The Lobby, Sunday Afternoon

[endsthegame]

A rip opened in the middle of the dorms lobby-- but it was unlike any void the island had seen before. It didn't precisely shine, but white light did filter out, almost tentatively, like the rays of the morning sun. It did not pull or pluck at anything, and when it vanished, it would leave the dorms exactly as it had found them

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[nimeni]

Bod almost fell out of the rip. His leg no longer wanted to hold his weight so he had to crawl to a chair and pull himself up onto it. The bandages were already dirty and dingy and, underneath, the burn still ached.

He was back though. The lobby was familiar, no one was on fire, and he was back. He swiped a hand across his face, feeling mucky and dirty but relieved.

[vanillajello]

Despite Kyle's warning to stay away from the windows, Kate had been keeping an eye on the area surrounding the Efferton Manor. And in the early evening, she'd seen things starting to look normal again, bit by bit. She'd ran out of patience soon after that, picking up her bag and her pitiful knife and heading out, determined to find people.

So she ran to the cabins first, but found no one. Next stop? The dorms.

By the time she rushed through the lobby doors, knife still in hand, she was very, very out of breath, so Bod would have to forgive her for not calling out his name as soon as she'd seen him and was scrambling towards him, trying not to trip over her own feet.

[nimeni]

After some of the things he'd seen, he didn't immediately believe that he was seeing Kate again. He closed his eyes, fully expecting her to be gone when he opened them but she wasn't.

The relief really enveloped him then and he would have stood up if he thought he could have when he knew she was real. Instead, he just kept his eyes on her, letting her know that he saw her too.

She looked all right and that relief spiked at that. She was all right.

[vanillajello]

Well, moderately all right, anyway. There were what looked like blood spatters on her skinny jeans, and her knife was covered in (thankfully dried) blood and... something else.

But she was in one piece, and he seemed to be too, and that feeling of relief was mutual.

When she stopped in front of him, the knife fell from her hand, and her backpack joined it on the floor soon enough, and she wanted to say something but she really just had to double over some right now, just to catch her breath.

[nimeni]

Bod kept quiet for a few more moments, glancing down at the knife, the blood on her pants and then her. Finally, he asked, "Are you all right, Kate?"

His voice still worked, even if it was quiet. He'd gotten used to talking quietly in a place where noise attracted danger.

[vanillajello]

Kate choked out a quiet, dry laugh. Was she alright? What a ridiculous question! She wasn't the one who'd disappeared for days!

Of course, there were minor cuts and bruises, especially on her legs, and a whole lot of stress and trauma, but. She didn't think she was the one anyone should worry about.

"Yes," she said, still sounding out of breath but at least able to speak without wheezing too much, now. "You're here."

[nimeni]

At that, he half smiled though it was brief and gone before he could think about it. "I am. I'm really very glad to be here. I didn't know if it -- if I ever would -- "

He cut himself up and rubbed his still aching and red eyes, thinking he didn't really have to finish those statements.

[vanillajello]

She didn't even want to hear them finished. She'd thought that way enough, herself.

Instead, she reached for him. It was an awkward sort of embrace, what with him sitting and her standing and leaning down towards him a little, but she didn't care. It didn't matter.

[nimeni]

And he returned the embrace slowly but steadily. He thought about warning her that he was dirty and probably smelled but selfishness overtook him and he just wanted to hug her and hide his face in her neck and sort of stay there for the duration of things.

[vanillajello]

She didn't care about him being dirty or smelling. Jesus, all her clothes were going in the trash anyway, and really, she probably smelled too. She'd claim she hadn't taken a shower because they'd been conserving water, but she really just hadn't cared enough.

She just cared about him, and so she lingered, taking comfort from the familiar feel of him.

[nimeni]

"I missed you," he said into her ear, really trying hard not to start crying on her shoulder in the lobby. It wasn't the pain that was encouraging those but the exhaustion and what he'd seen and couldn't stop seeing.

"I missed you," he said again, hands gripping her shirt tightly like he thought he might get swallowed again.

[vanillajello]

"I missed you too," she murmured, quite possibly meaning it more than she ever had before. "So much."

There was a tight feeling in her throat, and she swallowed. "Do you want to come up to my room?"

If they were going to fall apart, they might as well do it in private.

[nimeni]

"Yes," he said immediately, nodding. "You're just going to have to help me there. I can't walk that fast anymore. There's...I'll show you when we're upstairs. I'll just need some assistance."

He looked down at himself and winced. "And possibly a change of clothes."

[vanillajello]

"I'll get clothes for you," Kate promised. "And anything else you need."

She moved back, picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder. Then she picked up the knife, too. Call it a reflex. She'd dispose of it eventually. Just... didn't feel like it quite yet.

Then she offered him a hand, to help him up and leaning on her for support.

[nimeni]

Bod reached for her hand, tangling his fingers up with hers as he got to his feet, not even bothering to wide his wincing. He did manage to move closer to her, sliding one arm across her shoulders to use as support.

"All right," he said, nodding. "I'm ready. Let's go."

[vanillajello]

His wincing made her wince, but at least he was alive. At least he was here.

And at least she had something she could actually do now. Like help him up to her room and take care of him.

So, she'd focus on doing that.