Adlai pushed the door open to see Averi lying on the floor, apparently very bored. Before he could even step inside, Nire pushed past him rushing towards her. She wrapped the very confused but very happy Averi in her arms, swinging her around.

“Oh, I was so worried! I thought I wasn’t ever going to see you again, but you’re here, and so am I!”

“Really?” Averi was a little confused but even that couldn't hide her smile.

“Really, honey. Really.”

Adlai felt something within him writhe a little bit. It wasn’t right, seeing her like this. He was happy she was happy, but she was a stand-in for the delusional doctor. Nire didn’t care about Averi, she only cared about Stacy. Adlai had been caring, but she never smiled at him like this. He stayed quiet, like he always did. Something was building though, an uncomfortable feeling of anger and something else.

Huffing, he turned away, ripping his gaze away from Averi peeling herself out of the embrace. For now, he had to figure out a way to escape. Shawna was itching to leave, but Adlai knew his sister would be hard to convince. It didn’t help with Nire treating her like her daughter. Nire was a wild card. She was helpful to their survival with the tools she showed them, but she was very clearly unstable. He didn’t want to spend any more time with her than absolutely necessary, and with her latest breakdown, Adlai was no longer comfortable. It wasn’t just the fact that she was unstable, it was what she was saying. There was a certain theme around what she had shouted. Something had happened, but the terminology she used was hard to understand. It was hard to believe the woman currently talking to her own hand was once a renowned scientist, but the time spent on this planet must’ve taken its toll.

Shawna tapped his shoulder, and she gestured towards the door. Nire still had her full attention on Averi, putting on an impromptu hand puppet show. He stepped out the door, careful to not make too much noise. Shawna followed him out, and smiled at him holding the door open for her. That smile was special, it wasn’t like her confident smirk, or nasty sneer. It was just a smile, a wonderful smile. The smile melted off her face after she saw him staring.

“What?”

Adlai felt his face redden. He waved away her question, not trusting himself to speak when flustered. She gave him a look but continued.

“I was thinking we should leave either tonight or tomorrow. If we leave tonight, we can make good time heading towards the signal, but we also have to deal with the worms. If we leave tomorrow, we can probably grab a few flashbangs for ourselves, but Nire would probably figure out we’re leaving.”

They both froze for a moment, the droning of Nire’s voice was silent. Averi’s tinkling laughter broke the cold silence, and Adlai let out a breath of relief. Shawna still looked uncomfortable, maybe more so.

“You’re gonna have to talk to Averi about this.”

“Yep.”

“She’ll be fine right?”

“Yep.”

“She really likes Nire.”

“Really?” Adlai felt venom drip into his voice.

“So how are you gonna tell her? Things have been weird between you two since I… came back.”

Adlai winced at the memory of him standing over a fire; a worn wooden chessboard; his voice hoarse from shouting; Averi staring up at him; hurt clear in her eyes. Shawna wasn’t wrong and it scared him. That damned little voice in his head chimed in. She probably hates you now. It’s your fault Alex died. It’s your fault she almost got eaten by the striders. You couldn’t save her from the worms. You couldn’t save her from Shawna. You- shut up.

Adlai shook his head slightly and looked up to see Shawna staring at him, worry in her eyes. He hated that look. It told him that he was weak, that he couldn’t take the pressure. That he wasn’t enough. It was the same look his parents would give him when he was just doing his best. It was a look Averi gave him a lot.

“Adlai?” Shawna’s voice snapped him out of his introspection.

“I don’t know. I’ll figure it out.”

Shawna’s face told him she didn’t believe he would figure it out, and it only added to that growing ball of frustration bouncing around in his chest. It was times like this where he wished he could just lay down and let everything out. All his worries, his anxieties, his frustrations. But he wouldn’t. He couldn’t. He shouldn’t. So he kept it locked away in a little bottle in his chest, slowly filling with angry pressure.

Then Shawna dragged him inside the hut, just in time for Nire to finish her hand puppet theater. Averi was laughing and Adlai winced again. He hadn’t seen her laugh in a long time. He hadn’t made her laugh in an even longer time.

Nire turned to see the two of them walking in. “You and ya girlfriend had a nice talk?”

“She’s not-” Adlai started.

“I’m not his-”

Nire waved away their protests. “Yeah yeah, whateva. No tickets, no entrance to Dr. Nire’s spectacular show of wonders!"

Nire’s eyes suddenly turned serious. “The schedule’s been moved up, things have been progressing faster than I thought. We’re gonna have the barbecue tomorrow.”

Shawna cursed under her breath venomously. “What exactly has been progressing faster?”

“Nunya.”

“What’s a Nunya?”

“Nunya business angry girl” Nire smirked at Shawna.

“Fuck off.”

Nire laughed at her own joke again, and Adlai could tell Shawna was barely keeping her own temper in check.

“What’s the plan?” Adlai asked.

“Well, we have our picnic spot planned out, now we just have to get the bait.”

“Me.” Adlai said.

Shawna glared at him but he ignored it.

“Yeah, you or angry girl.” Nire broke eye contact with him for a second. He followed her gaze to see her looking at Averi. A sudden feeling of anxiety hit him.

“If I’m bait, they’re both going to be fine?” He locked eyes with the scientist. “They’re going to be fine?” He repeated.

“They’ll be fine.” Nire met his eyes. “On my life.”

“Okay.”

Shawna turned to him. “You can’t be fucking serious Adlai!”

“You two will be fine.”

“What about you? Did you think about that, you dumbass?”

He waved her question away. He wasn’t sure how to communicate that he simply wasn’t as important as they were. His goal was to see them to safety. If he came along, that was a lucky coincidence. He’d been making sure Averi was safe for years. But you haven’t been making sure she was happy. Adlai grit his teeth.

Something else was bothering him too. Averi didn’t seem worried about him in the slightest, her eyes only on Nire. It shouldn’t have been bothering him. He wondered if it was because she hated him. It was his fault in any case. His thoughts began to spiral, coils of self hatred leading to a deep dark corner. Those coils scattered when Nire clapped her hands together.

“I don’t know about y’all, but I’m starvin’, and the weatha is beautiful!”

Nire went into another room of the hut, and came out holding makeshift stone plates and a bowl with some sort of alien fruit. She walked out the door of the hut, Averi following her like a dog. Shawna held the door open for him this time, and an involuntary smile pushed its way onto his lips.

She laughed at his smile. “Cute.”

Adlai’s face burned with embarrassment. She always seemed to know exactly what to say to make him flustered and for a moment, he forgot all his worries. And then that moment was gone. Adlai felt everything hit him all at once. Every mistake he’d made, every wrong decision, every misunderstood utterance. His regrets, his frustrations, his anger. It all settled back down comfortably on his shoulders.

The four of them sat down, staring at the shifting darkness. Adlai breathed in deeply, his nose assaulted by the smell of damp and rot. He couldn’t hear much outside the occasional ringing call. The call stretched on, a keening cry reverberating through the cave. It reminded him of the striders. He took a sharp breath. He didn’t want to think about what happened with the striders; what happened with Averi. He shoved those thoughts aside and stared ahead in the dark.

He felt something touch his knee and he jumped only to see Shawna’s knee pushing against his. It was warm and so he didn’t say anything. It was cold out. He would’ve moved his knee if it hadn’t been that cold. Nire told stories to Averi, Shawna breathed quietly, and Adlai picked through the dark, wishing he could see stars.

All good things come to an end, and so when Nire’s voice got hoarse, when Averi’s laughter became less and less frequent, when Shawna finally rose from beside him, Adlai felt a strange pang of sadness. Tomorrow was going to be the end of this normalcy, even though it wasn’t very normal. Nire was carrying Averi in her arms, and Adlai felt that same feeling of anger course through his body, followed by a shot of regret.

What did she have that he didn’t? Why couldn’t Averi love him the way she loved Nire? Because you don’t treat her right. You killed her pet. You yelled at her for wanting to help you. Of course she wouldn’t love you. You’re not even a real brother. Nire’s closer to being family than you are. Adlai squeezed his eyes shut, wishing the pressure would push those thoughts away.

Nire motioned him and Shawna over after she gently laid Averi down. Her mirth had left her face, and pure focus had taken over.

“I just want ta make a few things clear with you two. So first, the plan. Adlai is gonna be gettin the worms’ attention, runnin’, yellin’, anythin’ to get their attention. Shawna an I are gonna be waiting at the barbecue pit, I’ve already got the lighter fluid. We’re gonna have some bait hangin above the pit, I got that part figured out.”

She turned to face Adlai, her greyish eyes staring past his own.

“You’re gonna need ta hop the pit which shouldn’t be too difficult for a lanky boy like you.”

She turned towards Shawna now.

“You’re gonna be throwin the flashbang to start the barbecue, and helpin me with the fluid.”

Nire leaned back, a strange look on her face.

“It’s finally gonna happen, isn’t it. Stacy? It’s gonna happen. I told you so! We’re gonna finally light that bonfire.” Nire waved them away as she began to cough, a dark fluid staining the coat collar she used to cover her mouth. “I’ll see you there darlin’.”