The Gorgon's footsteps were almost silent; he lowered himself onto the spot he had left on the bed and exhaled quietly, covering his face with his forearm. I pulled the blanket tighter around me, instinctively seeking refuge. The man did not move. He lay on his back, one leg bent at the knee, breathing deeply. At first, I kept my eyes open. I watched Christopher closely, scanned the corners of the room, and listened for sounds. Without even noticing, I began to breathe in sync with Lewis. And then, without realizing it, I drifted off to sleep.
I could not remember what I dreamt. In fact, it would have frightened me to recall it, as those dreams were bleak and painful. I understood what days those images came from; I relived the past over and over, drowning in memories that tormented my heart. And then I faced the bloody present. I cried out in my sleep, screamed, pleaded for help – and jumped from a height in the hope of breaking apart, but I just kept falling, falling into the abyss, unable to find help or save myself.
…And I woke up, gasping and feeling that my face was wet with tears. I lay on my back, my hand pressed against my cold forehead. Disorientation. Depersonalization. I often woke up in that position after nightmares. For the first few seconds, I remained still, staring at the ceiling and trying to figure out where I was and what was happening. My heart thudded loudly in my chest. I carefully turned my head to the left and saw the girl peacefully sleeping, having pulled the blanket off me.
Sara Karani. The Gorgons. The infected from the streets of the Isthmus Region.
I struggled to sit up on the bed. All around me, there was the sound of quiet breathing and light snoring. Four more people were sleeping on the floor.
I was shaking a little. I was thirsty. The sense of time had disappeared. With effort, I stood up, put on my shoes, and made my way to the door, carefully stepping around the sleeping ones. The aching, burning sensation in my chest wouldn’t go away.
The second room was cool. Gray light filtered through the broken window; rain lashed against the wall. The weather made it difficult to even estimate the time. Everything was plunged into a blue half-light. It was very quiet, except for the sound of the downpour. I slowly shuffled to the broken window. The glass creaked under my feet. Carefully, I stepped outside, only now realizing why such a balcony had been made on a regular window, especially one that opened to such a dreadful alley. And why I needed to go out into the rain now. The slats under my feet quivered. I closed my eyes, tilted my face up to the rain, and realized I was still crying. I remembered the step I took from the height in my dream. It made me desperately want to go closer to the partition, but I stood still.
I felt myself sinking into the quicksand, which was pulling me deeper and deeper to the bottom.
“Stephanie?” A cautious voice called from behind me, and I still flinched before turning around. Robert stood by the window. He slowly reached out his hand, as if afraid to make any sudden movements, and looked directly into my eyes. “Come back, okay? There’s no need for you to get wet. Come on, take my hand.”
I nodded, hesitating for a moment, and took his warm, rough hand to pull myself back inside. He immediately drew me further in, grabbed the blanket from the bed, and wrapped it around me, covering my head. The Gorgon held me tightly by the shoulders.
“I didn’t see you,” I said quietly. My voice sounded hoarse. Robert remained silent, clearly searching for the right words. “I thought you were sleeping too.”
“Someone always has to be on watch, and my guys need rest and sleep,” he sighed. “Sit down,” he nodded at the bed and sat down beside me. “Honestly, you scared me a little. You came out crying, pale; when I called your name, you didn’t answer. Why did you go out the window at all?”
“I don’t know,” I answered simply and honestly. “Was I screaming in my sleep?” he shook his head. “Okay…”
My body felt limp.
“Dreams are just dreams, Stephanie. There’s no need to be afraid of them,” Robert said quietly, and I couldn’t suppress a bitter smile as I looked down at my hands. “Did you… dream about the happenings of these days?” He asked delicately, cautiously.
“Only towards the end, just a little.”
“Any memories?” Robert had a keen sense and understanding; I reluctantly nodded. “Did the events connected to those memories end well?” I shook my head negatively. Robert fell silent, exhaling loudly. He patted my back like a child and I looked up at him, meeting the attentive gaze of his gray eyes.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered without sound; the Gorgon commander just nodded.
“For what? Let me tell you this: our past – the pain of what has happened, our memories, torment, and regrets – either makes us stronger or kills us. And there’s a very thin line between them, Stephanie, on which you cannot balance,” he leaned slightly towards me. “Don’t let yourself fall on the wrong side.”
I wanted to burst into tears. But I swallowed them and nodded. Then, I tried to put a calm expression on my face. For a split second, I believed it.
“What time is it? And… when will we be leaving?”
Robert glanced at his large wristwatch. It was around one in the afternoon. He explained that about an hour ago, a large group of people from the neighboring building had tried to break through to the cars and had attracted the attention of the infected. Shouts and gunfire had echoed throughout the area; I was surprised that I hadn’t heard anything, even when the Gorgons had exploded out of the neighboring room and then returned to sleep. Regarding the second question, Sbort thought it would be foolish to go outside anytime soon. The loud noise attracted the infected, and there could be even more of them; it was better to wait a bit and then go quickly and quietly to the Gorgon vehicle parking lot. Robert wasn’t willing to take that risk yet. Plus, the rain had only intensified, now reminding him, as he said, of the Western downpours.
Then the door cracked open. Half-asleep, Christopher looked at us, nodded to Robert, and disappeared again.
“He was worried you hadn’t come back yet,” Sbort smiled condescendingly.
“Does he really think I could be a danger?” The commander laughed quietly, scratching his stubble, and I hurried to explain. “Otherwise, I don’t see why someone who reacted so aggressively to our presence would be concerned about us.”
“Chris had a reason to react that way,” Robert frowned regretfully. “You shouldn’t hold it against him.”
“Should I be worried about him? He looks like a two-meter serious threat.”
“You’re exaggerating, Stephanie,” Sbort barely managed to hold back a smile. "Two meters of serious threat? He’s only one eighty-seven,” and I wanted to laugh, but the realization that Robert didn’t deny my concerns made me uneasy. “I can’t deny the obvious, can I? Chris is truly one of… the most effective people in my group,” Robert said evasively. “May Mother spare you from seeing him in true anger, but he isn’t the type to hurt someone on a whim, and I’m certain you have nothing to fear from him,” he paused for a moment. “Besides, let’s be honest. Lewis is emotional, undoubtedly, but he isn’t more aggressive toward you than Sam is toward us.”
Insightful.
“Sam has his reasons for reacting that way,” I said after a moment. “He’s always been a very peaceful and kind guy, negative toward violence in any form,” I hesitated for a second longer, wondering whether to explain Dort's reaction to Robert; he continued to wait patiently and attentively for me to speak. “When his younger brother