As Serix waited in the darkness, his mind began to wander to strangely simplistic things. He noticed how small Cassie was, how it seemed like he could bury her in his embrace. He noticed her smell, the texture of her clothes, the touch of her hands, the subtle brush of her hair. He had to remind himself multiple times that they weren’t safe yet. He had to focus and keep listening in case the Scouts returned. And yet his thoughts continued drifting back to these trivial details.

“I think it’s clear,” Serix broke the silence after a few minutes. He slowly released Cassie, finding that he was somewhat reluctant to let go of her. He traced his fingers down her arm to find her hand in the darkness so he could guide her to the door. He fumbled for the latch for a moment. When he found it, he gave it a sharp twist. The lock clicked and the door slid open.

Serix peeked out of the compartment to double-check that the Scouts were gone. Once he was certain they were alone again, he led Cassie out of the metal box and over to a nearby alleyway, where they could stop in the shadow of the buildings. He let go of her hand and turned to her with a smile.

“You made it,” he said. “That took a lot of courage.” His expression turned a bit sheepish and he looked down at his feet. “Sorry I dragged you in there like that. I couldn’t find any better places to hide, and I didn’t know it would scare you so much.” She was probably furious at him for forcing her into such a position. He closed his eyes, waiting for her sharp retribution.