The rain had started. It was coming down in a hard downpour. Not that it had stopped us, we kept walking through the rising wind. Our cloaks were flapping behind us as we had an arm covering our eyes from the airstream. Rain was drenching my face, dripping into my eyes. My vision was blurry. I could barely see Zero who was a few feet in front of me. The only way I could identify him was the blur of the dark cape of his cloak.

   I growl as I struggle against the wind, the gust pushes me back a bit. I lean my body down more, bending my knees further. The wind rushes past my ears, whistling, deafening me. The trees of the start the next forest was still several yards away. It was hard to tell with the dark atmosphere and blurred sight.

   The open space of the dry grassland has been going on for what seems like a mile now. It was hard to tell though. When we had first entered this prairie a while ago, there was no way around it. Zero and I were only trying to get as far away from the "war" as possible. The only way to get away from the center and core of the battle is to cross the desert, which had to be at least a hundred miles away. When we get across the desert, there will be no war, only peace, the opportunity to start over. Once we cross the desert... no one will ever find us.

   I heard a faint crack. I wasn't sure if it was thunder or something else. My head snaps up to look up at the sky. The wind yanks my hood back. I tug it back up as the sky was still the dark ugly grey and purple as it was before.

   I think someone called my name. It was barely audible, I thought I may have been hearing things. I look back down, ahead of me.

   All I saw was a distortion of dark brown and a loud crack. A huge shot of pain struck against my face. The next thing I know, I am on my back on the ground.

   Everything was dark for a moment, then it is just pain. I let out a groan of agony, scrunching my eyes shut to block out the rain. Like smashing my own head wasn't enough, I thought, regretting the choice I had made earlier. Then again... Infinite – no, Zero would never have shown empathy and we wouldn't be here now... right?

   Arms shake me, I open my eyes slightly, still disoriented. Zero was there, his hood being blown into his face, nearly blocking his vision. He was yelling something at me, but I could barely hear, the wind was stealing his words away. Zero somehow got tipped off that was the problem, he stopped yelling and gritted his teeth in frustration.

   He grabs my arm and pulls it over his shoulder, his other hand was under my opposite arm, by my ribcage. Zero stands up, heaving me upwards with him. I struggle to walk as he starts moving forward, but the wind and pounding rain was slowing my recover from the branch that had smashed me in the face.

   I was slowing Zero down, and he knew. Zero turns his head towards me, arm blocking out the airstream and showers. His hood flew off, our cloaks were barely holding onto our bodies, the clip somehow staying strong. Zero's thick hair was blowing in the wind, even with his low ponytail.

   He huffs in anger, placing me on the ground. The entire world was spinning, but I still had a fear that Zero was placing me in the earth to leave me behind. He won't do that!

   Right?

   Zero grabs me and heaves me over his shoulders. He held onto my leg and arm to keep me from falling off his back. Zero bends his knees, bending towards the wind, not allowing it to push him backwards. Though he continuously stumbled, Zero held on tight to me.

   I wondered if he had thought of leaving me behind a few moments ago like I had. I question why Zero is willing to put this much effort into keeping me with him. Am I really that worth it? Look at what happened: I got hurt, again, and am slowing us down even more. If we were back in the city, at the heart of the war and chaos, I would have been left behind, given a shot of morphine if I am lucky. When these conditions are as severe as the they are, you can't afford to have anybody slowing the group down. It doesn't even have to be a situation with harsh weather or environment, it could just be in a battlefield in general. If one soldier is endangering the rest of the soldiers who have a better chance of living, no one will choose one over several. That is an unforgiving reality that I've had to accept.

   But we aren't near the war. The rules have changed. There are only two of us. Unlike the war, where if you are injured and can't move on you are left behind while everyone moves on, here we have a strong bond created over a short period of time. As the days move on, I bet that will only toughen.

   Perhaps I am what will heal the villain's crushed soul.

   Perhaps the villain is what will restore the haunted soldier. Maybe we need each other.

   My vision had darkened, though I was still awake. My senses were still working. My ears still whistled with the wind, the water was still pounding on my face, my nose still smelt the heavy rain. And my nerves could still feel Zero's shoulder's digging into chest and hips. My head was dangling along with my left arm. It felt like I was blind. But this couldn't be right, I could see only a few seconds ago.

   Soon, my mind eases when the darkness fades. Zero was getting closer and closer to the treeline. Soon, the tall foliage will block out some of the wind and rain. Although now I am paranoid about branches snapping off and striking one of us.

   Zero growls with effort, making the next few steps. His shoes dig through the dirt and grass for a moment, the wind sweeping him away. Zero crouches lower, bending his body down to face the direction of the wind. After a moment, he adjusted me on his back, making sure I wasn't going to fall off. Zero then makes the last few feet, crossing the short distance, but a mile with the gusts of air pushing us away.

   Some of the excessive rain and wind had been blocked by the leaves of the thick trees, but it still leaked through in some places. Zero ducks to his knees, bowing his head close to the ground to gently pull me off his back. I quickly grab onto his hand and squeeze, as if the wind would sweep Zero away from me.

   He looks into my eyes, his cold and tough. Zero pushes me backwards slightly, still holding my hand. My back presses against cold, rough bark. One of the large trees. After, Zero moves and sits beside me, back to the trunk. His arm wraps around me, pulling me close while he stared out at the lightning cracking through the sky. His ear twitches at this.

   I wrap my other arm around him too. None of us admitted it, but we were scared of the horrible storm we were exposed to. We should have stayed another few days, I thought. We should've waited for the weather to pass. But if we didn't, Zero and I would be trapped in the city for another "few days". Somebody could have found Zero as Infinite, then we would never have gotten away.

   Besides, nobody would be as reckless as we are to go out in these storms. It would be unexpected, so nobody would ever consider that as a viable option for our disappearance.

   I guess... they really will think I'm dead.

   More lightning decorates the sky. Thunder echoes throughout the air, following quickly after the electrical zigzags cracks the air. They were close. I notice that I snuggle closer to Zero while I prayed none of the lightning would hit any of the trees nearby.

   I shrug my shoulder into my face, wiping off some of the water that had drenched me. Zero and I stiffen when a tree on the other side of the prairie receives a bolt of electricity, thunder erupts through the air. The cracking and splintering of the wood follow, still audible, even from all the way over here. The wood bursts into flames.

   I stare, shivering in the cold and the fact that Zero and I were exposed to danger just like that. We were out in the open. It wasn't safe. There was nothing we could do about it though.

   I look up at Zero. His mismatched eyes were staring out at the burning wildlife, seeming calm, but still on edge. He was a difficult person to read. He didn't seem like he was very open with his emotions either. Except for when... he had broken apart right in front of me. I think back to when Zero had fallen to pieces right in my arms. How he had cried to the point that he couldn't have any tears fall anymore. When he had sobbed and screamed so much that he had drained his voice and begun to hiccup.

   And yet here Zero was now. So collected, calm. Someone who rarely shared their current thoughts, a side effect of how he was raised. A result of his experiences throughout his life. It is strange to think that the burden of carrying someone's weight while they cry in front of you was actually a rare honour of sorts in our situation.

   I doubt Zero has cried like that for years, at least. I usually have a large "meltdown" once a year, though when I was younger it was much less common. Now that I have seen... things, these have become more regular. But they have no pattern. Zero must lock these feelings up at every chance and shove them aside. Pushing back the meltdown to a different time so that it may come back stronger than ever.

   Zero sees me looking up at him, he looks down to return my gaze. We stare at each other in silence. I don't look away from his fascinating eyes. When I was with the Resistance, I would look away from everyone's eyes. Especially Sonic, Knuckles and Amy. I didn't talk much to everyone else – not that I was exactly social in the first place – but these three I would interact with more regularly. Knuckles had developed some sort of sense to be able to guess when things were wrong with his team. I've seen the Commander stiff out when people are down, just because of a "gut feeling". He had found out about a horrible mission Silver had been on just because he "didn't seem all there".

   Amy was always so cheerful, and tried to keep up moral as best she could. Amy would cook for the team, saying that she made it "with love". It wasn't always great since proper food and supplied were limited due to most of the farms being destroyed by explosions, ash, and lead poisoning. The farmers were also killed, captured, evacuated, or had to enlist in the army. Amy also seemed too nice...

   And Sonic... He was Sonic, he was caring, constantly asked how everyone was doing. He would always say goodnight to everyone before heading to bed, then he would greet everyone in the morning.

   I couldn't look at any of these people in the eye. I feared they would see the pain, sadness and suffering I am going through if they scanned into me for too long. But Zero already knows the things I am going through. And I know why his eyes are so guarded, haunted.

   Because we have both lost people and suffered in silence for too long.

   Zero looks back ahead, I do the same, scanning the ugly purple clouds. He pulls me closer, our bodies cold and soaked. We probably had ear infections from the rough winds that are still whistling in our heads.

   More lightning strikes down through the sky in the distance. The city was nowhere to be seen. The abandoned facility we came from was nowhere in sight either. Some may say it's because of the clouds, but I knew it was that we had traveled several miles.

   It was a good start. The storm is good way to mask our escape too. Yet we still had so far to go...

   I squeeze Zero's hand slightly. But I bet we can do it.