( hattieadler )
she stepped forward and hesitantly reached out towards the girl. was this real ?? god, she couldn’t TELL. her dreams had become so vivid over the last few weeks that she often woke up in tears. with a deep longing to be back within the world her mind had dreamt up. something so safe. so comforting. it felt like THIS. which terrified hattie more than anything. she didn’t want to wake up. not now. please let me have a few more minutes with her. PLEASE.
as she forced her way through the shock of the situation, hattie stepped forward again. doing her best to close the space between them. she wanted to gather her up in a hug and grip her close and keep her safe. because whatever had happened to her … whatever had happened to hattie … they could work through it together. they were, in a sense, HOME. even if any physical trace of that was gone. chin trembles as hattie closes more of the seemingly vast space between them. so much of her, for so long, had been CONVINCED that her entire family was gone. everyone who had raised her. everyone who had loved her. everyone she had helped look after. she was SURE they were gone. and yet …
❝ i’m real. ❞ to prove it to the younger girl, hattie reached out with one hand to gently curl her fingers around her free hand the moment she was close enough to be able to do so. it was a simple touch. a quick squeeze that resonated with them both. but she didn’t want to overwhelm her. not when they had just FOUND each other again. ❝ see ? ❞ she attempts a small smile too but it doesn’t reach her eyes. not many DO these days. ❝ you’re here. HERE of all fucking places. ❞ it had to mean SOMETHING. ❝ are you okay ?? god, del, i … i didn’t think i’d see you a-again. ❞
DELANEY HAD OFTEN heard the stories from the men and women of her camp — they were a lot of ruthless killers, and with that, came the simple fact that they had looked death in the eyes many times before. they had taken life like they were the reaper, the bringers of death and destruction, and many of them told eerie tales of their victims mouthing the names of lost ones as they passed — almost as if they could SEE their loved ones as their life was taken. delaney was witness to this phenomenon of the dead greeting the dying with open arms. hell, she’d been there once before too ! near-death, visions of her brothers and her cousins there to bridge the passageway to the other side. & oh, she wondered if this was what was happening here.
but as time passed by and the other spoke, it began to FINALLY sink in that this was her, this was hattie. even so, delaney felt a feeling of reluctance loitering within her soul — she was not the same girl as she once was. delaney was no longer the rebellious teenager who simply needed a bit of guiding or love. no, she was a malicious, manipulative, undeserving survivor who fought with bared and nails. any pretense of innocence that she may have had was long gone. it left the earth long ago, along with her brothers. she had CHANGED, she had grown into something ugly, something that she couldn’t claim to be proud of, especially not in front of hattie.
as the gap between them SLOWLY began to close and hattie reached out, delaney found herself flinching, fighting to not take a step back and run away. it wasn’t as simple as picking up where things left off and leaving the life she was now living. nevertheless, hattie remained that same, gentle soul that she had always been — the only CONSTANT in a life filled with adrenaline and chaos. she remained silent for a moment that seemed to last years, unsure of what to say and TERRIFIED that she’ll say something wrong. ❝ i didn’t think i’d ever see you again either. ❞ delaney nods, the words just BARELY making it out of her. eventually, delaney finds her own arms reaching out to hattie, wrapping around her TIGHTLY and pulling her into a hug. it feels like the closest thing to home that she’ll ever get, and a part of delaney never wants to let go. ❝ i missed you hattie, ❞ she begins to say, words getting caught in her throat as she tries to STEADY her breaths.
















