Abigail’s Second Life

"Josh, it's been ages. You seem like a different person." Abigail grinned as she lifted the glass he handed her and finished it in one gulp.

Josh stared at her in astonishment and took a while to gather his thoughts before finally responding, "You never used to drink so boldly before."

She set her glass down, let out a soft sigh, and remarked, "Really? I hardly remember my old self anymore."

Josh felt a pang in his chest. He reached out to grasp her hand and, with tears welling up in his eyes, said, "When I was washing Andrew, I saw the bullet wounds on his shoulders and chest. I couldn't help but wonder, if it weren't for him, would I ever see you again?"

Andrew shared many stories about Abigail while he was bathed.

During those six months, she had endured gunfire and even lost her sight.

When she chose Simond, she lost her vision, and for the sake of their group and Larry, she had to give up the opportunity to leave with Sean.

"It's all behind us now." Abigail avoided dwelling on the past, as the thought of having blood on her hands inevitably filled her with self-loathing.

Josh tightly squeezed her hand and said desperately, "You won't leave again, will you?"

"I'm not quite sure." She was torn between the desire to stay after her return and the lingering memory of Luna. Despite wanting to stay, she couldn't shake the feeling that more unforeseen events might arise in the future.

She needed to figure out who sent those two messages. If it was Luna, she had to go save her.

"Abigail, you're not a superhero. You've done enough. Let me handle the rest and consider it my contribution to Luna!" Josh couldn't bear to see her put herself in danger again.

she had someone like Andrew, who was as innocent as a child,

in the past six months," Abigail said in a low voice to Josh. She wouldn't have been

skills and combat for a month, but she gave it her all to learn. And it

someone for the first time,

in a secure environment, and he was oblivious to the potential

was in Perou,

wanted to take Abigail's place because he didn't know, but now her words

"Josh, you needn't worry about me anymore. I've

He didn't want to talk about this and immediately changed the

the silence with a smile. "Not

and then said slowly, "Everyone knows you too well.

to Andrew, she cried buckets of tears upon returning to

her struggles to herself. Knowing that she cried like that, he knew her pain was genuine. Abigail finished her drink in one gulp before placing the glass down. "I'll be visiting Grandma in Quinn

away with

her room, sleep still

drifted off as dawn approached. Even in her dreams, everything was chaotic, with the past merging into a jumble of messy memories. When she woke up, she discovered it was only

surprisingly alert, as if she didn't

she found Scarlett humming a tune while

against the kitchen door, sniffed, and asked, "What are