Aside from the gunshots and screaming, this was the culmination of all of Elliott’s dreams. Feeling unusually bold, in fact feeling like he could bench-press the universe if such a thing were called for, he cupped Shavian’s head and held her against him. She didn’t resist at all. The red curls fell around his face like a veil and smelled like hotel shampoo. It was the most amazing smell in the world. Her lips were soft and if they were a little dry from a lack of water in the last day or so, Elliott never noticed.
When at she pulled away from him, she looked down at him affectionately, then bent down for another kiss.
Fear rather than exultation raced through him when, in the middle of that second kiss, Shavian executed a move that could only be defined as a spit in the face of physics. She jerked them upwards and tumbled them both over ,inexplicably landing them on their feet. Still holding one wrist, Shavian tugged him forward. She peeked around a corner and, apparently seeing that the coast was clear, she hauled him back towards the front, keeping under cover as much as they could. He followed without question.
“I think you tore a hole in the space-time continuum with that one,” he called to her, not entirely in jest. He honestly had no idea what she had just done.
She grimaced at him over her shoulder, blushing. “I didn’t think I was that good a kisser,” she replied.
He almost clarified that he hadn’t meant that, but in a move that would have made Junie proud, he wisely kept his mouth shut. Besides, while the tumbling act was impressive, the kiss had left him speechless.
Shavian checked around every corner, and had to push them into more than one store to avoid more military. Each time they did, they saw civilians being herded through the mall, not precisely at gunpoint but with the potential of gunpoint implied. Eventually she led them to the sporting goods store. “Good thinking,” Elliott whispered.
A psst from one side of the door caught their attention and they whirled to see Roger and Higgins both squatting just below the level of the large window display. Shavian and Elliott dashed over to them.
“Have you run into them yet?” Roger asked.
“Yeah,” Shavian replied, popping her head up to look through the window: from there they had a great view of a large open hallway. They’d be able to see anything coming from here. “Friendly or not?”
“Not,” Higgins said.
“Shit!”
“Language,” Higgins replied sternly.
“Fine, Dad,” Shavian said with an eye roll, the perfect picture of teenage exasperation. Higgins shot her a look but secretly Elliott thought he was pleased.
“I heard one of them saying something about Operation Ark,” Roger whispered. “I think they’re rounding everyone up, lassie. They’ve taken away the civilians .” Roger peered closely at Elliott. “And what’s wrong with him?”
Elliott opened his mouth to regale them all with the story. “Just shell shocked,” Shavian blurted, “I think… From the gunfire.” Roger looked dubious and Higgins downright suspicious but neither he nor Shavian elaborated. Doubt nudged at the edge of Elliott’s euphoria, like a dull needle almost but not quite puncturing a balloon. Was she ashamed of what she’d done? “Anyway, we’ve got to get out of here. I don’t think I want anything to do with whatever the military is planning.”
“Agreed,” Higgins said.
“Do we know where Junie and Fipps have got to?”
“Coffee, no doubt,” Shavian said to nods all around.
Just then, they heard furtive movement coming from the entryway of the sporting goods store, and looked to see a lone man in a fatigues coming straight for them.