The man shifted, bucking me off of him, and stood. He never even blinked, and the blade, long with a serrated edge, stayed poised in my direction. That craziness was back in his eyes. Yet he slumped to one side, and his free hand clutched the part of his sternum I’d felt bend inward when I initially hit him.
Talking seemed like a fantasy. I scanned the snow for the rifle, my last chance at safety. Part of me hoped the man would give up, turn around, run back to wherever he came from, and lick his wounds in the shadows. By the time he was better, we’d be long gone, safely away from any chances of revenge.
The arm holding the weapon suddenly wavered. Maybe my wishes were coming true; maybe reasoning wasn’t out of the question. Of course, he tensed back up and those thoughts vanished.
I needed the gun—
A shadow crept into the edges of my vision from the alley a few feet to my left. Was it a wraith? A projection? This guy’s partner? I resisted facing whatever it was, afraid that if I took my eye off the deranged man with the knife, he would pounce and finish what he started.
Turned out I didn’t have to face it, because the shadow advanced, and instead of staying in my peripherals like one of the monsters would have done, it showed itself completely.
And it was no shadow.
It was Eleanor.
Remaining quiet proved almost impossible. The love of my life had entered the lion’s den, weaponless except for a branch, and what was I supposed to do? Let her get sliced up by some crazy guy?
Not a chance.
But I’m not always a complete idiot. I threw my hands up and started babbling about nonsense. Seriously, whatever came to mind. I asked what the man’s favorite flavor of cotton candy was, if he preferred Xbox or PlayStation before all things went to hell, what his name was, and what he liked to eat on Thanksgiving. The whole time, I tried my best to keep my eyes off Eleanor. She moved like she was drunk, a side effect of the wind, no doubt, and I’m sure she probably made a lot of noise. But the silver lining about the wind—if you could call it that—was how it demanded you hear only it.
The man flashed me an uneasy look, the likes of which I’ve never gotten before, and he one-upped me in the crazy department, saying, “Shut your mouth! Stop talking! You’re not real! You’re not real! You’re a Thumbprint Person! Take off your mask and show—”
The crutch drove through the air and hit him in the side of the head. A heavy clonk, like something you’d hear in a cartoon, sounded on contact. The guy’s eyes opened wider than ever and his knees started shaking. As he took a step forward, the knife fell from his hand and landed silently in the snow, disappearing beneath the white.
“Wuh—” he began, turning his head to see what had hit him. But no other words left his mouth after that, because his shaking knees gave way, and he belly-flopped not far from where his weapons had vanished.
Ell dropped the crutch, pulled out a flashlight, hastily turned it on, and ran my way. She tripped once, but scrambled back to her feet before I could reach her. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?” she asked me.
I took her into my arms, hugging her as tight as my tired muscles allowed. “I’m fine, I’m fine. And it’s all thanks to you.”
As we parted, the corners of her lips rose above the scarf covering the lower half of her face.
I wasn’t smiling with her, though; I was frowning.
“Grady…don’t give me that look.”
“What were you thinking? You could’ve been killed!”
“I wasn’t going to let you die. If you think I could’ve honestly sat in the sled and done nothing while you wrestled around in subzero temperatures, in the dark, then you’re even dumber than Stone says.”
“Ouch.”
She ignored this. “What would you have done in my situation? And don’t give me any of that ‘But, Ell, you’re just a fragile girl’ crap because I’m not.” A few seconds passed as she waited for my reply. When none came, she nodded. “Exactly.”
I shrugged. What else could I do?
Ell turned and pointed toward the buildings on my left, her right. One of them was an old-looking movie theater. Snow obscured part of the marquee, but I made out the words there. Advertisements for the last movies to hit theaters before the end of the world.
COMING ATTRACTIONS:
TENET - JULY 17
&
DISNEY’S MULAN - JULY 24
TIX ON SALE NOW!
“Stone parked the sled over there,” Ell continued. “He was about to come get you…” Another smile. “I guess you can see I vetoed that idea pretty quick. But I only did it because I love you.”
“I love you too.”
We kissed, and the warmth of our lips pressed together felt better than that of any sun. You may think I’m insane for saying such a thing, especially in our current situation, but if you’ve ever been in love, you’ll know I’m far from that. You know, now that I think about it…maybe love is insane.
The unconscious man, momentarily forgotten, stirred in the snow. The collision of crutch against skull had knocked the ski mask almost entirely from his face. I grabbed Ell’s light and shined it at him. His eyelids fluttered, and his mouth twisted into a painful grimace. A fresh sheen of blood rolled from the top right of his head, where a nasty gash had opened. He was pretty fucked up, in all honesty; Ell had hit him good. I hadn’t recalled her ever telling me she played softball before, but if she hadn’t—especially with a swing like that—that was a shame. I will
