Mike almost smirked upon hearing Astrid’s thoughts. He could already tell that she wasn’t like many of the girls he’s run into. Her personality could only be described as [i]sharp[/i] to him. He didn’t think in the smart way, but in the “don’t mess with this chick or you’re in for a rude awakening” way. That’s probably why he wasn’t too surprised when she declined his offer. Her rolled up the window and got ready to drive off, but he saw her stop in her tracks. Mike raised a brow as he wondered what she could be thinking. Then he realized [i]Why wonder, when I can find out?[/i] He focused on her, before flinching back in his seat. 

Her thoughts were different. Instead of a sound or dialogue this time, there were images that flashed violently through her mind. The images of the flames and explosion reminded him of what went on this morning, which made him look her over again. [i]Was she there?[/i] He tried to make sense of them, but they appeared too fast and wild for him. If anything, it was bringing back his headache from earlier today. He’d need to smoke again.

If her thoughts hadn’t stopped him, he would have driven off, but they conveniently stopped him long enough for the female to change her mind and hop in the passenger’s seat. Mike looked at Astrid, who chose to look towards the window. He’d seen something like this before. It happened to a lot of guys that had seen combat back in his unit when he served for the United States Army. Post traumatic stress disorder came in many ugly forms, and Mike hated how nasty it could change a person. This wasn’t making any sense though. She looked like she took the explosion head on, but it’s only her clothes that look in bad shape. 

“By the way, I’m Mike. You okay? What happened to you? How did you not get burned…? I mean… Shit, never mind.” Mike asked softly in order to be sensitive about what was going on, but he messed up by saying the glimpses of what he saw in her mind. He lowered his music down to the point where it might as well be off and finally took his foot off the brake to let his vehicle roll slowly down the street. “And where am I headed? Alexander Hall?” Alexander Hall was the closest dorms in the direction she had been walking. He was also trying to take her mind off of what he had just said.