The fire slowly died down and with it, everyone’s earlier enthusiasm. In the early hours of the morning, people drunkenly stumbled back into the house seeking the warm comfort of their beds. The chairs were left as they were, and the cooler was abandoned outside. One by one, the group dropped like flies until only Reya and Adrian remained.

  Adrian stood up and brought the cooler next to his chair so that he and Reya could continue drinking. After going through several bottles of hard liquor together, both of them were well into their cups and no longer able to walk straight.

  Still, the night was young, and the couple wasn’t about to pass up one of their only opportunities to be intoxicated. While Adrian dug around in the cooler for their next drink, Reya added logs to the fire and stoked the fmes. Once they grew to an acceptable height, she collected the rge bnket Tassie had been using to keep warm and draped it over her and Adrian’s ps, their chairs still one right next to the other.

  In the soft orange glow cast by the fmes, Adrian inspected the bottle that he’d fished out of the cooler. A clear bottle with clear liquid, it didn’t stand out to him the way the others had – until he read the alcohol content, that was. It was by far the highest he’d seen. He passed it over to Reya, who was patiently waiting. “What do you think of this one?” he asked.

  Her brows shot up when she read the bel. “I didn’t think we had any of this with us tonight. Given how drunk the others were, it’s a good thing Beor didn’t crack this one out – otherwise people might have been sick. This drink is notorious for getting you absolutely wasted without you noticing.”

  “How’s that even possible?” Adrian asked, bewildered. “It’s so strong, surely you’d notice.”

  “It’s very sweet,” Reya said. “The taste masks the alcohol, so you’re in for a bad time of it if you’re not careful. This should be perfect to finish off the evening with, since even you should feel this.” She screwed off the cap and took a whiff. With a zy grin, she brought the bottle to her lips and took a swig. The drink went down smoothly. Reya let out a satisfied breath before passing the bottle back to Adrian.

  When he took a sip, a light, fruity taste filled his mouth. There was no burn when he swallowed. A small fire lit in his stomach as the drink settled. “I see what you mean,” he said. Hoping not to sober up anytime soon, he took several more long swigs.

  “Maybe you should go a little slower on that,” Reya said, concerned.

  Adrian nodded. “I’ll give it a little bit before having more, just to see how it interacts with my system.” He passed the bottle back to her. She stared at it longingly and brought it back to her lips. A frustrated sigh was picked up by his enhanced hearing. “It’s not enough, is it?” he asked.

  “It never is,” she said softly. “Gods, I want nothing more than to forget, but no matter how much I try, it always comes back.” She gripped the bnket tightly and looked towards Adrian. Indecision tore at her as she considered whether to say more. A knot formed in her stomach. “Drowning it away isn’t quite enough, but it helps, you know?”

  “I get that,” Adrian said quietly, knowing full well he was in no opinion to judge when he was doing the same. A beat passed before he spoke again. “The haze hides the details, but it’s not perfect. It blocks them out – keeps them muted. But some things still slip through.” Even though he wanted to, he resisted the urge to ask for the bottle so soon after promising Reya he’d wait before drinking any more.

  Her world spun as she took yet another sip. Reya knew that stopping would be the sensible thing to do, but she wasn’t feeling particurly sensible that evening. Bothering to keep track of how much she’d had by that point was too much of a hassle for her to care. She wouldn’t be getting up anytime soon, lest she fall over. “Why isn’t it ever enough?” she said softly.

  “I don’t know, but I wish it was,” Adrian replied.

  The pair psed into silence, each absorbed in their own thoughts while they stared at the fire. Some time passed and Adrian motioned for Reya to pass him back the bottle. She relinquished it without compint, content on enjoying the floating feeling the alcohol was giving her.

  By now, a noticeable dent had been made in what they were currently drinking. Neither one said a word as the bottle steadily grew emptier over the course of the next hour. They spoke about lighthearted topics, but their time at the facility was in the back of their minds and on the tips of their tongues. Stories and feelings they needed to share and have somebody else know about were kept at bay as they conversed.

  Spurred on by the alcohol, Reya was the first to take the plunge and bring up heavier topics. “What did Ava mean when she said that you and the other test subject might not get along?” she asked. “I didn’t ask sooner because I knew you weren’t ready to talk about it.”

  Adrian rubbed a hand over his face as he debated whether other not to answer. He took another shot of liquid courage before speaking. “My time at the human facility on Earth was full of surprises. I’ve told you about some of them,” Adrian said. Reya nodded and he continued, “The escape attempt was doomed from the start, but not because of Adam, the informant who got punished alongside Lily.”

  Reya frowned. “But he’s the reason your pn was found out. How could he not be responsible for you not succeeding?”

  “It’s true that he informed Ava that we were pnning to escape,” Adrian said with a complicated expression, “but he didn’t know any of the details to our pn. After he made it clear he wanted no part in our escape, my cell mates and I only discussed it when he wasn’t around so that he couldn’t learn the specifics. He knew we were pnning on escaping at some point, but that’s it. Not the how, nor the when.”

  “How come you failed if it wasn’t Adam’s fault and how does it rete to other test subject coming to live with us?”

  “Stanley,” Adrian corrected. “That’s his name.” He took a deep breath and forced the next words out as he relived them. “After we were punished by Ava, those of us still alive were brought back to our cell. Stanley was muttering something about it being his fault – that he didn’t know. He never expanded on the topic when I asked him and simply said that I didn’t understand. I chalked it up to him still being in shock over what had just happened. All of us were.

  “Right before being shoved in our pods, Ava had one st surprise for me. She thanked Stanley for all of his hard work and revealed that he’d been an informant for her. The entire time.” He balled his fists together. “Ever since day one, everything we did or discussed was reported back to Ava. Including the specifics of our pn.” Reya’s eyes widened. “He robbed me of my only chance at escaping. I had one shot to avoid what happened to me next.” His voice cracked as he spoke. “And he ruined it.”

  Reya remained silent as she thought over what had been revealed. She watched Adrian close in on himself as he awaited her response. She hated seeing him feel so small, so vulnerable. All because of the abuse he’d suffered. As far as she was concerned, anybody who was complicit deserved a spot in the lowest hell. “Fuck him,” she spat. “He might not have known that you would be punished or shoved in a pod, but that doesn’t excuse the fact that he knowingly sabotaged you. Was he the one who experimented on you? No. But he knew that if you stayed you were most likely all going to die and still went through with making sure that would remain the case.”

  Adrian blinked, not expecting such an answer. “You hate him that much?”

  Reya sighed. “It’s not as clear cut as I would like to admit. He probably had his reasons for entering the b as a spy, but he was also experimented on, right?” Adrian nodded. “In a way, I pity him. But he’s one of the reasons you got hurt and that is not alright. I can see why you might have difficulty meeting him. Hells, even I don’t feel like meeting him after hearing about what he did!”

  “But we still have to,” Adrian said sullenly. “I don’t know how I’m going to face him when the time comes. What do I say to him after what he did? What do I do?”

  She eyed him before speaking again. “There’s something else bothering you, isn’t there?” Reya asked. She knew Adrian well enough by now to tell that there was more that he wasn’t telling her. Whether he shared his troubles or not was up to him. She wanted to help him through them, no matter how difficult that would be.

  His shoulders drooped and he sagged in his chair. “It seems like no matter where I go, my past find a way to catch up to me. All I want is to be free from it, but now a part of it is coming to live with me. That means I have to face a reminder of what happened every time see with him.”

  “I don’t know if ever we’ll be free from what happened to us,” Reya said. “Some days are harder than others. You told me once that that things can get better. That you hoped they would. You and I both never thought we’d live when we were captured and look at us now. We’ve come a long way.”

  “That doesn’t make meeting him any easier.”

  “I know.”

  “I don’t want to see him again.”

  “I’ll be here for you every step of the way. You’re no longer alone. We’re stronger together.” She reached over and extended her hand in his direction.

  Adrian sniffed. He reached over and took her hand. “Having you by my side when it’s finally time to meet would help a lot.”

  “By your side is where I belong. I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Reya fshed him a brilliant smile and tightened her grip. If he needed her support, then she’d give it to him freely. Always.

  ***

  Rann peered through the curtains in her room and out the window, eyeing the figures still seated in their chairs next to the fire. Beor spotted her and walked up behind her. Collecting her in a hug, he looked outside to see what it was she was staring at. “They’re still out there?” he asked. “It’s pretty te. Aren’t they tired?”

  “Apparently not, if they’re still drinking,” Rann said. “I hope they don’t have too much.”

  “That’s what you’re worried about – not whatever secrets they’re discussing?” Beor said. “With that much alcohol in their system, something important is bound to come up.”

  “I don’t want them to be sick. Or for Reya and Adrian to start thinking alcohol is a solution to their problems. They had a lot to drink tonight between the two of them.”

  “I don’t think grouping Reya together with Adrian is a fair metric. He needed to drink so much before finally feeling it. If it weren’t for the fact that he was experimented on and is,” Beor searched for the right word, “different,” he settled for, “I’d be seriously concerned.”

  “The amount he needs to drink is still concerning, but there’s nothing we can do about that.” Rann frowned. “Reya too, for that matter. I don’t remember her being able to handle that much alcohol.”

  “It could just be that you’ve never seen her get that drunk. We can lock up the liquor if you’re that concerned about it.”

  “I don’t think it’s a problem yet. As long as this doesn’t become a regur habit, I think it’s fine. I hope whatever it is that they’re doing out there turns out ok. That’s all I can ask.”

  “You mean you’re not curious about what they’re discussing?” Beor asked in surprise. “I’m sure the Tribunal would kill to hear whatever it is they’re talking about.” Rann leaned back into him and shut the curtain, blocking their view.

  “Not this time.”