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Hanno knew what had happened the moment he saw her sitting there in the cave, shivering, gaze numb and blank.
He didn’t know what to say - even if he did have the sign language vocabulary to express it. So he just did what he could: cleaned the blood from her face and hair, draped the thickest blanket he had around her thin shoulders. She didn’t resist or move much throughout the whole process, still as a lifeless doll. It worried him.
It will be okay. He tried to tell her that, mouthing the words as deliberately as possible, hoping she could read his lips, or at least his eyes. I… He pointed at himself. Will take care… He mimed holding something to his chest. Of you… He pointed at her.
She stared at him - as boldly as she had the first time he had met her in the bunker - and her eyes slowly lost that empty, faraway look.
Then they filled with tears.
She cried in silent, shuddering gasps, curled up tight with her arms clutching her knees. He watched her, helpless, torn, guilty. He wasn’t the right guy to comfort her. But she looked so small and broken. Without thinking he reached for her. Somehow she didn’t flinch away; she leaned towards him, pressing her face into his shoulder. Her tears were hot against his shirt. Haltingly, he placed his arm around her.
This was their beginning, the moment he had been waiting for ever since he stepped into the future. But now, he couldn’t help wishing this day never came.
-
She took him to the trailer the next day.
They opened the door to see the other man first, his face a mess of dried blood, crushed skull and pieces of brain. He reflexively stepped in front of her, but she pushed him away, striding briskly past the dead man on the floor. Hanno looked down at the dead man, putting the pieces together. A hot rush of anger swallowed him and he gave the dead man a hard kick. Elisabeth tugged at his arm impatiently.
They came upon her father.
He was sitting there, slumped to the side. If it wasn’t for the knife in his throat he might have been sleeping. Elisabeth started to cry again. Hanno gently removed the knife. Then he turned around for a little while to give her some time. Once she was ready, they worked to move her father out of the trailer and dig a pit in the ground outside. It took most of the day to bury her father; the relentless rain turned all the dirt into mud. But eventually they gathered enough rocks to make a grave.
They went back to the trailer to take some things with them. He grabbed what was useful, while she took what was probably more meaningful- a leather book, a pocket watch. They made a few trips back and forth. It was nighttime by the time they finished their last trip.
She seemed tired, but at least she was able to eat some of the canned beans and soup he heated up. Soon after she was nodding off. He prepared her bed, then nudged her toward it. As she crawled into bed, her eyes already drifting close, she turned to him and made a few gestures with her hand. He didn’t know what it meant, but her smile said it all. He wasn’t entirely sure he deserved it, but it warmed him all the same. Which was a precious thing in this cold and damp world. He watched her sleep for a while, then laid down beside her. That night, none of his bad dreams plagued him for once.
-
They soon formed a rhythm to their days. Hanno did the scavenging and foraging for food and supplies outside. Elisabeth stayed in the cave to prepare food and wash and dry their clothing. It was strange at first, living with someone who couldn’t speak, but Hanno grew used to it. He learned some more sign language; she wasn’t a bad teacher, surprisingly patient for a kid of her age. She also learned too, about him. Not that he was willing at first.
He hesitated to tell the truth, but she was just so earnest and persistent. And he didn’t want to lie to her. His lies would never have held up anyway; anyone would have eventually seen through he wasn’t from this century.
He was a little guarded as he told her, fully expecting her to call him a madman. To look at him in anger or in fright. Back in his time, the non-believers all thought the travelers were lunatics.
But she took it calmly, and appeared to seriously think it over. She asked many good, smart questions, and he tried to answer as best as he could. Most of the questions involved whether she could travel to save her father, or find her mother and sister. He explained why she couldn’t. She frowned at that, but she didn’t argue.
And at last she asked-
How do you go back to your time?
He smiled bitterly. It was a question he had been wondering himself. I have to find the passage.
Passage? Where would it be?
Here.
-
She helped him dig in the back of the cave, even though he hadn’t asked her to. She went at it with a determination that implied a deeper motive than simply wanting to help him. He suspected she never believed him when he said she wouldn’t be able to save her family. But if they found the passage, he could take her to Adam, and Adam might have a way.
She was curious about Adam. Why do you do what he says?
Because he is going to save us. He is going to bring us to paradise.
Paradise?
The first time he told her about paradise, she absorbed in silence. Her eyes seemed to glow bright in the darkness of the cave.
When… will we get to go?
I don’t know. But Adam will lead us there.
Will he take me?
Of course.
But he doesn’t know me.
He knows you. He knows everyone. She still looked doubtful, so he signed, slowly and deliberately, holding her gaze. I. Will. Bring you.
Promise?
I promise.
She smiled at that, and Hanno smiled back.
-
The military was moving out of Winden. They made loud around the clock broadcasts, announcing for all survivors who remained in Winden to evacuate. Warnings of the radiation levels in the air, and so on. They could hear it in the cave. Hanno always tensed when he heard it. Elisabeth didn’t seem to mind.
It was Elisabeth that Hanno thought about though, as the day of evacuation closed on them. Finally he got her attention and asked: do you want to leave Winden?
Where would we go? She cocked her head.
Not we, he explained. I have to stay.
He still had the passage to work on.
She signed quickly: Then I’m staying.
But it will be harder here from now on.
Her movements were gaining speed and her gaze became a glare. I don’t care. I am staying with you.
Not for the first time, Hanno was tempted to tell her. Tell her the real reason why he had left his time behind to come here, to a world where he didn’t belong. Tell her he had known everything that would lead her to him, including the death of her father, and let it happen. He was supposed to. But he didn’t think that made it better.
But looking at her, he had to swallow the truth away.
Because he didn’t want to lose her.
Alright. We stay.
That night he couldn’t sleep, tossing and turning. He knew everything that would happen will happen, no matter what he did. He knew she was meant to be the mother of his child. But he still worried.
What if she regretted it after?
What if she grew ill and died after, like his mother had when his sister was born?
And the worst thought:
What if she was unhappy? What if she felt trapped here with him, like she didn’t have a choice? Did she have a choice, when she had nobody else?
He jumped when he felt her cool hand on his face.
What’s wrong? She signed, looking down at him.
Nothing. Go back to sleep.
She gave a stubborn jut of her chin that he was getting accustomed to. I want to sleep with you.
They had shared covers a few times now; once when Elisabeth was sick with a fever; once when she had a really bad nightmare; once when it was below freezing in the cave and it only made sense to do so. But tonight, especially after thinking what he was thinking, Hanno refused with a sharp shake of his head.
But the look of hurt she gave him was too much.
Fine. He relented.
She crawled inside his cover, curling up next to him. Her thick hair was getting too long now. It tickled his nose. She swept her hair away and turned to face him. The lamp light set one half of her face aglow.
Why do you always look at me like that? She asked.
What do you mean?
Like you feel bad. Or you’re about to cry.
He scoffed. I don’t cry.
You can, you know. I’ll be here.
He swallowed. Sometimes she had a way that made her seem so much older than her age.
What if you still had your family? Hanno asked. Will you be here with me?
It was a foolish question. Of course she wouldn’t. Adam would say that question was impossible anyway.
But Elisabeth seemed to ponder it carefully.
I don’t know if I would be here in this cave. But I would have found you and brought you to my family.
Why?
No one should have to be alone. And you are a good person.
I’m not, Hanno thought.
She kept signing, as if reading his mind. You give me extra food when you don’t eat enough. You brush my hair when it gets tangled. You want me to leave Winden because it's better out there. But you are my new family. Let’s never be apart, okay?
Hanno had to look away, but he must have been too slow, because she pressed closer, wiping his tears away gently.
It will be okay. I will take care of you.
She had parroted his own words back to him, and she knew it. She was smirking. Hanno had to laugh.
Okay. Never apart, always together. Hanno signed to her.
Promise?
I promise.