After a pause just long enough to feel like more than a pause, Elvis continued: "I think this period of chaos will be a lot longer than you think, and the earlier we start embracing it, the less it will fuck us over."

"But what if it doesn't reach Rena, then we can have-"

"Wishful thinking. It WILL reach Rena."

"...", Adam opened his mouth to say something, but proceeded to let it go unsaid.

Elvis got up from the small grass ledge they were sitting on and started walking back and forth on the peak's mostly green grass. Clearly, El was thinking about something. Adam chose not to interrupt, and looked back towards the setting sun, which was now starting to be covered by the mountain range in the distance. There, too, everything looked perfectly peaceful, as if nothing was going on, as if no lives were being threatened that minute.

"Have you heard one of the school kids ate a mushroom?", Adam broke the silence, trying to get his head off the civil war.

"Not yet. You mean the killer one right?"

"Yeah."

"Stupid. How does one even manage not to recognize them."

Adam sighed. "They do look a lot like button mushrooms."

Annoyed, Elvis exclaimed: "So?! This shit kills you, and it's not exactly impossible to tell!"

Adam wanted to mention that strictly speaking, it didn't kill you, but managed to stop himself for a moment, only to blurt it out a few seconds later anyway: "Welll, strictly speaking it only makes you go insane... You still have to do the killing part yourself"

"Pointless distinction". Elvis was right, but Adam was annoyed.

After just enough time for the annoyance to dissipate, Elvis offered a can of soda. The supply chains were fucked, but somehow the store brand orange lemonade persevered. Adam accepted and took a sip. It was still mostly cold, having sat in a backpack next to many other cans of the same temperature, and burned on its way down because someone decided regular amounts of citric acid weren't exciting enough. They were right.

"Wanna make our way back down?", Adam asked.

"Hell no, I'm staying until it's dark. I need a break."

That was fair enough. Elvis sat back down and tried to think about something other than the future, asking for a sip of the drink every once in a while and staring into the distance, trying to enjoy the scenery but mind still firmly on the future. Their strength of will was usually better than this. How dare they not be able to control their thoughts today.

After a while though, the future did disappear and Elvis came back to the present, watching the orange-red cloud formations and dull green forests calmly exist, almost inert. They had the slight urge to look at their wristwatch, but shook it off. It didn't. Fucking. Matter.

"Where did the kid even get the suicide shroom? It's not even the right season.", Elvis broke the silence.

"Dunno. Maybe found an early one."

"Probably. I guess they can be a few weeks early sometimes. Might be the weather..."

"hm."

* * *

The sun had set. The can of soda had been followed up by another, then another, and finally there was none left. The two tried, and mostly succeeded, to just enjoy the view, occasionally conversing about things that came to mind. It was mostly dark now, the city still illuminated dimly by the glow of the windows and a few street lanterns, some alcohol-fueled, some electric. The fields were mostly invisible, with silhouettes of the mountain range in the background and barely visible grass, shrubbery, and small trees next to Adam and Elvis.

Reluctantly, Elvis decided to begin their descent; Adam followed, mostly in silence. They didn't have much time to speak though as the descent involved sprinting down the relatively steep slope, leaving little time for speech between carefully placed steps at almost uncomfortable speeds. After a few minutes, the two arrived at the path surrounding the hill and started walking to the city. This part of the journey happened in almost complete darkness, shielded by trees from what little light the night had left for them. Elvis lived alone, but invited Adam to stay with them for the night as he had complained about his roommate while they were on the peak. The streets were mostly calm, few people were still out this late, but nonetheless everyone felt the tension in the air as people wondered how long Rena had left in peace.

Elvis still had leftovers in the fridge, and warmed them in the microwave currently powered by the town's battery reserves charged from the sun during daytime. They asked Adam if he wanted some extra spices, but Adam only answered with a dissociated "m?...", so Elvis put the pepper on the table and gestured to take it if desired. Both ate well and soon went to bed, with Elvis sleeping on the floor, saying "When war comes here, I can't be reliant on beds to get a good sleep. If I do it on the floor now, I won't have to learn it later.". Adam slept in Elvis's bed, somewhat admiring their strength of will.