The blast, the stress, and his unnerving and seemingly random failure of his eyes now and again was really starting to leave him with a nasty little headache. The reverberating buzz in his ears was not helping, but that faded away soon enough.

It seemed to have worked. Amazingly enough. Malcolm lifted his head to survey the scene and the group before dropping it back into the sand and rolling over onto his back, just trying to breathe without getting choked with dust. A moment of respite seemed earned.

And his partner in crime was smiling. Somehow, he hadn't expected that. And though it was small, a little hesitant, he appreciated it for what it was. Malcolm waved the statement off. "We're just lucky that even did anything at all." A moment before sitting himself up. "You've got some talent. Are you military?" It didn't cross his mind that she might believe the story in the cave rather than her 'dream'.