Thirty minutes later, a nurse guided me to Jonovan’s office. I already knew where it was, but it was policy. She tapped on the door and waited for the man inside the office to respond before she opened the door and let me pass.

I thanked her then shut the door in her face. Privacy was a habit I doubted I’d ever get over.

Jonovan sat behind his desk, hands crossed and resting on the wood in a relaxed manner. He smiled at me, looking just like when I met him over eighteen months ago. His pale brown hair fell over his left shoulder, and white mage robe overtop of his business casual dress. “Good morning, Miss Jyn. I wasn’t expecting you to visit me so early. I was told it was important?”

I took a breath and sat down in one of the chairs before his desk. “You once said that you were involved with making the cure for the Sleeper disease.” I looked into his eyes. “Are you still part of that team?”

He blinked in surprise. “Yes. Although, there hasn't been much advancement in development while Healer Laurel and I were away. Things are getting back on track now.”

My brows wrinkled. “Do you think you will find a cure?”

He nodded, his gentle handsome face tightening with determination. “We will. Is that all you needed to talk about?”

I bit my lips and stood up. My hand floated over the expensive wood for a second before a small, intricate vial appeared. My fingers rested on the pretty lid. Everything in my body was screaming to grab it and run. No matter what, I could at least guarantee that one of my loved ones will live. I worked so hard for this cure, and now I was just giving it away with no proof that I was doing the right thing.

Instead, I forced my fingers to lift. My hand shook as I drew it back to my side. My movements were stiff as I stepped back and sat down again.

Jonovan watched me. He didn’t know what the vial was, but he could obviously see the struggle I had just letting it go.

“This,” I took a deep breath. “Is the cure for the Sleepers.”

His eyes widened as his jaw went slack. He focused on the vial like it was the most precious thing in the world. “Are you sure?”

I nodded. “I got it while we were in Las Vegas. It’s the cure. The only one in the whole world.”

“Are you giving this to me?” he asked. His hands twitched, as if he wanted to grab the vial that stood between us.

As soon as he moved, my body tightened, ready to lunge forward and swipe it away from him. Instead I threaded my fingers together and fisted them in my lap. Hopefully, he couldn’t see how white my knuckles were. “Yes.” The word was like jagged glass on my tongue. “But I have some requirements.”

He reached out and gently picked up the vial. He didn’t notice my body stiffening as he lifted it into the light and watched the light reflect on the bright liquid inside. “It’s pretty.” He lowered it and gently put it back on the desk. “What requirements do you have for me?”

“Do you promise you’ll recreate the cure?” I pressed, my hands shaking in my lap. “You have to promise me, or I’ll take it back right now. That’s the only dose in existence. If you take even a part of it, and can’t recreate the formula, it will be useless. I’d rather take it back and use it now.”

“Did … something happen?” he asked slowly. “I know that your mother is a Sleeper but …” He left the sentence hanging.

“My sister,” I said softly. “Three days ago, right after the Gate Surge.”

He bowed his head briefly. “I’m sorry to hear that. From how you used to talk, I assumed she’d be a Hunter.”

I nodded slowly. “I did too. That’s actually requirement number two. The first two people to get the completed cure are my mother and sister. I don’t care if you only managed to make three cures and people are offering millions of dollars. The first two who get it are my family.” There was no mercy in my voice.

I wanted to be a good person, but not at the expense of my family. In the end, I wasn’t really fighting to save the world, or to save humanity. I had a conscience, but I wasn’t a saint. I was fighting to protect my family because they’d die if Earth fell. It might be sad that I put the lives of four people over billions of lives, but it was the truth. And I didn’t feel sorry.

Jonovan hummed in agreement. “I understand. What else did you want?”

I paused. I didn’t have any other demands. As long as my family woke up, I didn’t care what else happened. I shook my head. “That’s it.”

He smiled softly. “I’ll make sure you are fairly compensated.”

I blinked at him. “Huh?”

He motioned to the vial in his hands. “This little bottle is worth millions, if not billions. There were over five hundred million Sleepers in the world before the sudden influx a couple days ago. If each dose cost just a dollar, that’s no sneezing matter. It’s only fair that you are properly paid for your efforts in waking those people up. Without your work, we wouldn’t have the chance to wake them up.”

A bitter smile spread across my face. It was just too painfully ironic, really. I’d struggled with money my whole life. To the point where there were days that I only ate one meal and wore clothes that were falling apart. I was even relying on Henry to get that meal, sometimes. Still, I’d pressed on because I needed to.

Now it felt like money was raining from the sky. Between the items in my Items Bag, the Orc weapons, and now the Sleeper cure, I suddenly found myself practically rolling in money. And it all meant nothing to me. I couldn’t jump up and down with glee and laugh out loud like a nutcase. Because the very reason why I wanted money to begin with was in a hospital bed on the other side of town. What was the point of having money now? To pay for medical bills?

I’d trade every penny, go back to wearing rags and starving every day, if only Mom and Aliya would open their eyes.

“Okay,” I whispered. “I want the benefactors, if something happens to me, to be my mother and sister, then my aunt and uncle. Can you help me with that? I don’t have the faintest clue on what to do. I don’t even care if you take a commission fee.”

He shook his head. “That’s not needed. I’m happy to help. Ecstatic, almost.” A smile bloomed across his face. “Holding this in my hand, I finally have hope in waking them up. Thank you, Jyn. From everyone that will never even meet you: thank you for your sacrifice.” His smile turned determined. “As soon as possible. Let me write a rough outline of what you want first. I’ll contact you tomorrow with an update. You aren’t the only one eager to wake up their loved ones. I promise, I’ll wake them up. Starting with your family. ”

I trusted him to keep that promise. That was why I brought the cure to Jonovan. I trusted his ethics and honesty. There were only two other Hunters — Henry and Emma — that I knew were moved for the greater good, and not power. The difference was, Jonovan had the status to uphold his word.

Even with that mindset, I still couldn’t decide if I did the right thing a short time later while standing outside the hospital.

My chin tipped back as I looked up at the looming black Gate — and the rippling air around it. It reminded me of the heat mirage I sometimes saw on hot pavement. Unfortunately, it didn’t have anything to do with fast moving air, and everything to do with magic leaking out of the Gate. It wasn’t like this two weeks ago. The tasteless, scentless, nearly invisible stuff was all over the city.

As much as I blamed myself for Aliya, now that I wasn’t freaking out, I understood that the real cause of her becoming a Sleeper — and Mom’s — was because of this magic. Nothing I did or could have done could do this much damage.

I looked at the people sweating in the chilly winter air, cleaning up the mess around me. I should help too, but there was something I needed to do first. Since Aliya couldn’t wear the bracelet I made her, I should give her one she could.

I already knew that E District was totalled, so it didn’t surprise me when I saw that the hostel was nothing but a pile of rubble. Even the new gym in the back was mostly destroyed. From the gaping hole in the front, I could see blankets and tarps stretched out inside as temporary housing. How long it would take for them to get out of it, well, E District was very low on the list of things to be fixed. Always had been, always would be.

What did surprise me was how few people were cleaning up the rubble. There were over twenty-five people that lived in the building. Only six were there. Two held shovels, dumping scoops of debri into the waiting wheelbarrows the other two people were holding. Another two were picking through the mess. Where was everyone else? They couldn’t have been assigned to another cleaning site, could they? They’d be kept where they lived, right?

I recognized all of them from months of passing in the halls or dining room, but I didn’t know any of their names.

One of the scavengers in the middle of the pile suddenly jumped to her feet and waved a beat up, dirty tin can in the air. “I found it! I think I found the location of the food storage from the kitchen!” Her voice was shrill with excitement. “There’s still unbroken cans!”

The other rummager awkwardly hurried over the pile toward her while the two men holding shovels rushed over, using their shovels like a paddle to go faster. “No shit?!” One of the men yelled in excitement. “Let’s cook some now!”

They were excited to find a can of food buried under a building, while I turned away gourmet muffins because I wasn’t in the mood to eat. Strength really was everything.

Just the mention of food brought up a glaring problem. I walked to the closest one holding the wheelbarrow and caught his attention before he could join them. “Hey, where’s Henry?”

As surprising as it was to see so few people working here, the most surprising thing was not seeing that short little, round-faced old man busily bustling around. I’d never been in this building when he wasn’t there. Since he was the one in charge of the hostel, did he need to go to the Association building for some reason? He couldn’t be at the hospital. Because of the wonders of Healing, very few Hunters spent extended time in the hospital.

The guy used the back of his dirty hand to push at the dirty sweat streaming down his face, leaving a black streak on his burnt-tan skin. He looked at me like I was insane. “Where have you been? Look around you. Henry’s dead.”

*****