Cadence didn’t bother to try to hide her bike this time when Elliott pulled into the parking garage that adjoined Cale’s office building. Now that Aaron couldn’t try to stop her, it didn’t matter that everyone would see her—and Elliott. They would have a lot of explaining to do, and she realized that others might want to try to open the portal for various reasons if rumor got out how this was accomplished. She thought it best to tell everyone that Elliott was back but there would be no explanation of how it was accomplished and leave it at that.
Walking through the reception area of Cale’s office was a bit awkward. Clearly, some of the workers recognized Elliott and weren’t sure what to make of his presence. Cadence stopped at the receptionist’s desk and asked where Cale might be. The girl there, one Cadence knew well, could hardly speak. She only gestured at Cale’s office, which was down the hall, her brow furrowed. Cadence thanked her and made her way down the hallway.
Cale met her a few feet away from his office door. “Ah! If it isn’t the Hunter Leader and the walking dead who’ve selected my area to dazzle and amaze with their fantastic death-defying feats,” he said, a sarcastic grin plastered on his handsome face.
“Hey, Cale! Nice to see you,” Elliott replied, ignoring his remarks and clasping his hand. Cale pulled him into a half-hug. Even though they didn’t know each other well, Cale had been involved in the Sierraville campaign, as it was known before it became an “incident.”
“Surprise!” Cadence said, awkwardly standing next to them, her helmet in her hand. She was also still wearing the backpack, though it seemed to have lessened in importance dramatically over the last couple of hours.
“I wouldn’t be more surprised if I awoke to Queen Elizabeth I sitting at the end of my bed,” Cale nodded. “I was just about to head up to my apartment. Would the pair of you care to join me?”
“Sure,” Cadence nodded, and Cale put his arm around her shoulders and led them to the elevator, a gesture she found a bit odd but also quite comforting. It was as if he could tell this entire process had left her head spinning.
“So, what was it like, coming back from the dead?” Cale asked as he pushed the proper button.
Elliott was standing behind them, and Cadence turned her head to look at him as he answered. She was still having trouble believing he was actually there. “Honestly?” he asked with a chuckle, “it was a bit underrated. I mean, I was expecting some sort of magical pulsating, the feeling of electricity coursing through my veins, you know, like when the beast turns back into a prince. But really, I just stepped through the portal and the next thing I knew, I was all put back together again.”
“Hmm,” Cale said, with a nod. “Interesting. So all of the ashes from the… the…”
“KFC bucket,” Elliott supplied for him.
Cale’s eyebrows arched, and Cadence began to giggle, as if it was the most hilarious thing she’d ever heard in her life; it all seemed so surreal. “Okay… the ashes just came back together?”
Cale was staring at her, and she had no answer for him, because unfortunately she hadn’t been looking during the reconstruction process. Cadence shrugged her shoulders. “Something like that. I just looked up and he was sitting next to me on the ground.”
“Next to the KFC bucket,” Elliott reminded her. Cadence punched him in the arm, harder than she intended, and he rubbed it, saying, “Hey, take it easy. I’m still a little fragile. I’ve been mostly dead all day.”
“He wasn’t in the bucket,” Cadence attempted to explain, shaking her head at Elliott’s ridiculousness as she followed Cale out of the elevator and into the hallway near his apartment. She was glad she didn’t need to be sneaky this time. “He was in a plastic bag.”
“Oh, that’s better,” Cale replied as he opened his door, his tone implying that he didn’t really think it was better at all.
“And the bag was inside the bucket,” Elliott reminded her as they entered the apartment. “Damn! You must have employed one hell of a Merry Maid.”
“Oh, yeah,” Cale shrugged, possibly a bit embarrassed. “I like to keep things tidy.”
“Not me,” Elliott said, stepping through the door and pulling off his jacket, slinging it onto a nearby chair. “I ain’t got time for all that. Besides, even if I tried, I’d probably just leave little trails of ash wherever I go… or chicken batter crumbs.”
“All right! Knock it off!” Cadence insisted, plopping herself down on the white sofa much less gracefully than she had a few days ago. “I get it. You didn’t find my choice of container as humorous as I’d hoped.”
Elliott took a seat in a chair across from her as Cale picked up his jacket and hung it by the door. “I did find it humorous. I’m just messing with you,” he assured her, patting her on the leg.
“Can I get either of you anything?” Cale asked, standing in the doorway between the living room and the kitchen area.
“I’m starving,” Elliott replied, as if he had just come to the realization.
“Let me guess, you want some fried chicken?” Cadence asked, running a hand through her hair and noticing it was a bit dusty.
“Fresh out,” Cale interjected before Elliott could even hurl another insult at her. “But I do have some fresh sushi. I had to replenish most of my groceries recently.” He narrowed his eyes and smiled at Cadence, who could feel her face flushing under his close scrutiny.
“Did you clean out the doctor’s fridge?” Elliott asked, stifling a laugh.
“Bringing back the dead makes me hungry,” Cadence shrugged, averting her gaze from Cale’s handsome face.
“Sounds good to me,” Elliott called to their host, who disappeared into the kitchen. “You okay?” he asked her, giving her boot a gentle nudge.
Cadence hesitated to answer. She wasn’t exactly sure how she felt. After a few moments of reflection, she replied, “I’m okay. I just feel… odd. I don’t like having Aaron mad at me, and I still can’t believe you’re sitting here.” He was sitting in his chair leaning forward, his hands clasped together over his lap, and the familiarity of his expression and his presence washed over her all at once. She knew she wouldn’t be able to accept this had really happened for at least a day or two.
“I understand it’s got to be an adjustment,” he replied, quietly. “I honestly feel like I never left. I mean, I can’t remember what it was like… over there. And I don’t really remember much about right before I left. I do remember we were supposed to be moving in on Giovani, that Laura and Sam said they had him cornered in an old barn or something. And then… the rest is a bit hazy.”
Cadence nodded. “He was supposed to be holed up in an old abandoned house. But it was a trap. Laura, Sam, Finn, and Camille turned on us. Aaron and I both realized it about two seconds too late. By then, Finn had wounded Christian and Camille had shot Jamie pretty badly. Sam was shooting at Meagan. You stepped in to protect her, and without even hesitating a moment, he shot you in the head. He also shot Meagan twice. She recovered, though.” Retelling the story was still difficult, even after all of these months, even when she realized she was talking to the only casualty of the evening.
Elliott was quiet for a long time, and Cale returned with the sushi and some drinks, looking from one of them to the other before setting the wares down on the coffee table and taking a seat next to Cadence on the couch. “Everything all right?”
“I was just recounting Sierraville,” Cadence answered.
“Oh, I see,” the doctor nodded in understanding. “That’s one night I definitely don’t like to talk about.”
“Right,” Cadence agreed.
