Wall of Light

Ten minutes later, Tina and the little nun emerged from the Storage Room with enough food to fill an enormous backpack. Xia Lun and Renee had packed their things too. Since the journey ahead would be dangerous, they left Warhorse Delis in the Storage Room with plenty of hay and water.

Then, with Tina leading the way, the group set out for the Shelter.

The broad avenue was still silent. Their recent fight had drawn no more Blind Lights or Phantom Tendrils. The deserted city lay bathed in the last light of an endless dusk, like an oil painting frozen in time.

A thin arc of orange-red light still hung high overhead, like a dying sun.

"The sun is most beautiful just before dusk. The clouds catch its fading light and look almost like a rainbow. Those shifts of light and shadow are so vivid, so captivating. They always inspire me."

Tina turned to Xia Lun and spoke softly in her husky voice.

"Before the apocalypse, whenever I was tired, I would watch the sun sink bit by bit. I even imagined stopping time at dusk forever. I never thought the apocalypse would make that wish come true."

Xia Lun knew she was setting a mood and probing for a response. He wanted to do the same, so he smiled and played along.

"Perhaps sunsets are beautiful precisely because they're fleeting. If the setting sun stayed in the sky forever, it would lose what made it special. It would become commonplace and stop moving anyone."

"You have quite an eye for beauty," Tina said with a bright smile. "I think we see things much the same way." As they chatted, Tina and Xia Lun opened a manhole cover and led the others down into the sewers.

According to the little