Mrs. Song froze instantly, her jaw seeming to lock in place as her entire body became stiff. She began leaning, about to topple over, before Mr. Song gripped her firmly, gently tapping her. Realization set in as he whipped his head over the crowd, shouting.

“Someone, help her!” He cried desperately, trying to hold onto her hardened body.

Bruno’s aim shifted to Mr. Song as he fired another shot, the pin hitting him and instantly causing both of them to fall onto the ground, motionless. His lip trembled as his typically nurturing nature clashed with his hatred, his rage, and his devastation.

“Duck!” Juro hiss, grabbing Bruno and pulling him down the back side of the roof as shots from officers and guards sounded out. Juro cowered, covering his ears as small bullets zipped past him. “I know a place. Follow me.”

Juro slid toward the end of the ceiling and dangled off, closing his eyes before letting go. He tumbled into a bush and landed awkwardly with branches poking into his tender skin. Bruno easily maneuvered down and began sprinting away, briefly looking over his shoulder to make sure Juro was following suit.

Juro and Bruno ducked behind brush and looming trees as they heard angry shouts from behind, but the woods were their territory. Leiths never had to get their hands dirty, never had to go a day without food or begging on the dirt floors of the farmer’s market.

“My stomach is cramping,” Juro cried, squeezing his eye shut and grabbing his stomach. He hunched over for a bit, breathing rapidly.

“Come on, push through it. You can’t expect to lead the way if you’re cramping,” said an insistent Bruno.

“I’m sorry, I’ll politely ask it to stop,” he wheezed, trudging forward despite the searing pain.

When they were sure the Leiths had lost sight of them, Juro stopped, leaning against a tree. He panted heavily, causing his body to heave and sweat profusely.

Bruno stood beside him, also breathing heavily but his stamina was much better. “Where are we going?”

“Mr. Brown’s house.”

“Who?”

“Mr. Brown. Morrigan’s neighbor.”

Bruno froze, his jaw loosening. “Wasn’t he the one that sold Morrigan out? Are you really suggesting we go with him? Are you insane?” He began to raise his voice, his hand trembling as he threw it out from his body.

Juro squatted on the forest ground and fought to catch his breath. “Mr. Brown… he owes me one. I trust him, and there’s nowhere else for us to go.”

Walking in small circles, Bruno groaned in frustration and brought his hands up to his head. “God, Juro, you can’t keep doing everything by yourself. You never tell any of us what you’re thinking. You always leave us in the dark.”

His breathing finally slowed enough for Juro to sit down and look up at Bruno. Bruno’s deep eyes twinkled with glittering tears, but his brows were furrowed in anger. “I’m sorry. I promise I won’t do that anymore. It’s just hard for me.”

Bruno wiped his eyes and looked off to the side, sniffing. “Alyssa, I don’t want the same th—” he froze, looking down at his feet. “I’m sorry, I meant Juro.” Juro could see how Bruno squeezed Alyssa’s notebook so tightly that the covers and pages crinkled under his strong grip.

Juro gave him that same soft smile, his lips pressed into a thin line and his half-lidded eyes seeming to focus all of himself onto Bruno at that very moment. “It’s alright. I know what you meant.”

“Don’t smile like that.”

Laughing softly, Juro got back onto his feet. “Ha, okay. If you insist.”

When Juro looked closer, however, he could see the tears that now streamed down Bruno’s dark skin; the look was haunting, a display of utter fear and understanding. “I’ve seen that very same look so many times now, I understand what it means now. Alyssa had it, and you have it. How could you be so ready to die?” Bruno seemed to plead as he wept, holding onto Juro’s sleeve. “I can’t lose you, too.”

Juro’s expression faltered for a moment, and his eyes seemed to darken, but he quickly went back to his calm and cheery expression. “Don’t worry about me, Bruno,” he said in a reassuring tone as he pulled Bruno in for a tight hug. “There’s too much unfinished business for mem to even think like that. So, let’s go to Mr. Brown’s house.”

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Bruno punched his arm hard and Juro yelped before laughing. The two ran back to Mr. Brown’s, seeming to be more in synch than they were before. When they arrived, Juro had Bruno stand behind as he knocked on the door.

Mr. Brown tentatively opened the door and let out a shaky sigh when he saw Juro, yet Juro couldn’t quite read his expression. “I saw the news. They’ve already broadcast everything.”

“I figured.” Juro peeked around Mr. Brown into his home and saw packed bags. “Are you on the run?”

Thickly swallowing, Mr. Brown hesitated before responding. “Yes. With what you’ve done at the fundraiser, it’s over for Adam and me. I’m going to protect him with whatever it takes.”

“Not yet.” Juro held up the folder and pulled out the report. He showed it to Mr. Brown, the words “The Moon: Lilith’s Final Frontier” still plastered on the front. “I need you to help me go through this.”

Before Mr. Brown could protest, Juro waved Bruno to come over. “You owe me one. We’ve already talked about this. And,” Juro’s honest green eyes met Mr. Brown’s hesitant expression. “I’ll protect you and Adam. You’ll both die with the General on your tails.”

Mr. Brown bit his lip and sighed loudly. But, he knew that with his diseased body, he could never care for that young boy alone. The door slowly creaked open. “Alright, come on in.”

Bruno met Mr. Brown’s eyes with a conflicted expression. Bruno displayed hesitancy but, as he saw Mr. Brown’s sunken in eyes and deathly ill skin, sympathy pained his heart. Bruno at times hated how he felt when facing people like Mr. Brown, because he was incapable of ever standing up. He was incapable of standing up for Alyssa every time she gave him that smile, and he was incapable now as he took the first step into Mr. Brown’s home.

A door down the hallway slammed as Bruno’s eyes darted up to it.

“That’s Adam. He’s been a bit upset,” Mr. Brown said, heading over to the kitchen to brew some tea. “I’m Mr. Brown.” His voice was embarrassed but warm as he extended a hand out to Bruno.

Bruno looked up at him but didn’t take his hand. “I’m Bruno. You’re the man that started all of this, aren’t you?”

Juro shot him a warning look, his lower lip protruding.

“Yes. Yes I am.” Mr. Brown suddenly fell onto his knees before Bruno. “I’m so sorry, truly. There’s nothing I’ve regretted more.”

Bruno’s face flushed with embarrassment at Mr. Brown’s actions. “I-it’s fine,” he awkwardly stammered, “you don’t need to degrade yourself like that.”

Mr. Brown got up, but his head remained lowered. “I’m sure Alyssa was a lovely young woman.”

“Get her name out of your mouth. You don’t deserve to say it,” Juro snapped, his voice hard and intonation flat. “We didn’t come for you to apologize. We came to talk about this file.”

Mr. Brown grabbed the packet, and briefly skimmed it. His face became incredibly pale as he glossed over it. “Where did you get this?”

“Doesn’t matter, but it’s classified. Do you know anything about it?”

He paused and brought a hand in front of his mouth, blocking off his expression. “This simply can’t be true. There is no world where Lilith could be alive. She died thousands of years ago.”

“She was murdered.”

“She started all of this.”

“She was a slave,” Juro declared. His fingers tapped the report in Mr. Brown’s hand. “This claims that for thousands and thousands of years, she’s been alive and trapped on the moon. She’s sat there awake and aware for millenniums, and no one knew about it.” Juro grabbed the glowing stone from his pocket and placed it in front of Mr. Brown. “Victor didn’t know this, but he knew that the power existed, and he failed at harnessing it.”

Mr. Brown was trembling now as he pieced the report together. Lilith, their God, their damnation, their salvation. She had begun the cycle of death and hatred, and now, she was alive. She was alive.

Lilith was alive.

“You were in charge of observing Daisy and Morrigan, right?”

Mr. Brown did not respond.

“You must have noticed something. Tell me what you saw.”

“I…”

“You understand what this means, don’t you? If Lilith is alive, and if Victor’s machine released her—”

“It’s Daisy.”

“What?”

Mr. Brown slumped in his chair, burying his face into his hands. “I saw something one night,” he groaned, as if he were a weak animal in pain. “Daisy, Morrigan’s mom, she knew all of this already. She already made contact with Lilith.”

Juro froze, not suspecting this turn. “So Morrigan is part of the bloodline, right? Morrigan is related to Lilith?”

Mr. Brown let out a dry sob as he almost seemed to fall out of his chair. “You’re years too late, Juro. It’s too late.”

“You’re speaking nonsense. I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

“General Kristiansen knew all of this already. He knew about Morrigan, and that’s why he wanted me to protect her. Morrigan—she’s a tool.”

“What?”

“This is what General Kristiansen wanted. He’s been waiting for this moment for years. Morrigan is doing everything he wanted.”