Adlai couldn’t sleep that night, it was strange not having Averi above him, her presence was a comfort to him. This was the last day, and everyone could feel it. Adlai searched for Averi around the whole building. He had to set things right. It wasn’t fair to him or her to leave things on a bad note. He finally found her in the leisure room, fiddling around with chess pieces. She looked up and scowled.

“Hey, what’s up?”

She snorted and turned her back to him. He was suddenly reminded of a time when she was mad at him for some odd reason. Just like old times. He shook himself out of his reverie.

“Hey, I’m sorry.”

“Sorry doesn’t cut it.”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t giving you time. I’m sorry I wasn’t talking to you. I’m sorry I seemed like I was ignoring you. I’m sorry I didn’t make you feel good enough.” He paused for a second, thinking of Averi’s listed grievances.

“And I’m sorry I made you insecure. Did I get through the entire list?” Adlai’s voice softened.

“I know this sounds cheesy, but this girl, I really like her. I don’t know why, and to be completely honest, I wish I didn’t. She’s not gonna replace you though. Not ever. You’re practically my sister, and I hope you still see me as your brother. I would never, ever, ever, drop you for someone else. Not for anyone. Not even for my parents. We’re family, you know. I’m so, so, so sorry that I made you feel like… like this.” Adlai’s voice started to shake a bit. “I hope you know that I love you so, so, so much, and nothing could ever change that.”

Averi’s shoulders started to shake, and suddenly she turned, tears streaming from her eyes. She wrapped Adlai in a tight hug.

“You’re a dumbass.”

“I love you too”

Adlai unwrapped himself from the hug and saw a flash of dark hair. Someone had been watching. He sat down across from Averi, hands on the table.

“Wanna play a bit of chess?”

Averi sniffled a bit. “Why not?”

The two played, and Adlai regained his throne. The building was strangely silent today, everyone considering the very real possibilities of their death. Adlai, walking with Averi, remembered something. He explained to Averi what he had to do, and she nodded. He ran off, an urgent question burning in his head. He saw her, her raven-black hair uneven, shining an almost blue-black. Her shoulders rippled as she walked and Adlai was once again shocked by the amount of strength she seemed to have. He gently tapped her shoulder.

“Hey, I just wanted to ask you a question?”

“What?”

“What as in what’s the question or…”

She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Here, come with me. I can’t answer stupid questions like yours while standing.”

She grabbed his hand, and once again, Adlai felt giddy, her warmth spreading to his hand. He felt whole. She pulled his arm, hard, and the feeling evaporated, leaving him sore and a bit annoyed.

She tugged at him again. “What are you standing there for, come on!”

The two walked together, Shawna practically dragging Adlai along. She took him to the leisure room, and the two sat down.

“Alright beanpole, what did you want to ask me.”

“My name’s Adlai, and I wanted to ask you…Well, uh…” Adlai hadn’t quite thought out his plan, and he realized the question could be incredibly personal. Feeling a bit stupid, he decided to backtrack a bit.

“I wanted to ask where you learned to fight like that. You beat my ass, not that that’s much of an accomplishment.”

Shawna chuckled. “I used to fight in rings for a bit. Good way to make money, and it’s also pretty damn intimidating. I always loved the thrill and the adrenaline. God, the bruises sucked though.”

“Why’d you fight?”

“Oh. Well. I didn’t really have much of a choice. It was that or I starved. My grandma died when I was a lot younger.”

“What about your parents?”

Shawna’s face contorted, but it shifted back to a steady poker face. “They left, I stayed behind with my grandma.”

Adlai, sensing this was dangerous territory didn’t press the issue. He knew when someone was hiding something, and he wasn’t comfortable probing any deeper.

“Do you think you could teach me?”

“What?”

“When we get off the ship, could you teach me how to fight?”

“Sure I guess. That’s if we don’t die though.”

Adlai nodded. The two sat in awkward silence, avoiding eye contact.

“I hope we don’t die.”

Shawna flipped her hair back. “Yeah, me too, me too. I still have some things to do before I die. It was a weird conversation with you beanpole, I’ll see you after we land.”

Adlai nodded, and they walked their separate ways. Walking back to the barracks, Adlai noticed that it was strangely quiet, the quiet roar of 20 conversations happening at once had dissipated. Averi was asleep, and Adlai tugged her covers over her. He laid down in his own bed. Pulling the blanket around himself tightly, he closed his eyes. He dreamed again, but this time, it was fire, death, chaos. He found himself staring into the dead, glazed over eyes of Averi, and the severed arm of Shawna. He sat down and cried, rocking himself for some sort of comfort.

He woke up, tears flowing down his face. The morning bell’s shrill screech had just sounded. He shook Averi awake, the glassy eyed version of her still vivid in his mind.

“Wha..?”

He wrapped her tightly in a hug, tears pricking the back of his eyes. He didn’t want to lose her. Averi wriggled out of the hug, confusion clear in her eyes.

“What happened? Were you crying?”

The intercom crackled overhead.

“Please report to the commons for instructions on launch.”

Adlai and Averi looked at each other. The chaos of his dream came back to him and he was reminded of what he said yesterday. “I hope we don’t die.”