Mercedes guided us in and we were greeted by a sea of tables and chairs scattered around a large open area. Some zombies were chatting over a meal of what I regrettably knew were rotted human biceps, while others battle each other in a vigorous game of cards. Along the edges were more specialized areas, though they were still open to the rest of the room. One wall was lined with book shelves and had more comfortable seating like a couple sofas and armchairs. The other wall had a large screen with a crowd surrounding it. To my surprise, it looked like they might have been watching a baseball game. Further down there was a few long tables littered with paints, ribbons, glass beads, and a wide variety of other crafting supplies.

This open space covered a little more than half of the floor. The back half, however, had a hallway that led to a series of rooms, one of which was a kitchen as it had a serving window stocked with lunch plates of biceps and cups of sweet tea.

"If you want I can give you a quick tour?" Mercedes stepped out in front of us and spread her arms wide as she showcased the impressive community they'd built inside the old warehouse.

"Maybe after our talk with Bungee, if you're available," I answered. "I'm sure Armand would love to take you up on the offer."

"Hell yeah, I would."

Honestly, I would have loved a tour as well, but I wasn't sure how long I could fight off the butterflies creating a tornado inside my stomach. I needed to treat facing Bungee the same way I would a bandage. Rip it off quick instead of prolonging the pain.

"No problem, I'm keeping watch over the commune today since Raid is busy with the other elders right now. So, I can take Armand, and whoever else, on a tour around after you all are done with Bungee."

"Right," I said, swallowing down my regret. "Sounds good."

"This way then!" Mercedes ushered us over to a set of stairs to the left of the door, while Irene placed a hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

We marched up the steps and arrived to a second floor that appeared to be completely composed of dorm rooms. In the front half of the warehouse, a single layer of dorms lined the wall. A U-shaped walkway outlined this front portion so that the first floor could be viewed from above. Armand stepped over to the metal railing and looked down before whipping out his notebook and scribbling a map of the space into his notes.

"He's in the back over here," said our guide, moving us forward while Armand trailed a few seconds behind.

We were led to the other half of the second floor where dorms continued to line the walls, but now a middle aisle of rooms were included. Bungee's dorm was a few doors into this back half and situated against one of the walls. Mercedes knocked a couple times before a muffled voice beckoned us in.

"I'll be down in the common area if you need anything." Our kind hostess stepped away from the door and I looked to my companions to see who would dare to turn the knob.

"It should be you that goes in first," whispered Irene. "Neither Armand nor myself know Bungee."

I nodded and glanced over at Mercedes to find her waiting with a patient smile. I took a deep breath and grabbed the handle.

Inside was a tight entryway with a tiny closet and a bathroom door to the right. Past the small hallway, the room opened up into the living space, where a single-sized bed sat against the wall in the corner with a dresser at the foot of it. There was also a compact desk with some papers and various writing utensils as well as a mini fridge and some shelving. On the walls, drawings and paintings were tacked up in a haphazard display. Some portrayed the fields that surrounded the commune, while others looked like quick sketches of people that were vaguely familiar. The far back wall, however, was dominated by a long window with Bungee's silhouetted figure standing before it.

"Um, hi, Bungee," I said, stepping in far enough so that Irene and Armand could get in and close the door behind them. "Thank you for agreeing to see me—I mean us."

I swallowed as Irene's hand found my back and nudged me forward. I glanced over my shoulder and she nodded her support, while Armand gave zero notice to my struggle since he was too busy scribbling runes upon the door with a piece of chalk.

About five minutes, I reminded myself. That's how long we have before Armand will finish the ward to seal our conversation from unwanted ears.

"Delilah, I'm so glad you are here."

His voice grabbed hold of my breath and held it tight within my chest. I went stiff, unable to turn back around to face him. His tone sounded relieved, maybe even grateful, but body language could change the meaning behind his words entirely. Maybe he was being sarcastic? No, I knew Bungee wouldn't be like that. He's genuine and he's kind. But, it was too hard to believe that he was truly happy to see me.

I took in a ragged breath and shifted my focus back to the room in front of me.

"Bungee, I..." I wasn't sure what I had intended to say, if I really had anything to say. Perhaps my mouth was just going through the motions, grabbing at words to keep us from slipping into unpleasant silence. But then, I saw him. He stood with his hands in his pockets, his stance loose and his smile wide. In that moment, I recalled the skeletal man I found in the woods my very first night in Whisper Valley. I thought of the pained, broken expression of the friend who had been used to hurt me. I remembered the fury and frustration darkening his once kind countenance as we stood together during the blood moon. Now, before me, stood a man with soft, healthy features; a man at ease with life; a man unburdened by the grief haunting our past.

"Bungee," I said again, this time through the welling of tears, "can I give you a hug?"

"Of course," he replied, pulling his hands from his pockets and lifting them up in welcome.

Without a second of hesitation, I closed the space between us and locked us in a tight embrace. His hands clasped my back with gentle tenderness while I hugged him like he was the only buoy keeping me above water in the vast ocean. I planted my wet eyes into his shoulder, my body bouncing with blissful sobs.

"It's okay, Delilah," he whispered, his words close to my ear as he rested his chin against my shoulder.

"I know," I muttered into his chest. "That's why I'm crying. I've missed you, Bungee. It killed me every day knowing how hurt you were. I...I never thought I would see you smile again."

"I'm not sure I thought I would either, but our time apart has been good for me."

"As much as it hurt me to walk away from you that night, I'm so glad it gave you space to heal." I pulled away and looked up at him with a smile that hurt my cheeks.

"Actually, I've been meaning to thank you for that." He released me and we stood apart, though the space between us felt like mere inches compared to the miles it had been. "I was trying to work up the courage to go see you myself, but considering everything else that happened to you during and after the blood moon, I didn't want to add to your burden. I only recently learned that you had gotten well enough to leave Moonshade. I didn't expect you to be coming to me so soon. Honestly, I wasn't sure if you would come to see me at all."

I bit my lip as guilt washed over me. Technically, I had come to see Liz, even if I felt an overwhelming wave of gratitude that fate had me talking with Bungee.

"Well," I said, "we did admittedly come with ulterior motives."

"I see," he answered simply, his eyes following Armand as he continued to chalk the various walls in the room.

"That's, um, Armand. He's the mage that snuck in during the blood moon."

Armand didn't look at us, but he reached his free hand behind him and gave us a wave.

"Oh yeah? I heard about him." Bungee laughed to himself before looking over my shoulder.

"And this is Irene." I stepped aside and motioned for my friend to come forward.

"Nice to meet you," she said, offering her hand to Bungee. "I've heard a lot about you."

"Good things, I hope."

"Absolutely."

They shook hands and then we all looked over at the mage, who gave us the universal gesture for "keep going." The ward still wasn't ready.

"So," said Bungee, placing his hands back in his pockets and shifting his weight, "um, there's more I wanted to say about my gratitude to you for what you did for me that night—the night of the blood moon."

"Whatever it is, you have no need to thank me."

"No, I really do." He cleared his throat and looked out towards some empty space in his room. "I just think it's important I explain the magnitude of what happened."

"Okay." I hesitated and the nervous energy from before we stepped into the room returned.

"You see, it's about Liz."

"Oh? How so?"

"You asked her to watch over me that night, didn't you?"

I reflected for a moment and recalled my words to Liz after my disastrous meeting with Bungee.

"Yeah, I did. I just couldn't bear to see you like that. I needed to know that someone would keep an eye on you."

"And she did," he said with a laugh. He turned his eyes back to me and I saw something glinting within them that felt familiar. "She, uh, started out by forcing me to play games with her. I didn't want to at first. I really just wanted to stay in my room, but she is really persistent." Again, there was laughter in his voice, but it felt like something intimate. Like he was laughing at an inside joke that none of us would understand.

"So, I agreed to play a board game if she would leave me alone. She tried to engage me in conversation as we played, but I wasn't having any of that—I'm not proud of my behavior but it's where I was at the time. Once she realized I wasn't going to talk back, she just started having one-sided conversations."

"Yeah, she's good at that." I smiled, recalling how she could talk endlessly about town gossip while we worked at Tuck together.

"Well, she kept pestering me about playing these games in between our shifts and kept talking to herself or me or whatever her train of thought led her and eventually I started responding. It was slow at first, but once we got going, there was more talk than there was playing, and, well, that's when I really started to heal."

"Ward is up," announced Armand.

"Wait," I commanded, before correcting myself. "I mean, thank you, Armand, but if we can just have one moment."

"We don't have long, Del..."

"I just," I turned to Bungee, who looked at me with that reassuring smile and euphoric gaze that now made sense, "I need to know. Bungee, are you in love with Liz?"

***

Bungee is back and he's healthier and happier than Del has ever seen him before. However, they don't have long to catch up. Del came to the commune for a reason and now that the room has been sealed from eavesdroppers, she has big news to share. How will everyone react to Del's conversation with Clementine?

I honestly can't remember if I mentioned how my husband and son were going to be gone for an extended period of time and how I wanted to get a lot of writing done. But, yeah, that was the plan and they'll be back tomorrow. Sadly, I didn't really get ahead of writing... However! I did get a lot done around the house and I have trouble focusing when my environment is a mess, so that was an important step. So, I'll just have to keep on doing what I can until my son is back in school, which is actually really soon. Hopefully then I will be able to do a steady stream of writing.