I kneel down against the broken concrete floor to pry the second step up with the claw of the hammer. I gather our stolen ammo then walk over to Sage who is puffing nervously on the cigarette she bummed off a random guy on our way here. Thankfully, we found this abandoned house shortly after our first encounter with a Hunter. We don’t stay long, just long enough to shoot a few rounds and an occasional nap if we’re feeling lucky. Surrounding ourselves with groups of people has been our best strategy for staying alive so far.

“How can we be sure we won’t be heard down here? Guns are loud.”

“You ask this each time we shoot here. We can’t be sure, but do you have any better ideas?” I load the first clip, then hand her the gun.

“I can’t believe you got me into this shit.”

“Yeah, and I’m trying to fix it.”

“And if you can’t?

I shrug. “Then I can’t. Now shoot. We don’t need to stay long.”

She holds her cigarette between her lips, closing one eye and focusing with the other. I can already tell she’s going to miss. She’s too tense.

“Poor shot. Try again. Relax a little.” I load my gun and put my earplugs back in my ears. My mouth twitches a little when Sage hits the center of the old cardboard box.

“Fuck yes!” She jumps a little with excitement then looks at me. “Your turn.”

I let out a steady breath as I take aim and pull the trigger. The scent of gunpowder is my new favorite smell. Shooting a gun feels like a security blanket; I like it way too much. I put in another round and shoot until I’m out.

Sage throws her bag over her shoulder and lets it rest on her left hip. She moves her long hair out from under the strap then looks at me. “We need to find some food and somewhere to sleep. I’d rather not drink anymore muddy water or eat things that I’m not sure are even edible. I can handle bathing in a stream but that’s about it.”

“We could offer work for food. How much change did you find today at the carwash?”

“Not enough.” Sage huffs. “Look at us, Oreo. No one is going to allow us to help, looking the way we do. Our clothes are torn; our hair is a mess, and we are covered in dirt, blood, and bruises. We’re a fucking mess. We have to figure out a better plan for basic necessities besides stealing and scrounging the streets for loose change.”

“Yeah, I know.”

We leave the basement of the vacant home on the more secluded part of the town we were in. It’s our place to practice shooting and hide our things. I’m sure there are better places we could practice without getting caught, but seeing as we have no damn clue of what the hell we are doing, it will have to do for now.

“Do you think there’s more?” she asks, referring to the Dwellers who were here trying to kill us, who we’ve labeled as Sphere Hunters because they are definitely not humans, which was confirmed from overhearing them speak. They are Dwellers who want us dead. I just wish I knew why.

We walk several blocks until we make it to the park in the central part of the city. We sit on the same bench we have found rest on the past two days. The Hunters don’t seem to attack in large crowds.

A woman we’ve seen here before runs past us, then stops and backs up until she’s standing in front of us. “Are you two girls all right? I run here every day, and I have noticed you two have been here the past two days.” She smiles, then pushes a button on her watch that is beeping.

I shake my head sorrowfully. “We are lost. Our parents died, and we have nowhere to go,” I lie. I can feel Sage’s eyes burning into my skull. I ignore Sage and continue to look at the lady. I’m desperate for food that doesn’t come out of a dumpster.

“I would love to help you, but my husband wouldn’t allow it. No offense, but he doesn’t do charity cases. But there is a homeless shelter on Fourth Street—right off the main road downtown.” She acts like she is in a hurry, looking at her watch and sighing heavily. “Sorry I can’t be of more help.”

Sage and I don’t waste a second.

WE MAKE IT to the homeless shelter after several minutes. I’m relieved when we walk into the building, and no one bats an eye or tries to slice our throats. I see food, blankets, and tables full of clean clothes. I almost ask if it’s a mirage, but the smell of baked food fills the room. We are greeted kindly by an elderly man in a suit carrying some sort of book.

He smiles and points towards two doors. “Showers are there. Looks like you two girls could use one. I can only offer cold water, but it’s better than nothing, eh?”

We thank him and take off for beloved soap and clean running water.

After much needed showers, we sit down to eat with a group of people with mix-matched clothing and missing teeth. They answer our questions about Earth, and they keep laughing at us because they think we are insane. Good thing we play the insane card well. Sage has even mastered a nervous twitch. It’s pretty damn hilarious.

A guy with a horrible lisp takes a bite of his sandwich and says, “You two girls should have no problem getting cash. There is a-”

A lady in some sort of floral moo-moo slaps the guy on the arm and shakes her head. Looking at us with a finger pointed at my nose, she says bluntly, “Don’t you children listen to him. That is no job you two would want. You hear? Go make something of yourselves. You’re young, pretty things. You can stay here as long as you need to. Just make sure you get here in enough time so you are not turned away.”

My forehead creases. “What do you mean, turned away?” I then look to the guy to get an answer from him as well. Money is something we have none of and need quickly. “What were you going to say before she interrupted you?” They both start to talk at the same time, but the man allows the lady to go first when she almost backhands him.

She frowns a little with a slight shrug. “This place gets pretty full. Sometimes they have to turn folks away if they don’t have enough room.”

“Okay, that’s good to know. And what were you going to say about getting money?” I ask the man again.

“There is club a few blocks from here. The Purple Bow. . . Row. . . Ah shit, it’s something that ends in “ow.” Anyhow, just ask to talk to Gavin and tell him you need a job.” As he speaks, the lady slaps him on the arm again.

“Why do you keep slapping him? He’s trying to help us,” Sage asks around a mouthful of food.

The lady’s eyes dart towards Sage. “Because you would be a disgrace to yourself. Appreciate the services offered here until you two can find a healthier way to put change in your pockets.”

We’re shooed away from the table to make room for newcomers, and the man and lady are gone before we can ask more questions. Yawning, I look towards the table with blankets and at the floor near it where people are asleep.

We lay down to sleep, but Sage tosses and turns on the floor next to me, keeping me awake. I notice a tear fall down her cheek that reminds me of every bit of this being my fault.

“Sage, I’m sorry,” I whisper.

“I want to go home, Oreo.”

“We will find a way home. I promise.”

“Are you sure you can promise something like that?” She asks, cutting her eyes at me.

I shake my head and close my eyes. I don’t know how to respond to her. I decide to drop the subject. We can discuss more after we get some rest, when we both can think straight.

Sleep hasn’t come easy because of constantly watching for trouble and the nightmares that torment me, but right now, I’m so tired that if someone wants to kill me, or my dreams want to remind me of my demons, I’ll let them.

“IS HE GONE?” I grip Sage’s hand as she peeks out of one of the bullet holes in the closet door. The closest thing we have to defend ourselves are two metal hangers.

“I’m not sure,” she whispers back. I wish I could gauge her expression, but it’s too dark.

“We’ve been in here for a while. Maybe we should get out and run like hell.”

“Maybe. Might as well.” She cracks the door open, and when she does, she screams out in pain when a large boot slams her hand to the wood floor.

“Sage!” I hold tightly to her other hand and try to jerk her back towards me, but it’s pointless. The man grabs her hair, forcing her face into the floor as well. I cry out, begging for him to stop.

“Take me instead,” I plead. “This is my fault!” I try to get a good look at his face, but his hood keeps it hidden.

Due to his forceful gestures to pull Sage from my grip, a gun falls to the floor from his hoodie pocket. I scramble to get it, but he lets go of Sage to grab it before I can. His hand and my hand reach it at the same time, and the best thing I can think to do is to bite him, so I do. I sink my teeth into his dark skin and don’t let up even though the taste of copper and salt fills my mouth. I feel the warmth of his blood trickle down my lips as I pull the gun from his grip. My brief moment of self-confidence is shattered when he backhands me so hard across the face that my body hurls against a broken dresser. My breath is knocked from me when the edge of a drawer jabs into my ribs.

I cradle my side as I struggle to get to my knees. The hooded man comes for me again but is stopped when Sage fires his gun into the back of his head. His body slumps to the floor. Just when I think we’ve won, two more come into the room.

“SHIT!” I FEEL hands slapping my face. “Stop it! Dammit, you’re losing it! You’re going to hurt yourself! Stop!”

I bolt upright from the floor and jump to my feet. “Where is he? Is he gone?”

“No one is here! We were napping then-”

I point in front of me. “Right there! He stepped on you and-” I stop when the ringing in my ears stops, and the murkiness of the homeless shelter comes into focus. My breathing slows as I realize I was having another episode. A tear slips down my cheek, and I wipe it away along with the cold sweat dripping from my forehead. I didn’t like everyone staring at me.

“They seem to be getting worse. What did you see in this one?”

I explain the scene in as much detail as I can without throwing myself back into another episode. My life since being here has been like a damn puzzle that I don’t want to put back together. The pieces of the puzzle haunt me in my sleep and remind me of the torment I’ve tried so hard to forget. Becoming skilled at fighting wasn’t something that came easily. There was a lot of trial and error in real moments of terror. It was, and still is, fight or die.

“I need to do something to get focused. Let’s go for a walk or something. I don’t need a damn audience.”

“All right.” Sage lights a cigarette on our way out. “Are you sure you we should be going out into the night? Maybe we should stay in the shelter until the sun comes up.”

“I’m not sure of anything anymore.” I take the cigarette from her and take a hit.