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Aasim’s stomach tightened with each small ripple of water that crashed against the boat. The sound of footsteps above made his senses flare up as Omar leaned against the wall. Blood stained through his pant leg but his friend didn’t make a sound. He was too afraid to. Aasim held that same fear in his heart. He wasn’t sure how long they had been here or whether Violet was okay in the cell across from them. When he had asked he never got a response. Silent had been her only answer. Aasim wasn’t sure what to do or if there was anything to do when suddenly the sounds of heavy boots made him freeze. After a moment he saw the face of one of the Delta member’s, the cold harsh eyes of the one who had shot Omar. Aasim could feel his breath catch in his throat as her weapon remained aimed at their cell door while Lilly entered Violet’s cell with Minerva. Whispers could be heard in the other cell and despite his fear Aasim spoke up.
“Violet, don’t lis-”
He froze when he felt an odd warmth in his gut and glancing down he saw a bullet wound there.
With a jolt, Aasim woke up, his chest heaving as his eyes tried to adjust to the pitch black dark of the room. Where was he? Back on the ship? No, that wasn’t quite right. Where was this place? Aasim’s mind stayed frazzled as panic rose in his gut. With each passing second he seemed to be getting closer to an anxiety attack when all of the sudden he felt a hand on his arm.
“Aasim? What’s wrong?” Ruby asked as she sat up in bed and tried to blink the sleep out of her eyes.
Aasim stared off into the darkness of the room. Words seemingly out of his grasp as his mind still spun.
“Was it another nightmare?” Ruby slowly brushed her arm up and down her boyfriend’s arm.
“I’m okay.” Aasim’s voice shook just as his body did when he spoke those words. “It’s nothing.”
“It ain’t nothing. Aasim,”
“I’m fine.” Aasim spoke quickly. A seed of guilt formed in his gut, the same as it always did after he woke up from a nightmare. He had no right to wake up his girlfriend because of this. Not when out of the three that had been taken he had sustained no injuries. He had gone through the least trauma and he had thought after a few weeks he would be free from the nightmares but they always returned. The first time he had woken up from it he had been grateful to have Ruby by his side but now all he felt was guilt. Omar was still recovering from the gunshot, Violet couldn’t see beyond blurry shapes and colors at this point and others hadn’t survived past that night. Minerva, Tenn. Brody and Mitch were gone too. Yet here he was struggling with a nightmare when he had gone through nothing compared to them.
After a few moments the walls in the room felt like they were closing in. With each passing second it felt more and more like he was being trapped in a cage. In his hazy mind, all Aasim could see the room as was the cell back on the ship. His breathing hitched and his hands started to tremble.
“Aasim. Aasim, I’m right here.” Ruby held onto his hand. She studied her boyfriend for a moment before putting together the pieces. She had been through this a number of times that she was confident in what Aasim needed. “Come on, let’s go for a walk.”
Aasim nodded and shakily got up to his feet. His hand clung onto Ruby’s as she guided them out of the room. She knew he never did well in rooms after a nightmare.
“We’re going to take some deep breaths and focus on the walk,”
Aasim stayed silent and stared out one of the shattered windows. He went along with the deep breaths that Ruby took alongside him but he was trapped in his mind. His eyes remained on the moon and the light that pierced through. The couple continued on, the only sound in the hallway being that of their footsteps and the low groans of walkers outside.
“I’m sorry.”
“Oh, Sug, You’ve got nothing to apologize for.” Ruby gave a reassuring smile over to her boyfriend but he didn’t believe her. Aasim was stuck in his own thoughts, never seeming to escape until he felt the tug on his arm and looked back to see that Ruby hadn’t moved.
“I’ll be fine.”
“I know.” Ruby gave his hand a short squeeze then kept walking. “Come on, let’s go outside for some fresh air.” She led the way to the door and opened it before wandering towards the watchtower. She knew better than most that the best way to get Aasim out of his head and to stop his thoughts from weighing him down was if he did something practical.
“Willy!” Ruby called up and a moment later Willy looked back from his spot on the watchtower.
“Hey, Ruby!”
“Mind if I switch shifts with you?”
Willy stared at Ruby then glanced over at Aasim and gave a nod.
“Okay,” He started to climb down and hopped to the ground. “Want me to double check on Clem and Vi and see how they’re doing?”
“Nah, we should let them rest. I’ll check on them first thing in the morning.” Ruby could tell that Willy didn’t fully agree with that. He knew it would mean that she would be up for most of the night. “I’ll be fine, don’t go worrying about it.”
“Okay, I’ll take your shift in the greenhouse in the morning then,”
Before Ruby could say otherwise Willy had dashed off. Ruby watched him for a moment then squeezed Aasim’s hand.
“Alright, let’s head up for a bit.”
“Okay,” Aasim followed his girlfriend up and the two silently watched the world beyond the Ericson walls. Something about seeing the vast open world outside, letting the fresh air enter his lungs. It helped. That’s right, he wasn’t there anymore. He would never be again. Here, at Ericson and next to his girlfriend, he was safe. Minutes passed and after a while the tension in Aasim’s shoulders left and he exhaled loudly.
“Feeling any better.”
“A bit. Thank you.” Aasim stayed quiet for a moment as he took in the world around him. The cool night breeze stung his face as he took long, deep breaths. “I don’t want to be a burden.”
“You aren’t.”
Aasim nodded and he held onto Ruby’s hand tighter. He wasn’t sure if he fully believed his girlfriend in that moment but he didn’t want to dwell on it. The best thing he could do was reset and help make sure that Ericson remained safe during the aftermath of the Delta’s attack. Maybe then, after more time had passed, the nightmares would fade away.