A long day on the road, a long haul towards safety, and a long winded conversation about recovery in future. Even for them, their wounding and their travel would make things difficult. They were just too stubborn to actually die at this point. Maybe it was more accurate that they fussed and worried after the other too much to let the other pass away. They would always be tethered in life and in death.

He looked out beyond the walls of their enclosure, estimating how far the sun had risen at this point. It was light enough that they could easily travel without concern, but dark enough that the roads wouldn’t be full of people. Birds were only starting to wake. “I’d say about oh-five-hundred. Maybe closer to oh-five-thirty. Birds are just waking.”

His fingers still didn’t stop stroking Gabe’s back. “Can you sleep more?”