“Hey, look, is that where we’re headed?”

Josh consulted his trusty map, the edges crumpling under his frustrated grip. “Yeah, and it's the last place we were sent to check.”

“I'm sure we'll find them.” Maria placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “If you're anything to go by, they definitely survived when the chaos started.”

The last two days of searching dragged on as they kept pushing after morning light, only stopping to rest, resupply anywhere they could find, and stopping to rest from time to time. Josh now understood why it was protocol to drop off larger groups, especially ones that weren't system-enhanced.

Their progress had been gruelingly sluggish and pricked his patience incessantly.

But finally, they'd made it.

With her hand over her eyes to block out the sunlight, Maria stepped away, her hand sliding down Josh's shoulder to his arm, then his hand. “Let's go.”

The rest of the group has learned good and well by now to follow when it was time to move. It helped that Tabitha kept them organized and calm. Josh didn't know what he would've done without her.

He folded the map in its worn creases and stuffed it in his back pocket. Maria led while his heart sank deeper.

This was the last stop, yet they'd found no more survivors. There were no signs or traces of anyone as he followed behind Maria, her hand in his was the anchor he used to ground himself in reality.

But after they searched the place from top to bottom with not a hair in sight, even that didn't ease the aching pulse of rage heating him and strumming dreadful cords of despair.

“They aren't here. Nobody's here! What are those useless scouts reporting?!” If the map had been in his hand, he would've ripped it to shreds. “This was my last chance to find them. Damn it all.”

“Your last chance?” Maria spun around and eyed him. “What do you mean by that?”

“Nothing.”

“Don't. Don't close up, Josh. Talk to me, please. Please…” He turned back the way they'd come and walked away. She brushed past and stopped in front of him, hands placed on the hilt of her axes. “I'll make you talk to me if I have to, however I can.”

“Now you're talking my language.” He set Bartholomew on the ground and clenched his fists.

Her posture shifted from one of concern to that of resigned aggression. Both axes were bared, and she tensed to spring.

Only a few feet separated them. Josh watched every movement, every subtle shift, the fight already begun.

The moment she committed to an attack, an arrow struck the ground between them. “Stop!”

They both broke their stances and huffed a breath, then turned to look at who shot the arrow. Tabitha glared at both of them from atop the nearest building, one leg perched on the edge and her bow in hand.

“Ma, I—” Maria’s shoulders sagged, and she dropped her axes back to the loops on her belt.

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“Save it, hun.” Tabitha pointed at Josh. “If you’re so upset, then go. We’ll figure out a way to handle things here.”

But he didn’t move, his feet rooted firmly. He couldn’t. Where would he go? Why would he go there? What was he searching for, and… why did he have to do it alone?

“What’s the matter? Weren’t you just going to stomp off and brood all alone? You definitely look the type,” Tabitha said, bounding down from the tall building with a grunt. She approached and placed her bow over her neck so the string rested across her chest. She crossed her arms and cocked her hip to the side, reminiscent of his own mother. “Waiting for an invitation?”

He glared back at her. “No.”

“But you’re still here?” She smacked her lips and retrieved her arrow, using it to point at him. “Maybe, just maybe, running off to be angry and alone isn’t actually what you want.” She shrugged dramatically. “But what do I know?”

He looked at Tabitha long and hard. Despite her words, he didn’t find the coldness of ridicule or the heat of true anger. They regarded him gently, warm.

“Damn it.” He turned to Maria and opened his mouth, but no words dared escape, betraying the turmoil within.

“That’s a strange way to say thank you,” Tabitha grumbled. She pointed the arrow at him, then Maria. “I’ll leave you two alone to talk things out, but don’t have too much fun.”

And true to her word, she walked away and returned to scouting through the remnants of the empty refugee camps.

Without her there, he could barely bring himself to look at Maria. The trip into Halla with Aiden weighed on his mind. He knew it would be dangerous, otherwise Aiden would’ve planned to take more people. He wanted to at least make sure his family was okay.

And the time to go would be soon.

Everything in his blood told him, and his Patron’s power surged with excitement. The scent of blood lingered on everything, tantalizing and horrible.

“I know you were hoping to see them… I’m sorry—”

“Please,” Josh held up a hand to stop her, “don’t apologize.” He lifted his head to look at her. “I was gonna run.”

“Run? What from?” She took a step closer, and he took one away.

He saw the hurt in her eyes. “Just… give me a minute. I-I’m still fighting myself here.”

The words he struggled to speak fell on deaf ears, and she crossed the space between them to throw her arms around him, hugging him tight to her chest. “You can trust me, Josh.”

A heftiness bearing the weight of the world lifted off his shoulder for but a moment, allowing him to breathe and move long enough to place his hands around her waist and pull her close to his chest. “I do.”

“So talk to me. What's going on?” She nestled her head into the crook of his neck.

“I've got to leave soon, and I don't know if I'll be coming back.”

Craning her neck, she stared up at him with furrowed brows. “Don’t talk like that. You have to come back. What about your family?”

“I want to see them, to make sure they are okay before going, to make sure you are okay…”

“Do you… have to go?” she asked, her voice low.

“I do.”

“I understand. Then the least I can do is keep searching for your family when you're gone and make sure they get back safely. Is there anything you have, maybe a picture, that will help me recognize them?”

He pulls a necklace locket from beneath his shirt and grasps it tight but gently, careful not to let his overwhelming strength shatter the fragile material.

With a deep breath, he loosened his grip and let it fall on his chest, then turned so she could unclasp it.

Once she had it off, he turned back to face her and watched as she opened the simple locket.

The two pictures inside depicted him with his mother and father, then another with him and his two sisters and brother.

“You're also the oldest. That explains a few things.”

“I'm not. I had an older brother…”

“Y-you… have such a beautiful family.” She cleared her throat and gave a resolved nod, more to herself than anything. “I'll be sure to find them.” She held up the locket. “And I'll make sure to keep this safe so you can get it back when you come back home.”

“Thank you.”