildings. I gather a small number of sticks into a pile and carve small strands of wood off of one, and then I light it on fire from a spark by my sword and a rock. Then I collapse my great sword out and place it on top of two bricks, so it's above the fire. With some mushrooms I find growing on the bases of trees around the city and some pine nuts, I place them on top of the blade. Tamamo also wants to try and cook, bringing various inedible plants, rocks, and even bark. I scold the fox chimera and toss all of it out, making it cry as it clutches my leg, begging me to let it cook.

The flames crack as the food starts sizzling.

"Hey, what's that?" asks Tamamo, pointing towards a wall with red words painted on it.

Black Wing is watching.

I shudder at the words. An old memory of blood flashes through my mind. I can tell Tamamo can see what I just remembered as its eyebrows draw together. Since it can read my mind, there's no point in hiding it. "Black Wing is a demon. Worse than any Chimera I've ever faced. Most Chimeras fight for territory and for food, but Black Wing… It does it for fun."

Tamamo sits next to me, listening as we both stare into the tiny flame dancing.

"Black Wing killed most of humanity." A lump bulges in my throat as the memories flood my mind, and I can't stop them. It all comes back to me. A curved blade glistening with blood, spilling every time it swings. Black feathers rain as it flaps its dark wings. "It…" My eyes become wet, remembering the familiar faces of awakened corpses that pile beneath its talon feet. "It killed all of my friends." Their warm, smiling faces all light up in my mind; tears fall along with snot as I hiccup. Then Tamamo's arms embrace me. "I don't need your sympathy."

"I know," Tamamo says softly.

But I don't push her away. I stay in her warmth for a while until the scent of burning nuts and mushrooms is in the air.

Night falls, and the trees rustle in the winds.

Thump.

My eyes shoot open as I gasp, grab my gun, and aim toward the sound. My heart pounds loudly in my ears, and my chest bursts in and out.

Tamamo stands, shaking her head and hands. "Liam, it's just me!"

My raspy breath calms into a long sigh, dropping the gun. "Sorry."

Tamamo sits closely next to me. I avoid making eye contact with her and stare out the broken window, a half-moon glowing in the dark sky.

"You haven't been sleeping," says Tamamo.

There's silence for a while before I reply. "Yeah…"

"You need to sleep."

"Can't. Got to stay alert for any Chimeras close by."

"You won't get your rest if you do that."

"It's fine."

Tamamo pulls me down, placing my head on her lap.

"Hey, what are-"

"I just want to see the scar on your head if it's still there."

Words rise in my throat to protest, but I stay quiet instead, still avoiding making eye contact. Her soft hands run across my forehead where the scar is.

"I saw your memories."

"I know."

"I saw how desperately you fought to save your friends."

"Yeah."

"I'm curious about what drives you. You traveled from such a far land to get here. To get to the tower. Why?"

My thoughts waver as I try to find words, but I can't find any and instead borrow them. "To kill the one who made the Chimeras."

"What will you do after you kill them?"

I stay silent for another while, looking into the abyss of a sky. "I don't know."

Tamamo brushes my gray hair. "I've never seen you fight like that before. I wonder, do humans give it their all when they have someone to protect?"

"Yeah. If we love them, we do."

"Will you give it your all to protect me?"

Silence again.

"Sorry if I had asked such a weird question," Tamamo half-heartedly chuckles.

"I think I would," I reply.

"Huh?"

"I enjoyed our little banter during these past few days. It's been a long time since I've talked to anyone. I almost forgot what my voice sounds like. So thanks for sticking with me."

Tamamo chuckles. "Thanks, Liam. Now, get some rest. I'll keep watch for you."

"No, I got to keep us safe."

Tamamo rubs through my hair like she's patting it. I don't realize it, but the world around me fades.

And that's the first time I've slept in years.