Page 34 of The Two of Us at the End of the World

OK, I said.

Another silence as she examined the sky some more. I was fine with that. It was a friendly silence.

I didn’t want to die, she said suddenly turning to look at me. That was her. She wasn’t thinking right.

I didn’t know what to say to that. Freya’s attempted suicide seemed like a very raw wound that I shouldn’t touch with words even though Storm had finally said it out loud. So I just left it there in the silence. She took a deep breath and seemed to shudder as she let it out.

She used to be the funny one. The sunny one. She could make us all laugh. When she giggled it was like she had extra light coming out of her eyes, she said.

Yeah? I said.

Now she’s got less, she said.

Again I didn’t feel I had anything to say that would make her feel better about that so I said nothing and let the silence just hang there, hoping she still found it companionable and not hostile.

Because of that Russian animal, she said. All this pain.

I know I should feel better about killing him, I said.

But you don’t? she said.

No, I said. I mean my thinking part knows I should. But feeling part? It’s like killing him put part of his stink on me too.

She looked at me. I couldn’t read her face in the dark. I think I expected her to tell me I was wrong. She just shrugged and looked away.

Maybe it did, she said. I don’t know. Maybe it did. I’m sorry if it has. But I’m glad you killed him. As glad as I am that you saved us.

She shivered and lifted her face to the moon again.

I wish we had that telescope now, she said.

That was all either of them told us about their lives before the Russian took them. I guess it was enough. Cat and I never went into much detail about our pasts either, now I come to think about it. Maybe we should have. Maybe it would have made them trust us a lot more.

Or if not more, enough.

Chapter 13

The pitch

The Boy and the Girl – Year 11 AG

“Nobody, absolutely nobody, is going to think any the less of you if you say no,” said the woman in the suit, the friendly but nonetheless unwelcome eight-o’clock-in-the-morning emissary from an outer world neither of them felt ready for, who had appeared with her smile on their doorstep so early. She was still laser-focusing her considerable empathy on the Girl who, having made coffee for them all, was now determinedly looking out of the window as if eye contact was not an option.

“Nobody,” the woman said again, the starburst of laugh-lines radiating out from the edge of her eyes crinkling even deeper as she smiled reassuringly.

“It’s your body, and it’s your life, frankly. It’s just that we’d be irresponsible if we didn’t reach out and ask you to… well, to make you the offer as it were. Give you a chance to help optimise the outcome for you and maybe everyone else as well. I mean that sounds grandiose, but it is in the realm of the possible, isn’t it. Knowing what we know. You know?”

“Yes,” said the Boy. “And you know what you know… how?”

The comforting smile stayed on high beam as she turned to him.

“Pregnancy is a rare state these days,” she said. “It does get noticed.”

“The Turks called you,” said the Girl. It was almost the first thing she had said.

“The Turks called us,” said the woman. “Yes. They only wanted to help.”

“They wanted to take her to a military hospital,” said the Boy.