CHAPTER 26 — Meso, my friend
ELION — POV
Stepping into Meso's underground base felt like stepping into a different universe.
Made of concrete and metal. The hum of distant generators. And that fucking zombie's heart on the fucking wall, staring at all of us like it was going to haunt our nightmares.
My group stood behind me in one tightly-packed cluster.
Meso stood in front of me like she owned the world.
Which, honestly, she probably believed she did.
She had that energy— sharp, dangerous, amused.
Like a cat who would push a glass off a table just to watch it break.
She released me from the hug, straightened up, and clapped her hands together.
"Alright!" she chirped brightly. "Field trip time. Don't touch anything or you explode~! Probably."
Lily whimpered while Aaron grabbed Sarah's hand.
Delilah pressed closer to Danny.
Rea stared at Meso like she was watching a firework and trying to decide if it was beautiful or going to explode.
Alexiy just stayed at my side, fingers brushing mine with a quiet, territorial calm.
Meso spun on her heel and started walking.
"Follow meeee~! And watch your step. The last guy who didn't broke his ankle and cried like a toddler."
"Last guy?" Sarah whispered.
"She's joking," I said.
"I am absolutely not joking," Meso called ahead with a giggle, without turning around.
Great start.
We followed her into the first wide hallway. The lighting was bright and cold. Panels on the walls hummed with electricity.
We passed doors labeled:
ARMORY. WATER TREATMENT. GENERATOR ROOM. BACKUP GENERATOR ROOM. STORAGE A. STORAGE B. STORAGE BUT DON'T OPEN THIS ONE (seriously)
Lily slowed at that one.
"Why does it say that?"
"Because it's now my 'biological testing' room!" Meso called happily. "And I have a corpse in there I'm not done with yet."
Lily choked.
Sarah pulled Aaron behind her. Rea looked dead inside.
Danny leaned close to his sister and whispered, "We should've died on the highway."
Delilah nodded.
Meso didn't even slow her steps.
"So! Here's the heart of the base."
She gestured dramatically as the hallway opened into a massive room with:
A giant embedded digital map of the entire mountain area on the wall, there was a long couch circling around a central table, and a kitchen space on the side. Doors to different bedrooms were on one wall. It looked clean, with polished floors, and organized shelves. By the couch there were whiteboards full of scribbles, graphs, equations, and… drawings?
One was a detailed anatomical sketch of a zombie with labels like: "WHY DOES IT DO THIS". "MANA INJECTION CIRCUITS?" and one saying "FUCK YOU SCIENCE!!!"
And one adorable doodle of a smiling stick-figure labeled: Elfi :) With a bunch of hearts around it.
I tried not to stare at that one.
Meso turned to the group.
"Welcome to the living quarters! You will not die here! Probably."
She pointed to the whiteboard that held a map.
"This is the mountain. This entire area is my territory. Trees, cliffs, caves, streams, old mines, wildlife, everything is accounted for and mapped. Now I've been mapping mana flux changes for the last 72 hours. Yes, I haven't slept—No, I don't need to. Sleep is for the emotionally stable."
She gave her excuse before I could question her. I knew she was right so I couldn't argue after all I;ve only slept maybe 2-3 hours each night, since I spend most of free time practicing my magic.
Alexiy whispered, "Is she… healthy?"
"No," I whispered back. I would need to make sure she rested, when Meso gets sleep deprived she gets more chaotic and harder to rein in.
Meso continued without hear us.
"Rooms are down that hall. Let's do boys left and girls right. Unless you want to share rooms. Bathrooms are marked. Don't enter any rooms marked with an X unless you want a limb removed. Any questions?"
Nobody raised a hand. Even the twins stayed quiet.
They were smart enough to know not to. Otherwise I doubt they would've survived this long.
"Good!" she chirped.
Then she turned her eyes back to me.
They were sharp. More focused this time, and held an intense gleam.
"Elfio."
"Yeah?"
"You and I need to talk."
Her tone changed.
It was soft and low. Still controlled, it wasn't dangerous.... Just something else.
Everyone in the group felt it.
Sarah stiffened. Rea subtly straightened, ready. Lily blinked rapidly. Danny and Delilah froze. Alexiy tensed.
"I… should I come too?" Alexiy asked quietly.
Meso looked at her.
Just looked. It wasn't cruel. There was no mocking. Just… evaluating.
Then she said coldly:
"No. This talk is not for you."
Alexiy's breath hitched, but she nodded.
I gave her a squeeze on the shoulder.
Then I spoke up.
"Everyone rest up, it's been a long day. Let's eat, and shower, then sleep. We won't be long. And we will have a short team meeting tonight. Just don't touch anything suspicious looking"
At that Meso didn't wait for the group to reply. She just grabbed my wrist — and dragged me out of the room.
We walked through a hall. Then another. Then another.
All identical. All cold and metal and humming.
"Meso—?" I began.
"No talking."
"What?"
"No talking yet."
"…Are you okay?"
"No."
I swallowed.
"Did something happen?"
"You happened."
I blinked.
"Meso, what does that mea—HEY—"
She yanked me into a narrower hallway.
the lights were dimmer now, and only one door at the far end.The door looked normal. A simple wooden. Plain with no decorations.
But the vibe?
Horrifying.
Like the kind of hallway an executioner would take you down.
My chest tightened.
"Meso," I said slowly, "is this… safe?"
"...No."
Then she stopped walking.
My stomach dropped.
She typed a code into the keypad.
The lock clicked.
The door swung open—
And it was…
A bedroom?
A normal bedroom?
It felt like a regular bedroom. Soft lighting filled the room. A huge plush king-sized bed with black bedding lay in the center. Shelves of books filled with — legal texts, psychology manuals, manga, sci-fi, notebooks. A wall of anime posters we that had joked about online. Her desk covered in tech gear. A fluffy carpet lay beneath my feet. and a coffee mug that said: "I Bite."
This wasn't a torture room, or a lab.
No…
This was her personal bedroom where she slept.
Meso turned around.
Closed the door behind me.
And then?
She pushed me gently back until my legs hit the bed. I sat still confused about was going on. While I expected a private talk since this is the first time we're meeting in person I was confused about how close was getting.
I knew Meso background and she had even told me that she hates physical contact. And yet here she was. Pushing me down on the bed.
Then she climbed on top of me. Straddling my waist. Her hands braced on my chest.
Her face hovered inches from mine.
Her voice trembled.
"Don't you think," she whispered, "there's something you need to say to me?"
Her red eyes were sharp but… shaking.
Not angry.
Hurt.
The bomb I dropped earlier. The "I have a girlfriend" message. Four years of late-night calls, jokes, shared trauma, survival plans, promises....
Yeah.
I owed her something.
So I lifted a hand—slowly—and brushed her cheek with my thumb.
Her breath caught.
I met her eyes.
And with the softest smile I could manage, I said:
"Hey…I'm Elion. I'm glad to meet you in person."
Her lips parted.
Her face flushed pink.
Her entire body softened.
She whispered, quiet as a secret:
"…Hey. I'm Mesopotamia. And…"
She swallowed.
"I'm also glad to meet you in person."
And then—
She hugged me.
Hard.
She leaned into me, the full weight of her body pressing against me. Her arms moved wrapping around my shoulders to my neck. She turned her head, looking away from me, burying into my neck.
She felt so warm, and she was shaking slightly.
She felt so real.
"I'm so glad you're real," she whispered, voice cracking faintly. "That you didn't lie. That you didn't disappear. That you didn't die."
Her hands clenched together around my neck.
I could feel my shoulder and hoodie getting wet.
"...I'm so glad you're safe."
I exhaled slowly.
Then I moved my arms to wrap around her. I held her tight.
She felt so small, and warm. Reminding me that she was alive.
Like a koala gripping a tree.
My friend. My chaos. My apocalypse partner. The one person who never laughed and called me insane when i said my wish was the end of world. Hell she even wished along side me, following my dream.
I closed my eyes and whispered:
"I'm here, Meso. For real."
And for the first time since the world fell apart—
Everything felt right.
Everything felt like it was finally clicking into place.
I felt like I belonged.
She stayed there.
Hugging me.
Clinging.
And I hugged her back.