The dwindling supplies were beginning to concern Serix. He first noticed the shrinking number of cans in their storage room about two weeks after their ceremony. Looking back on it, he suspected the draining food supply was mostly his fault. On the Lunairan ship his meals had always been rationed, but now that there were no such restrictions, he discovered that he was a big eater. His portions were sometimes nearly twice as large as Cassie’s on the days when he was especially hungry.

Serix also suspected that his increasing appetite was due to stress. They had caught neither sight nor sound of the Scouts since their last encounter multiple weeks ago. He wondered how far along the Lunairans had come in their preparations for the finals invasion, where the rest of his people would come down to repopulate the Earth. He just couldn’t believe they would give up so easily. The loss of one Scout wouldn’t be enough to cause them to quit. If anything, they would have prepared a more in-depth search for him, but what was taking so long? The silence was starting to grate on Serix’s nerves.

Cassie’s affection was the only thing that kept him calm. Over the weeks, they had grown much closer, both physically and emotionally. Cassie was even able to speak to him across a telepathic link from a distance of a few feet away now, which was quite a feat considering she had only been practicing for less than thirty days. With how close they had become, he couldn’t imagine life without her. So, when he decided they needed more supplies, he knew he couldn’t risk taking her with him.

Serix woke up early in the morning —at least he [i]thought[/i] it was early. It was hard to tell what the time was with the unchanging lights in their underground hideout— and slipped out of bed, careful not to disturb Cassie. He silently put on a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt —he had switched to wearing human clothes long ago— and grabbed an empty bag to carry the supplies back in. He also took his gun, wearing it in a holster around his waist so it was within easy reach if he needed it.

He stepped back to the bed where Cassie lay sleeping and bent over to plant a light kiss on her cheek. He smiled, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. Even in her sleep, she was beautiful. There was no way he could risk putting her in danger with a supply run. He just hoped she wouldn’t wake up before he got back.

Serix headed silently out of the room and towards the stairs that led to the entrance of the hideout, but before he could even place a foot on the first step, a hand grabbed his shoulder. He flinched and whirled around to see Cassie standing before him, looking irritated. It seemed like she hadn’t been in as deep of a sleep as he thought.

[b]“Not so fast Serix,”[/b] Cassie chided. [b]“You and I are supposed to go out there together. I didn’t tell you the location just for you to go off to there without me. We’ve discussed this already. Where ever you go, I go, remember? We’re a better team together. Not apart.”[/b] She wrapped her arms around Serix’s waist and leaned up to kiss him. [b]“Now, you are going to wait here until I’m ready and then we can go? Got it?”[/b]

“Okay, okay,” Serix relented, pulling her into an embrace. “You win. Just don’t take too long, or I’ll go ahead without you, alright?” He ruffled her hair and turned her around so she could go back to the bedroom and prepare her things. He still had mixed feelings about letting her come with him, but he knew she would just stubbornly insist on accompanying him, so there was no point in arguing with her. Besides, they [i]did[/i] function better as a team, and it was just a short trip to collect supplies. Surely it wouldn’t be [i]that[/i] dangerous.

Serix sat down on the stairs and propped his elbows on his knees, resting his head in his hands while he waited for Cassie to come back so they could leave.