Book progress is at 92k words. The ending is in sight, but it's got a fair chunk to go yet! Oh, and here's the current cover I have. The final will probably look a lot like this.
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“How ya doin'?” Tara said, putting an arm around Sasha's shoulders for a squeeze.
“Oh. You know. Spectacularly.” She grabbed Tara's hand and gave is a squeeze. “Same as the rest of us. Grateful to our kind hostess, and looking forward to trying to sleep in a room with a couple hundred other people again. With this stink. Oh, and there's that little wet spot outside looking at me.”
“Wet spot?” Tara glanced out towards the direction of the ocean. “Uh, yeah. That's... that's something all right. Hey. We gonna talk about what we saw in those ruins?”
Sasha's gaze shifted into a distant nowhere. “Can... can we not?”
“Okay.”
Sasha wrapped herself into Tara, burying her face into her shoulder, and squeezing at tight as she could. “Tell me that's not the world,” she mumbled into Tara weakly.
“Well... yes, we're told that place is like one in two places like that, and the vast majority of the world isn't... that.”
“No good,” Sasha said, squeezing desperately, even tighter. “Tell me that didn't exist.”
Tara nuzzled into the hair near Sasha's ear. “I don't know what you're talking about, Sash. We're home. We're in our room on our own bed. The generator's doing fine, and we even have the day off. I'm going to keep you in bed all day, and not let go.”
“Never let go,” Sasha whispered.
“Of course not. You're my Sash.” Tara gave an extra bit of squeeze, unsure if it could even be felt against how hard Sasha was squeezing.
“You won't let go because I'm weak?”
“You're my Sash.”
A few moments passed as they held each other, doing their best to ignore their surroundings.
“I hate being weak. I hate that it makes you have to … to deal with me.”
Tara moved back enough to look Sasha in the eye with a stern expression. “You. Are. My. Sash. I know how big it is out there. I know how that's making you feel. I have trouble logically understanding that hugeness out there. You can't help how much it affects you, but you push through. I've never been prouder of how you handled that run to the AirLimb back at home, or how you followed me into those ruins. I've never been so ashamed of myself for bringing you there.”
“Tara, no...”
Tara grabbed Sasha close again, almost forcefully. Hints of sobs struggled to push their way through Tara's voice. “Y-you are my Sash. You're so strong, hon. You're my...”
And they held each other. And others held each other. Some needed comforting, others chose to explore cautiously. Others stared at the sea.
And night eventually came.
And they held each other.
