Smoke filled the air and gunshots rang in her ears. The building was falling apart in front of her eyes. The ground shook as the building crumbled, creating huge plumes of dust that were soon engulfed by the flames.   

“Kaylynn run!” she heard her mother yell from somewhere in the flames. 

Her father reached out for her, mere feet away. She rushed to his side, pulling him away from the inferno just behind them. He tried to stand but collapsed at her feet. His eyes were glazed and he could barely speak. His head fell to his shoulders as he gasped for air.  

“No! Don't you dare leave me. Not now!” Kaylynn wailed, holding him in her arms. “Please get up! I need you,” her voice cracked and she choked on her own tears. He opened his mouth to speak but his eyes rolled back into his head and he went limp. She shook him, begging him to move, to breathe, anything, but his mouth fell open and his head lay in her lap. The scream that emerged from within her was like nothing she had ever felt before. Her insides seemed to be trying to burst their way out of her chest and her body convulsed with anguish. 

The fire glinted in her eyes and she gasped for air. Smoke filled her lungs and stung her eyes. She stood frozen watching the flames engulf her home as a soldier stood over the fallen form of her father. She was tempted to just lay down, to join her father, but that wasn't what he would have wanted. He would have wanted her to be brave. Without thinking, she turned to run, the cries of her people echoed through the streets behind her. 

No turning back. She ran as fast as she could. She ran until her lungs burned and her legs felt close to giving in. The sounds of the massacre behind her fell quiet and the screams were lost in the wind. 

The town where she lived was close to the wall. The edge of everything.The wall surrounded the towns and cities from the wilderness beyond. The only wilderness left, so wild and dark it had never been explored. It was forbidden to cross the wall. It stood, towering twenty feet above them and was patrolled by guards, but they had left to flee the attack. She turned to face it and began to climb. Sharp stones dug into her hands but she pushed on. She neared the top and she turned to look back for a second. Below her she saw nothing but darkness and heard the echoes of screams in the distance. She fought back a wail and resumed her climb. 

As she reached the top she caught her breath. She had never seen over the wall and for a moment she felt like turning back. The darkness and shadows seemed endless. Rumbles and growls sounded from within the trees. She ran along the top of the wall until she reached an abandoned guard’s station. Fast as she could she grabbed a pack and stuffed it with everything she could find. Rope, a shotgun, and cloak. She climbed to the edge of the far side of the wall. She could see a sturdy tree about 8 feet away. She could hear shouts coming nearer, the guards returning.  Without hesitation she ran as fast as she could, launching herself off the wall. She flew through the air, nearing the outstretched branches of the tree. A sharp pain shot through her body as she grabbed onto a branch with all her might. A cracking noise from her arm made her sick to her stomach. Her vision went blurry but fast as she could she scrambled down to the ground. Her feet hit the dirt just as the guards returned. They shouted down the wall in rage and drew their guns. Their job was to keep everyone in and kill anyone who tried to leave. Her arm felt as though it was on fire and pain wracked through her body. She struggled up, pulling herself away as fast as she could. The guards did not follow suit. It was forbidden to cross the wall, even for them. And besides, no one had ever survived more than a day out there. 

After hours of walking aimlessly in the dark Kaylynn made it to a clearing and collapsed. Her whole body ached with pain and grief. She felt as though she would die right then and there, alone in the dark, and a part of her wanted that. To die felt like the easiest option. Consciousness slipped away from her like a leaf drifting down a river and her head was on the ground before she could think. 

When she woke the sun had risen above the wall in the distance and light flooded the meadow. The sight calmed her. It was quiet. Quiet like she had never known. No bustling traffic, no voices ringing through the streets. It felt empty and lonely. She sat in the silence rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. In the distance a bird began to sing, a shrill melody that rang through the trees. It seemed to grow, filling the silence, as others joined in. She stood and her legs ached. Looking down at herself she saw her arms covered with scratches and bruises forming on her legs. Her arm burned and felt heavy to move. It was bent at an odd angle and swollen up to twice its size. Her clothes were torn and covered with dirt. She looked around herself and there wasn't a building or a person in sight. That had never happened to her before. She felt free but exposed at the same time. She didn't know what was out here or what she had gotten herself into. A small part of her wanted to turn back, to join her family in the pile of bodies dumped into the streets. But a breeze blew a strand of hair into her face and she knew she couldn't. She didn't know how things would end but she wanted to at least try. For her father. Everything she had ever known had been left behind behind the wall. Before her lay everything she needed to learn to call home.

She walked for hours, following a beam of sunlight that streaked across the sky and disappeared behind the mountains. She passed streams of fresh water and trees casting long shadows across the grass. The sun beared down on her back as it climbed higher into the sky. The heat was sweltering and sweat trickled down her neck. She began to grow weary and thirsty. She made her way to the nearest stream and stepped in. The water was ice cold and it rushed over her feet, cooling her instantly. She could sense the freshness flowing around her. She shaped her good hand into a bowl and bent down, scooping water towards her face. She realized just how parched she was as she put the water to her lips and began to drink. She stepped out of the stream. Her arm hung limp at her side and she had to fight to keep from screaming with every movement. The pain was so intense her shoulders shook and her breath came in uneasy gasps.  

All around her the birds sang sweetly in the trees. It was a foreign sound to her and she was fascinated by the complex melodies. And just when she thought she had figured out the tune it would change and another bird would start off with a new song. The clouds drifted lazily across the sky and the air was still. The leaves on the trees were a brilliant shade of green she never knew could exist naturally. The way the plants seemed to fight their way out of the soil and reach as far as they could to the sun mesmerized her. It all felt so peaceful in that moment she could almost forget about the horror of the previous night and the pain in her arm. 

She had barely reached the crest of a small hill before she collapsed and knew she could continue no further. The lights of the city gleamed in the distance, littered with the lights of fires burning in houses. From where she sat she could barely make out the shapes of buildings. The sun had begun to set behind the tallest mountains to the west, sending beams of sunlights throughout the valley. She reached her hand up catching the last of the light as it disappeared behind the peaks. As the darkness crept in the air got colder. She pulled her cloak tighter around her body but the cold wouldn't seem to leave. It was as if it came from inside her, like her bones were made of ice. The shadows grew longer and darker. She felt surrounded as if the trees would come to life and grab her. Strange noises came echoing through the forest in such an otherworldly way she could have been dreaming.

She woke with the first rays of sunlight the next morning. A thin layer of frost had covered everything in sight. Her arm ached and had turned a pale shade of gray below the shoulder. She began to walk, unsure where she was headed. She felt empty and alone. The trees cast shadows that seemed to follow her and cling to her as she walked. Peculiar sounds followed her echoing through the forest. She had started off towards the west, away from her world. Everything in her body burned as she walked but her soul felt numb. 

The hours slipped by in a hazy blur. She was starving and in pain but she pushed on. By midday clouds gathered above her. A cool wind picked up around her blowing her hair into her face. It sent a chill down her spine. Something felt off. The sky began to darken and a clap of thunder so loud it seemed to shake the ground startled her. She picked up her pace, looking for somewhere to shelter. A few hundred feet away she spotted a cave. She rushed towards it but stopped as if she hit a brick wall a few feet away. On the ground she spotted a hollowed out gourd collecting water. She stopped and stared at it and began to notice other things. Footprints in the dirt, a makeshift spear carved of wood and bone rested on a tree, an animal skin bag full of berries, and what looked like the remnants of a fire. Something tugged at her gut. Someone else was out here. Panicked, she turned to run but a clap of thunder so deafeningly loud it shook her bones made her drop to her knees. The rain began to pour more fiercely than ever and she could hardly move. She had two choices; turn back and face the storm on her own or hide in the cave and pray no one returns. She ran into the cave, rain soaking through her clothes.  

It smelled like freshly cooked meat and fire inside. Against one wall was a makeshift bed. At the other end hung a deer carcass. She sat down and closed her eyes, trying to distract herself from the storm and the cold. She drifted off into an unsettling sleep. In her dreams she heard the birdsong. The same one from her first morning alone. Her family sat by her side, all laughing and watching the bird sing his tune. It was a delicate scene, the kind you find inside a snowglobe. A fragile picture of elegance and perfection that could be broken with a single movement.

  A hand touched her shoulder and she was jarred awake. She jumped up as fast as she could and rushed back trying to find something to defend herself. She pressed herself against the cave wall and looked around frantically. At first she saw no one but when she looked closer there was a figure in the shadows. She could see the form of a boy, highlighted against the darkening sky. He stared at her intently watching her every move. He stepped forward, moving into the light and she could see him more clearly. He had dark brown hair that fell just above his ears. It was slicked back and slightly curly at the ends. His face was firm and cold, something cut from steel and ice. A sculpted masterpiece so sharp it looked as though it could cut glass. He had a strong jawline and his eyes were a dark green. He looked at her with an intensity she had never known. He tilted his head looking at her curiously. Along his neck was a scar that stretched the length of his throat. He wore a black shirt, torn in places and black cargo pants. Their eyes met and for a moment it was silent as they looked at eachother. He began to move closer and she prepared to run. She flinched and retreated, hands pressed up against the cold stone. He looked her up and down and began to speak.

“Are you… are you real?” His voice was deep and gravely. He spoke softly but she heard every word. He seemed perplexed and a touch ambivalent. He hesitated before moving, as if he was scared she would disappear. 

Her eyes darted around like a cornered animal. 

“I'm Elias,” he said, stepping carefully forward. She felt her heart rush as he got closer. He smelled like rain on fresh earth and mountain streams. She felt aware of every inch of her body. The rain came down in heavy sheats outside but she barely even noticed. All her attention was on him. The way he moved, the way he looked at her, his strong arms reaching out to her, his hair still dripping wet from the rain.

“I’m Kaylynn,” she said after a moment of hesitation.  

The rain continued to pour as they sat next to the fire Elias had built. He stood up and walked across the cave. He grabbed a blanket and tossed it over to Kaylyn. It was torn and frayed and caked in dirt but it kept her warm. 

The storm outside raged, rain pouring and lightning flashing. The clouds covering the sky gave it a timeless feeling, as if they could be stuck there forever. Thunder rumbled in the distance, growing louder as it approached. Feint flashes of lightning illuminated the dark in blinging flashes. Just outside the cave grew a great old oak tree, its branches stretching over everything. Faster than a blink, a bolt of lightning struck through the highest branches, sending a blast of white light into their eyes and causing the ground to shake as if it would split in two. The tree smoked and the scent of burnt wood and chard grass wafted through the crisp air. The fire flickered and the embers that danced on the wood grew dimmer, beginning to die. A leaf in the center of the fire crackled and sent sparks flying through the smoke.  

“Where are you from?” she asked him

“Here and there,” he responded.

“What are you doing here?”

“This and that,”

“Do you ever…” 

“Now and then,” he interrupted.

“Boy, you're just full of information aren't you,” she said, rolling her eyes. 

He eyed her cautiously and paused to consider his answer. 

“I lived with my family outside the city without any trouble from The Black Thorn. Then last year they found us. They raided houses and whole neighborhoods eliminating everything and leaving no one behind. The bodies of the dead were piled onto carts and dumped outside the wall. Then one day they showed up at our house. I was out back when they dropped the bomb. That was their usual tactic. Send in a bomb, kill any survivors, take all the bodies, and then take what they wanted.”

She could see his hands beginning to shake. The beginnings of tears formed in the corner of one eye but he dug his nails into his palms until his knuckles were white, fighting them back. 

“I bolted into the house to try to warn them but the shell exploded through the rooms shattering the windows and sending a cloud of smoke over everything. I rushed to them only to find my whole family dead on the floor. My mom, dad, and my sisters. My mom held my baby sister in her arms, trying to shield her. But all that was left of them was two intertwined corpses. I knew the soldiers would be there any minute to take them away so I grabbed a knife off the floor and slit my own throat.” He said, pointing to his scar. “They thought I was dead like the rest of them, not realizing or caring how I had died as long I was dead like the rest of them. They threw us into the carts, bodies piled on top of eachother. We were taken out of the city and dumped outside the wall. We were tossed into a pit full of their other victims' bodies, thousands of them all piled together. The soldiers didn't even think twice as they threw the body of my baby sister on top of her dead mother. So I lay there among the carnage until they left. Nothing feels real anymore, not even this.” 

Elias's story sent chills throughout her body. The thought of the pits full of bodies haunted her mind. Had her parents been taken to one of those or were they simply left there in the rubble? She would never know. Neither option was good. She shook the vision from her mind and looked back up at Elias. His eyes glistened as he stared into the fire. He looked like an eagle who had been shot down, something strong and powerful that had lost everything and left as a shell.  

Night had begun to fall before they spoke again. He got up and moved away from the fire. She heard him shuffling around behind her but she didn't turn to look at what he was doing. The fire had died down and all that was left was the smoldering logs. She stared at it, watching the embers dance around the wood. She felt uneasy, as if something bad was just around the corner; she just couldn't place what it was. He bent down to the fire, adding another log and blowing on it softly. Sparks flew through the air and the flame grew stronger. He put two slabs of meat onto a stone in the middle of the fire. It sizzled and she realized just how hungry she was. He passed the gourd of fresh rainwater to her for her to drink. The rain had stopped by then, making everything smell fresh and crisp. The earth felt new and the scent of the damp soil was one that triggered some primal part of her mind, making her feel safe. A short gust of wind blew past her, making the blanket fall off her shoulders. Elias stood to wrap it around her again. His hand brushed against her left arm and she winced and nearly cried out in pain. Being with him seemed to have numbed the pain wracking through her body . 

“You're hurt. Sh*t, wait… I’ll patch you up,” said Elias, moving to get a closer look. 

“This is going to hurt, just try not to scream too much.” He gripped her arm firmly just below the shoulder and above the wrist. In one swift motion he snapped it back into place. She cried out, fighting back the black spots forming in the corners of her eyes. He grabbed a stick and a few strands of rope. 

“Try not to move,” he said as he wrapped her arm. 

“Thank you.” Kaylynn muttered softly under her breath. He nodded and went back to the fire. She pulled the blanket tighter around her to try to ward off the cold. He handed her the food in silence and sat a few feet away. The firelight cast shadows across his face and reflected in his eyes. It was entrancing to her and she could hardly tear her eyes away.

After they finished their meal and gathered their things, Kaylynn got up and began to walk towards the back of the cave. 

“Where are you going?” Elias called after her.

“I need a place to sleep,'' she replied. “I don't know how much longer I can stay awake.”

“Take mine. I don't mind” he said, gesturing to his makeshift bed against the far wall.

Uncertainly, she moved to it. It looked a lot more inviting than the cold hard ground. If she wasn’t so tired she might have objected but she practically collapsed into it.

“Thank y-” she began to say but she was asleep before she could finish her sentence. 

She  was running frantically from her burning house. Voices around her laughed and it seemed to be pulling her into the blaze. Her parents stood just a step away. She reached out to grab them, fighting her way away from the flames. But they didn't move. Staring down at her, they began to laugh as she was dragged down to the ground. As she suffocated against the force of her own body the fire engulfed her and the world went dark.

She woke with a start. Everything looked different in the moonlight and the shadows lay long across the ground.  She didn't know how long it had been but in the starlight she could see Elias sleeping against the other wall. The blanket was wrapped around her again but as she looked over at him she saw he had none. This was his only one and he had given it to her, as well as his bed. Quietly she got up and moved over to him. In the light of the moon she could barely make out his face but she smiled. She draped the blanket over him and was about to go back to sleep but she couldn't seem to leave him. Something about him pulled her to him like a magnet. All she wanted to do in that moment was to be with him. She wanted to touch him simply to make sure he was real. As he slept his head rested on the ground and his arms lay by his sides. She reached down, her hand hovering mere inches above his shoulder. Her hand moved down his arm so close she could feel the warmth of his body. She longed to embrace him like she had never longed for anything before. A murmur from the wind jerked her back to reality and she quickly moved away and back to her bed. She lay down but as much as she twisted and turned she couldn't seem to fall asleep. She stayed awake for hours thinking about him, trying to remember every feature of his face and every muscle in his body.

The sun streaked through the clouds and dewdrops covered everything in sight, casting tiny rainbows in the air. Days had passed and they had begun to grow fonder. She watched him, curious about everything he did. He held back for the most part, but every so often she could get him to laugh or crack a smile, showing a soft side hidden to the rest of the world. His laugh was deep and his shoulders shook slightly when he chuckled. His eyes were bright and intriguing to Kaylynn and she felt she could get lost in their depths. 

 They sat together against the stone wall, watching the clouds drift lazily through the sky in strange patterns early one morning.  

“Tell me more. There's something different about you. I just can't seem to get into your head to tell what it is,” Kaylynn asked, jokingly. 

“Don't ever try to get into my head,” he snarled, slamming her against the wall. For several beats he stayed there, his grip crushing her wrists. Finally, his eyes softened. “It's too dark for you.” 

“I- I can't stop it. I'm sorry…” he said, his hands trembling as he stepped back from her. 

“It's okay, it’s okay. Just breathe. I'm fine. You don't have to be sorry for anything. It's okay, I’ve got you.” 

“I've been alone too long. Just me and the voices in my head to keep me company.”  

Silence from Kaylynn followed for a brief moment. 

“Sometimes memories can be the worst form of torture. So why have you stayed here all this time? Why haven't you found somewhere else? You have caged yourself in here. You are a restless person, I can feel it, and if you are held down too long you will break.”

“Yeah no sh*t. But I know if I move I might never stop. And besides, there is nothing else better out here. Nothing to work forward to, only things to fall back on. And to fall back means to die,” he said, turning away. “And you don't know me like you think you do. You have no idea who I am so stop trying to figure me out. I'm fine.” 

“How do you do it?”

“How do I do what?”

“Pretend you are okay.”

“I'm not pretending.”

“Yes you are, every single day. And it breaks my heart. So stop lying,” she said, storming off. And when she stormed, she stormed. She was like a hurricane in human form, brushing past everything and creating a whirlwind everywhere she went. 

“I’m sorry,” Kaylynn said, when she finally cooled down. 

“Please don't do this, don't act like you care. You don't care, nobody cares, just leave,” Elias said, moving away. 

“You’re all I have, of couse I care. I won't give up on you, so please don't give up on yourself.” 

She grabbed his arm, forcing him to look at her. 

“What if you're wrong, what if I can't change. You can't fix me. What if I’m always like this? Maybe I’m just broken.”

“I'm not trying to change you. I'm trying to heal you. I'm not trying to fix you; you are not broken. And I am never going to leave you.” 

“I don't believe in never,” he said. 

“I don't believe in always,” she countered. 

“Well, opposites attract.”

“Never.” 

She raised an eyebrow. 

“Always,” he finished, smirking. 

The sun had risen and fallen time and time again and Kaylynn had begun to lose track. Mist hung low over the ground and a damp fog filled the air. The moment felt timeless, mystical and foreboding. The sun streaked through the clouds in rays, illuminating the world in strange ways. Elias sat beneath a tree, his form outlined and shrouded in mist. Even from a distance, she could sense his emotions. The fog seemed to cling to him, making him appear ghostly. Kaylynn felt they needed to move again or they would be trapped here forever in this endless cycle.

The landscape wasn't the only thing that had changed. They had walked for hours, trying to find somewhere new. As they passed through the rolling hills the atmosphere between them shifted as well. There was something there, some chemical energy creating some strange tension. Kaylynn felt as if she was walking a fine line and she knew if she fell, she wouldn't be able to get back up. Her feelings scared her, the thought of losing that control over her emotions. She felt that giving in to him would be relinquishing control and giving him her power and that felt weak. To let someone else have that power over you, to be able to make or break your heart with a single word felt like a relinquishment of control. He was a curious creature, a dragon that needed to be tamed. But she feared if she let it out of its cage it would be too much, eventually consuming her and stealing her away. She knew she would slip into a romance from which she could never recover so she kept her distance. 

They had been at their current campsite for a few days now. It was near a lake and had lots of berry bushes nearby. The light came through the trees, shining in Kaylynns eyes waking her up.  She looked around her and saw Elias sitting a few feet away smiling at her. He passed her some raspberries and she went to sit by him. 

“I made you something,” he said. He pulled something out from under some leaves and handed it to her. It was a piece of paper and a charcoal pencil. She managed a faint smile but her heart wasn't in it. 

“Write to someone. That's what I did after I lost my family. Write to someone you miss. I know there isn't any way to get it to them but it helps. So here, whatever's going on in that head of yours, pour it out.” He said, passing her the pencil. 

“Thank you,” she replied. She didn't know what to say. She took the paper and pencil and went to the lake and pondered who to write to. She thought of her mom and dad, devoured by the inferno, but she shook that thought from her head. Then she knew. She would write to Azlynn. Her best friend since childhood. 

Dear Azlynn,

I miss the way things used to be. I miss when it was just us running through the streets jumping over puddles and running through piles of leaves. I miss our long talks late at night when we told each other everything. It was easy back then. Even when we fought it was about the small things. Looking back I’d give anything to even have another fight with you. But now things have changed. I don't know if you are even still alive. For all I know I'm writing to a corpse. I want you to know you will always be a part of me no matter what. The world can try to tear us apart but even after our time here is over I will still see you, old friend. When we were kids they used to tell us of the terrors that lay beyond the wall. 

But now I’m here it's not so bad. Leaving is hard but gosh, not waking up to the sound of gunshots sure is nice. I fear for my life everytime I wake up but at least I know if I die I will have done something worthwhile. I crossed the wall. The one they all told us not to cross. It's wild out here but inside the wall the terrors have become greater than ever. That place we once used to play and run around happily is gone. My bedroom where we stayed up late into the night talking is now a heap of rubble in the street.

 The soldiers came out of nowhere. I had heard of the attacks but I never thought they would reach me. I thought we were safe. Then they showed up like a swarm of bees. They killed my parents and I would have died back there just like the rest of them if it hadn't been for chess. He brought me away from the flames. 

The moment I crossed the wall everything changed. Once you see the city from the outside everything looks different. I wish you were here to see it with me. I look down inside the wall and the suffering I see makes me want to puke because I know there's not a thing I can do and that house I see burning could be your house for all I know. It makes me feel utterly helpless. But I believe there is a beauty in that. That feeling of being totally alone There's no way around it. But I have to learn to live with the pain and the solitude. Things would be so much easier if you were here. I wouldn't worry about dying as much because dying doesn't matter anymore if you die with the person you love. Then there's nothing more to lose if you're already gone.

 I can't just give up though. That's not who Mama raised me to be. Sometimes I feel like it though. The thought tempts me in the back of my mind in the coldest of nights. But then I think of you and I know I could never leave you. You mean the world to me. I hope you are okay. Maybe I can come back for you sometime soon. Then we can run away together. That way neither of us are ever alone again. But right now I’m not alone. I met a boy out here. He's fascinating and I can't help it but he draws me to him. Anytime I am around him I want to be closer. I want to know more. He makes me feel alive and it scares me but I love it. I know you may never get this but I love you. And I hope I can see you again before our time is up. Until next time... 

-Kaylynn

It was hours later before she returned to Elias. She felt as though a weight had been lifted from her chest. She had finally let go. Elias looked up at her and she simply smiled. He stood up to meet her and she felt as if the whole world stopped. For a moment it was just them. She knew she wanted to start over and begin a new life. A life with him and only him. All these feelings bubbled inside of her in a mass of butterflies and joy. She wanted to tell him everything but she didn't know where to start. That feeling of utter glee took over. She felt like she would explode not just because she was happy but because her insides felt like they were going to burst and she didn't know what to say or do. 

“Elias,” she began to say. “I-” but she couldn't finish her sentence because before she could say another word his lips were on hers. She leaned into him and kissed him back. The world felt as if it was spinning. His arms were around her waist pulling her close to him and she never wanted him to let go. Her arms rested on his shoulders and her hands were in his hair. He kissed with a passion she had never felt before. She could feel sparks flying around them as their bodies came together. His lips were soft and gentle but held passion like no others. They seemed to pull her in closer. Her heart was racing and felt like it just might burst out of her chest. He held her in his arms and she rested her head on his chest. She couldn't stop smiling and her whole body seemed to be filled with a new warmth. 

“I've wanted to do that for a while now,” he whispered under his breath to her. 

“Me too,” she responded, tilting her head up so her eyes met his. She knew he was the one for her. She wouldn't admit it yet but she already knew she could be falling for him. 

That night they shared the blanket for the first time. She fell asleep with his arms around her, keeping her warm. She felt safe with him. She could feel his arms holding her. The rhythm of his rising and falling breath soothed her and she was asleep before she knew it. He kissed her on the top of her head just as she drifted off and her heart felt like it was glowing. 

They woke the next morning to the sound of leaves crunching and a twig snapping. They were still entwined in each other's arms but they sat up and looked around. The trees shook slightly and there were faint noises coming from the bushes. Kaylynn squeezed Elias' hand a little tighter. It was fridged and the clouds hung low to the ground. They stood up looking around. As they moved closer to their main campsite they noticed things out of place. Things seemed out of place. Elias caught his breath and bent down to look closer at something in the mud. It was a footprint clearly imprinted into the ground. It was fresh and the mud was still damp. The foot was roughly the same size as Kaylynn’s but clearly belonged to someone else. More footprints led off into the trees, meeting up and intertwining with others. Just then they heard a thud and the clear sounds of people moving in the shadows. They stood back to back looking around frantically as they emerged. Through the fog it was hard to see them but it was clear someone was there. Elias clutched his spear and Kaylynn was ready to spring to action. They moved in closer, surrounding them. Kaylynn held onto Elias and knew in her heart that whatever happened he would be there. Just as the figures moved close 

enough to start to be able to see them clearly one of them drew something out from under his cloak. It looked similar to a flute, long and hollow made of wood. He brought it up to his mouth and approached Elias, just far enough away to where Elias couldn't hit him with his spear without leaving Kaylynn. She felt a stone of dread drop into her stomach and she was about to grab Elias and run but before she could do anything the figure had brought it up to his mouth and blew. A dart flew out the other end and impaled itself into Elias's chest. He cried out in pain and reached to pull it out but he collapsed. Kaylynn dropped to the ground quickly and pulled the dart out. She shook him and tried to wake him but he wouldn't move. Panicking she checked for a pulse and was relieved to find one. She leaned over him to shield his fallen form with her own body and looked up at the figures surrounding her. Her whole body wracked with fear but she stood to face them. They were draped in animal skins and woven clothes. They looked strong and fierce. They all seemed to have a wild glint in their eyes, like a ferocious beast hid behind them waiting to pounce. There were eight of them in total. They had all emerged from the bushes and she could see them clearly. The one who had shot Elias stood closer than the rest. He looked older but still tough as nails. 

“Why are you here?” said Kaylynn bravely. Her hands shook at her sides but her voice was calm and collected. 

“You don't belong here,” the older man replied. “Your people never cross the wall. Why have you come here?”

Kaylynn stammered, not knowing what to say. “We haven't come here on purpose. We don't know where we are or what this is. We escaped from the wall and don't know where to go. Who are you?”

“Amissa,” they all said. Kaylynn whipped around to look at them all. They had come even closer and each held something behind their cloaks. A girl stepped forward and said, “We are Amissa. We are the ones who didn't belong back there and the ones who left. This is our home here now. Inside the wall was never safe so we fled. Some of our ancestors never lived behind the wall. They were the ones society didn't care enough about to try to save and hide inside that fortress.” 

“They were also the ones they never found and took,” said a dark haired girl standing behind the first. 

Kaylynn stood in silence, staring at the girl who had spoken first. Her eyes looked like hers and her hair seemed to fall down her back in the same way Kaylynn’s did. It was like looking into a mirror and seeing a colder and wilder version of herself with hair the color of flames. It sent shivers down her spine. The girl came close to her and took her hand. The old man behind them grimaced slightly and began to draw his weapon. Without looking back at him she raised her hand and gestured for him to stop. She was close enough now to Kaylynn so that she could see every feature of her face. The girl looked deeply into her eyes for a moment and drew back. 

“It’s okay,” said the girl. “She means us no harm.” 

“Perhaps not yet,” the second girl muttered coldly, eyeing Kaylynn. 

The first ignored the comment and turned to face Kaylynn again. “Come, follow us and we will show you the way.” 

Still in shock Kaylynn gestured to Elias. “What about him? What are you going to do to him?”  

“Don't worry he will come with us. He will be fine. We will carry him to our village.” 

Hesitantly, she followed them into the woods. They continued for hours, occasionally stopping to rest. Elias began to stir but they kept carrying him. The sun was high by the time they reached the village. They crested a small hill and looked down into a valley. The village sprawled out below them and a river wound its way along the edges of the valley until it formed into a lake near the farthest end of the village. Plants grew abundantly covering every inch of the land. Berry bushes and farms sprawled out as far as they could see in one direction. Birds chirped in the trees and animals roamed free. Kaylynn could see deer by the side of the river and coyotes chasing birds through the fields. It was serene and felt other worldly to Kaylynn.   Just then she saw the tree. In the center of the village the tallest and widest tree she had ever seen loomed over the houses. It cast a shadow over everything and people gathered on its grassy roots. There seemed to be stairs and ladders carved into the tree and more houses rested on the branches. 

One of the men began to approach her but the woman gestured him away. They brought Elias to her side and set him down next to her in the grass. He was groggy and still half asleep. The old man began to walk down the hill and the others followed him. Kaylynn started to get up but the woman put her hand on her shoulder.

“Take your time. Come down when you're ready and we can talk. Make sure the boy is fully awake.” She said. She pointed at the base of the tree. “You see that garden by the roots? Meet us there when you are ready.” she said and walked down the hill after the men. 

Kaylynn sat in stunned silence for a few minutes. A groan from Elias startled her and she looked back at him. He was awake again and shaking his head as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. She smiled at him faintly and pulled him close. The sun beat down on their faces, setting behind the mountains. The scent of the wildflowers wafted through the air. Kaylynn explained to him the situation as best she could. The words sounded strange coming out of her mouth. Seeing people other than Elias had rattled her. He sat in silence next to her for a few minutes. The songs of the birds echoed through the valley.

“We should go down there. To see what they want.” Elias said, turning to face Kaylynn. She frowned and looked away. “Don't worry, I’ll be right here with you.” Said Elias, holding her hand. 

They made their way down into the valley slowly. They looked around while they walked, noticing every small detail. Everything seemed perfect there. Flowers bloomed with glorious colors and the sun beating down on their faces made them sleepy. As they approached the base of the tree they could hear the voices of many people discussing things in hushed tones. They came around the tree trunk to where they were all gathered. Kaylynn saw the old man, the girl, and a few others she didn't recognize. They all fell silent when Kaylynn and Elias came closer. Kaylynn met eyes with the girl and she felt at ease. She smiled at her and looking into her eyes made Kaylynn feel safe. She turned her gaze back to the old man who had begun to speak. He seemed to be made of ice. His expressions were frozen and his muscles looked as though they had been sculpted. He seemed timeless as he stared down at her coldly. Elias squeezed her hand and looked at her nervously. The girl stepped forward and smiled at her. 

“You’ll be safe here. I’m Arya.”

The rest of the day was a blur to kaylynn. Arya showed them around the village and they were in awe with everything they saw. It was exquisite and everything felt perfect and that unsettled Kaylynn.Arya showed them a hut made of bamboo and palm trees. She led them inside where there was a bed strapped together from branches with a palm leaf as a blanket. There was a small empty jug in the corner and the dirt floor kicked up dust as they walked.  She left them there and went to join the rest of her people. Kaylynn watched her walk away, in awe of the strength and confidence with which she walked.

Later that night she sat watching the stars outside the hut. The stars twinkled in a way she had never seen. They reminded her of the twinkle lights that hung over her bed as a child and the stories her father would tell her. She longed for her old life. Everything here was perfect but something felt like it was missing. It was warm in the valley, warmer than it had been where they camped before, and crickets chirped in the fields. Elias lay down on the bed and drifted off to sleep soon after the sun had set. He seemed perfectly comfortable there. At dinner he seemed to fit right in, laughing and talking with everyone as if he had known them forever. Kaylynn on the other hand had eaten in silence at the end of the table next to Arya. She didn't talk much either. The food was better than anything she had eaten in years but it sloshed around her empty stomach making her uneasy. She watched Elias at the other end of the table, singing with everyone, and she felt alone. 

The stars gleamed above her head. A soft breeze blew her hair into her face and the grass rustled around her. She lay on a blanket she found in the hut but she wrapped herself in her cloak. They had offered them new clothes, which Elias took happily, but hers lay in a pile by the bed. She felt like if she put the clothes on she would be accepting that she was one of them and would be shedding her past life completely. She didn't feel ready to let go. The village was peaceful and she was finally safe but she felt out of place. Elias started acting different and she felt distant. 

Through the corner of her eye she could see someone approaching. She sat up and shuffled backwards. 

“Don't worry, it's just me.” said Arya. “I came to see how you're doing.”

Kaylynn looked at her curiously. She had been on her own for so long she seemed to have forgotten how to interact with new people. It all felt strange and forgien. 

“I'm alright. Just tired.” She responded, looking away. 

“I know that's not true. I can tell you don’t feel right here,” Arya said, looking at her sincerely. “I know it's hard. Everything is different.”

“Yeah you're right it is different, but I don't think that's it. I don't miss the city or the wall, and I certainly don't miss being alone, but this all feels wrong. It feels like a place from a fairytale and those usually aren't real. They usually have some type of monster lurking right around the corner ready to ruin everything. And the way everyone looks at me here, it feels like I did something wrong. No one looks at Elias that way. They look at him like he belongs here.”

Arya studied her for a moment before saying a word. “You do belong here, trust me. And even if they look at you differently it's only because they are curious about you.”

“Why would they be curious about me? There's nothing interesting about me. My parents died, I ran away, typical teenage stuff. And besides, they don't even know who I am,” Kaylynn said, exasperated.

“They might not know you directly, no, but they know who you are. You wanna know why we followed you in the woods? Why we brought you back here? We could have left you there and never have been bothered. You weren't near our village. You wonder why they shot your boyfriend and not you? Because we know who you are, Kaylynn Karina McKay. You are the daughter of Matthew and Sarah McKay and the granddaughter of Esmeray McKay.”

Kaylynn jumped back. “How do you know all this about me? How do you know my name and my parents name? And who is Esmeray McKay? That's not my grandmother, I've never heard of her.”

“Kaylynn, we know you because you are one of us. Esmeray is your grandmother. You’ve never heard of her because she lives here. She had two daughters in the city and when she saw the Black Thorn forming she tried to flee the city. But her oldest daughter refused to leave the city because she was pregnant. That was your mother, Sarah. She was pregnant with you. And so Esmeray left her there and went to the wall with her other daughter, Liana, and they left. Back then they didn't try to force everyone to stay in because no one wanted to leave except Esmeray. They found their way here to the Amissa people 18 years ago, and they became important members of the community. Liana, the younger daughter, passed away from cancer 15 years ago, leaving her two year old daughter to grow up here with Esmeray . The girl grew up here and has lived here all her life. She is your cousin, Kaylynn. And your grandmother is one of the leaders of the village.”

Kaylynn couldn't speak. She couldn't believe it. She always knew that her grandmother had left her mother when she was pregnant as a teen but she never knew why. She had never met her grandmother and her mom never spoke of her. Her mom once told her she had a sister but she didn't like to talk about her. It was too painful so Kaylynn never asked more. 

“How is this all possible? How could you know? And how do I even know that you are telling the truth? You say my grandmother and cousin live here and that my aunt died here. I've barely been here a day!” cried Kaylynn to Arya. “Who is the girl who is supposed to be my cousin! How will I know who she is?”

Arya looked down at the grass and sighed. “You know I was the one to find you and that boy in the woods. I was the one who wanted you brought back to the village. The rest all wanted to kill you in case you were a threat, but I knew you couldn't be. Because you're my family.” She looked up and locked eyes with Kaylynn. “I'm Arya McKay. Daughter of Liana and granddaughter of Esmeray. Your cousin.” 

Three weeks passed and the news still hadn't sunk in. It felt like some sort of fever dream. At that moment she didn't know what to say. She was stunned. It felt too cinematic to be real, like it was straight out of one of those old soap operas Kaylynn used to watch as a kid. Those dramatic reveals that seem so well planned. The ones that shock the viewers and make everyone gasp. But maybe it was just crazy enough to be real. It had actually happened. She still had a family. But it wasn't the one she had envisioned. Her and Arya had kept their distance and barely talked after that night. Kaylynn still hadn't met her grandmother Esmeray. She didn't think she could face it. This was the woman who abandoned her mother and left her alone in the city where she had died. How could she possibly think of this woman as someone good? A grandmother is supposed to be sweet and kind and she hadn't even met her yet but it felt wrong. It felt like it would be dishonoring her mother’s memory, living and interacting with her. She felt as if her mother would have been disappointed in her, but there was no way to know. Elias had taken to the new life quickly and was beginning to thrive in his new home. Kalylnn hadn't told him any of this. She couldn't make any sense of it so she kept it bottled up inside. She didn't want to ruin his happiness and she felt distant from him. He had found friends there and even though she was happy for him, things felt different. She had fallen in love with the man in the woods. The man who only focused on her. He was the only person she was with. When they only had each other. They had been alone in their own little fairytale. But now that bubble had been broken and the rest of the world seemed to have rushed into their story. Kaylynn felt misplaced and thrown out. Everything seemed out of her control. Back in the woods it was just her and Elias. She didn't have to deal with long lost grandmothers and cousins or the thought of what to do now that she had found this part of her family. And something else fell off. Everything in the village was perfect. It was the opposite to how it was behind the wall. It was peaceful and calm. No one fought and there was no bloodshed. She didn't miss the city one bit, but she couldn't get her mind off of all those still trapped behind that wall. It felt selfish leaving them there. How could she live in good conscience and enjoy all of this beauty around her knowing that not everyone was able to escape that life she was onced trapped in. She thought of her friends, her teachers, even people she had passed by on the street one time while walking to the store and she couldn't help wondering if they were even still alive. 

Lunch time was Kaylynn’s least favorite part of the day. Everyone gathered underneath the big tree and got their plate of food from the cooks and went to eat together on the hill. It was supposed to be a time to socialize, be with family, and relax. But for Kaylynn it was the time she felt most alone. 

A short, peculiar man with a big beard smiled and handed her her food. It looked and smelled amazing, as usual. With the plate in her hands and the sun on her back she walked towards the hill. She could see scores of people flocking to see each other, rushing to sit with their friends. Kids rolled down the hill laughing, happy to have a break from school. As she looked through the crowds she saw the back of Elias’ head. It was far away but she knew it was him. He was surrounded by a large group of guys that looked to be around his age. They were all laughing and punching each other's shoulders. Elias ran ahead of the group with two others and began hurling his food at his buddies. He threw a piece of bread at his friend but instead it hit a little girl who was trying to get through. She looked around, disoriented and began to cry. The boys all busted out laughing and Elias threw another one. Astonished and shocked, Kaylynn moved on. That wasn't who she thought he was. Disappointed with her false expectations, she made her way to a shady spot near the top of the hill where she ate everyday. In the corner of her eye she could see Arya sitting alone. They met eyes for a second and Arya managed a faint smile. Kaylynn simply looked away. She ate in silence, sitting alone in the heat. She watched the people come and go in their little groups and move back to their normal activities. It all looked so peaceful from above. People worked in the gardens and climbed the huge branches of the tree. 

As the sun sank lower in the sky she began to walk aimlessly around the edge of town. She passed children playing in the grass and people returning to their houses after a long day. Elias was nowhere to be seen but that didn't bother her, as she didn’t much want to see him. She could see Arya rushing around working on various things. Every so often she would return to the base of the tree and disappear through a gap in the roots with baskets of food and various items. As she moved back near the town, Kaylynn saw a group of people begin to gather by the base of the tree. She tiptoed around the back of the tree and began to climb. She moved higher and higher, grasping at branches, praying they wouldn't break. As she climbed she began to hear voices below her. She moved closer, hiding behind the leaves. She made her way down a large branch until she was right above the voices. She looked down and felt as if someone punched her in the gut. Elias, Arya, and an old lady she didn't recognize stood in a tight circle and seemed to be arguing about something. She leaned in closer but a gust of wind drowned their voices. Elias looked furious and he began to yell. The wind began to increase and grow louder to drown his voice. It had come out of nowhere and it seemed to only be blowing by them. And no matter how much Elias yelled she couldn't hear a word over the roar of the wind. Kaylynn had to wrap her hands around the branch as tight as she could to keep from falling off. She looked down again and through the leaves she saw the old lady staring up at her. She looked her in the eyes as the wind began to pull at Kaylynn’s body, nearly throwing her from the tree. Just as suddenly as it had started, the wind stopped and everything became silent. Kaylynn gasped for air and looked around her. The gale had simply died. She saw Elias and Arya standing mere inches away from each other, fists clenched. 

“I think you should go.” said Arya, her voice trembling. Without another word Elias turned and left. He walked in the direction of their hut, his body wracked with tension. Arya turned to the lady and began to speak but the lady silenced her. 

“Not here, dear one. Not now.” 

The lady smiled and guided Arya back to the crevice in the roots and they disappeared together. Kaylynn was left alone in the tree, her mind racing.  

The next morning a fog hung low in the valley and frost covered the ground in sheets. The clouds were dark and misty. It was cold, the kind that you can feel in your bones. It was silent except for the faint noise of snowflakes hitting the ground. Kaylynn woke up before the sun had risen. She was in the same hut her and Elias first stayed in but Elias was nowhere to be seen. She hadn't seen him since and she was starting to get worried. He was gone. He hadn't been at dinner with his friends like normal and no one had seen him. As she sat in bed she replayed what she had seen. Why had Elias been so mad at Arya and that lady? Who was she? 

That night Kayllynn tossed and turned in her bed. The sounds of gunshots and screams echoed through her head and through her mind. She was running, trying to get away but something kept holding her back. The air seemed to have turned to honey and she had to fight to get through it. The noises followed her and no matter how hard she fought, they kept coming. Panic filled her body and she was paralized, frozen where she stood. The chaos engulfed her and all she could hear were cries of the Black Thorn and wails of their victims. Darkness covered her and all she could see was a blur. She thrashed and fought but to no avail. A light approached her and the darkness parted like the clouds letting the sun shine through. Through the blur Kaylynn saw her. Azlynn stood before her in a shimmer of light. She smiled at Kaylynn and beckoned her forward. She began to move closer and the light surrounding Azlynn grew brighter. It became blinding and harsh. In a flash the light died and Kaylynn saw it. Azlynn was surrounded by soldiers. Her eyes darted around like a trapped animal and landed on Kaylynn. 

“Kaylynn! Help me!” she cried. They grabbed her and before Kaylynn could register what was going on, a scream pierced the air. It was a guttural sound. The tip of a blade emerged from Azlynn’s chest and she collapsed. 

Gasping for air Kaylynn awoke. She searched the room frantically, to find Elias at her side. His hand rested on her arm and she could feel the warmth from his breath. 

“Come, follow me.” he whispered into her ear. Cautiously Kaylynn got up. The moonlight cast stange shadows across the room. She could hear the crickets chirping and an owl in the distance. The sky was clear and full of stars. It was so beautiful it took her breath away. Elias slid her hand in his and guided her down a small path towards the mountians. The trees loomed high above their heads. Kaylynn felt as though she was still in a dream. It felt unreal and seeing his face in the moonlight felt like the first time she saw it. It felt foreign and strange. The feeling of his hand in hers made her heart race. She forgot about everything. Her mind was only on him. She walked as if in a trance. He looked back at her and she felt like melting. The rest of the world could burn and she wouldn't care as long as she had him. Nothing else mattered for the time being. She was lost in his eyes. They passed through a tunnel of trees and before she knew it they were at the edge of a lake. The water was crystal clear and perfectly still. The air smelled of fresh earth and dew drops. They moved to the edge of the water and stood facing each other for what felt like forever. Their eyes met and she felt safe, just as she had when they were together in the woods. It felt like ages ago but it was still there. That spark that had made her fall in love still gleamed in his eyes. He stepped closer to her and his hands ran up her arms. Her skin tingled where he touched her. The light of the moon was bright enough to see every detail of his face and body. Every scar and every mark was visible to her. It had been so long since she had seen his face this way. His hair had gotten longer and wilder and it fell in beautiful curls around his face. She moved her hands up his chest and to his shoulders where she rested them. She could feel his chest move with each breath he took. His body was warm and inviting. 

“I’ll explain everything to you later. Trust me, I’ll make it up to you,” Elias said and his voice seemed to flow over her body, filling it with a new kind of warmth. He spoke with an enticing and bewitching tone that made her listen. 

He stepped back and stripped his shirt off in one quick motion. His muscled form took an almost otherworldly appearance in the moonlight. Kaylynn looked at the water and back at him.

“Are you serious, it's gonna be freezing!” she laughed. 

“Don't worry, I'll keep you warm,” he winked back at her. He smiled and took the rest of his clothes off and gestured to the water. Kaylynn couldn't take her eyes off of him. 

Timidly, she smiled at him and did the same. She moved to his side and wrapped her arm around his and they stepped into the water together. It was frigid but she could barely feel it, all of her attention was on him. The farther they walked in the less she noticed the cold. It felt as though they were walking in liquid moonlight. The water was almost smooth as oil and they glided through it. When they were deep enough that she could barely touch the bottom they stopped. She moved through the water as if in slow motion. She swam close to him and wrapped her legs around his waist. Her arms rested on his shoulders and he held her close to his chest. His lips landed on hers and she was intoxicated. He kept his hands on the curve of her waist and he pressed his body against her skin. She pulled back for a moment and sighed.

A gust of wind blew over and she finally felt the piercing cold. It was as if someone had finally woken her from her dream. Her mind became clear again and the fog with which he had filled her mind was lifted. She looked at Elias again, but differently. She remembered how alone she had felt and the way he had been acting. What happened to change that so dramatically? It was almost as if he changed in the moonlight to become her perfect man for a few minutes but she knew as soon as the sun rose in the morning he would leave again. He smiled at her but she pushed back to stand on her own. 

“Why are we out here?” She asked. “Now you're acting like the guy I met in the woods again finally but why have you been lately. I don't know you when you're here. You're slipping away. What's happening Elias?”

He looked down for a few long moments before speaking. “I know I've left you. I know you felt alone and I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you like that. I've been having dreams lately. Bad ones. Everyone is dying and the world is falling to chaos. I can't stand to think of it. That might be what's happening right now back in the wall. So many innocent people are dying. We were no different than the rest, we were just lucky and got out. I wanted to talk to you about it all but I knew something was already on your mind and I didnt want to bother you. So I went to talk to Aria and Esmeray. They run the village for the most part and I know Arya was close to you. I tried to talk to them about you, to see what's wrong but they wouldn't tell me anything. So I told them what was bothering me, about the dreams. I think we should do more. We could save more people if we tried but they wouldn't have it. I tried many times to convince them but nothing worked.” He paused to take a breath. “They told me to go on with my life and to leave you alone. That you didn't want to see me. I wanted to talk to you so many times but every time I tried, all of the pain came rushing back. I plunged myself into my own world. I tried to make everything seem as normal as possible. It felt like a dream and I could finally start to forget about all we left behind. But every time I saw you I was reminded this isn't a dream. Because I never could have even dreamed of someone like you and you were slipping away from me.” 

Kaylynn looked at him in shock. That was not what she expected at all. Words formed in her mouth but she couldn't seem to say anything. Her brain was still taking in all the information and it felt as if it was overheating. 

"I need you Kaylynn. You're what keeps me alive. I can't lose you. But I also can't live in peace knowing all those people are suffering. So I have to go. I’ll try it on my own.” 

“No. You’ll die. I can't live without you either.” Kaylynn said urgently rushing back to him. “I’m coming with you. If we die, we die together. I've been having dreams like that too and it makes me sick. And I can't keep living here if this goes on much longer.

“Kaylynn you can't. Esmeray will never let you go. She says you're the last thing she has for a family and she won't lose it. You have a future here, a purpose. I’d just get in the way. Since the day we arrived your grandmother has tried to drive me away from you. If I leave things will be easier for you. You can join your family and lead the village. He replied, looking deep in her eyes. “There's nothing here for me except you.” 

“Isn't that enough?” She said looking back at him.  

The rest of the night was restless for Kaylynn. They talked for hours when they got back to the hut. The air was crisp and as soon as kaylynn had stepped out of the water the wind hit her like hundreds of tiny needles, stinging her skin. She felt like screaming. It was all too much to take in. She hadn't even met her grandmother yet but she had tried to drive Elias, the one thing she had, away from her and convince him he wasn't good enough. She felt the rage boiling up inside of her as if she was going to burst. 

“How dare you!” Kaylynn screamed. “You are supposed to be my family but you try to drive the one person I love away from me?!” Kaylynn had found Arya and Esmeray the next morning to talk.They sat under the great tree. The sunlight was just beginning to streak through the leaves of the tallest branches.  

“How could you say that! Love is what drove this family apart. Your mother would still be here today if she haddnt fallen in love with that stupid boy. Arya’s father left as soon as her mother got sick and when she died I was left with a child to raise on my own. Barely anything is left of my family. When we found you we were overjoyed. We have everything we need here in this village and you are willing to throw it all away for your own happiness?” Esmeray shouted at Kaylynn with disgust. 

“It is more than my happiness. It's my life. And you're right, we do have everything we need here and yet we are simply keeping it for ourselves. What about all the people still stuck in the horrors of the wall?! They are dying and we could be helping them. After you left you didn't try to help me or my parents. They protected me with their lives. So what about everyone still there? Are you just going to let them die? This isn't me choosing love over family, Elias is my family and this is me choosing justice.” 

“Kaylynn no! You can't go. It is safe here. Remember the horror of that place. How could you want to go back?” Arya stopped her from leaving and put her hand on Kaylynns shoulder. “We need you here. Elias has no place here. He will never be content here. But you, you will be a leader. You can't leave. Get that boy out of your mind. Try to think clearly. Please.” 

“Trust me Arya, I am thinking. And I won't be happy here without Elias. So I’m going. We are going to do what's right. If we die, we die. At least we can say we tried. Unlike you.” Kaylynn responded coldly and walked away. 

When Kaylynn found Elias she sunk into his arms. She felt like sobbing. They were leaving, possibly for good. Together they walked back to their hut. They gathered all they could for their journey. They would travel back through the mountains to the east, moving far from everything they had found. Kaylynn stuffed her bag with everything she could. Once lunchtime came they went and gathered everything they could carry. The food smelled amazing as Kaylynn wrapped it up and strapped it to her back. Looking back down into the valley they both sighed. Kaylynn remembered the day they arrived on that hill. When she first looked at what lay below them. It had looked like a paradise but she had learned differently in her time there. She had never felt right there and now she knew why. She stood, staring at the people milling around in the fields. Elias rested his hand on her back. 

“It's going to be okay.” he said softly. “Lets go.” 

They turned and began on their way. They entered the forest on a small path and set off together. They had been walking for less than five minutes when they heard a rustling in the trees. They looked around quickly, their eyes darting through the trees, looking for any sign of movement. The sounds got louder and the source of the noise finally appeared behind them. It was Arya. She stood on the path, the sun glinting in her hair. Across her back strung a bow and a quiver of arrows. Strapped on her waist was a bag. 

“What are you doing here.” Said Kaylynn harshly. “You know you can't stop us. We’re leaving.”

“I know I can't stop you. I’m not trying to. I'm coming with you,” she responded. “I've been stuck here my whole life. I’ve never seen anything else. This is my chance to finally do good.” 

Elias looked at Kaylynn cautiously. She could tell he didn't want Arya to come. This was their journey but Arya could help and she was family. 

They traveled for three days with no interruptions. The tension was high between Elias and Arya. Kaylynn could tell they hated each other but we're keeping it civil for her. They both had the same end goal; save as many people as they could and protect Kaylynn. The days grew warmer as summer drew nearer. Each morning when they woke dew drops covered everything they had. The sun beat down on their backs in the day while they walked. Each night they set up camp. Arya taught them how to make bows and while they walked they trained. They made targets out of anything they could find. They made arrows out of glass shards they found on the ground. The trails they took led them through the wreckage of old cities from before the great destruction. They were all overgrown and broken down into barely anything but they salvaged what they could. When they walked through them it felt like they were walking through a ghost town. Kaylynn felt as though she could almost hear the cries of the sick and dying from all those years ago. 

They set up camp one night just as usual. In their packs they carried everything they could make into a weapon. Kaylynn and Arya talked by the fire, admiring all the scenery they had seen that day while Elias shot straight through a bullseye with his bow. For someone who had just started a few days ago he was amazing. He could shoot with pinpoint accuracy and lighting speed. He couldn't compare to Arya though. She had trained for that her whole life. 

“Arya, finally!” someone shouted from within the trees. Instantly, Elias was by Kaylynn’s side, bow drawn and Kaylynn gripped her knife by her side. Arya looked around wildly to find the source of the voice. On the other side of the campfire walking towards them they could see a group of people approaching them. They were led by a man and as he drew closer to the firelight they could finally make out more details. His hair was jet black and his skin was the color of chocolate. He stood tall and his sculpted muscles looked to be chiseled out of stone. He stood proudly and strung across his back was a bow almost identical to Arya’s. She stood to face him and approached him slowly. The others stayed in the shadows behind the man. 

“Kane? What the hell are you doing here?!”

“We came for you. We all did,” he said, gesturing to everyone behind him. They moved in closer and Kaylynn could tell Arya recognized them. “We’ve been following you for days now and finally caught up.”

“You can't stop me Kane, I'm going. I'm sorry. But this is what I’m meant to do.'' Arya responded. 

“We aren't going to stop you,” one of the girls said, stepping forward. 

“We’re coming with you,” said another. 

“No, you can't'' Arya responded firmly. “You'll die and I'm not going to let that happen.” 

“And we won't let you die, Arya. And we won't let them die either,” said the first girl, gesturing towards Kaylynn and Elias. 

“What's going on here?” said Elias, firmly stepping forward, his arm around Kaylynn. “Arya, who are these people?”

“They are my friends. And they are the best the village has. If we are going to do this and not die trying, they are our best shot,” she responded. 

“And how do we know they wont turn on us. Try to bring us back to the village. They were probably sent by Esmeray to stop us,” Kaylynn said fiercely to Arya. 

“You're right. We were sent by Esmeray . That's how we left but that's not why we came,” said Kane, coming closer to Kaylynn. Elias stepped in his way blocking the path between him and Kaylynn. 

“How many of you followed us?” Arya asked Kane.  

“Seven. Esmeray only wanted to send four but you’re going to need all of us. Plus we aren't exactly out here to do what Esmeray wants us to do.” 

The rest of them came closer into the firelight and Kaylynn could see four boys and three girls. They all looked strong and ready to fight. 

“Unpack your things. Get some rest. We leave at first light,” Arya said firmy looking at each of them in turn and then back at Kaylynn and Elias. Kaylynn nodded but didn't say a word. Elias kept his eyes glued on the newcomers and his mouth shut. 

Kane gestured to the rest of them to come forward and said, “Kaylynn, Elias, nice to meet you.” He gestured to the girls first. “This is Aanya, Catherine, and Raven.” He turned to the boys and said, “and here are Roland, Linden, and Kit. I’m Kane.” 

There was silence for the rest of the night for the most part. No one spoke unless they needed to. Kayynn didn't feel like talking, not even to Elias. She sat on a boulder near the edge of their camp, watching everything. Arya never left Kane’s side. Kaylynn watched them closely. As she looked around the camp she could see Aanya and Catherine together by the fire. Aanya was bandaging a cut on Catherine’s leg. Roland   and Linden approached Elias carefully. He had been practicing with his bow. He drew back quickly as they approached but once they started talking he eased up. She shifted her gaze and saw Kit lurking in the shadows near Arya and Kane. He was watching them intently, focused on their every move. His eyes were almost snake like, looking at everything, ready to strike. He was small but to her, she felt he could be far more dangerous than Kane or any of the others.

“Hey. What are you doing here on your own?” said a voice from behind her. Kaylynn spun around and reached for her knife. Raven stood behind her, arms crossed. 

“Couldn't sleep. It's all hard to wrap my head around,” she responded cautiously. 

“It's okay, I get it. We don't have to talk if you don't want to,” Raven said, coming to sit next to her. “Look, the moon is nearly full,” she said pointing to the sky.

Kaylynn glanced briefly at the sky but her eyes fixed on Raven. She had dark skin and black hair that fell by her waist. Her whole figure was chiseled as if it was carved from a block of marble. Raven turned and looked at her. She smiled gently and sighed. 

“You're curious, aren't you. That's why you're sitting here. To watch everyone, trying to figure them out. Don't worry, I do the same thing. I watch everyone.” 

It was true. That's exactly what Kaylynn was doing. 

“So wanna know who's who?” she said to Kaylynn, raising her eyebrow. 

“Yeah, sure. Tell me everything,” Kaylynn said confidently. 

“I'll start with Kane. He is somewhat like our leader. All of us have lived in the Amissa village our whole lives. We grew up together, including Arya. When we all started training we automatically stuck together. Kane has always been a leader. But what I’m sure you're curious about is him and Arya,” she said, gesturing to them. They sat together under a tree, Kane's arm around Arya. 

“They lived next to each other growing up. He always protected her. They started doing everything together. I was the first to notice them. They've been together for about a year now. That's why Kane was so insistent on coming. He could never lose her.” 

Kaylynn listened to all she said but her head began to nood and her eyelids felt heavy. 

“Get some sleep. You've had a long day. We can talk tomorrow, we have plenty of time and a long trip ahead of us.”

Frost covered the camp when the first light appeared the next morning. Kaylynn woke, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Her mind was foggy and her vision blurred. Fog hung low to the ground, creating a mystic effect. The heat from Elias’ body kept her warm. She was intertwined in his arms and she could feel his breath and steady heartbeat. He was still asleep so she slid from his embrace and moved to the firepit. The fire was long gone and the charred wood was covered in dew. She packed her bag quietly, trying not to wake anyone. As she looked around she saw Arya and Kane sleeping together by a large oak tree. She looked tiny in his arms, like a kitten in the clutches of a wolf. But no matter how much she looked like a kitten, Kaylynn knew Arya was fierce as a lion. Kit slept hunched over, his back against a rock, his head in his hands. The fog seemed to cling to him, as if his bones were made of ice. A rustling in the leaves of a tree behind her made Kaylynn turn with a start. She couldnt see through the foliage but there was a figure in the tree. She crouched down, ready to strike. The branches parted and she could see Aanya perched on one of the highest branches. Kaylynn stood up cautiously, approaching the tree keeping her eyes on her. She looked down and smiled at her. In one swift motion she jumped. She flew through the air, falling fast. The branch must have been twenty feet high but she had jumped with no hesitation. Quiet as a cat she hit the ground. She landed crouched on her hands and feet and rolled to absorb the shock. She stood and made her way to Kaylynn. 

“Morning,” she said kindly. 

“Morning. You do that often?” Kaylynn said, gesturing to the tree. 

“I was raised climbing the great tree, so yeah.” she responded. “You should get ready. We leave soon.”

Once everyone was awake and packed, they set off. Kaylynn and Arya led the group and the others followed in their tracks. They moved swiftly, covering as much ground as they could. They walked eastward for the rest of the day through the blistering heat. 

As the sun sank behind the hills the last slivers of light were thrown against the undersides of the clouds creating an eerie glow. The moon had risen high in the sky and it shone more brightly than ever. A faint breeze whipped around them, sending a chill through their bodies. The grass in the meadow began to rustle. It started out soft but it grew louder and louder. It sounded as if creatures had begun moving in the dark. It started with one but within a minute it sounded as if there were hundreds. It was a constant noise that seemed to grow by the second as more joined in. Then through the darkness came a noise. High pitched and shrill. It cut through the cold night air like a hot knife through snow. It wasn't quite a scream but close enough. It was inhuman and somewhat ghostly. It began deep and resonant, followed by a high-pitched squeal before ending in a succession of grunts. The sound echoed through the valley and filled the meadow. Softer, higher pitched noises followed in a chorus but none were quite as powerful as the first. They moved closer and through the moonlight they could just see the figures of animals. Squinting through the darkness they were able to make out the shapes of their bodies. Long legs, sturdy backs, long necks, and light fur around their backside. It was a herd of elk. They scanned the meadow and couldn't see the end of them. There must have been hundreds, maybe thousands. Then on the far end of the valley, a rock jutted out on top of a small lake. With the moonlight reflecting on it, they saw the buck. He was far bigger than the rest, with a rack four feet tall jutting out of his head. His antlers looked razor sharp and glinted like steel in the light. They watched as he threw his head back and cried out. The same noise they had heard earlier. As they looked closer they could see him clearer. He was huge and his horns seemed to be made out of glass and silver. A mane of fur covered his chest and neck. He turned his head to look at them and they all gasped simultaneously. Adjoined to the side of his neck was another. The other neck emerged from his chest. It merged where his mane grew thick. This head had no antlers and seemed gentler. It was smaller and more graceful. The moonlight reflected in its eyes, hiding knowledge untold. It opened its mouth and cooed softly, nuzzling against the other head. As he cried out again, they watched as the rest of the herd began to move, following his lead. They moved as one towards the east through a ravine. The sounds of hundreds of footsteps echoed through the darkness. They stepped in unison causing a loud thud every time they stepped. Their hooves pounded into the ground creating a deep trail traversing through the mountainside. 

“What was that?” Kane asked from behind a tree. “Did you see anything like this when you were coming here?” he said to Kaylynn and Elias. They both shook their heads. This was something completely new. A whole new form of wild. 

“Where were they coming from?” asked Catherine. They all moved closer to look at the tracks. 

“Their tracks are coming from the north. That's where all the wildest creatures live. They've become almost monsters,” said Kit. Everyone looked at him. 

“So what does it mean if they're coming here? That was a whole herd. They aren't migrating, they're moving here.” Arya said, looking at Kane. 

“I don't know but it can't be good. If the beasts are awakening, something is definitely wrong. Some two headed elk isn't going to be the worst of it. We have to prepare. Keep your eyes open at all times. Got it?” Kane said, looking at the whole group. 

“You might have been in charge back home Kane, but things are different here. This isn't your mision, so who says you get to call the shots?” Kit said, moving closer to Kane and puffing his chest. His eyes peered out through a wild tangle of hair like those of a cornered animal. Defiant and intense, but skittering around looking for escape at the same time. Down one cheek is a long scar, from just above the eye to his upper lip 

He was small and a little on the scrawny side compared to the others, but he was quick and cunning. His eyepatch was torn and frayed and you could see the tip of a scar on both sides of it. He never spoke about how he lost his eye, but hardly anyone asked. He could make you feel edgy just being near him. Kane was much taller and stronger than him but even he stepped back for a moment. Both of their fists were clenched and Kit’s knuckles were white. 

“Hey! Knock it off. No one’s in charge here. And we can't afford you two bickering like kids. We need to set up camp. I only have so much medicine and I won't waste it on you two if you hurt each other. Save the fighting for the ones who deserve it.” Catherine said sharply, cutting them off. Everyone stood in silence for a while before moving. Catherine was warm and sweet but she could take control to help people when she needed to. Aanya put her arm around Catherine and they walked off together, Aanya glaring back at the boys. 

“This is bad. We can't deal with fighting the Black Thorn, rescuing our people, mutant creatures coming from the north, and us fighting each other!” Kaylynn said to Elias, pacing back and forth in the trees. 

“They're called ravagers,” said Kit from behind them. They turned to face him quickly, startled. “Not mutant creatures. They're called ravagers. They were formed from the radiation left after the bombs went off. That's when they got bad. Plagues and toxins  had been mutating and creating new strange creatures for years before that but they became the ravagers. They come from the north and they are more dangerous than they look. If we aren't careful they could bring back all the sicknesses very few of us survived the first time. After they are finished with us themselves, of course. Our deaths make them stronger.”

“How do you know all this? And if they are such a big threat why have we never heard of them? Why isn't everyone talking about them?” said Kaylynn to him once he’d finished. 

“They are a product of the failures of humanity. They are what was supposed to destroy us. You’ve never heard of them because no one likes to talk about the horrors they have created. People thought they were gone for good. The wall was just in case they came back, but it won't do much.” He responded in an eerie tone. “And like I said, I read a lot. I know a lot.” 

And with that he turned on his heel and disappeared into the woods.

Kaylynn and Elias watched him leave in silence. He had that way of just appearing and disappearing whenever he wanted to. His knowledge scared them and gave Kaylynn a bad feeling. That didn't seem like the kind of stuff you could just read in a book. And even if it was, what was he doing reading books like that? The thought that there could be ravagers all around them, coming from them, chilled her. She had never heard of anything like that. The elk had been harmless, but she was sure they wouldn't be the worst of it. They were merely prey for the bigger ones. And if the little ones were fleeing, the rest wouldn't be far behind. They had no idea how to fight them or how to escape. The world had almost fallen apart once; they couldn't let that happen again.

A shrill cry echoed in the mist the next morning. Everyone jumped up, searching for the source of the noise. They rushed to the bank of the stream only to find crouched down by the water was Roland. He sat on his knees, staring at the surface of the water. He was ridged. They moved closer cautiously. 

‘Roland! Roland, get up. What happened?” Linden said, approaching him slowly. He drew nearer to Roland until he was right behind him. He gestured for everyone to stay back. Softly he placed his hand on Roland's shoulder and leaned down to meet him. He fell back quickly, landing roughly on the ground. Gasping, he scrambled back to the others. 

“What is it!? What's wrong with him?” cried Catherine, rushing to Roland's side. She shook his shoulders but he wouldn't budge. She looked down into the stream and saw what Linden had seen. Not the stream itself, but the reflection in it. Roland's face. She pulled him away from the bank, laying him on his back and everyone gathered around him. He was breathing but in short gasps and he wasn't responding to anything. When she could finally make herself look at him again Catherine couldn't help crying out. His face was mangled and bloody. Huge red boils and sores covered his skin. Steam seemed to be leaking from every pore in his body. She looked at the rest of his body and could see the beginnings of huge painful welts forming. His hands were already covered in them. His whole body shook violently and his limbs stook out rigid and frozen.  

“We have to help him!” Cried Arya, desperately looking around at everyone. “Quick, grab his legs. We need to bring him back to camp.”

“Don't bother. There's no saving him,” said Kit, darkness in his voice. “It was the ravagers. They did this to him. He's dying.”

“We can save him, can't we?” said Aanya turning to Catherine. “We have to!”

“I can try but I've never seen this. I don't know what to do!” responded Catherine, panicked. 

“Of course you've never seen it! We've been safe in our village our whole lives but we aren't anymore. Not even a little. There are horrors out here we could have never dreamed of,” Kit said, interrupting her. His voice was harsh and sharp. 

“For someone wh
\o's also never seen this before, you sure know a lot about it. Maybe you know the cure but you just want to watch him die! Maybe you brought the ravagers!” Kane yelled at Kit. Arya had to hold him back to keep him from punching Kit into the ground where he stood.

“Knock it off, there isn't time for bickering. Roland is going to die unless we think of something,” Elias cut in. He hadn't said a word until then but he spoke with such force and confidence that everyone fell silent. Raven crouched down to Roland, stroking his hair. She cradled his head in her arms, whispering soft words to him. 

“Kit’s right. There's nothing we can do. He's suffering and he is going to die,” said Raven. She looked at the others and no one said a word. Turning her head back to Roland, she slowly drew a knife from its sheath on her side. 

“What the hell are you doing!” Arya yelled, fighting to get forward, but Kane held her back sternly. 

“I'm so sorry Roland,” said Raven, drawing her knife. “Be free from your pain. Begin your journey to the stars, brave one,” she said as she stabbed down into Roland's chest. He stopped convulsing and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. A red stain grew larger on his chest under his shirt. His eyes were hollow and empty, staring into space. Raven pulled her knife from his flesh with a sickening squench without saying a word and walked towards the stream, her back turned. Catherine bent down by his head and closed his eyes, fighting back sobs. Everyone was silent. Linden collapsed to his knees. He screamed but not a sound escaped his lips. It was a silent wail that sent chills through their bodies. His face contorted in anguish and he threw his head back. A noise emerged from within him unlike anything they had ever heard. It was a deep, guttural cry of agony and grief. Catherine moved to his side and held him close. Tears fell down Aanya's face like rivers. Kaylynn felt frozen in place. She couldn't process anything. Her mind couldn't register the body in front of her. In the corner of her eye she saw Raven washing her knife in the stream. Blood dripped from the blade. Roland's blood. The water turned red as it carried his blood downstream. Elias held her tight and tried to move her away from the fallen form of Roland but she couldn't move. 

After what felt like ages of silence, Kane said, “We better get used to seeing bodies. Because where we're going there is going to be a hell of a lot more.” 

He turned to try to leave but Aanya grabbed his arm. 

“Kane, that is your friend! And he's dead now! Did you not register that? Do you not feel anything?” she said through tears. “How can you just leave like nothing happened?” 

Kane's eyes looked as if they were made of ice as he looked back at her. “We have work to do. We need to move on. Let's go.” 

They packed their bags and started to move out. Linden still sat near the fallen form of Roland. His anguish had turned to silence. 

“Roland  was like a brother to him,” Raven said to Kaylynn. They stood together by the edge of the clearing. “They grew up together. I don't know what Linden is going to do without him.” 

“Then why the hell did you kill him!?” Kaylynn yelled at Raven, her voice shaking. “We could have at least tried to save him, but you killed him. He's dead because of you.”

“He was suffering! There was nothing we could have done. It would have been torture to keep him alive. He was dying. I did what had to be done and I spared him.” Raven responded. “If you can't see that, I don't know what to tell you. It was the right thing to do, and if I hadn't done it, someone else would have.” 

 The day passed wearily and no one spoke as they walked. Linden and Aanya buried Roland by the stream and covered his grave in flowers. Kit stood on the sidelines, watching them work as they lowered his body into the pit. Blood stained the soil around where died and the water in the stream was still a deep red. As they moved farther east they could see more traces of civilization. They passed through the ruins of old cities where only the skeletons of the buildings remained. The scattered remains of old civilizations could be seen littered around the ground. Glass bottles, cans, and other junk was scattered everywhere. They took what they could, trying to make use of it, but most of it was useless. The buildings made good shelter for the nights but it felt as if you were sleeping in a ghost town. It was eerily quiet. Days past with tension filling the air. They moved quickly, walking from dawn to dusk covering as much ground as possible. Arya and Kane kept their distance from each other. Kane was tough and showed no emotion or remorse. He was hard as stone and Arya felt numb with no one to lean on. She tried to talk with Kaylynn but she was distant as well. There was a gap in between them that felt as though it could never be mended. As much as she tried, Kaylynn couldn't bring herself to open up to Arya. In her face she could see herself, like looking into a mirror and that scared her to her core. They were so similar yet different at the same time. Arya was lighthearted but it seemed as though Kane had stolen her spirit and changed her. Kaylynn stayed with Elias so much she felt as if she couldn't live without him. He had become a vital part of her, like that one tiny pebble that keeps a whole mountain in place. And if he crumbled, there would be nothing left to hold her up. 

As they walked, Raven painted pictures in her mind. She could envision the ruins coming to life before her eyes. And every night she drew pictures in the dirt and on stones. Her pictures showed scenes of life before it fell apart. They showed them moving through the mountains together and their camps they set up each night. The closer they drew to the wall, the more it began to feel like a suicide mission. It seemed hopeless, like they were walking into a death trap. Surrounding them in the wilderness was the constant threat of the ravagers and the closer they drew to the wall, the threat of the Black Thorn grew stronger. They saw the remains of Black Thorn camps nearer to the wall. Abandoned lookout posts surrounded by bodies. They had been set up in the earlier days of the wall by the governments to monitor life inside but once they fell, the Black Thorn used them to catch runaways or as a place to take people to kill them brutally. 

The darkness seemed to grow darker and the air hung heavier in the passing days. A sense of impending doom followed them wherever they went. They were hardly a day away from the wall and they began to see more signs of life surrounding them. But along with the signs of life they could see the death there as well. Bodies in different stages of decay littered the ground mangled in all assortments of positions. They all seemed to be reaching for the west, trying to make their way to something better. 

It was a bright, frosty morning. The dew covered grass glistened like a carpet of crushed diamonds in the early morning sunshine. They awoke to the sounds of movement surrounding them. Aanya reached for Catherines hand and held her close. Everyone looked around through the brush desperately for any sign of life. 

“Ravagers?” Linden said, his voice trembling. 

“Or the Thorn. Maybe they found us,” Arya responded, drawing her bow. A twig snapped in the bushes behind them and they all whipped around, quick as a cat. A man stood in between two trees staring directly at them. His dark eyes seemed to stare straight through their souls. In one hand he held a pistol, in the other a rusty machete. The symbol of the Black Thorn was stamped proudly on his cheek. A wilting rose bud with a drop of blood dripping from the thorn. He cocked his gun, ready to fire. 

“Once I die I’ll be with him. I’ll be with Roland again,” Linden said under his breath, his whole form shaking. He crouched low to the ground and his eyes darted around looking for any way out. His eyes settled on the barrel of the gun. With a deep breath he stood and faced the man. 

“For Roland. Anything for him,” said Linden fiercely, starting towards the man.   

Before he could take another step, Arya notched an arrow and drew back. Exhaling, she let her arrow fly. It moved through the air with a fluidity that boggled Kaylynn’s mind. It seemed to know where it was headed, like it had a mind of its own. It shot through the air, the sharp tip glinting in the light. It pierced the man's chest with a thud and sunk deep into his flesh like a hot knife through snow. He didn't have time to cry out before the arrow burst through his heart. He fell to the ground in a heap, blood dripping onto the grass. His eyes rolled back in their sockets and his mouth fell open, trickles of blood and liquid dripping from the corners. 

“Getting yourself killed unnecessarily won't help anyone here Linden. You need to learn to control your impulses.” Arya said, her voice cold as ice. Kane moved to her side and put his hand on her shoulder but she pulled back, contracting at his touch. 

“We’re close,” Kaylynn said to everyone. “Search him for anything we could use. Now.” she said to Raven and Kit. She seemed to hold a new air of confidence. Or was it simply an act she put up to hide her fear, knowing she was almost back where she watched her parents die, helpless. I was simply weak then, she told herself, they could have been saved but I failed. I was a pathetic little child but I won't be this time. I can't be. 

The wall seemed taller and more ominouse than she had remembered. She had never really looked at it from the outside and she could finally see just how much of a prison it was. It wasn't keeping people safe, it was what was killing them. And even if people could escape, they would have no idea where to go or what to do. With the ravagers approaching and growing stronger the risk was higher than ever. But they had to try. They had to be able to save some of them. Other than Elias, none of the others had seen the wall. They had all been born and raised beyond it. It seemed to just hit them, what they were trying to do. The wall looked non-climbable from where they were standing. They had to move, try to find somewhere more eroded. 

It was silent standing below the wall in the dead of night. No one said a word. Everyone looked up at the great wall. Raven climbed her way through the treetops, trying to look for a way over and for any information on what would await them once they made it to the other side. It was pitch dark around them. They couldn't risk building a fire for fear someone would see the smoke and find them. There were no lights from any houses near the wall. It was as if those communities had been wiped out completely. Erased from the map with nothing but the burnt ruins of their houses left. When Kaylynn had left there had been 100,000 people left alive inside the wall. She didn't know how many would be left once they got in, but she knew it wouldn't be good. 

The body of the fallen soldier lay in a clump of trees beyond where they stood. No one bothered to bury him. As they looked at the wall, Kaylynn could see in the corner of her eye Elias slipping off. He looked around him before he left, disappearing into the trees. Kaylynn almost started after him but a crack in the branches above brought her attention back.

“Raven, are you okay?” she said, looking up through the canopy.

“I'm fine. I'm trying to find a way over using the trees but some of the branches aren't the strongest,” she responded from high above. 

“Be careful, we can't lose you and you know that. Don't you dare fall,” Catherine called up. 

“I never fall,” Raven laughed, “trust me.” 

Sounds from within the darkness behind her made Kaylynn draw her knife. She crept off the way she had seen Elias leave, keeping low to the ground. The image of ravagers tearing him apart filled her head and panic struck her body. She reached a clump of bushes and, pulling black a section of branches, she saw it. Elias crouched over something on the ground, knife drawn. She drew nearer and could see he was above the body of the soldier they had killed. She watched as he raised his knife and stabbed him. 

“Elias what are you doing?!” Kaylynn yelled at him, jumping from the bushes. “He's already dead!”

“Kaylynn, you shouldn't be here. I'm doing what I have to do,” he said, looking her dead in the eyes. His eyes seemed to have gone dark and been clouded with hatred. He pulled it out with a sickening squinch and moved to the man's head. His knife dripped with blood. Without a shred of remorse he carved into his cheek. Opening his mouth he pulled out the man's tongue, slicing it off. He punched the jaw, knocking out teeth and cutting Elias’s knuckles. 

“Stop! You can't do this. We already killed him. Doing this to him won't make you feel any better!” Kaylynn said carefully, approaching him slowly, arms outstretched. 

“You see that's where you're wrong,” he said, turning his head to look at her. His face was spattered with blood and he held his knife up, glinting in the moonlight. There was a fire in his eyes. A dark fire that took hold of him. He looked back down and plunged his knife into the man's eyes. His knife was buried deep inside the sockets. He twisted the knife violently, holding it so tight his fingers turned white. He looked like a demon sitting there in the darkness. Kaylynn grabbed his arm and tried to pull him away, but he jerked it free, pushing her away. She stumbled back in shock. She felt like she would be sick. She couldn't stop him. Crying out she pulled at him again, trying to free him from the fog clouding his vision but he wouldn't budge. He carved holes in the man's face and chest. Breathing heavily, he moved to his throat. He drew his knife across the throat making a deep gash from ear to ear. 

“This is for my mother,” he said, stabbing the man through the heart. 

“This is for my father,” he continued, ripping open his guts. Kaylynn screamed and cried out but to no avail. He stood up, looking down at the mangled corpse and began kicking it. It rolled across the ground limply, leaving stains of blood and dismembered body parts strewn across the ground. 

“And this is for my f*cking sisters! You killed them! You deserve this!” he screamed, his voice full of rage. His foot came down hard on his skull and the cracking noise made Kaylynn throw up. She felt dizzy and tried to hold him to catch herself but he pushed her down and she hit the ground hard. Tears streaked his face and his eyes were dark and sunken. 

Kaylynn awoke, her head pounding. She lay flat on the ground. Elias crouched at her side, shaking her. 

“Kaylynn wake up! Please!” he cried. He fell to his knees sobbing. His eyes had returned to normal but they were still laced with darkness. He tried to hold her but she moved away. Her head spun and her whole body wracked with pain, but she pulled herself away from him. Tears fell down her face and her shoulders shook. She stood and nearly collapsed in a heap. She caught herself, grabbing onto branches. Thorns pierced her skin but she wouldn't let go. Elias rushed to her and tried to hold her but she pushed him off, sobbing uncontrollably. 

“Don't touch me! Stay away!” she screamed at him and his face fell. He fell to his knees at her feet, reaching for her. 

“Kaylynn I love you! I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to,” he cried. His face contorting out of agony. “I love you more than anything in the world.”

Kaylynn pursed her lips and turned away, her body shaking. It felt as if a knife had been plunged through her heart. She pushed her way through the bushes, stumbling away from him. She found Raven standing below a tree.

“Kaylynn, what happened? Are you okay?!” Raven said, rushing to her side. Kaylynn couldn’t say a word. She shook her head and collapsed into her arms.

The night air was cold against Kaylynns skin and she shivered standing under the tree next to Raven. Tears streamed down her face burning her cheeks. She could hear Elias crying out behind her but he didn't follow. The memory of his eyes with that bright glow of uncontrollable rage burned into Kaylynns mind. He had scared her more than she ever thought he could. He was the one who had kept her safe and she knew she could never look at him the same again. 

“Kaylynn what happened,” Raven asked, gently reaching her hand towards Kaylynn.

“Elias, he… he” she sobbed but couldn't seem to form the words. Raven could see a bump forming on Kaylynns head and blood trickled down her face. 

“It's okay, its okay, I got you.” Raven said gently, stepping closer to her. 

Kaylynns eyes burned and her gut wretched as she replayed it in her head. Elias had been her knight in shining armor, she had found him in the woods and in her mind that would be the beginning of their happily ever after. 

“I thought he was my soulmate,” Kaylynn said, her shoulders shaking. 

“You can't change what people have done, and you can't control them. All you can do is decide how you act, how you continue on. The past has happened and theres nothing you can do.”

“I don't know what to do! Something broke and I don't know what to do to fix it or if I even can. A part of me just feels like running away, anything to get away from this.” Kaylynn responded.

“I know, I know. But for now just rest. There's nothing you need to do.”

Kaylynns head fell into her lap and her eyes grew heavy. The scenes replaying themselves in her head began to fade away as if someone was pulling them out of her mind, replacing it with something new. As Kaylynn drifted to sleep she could hear the sounds of owls and other small creatures around them and Raven began to sing. She couldn't make out any words, it was in some forign language, but it flowed over her covering her body in a certain warmth. 

The first rays of sun began to illuminate the sky and kaylynn slowly began to wake. She lay in Raven's lap, gazing into her eyes. Raven ran her hands through Kaylynn’s golden hair and she felt like she was melting. The sun had risen and the light streamed through the leaves of the trees above them. The sun hit their faces and they stared into each other’s eyes. There was a new kind of light in Raven's eyes Kaylynn had never noticed before. Behind her dark exterior was a glimmer of beauty untold. Raven’s hair fell down to her waist and it shone in the sunlight like the feathers of a crow. Kaylynn studied her face and memorized every detail. The small scar above her lip, the way her nose came to a point at the end, and the dimple in her cheek when she smiled. Her eyes began to wander, moving to her neck, shoulders, and chest. Her shoulders were strong and the muscles were clearly visible through her tan skin. Her hair hung loose except for small braids running down the right side of her head. Kaylynn moved her eyes back up, focusing on her lips. They were lush and full in an inviting way. They looked soft and gentle and just for a moment she wondered what they would taste like. The thought passed through her mind so fast it surprised her, but it felt good. It filled her with butterflies and she arched her back up to make their faces closer. Raven looked down back at Kaylynn and smiled softly. Kaylynn inhaled and could smell fresh rain and tree sap on Raven's body. Raven's hands moved down from Kaylynns back and up her arms. Kaylynns skin tingled when she touched it. Kaylynn sighed gently and Raven moved on top of her, resting on her knees. Kaylynn lay on the grass, looking up at Raven. Raven pulled her hair out of her face and smiled down at Kaylynn. She moved her hands onto the base of Raven's waist, pulling her in. Raven lowered herself until her lips were mere inches above Kaylynns. They could feel each other's warm breath on their faces. Kaylynn hesitated for a moment before leaning in. Ravens lips met hers and sparks began to fly. Kaylynn was enveloped and intoxicated by Raven and they moved their bodies closer to each other. Kaylynn’s hands help onto ravens waist, moving it close to hers. Ravens klips were warm and inviting and all Kaylynn wanted was more. It felt nothing like when she kissed Elias, it was full of a whole new kind of passion and heat. In a second, all thoughts of Elias left Kaylynn’s mind. One of Raven’s arms supported her body above the ground and the other moved along Kaylynns body. She caressed Kaylynn’s face and head. She ran her fingers up and down kaylynns arms, but Kaylynn knew where she wanted them. She kissed Raven harder, pulling her in closer. Raven matched her passion, bringing herself farther onto Kaylynn. Their legs intertwined and Raven moved her hand from Kaylynns neck to the top of her chest, her fingers were soft but strong. Her hand rested just above kaylynns breasts for a moment before she began undoing kaylynns shirt. It fell away, exposing her breasts to Raven. Raven drew back for a moment and pulled off her own shirt. Kaylynns hands moved up her body from Raven's waist until they were on her chest. Raven's waist moved against kaylynns, sending new waves of sensation through her body. Leaning back down on top of Kaylynn, Raven began to kiss her neck. She moved down slowly, kissing her breasts tenderly. Kaylyns eyes rolled back in her head and her mouth fell open. Her breath deepeded and she moved into it more. 

A twig snapping behind them made them both turn quickly. Behind them, shock on his face, stood Kit. Raven rolled off Kaylynn, reaching for her clothes. She pulled her clothes on and covered Kaylynn. Kit looked away quickly, his face flushed. 

“Oh sh*t sorry, I uh, didn't see you” he said awkwardly. “Didn't mean to interrupt but the sun is up and we should get moving soon.You can finish, all that, later. ”

“Of course. Tell everyone to pack their things and get ready to leave,” Kaylynn said and they followed Kit back to the main camp. Everyone stood, packing what little things they had. No one bothered to ask Elias why his hands were stained with blood. There were dark bags under his eyes and his hair was a mess. Pieces of his clothes were missing and torn up. Dirt stained his face and caked on his body but with the expression on his face no one dared get closer. 

Catherine sat by a berry bush, picking what appeared to be blueberries. She hummed as she worked, wrapping bundles of them in pieces of cloth and tucking them into her bag. Her golden hair was pulled out of her face in a half up bun. Her hair was curly and bounced when she moved. She was the shortest and youngest of the group and she reminded everyone of a sunflower. Everything about her seemed to glow, as if she was made of honey. When she laughed it was like a wave covering everyone in warmth. Whenever something went wrong, she tried to fix it, to help everyone. She could cook like no one else. Even with little to no resources, she had made them a loaf of bread over the fire and served it to them each with a different wild flower on top. She was brave and would risk her life for anyone, but she hated fighting. She knew it was necucaty and she was prepared to die fighting to save her people but any chance she could, she tried to stop it. Somewhat fragile and intelligent in expression, she had a way to light up the darkest of times. She had a pale, milky innocence and bright blue eyes. She was thin and somewhat frail looking, but her spirit could never be broken. She didn't care much about clothes and she hated brushing her hair, but she’s still probably the most beautiful girl in the world, inside and out. She reminded Kaylynn of summer, not the long hot days but those magical moments in the sun, the early morning sunrises, the smell of the fresh fruit on the trees, and the babble of a brook. 

The wall was made from stones and bricks but was reinforced by steel. Some parts of the wall were made entirely of metal and there was no way out. They stood below a section made of slabs of concrete and bricks. There were hardly any holds to help them climb. 

“We need to keep moving to find an easier place to climb. When I escaped, the wall was climbable and I could use stones to pull myself up. We need to get to a place like that,” Kaylynn said to the whole group. They looked in both directions, trying to choose a way. To their right, the trees grew darker and thicker and to their left the fields spread out in the distance as far as they could see. 

“If we go to the right we can use the trees to help us or to hide in if we need to. That way is safer,” Aanya said and everyone else nodded.

 They walked for hours, following the oath of the wall. The shade kept the cool and protected from the sweltering heat. No one talked much. Catherine hummed as they moved and passed out berries and water to everyone. She brought comfort to their seemingly endless journey. They were so close yet so far and they had no way to tell how much farther they'd have to go. 

They were all weary when things started to feel wrong. It was quiet, more than it had been. It was as if someone had sucked all the sounds out of the air. They had crossed some sort of path. They seemed to be in a different world. Everyone stopped, looking around. They had all felt it. Some sort of chill and a prickle on the back of your neck. Arya drew her bow and Kit gripped his knife tight. They moved closer together, their eyes peeled for any danger. Aanya stood a few steps away from the group, looking up in the trees. It all happened in a second. 

A gun fired and a bullet carved its way through the air streaking towards Aanya. Arya shot at the sound but to no avail. A group of soldiers in full armor stood atop of the wall, looking down at them. As the bullet flew through the air and before anyone could react, Catherine jumped in front of Aanya, pushing her to the ground. Kaylynn screamed and ran to Catherine but not before the bullet pierced her chest, just below her heart. She fell to the ground in a heap. A section of the wall slid back and the group of men appeared, guns drawn. They charged at them at lighting speed. Arya managed to let one last arrow fly, hitting one in the chest before another grabbed her bow. He fell to the ground, the arrow protruding from him. But one down meant nothing. The rest came for each of them, striking them down. One pried Catherine’s form from Kaylynn’s grasp and forced Kaylynn to the ground gun aimed at her head. The chaos grew as Kane and Elias tried to fight back. 

In the chaos Arya could see Kit slipping off into the darkness of the trees. No one noticed him, all their attention was on getting Kane and Elias under control. Linden quivered in the corner, inching away. They didn't seem to want to kill anyone, at least not yet. They hit them and made gashes in their skin but their guns never fired. They wanted them alive. One of the soldiers drew a batton from his belt, sparking with electricity. He stabbed it at Kane and it hit him straight in the chest making his hair stand on end and he collapsed in a heap. He stepped over Kane’s unconscious body, chains in his hands and bound Kane’s wrists. They then turned their attention to Elias. His eyes were those of a cornered animal, darting around for any escape. But he wouldn't run like Kit had. He could have turned and tried to use the trees as protection but his eyes fell on Kaylynn and he knew he could never leave her. He knew what he had done and he knew he would spend the rest of his life trying to make it up to her if he had to. While he played all that through his head, one snuck up behind him, hitting him with the same baton that had left Kane in an unconscious heap. Once Elias’s hands were in shackles as well and they were all subdued, one of the soldiers stepped forward. He seemed to be the leader and he wore a black crest on his chest. 

“This is our world now. So try if you must but there is nothing you can do to save your people. Because no one stands up to us and lives. The Black Thorn will be your end. You will die just like your parents and family at our feet. We serve the general with our lives, and nothing will stop her. Once she has you, you’ll be worse than dead.” he said, his gun drawn at them. He removed their weapons and everything they had. 

“Please no.” Linden sobbed at their feet, begging for mercy. “Please, don't do this. I'm scared,” he said sobbing, trying to grasp at their legs. 

“A coward,” said the leader. He turned so everyone could hear him and continued. “We don't take cowards. Kill him.” The other guards closed in on Linden, pulling him away into the woods kicking and screaming. They heard the sound of a gunshot and everything went silent. No one said a word. Aanya collapsed, her head spinning. A single tear fell down the side of Kane’s cheek. 

“At least he’s with Roland now,” he whispered under his breath. The world felt silent for a moment and no one could move. A weight seemed to have hit them all in the chest. How could it happen so fast, Kaylyn wondered. One moment he was here, the next he wasn't. His whole life and future had just been deleted with the click of a trigger. They had called him a coward for wanting to live, for bargaining for his own life. No, Kaylynn thought, a coward would have done nothing. A coward would have faced death without any emotion. Linden had begged for his life, he knew how much it was worth. And even though he was with Roland now, it wasn't how it should have ended. The fact that he begged for mercy means he still had hope in humanity. Hope that the soldiers still had a little solace in them to let him live. But they didn't. They had taken him to die, to be thrown out like an object. All of this hit Kaylyn as she sat there on the ground helpless. 

“Linden was no coward,” Kaylynn said, raising her head to face the soldier. “You are the cowards here.”

They marched them back through the wall and down dark streets of the city. Kaylynn’s eyes were blurry from tears as she realized the smoldering pile of rubble they had passed had once been her school. She looked over and saw Elias, still dazed, was beside himself as well. They moved deeper into the city than Kaylynn or Elias had ever gone before. They could see the buildings getting taller and they saw more people around them. They ran and hid at the sight of the soldiers. Everyone looked hurt and fearful for their life. One of the tallest and strongest soldiers carried Catherine slung over his shoulder. She was still unconscious but at least she was breathing. They made their way to a large black truck and they were loaded into the back. It was dark and cold inside. The door slammed behind them and more guards joined them, flaking each of them. They rode with no idea where they were going. Every so often they would hit a bump in the road and would be thrown out of their seats only to be pulled back roughly. 

When they arrived, the houses of the city had been replaced with the fortress of the black thorn growing into the sky before them like a weed. They were pushed out of the truck and made to kneel on the ground as the rest of the guards unloaded Catherine. The barrel of a gun pocked Elias in the back of his head. 

“Move boy,” said the man holding the gun. Elias rose and began walking after the rest of them. They all disappeared into the building, feeling as though they had been engulfed by a dark beast.  

The walls of the fortress were dark and ominous. They rose high into the sky and clouds seemed to form around them. Kaylynn got the sense that no one could ever get out unless they were let out. The stone was cold and seemed to suck all of the hope out of the air. Strange noises and cries echoed around them and they couldn't tell where they were coming from. They felt as though they were walking to their graves. Broken chains hung on the walls or lay scattered along the floor. The walls seemed to talk, as if the souls of all those who had died there were calling out to them to turn back. But that wasn't exactly a choice at this point. There was no escape from this hellhole. Everything felt cold around them and the air clung to their bodies, digging its way into their bones trying to freeze them. They followed the guards forward farther down the corridor. They passed doors of steel and brick. Voices could be heard from behind them, indistinct murmurs. 

Kaylynn’s mind couldn't think of anything but Catherine. She hung limp like a ragdoll. Her face was pale and her breaths came in shallow gasps. Tears stung Kaylynn’s face as she walked. Raven walked next to her, her head hanging low. Behind them was Arya, Elias, and Kane. Kit was still nowhere to be seen. He had probably wormed his way out into the darkness, disappearing as he always did. They had no hope that he would come back to save them. He was gone for good. They were on their own but at least they had each other. If they had to die they would die together.  

The soldiers marched them to a gate and pushed them through it. The door slammed behind them. The two guards holding Catherine walked in first. Two others followed the rest of them, guiding them to the back wall. It was an arena, covered with a steel mesh dome. The walls were carved in stone and they could see the sky above them but it brought them no comfort. It was dark and covered with mist. The air stung their faces as if it was laced with acid. They were forced to their knees against the wall and chains were put around their arms and wrists. They lay Catherine down in the center of the room and she began to stir. She could barely keep her head up but her eyes darted around the room. 

Kaylynn fought to get to Catherine, yelling her name but the guards pulled her back and gagged her. None of the others spoke.  They sat in silence for what felt like hours. Their bones ached and they felt like they would collapse on the spot. Footsteps from the distance grew louder towards the gate. Two more guards stood, holding the gate open as a figure emerged from the darkness. As the woman stepped into the chamber they felt a rush of ice run through them. 

She was tall, with dark skin and hair that fell down her shoulders. She wore a dress that seemed to be made of shadows and a blade of black steel hung at her side. Her face was stern and she looked older than them, maybe in her 40’s. She had scars and divots in her cheeks and her lips were black. Her eyes were like a prison. They drew you in just to suck out your soul. Around her neck was a necklace of obsidian and diamonds. They looked as though they could cut glass. Her arms were long and nimble but could snap a neck like a twig. She looked down on all of them as if they were mere ants she needed to squish under her boot.  

She stood above Catherine, kicking her to the ground. Kaylynn fought to get loose but to no avail. As she stared down at Catherines pale form, there was no remorse in her eyes. It was pure cold malice. From the folds of her cloak she drew a gun. Raven screamed at the sight of it. It wasn't an ordinary gun, it was full of a red liquid that bubbled and sloshed around in the chamber. Instead of a barrel of the gun, a long needle protruded from the end, glinting menacingly. The woman looked back up at the rest of them, tied and chained together. They were all beaten and bleeding. She smiled, a cold evil grin as she bent down to Catherine’s side. Catherine was too weak to move. Her eyes looked pleading for mercy but the woman just laughed. The needle neared her neck and she positioned it in the softest spot. The needle pierced her skin and Catherine cried out. It stuck deep into her flesh and a pool of blood formed around the wound. Her fingers on the trigger, the woman looked back at them and began to speak. 

“Do you believe in death?” she said, tilting her head to puzzle the question. “Surely you think I’m a monster by now. But there are two types of monsters. Fairy tale monsters that hid under your bed as a child, and human monsters living around you who will never hesitate to harm you. You are now living in a world with both. You try to be the good guy, try to save everyone, but the truth is there is no salvation. Death is the only true escape. I am the bringer of freedom.” 

The woman's eyes were lit up with a strange glee. Pushing the needle deeper into Catherine she whispered into her ear.

“Be free child,” she said and pulled the trigger. The red liquid shot into Catherine’s neck and she screamed in agony.  

Her eyes turned red and she shivered. Kaylynn tried to get to her but the guards pulled her back. Her veins were standing ridged out of her skin and her body was stretched to its limits. The empty vial fell to the floor, shattering. The woman stepped back and was flanked by two soldiers. She stood and watched as Catherine writhed on the ground, thrashing violently. Just as quickly as it had begun, it stopped. Catherine fell still and her eyes closed. Her skin was turning a pale shade of grey and she was limp. The woman nodded and the guard let go of Kaylynn’s bonds and removed her gag and she rushed to her side. Catherine’s frail form was strewn across the floor. She wasn't breathing and there was no heartbeat to be found. 

“What did you do to her!?” Kaylynn screamed, crying so hard her throat felt like it was ripping. She fell over Catherine’s form, her shoulders wracking. She looked back up at the woman, tears streaming down her face and lunged at her, hands outstretched ready to strangle her. She didn't even flinch. The soldiers grabbed her, forcing her to the ground, guns at her head. Raven screamed from the back wall but Kaylynn could hear a guard silencing her with force. The stone dug into Kaylynn’s skin and a boot pressed her cheek harder. They stood above her, guns drawn and a foot on her head. Her vision was blurry and her head spun but she could see the woman standing in above her, her long robe billowing out behind her. Kaylynn felt as though she was both burning up and freezing at the same time. Her heart pounded in her skull and she shook with a fierce rage and grief. The guard eased the pressure on her head and she could feel chains being put around her wrists. She was pulled up and dragged across the room like an object back to the rest of them. It was as if she took a mallet and broke each of their souls in turn. And she laughed at it. Called it freedom and justice. As she stood over them like their master they felt like broken shells of who they used to be. This fortress had changed them. They had experienced loss before but they always had always been together. Now as their hands were bound behind their back, they couldn't even hold each other. 

“I want it to last longer.” She said to one of her guards. “Don't let them die so quickly. They need to suffer before they are freed. Otherwise where's the fun? Leave now.” she continued, gesturing for him to leave. She looked at Catherine's corpse and pondered it for a moment before moving her attention to Kaylynn, moving closer to her still flanked by her guards. 

“I am Mara, general of the black thorn,” she said to all of them, grinning. “Life is such a fragile thing,” she said, her hand on her heart in mock sorrow. “What a pity it is that I enjoy taking it.” 

Her eyes blazed with a cruel flame, looking at the others like they were her next meal. 

“But today is not your day unfortunately,” Mara said. “Stay here for a while, and we’ll see. Your lives will be mine when I want them to be, so why rush?” she turned and her cloak billowed behind her as she left through the gate. 

Their cell was cold and damp. The guards had finally removed their chains but their wrists were red and bruised. They all felt numb and hollowed out. There were no bars or windows on their cell and the door was made of iron and steel. There was no bed or anything inside, just the cold floor beneath them. They were all exhausted and so emotionally overloaded that no one could do anything much. In the corner, Raven and Kaylynn curled up together. Their arms and legs intertwined as if they were trying to find any possible way to get closer to one another. Across the room sat Elias. He watched as Kaylynn rested her head on Raven's chest and breathed deeply. Tears fell down both of their faces but slowly now. They were running out of tears to cry. Soon it would be nothing but dull pain. Catherine’s body had been left in the center of the arena where she had died. They never saw Linden’s body. Mara had been right, what she was doing to them was worse than death. She would torture them until begged to be killed, to be set free. 

But the pain in his body and the pain of watching his friends suffer was nothing compared to the pain he felt for Kaylynn. He watched as she found comfort in the arms of another. Kit had not said a word but Elias had guessed what had happened. And Kit wasn't there with them to confirm or deny his suspicions. Everytime he came near her, she tensed up. He hated that he was the one who made her feel this way, the one who made her feel scared. He had meant what he had said, he loved her more than anything in the world. In his mind it wasn't fair how Raven had swooped in. He was the one who met her first, who lived with her in the wild for weeks. He was the one who had saved her life and who had made her happy all those many times. 

“She isn't yours,” whispered Kane to Elias, as if he could read his thoughts. “You two were a perfect match, but sadly matches burn and there's nothing you can do about it.”

“But I could have stopped it, I could have kept her. If I had only gotten control of my emotions and been there for her,” Elias said, his head in his hands.

“Maybe. Or maybe she's who she was meant to be with now and that might have happened no matter what. There's no way to know. She loved you, I know that much. But things change, and so do people.” Kane said, patting Elias on the back. He didn't know what else to do. A hug seemed too intimate and a handshake was certainly inappropriate for this situation, so Kane patted Elias’s back. 

“I need to talk to her. I can't do this without her,” Elias said back to Kane. 

“Alright, go if you must, but remember, no matter how you feel you still have to listen to her. If you truly love her you won't force her. The bottom line is you want her to be happy, right?” Kane said as Elias stood and began to move.   

“Kaylynn, Kaylynn wake up,” he said gently as he crouched down beside her. 

Raven's eyes shot open and she wrapped her arms tighter around Kaylynn as if she was protecting her. It burned his heart to think that Kaylynn was scared of him. He reached his hand out slowly to Kaylynn’s shoulder. Raven eyed him cautiously but nodded. Kaylyn awoke with a start, looking around. Her eyes landed on Raven and she felt at ease. Raven gestured behind her towards Elias. 

“Kaylynn can we talk? Please?” he said imploringly. Kaylynn looked back at Raven but Raven gestured for her to go. Just like Elias, Raven also only wanted Kaylynn to be happy. She watched them walk off together and her heart ached as she watched Kaylynn leave. 

“I don't know where to start or what to say except for I love you,” Elias said, a tear forming in his eye as he looked at her. 

It was the first time he had been close to her since the incident and he had forgotten just how intoxicating she was. He wanted nothing more than to lean in and kiss her right then and there but he couldn't. He saw Kaylynn’s chest rise and fall as she breathed heavily, her shoulders shaking. She couldn't bring herself to look at him. When she saw his face she could only think of one thing. The sound that man's skull had made, crunching under Elias’s foot and the moment he had spun around, making her fall to the ground. Her hand moved to the spot on her forehead where he had hit her. It was still tender and bruised. 

“One mistake, one bad choice does not define you Elias. But I can't do this,” she said, tears falling freely down her face. He bent down to wipe them from her cheeks but she drew back. “I- I’ve changed and so have you. Neither of us is the person we fell in love with in the woods anymore. And maybe we'll meet again when the time is right for us but right now, I…” she paused and looked back at Raven and a smile crept onto her face at the sight of her. 

Elias couldn't form the words to say. She was right, they had both changed but for him, and the way he felt about her, it had only grown. She had been pulled into another direction and Kane was right, he wanted her to be happy. He knew in his heart he would never stop fighting for her. She was home to him, his whole life. Holding back his true words and the tears building up inside him he looked back at her and managed a faint smile. 

“At least one of us is happy now, and that is all I ever want for you. But I want you to know there will always be someone loving you, from a distance. No matter what, I’ll be here ready for you.” 

His words didn't feel real, coming from his mouth. He had meant it, he would wait for her, no matter how long it took but he couldn't seem to let her go for now. He felt like he was giving up. He let her hand slip from his and watched as she walked back to Raven. Raven stood to meet her, wrapping her in a war embrace and he longed for that to be him. He replayed all those moments when he was the one she went to hold. His head fell as he walked to the other corner of the room, back to Kane. The thought of Kaylynn and Raven twisted his stomach and stabbed at his heart. They had slipped briskly into an intimacy, from which they couldn't seem to recover. And neither could he. 

They had no sense of time in their cell. The guards passed their door, occasionally banging on it to make sure they were still alive. There was a hatch on the door that slid open every so often delivering food or water. Mara wasn't going to let them die easy, she wanted them alive so they could suffer. A tray of food slid through the door, hours later. A dry piece of bread, a cup of water, and a pile of rice was all they got. Kane passed out the food, handing the bread to Kaylynn and Raven. They tore it in half and began to eat. It was dry and stale and it sloshed uncomfortably around Kaylynn’s empty stomach, nearly making her puke. 

Time seemed to be stuck in a loop, everyday the same. And the worst part was they had no way to tell when a day was done so for all they knew it had only been one or two, though it felt like ten. The walls made everything feel colder so they sat together for warmth. It was an awkward feeling, they all clumped together. Some of them seemed to fit perfectly but with others there was an unspoken tension between them. Kane and Aanya never seemed to fit. They tried to but it was like trying to force a puzzle piece in where it didn't go. Something just wasn't right. As they sat there in the darkness the sounds of their breath was the only noise. Sometimes it would sync up to sound like one organism breathing as one but then it would fall apart again. It stayed silent as everyone tried to absorb all that had happened. To Kaylynn it felt like someone had forced her to eat a huge feast all by herself and it just wouldn't go down. Sometimes she would think it had but then pieces of it kept coming back up. 

A small scratching noise caught her attention coming from the wall to her right. The stones piled high on top of eachother but something kept Kaylynns attention. The noise began growing louder and more noticeable and they all moved to get a closer look. Crumbled pieces of stone fell to the floor from one of the stone blocks in the wall. The stone began to shake and wiggle in its place. It was a large stone in the back of the wall, about 2 feet wide. A scratching noise could be heard coming from the other side. It began to rumble and groan as it slid from its place. Kane rushed to it, grabbing an edge and began pulling it back. Elias moved to his side, putting all his strength into it. It began to move, inch by inch, into the room. Dust flew around them, making Kaylynn cough. Kaylynn and Raven both joined the boys and it began to move quicker. It made a grinding noise, like nails on a chalkboard, as it slid from its place. Aanya sat in the corner watching them but she didn't move to help. The rock neared its tipping point and they stepped back so it wouldn't fall and crush them. It wobbled for a second and fell into the room with a huge thud. It shook the room and the dirt flew, covering everyone. The rock had fallen near the center of the room and had been split in two. They all coughed and tried to let the dirt settle as they moved towards the gaping hole in the wall. They couldn't see much, just pebbles and darkness. The room was silent and still. No one knew what to do. Kaylynn and Raven stepped forward first, arms linked together. Everyone stood on edge, ready to strike. A movement in the darkness made them stop in their tracks. Kaylynn crouched low to the ground, using the shattered stone as protection. Dust settling, an arm and a leg poked its way from the hole and they could see a figure emerging from the darkness. Feet hit the floor and the sound echoed around the room. Kit raised his head to look at them, smiling.

“You didn't really think I was going to leave you here, did you?” he said coily, moving towards them.
“Kit! How are you here? What are you doing?” stammered Raven, rushing to hug him. 

“You're getting out of here, I’m not leaving without you,” he said, holding her tight, “without any you.” 

The hole was big enough for even Kane to fit through. The dark tunnel led off into the distance with no end in sight. 

“This whole place is full of tunnels. I'm sorry it took me so long to find you but this place is a maze. This path leads to a loose section of wall around the back. That's how I got in.” 

Kaylynn stared at Kit in shock. She couldn't believe that he, of all people, would risk his life to come save them. She could see his body covered in dirt and scratches as if he had been crawling over glass. His eyes were still dark and hollow but they seemed to have gained something. They were no longer numb, they showed real pain and grief. But he had gained more than grief, there seemed to be a new kind of freedom in his face. He had done something good and he was clearly proud of it. He had been numb for too long and now that his emotions had surfaced he had become almost a new person. His eyepatch was falling and she could see more of his scar protruding from beneath it. She still felt on edge around him but he carried himself with a new air. He turned to face Kane and she could see a deep gash in his side. It was deep and looked like a claw mark. It was a shade of red Kaylynn had never seen before. 

“Kit you're hurt,” Kaylynn said gently. 

“Oh that? It's alright. I got the poison out before it set in.”

“Poison? Did a soldier do this to you?” Raven asked.

“Not the Black Thorn, the other kind of monster.” he said. “It struck me while I was sleeping. Thank god I had a gun,” he said, holding up a black pistol. 

“Kit…where did you get that?” Elias asked cautiously. 

“I did what I had to do,” he said, his face falling. “I slipped inside the wall behind the rest of you. A lot has happened since then.”

Aanya still stayed back. Her face was streaked with tears. She didn't say a word and could barely bring herself to raise her head. A noise on the other side of the door made everyone whip around. Someone must have heard them and was coming to see what happened. 

“We have to go. Everyone gets in the tunnel. Once you're in I’ll try to seal it. It widens out about 50 feet down. Once you get there, hold tight and wait for me, I'll meet you there and lead you out,” Kit said, his tone urgent. 

He first lifted Raven into the hole and Kane climbed in after her. Elias followed them and Kaylynn gestured for Aanya to go after him. She didn't move. Looking back at her, Kaylynn saw she was sobbing. 

“Aanya come on, we have to leave now. It’ll be okay,” she said gently but Aanya just shook her head. 

“I'm not going with you,” she said through her breaths. 

“What are you talking about? Just get in, we’re getting out of here,” she responded, but Aanya still wouldn't move.

 “I'm sorry, I can't do this. I can't keep going. Go, get out of here. But I am not going.”

“You don't know what you're talking about. I know it's hard but please, we just have to get out. We won't leave you here,” Kaylynn said, pulling at her arm. The tears fell like a waterfall down her face and she wouldn't budge. 

“I'm so sorry Kaylynn. You have to go, now,” she said. Tugging her arm free she spun around to face the door. She raised her fists and much to Kaylynns dismay, her fists pounded on the door sending loud echos bouncing off the walls. 

“Go!” she screamed to Kaylynn. Kit grabbed Kaylynn and pushed her up. Kaylynn tried to turn back to look at Aanya but Kit followed her into the hole, covering the entrance. 

“We have to move,” Kit said, panting. Behind them she could see Aanya trying desperately to cover the hole. She grabbed part of the rock and shoved it behind them. 

The ground was sharp under Kaylynn’s knees and her head nearly scraped the stone above her as she crawled. They moved as fast as they could, straight into darkness. Behind them they could hear the door to their cell being thrown open. The guards and Aanyas cried as they pulled her away. The guards began pulling the stone out that was blocking the entrance. 

“Keep going! Catch up with the others!” Kit yelled. He turned and drew his gun. Kaylynn moved fast as she could but the tunnel still shook when he fired the first shot. The cries behind her grew fainter and the soldiers seemed to have lost them. 

“Kaylynn!” 

Raven’s voice said from somewhere to her left from the darkness. Kaylynn almost passed out from the shock. She couldn't see a foot in front of her face but she felt her way to Raven. She sat crouched against the stone. 

“Raven?” Kaylynn asked. “Is everyone else here?” 

“Yeah we’re all here, don't worry.” responded Raven. “Where’s Aanya?”

“She isn't coming,” she said, her shoulders shaking. “Kit is right behind me. He took care of the guards for now but we have to keep moving. There's no doubt they'll be looking for us.” 

Kit appeared behind them, panting heavily. 

“It's not too much farther. This passage opens up into a cave. There are some supplies in there. Lets keep going.” 

They moved fast as they could, crawling for what felt like ages. Occasionally it would get shorter and they had to slide their way through, pulling themselves forward with their elbows. All Kaylynn could hear was the shuffling of feet and limbs and the heavy breathing of everyone around her. They had started as a group of ten, now there were only five of them stuck crawling their way along the ground. Kaylynn could almost understand why Aanya had stayed back. They had no idea what was to come or if things would ever get better. It almost seemed easier to just stay and die. But Kaylynn knew in her head she could never just give up like that. That would be the cowards way out. She had come too far and lost too much to leave like that. 

When the tunnel finally opened up into the cave all of their hands and knees were raw and bloody. Kaylynn had gotten pretty tired of staring at Kit's ass in front of her face. Granted, it was a nice ass but still wasn't her favorite sight. The cave was dank and smelled of mold but it was nice to finally be able to stand up. Kit felt around in the darkness for a moment before he found an old oil lamp. Striking a match on his belt he lit it. Light hit their faces for the first time in hours. All their faces were covered in dirt and grime. They all squinted as the light glared into their eyes. No one could tell how big the cave was but it stretched out into the darkness. It had that feeling that all underground places do. They could sense things happening above them. They didnt know how deep underground they were, but they knew they were far from sunlight. 

  The cave offered very little warmth to them. They had found old empty cans, matches, lamps, water containers, and moth eaten blankets in the back of the cave. It must have been some sort of emergency shelter before the great war, as everything they found was clearly over 100 years old. They made use of what they could but most things had turned to dust and soot. Not even a Twinkle could last 100 years without going bad so they had pretty much no options for food. A small spring dripped down the cracks and onto the ground with a constant plinking sound. It took hours but they finally had enough for a few sips of water for everyone. No one spoke much. Everyone was much more affectionate to Kit now and he had become the center of most of their attention. Not a word was said about Aanya; everyone had accepted that she had made her choice and there was nothing else they could do. Unlike Catherine, she had died out of fear. It was a selfish death but no one dwelled on it because they were sure by now she was gone. And besides, with less people the earlier it will be to sneak out of here unnoticed and stay alive, Kaylynn thought. 

Kaylynn sat with Raven, their backs against the cold stone. That one oil lamp still lit what little of the cave it could so everyone had circled around it. Kane and Kit hadnt said much to each other but they were civil. They seemed to have a mutual understanding of peace now that Catherine was gone. It would be disrespectful to her memory to continue to fight so they let it go. Kit hadn't talked about Catherine's death but they could all tell he knew. He didn't ask where she was or asked what happened. The subject of Catherine hadn't been brought up since it had happened and it was too hard for everyone to accept. She was the one who had held the group together, she had been everyone's little sister. But Kaylynn could sense that she had been more than that to Kit. She didn't know how she hadn't seen it before but she had always been the one that could make him melt. He was always trying to impress her and do his best around her. And now that his chance was he was determined to do what she would have wanted him to do. To take care of everyone. 

Kaylynn wandered around the back of the cave, rummaging through the junk out of curiosity. She lifted boxes and looked under piles of dusty blankets, searching for anything of interest. Buried under a pile of molding bits of clothes was a book. Kaylynn grabbed it, blowing the dust off the cover. As the dust flew around her in a swirl the cover was revealed. Though it was tattered and washed out she could see gold writing etched into the leather, barely legible. She felt a rush of excitement flood through her body as she opened the pages. Her chest felt as though it was filling with glitter. She brought it back over near enough to the lamp to get a glint of light and she poured all her attention into its pages. They were delicate and some were falling apart entirely. On the first few pages were drawings in a dark pencil and what looked like charcoal. They depicted beautiful scenes of mountains, rivers, and cities full of people. As she looked farther she saw drawings of faces. They were done with such precision and care that they looked almost real. With just a stroke of a pencil it had depicted the likeness of a person entirely. Just from looking at it Kaylynn almost felt as if she knew these people, like they meant something to her. It was intoxicating. Every detail, every strand of hair had been captured on a piece of paper. She saw faces smiling back at her, mothers holding their children laughing with joy, a husband and wife on their wedding day. It brought joy to her heart and warmed her soul. As she looked farther she could see it was the story of someone's life being displayed in her hands. A child playing in the trees, a young woman singing with her friends, the same girl falling in love and growing old. It showed a house in a field surrounded by flowers with a family playing out front. It was peaceful and the bliss on their face was clearly visible. She felt at home looking at it. Pictures turned to words and she began to read, getting swept up into the story. It began as what seemed like diary entries, recollections of tales from their youth. Their words carried power, making Kaylynn laugh, smile, and yearn for what they spoke of. It told tales of adventures though cities and weekends spent in the mountains with family. It told of a love, a love unparalleled by anything Kaylynn had ever heard of. The way the writer spoke brought passion to Kaylynn’s heart. It told of the kiss under the stars and secret meetings at night. As Kaylynn turned the page something fell from between it. She looked down to the floor where it had landed. It was a necklace of gold with a delicate chain and a heart pendant. It was intricate and elegant like a snowflake. She turned it over in her hands feeling the cold metal against her palms. Her attention fell back on the book and saw that the writing had changed. On the top of the page was a date, over 100 years ago. Under it was a letter, written to someone named Mirabell. A letter of love that touched Kaylynns heart, pulling at every string. She read the letter carefully, absorbing every word. 

Your soul is too deep to be explored by those who always swam in the shallow end. But I would gladly risk drowning for one more moment in your beautiful depths. My love, the world is not kind so let's run away, somewhere far from here… where the stars kiss the ocean. 

 A tear fell down her cheek slowly as she read the last lines to herself. Its beauty was crafted so neatly it felt like it had been made of glass. The lamp had nearly died out and everyone else was sleeping around her. She looked around in the half light with a smile on her face at her friends resting together and she felt a sense of joy. Even with all that they had lost they had made it this far. None of them were the same person they were when they had left, but maybe that was a good thing. She thought of Catherine and her heart ached for a moment but in her mind she could almost hear her saying, I’m so proud of you. You can do this, remember I will always be with you. 

Arya had moved closer to Kane as she slept, beginning to put her arms around him. He woke for a moment and smiled as he saw her back with him. He pulled her closer, sighing as she embraced him. Kit sat alone in the corner but he seemed content as well. He had grown from the shifty boy who had made people nervous to the one who you know would trade the world to save you. It was just as scary but it felt nice. 

Kaylynn drifted off into a blissful sleep, her eyelids growing heavier. She had cuddled in next to Raven, resting her head on her lap. As she fell deeper into sleep dreams began entering her mind. For the first time in weeks they were good dreams. No screams echoed through her head and no sights of death clouded her mind. Instead she saw her childhood laid out before her as if it was a storybook. Pictures drifted in and out of her subconscious before settling one. She was maybe 10 years old, her mother and father laughing by her side. They sat in a park on the green grass, sun shining on their backs. They could hear other kids playing and people talking around them. Her mother had a sort of glow around her, but then again she always had. Her smile enveloped Kaylynn in what felt like a warm embrace. On her cheeks, a splash of freckles made patterns on her skin. Her skin was the color of buttercream and sugar. She put her hand on Kaylynn’s shoulder and Kaylynn recognized the feeling. Even in her dream she could feel her mother with her. Her hands had been delicate and nimble and her arms were the arms of a dancer, graceful and gentle. Her hair fell by her waist like Kaylynn’s. It was a strawberry blond color and the sunlight reflected against it making it seem almost like a rainbow. Her father sat on the other side of her, chuckling as her mother sang a song to young Kaylynn. He was tall and strong but was the kind of man who was made of butter. He went with everything and he melted in the light. He saw beauty in everything and taught Kaylynn to do the same since she was a child. On their way home from school Kaylynn would stop and look at piles of trash in the street and her father would tell her tales of wonder about how they were mountains for the mice to climb and explore with their friends. He had named and fed all of the stray cats who roamed their 

neighborhood. Her mother told him it was silly but it was also why she loved him so much. Their love had been pure and Kaylynn never doubted for a moment that that was what she wanted. Her mother was the sun and he was the earth. They needed each other but helped each other thrive and flourish to their best abilities. Her father had never once left her mother even in the darkest of times. When Kaylynn was eleven her mother had gotten pregnant again, and everyone was preparing for another baby. Her father was overjoyed and had begun knitting tiny hats for the baby to wear. It all seemed perfect until her mother stopped feeling so well. She couldn't get out of bed and she was always weak. That was when she found out she had lost the baby. She cried herself to sleep every night and was convinced her father would want to leave her but the thought never even crossed his mind. 

They slept through what they thought was the night in the dark cave. Kaylynn had never felt more alone in her life, not even when she had first crossed the wall all by herself. She knew in her heart both Elias and Raven loved her and would do anything for her but she still felt alone. It was the kind of loneliness that is in your soul, something that can't simply be filled by being with someone. She lacked a purpose and motivation, something that had never happened to her before. When she left for her quest she had been determined to free others but now that she was here it seemed impossible. She had known it would be hard but she always figured if she died at least she would die doing something good with the person she loved. But now she didn't know who that was and when she thought of dying she pictuted Catherine. Dragged into a dark fortress and tortured for the pleasure of a monster. That was not the way she wanted it to end. A part of her told her to stay in this dark cave, alone forever until she died slowly. She could keep a journal so maybe, someday someone else could read her story just as she had read in the diary. But it seemed like a fruitless cause if no one would be left to hear her story. And what good story ends with the heroine giving up in a cave after coming so far and losing so much. That couldn't be the way hers would end. She had always pictured how it would go, had her whole life planned out, but she could see no end. When she tried to look into the future all she could see were her friends dying in front of her and there was nothing she could do. For some reason she felt as though she could see the end for everyone else but her future was a mystery, as if the universe had not decided it yet. Her fate was being weaved as they sat there, it wasn't planned out as she had once thought. She felt stuck, for what could she do next? There was nowhere to go, nothing to do. She was tired of fighting and losing constantly. There was nothing of peace in her life, no room to breathe for even a moment. In some ways the world rested on her shoulders but she was no more than a girl, lost in her own head. 

The group had begun to grow anxious and weary of waiting. As Kaylynn sat, lost in her mind, the rest gathered round her. Their eyes looked at her as if she had the answer to everything, expecting her to lead the way.  

“Kaylynn, what should we do? We need to leave this cave soon. We have no food and we can't just stay here forever,” Raven said to Kaylynn. 

In her heart Kaylynn wanted to simply scream that she didn't know. She had no clue where to go or what to do next but she knew she couldn't fail now. 

“We continue on, that way,” she said pointing to where a large crack in the wall led off into the darkness. “Just keep your eyes ahead and keep moving. If you hear anything, signal to the rest. Lets go.” 

While the others gathered the few belongings they had left and prepared to leave, Kaylynn slipped the diary and the golden necklace into a pouch in her clothes. They followed her as she led the way through the darkness. The air around them was dank and smelled of mold. The constant plink plink of water dripping echoed through her head. Every step she took the more she felt like collapsing. As her feet hit the ground she felt as though she could hear her heartbeat through the earth. 

They climbed uphill for hours and they could tell they were getting closer to the surface. Just as they all began to feel as if they might collapse right then and there they were met with a giant boulder. It took all of their strength to move it and the grinding noise of it sliding against the ground screamed in their ears. As it began to move, Kaylynn could see it was the only thing keeping them from the open world. They emerged together into the brisk air of the night. Around them they could see the lights of guards patrolling the fortress. The stars above them flickered in the sky and the moon hung somewhere shielded by dark clouds. Everyone stood frozen watching the sky, entranced. It felt foreign after all that time hidden from it. 

The rock that blocked the entrance to their passage began to wobble, leaning in dangerously. As if in slow motion it fell, right where Kaylynn was standing. Raven screamed as it moved to crush Kaylynn, jumping in front of her, knocking her out of harm's way. Kaylynn saw it coming down on Raven and grabbing her arm with all the strength she had she pulled Raven away. Raven was thrown backwards but it finally hit the earth with a loud thud. Raven tried to stifle her scream but it escaped her lips anyway. She lay strewn across the ground, her right leg buried under the boulder. A stream of blood began to trickle from beneath it coming from Raven’s leg. Everyone rushed to her side, trying to hoist the boulder from on top of her but distant shouts began to grow louder. Lights drew nearer and the voices of what must have been at least 50 guards closed in on them. 

“Go!” screamed Raven, but Kaylynn stayed planted to her side. Elias grabbed her arm, pulling her away.

“Kaylynn, I've never known anyone stronger than you. You’ll be okay but you have to leave now!”

“I won't leave you! It's my fault and I won't let you die because of me,” Kaylynn pleaded. 

“I won't be dying because of you; I will be dying for you. And I am not going to die. My fight is not over yet. And neither is yours. Now leave!” Raven said watching the tears stream down Kaylynn’s cheeks above her. 

No sooner had the words left Raven’s mouth, guards began to close in. Elias and Kane both grabbed Kaylynn, dragging her away. The others were already ahead, running off into the darkness away from the fortress. Kaylynn pushed the boys off of her, turning back to Raven. The shouts of the guards drowned her voice but she could see Raven yelling for her to run. Her vision was blurry but she ran after the others, her heart screaming. 

The sun had begun to throw shimmers of light over the horizon by the time they stopped running. Kaylynn’s whole body ached and her heart felt numb. They were nearing the edges of the wall once again but a part Kaylynn had never seen. This was the far side of the wall, all the way to the east. Beyond it was an empty plane of nothingness that stretched out forever. To the west, where Kaylynn had lived was the wild and the village but here, here there was nothing. The sun beat down on them as it rose higher into the sky pand they looked for shelter from the unbearable heat. After wandering aimlessly around they found the ruins of what appeared to be an old shed. Huddling under it no one said a word for quite some time. 

“Wow, I never thought she would be the next one to go.” Kane said, under his breath. “I mean she's definitely gone by now.”   

“I don't care! I don't care what you think because she’s not. She can't be.” Kaylynn said, fuming. “You all deserve to die! Kit, you didn't come rescue us because you care about us. It was to prove a point so just maybe you wouldn't seem useless and heartless. You mourn Catherine's death just like the rest of us but maybe if you hadn't ran like a coward things would have been different. You weren't there when she died. You werent forced to witness as she was tortured for fun. So dont think youre the shining hero who saved our lives. You didn't care that Aanya died. All you wanted was to make sure you saved your sorry ass and got out of there. You didn't care if you took any of us with you as long as we saw you trying to rescue us. That way you could say you died with honor and glory but when you die you will only be dying for yourself. Because that's the only thing you care about or love. Yourself.” 

Kaylynn’s face contorted as she screamed at Kit. Elias tried to rest his hand on her shoulder but she pushed him off and turned to him.

“Elias, you are a fraud and a liar. You hide from your rage and your past and when it finally consumes you and controls you even for a brief moment you show your true colors. See we are now faced with dangers outside of the wall and the terror within it but there is horror within us. No one else saw that night but I did. You became a monster. Or maybe you always were. So stop trying to win me back because no, I don't love you. In the woods I was an immature scared little girl and you showed up acting like a god but you are just another demon. So you can take your broken heart somewhere else, find yourself another lost girl and make her find herself just like you did to me. So thank you, for showing me your true colors and helping me realize that I don't need you and that love is merely a joke meant only to hurt you,” Kaylynn continued as tears began streaming down her face.

“Now to the one who acts like the world revolves around him. Well Kane, guess what, it doesn't. Not everyone listens to you or turns to you for advice. You don’t know what’s best or care for anyone. You just want the glory. To lead us all into battle even if you know we would lose. But that wouldn't matter to you because you would go out with a bang. And that is what you are. You do nothing for anyone else. Arya loved you and you treated her like some fan girl who fell at your feet and you didn't realize that she was the one who could fix you, make you into a real hero. So you pushed her aside just to seem macho and cool. But in this world that is left, being cool means nothing.” 

With those final words Kaylynn threw down her arms and stormed off. 

She had no idea where she was going but she knew she needed to get away. Behind her everyone sat in stunned silence. With their egos damaged and hearts broken no one quite knew what to say. Arya pushed her way through them, following Kaylynn cautiously. Kaylynn had stopped under a leafless skeleton of a tree, her shoulders shaking. Arya approached her in silence. 

“I'm going back for her,” Kaylynn said under her breath.  

“How do you even know she's alive? I know you love her but if she's gone there's nothing you can do to bring her back. It's not your fault what happened, she chose her path and I’m sure she regrets nothing but she did this for you. Don't waste your life,” Arya said softly. 

“She is alive. I know it. The world will know when we lose Raven. Like she said, she's a fighter and I know her, this isn't the end of her story. I will save her. We need her if we want to finish this mission. Even though it seems endless and we have nowhere to turn, if we have Raven we will have a place to start. I'm not scared and I know she is alive. So do what you want, we aren't this whole big happy team now. I'm on my own and I am willing to risk everything.”

“I know, but you could die!” Arya responded. 

“I'm not asking you to do anything so why should you care. If I die, I die. I guess I’ll just be the next one to go.” 

The moon hung low in the sky that night. Kaylynn lay restless in the ruins of an old brick building. She had wandered for hours through the rubble, looking through all the things that had survived. In her hands she held a children's toy, covered in soot and burned, but it remained intact. A carved figure of a little girl dancing rested on top of a small box. Broken gears jutted out of its sides and attached to the figure. Kaylynn held it close to her body, tears running down her cheeks. The world around her was dark and the ground felt harder and colder than ever. 

Wrapping her arms around herself she was reminded how alone she was. In the middle of a ghost town, surrounded by rubble and ash, the fortress of the Black Thorn leering at her from a distance. She longed to run straight up to its cold iron gates and demand they open for her. She would march up to Mara and kill her where she stood. That woman deserves no mercy, no shred of remorse. But her body ached whenever she looked up towards it. She felt heavy and useless, just laying there waiting for her inevitable death. But with all the strength she had left she could not muster the courage to go back there. She was completely alone and it was her fault. She was sure she would die alone with her friends hating her and the one person she loved trapped just beyond reach and she was the one to blame for all of it. The loneliness was only an echo chamber for her pain. Everything she had been through was magnified and constantly thrown at her and there was no peace from it for even in sleep she felt it all.

She felt certain that this would be the end of her life. She had nowhere to go and everything she loved she had lost. Her hands shook as she drew the old diary from the cave out and stared at it blankly. In her other hand she held the necklace that had been buried in its pages. She wished she could give it to Raven, to place it round her neck, telling her how much she loved her. The thought of it brought tears to her eyes but only one fell down her cheek. That was all she had left in her. Rummaging through the rubble she managed to find a burned stick with just enough charcoal at the end to write with. Slowly she opened the pages. She longed to write her whole story, everything that had happened, but her body shook and her mind seemed to cloud up at the thought. So she wrote what she felt, the pain inside her, using all the strength she had to get out of everything she could. 

 I laid there in my own filth, I can not remember the last time I slept or ate. Each time I move to get up... to go forward, I only fall back; each attempt is met with the world spinning and bouts of vomiting. I know I have to keep moving if I am to survive yet would welcome the peace and serenity of death. 

When she woke the next the air around her was hazy. The sun shone through the clouds and on Kaylynn. Slowly she rose, looking around her. Something had changed but she couldt tell what. Something felt different. Her body, which had felt weak and ached was filled with a new sort of strength. Something other than blood pulsed through her veins, setting her soul on fire. Her senses all seemed to be heightened and alive. She could hear every little sound around her and despite the haze she saw everything. Her mind moved faster than her body, jolting her around. She felt as though she was floating outside her body. She had an altered perception of the world, like she was looking down from a tremendous height or the feeling of falling. It was almost as if she was looking at herself from above. Her head felt full of air and voices coming from nowhere echoed inside her mind. The sensation of a hand grabbing her arm made her whip around but no one was there. 

“Kaylynn, help me!”  a voice screamed. She searched for the origin of the sound but it seemed to be coming just from inside her head. 

“I need you! Help!” it said again. She wasn't exactly hearing it. It appeared in her mind, screaming. Her breath quickened and she began to panic. Her body didn't feel like her own. She stared down at her hands, moving her fingers but it still felt like a dream. In her chest a tightening feeling began. It was almost as if someone was grabbing at her, trying to pull her towards them but she didn't know where to go. The voice continued echoing through her head, bouncing off the inside of her skull. The ground suddenly stopped feeling so strong beneath her feet. It began shaking, making her whole body quiver. The ground felt like she was standing on the brink of a giant volcano that was about to erupt. It was a subsonic feeling, like an intense noise so deep she could feel it. She spun around in all directions as the feeling of more hands grabbing her began. She swatted at the air as if trying to fight off the invisible arms but nothing happened. Just as she felt as though she couldn't take it anymore, like she would pass out right there the voice in her head grew louder. 

“You are so close! Find me!” it said, pleading and wailing to her. Without knowing what else to do she began to run, not knowing where she was headed. The farther she got the less the pressure in her chest seemed to suffocate her and her breath returned. She paused just long enough to see where she was going. She was sprinting, fast as she could towards the dark fortress. She tried to stop, to turn around but she couldn't. Her body took over and she had no control. She ran faster than she had ever ran in her life, trying everything to stop. Her vision began to blur and she stumbled, beginning to slow down. When she finally stopped she had to catch herself to keep from collapsing. Her breath came in sharp gasps and she rested her hands on her knees gulping in as much air as she could. She shook her head, fighting to remain conscious. Her heart rate started to return to normal as she tried to grasp where she was. She straightened up, looking around. 

“Kaylynn?” a voice whispered from behind her. Kaylynn jumped and whipped around, her eyes darting around so fast they couldn't settle on anything for a few moments. Raven lay in front of her, battered and broken in a heap. 

“Raven!?” she cried, rushing to her side. She couldn't tell if she was still dreaming. “Is it really you?” 

  “Yeah,” she said, coughing and sputtering. Kaylynn grabbed her, embracing her, sobbing. She couldn't believe her eyes. She held her close to her chest as she began to cry. That's when she felt how cold Raven was. Her breath was coming in short gasps. Kaylynn wiped the tears from her eyes and looked at her closer. Her skin was pale and almost gray and bruises covered her body. Her hair was knotted and covered in dirt and blood. Her eyes were barely open and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. Her eyes rolled back in her sockets and she fell unconscious. Kaylynn shook in her skin and the tears flowed steadily. She grabbed Raven’s arm and checked for a pulse with baited breath. It was feight and unsteady but it was there, Raven was alive but for how long, Kaylynn didn't know. She shut off the wellspring of tears and focused on Raven. She put one arm under Raven's legs and the other under her arms. Her muscles burned but she hoisted Raven off the ground in her arms, resting her head on her shoulder. Her instincts took over and she got a new burst of adrenaline and strength. She held Raven close as she carried her away. She walked with her, not sure where she was headed. 

When she felt they were far enough from the fortress and Kaylynn was near collapsing, she stopped. They were surrounded by small houses, falling apart and rickety but still intact for the most part. She couldn't tell if there was anyone around her but she made her way to the strongest looking one and pushed open the door. Dust billowed around her and the door creaked but Kaylynn moved into the room. She knelt down to the ground carefully, resting Raven on the floor. Kaylyn looked around her, searching for anything useful. She found a jug half full with water and brought it back to Raven. She had started to regain consciousness but she was still limp. Kaylynn held her head up, trickling a few drops of water into Raven's mouth. It took effort but Raven managed to swallow and open her eyes a little more. She splashed water onto Ravens' open wounds. She winced but allowed Kaylynn to clean them best she could. 

“I’ll be right back,” Kaylynn whispered. She made her way through the house. Someone clearly lived there so she stayed alert. It was small and cracks lined the walls. In the room where Raven lay was an old chair, a moth eaten carpet, and an empty fireplace. As she moved to the next room she found a cupboard with stale pieces of bread and other scraps of food. She filled her pockets with everything she could. She passed through an open door into what appeared to be the bedroom. A cracked mirror hung on the wall and the blankets looked old and worn on the bed. There were no windows on any of the walls. In the corner of the room stood a small closet with wooden doors. She stepped closer and it began to tremble and she could hear muffled whimpers coming from within it. She opened the door slowly to reveal an older woman holding a young boy in her arms. She shook and tears streaked her face. The boy held his eyes shut tight and he clung to her with all his might. Kaylynn stood in front of them and her heart broke. Gently, she reached out her hand towards the woman's shoulder. The woman winced and cried out when she touched her.

“Hey, hey, it's okay. I’m not here to hurt you. I need your help.” 

Timidly, the woman looked up at her and the boy opened his eyes. “Who- who are you?”

“My name is Kaylynn. I’m not with the Thorn. I need your help. Please,” Kaylynn said, gesturing through the door. They stood up, still shaking and stepped out and followed her back to Raven. 

“She needs help. She was captured by the Thorn, saving my life. I just found her, I don't know what they did to her.” Kaylynn continued as she knelt down to Raven. 

“We will do what we can,” the woman responded. “Aaron, go get the medical kit,” she said to the boy. He looked around nine years old and he had a limp in his left leg. He hurried off into the other room and the lady sat next to Raven. She moved her hands over Raven, her eyes closed. Kaylynn didn't quite know what was going on but she sat still. 

“They tried to break her. She has endured much for her freedom but she is strong,” the woman muttered, her eyes still shut tight, hands hovering over Raven. “My name is Aja and that is my son Aaron. The boy returned with a satchel in his arms and a blanket over his shoulders. Carefully Aja draped the blanket over Raven and opened the satchel. Inside was the strangest assortment of things. She rummaged through it for a moment before drawing out a white crystal, roughly the size of an egg. She placed it on Raven's chest and began to murmur soft words to her. She passed a pile of bandages and a needle to Kaylynn.

“Dip a few strips in the water and continue to clean her wounds. Then take the needle and stitch up that nasty cut on her forearm.” 

The thought of threading a needle through Raven’s arm sent chills through Kaylynn. Aja had given her an anesthetic made of an assortment of herbs and pastes but Kaylynn wasn't sure she trusted it. Aja was a strange woman. She looked too old to have a son as young as Aaron but she didn't ask questions. The color began to return to Raven's skin and her breathing settled into a consistent rhythm. Aja continued applying all sorts of strange remedies to Raven and though Kaylynn doubted it, they began to work. Together they moved Raven to the old rickety bed and covered her in the blankets. 

“Now she needs to rest. She can sleep here until she is ready to eat.” Aja said. “Come, I’ll find you something to eat as well. You won't be much help to her if you are too weary to stand.” 

Kaylynn obliged and followed Aja into the kitchen. The cupboards were mostly empty but she managed to scrounge enough things together for a decent meal. It was dry and mealy but it was the first thing she had eaten in a long while. 

The sun began to set in the distance before Raven awoke. Kaylynn stood just outside looking up at the sky. Aja approached her slowly, resting a hand on her shoulder. She gestured back inside and Kaylynn followed her. Ravens eyes were open, darting around the room like a trapped animal. She didn't know where she was and she was too weak to move much. She relaxed at the sight of Kaylynn. Color had returned to her skin and all her wounds had been bandaged and cleaned. She reached out a hand for Kaylynn and she rushed to her side. 

“It’s okay, you’re safe,” she said and embraced Raven in her arms and held onto her like she would never let go, and in a way that would prove to be true. Never again would she leave her. 

After two more days Raven was fully strong enough to walk on her own again. Aja continued to give her strange herbs and tinctures. She made meals for all of them and little Aaron did anything he could to help. He never said much and he clung to the shadows but his smile could lift their spirits in a moment. Raven had not spoken about how she escaped and she avoided the question. Whenever Kaylynn tried to bring it up she shifted her gaze and seemed to retreat. Kaylyn could tell something had happened. They wouldn't have just let her go but if they had taken her to Mara she would be dead. Kaylynn stood staring at the sky, watching the clouds drift easily across. In the distance the echo of a gunshot broke her focus. The sound didn't make her jump like it used to. She had become so accustomed to it by now, she didn't do more than flinch. Behind her Raven stepped out slowly. She was a big unsteady on her feet but she managed by herself. Kaylynn stood beside her, arm around her shoulder and they stared off into the distance together. Raven rested her head on Kaylynns shoulder and sighed deeply. 

“You don't have to tell me anything, but what happened? Before I found you,” Kaylynn said softly. 

 “I wasn't taken inside. When the guards got there they were ready to kill me but their commander, he- well, he thought of something different. An exchange, for my freedom and my life. He sent most of the guards away but a few stayed. Once they got me out from under the rock, they-” she let out a sob. Her body shook and she could barely speak. Kaylynn wrapped her arms around her and kissed her head. She knew what they had done. 

“They tried to break me any way they could. Once they finished they threw me away, half dead.” she continued. She shook and Kaylynn could feel her trying to be as small as she could. That wasn't who she was. She had never hidden from anything, tried to disappear. She was stronger than they had known but they had still broken a part of her. Tried to take her spirit because they knew there was none like hers. But they had done no more than damage it for the time being. A spirit isn't something that can always be mended, with the help of those you love. Someone who sees the wars within you and chooses not only to stay with you but to fight by your side. And that is exactly what Kaylynn would do. 

“So where are all the others? What happened to them?” Raven asked.

“Last I saw them we had just gotten away. I was angry and cruel. I took out all of my fear and pain on them, blaming them because finding someone to blame makes it easier and I felt like I couldn't do anything about it when I blamed the Black Thorn. With them I could yell at them and leave them. Trying to blame Mara is just yelling up a stone wall. But I realized blaming them didn't make me feel better. Placing blame doesn't make your problems go away; it is simply a scapegoat for those too scared to face their own monsters.” 

“We all have our dark moments. Kay, the things you said don't define you. They aren't lost to you forever. We will find our way back.” Raven responded after a moment.  

“I was scared that I lost you. Scared because you mean more to me than I thought anyone ever could. You are everything I think about, everything I want, and everything I need. I couldn't live without you,” Kaylynn continued. Raven touched her face and looked into her eyes and Kaylynn felt at home looking into Raven's eyes. 

Something passed between them, an understanding. A connection like no other. Raven understood and Kaylynn knew what happened to Raven without her having to explain it. Kaylynn had found her because of that. Something fundamental in her knew what to do and where she was. It was a connection of souls that neither of them had ever felt before. It was new and a bit frightening, the ability to know what is going on inside someone's head. It had saved Raven’s life and Kaylynn had no doubt it would save hers as well. 

“We need to find the others again,” Raven said. 

“No, not yet. You're Not strong enough. We can't risk it.”

“I'm fine, trust me. I know it's going to be hard to see them, but you did it. You told them I was alive, you didn't give up, and you were right. We need to work together and keep going. For all those we lost. There’s a way.” 

It was hard to say goodbye to Aja. She had been so much help to them and yet she rejected their thanks. Aaron hid behind her as they prepared to leave. Aja tried to give them food but they refused to take more than a piece of bread. Kaylynn had seen how little food they had and yet she was still offering it all to them. 

“We’ll be back, we’ll get you out of here. Somewhere safe, where apples and fruits grow on the trees and the water runs fresh. Where you can see the sky above you and the world around you,” Raven said in a soothing voice. “Thank you for all you have done for me.” 

“Tell those around you we will bring them as well. Prepare to leave. Travel west, towards the old town by the wall. That's where we’ll meet you. Move in small groups, tell everyone you can,” Kaylynn said. 

Raven felt a pit of dread forming in her stomach as she walked away from the safety of that house. Just for a moment she had been able to escape, to be cared for. The thought of returning to the Black Thorn made her feel like running and hiding, a feeling she had never felt before. 

It took them days to begin finding hints of the others again. They had continued east, around the other side of the fortress to an abandoned neighborhood. They hadn't seen any signs of life for miles until they saw the footsteps in the dust. Following them through the buildings it felt like a ghost town, it was eerily quiet and still. The faint lul of distant conversation caught their attention, making them turn. Kane stood on the balcony of an old house. It was burned in places and clearly hadn't been inhabited in a long time but it looked sturdy enough. Kit stood next to him and it was clear by his face he was displeased by something Kane had said. They appeared to be arguing over something and they kept looking towards the west, searching for something. They made their way quietly towards the house, under the balcony. The windows held no glass and the door was wide open. Inside it was dusty, similar to the house of Aja, but this one was clearly different. It was older and bigger and even though they could feel no wind, the sounds of hollow gusts blew through the house. The threshold into the house was worn down, stepped on by so many feet for so long. It felt like some sort of barrier for Kaylynn and Raven. By crossing it they would be going back to their life, back to fighting again. The thought of turning and running away together crossed both of their minds. No more fighting, no more pain. They would find somewhere to hide, a little place of their own. But that thought wasn’t long lasting. It wasn't who they were and at this point running from a fight would be to surrender to the Thorn, to let them commit their massacres without even trying to help. It would be a disshonor to Aanya, Catherine and Linden's memory. 

Together they stepped inside the house. In the corner of the room they heard the creaking of floorboards. Arya stepped out from the shadows, rubbing her eyes as if she didn't believe what she was seeing. There was a surreal feeling in the air as they rejoined their comrades. The tension was high between Kaylynn and the others but it remained unspoken. They were grateful to see Raven alive and she tried not to hold against them how quickly they had left her. She understood how it worked. When you fear for your own life you put yourself first. The only exception to that is when the force of love becomes stronger than the force of nature and instinct making the life of another more precious than your own. 

The dynamic of their group was comparable to a river, always changing, never having time to settle down. Under the surface there were rocks that if they were big enough would cause a wave when the water hit them. They had bonded over their solitude and desperation and collective loss but they had yet to experience bliss and peace as a whole. The whole concept of that felt out of place with them. Kaylynn knew how chaotic they could get when things went wrong but she wondered what would happen when things started to go right, if they ever did. It would be a side of each other they hadn't seen. And would a group so accustomed to days packed with adrenaline and fear be able to settle without falling apart entirely? Or would they collide, unintentionally seaking out more conflict just to feel the comfort of what had become their new normalcy? Some people survive chaos and that is how they grow. And some people thrive in chaos, because chaos is all they know. 

 Would Kane and Kit finally cease their arguments and power struggle for leadership when there is no longer a need for a leader? For in the absence of that tension they would be forced to look deeper and accept each other which to some feels like the reinquesmant of control. Control over their own emotions, because once you've decided you don't like someone admitting you do feels like your mind betrayed you, went behind your back and felt something you didn't want to. It is a question that can never be answered until you see it unfold before your eyes. Kaylynn felt she would be lucky to witness it, even if it took a turn for the worse. Because that would mean they succeeded. They had gotten to a place where in the absence of violence they are forced to look at themselves and ponder the question, who am I? And who am I when I’m with you?  

A week had passed since the events had unfolded. Kaylynn sat under a tree, basking in the sunlight. But though the sun warmed her body her soul still felt cold. She felt empty. They had saved hundreds and they all crammed into the village, overrunning it with new people. But no matter how crowded it was, it still felt empty to Kaylynn. She held the diary in her hand, the pencil in the other. She didn't know what to write. She had written in it once before, but this time she knew what she would write this time. She would write to Azlynn, just as she had done when Chess died. She took a moment to think and let the pencil begin to flow on the paper.

Dear Azlynn, 

When the ground started shaking we knew she had done it. We had less than a minute to leave. To pray it would work. It was the final sacrifice. She did what needed to be done and we knew it would happen. There was no other way. It had to end. We just weren't prepared to say goodbye. We had lost so many and we were never able to say goodbye but this time we could. I think in a way that made it harder. Trying to think of everything you want to say to someone when you know it is going to be your last chance is almost worse than never getting to say it at all. Because once it happens and once they're gone there will always be more you had to say, one more thing you had to do. There is no way to prevent that. There is always gonna be something else. It is just how it works, how we grieve. And when I had that opportunity, to try to say the things I would later look back on, wishing I had said them, I felt lost. What if I said the wrong thing? What if those words, that longing for more time, will always be there. No matter how much you say to them now there will always be something else to say. Things you wish you could have said but in the end you didn't know that then. So when I looked in her eyes and lined all my thoughts, I realized I couldn't do it. 

Aarya didn't do it for fame or to go out in a blaze of glory. She didn't do it to be remembered as the big hero who saved the day. She didn't even do it for the ones we lost. She did it for herself. She did what felt right to her, regardless of anyone else. It was her choice and she chose it without hesitation. She didn't see it as a debt to be paid, giving her life for theirs. She saw her destiny in it. The end of her story, but it was one she was okay with, one she helped write. I don't know how she did it. How she walked away from all of us straight up to the walls of the fortress with a fatal plan. But she did. She was a genius, the perfect one to do it. She wasn't desperate, doing it because she wanted to die. She formed plans in her head, plans for every situation so she could be prepared. Ready to get the job done without any prior information. And she did. She did it. I will never know how, none of us will. We will never stop wondering though. It was a heroic tragedy. There was no other choice. We lost one and we don't know how many we took with us. How many deserved to die and how many didn't deserve any of this. But there was no way to know so we did our best. We brought everyone we could and hoped it was enough. Enough that the lives we saved would outweigh the ones we took. 

The fortress of the Black Thorn, along with the entirety of the east and south sectors of the city were suddenly gone in an explosion that wracked the earth. There is no way of describing it. Around me standing at the by the brink of the wall was everyone who had managed to escape. Those who had followed us, leaving everything they had behind and trusting a group of strangers to lead them to some forign land. Because nowhere could be worse than their lives here. So they followed, and the ones who couldn't or wouldn't were left in their houses to wait to be deleted from existence. We had no other choice. We couldn't force people to trust us, to follow us through a hole in the wall they believe had kept them safe for nearly a century.

Sometimes the things you thought you were ready for make you feel like you've lost your mind when they happen. When it actually blew up in front of my face and I could smell the smoke and the fire I nearly passed out. It shook the ground and my heart dropped out of my body. That feeling you get when you're falling, plummeting towards the ground so fast you can't even think. It makes you feel hollow and you feel as though all the wind is rushing through your body, filling it with air until it bursts. I did it, I planned it all out, but seeing it happen made me freeze in shock. I could feel the earth trembling beneath me and I shut my eyes because they could no longer take it in anymore. I sunk to the ground screaming, that kind of scream that echoes through the air coming from every inch of your body. The shameless, raw, scream of agony. A part of me could feel she was gone. Arya hadn't felt like family until this moment. This moment in which I could feel her life force go out because she was my flesh and blood. She was in my skin and in my mind. It was a family connection I never knew to be possible. Just for a second I felt her pain as she was engulfed by flames and rubble in an explosion that seemed to rip the earth.  

Anytime I look at the sky I remember to tell them how beautiful they are. When the sun hits the clouds just right making shadow patterns over the face of the earth. When the sun rises and sets, painting pictures of unparalleled beauty. When after the rain, a rainbow peaks out from behind the storm giving us a glimpse of its infinite colors. I always stop to watch the sky. To think of them, because I know they are still with me. I remind Catherine that her smile still lights up our life and that we know Arya is still watching over us. I tell them I am thankful for them. They are gone but never forgotten.

Now I treat everyone I meet with respect but I always have a plan to kill them, just in case. Because that's what the world turned me into. That's what I turned myself into. I turned myself into a weapon and now they are telling me to find peace and I don't know how. It is breaking me slowly and now that I am finally at rest, I feel as though I am moving faster than ever. My mind can't seem to find a moment to pause. I see Raven everyday and that brings me joy. She is the one thing that has come out of this for me. Elias seems to have released the idea of us and began to move on but I know it still hurts him. Kane has gone numb. He has become even more of the cold stone wall than before. Emotionless and overworking. Everytime he sees something that needs doing, he does it. He runs around doing anything he can to help, trying to repay what he feels is a debt to Arya. He misses her everyday, we all do, but he holds it deeper. Never shows any emotion or lets any of it out. It is consuming him, finding its way deep into his bones. There is nothing we can do to help. We all mourn her. The whole village can feel the absence of her with us. She was destined to be the next leader once Esmeray passed. Now that duity has fallen on me, much to Esmeray’s distaste. She blames me for Arya's death, along with all of the others. She has tried to welcome the newcomers but it is hard for her. She is forced to admit that she was wrong to try to leave them. 

When the environments around a person change, you notice yourself begin to change with it. It is natural, the course of evolution taking its place, just at an accelerated rate. Physical changes are much more subtle. Your senses heighten and your reflex sharpen. You notice yourself becoming more wild. But for me at least, emotionally is where I saw the most change. The more I lost, the more I depended and clung to those I still had. Until next time... 

-Kaylynn

When a group of people are introduced to a new environment they tend to stick together, trying to find anything they can relate to home. Those who have always lived in the village were hesitant to accept others. To them, these newcomers were the people they had been hiding from for all this time. They were the ones who broke the world and they didn't want them to break this small sanctuary they had here. Eventually they began to intertwine but there was still a clear separation and form of segregation in the community. They had lost everything and traveled far to a strange land, trusting strangers to guide them through the darkness while their home of 100 years was destroyed behind them. Even the great wall, which had withstood so much, finally fell and in a way they all felt like they had lost something. Even though in reality it was what was keeping them from freedom, it had been presented in such a way that it had served a purpose, mentally protecting the people as well. They had lived their whole lives behind stone and now that it was gone they felt more vulnerable than ever. Kaylynn empathized with them because even though she would never admit it, deep down she felt scared too. When her old town went up in flames, for good this time, behind her she felt broken. Even though it was a place of horrors, the city behind the wall had been falsified to be a haven to those inside it, and a part of Kaylynn still felt that way. Part of her was still that young girl, staring up at that wall towering above her, thanking it for protecting her. It is hard to change, especially when a habit like that has been engraved in your mind for so long. So once they got to the open world they felt scared. The thought of the ravagers haunted them even more than the Thorn had because it was foreign. It was unseen and ever changing. Unpredictable and complex. When thinking about the Thorn it was simple. They were an evil to be feared unconditionally. They would take your life without reason and never give anything back. But the Ravagers were elusive and mysterious. They attacked once on their journey back to the village, taking at least five of the newcomers with them.  But in a way they had reason for their hatred. Humanity had made them and corrupted what was once beautiful and pure into something that could no longer recognize themselves. 

The concept of good and evil was lost. It no longer seemed to fit into life the way Kaylynn had once though it had. How do you know who is the bad guy? Because they hurt people? That seemed like the easy answer. But it goes deeper than that. It is complex and ever changing and can never be defined. Because no two things are alike. There was so much they could never know about the Thorn, about the people they killed. All the lives they took. And if you go by the definition of evil is something that hurts another, weren't they all evil in some ways then? Isn't that what human nature is? An intricate balance, weaved together from the infinite wisdom of the universe. It is something that can never be tamed or controlled. It creates beauty and life and takes it away. It had taken so much from Kaylynn and the others, but it had given a lot as well. And everything had a purpose. Every loss, every turn in their story had impacted them and gotten them to where they were today. Without losing Catherine, Kit never would have come to rescue them, leaving them all stranded inside the fortress walls. 

Behind her, a noise made Kaylynn turn, drawing her knife. Her eyes darted around, ready to strike, but it was only Raven. She stood there, sun bouncing off her skin. She looked beautiful. Her eyes were dark and mysterious but lit up at the sight of Kaylynn. 

“I'm sorry. I’ve been restless lately,” Kaylynn said, gesturing for Raven to sit near her. 

“I know, me too. We all have. But this is who we are, a product of war. It changed us, maybe more than we know.” 

“I just feel weak. I jump at the slightest noise, I can't seem to move on. It just keeps playing in my mind and I'm scared it will never stop,” Kaylynn responded, head in her hands. “I'm a monster now, just like her. It was my plan, my actions that brought us here. I'm afraid of what I've become. It takes a monster to destroy a monster and that's what I did. I feel like I don't even know myself anymore.”  

“You are not weak or a monster. You are the bravest person I know. Your strength is what keeps others going, even in the darkest times. You are the one we can turn to, to trust and to follow. You feel guilty for what we have done, what you have done, but you are not like her. Like Mara. You are a fighter, not because you enjoy it, but because it is who you are, Kay.” 

Raven placed her arms around Kaylynn. 

“Some people are born to fight, I think. It's not that they are born brave. It's not that they are born strong. It's just that the universe has decided that this one, this one will have grit and fire and steel in their blood. And it will be tested, this cosmic mettle of theirs. They’ll face trial after trial, be broken and damaged in countless ways. But this one was born to fight. Maybe it's not the life they would have chosen. Maybe they'd love to lay down their arms. But they were born to fight. It's what they know. It's what they do best. It's all they can do. That is you, Kaylynn,” she finished. 

“I've taken lives, some of which may have been innocent. Can you live with that? Is it possible to love someone despite that? Everyone looks at me and sees a killer now,” Kaylynn said after a moment. 

“They look at you with reverence. With gratitude and hope. You are the one who saved them. Some with jealousy, for you did what they could never do. Some look at you with fear, because no one expects an angel to set the world on fire.” 

Kaylynn rested her head on Raven's chest, sighing deeply. They sat together for hours. They shared every story, every deepest thought they had never been able to tell anyone. They talked of their lives before everything had changed. It brought tears to both of their eyes, knowing it was all in the past. 

“Sometimes happy memories hurt the most. The ones you know you will never be able to go back to, the ones you crave the most,” Kaylynn said, wiping the tears from Raven’s cheeks.  “You’ll never be alone again. Everything we do, we’ll do together.” 

“I have a secret,” Raven said, softly. She took a moment before beginning again. “We are not the only ones. Everyone thinks that the rest of the world was destroyed and that we are all that is left but that is all a lie. My mother told me that the founders of the wall told the people that they were the only ones, thinking they would never want to leave if they were told there was nothing to leave for. But there are other lands, places that were never touched by the war. My mother was from that place. She left with me when I was just a child, hoping to make her way here to bring more people back with her. But the journey was hard and she began to grow weak. The night she died we were still far from the wall. She left me with a map I was far too young to understand and a legacy I was too scared to uphold. I found this village and they took me in. This is where I grew up. I trained constantly, always thinking that maybe someday I would be able to finish my mother’s mission. And now I believe we can, and we have to. We are overrun here and we have no choice. We need to find our way into the rest of the world. The world has moved on without us, leaving the people trapped in their wall and unaware of the ones who had escaped. We have been hidden in these mountains for nearly a century. It's time we re-emerge. We can find our way to the place my mother told me about. A place where you can see the sunset fall below the horizon, unshielded by mountains or a wall.”

Kaylynn sat silently, listening to every word in disbelief. She let the words echo through her head, trying to absorb them. 

“Let's do it. Let's find that place. We can finally finish your mother’s mission,” Kaylynn said. She would be able to look to the sky and tell her father she did it. She would find the place they had always talked about.

“So are you ready to go to the ends of the world with me?” Raven asked, her arm around Kaylynn.  

“Where the stars kiss the ocean.”

Was this all a dream? Sometimes it feels like it. Like nothing is real and I will wake up in my old bed to see my parents smiling down at me. They will tell me that everything is okay, I did nothing wrong, and the world can't hurt me anymore. Sometimes I think that all the bad things that have happened to me are only a dream, just in my head. Other times I think the opposite. That everything good that has happened, every happy memory I think I have could just be made up by some little creature in my head to keep me from going mad. Both of these thoughts scare me. But the one that chills me the most is that none of it is a dream. That this is all real. Because how can such pain exist and hurt a person in the same world where someone's stomach can hurt from laughing too hard and where even words can't express their love for someone. Because the fact is that the world is not black and white, good or evil. There will always be both. There cannot be light without darkness, nor can there be happiness without pain. Sometimes it feels like I have suffered enough pain for a lifetime. But I know there will always be more to come. Whether it be a war or a mental struggle, it will always hurt. But I am thankful for that. Because like my father would tell me when I would cry because my flower had died or the sunset turned to night before I was ready to let it go, beauty is only truly beautiful when it doesn't last, so remember to always enjoy it while it's here. The memory of the sun will keep you warm at night. Remembering the joyous times with a loved one even when they are gone will keep them alive. It's so hard to forget pain, but it's even harder to remember sweetness. We have no scar to show from happiness. But if your mind is strong enough, you will always be able to find love in the sorrow, warmth in the cold, and joy in solitude.