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She’s white, breath ragged and hair tangled Her eyes are huge, and the knees of the mechanic’s suit are covered in mud--she’s fallen on her way back

Part of me wants to drop my shirt and reach for her, butit aside where it can’t catch fire, then reaching for the Gleidel

Lilac flinches at the soft whine as the gun powers up "No, you don’t need to--it’s nothing, it’s fine"

"It’s not nothing" I keep h a barrier’s suddenly coainsthold of the gun as she presses her face against round, but I’inning You took the canteen to the river, and…?"

She’s tre the canteen hite knuckles I can see where she’s spilled sonize this now, her scattered gaze, the way her body shakes Last night I’d begun to think that the worst had passed, when she slept without any interruptions But now she looks worse than ever

"Tarver, you’re just going to think I’ my expression calm as I wait She’ll fill the silence eventually; she doesn’t like the quiet "Crazier," she aainstnor her up

"Tellthe poitch on the Gleidel and tucking it back into the holster Now I’m free to wrap both arms around Lilac, and she tucks in underneath my chin like she’s meant to be there I close my eyes "Never mind what I think, tell me what happened"

It takes her a little while to answer, and though the tre down any I can feel the way she’s breathing, in short, sharp jerks "I saw them," she mumbles eventually "The voices And yes, I kno it sounds You don’t have to point it out"

It’s like so to stone inside ht Crazier Please, no "People? You saw people?"

She nods, though it’s such a sainst isters just how distressed she ainst ainst bare skin "On the far bank of the river Onethe water, and then…"

"What did they look like? The people?" I still want there to be an explanation, so I can understand