Daniel's heart is still beating out a rapid staccato but it starts calming down once it becomes clear that they're not about to be abruptly swarmed by hungries. He can catch his breath, glance over at Melanie, and get a horrible nauseating wrench in his chest when he sees what she's looking at.
"Oh my god," he breathes, and for a minute he can't not stare at it in silent horror. Melanie's the same, he realizes vaguely, and her rigid stillness in the face of the sickening, awful sight isn't helping. He automatically reaches out to put one hand on her shoulder, tears his gaze from the thing.
"Melanie?" he whispers. "It's okay. It's gonna be okay."
It's not.
But Daniel doesn't know what else to say. How does one be comforting in a situation like this? Melanie is so obviously shaken by the sight when the entire time she's been carefully assertive, impressively self-assured and calm and rational in what is literally an apocalyptically bad situation that he's pretty sure most adults couldn't handle half as well. If the dream hadn't crossed into nightmare territory already, it certainly has by now. And it's Melanie's.
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"Oh my god," he breathes, and for a minute he can't not stare at it in silent horror. Melanie's the same, he realizes vaguely, and her rigid stillness in the face of the sickening, awful sight isn't helping. He automatically reaches out to put one hand on her shoulder, tears his gaze from the thing.
"Melanie?" he whispers. "It's okay. It's gonna be okay."
It's not.
But Daniel doesn't know what else to say. How does one be comforting in a situation like this? Melanie is so obviously shaken by the sight when the entire time she's been carefully assertive, impressively self-assured and calm and rational in what is literally an apocalyptically bad situation that he's pretty sure most adults couldn't handle half as well. If the dream hadn't crossed into nightmare territory already, it certainly has by now. And it's Melanie's.