"Gah- son of a-"

"What happened?" I ask, secretly hoping he'd grabbed another spider.

"Nothing," he mutters.

We'd been riding all afternoon following the trail as closely as we could, but that had been getting harder as the sun steadily slipped out of view falling beneath the horizon until only slivers of light remained. Even those were beginning to fade away now, the songs and calls of birds replaced by the chirping of crickets.

Darkness taking over meant we had to navigate the barren land with only a pair of weak flashlights, they're helpful sure, but no substitute for the Sun. To make matters worse we had lost the trail Emma left behind, no sunlight meant we weren't able to look for the caps using the glint they give off from sunlight hitting them. Which had been our main strategy for some time.

Levi is on his hands and knees a few feet away, searching the ground for a cap he swears he saw. His horse, Shadow, stands close by looking down at him curiously.

I search closer to the road we'd been traveling on, hoping Emma stuck to it as much as possible when she left. My horse, Rose, is tied to a tree nearby, quietly chewing on a bush.

"Flynn! I got something."

Levi holds the cap in the air, throwing his arms up in celebration. Shadow lets out an excited neigh and wags his tail. Prompting a laugh and smile from Levi.

He tosses me the cap, and no doubt about it, we're back on the trail.

We mount the horses, then give them each a small carrot that Paige left in their saddlebags. They gobble them up in seconds.

Then we continue our search, this time keeping our flashlights trained on the trail to avoid losing it...again. It leads through thick woods filled with twists and turns, tall grass often hides the caps until we are right on top of them, causing a fair amount of frustration.

We continue on until the sun is completely gone, those last slivers of light finally fading away entirely and giving way for moonlight to shine down, bathing the ground in a white glow that, in a surprising turn of events, helps us keep track of the bottle caps instead of adding to the list of things that makes the search more difficult.

"Why does she even have this many bottle caps," I ask, my voice bouncing in rhythm with Rose's footsteps.

Levi sighs, his breath producing a cloud of steam that rises slowly before vanishing into the night sky.

"I...don't know actually," he answers. "Maybe she collected them," he sighs longingly. "She had a lot of little hobbies like that. "

We ride in silence for a while longer, cold air threatening to numb my face and ears. The breeze that causes it snakes through the trees, prompting leaves to rustle and branches to shake all around us, coming together to create an atmosphere that could easily hide a creature from our senses. Something I'd prefer not thinking about.

Slowly the trees around us become smaller and spaced further apart, replaced by small bushes and shrubs surrounded by tall grass. A few more minutes and we're at the edge of the tree line, a wide open empty field lying ahead of us. A hill on the far side obstructs our view of what lies beyond.

The bottle caps lead us across the field and up the side of the hill, which the horses have trouble getting up, their horseshoes failing to grip the loose grass and dirt. Eventually though, with patience and probably some luck, we make it to the top of the hill. Where we spot what might be our destination.

Ahead of us, sitting at the center of a field similar in size to the last, is a large house that looks to be barely standing. Its many windows are either cracked or shattered, and the shutters that hang beside them have all fallen but one, which is only hanging by one or two nails.

The roof, which was surely once a beautifully crafted piece of the house, is now rotted and sunken down in multiple spots. No lights or other signs of life come from the house either.

"You think she's there?" I ask.

Levi stares at the house, fumbling the cap he'd found earlier in his fingers. I don't want to imagine what would happen if we didn't find Emma, he already seems offbeat just looking for her. What if she's....no, I can't think that way.

"She'll be there," Levi says to himself quietly. "She'll be there."

He returns the cap to a pocket in his jacket and takes the reigns of Shadow in both hands, giving it a shake that tells the horse to start moving.

Together we ride down the hill, the horses struggling at first to keep traction, but eventually getting the hang of it. Levi reaches the house first and loops Shadow's lead around one of the wooden spokes that make up the stairways handrail.

I can't keep quiet any longer.

"Levi," He ignores me. "Levi!"

"What?" He replies angrily.

"I know you want to find Emma, but something feels wrong here."

He turns away and takes a step up the stairs.

"Levi listen! She wouldn't want you to get yourself killed like this while looking for her. Let's take this slow."

Levi turns around and comes back down, his face twisted in anger.

Before he reaches me a loud thump followed by a sharp crack appears by my right ear, dirt explodes into the air.

A second later another comes, Shadow, who had been standing just inches away from Levi, collapses onto the ground with a yelp of pain. Wet liquid welling up from his side.

Levi freezes, something I haven't seen him do since seeing the bodies in Gate City.

I jump into action, hobbling up the stairs and twisting the knob. Locked. I bash into the door as another bullet whizzes past my ear and slams into the wall with a loud thud, sending shards of rotten wood sailing outward.

I bash the door again, this time ripping the entire frame out of the wall. This place is really falling apart.

"Levi!" I yell, garnering a small response from him, but not enough. "Levi! Snap out of it!"

A bullet crashes into the ground next to him, dirt and chunks of grass launch into the air and clatter into the stairway. Then suddenly he's back, rushing up the steps with a determined look on his face.

I run into the doorway and deeper into the house, knowing the bullets will probably rip right through the outer wall, maybe being further in will slow them down.

Levi appears next to me breathing quickly, sweat running down his face and dripping fromhis cheek.

"What happened to you?!" I exclaim, ducking as the sound of another bullet impact echoes through the house.

"I'll explain later," he says between quick breaths. "How many of them are there?"

I hadn't counted, but it seemed like only one gun was doing the shooting.

"One, or at least one gunner. Maybe more people with them."

"The shooting stopped," I say, realizing all I hear is the creaking of the floor, and chirping of crickets outside.

"Hello!" A voice calls from just outside the house. "I know you're in there, so how about you come on out with your hands where I can see 'em."

Levi leans against the wall, his breathing finally slowing down. He takes one last long deep breath, then grabs the bottom grip of his rifle and slides it off his shoulder.

"Flynn, cover your ears."

I do it, watching as he pushes the stock of the rifle to his shoulder, then chambers a round with the bolt handle, the mechanism making a metallic ting noise. Finally, he switches the safety off.

"Times up!" The man outside yells.

I hear a squeak as the man takes a step up the stairs, then another, and another. Out the corner of my eye I see Levi's grip on the rifle tightening.

When the next squeak comes Levi stands and steps into the doorway, then squeezes the trigger.

The house explodes with light as fiery gas sprays from the rifle barrel. At the same time, a bang that rips right into my ears echoes through the house, I flinch as all this happens, my eyes closing instinctively.

When they open again Levi lies in front of me, the shoulder piece of his shirt slowly turning red.

"You almost had me! Ha!" The mans voice appears again, his words confident, but filled with adrenaline.

My hearts beating a mile a minute, what do I do? Levi is sitting in front of me, his shoulder wetting the floor with blood. His rifle is still-

His rifle.

I stand up, take a deep breath, and run forward. The man gasps as I flash past the doorway, grabbing the rifle by the barrel as I pass. Pain jolts through my hand, the barrel is still hot.

"Hey! Hey! Get back here!" The man yells.

I press the rifle to my shoulder like Levi did, then I pull the bolt mechanism, a bullet casing ejects out of the side and clatters to the ground with a metallic thud. I push it back afterward, chambering a new round.

"You've got a chance to leave y'know!" I yell to him. "Take it!"

The man laughs and, judging by the floorboards squeaking, he begins walking towards me.

My heart drops, I'm gonna have to use this gun.

I might kill someone.

He gets closer, a little thump appearing with every one of his slow footsteps. Thump.....thump.......thump.

I take a deep breath and try to make my hands stop shaking, it doesn't work.

Then with a sudden burst of adrenaline that surprises even me, I jump out from behind cover, coming face to face with the man, our guns are so close that they almost touch barrels.

We both freeze.

Suddenly crimson liquid splashes onto my shirt, the man grunts, clutching at his chest, then falls to his knees and drops the gun beside him. I stand over his body trying to process what just happened.

Behind me Levi groans and curses under his breath. I sling his rifle over my shoulder and step back through the door way, then kneel down next to him. His shoulder is bleeding a bit but it doesn't look lethal.

"Nice shot," he says through gritted teeth.

"That wasn't me," I reply.

"What?"

"It was me," says a voice from behind us.

A woman stands at the front door, a large caliber rifle in her hands. Her long black hair is pulled back into a loose ponytail, and her green eyes almost seem to glow in the darkness.

"Who are you?" I ask.

"Flynn, meet Emma," Levi says with a smile.