Undorn: The Middle

Part Eight

Part Eight

Bones, Region of Orrosta

Location: Orrosta - Route 1

Bones was tired. He was on driving detail and no one had bothered to offer to switch with him for the past five hours. It was almost two in the morning, and the last time he slept was the night before at Alice's. Taide was slumped against the passenger's side and Beo was stretched out in the back of the jeep, using his bag as a pillow.

They were an hour out from Rhine. This time they were staying with a younger couple—no kids, farming sort—on the edge of town. Joseph and Catalina. Beo read their personal file this morning. Long time resistors, played host to a few sets of stranded deserters, and would die for the cause. Bones had snorted at that when he saw it for some reason. But here he was: ready to die for the cause as well. Well, maybe not so much the cause itself as the leader of it.

He heard Beo stirring in the back. He peaked in the review mirror. Beo had gotten up and was running his hands through his hair as he yawned. "Need a break?"

"Nope." Bones answered without a second thought. "Go back to sleep."

He still had an eye on Beo in the mirror, so he could see him roll his eyes. The Jeep was all windows, so the moonlight was the perfect night light. Despite the sass, Beo slumped in his seat and closed his eyes.

If Bones had and would ever use the wonderful, he would use it to describe Joseph and Catalina. They were a wonderful couple. They were welcoming, generous, completely normal, and had an adorable Lab that made Beo smile (which made Bones smile). They had a spare bedroom, but Catalina was about 8 months pregnant, so they had just turned it into a nursery.

"I'm so sorry," she was saying, pulling cushions of the couch in their living area. "We really thought it was just the two of you, so we didn't think to get another cot or anything."

Joseph had taken the pillows from Catalina's hands as an act of husbandly valor. He was pulling out the inside of their couch, which apparently had a mattress inside.

"Not a problem at all, we can certainly manage," Beo told her, ever the boy-next-door. "This is perfect. And the food and blankets—thank you."

"Of course," Catalina had one hand on her growing belly. "If you use those pillows on the floor, one of you should be pretty comfortable down there."

"Don't worry about us," Bones chimed in. "Please. Get some rest. We all need it."

As soon as Joseph deemed the living room sleepable, they did just that, retreating upstairs to their attic bedroom.

"I'll take the floor," Beo said, jumping on the chance as if it were a competition. Who could sacrifice the most? Bones almost snorted at the thought, then remembered the 6 hours he drove earlier. He was most definitely a player in this competition as well.

"You'll take the bed with Taide," Bones said, matter-of-factly. "Best I have the floor. Closest to the door."

As much as Bones could tell Beo wanted to, he didn't argue. And it was four in the morning, so no one needed that. He simply nodded, then crashed on the pull-out wordlessly.

It couldn't have been much more than an hour when Bones was quite rudely awoken by the sound of footsteps on the wood-paneled floors. They creaked, but still. Bones was a light sleeper, and hell—he was sleeping on the ground. He turned slowly and eyed the bed. Beo was gone.

And then, somewhere close by, a door opened. Bones slammed his eyes shut, cursing the man he loved. Could he just get some sleep?

He stood up from his makeshift bed of pillows slowly, grabbing the pistol he had slid just under the bed. Taide was snoring—like usual—and hadn't stirred. Bones silently turned toward the back of the house. There was a small sliding glass door in the dining area off the living room. It led to their backyard, a humble deck, and a few bird feeders hanging from the roof.