This Was Home [h.s.]

| 27. THE EDMUND |

Everything felt so weird. Hell, everything had felt weird for as long as I could remember. Whether it was the first time I heard about what Crawlers were, learning how to survive off the land around us, or everything else that led up to the point that I was at now. Where we were at now.

It was all just...weird. It was almost like it was at a point where it was so weird that it circled back to just being normal.

Actually, that was exactly what it was now. Normal. And I hated that. I hated that the world was redefining what words once meant. The language we used to speak had been stripped away of its intended meaning and was used so differently now.

I hated it. I was tired of it. Yet, I had no choice but to play along as if it was as simple as reading a newspaper. And even that wasn't simple anymore. I couldn't even remember the last time I had seen a newspaper—new or old.

Well maybe besides that weird basement Harry and I had found at that supply drop-off. The amount of crumbled up papers with daunting headlines still plastered themselves throughout my head. And quite frankly, it all still left goosebumps run down my spine, so I'd like to think that didn't really count as a typical newspaper. At least I hoped not.

As I continued down the rickety path that I had already become acquainted to, that was all I could think about. Everything around me would have seemed so obscure and scary if it was any other reality. If this was in our past, I wouldn't have even considered stepping foot anywhere near this place. Yet, now, in this reality, it was the safest and smartest option we had.

Funny, wasn't it?

"Brin?" I heard Harry say. His attention had turned back towards me as we both kept the same pace. I could tell he was walking slower than he wanted to, only to keep up with my slightly shorter legs compared to his. I wondered if he was worried I would walk off again if he wasn't within arm's reach of me.

"Yeah?" I replied a little more exasperated than I intended. I cleared my throat to try and rid me of my previous tone. "You okay?" I met his gaze briefly as he searched between my eyes. It felt like he was assessing everything except the words that were coming out of my mouth.

"I'm fine," he bluntly remarked. He swiftly turned his head to watch where we were walking again. For someone who had just sounded concerned only moments ago, he sure seemed the complete opposite now.

"Do you know where we're going?" I asked, scanning my eyes around us.

I assumed we had surpassed the initial area we first came into. There weren't merchant tables or booths scattered closely together anymore. It had now begun to fade into more dispersed buildings that had an assortment of gardens surrounding the perimeter. The rickety pathway was still below us, but a coat of muddied footsteps had decorated themselves over the top now. I could tell it was once a dry dusting of dirt, but given the rain that still continued to mist down, not even the awning could protect itself against the travels of its people and their rainy shoes.