Chapter 86: Dreamless
"It’s fine, it’s not your fault."
Chloe rubbed a hand over her face, the silent pride that had been building there completely washed away when she removed it.
Unsure and uncertain, she looked exactly as she had that night in the gym again.
Noticing the grim mood threatening to settle on the group again, Ryan tried pivoting the conversation once more.
This time, to supplies. The foodstuffs in the storeroom were enough to last them at least two more weeks, and that was without rationing. But then, none of them planned on lingering around for even a week.
Miles waited silently as the conversation flowed, looking for the chance to ask a question that had been on his mind.
"Why is Grimm sleeping?"
"Oh. It’s because he said he plans on taking first watch. Any sleep would help keep him alert for much longer."
Ryan paused mid-spiel to answer him.
It wasn’t a bad idea, especially given how much he’d exerted himself. The boy had spammed his [Shoot to Kill] skill so many times that Miles had no doubt he would’ve died if not for his EGO.
’Guess it still has some sort of effect on him.’
The same way [Delusion] still pressured his brain.
Ryan checked the watch on his wrist, sighing for a moment before tapping it twice. His eyes widened a bit afterwards.
"It’s already ten. We better start heading to bed if we want to get up bright and early tomorrow."
Brandon drawled.
"Bright and early for what?"
"I don’t know, but it’s a good habit."
Ryan shrugged, then turned hesitantly to Grimm. The boy was still snoring soundly, his gun tight in his grasp.
"Are you sure you want to wake him?"
Mia glanced at him from the side. Ryan considered his options for a moment before relenting with a sigh.
"No."
Running a hand through his hair, he looked at Miles.
"Same thing goes for you, Miles. You’re paired with Grimm on watch duty, so you can go to sleep now. Sarah, Mia, and I will take first watch instead; you can take third watch with Grimm."
Miles raised an eyebrow but nodded regardless; it mattered little to him anyway. Mia added,
"Also, make sure you don’t sleep on the floor. Just stay there a few more minutes, then transfer back to your thermal blanket. Don’t lie on your back when you get there."
With that, both she and Ryan walked away to do whatever it is they did on night watch. Chloe, still huddled in her blanket to the side, watched them silently, already accepting her new role without a fuss.
Brandon had already gone while he hadn’t been looking and was currently snuggling under his blanket.
Chloe was the last one remaining. She watched over him silently for a bit before sighing.
"Get some rest."
Then she went back to her blanket as well. Miles spent a few moments wondering why she’d left last, before dismissing the matter altogether in his mind.
Instead, he began counting mentally until five minutes passed. The moment they did, he pushed himself upwards, feeling a mix of numbness and pain in his back, before crawling into his blanket.
Just like Mia had instructed, he kept his back facing the ceiling as he settled. He could feel a few gazes on him but couldn’t be bothered to check who was looking.
Lying down in the softness and warmth of his blanket, a wave of lethargy washed over him. He’d been out cold for multiple hours, yet he still felt exhausted.
He didn’t last ten seconds before the darkness claimed him.
***
Just as he shut his eyes to sleep, he woke up to a tired Chloe nudging him awake.
"Come on, Miles. It’s time for your shift."
His vision blurred a bit but rapidly cleared as he blinked; even so, it took him a moment to fully get his bearings again.
’I didn’t dream.’
The thought gave rise to a bubbling anxiety that he forcefully pushed down. Chloe was still nudging him, so he sat up.
"I’m awake."
She stopped, slipping off her glasses to rub her eyes before yawning.
"That... that’s good. Wake us up by six... okay?"
"Yeah."
Having received confirmation, she wobbled back to her blanket, nearly tripping on a crate midway before crashing there. Of course, even with how exhausted she was, she somehow stowed her glasses properly in her bag.
In a few seconds, she was out like a light.
Miles stared at her sleeping form for a few moments before shaking his head. His mind immediately went to evaluating his condition.
The throbbing on his back had greatly reduced. It wasn’t entirely gone, not by any means. But it had reduced to something he could ignore now, or at least try to ignore.
Tapping the white gauze wrapped over his bare chest, his mind immediately went to the gym jacket he’d left drying in the room. His hoodie had received a fresh coat of blood and gore during his fight with the bifurcated ghoul.
’I’m burning through clothes way too fast.’
A voice broke him out of his thoughts.
"Oh, you’re awake too."
He found Grimm sitting on his blanket, eyes wide awake, and his rifle nestled close beside him. He’d been on night watch with the boy yesterday.
And if there was one thing he’d learned, it was that he was a man of few words.
Of course, not being the greatest fan of conversations either, Miles found the silent boy to be welcome company.
"Yeah, you dozed off last night, so you couldn’t see me then."
The boy just nodded, acknowledging the fact, then sized him up and down. He did this for a moment, after which he reached for his backpack.
The irrational thought that he might pull out a gun flashed through Miles’s mind, yet before he could do anything about it, Grimm pulled his hand out.
In it was a gym jacket. He tossed it, and the clothing arced neatly through the air before landing in Miles’s open hand.
Grimm pointed to Miles’s jacket, still drying over a crate to the side.
"I took two, so don’t worry."
"Oh, thanks."
Internally, he couldn’t help noting.
’So he’s a show off?’