Black Out

We met Larysa very fortunately that night. We carried Cameron's body back to her apartment. She ran into the kitchen and got a cup of water for me and a hot towel for Cameron. She placed it on his head.

"Thanks, but please, what is your name?" I asked, still trying to catch my breath. "What were you doing outside in the midst of all that chaos?"

"International Correspondent, Larysa Melnyk," she replied. "I was trying to shoot the incident by myself when I saw you two collapse by a bush. I came a bit closer before I could recognize your faces. You're Christopher Anderson, and he's Cameron Brown. You're with the London City News Report. I am a huge fan of your work."

"I just started yesterday," I said with a smile.

"And I am already impressed," Larysa said.

The lights went off immediately as she grabbed a torchlight. Simultaneously, Cameron began to stir before finally waking up.

"What... what happened?" he asked, sitting up. "Where am I?" He rubbed his eyes before taking a look at Larysa, then at me. He stood up as I sat by his side.

"Chris... I'm sorry. You saved my life, and I didn't think about you or what we wanted. I'm sorry."

"Mate, I was doing what any friend would do," I said, extending my hand. He pulled me in for a hug.

"I'm glad you lot are happy, but we have to get out of the capital right now," Larysa interrupted. "My sources in Russia are telling me things are escalating, and the President threatened to launch more missiles and drones if the President of the United States fails to apologize for his comments and remove his bases in Ukraine."

We listened carefully to everything she said, and as she concluded, she offered us some food, and we ate. We stayed there for the night, but I just couldn't sleep.

Larysa was the first person to get up in the morning (technically, I was, because I didn't sleep all night), but she came into our room with a cup of coffee for Cameron and me. She was already dressed up.

For the first time, I actually saw Larysa. She was about 5 ft 5 inches, had blonde hair and blue eyes, looked 26 at most, and had a slender figure.

"We are leaving in an hour. I suppose you guys don't have any luggage?" she said, handing us our coffee.

"What about my bag? I remember carrying my bag while running. Maybe it's still near the bush I fell down by."

"Maybe," I said, taking a sip of my coffee. Larysa threw some clothes at us.

"You can have your showers and dress up. I'm making breakfast."

"How do you have male clothes?" I asked, laughing.

"They are my husband's. He passed away not too long ago, so I kept them in case of an emergency," she said.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I had no idea."

"It's alright. Just get ready," she said, as she left and shut the door. Cameron and I stared at each other for seconds before I stood up and went into the bathroom.

I stepped out of our bedroom, dressed, and saw pictures of a man and a young boy with Larysa. They were definitely her family. My eyes caught a glimpse of her setting the table.

"You can stop staring at me and come have breakfast," she said, not looking back.

"I'm sorry. I still feel bad about what I said earlier," I said, sitting down at the table.

"I'm sorry, I still feel bad about what I said earlier."

"You live in such a nice house."

"Thanks."

"What happened to your husband, anyway?" I asked.

She took a deep breath and continued with her toast.

"He died last year when we got into a fight about our son. He was really sick, and I just got a huge job at the United States. It wasn't the best time, but I needed the money. We needed the money, so I left. I heard my husband died after he got into a fight with a man he owed a lot of money. Then I came back for a month and decided to take our son with me. I paid off the debt and took back our home, rented it out, and flew back to the States. But my son died a month later."

There was a moment of silence after she was done.

"I'm so sorry to hear about that," I said, holding her hand.

"You're a very good woman, you know? Thanks for saving me and Cameron."

Just then, Cameron came out of our bedroom and joined us at the table. Soon after, we jumped into Larysa's car and left.