After the Storm: Tess
The sun was a sharp, unforgiving blade cutting through the gap in the heavy curtains. I woke up slowly, my mind sifting through the layers of the previous day like a ledger full of bad debts. For a second, I expected to hear the high-pitched sound of frying servers or the crunch of heavy boots on granite, but there was only the steady, deep rhythm of K.C.’s breathing beside me. The cabin was silent, but it was a heavy silence. It felt like the house itself was catching its breath. I shifted slightly, my muscles protesting with every move. My back ached from the hunched crawl through the sluice tunnels, and my head felt tight, a lingering phantom of the adrenaline. I turned my head to look at K.C. In the morning light, he didn’t look like a beast who had nearly torn a man’s throat out.
- Writer
