Chapter 40: Taran

I knew our peace, the moments of shared understanding, wouldn't last long, but I'd hoped for longer than a day. That we'd have long enough for our fledgling relationship to settle in. I should've known better. Nothing good in Sanctuary sticks around. Strawberries get eaten or die, with none to replace them. Baby birds grow up and fly away. Food shortages run rampant in the lower classes. Children get sick without medicine, parents get desperate, and the city police show their brutality when there's any unrest. The bad is as predictable as the sun.

Diogo and I wake on the roof, wrapped in each other's arms, his radio crackling nearby. He rolls off the cot while I catch the blanket to my chest, stretch and squint in the general direction of the sun, still low in the horizon and hidden by buildings. I'd guess it's early. Not even 6am yet. Diogo pulls his pants on, leaving them unbuttoned as he reaches for the radio.

"Report," he snaps.