Echoes between us [i]
Chapter 4 (Luke's POV)
The air was lighter.
For once.
Jonah cracked a joke about Blair's wild swings back at the office, and she smacked his shoulder in mock offense. Jane giggled, and even Scarlett let a smirk slip past her guarded expression.
We were walking again.
The two brothers from the office—Dev and Harris—fell behind a little, mumbling to each other. Not everyone wanted to stay with a group that moved like we did. I couldn't blame them.
Grey didn't say much. As always. He walked a few steps ahead, eyes moving like sonar—left, right, up, down. Like he'd already lived this day before.
A few blocks later, Jane sighed. "I'm starving. And tired. Mostly tired."
"We all are," I muttered, rubbing at my shoulder.
Grey slowed down, scanning the area. "There."
A store. Convenience type. Rusted metal shutters. Glass front surprisingly intact.
Bodies littered the sidewalk.
Scarlett stepped closer to one. Its neck was twisted too far to be sleeping. Grey prodded another with the tip of his foot.
It remains still.
The door was locked. But the windows weren't reinforced. With a few hits from a crowbar, Blair had it open.
Inside was better than any of us expected.
Cans. Packaged food. Clean water. Not ransacked.
Showers in the back. Towels. First-aid kits.
"I'm never leaving," Jonah whispered like he meant it.
We ate. Quiet, but not grim. People actually spoke.
Even Grey.
He asked Scarlett for a can opener. A small thing. But it mattered.
Scarlett handed it over without a word. They exchanged a nod.
Later, I found myself in the store's cramped bathroom. My shirt stuck to my skin with sweat. My reflection looked tired. Older.
I ran cold water and stared.
Then it came.
The memory.
> > 3 years ago <<
Eva sat on the porch. She wasn't crying.
Her eyes were too dry for that.
"I don't think she's my mom anymore," she said.
I sat beside her. Sixteen. Scared. Angry.
"She talks to the walls now," Eva whispered. "She forgets I'm there. Or she thinks I'm her. Younger. Says sorry for things I don't understand."
She laughed. Hollow. "Maybe it's the pills. Maybe it's the pain. Or maybe she's just…gone."
Grey stood a few feet away, not moving. Listening.
That was when Eva changed. When she started muttering about reality bending at the seams, about people remembering things they shouldn't. When her voice took on that eerie certainty.
She said a lot of crazy stuff.
> > Present <<
I blinked. Back in the mirror. Back in a world that made less sense than Eva ever did.
Outside the bathroom, the group was gathering supplies.
I stepped out and found Grey at the door. Waiting. Probably listening the whole time.
"I've been thinking about my family," I said.
He didn't respond.
"Eva especially. What if…" I swallowed. "What if she knew? Not all of it, but something. Before everything collapsed."
Grey looked at me for a long time.
"I don't know," he said. "But you're still here. So whatever you're carrying—don't let it bury you."
That was a lot of words for him. Maybe too many.
I nodded, unsure what to say.
He clapped my shoulder. Firm. Not warm—but real.
That was enough.
Minutes later, we all stepped out of the store.
Scarlett with a new hoodie. Jane looking almost rested. Jonah and Blair sharing a quiet laugh.
Grey pulled his hoodie up and took the lead again.
Whatever waited down the street—we were ready to face it.