"Ava and Adam Hale," Leo turned to Dylan, the only person who had at least a bit of his trust. "Are they inside?"

The mage opened his mouth, words ready to go out. Yet, before he could even say anything, Holden cut in, his voice once more calm and steady. "They are with us... Arrived along with the bigger part of our group on the second day of the Outbreak."

Leo swallowed hard, a smile threatening to take over his face. However, he couldn't let this happiness consume him; he couldn't let the words of one man give him false hope.

Taking a deep breath, Leo looked at the mage again, almost begging with his gaze alone. "Dylan? Remember what you promised."

While the others shot a brief look at the older man, Dylan spoke up. "I met a woman who went by Ava Hale. If she's your sister-in-law, I can't say. You never did describe her, and we only shared a few words."

Leo cursed his oversight, but maybe, just maybe, this was for the best. If he had given Ava's description before, it could have been used against him.

Yes, this is still good. Leo decided, meeting Dylan's gaze again. "Tell me how she looked."

The mage blinked, his gaze darting between the other survivors who kept observing without a sound. Apparently, they decided to let Dylan deal with the biggest unknown they had met until now.

"Didn't really pay that much attention to her looks, but she was a tall one, maybe about your height before your evolution, mate," the older man wrinkled his brow in thought. "Her hair was short and... dark brown, I think."

Seems about right. Leo nodded, the flame of hope burning even brighter in his chest. It was a very rough description, but he would take it for now.

"And what about Adam? Did you see him?" Leo asked again, just to have all the possible information.

Dylan grimaced, glancing at Holden so fast that Leo almost missed it. "I asked, but they didn't let me."

The only woman in the group scowled while the other two raised their weapons ever so slightly. Nonetheless, Leo didn't care about them; his whole attention directed at their leader.

"Why?"

It might have been a single word, yet the way it came, almost as a growl, had the tension rising instantly. The entire group, Dylan included, took a step back. The woman aimed her bow right at Leo's head, the arrow glowing with Essence.

"It was too dangerous," Holden's voice finally cut through the silence. However, the man didn't continue with his explanation.

Not placated at all by the answer, Leo let his growl wash over the clearing once more. "Why?"

"Because your nephew is a dangerous, Hale!" Holden hissed back. "Tell me, have you seen a single child since this hell took over?"

Leo shook his head. Not that it meant much. He could count the number of survivors he had seen on the way here on the fingers of his hands. Of course, Holden didn't care about that detail as he pushed on.

"Exactly... I have over forty people in my group, and you know how many of them are below the age of twelve?" The man asked but didn't wait for an answer. "One, your nephew… Your sister-in-law did something during the awakening to save the boy, but it changed him. Changed them both."

At once, the fight left Leo as fear gripped his heart. He didn't come this far to find the remnants of his family, only for them to be ripped away again. He couldn't accept that.

"Changed how?" Leo muttered, ignoring the anger bubbling underneath his skin.

Holden nodded to his group, and while they didn't lower their weapons much, the shift in the atmosphere was noticeable to the naked eye. Or at least it was for most of them, as the woman's stance never changed, glaring at Leo with her arrow ready to fire.

"Dylan told me what you were before you evolved," Holden began. "Your nephew is suffering a somewhat similar fate, but the Void took much more from him than just a part of a limb. If I had to guess, about two-thirds of his body is corrupted, and his mental state is not much better."

Air left Leo's lungs as Holden’s words registered in his mind. His nephew, his six-year-old godson, was claimed by the Void, and despite what the other man said, their situation didn't seem too similar. Still, Adam survived until now, so they had to be doing something about his condition...

"Drain," Leo mutterd. "He has it, right?"

Holden nodded. "He does, and we are constantly delivering him fresh Voidling corpses to consume, but it isn't enough. With each day, Adam is somehow growing stronger, just like the beasts outside. To make matters worse, most of the time, he is aggressive, and only his mother can come close without having to fight back. It's an uphill battle that gets harder with every hour..."

Leo cursed, balling his fists. It wasn't hard to understand what was wrong. Void's power wanted to consume everything, and a six-year-old's mind couldn't be hard to dominate for such powerful energy. Maybe if the corruption hadn't spread that far in the first place, Adam could have resisted better...

"He has to evolve. Cleanse the corruption," Leo whispered to himself, yet still loud enough for others to hear.

"Aye, that's the same conclusion we’ve arrived at. Unfortunately, while Ava can somewhat affect Adam's choices within the System, we have no idea how to make him evolve. Much less what evolutions are available to him. He is already at level six, but whenever Ava or we ask about evolutions, the boy goes as still as a statue," Holden explained, and Leo had to admit that it made the situation even worse.

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Fuck! He shouted within the safety of his mind. If Drain couldn't even stop the deterioration of Adam's mind and body at this point, then evolution was the only way to fix this. There was a possibility that Devour could accomplish something, but he doubted that.

Tainted Humans needed Void Essence to stop the progression of corruption. If Leo unleashed Devour on Adam, his ability might as well make the situation even worse. And considering what Holden said, there wasn't much room for error, if any.

Maybe if I somehow direct Devour towards the source? Leo shook his head. No... Even if I knew how to do that, it is still too risky. Void already consumed more than half of his body. Who knows what would happen if I tried to drain it all away...

Leo raised his head, peering at the man waiting before him. "What about Ava? You said she changed too. How bad is it?"

"Nowhere near as with your nephew, Hale," Holden answered instantly. "Ava has a trait that bonds her closely to her son. That's how she can affect his System and probably why Adam is alive. The problem is that anytime her son gives in to rage, it bleeds over the bond. For now, it's manageable, but that might change sooner or later."

Shit, shit, shit! It all comes back to this bloody Tainted evolution. I have left it behind only for the same shit to try to take away all I have. I won't let it!

Looking the Safe Zone's leader straight in the eyes, Leo declared firmly, "I want to see them. Now."

"No."

Such a simple word, yet the moment it left Holden's mouth, the world stilled, and one could almost hear the pin drop. Leo blinked before his eyes narrowed, blades extending without even a thought. Both he and Hunter growled, taking a step forward.

The arrow waiting in Clara's grasp finally left her bow, but Leo cut through the projectile like lightning. Instantly, the woman readied another arrow while her companions moved to assist her.

However, before the situation could escalate anymore, Leo growled again, freezing the group in place.

"What did you just say?" More words wanted to come out, fuelled by the ever-growing bloodlust. Yet Leo held them back... for now.

Holden, despite taking another step back, barely let anything show on his face. Brave or stupid, Leo couldn't decide, but if the man didn't give him a proper answer, things could take a turn for the worse real fast.

Even if he didn't want to fight other humans, his family came first.

"I said no," Holden repeated but added quickly upon seeing Leo take another step. "Wait! You need to understand, Hale, that over forty people trust me to help them survive another day. I can't just let an anomaly like you inside, not yet. And I am not taking them to meet you. Adam is too unstable, and Ava won't leave him alone for longer than a few minutes."

Letting his blades retreat, Leo took a deep breath even as bloodlust still flowed through his mind. "Yet?"

The man nodded right away. "Aye. If you give me a few hours, a day max, I can find a way to smuggle you in without causing mass panic. In the meantime, I would like you to do something for us. An exchange of favors, if you will. You help us, we help you, and we might even find a way to trust each other."

Leo raised a non-existent eyebrow. The balls on this man... He knows well I can most likely tear through them and survive, yet he is still trying to get a deal out of this.

"Say I agree... What do you want?" Leo began, testing the waters.

He didn't want to wait any longer to meet his family, but the only other way was to put down the group before him and storm the Safe Zone. A poor way to repay people who protected Ava and Adam until now. Especially when they offered an alternative.

That's if they are even telling the truth...

Holden let out a deep sigh and motioned to one of his companions. "Evan, the map."

The leather-armored man approached slowly, keeping his eyes on Leo. Only when he stopped next to Holden did he raise his hand, a vast holographic image suddenly materializing between them.

Eyes widening just a bit, Leo scanned the quite detailed map of Wolford. Some parts were missing, darkness filling those areas, but apart from that, the image represented the entire city after the second Cataclysm claimed it.

How? Some unique skill? Job? Leo wondered. Quite frankly, he had never given much thought to what other Jobs could accomplish, but this just might be it. Can be useful in the long run, especially for a group...

"Mark the path," Holden ordered the other man again, and right away, a red line appeared on the map. It started in the Safe Zone and finished in one of the darkened areas.

This time turning to Leo, the leader continued. "Two days ago, I sent two of our assassins on another run. They were supposed to gather supplies on the way and then see what happened to the mall."

Right, that's where it should be. Leo mused, gazing at the empty area near the Tainted Wasteland. "They didn't come back, I take?"

Holden grimaced but nodded nonetheless. "Indeed... They might still return, but just in case, I would like you to follow their trail. If you can find them, excellent. If not, then I at least want to know what is going on in the mall and the police station."

Leo stiffened, the two dead officers flashing in his mind. Calm down, they don't know.

"Mall, I can understand, but why the police station? You have it on the map."

The tall man frowned lightly. "There is another group living there. I like to have someone check on them at least once every day. Better to be safe than sorry..."

Ah shit... Leo cursed, keeping his expression neutral on the outside. Hopefully, the disappearance of Holden's assassins had nothing to do with the death of the two officers from the now-confirmed second group. I can't be that unlucky. There is just no way.

Clearing his throat, Leo emptied his mind of those intrusive thoughts. "Alright, suppose I will do this. How do I know you will keep your end of the deal?"

"You don't," Holden answered. "There is no way I can make you believe me, but does it really matter? You are stronger and can probably slaughter us in seconds. You are also a survivor, so a Safe Zone won't keep you out. We are at your mercy either way."

Can't keep me out, you say? Should have tested that yesterday... Still, I don't like this. If I agree, they will have time to prepare or even use Ava and Adam against me. When now, they are at my mercy. And I can use them, choose another path.

Leo hummed. "Look Holden. I'm not against helping each other; I would even gladly do what you are asking, but you have miscalculated here... You said it right: You are at my mercy. Yet you are still trying to have this deal go your way. I think not..."

The leader's eyes widened instantly, and Leo couldn't hold back the wide grin any longer.

"So, how about we try again? This time on my terms."