It was a sensation that Penny wanted to stay in forever. A dream it was, as her heart longed for more, but every time she desired intimacy, Aarav would always be unavailable.

This was the second time that he dozed off when Penny wanted to spice things up, the first occasion being when in the attic.

She took the action as a signal that she needed to sleep as well, and retreated into her bag.

In the continuation of the dream reality, she found herself on a plank unable to move her head to gaze at anything but dirt. Her arm uncontrollably grasped hold of a rope attached to something.

Strangely enough, she felt as if her body weight was too much for the swing to handle. So she didn't have any choice but to pretend the person sitting next to her was Aarav.

Funny how I'm finding the love of my life after the world ended.

"It's a sign," she told nobody.

Wait, what? No. He's practically a stranger to me.

Two creatures with two horns each about the length of Penny's arm approached Penny, Aarav, and the swing. She could see the color of coal from her peripheral vision as she was forced to stare at the cracks forming in the ground.

"Wake up, guys," one of the beasts said, in a rather soft tone. That was contradictory, Penny thought. She figured every beast was to assert themselves in a loud manner.

No, it wasn't any creature that was speaking. She recognized that gleam in a green iris. It was Caleb, extending his lips out, making it a sad gleam in Penny's mind. The expression made Penny sit up.

"What's wrong?"

He pretended to study the floor for a bit.

"After Nigel went over where we're going with us, he told me I have to stay behind if we want to keep this van. I have to. And I'm locking the doors now that Isabelle's not around anymore. Whenever we leave, we have everything under control, so there's nothing to worry about, really."

Penny was paying enough of attention to him to notice that the gleam and the frown were gone. It was like he was attempting to convince himself of what he said, that it was not a big deal at all.

What? He couldn't separate from the group. Caleb and Nigel were both saints in their own ways. Nigel offered his transportation, but Caleb, he was something else. He got Penny out of that unfortunate town, and he willingly came along to save Lana twice, even driving one time. Finally, he calmly explained to the group why that lady would even consider taking a person of another group away.

She simply said nothing of the sort regarding her actual feelings.

"I'll tell the others. Do you need a hug?" Shaking his head, he set off for the hallway where the sun began to pour in.

"Do it," insisted Caleb as he left.

The command was obeyed and Penny debated on who to tell first. Really, she was more curious about how Lana would take the news. Did she even care about Caleb at all?

She shoved herself in between the two sleepers, crouched down, and leaned in close to Lana's ear.

"Caleb's staying behind. That was the deal between Nigel and him. Everyone else is driving to that woman's house and then coming back." They better have been coming back. Lana shrugged her shoulders slowly.

"Okay? I don't really want to go, but I want to see if I can get a good shot."

What did she just say? Oh, no, she did not. She must've taken something from that closet.

"Whatever," Lana said after a while of attempting to shut her eyes, but failing.

"I think I should rephrase what I said to you earlier. Mom and dad did not tell me about your birth mother. They kept a secret from me. You know what they said to me? They said, 'Her mommy is probably in a bad place.' And that was all. I didn't know you felt like that. I'm sorry, I really am. Can we hug properly this time?"

Penny sniffled, but inside she knew this wasn't something to cry about or something to talk about in the company of others.

Just as she thought Lana's brain wasn't active, her head did a full one-eighty as she turned a different side when Caleb approached Penny.

Was she pretending to be asleep this whole time?

What she got for a response was that all-too-common glare resulting in Lana making absolutely no movement. It was the look of someone who was craving for her sister to experience what she was going through in her early teenage years.

Penny was looking at her dark makeup, which lasted for far too long.

A curt sigh escaped the mouth of Penny.

What really stabbed Penny's heart was the reality that Lana didn't accept her apology. At least Penny had the decency to continue a mature conversation with her sister. Maybe it was because she was tired. The outcome was that she went back to closing her eyes and being in that hypnotic trance again.

Penny returned to the violet sofa and shut her seeing machines. Everything was black then until a gentle hand was placed on her cheek. It couldn't have been Lana's, as her hands always felt as smooth as stone. Initially, she saw a red and green plaid shirt and immediately knew that she hadn't seen anyone alive wearing anything like that. By instinct, she inched away from the person and bumped into Aarav's head.

"Calm down. Listen, we need to execute these suckers outside. Change and come on," a gruff voice ordered. The voice didn't match up with Caleb's face. When he came to wake Penny again, that sad gleam was back.

"Wake Aarav already, come on," he encouraged, pointing towards his snoring mouth before leaving. Okay, she could do this. There was nothing to be afraid of. She did it before, and she could do it again. She briefly sighed again.

I got this.

Fishing for her long-sleeved buttoned brown blouse, she couldn't help but wonder what would happen if she didn't bother to change at all. Her jacket was the last clothing item she took.

She decided to make her move on Aarav. A small kiss was satisfactory if she couldn't have what was coming after.

"Get up. There's some of them outside," she whispered, holding her hands down on the couch, on sides of his body to restrict it from moving. Once she realized what she was doing and Aarav sat up, she quickly stopped and stood up.

What just happened? She wanted to ask him that question during the short trip to the front entryway. But she just kept her mouth shut, because it was not the appropriate time.

Right when Caleb fidgeted with the handle and the door reacted, he inserted his switchblade into one of the approaching infected's head, wearing a cap and gold eyes with dilated pupils.

Was it Nigel? No, it couldn't possibly be him. The cap was different.

He was unarmed, though.

"No more here," Aarav stated. Penny took one glance at him and instantly regretted not telling him to wear something other than a white shirt with orange square stripes on it.

Lucky for them that they were scattered all around the hill and no threat was in direct contact with the survivors after that encounter. Caleb grabbed some binoculars from his pocket and held them up in order to see some of the more specific infected towards the right in close detail.

Frizzy hair and it had some sort of protective layer of clothing instead of a shirt. Just like Elena, but it couldn't be. He set them down and put them back in his bag.

A figure with a circle at the top of its shadow emerged from the stairs.

"I got a gas refill last night. We're all good. We can go," he said to everyone once he finished the uphill battle.

Being instructed by Caleb to get Lana and Nina, she did, which ended in all of the survivors except Caleb to proceed into the van without any conflict whatsoever.

Penny was the only one who waved goodbye and saw him run after the van holding something up. God, she hoped that this would work out. Nigel didn't seem like he had evil intentions.

"I know you have a gun, Lana," Penny revealed publicly when Nigel began to drive, not even turning to look at her again. "You don't have to cover it up."

The sentence didn't necessarily bother Lana. Instead, she decided to use a weapon of her own.

"It's my birthday tomorrow. I've been counting. I can use it."

Oh, of course. How could Penny forget?

"We'll see how you are with it soon," she replied normally without any feeling.

Did Caleb think Lana didn't deserve to have a weapon? Especially since she explained herself very well the day prior. Unbelievable.

"Now, you four are here because I need your help with any - sick that might be close to where she lives. Combat and stuff."

This is where he went wrong, Lana figured. Caleb was the go-to man for combat. Was it because he was driving the van earlier?

There was something extremely off with him. Lana thought he was unique, but making a promise?

Penny found her eyes wandering to Aarav's reddened complexion. This was the time like no other. She slapped herself internally.

"I dreamt about you. I mean, you gave me your sleeping bag, you asked if I was okay, you're always there for me. Plus, you're kinda cute."