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—

We fix ourselves a quick lunch, which basically just comprises canned food. Zarius doesn't eat, but he explores my house, picking up my remaining family photos just to look at them. I follow him, chewing as I go, just so that I can explain to them what they are.

We end up sitting on the porch with a couple of my family albums. "Fascinating," he marvels, flipping through them. "This is also another one of those creations that can capture a memory and keep it in a physical form?"

"Yes. We used a camera and printed this out on paper. We call this a photograph."

"And who is this? Is this you when you were a newborn?"

I almost choke on my food when I realize that he's staring at a baby picture of me posing in just a pink top and diaper with a pacifier shoved in my mouth. I was a chubby little thing, and this is getting too much for me to bear, especially when my drool was dripping. "Give that back."

He ducks out of my reach, still smiling at the picture. "Adorable. Now I see the resemblance."

"To who?" I ask until something clicks in my head. "You know my father?!"

Zarius nods once. "Delia, you do not know his name, do you?"

I shake my head, which only deepens his frown. "This merfolk that's together with your mother... I suspect he is the same person whom I'm looking for on the surface. The description matches."

I take a sharp inhale. It's funny how Zarius and I have a mutual connection without our knowledge. Is this fate that we actually get to meet? "Please. Tell me more about him. Do I really look like my father?"

He places a finger under my chin and tips my head up to get a better look at my face. The intense scrutiny has my cheeks growing hot, but I remain still like a statue. "I didn't tell you this, but I had a hunch from the very beginning when I first met you," he admits before letting me go. "I thought I could be wrong, which now I know I wasn't."

"What's his name?" I ask, growing eager. "Tell me what he's like."

Zarius's eyes seem to soften at how I'm growing excited over the mention of my father.

"Laiken," he shares. "He has been the adviser to the King for nearly two centuries, and is also my teacher. Who would have known I would have run into his first child bearing his blood? Fate is certainly a mysterious thing."

My jaw drops. I can't seem to grasp the fact that my father holds such a prominent position in their kingdom. What had compelled him to ignore the merfolk laws and risk his life to have a relationship with my mother? Was their love for each other simply that irresistible?

When I see my parents, I'm going to grill them for answers.

I recall Mia's words about how my father has gotten hurt and kidnapped. "Do you think the military knows what Dad truly is? Is that why my parents are taken?"

Zarius's expression hardens, his fingers digging into his palm. "Perhaps."

A set of footsteps comes up behind us—Maddie. She's carrying a bag filled with Mom's clothes that she can fit in, since their physiques are almost similar; slim and tall. Mia appears right behind her, clutching at her hand.

Maddie clears her throat at us and I realize that I've gotten too close to Zarius; our shoulders touching. I move away from him instinctively.

"Ready to leave?" she asks.

I stand and dust the dirt off my pants. "Yeap, just let me grab my stuff. Are we heading back?"

"If the military is here, we should head back to school," Maddie says. "They might have arrived by now. If we meet them, we could figure out what they really want and what they did to Aunt Roxie. Rey said they are coming to save us and I don't think that's entirely a lie, because why would his father do that? Or are there two different groups we're facing right now?"

I nod slowly in understanding until a worrying thought crosses my mind. "We should, but first, there's another place which I need to drop by. Do you know where Jace lives?"

I know Jace has gone to look for his family, and I wonder what has happened to that. If he hasn't reunited with them, I'm worried that he's traveling alone. It's better if he sticks with us. We can survive together and watch out for each other's safety.

"I don't know the exact address, but I believe it's somewhere on Wild Dunes Way. Shall we search around that area?"

I heave my backpack over my shoulders. "Sure. Let's get going before night falls."

And I pray hard that we find Jace there. Not his dead body, but him alive and breathing.

***

Bidding goodbye to my home breaks my heart. Every inch of the house lies a memory of my life. To part with this place, which is now half ruined, is like severing a part of myself. A tear slips off my cheek and I hurriedly turn away before my emotions choke me up.

I know that if we stay too long, I might never want to leave.

"Let's go."

We leave once Maddie breaks into a neighbor's house to get their car keys. She starts the engine and waits for us to get in.

Mia, like the good kid she is, fastens her seatbelt. In the meantime, I'm trying to help Zarius fit comfortably into the back of the car. I swear the length of his legs goes on forever.

We drive through Wild Dunes Way, weaving through the street slowly while scanning for any sign of Jace. Houses on both sides are falling apart. Water lines are failing, and lampposts are lying broken and dead on the gravel. The town looks awfully dreadful, like an abandoned ghost town.

I roll down the window and shout Jace's name several times, but not a single human seems to respond to my call. I'm losing hope, wondering if the creatures have somehow gotten Jace last night.

That's until we drive past a nearby mall and a speck of movement at the top of the building catches my eye.

I straighten up in my seat immediately, peering through the window. "Maddie, go back and stop at the mall's entrance."

"What?" She's bewildered, but does as I say. "What do you see?"

"Not sure. It looks like a kind of black form..."

When Maddie parks the car, I jump out quickly, using a hand to shield my eyes from the glare of the sun as I glance upward with a startling gasp.

"Holy moly."

There's a forlorn figure standing on the edge of the mall's rooftop. Someone who looks awfully familiar.

I scream at the top of my lungs, not knowing if he can hear me. "JACE, NO! DON'T BE RASH!"

I break into a run, my legs carry me so fast that I'm almost flying. My muscles burn, but I ignore it. Racing to the fifth floor via the now stationary escalators, I search for entry to the rooftop, looking everywhere, until I spot a metal door down at the end of the row of shops with a red sign — 'RESTRICTED AREA'. A security card is required to swipe across the panel and unlock the door. Damn.

Panicking, I'm searching for another entry until Zarius comes running up behind me easily. "Let me help you."

He kicks down the door with monstrous strength, like it's a flimsy piece of cardboard. We scramble our way through, running up the stairs until we reach the rooftop, where Jace has both his feet on the ledge of the building. Inching closer to the edge slowly.

"Jace!"

I scream his name, terrified, and close the distance between us immediately. I lunge for his arm and pull him back hard. Falling backwards, he tumbles beside me and lies sprawled on his back, all the time wearing a blank and dark expression as his gaze meets the bright afternoon sky.

His eyes.

They are devoid of emotions. Of life and hope.

Like a boy who has lost everything.

"Jace!" I sit upright and lean over him to grasp his shoulders. A swell of emotions rises in my throat as I try to talk sense into him. "Are you alright? Don't think of dying just yet. Please. We can still fight and live through this."

A tremor rocks through his body. He attempts to stand, his spiritless eyes staring toward the dangerous edge, but Zarius blocks his view as I hold him back. We both know what he would do again if we take our eyes off him for even a quick second.

Jace pushes away my hands, trying to shake me off. "Let me go, Delia."

But my hands tighten around him. "No, Jace. Don't be rash. Your family wouldn't want you to do this to yourself."

A sob works its way up his throat. "But what's the point of living now?" he chokes. "I returned home, only to discover...their bodies. I've no one now. They're all gone. My family, my girlfriend... All of them. Dead."

As soon as the words tumble out of his mouth, his tears flow endlessly. The sight makes my vision blur as well. I feel the fresh pain that he does because I've experienced it myself firsthand, and it's going to hurt for a long while.

Jace stares off into the distance. "I would rather die in my own hands than let those things eat me."

And then he cries harder. It's heartbreaking to watch him in this devastating state, knowing that nothing that I say or do can bring back his family. While we were burying Gramps and Maddie's parents, Jace has been all alone grieving for his dead family members.

Without thinking, I embrace him, knowing that what he needs right now is the warmth of a living person. Life is cruel. We all have lost someone, the pain immeasurable, but to keep our hearts from falling apart, humans always try to grasp onto something.

And perhaps, strength comes when one realizes that he's not alone.

"You're not alone, Jace," I say determinedly. "You have us. We got your back, I promise."