Olivia opened her eyes, but the pinkish fog was gone, and so was Kai. Instead, there was something between her feet, shaped like a ball, but hairy and brown. A strange fruit, probably dry.
She kicked the ball-like fruit out of curiosity, its shell harder than she imagined. Water swooshed inside it as it rolled away and hit the foot of an unfamiliar tree nearby. There were more of those under its crown.
Her eyes widened once she realized what lay beyond them.
A swaying blue carpet that stretched as far as her eyes could see.
The sea, schools of fish glinting the distance. She heard about it, they all did. Olivia doubted anyone back home had ever seen it, though.
What was it doing in the Rift?
Grass rustled behind her with the salt breeze.
Olivia turned.
Never-ending grasslands that brought the barely fertile plains of the capital to shame, no sign of any rift before the horizon.
"Where am I?"
She looked up.
The stars were faint in daylight, but they would do.
Olivia reached inside her pocket, then sighed in relief as she felt a familiar shape against her fingertips.
The compass flicked open.
Now to find where she was.
She searched for the North Star; not the brightest of the stars, but crucial for learning the latitude.
It glinted at the corner of her sight.
Olivia stretched her arm beneath it, lining the bottom of her hand with the horizon, then counted.
One spread hand.
Two spread hands...
She smiled when her outstretched hand aligned with the North Star..
The number of hands she counted in total, times twenty degrees, gave her the latitude, roughly.
Now the direction.
She followed the coastline with her eyes, then looked down at the compass.
"Coastline running east-west..."
Olivia pulled the notebook out of her pocket and opened it, unable to contain the grin on her face as she wrote down her findings. There was a map forming in her mind.
A map of Paradise.
She laughed despite herself.
There was something strange with the sky, however.
Pink spots appeared across the blue like bruises, growing by the second.
The notebook and pen fell limp to her side, as she realized this might have been just a dream.
"Paradise is not real then..."
Olivia put the notebook back in her pocket out of habit, waiting for the pinkish fog to swallow Paradise and bring her back to the apocalypse.
❋ ❋ ❋
Kai was back in the womb, surrounded by fog and ghostly light. The peaceful greenery was gone for good, a piece of him with it. He wanted to bring Mira and kids there, so they might know a life without war. But it was just a dream.
They woke up at the same time. He watched Olivia open her eyes slowly.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
She nodded.
"How's your chest?"
Kai looked down.
It stabilized a little thanks to her earlier care, but it was still a horrible wound.
He shrugged.
"We need to get going."
"Let's go."
She placed her arms under his armpits, pulling him upwards with her.
"Olivia, did you see anything extraordinary in your sleep?"
She looked down for a second as if thinking, then shook her head.
"Just a stupid dream."
"So, you saw something."
"What difference does it make, Kai? Did you dream of that place as well?"
He lowered his head.
"You're right. It makes no difference. Somewhere like that can't possibly exist in this world."
"Agreed."
They set on the move again.
It seemed the path would never end, when a beam of sunlight sliced through the fog in the distance.
They looked at each other in unison, the same tired smile on both their faces.
"After this," Kai said. "I'll make sure to get you back home safely, I promise you."
The corner of her smile twitched.
"It's the bare minimum. You kidnapped me."
"You're right."
Olivia snorted.
"And you're not what I..." She bit her lower lip. "Never mind. Let's get out of this place."
The fog thinned as they approached what seemed to be their way out for good.
Kai frowned as he heard familiar growls coming from outside.
"Wait. I believe there are Vikers waiting on the other side."
"What do we do?" she whispered.
"I'll check how many they are. Wait here."
She stopped him with a hand on his chest.
"No. You're too... clunky."
His eyebrows arched.
"Clunky?"
"You know... Big. Noisy." She clicked her tongue. "Clunky."
"I see..."
"This job requires discretion, not... muscle. Stay put." she said, sneaking towards the light.
Clunky...
A chuckle escaped him.
She turned back to him; a finger stretched in front of her lips.
"Shhh..."
"Sorry."
Olivia shook her head at him, then continued.
Her features changed as she reached the exit. She stood up, not trying to hide anymore, eyes fixed on something outside as if hypnotized.
"What?" he asked.
"I can't believe this..." she muttered, stepping outside without flinching.
Kai sprung forwards.
"Olivia, wait!"
❋ ❋ ❋
"I can't believe this..." Olivia heard him land gracelessly beside her. He thought she was in grave danger. She suppressed a smile. "I can't believe you're afraid of cubs, Kai."
There were at least a dozen, and they were so tiny, with patches of hair here and there. Not the prettiest things in the world but compared to everything she'd seen these last few days; they were almost adorable.
"What?" he muttered, raising his head. "I see."
"Don't 'I see' me. You were losing your shit a few seconds ago."
He ignored her.
"Orphans," Kai said. "Someone took down the mother."
There was indeed a large corpse among the cubs.
"Poor babies."
"They are still Vikers, Olivia."
"Are the cubs dangerous?"
Kai's eyes narrowed at her.
"No... they are mostly harmless, especially this young. Why?"
She walked towards them and knelt, but she didn't have the balls to pet them and risk losing her fingers.
"Hello there," she said.
They whimpered, barely a growl.
Kai approached the corpse, brushing the cubs aside to inspect it.
"This is a male. The mother must be somewhere near."
"Watch out, Kai. These beasts are ferocious."
He turned to her.
"You still jest. Fine," Kai said, bending down.
Her jaw dropped when he picked up one of the cubs like a baby.
"Are you satisfied?" he asked.
She shook her head wordlessly, suppressing a laugh.
"Fine."
He took another one.
She burst into laughter this time.
"How can you be so silly?" she asked.
"So, to you I am silly, and noisy, and clunky, is that what you're saying?"
A smile grew on her lips.
Olivia approached him, taking one of the cubs off his hands.
"Yes. I think you are."
He swallowed, a tear of sweat running down his neck.
"I see," he muttered.
It didn't bother her this time.
She was getting closer to him despite herself.
Among the scars, the hard lines of his face, there were soft lips that drew her in as if by magic.
"Kai..."
Olivia wondered if he felt the same. This pull that came from nowhere; it needed to be stopped, or else they betrayed their people.
Who would stop it, though? He was coming towards her as much as she was towards him.
Kai pulled back, wincing in pain.
"Ouch!"
Olivia breathed normally again.
"What is it?" she asked.
"The bastard chomped my arm!"
He lifted his arm, and there was a cub attached to it.
Olivia pushed back a laugh.
Kai put the cub down, but he came back with something else in his hand.
A bullet glinted between his fingers.
He looked at her.
"It wasn't a Lost One that killed this Viker."
"Constantino..."
Olivia released her cub as well, when a much harsher growl came from somewhere.
An adult Viker approached them, slowly but steadily, likely the mother.
"Let's go," Kai said, grabbing her hand. "They will be fine now."
Olivia nodded.
The mother came after them as they set on the run, but not too far. Soon she returned to her cubs.
They followed the uneven trail of spent bullet casings, rags left behind, and even some bodies, humans and mutants alike.
Constantino was getting close.