Things were mostly quiet after Iszak and Christian left to go hunting. Raith's obvious mood change left no one in the mood for small talk, and so we simply continued onward. Achlys seemed confident that Iszak and Christian would catch up to us, so there was no need to stop early to make camp. Everyone else was of the same mindset, and since I was the brand new minority, my vote to stop and rest was overridden.

I suppose it was a good thing that we kept going. The longer we continued to press onward, the sooner we would arrive at rebel headquarters. No one had mentioned what headquarters looked like, and so I was increasingly eager to find out. If the direction we were headed gave any indication, I'd say they were in the desert or beach, which didn't surprise me. The desert, in particular, was very isolated—not many wanted to stay there for any sort of prolonged time period.

Sure, people vacationed there. My own family had gone to the desert for a short stay. If anything, though, that only cemented my certainty that the desert would be the best place for headquarters. We had stayed for all of twenty minutes. Just long enough for my delicate mother to faint and for my father to declare that we were never leaving the COMPOUND ever again.

I smiled softly at the memory, my thoughts again filling with worries about my family. I wondered what Leyca was doing right now, if my father had already passed her off to Jerr. My father may have helped me get to where I was, but I was not convinced that he'd had a total change of heart. To me, he would always be the cold and distant father, who I never really knew growing up. He would always be the man who provided for me, but didn't love me. A moment of love from him didn't change a lifetime of distance.

I wasn't quite sure when my relationship with my father began to deteriorate. I remember loving him when I was young, I really do. There were happy memories, as distant as they were. But then something changed. Our whole relationship fell to pieces, and I could never remember why I began to resent him.

Perhaps it was the birth of Leyca that hurt our standing so much. Although I was quite young at the time, I loved Leyca from the day she was born. I knew that I would spend my whole life loving her and taking care of her. My father, on the other hand, didn't seem nearly as enamored as I did. In fact, it rather seemed like he couldn't care less about Leyca. Some of my earliest memories after our relationship fell apart were of him drinking in his office, crying. Looking back on it now, it's a bit easier to say that he probably wanted another son. Daughters were hard to deal with, and never really amounted to anything in the eyes of a politician.

My thoughts turned to Leyca, and an overwhelming guilt settled over me. I should have brought her with me, and kept her away from Jerr. I knew he wanted to marry her, and I knew what that would mean for her. Now that I was gone, there was no one there to keep my sweet Leyca from becoming just as washed as every other woman. After being out here, with two vivacious and strong women, I felt even worse.

This is what I wanted for my sister. I wanted her to be able to grow into one of these passionate, life-living women that I met. I wanted her to be as strong as Chrissi, as loved as Lessi, and as confident as Achlys. The thing that tore me apart the most was that I had chosen to leave her behind, and now she would never be able to experience any of this.

I shook my head. This endless wondering wasn't going to get me anywhere. I refocused my attention on the path up ahead, walking on even though I was exhausted.

It was probably another two hours or so before Achlys finally called for us to stop and make camp. I heaved a sigh of relief, shrugging off my bag in order to help get things set up. Now that we were far enough away from the COMPOUND, we were able to set up actual tents in order to keep warm.

Lexter and I set to work putting up the two-person tent that we would share. It was easier to sleep in a tent with someone so close to my own age, and the close quarters would ensure that our shared body heat would keep us warm.

I wondered who would be sharing a tent with Chrissi. The tents were quite small, so fitting three people into such a small place would be rather difficult, and we only had three tents. Not only that, but being a girl trapped between two men in an area like that would be especially uncomfortable. I turned to Lexter. "Hey, any chance you want to sleep out under the stars tonight?"

He gave me an odd look, raising an eyebrow. "Not especially, why?"

I explained my reasoning with Christian, worried about her being uncomfortable with having to spend the evening in such tight quarters with people she'd only just met. Lexter seemed to think about it, and then silently pulled his things out of the tent. "You're right, I suppose. Doesn't mean I'm going to enjoy the next eight hours, but it's a necessary evil." He reached in and pulled out my things as well, setting them next to me.

We finished pulling out our thermal blankets and laid them out next to each other, just close enough to share warmth but far enough apart that neither of us would be uncomfortable. We were going to need that warmth, from what I could feel in the air. The chill that was settling in was dark and heavy, and although we were approaching the desert at a fairly rapid pace, we hadn't left the forested depths of the mountain just yet. Therefore, the air was quite chilled, especially as night steadily fell over us.

Achlys made the call to start up a fire, especially when she saw that Lexter and I would not be in a tent for the evening. We were far enough from the COMPOUND now that a small amount of smoke wouldn't make a difference, and we would need the fire for both its heat and to cook the meat once Iszak and Chriss returned. Multiple times, she tried to persuade the two of us to take her and Iszak's tent, but neither of us were willing to do so. We both knew that Achlys had been the one to stay awake consistently in the guard suit, and although she was completely healthy after doing so, she still needed to ensure quality rest for the next few days.

Once the fire was started, everyone began to get hungry. I could hear the rumbling of stomachs across the fire, and my own rolled uncomfortably. We hadn't eaten much food since the beginning of our journey, and we were a few protein bars short of being without any food. There was an unspoken agreement that no one would eat anything until Iszak and Chrissi came back. If they hadn't caught anything substantial, we needed to have food preserved and rationed for the next few days.

The fire began to dwindle, and Raith and Tavion decided to head to bed. Achlys had asked them to head the scouting tomorrow, so they would be leaving earlier than everyone else. It only made sense that they were the first ones to hit the hay.

The only noise as Achlys, Lexter, and I sat around the campfire was the crackling and popping of the wood. No one was quite ready to sleep. I knew Achlys wanted to stay up until Iszak got back, and I wanted to make sure that Chrissi got home safe. From the looks of it, Lexter would be falling asleep soon enough anyway, so it would be just Achlys and me to greet them.

As I suspected, Lexter soon retired to his sleeping mat, stretching out without a word, and turning away from the flames to find his rest.

It was very late when Iszak and Christian arrived at camp. Achlys had already switched on her guard suit in order to stay awake, and I was fighting back yawns. However, I couldn't bring myself to go to sleep, and I knew she couldn't either. The only way we'd rest easy was once we knew they were back here and safe.

I huddled into myself, and only shifted position once I heard the footsteps of Iszak and Christian coming towards us. With a sigh of relief, I pushed myself up to greet them. Iszak came into camp first, set his pack on the dirt, and went straight up to Achlys, giving her a tight hug and warm kiss. My cheeks warmed at the sight of it, and I turned away, unsure of how to feel at seeing such an intimate moment.

Christian came in behind him, and seemed a little embarrassed by their display of affection. I smiled at her, as did Achlys and Iszak. Achlys hugged Iszak tightly once more, before she released him. He automatically reached for her hand, entwining their fingers together.

Achlys leaned into him lightly, snuggling up to him in a way that I didn't quite expect to see from someone so independent. Christian cleared her throat, the noise a glare into their happy moment. "Uh, I think I'm going to get some sleep..." She shifted her weight uncomfortably, and the look on her face made me laugh, and Iszak joined in.

"We'll stop for a while, I promise. But it's a ritual to enjoy at least some of the meat that comes back to us after a hunting trip the same night. Come on, we'll build up the fire again and enjoy. We're far enough away from the COMPOUND that it won't draw any unwanted attention," Achlys decided.

Iszak walked over to his pack, and pulled out a plump rabbit. Grabbing the knife that was stored in his pocket, he set to work skinning the creature. Achlys pulled out a smaller bird, and set to work doing the same. Christian and I gathered kindling and twigs to light a small fire with, and once we had a small blaze going, we worked on constructing a spit to roast the rabbit on. Christian told me everything that I needed to do, since I obviously didn't have much experience in the fine art of spit construction.

It didn't take too long to roast the rabbit. Gradually, the smell woke everyone except Raith. We had all become relatively hungry, since we'd decided to preserve our food in case the hunting trip didn't prove to be as lucrative as we'd hoped. No one felt suitably fed, so the alluring scent of roasting meat dragged them all from their slumbers.

We all spoke quietly, so as to not wake Raith, while Iszak started carving off chunks for all of us. Though initially put off at the idea of eating rabbit, something unheard of in the COMPOUND, I was pleasantly surprised by the taste of the food. It was hot and delicious, though a little bland due to our lack of food seasoning. It was exactly what I needed to eat to settle my uneasy stomach. I curled into myself, basking in the warmth of the fire, grateful for its heat when such frigid air surrounded us.

I looked across the fire at Iszak and Achlys, just as he leaned down to whisper something in her ear. A light blush crept across my face, once again embarrassed at being part of what seemed to be an intimate moment. But when I watched the blood drain from Achlys' face, I knew that Iszak wasn't exactly whispering sweet nothings to her. She gave a small nod, and tried to resume being part of the group.

I tried to enjoy the time that I spent with the group. Raith finally woke up, so we were free to be as loud as we wanted. We laughed and talked while eating the delicious meat. In fact, I couldn't remember the last time I'd eaten something so tender and flavorful, though that was likely due more to my living on sustenance bars for the past few months rather than the true deliciousness of the food. Unfortunately, even the satisfying meal could not hold my attention for very long. My mind continually drifted back to Iszak, and thoughts of what it could be that had frightened Achlys so much.

Iszak wrapped his arms around Achlys, and she leaned back into him slightly, settling my nerves a bit. It couldn't be nearly as bad as I thought if they were still so willing to be romantic. I was satisfied until I head Raith ask, "Achlys, are you alright?" His voice carried a tone of clinical concern. His medical side was coming out, as it always seemed to.

She sighed. "I'm fine, thanks for asking. Just enjoying the meal." Raith hesitated, before nodding and turning away to join in the conversations. I didn't quite buy her response, now that I knew I wasn't the only one noticing her odd behavior.

Gradually, everyone drifted back off to sleep, heading into their respective tents. Christian raised a storm when she realized that Lexter and I wanted her to sleep in a tent by herself, so Lexter finally relented and pulled his things into the tent. I went to lay on my mat, but sleep evaded me, especially when I heard Achlys and Iszak strike up a conversation.

"Do you think he's asleep?" Iszak asked, obviously talking about me.

Achlys let out a small laugh and called out softly, "Evrynn? Are you awake?" It was Iszak's turn to laugh now, but they both waited to make sure that I didn't respond.

I remained silent, wanting to reassure myself that they were both fine.

"Sorry, love. Everything's fine. I didn't mean to worry you so much."

There was a short pause, and I couldn't help but wonder what was going on. Finally, Achlys said, "Talk. Because you've got some explaining to do, mister." His laugh rumbled in his chest, and Achlys joined him momentarily. There was silence again, and I strained to hear Iszak's next words.

"Christian saw my tattoo," he said softly.

"What? How? Are you okay?" Achlys bombarded him with question after question, her voice raising to a higher pitch in her obvious panic. I first wondered what a tattoo was, uncertain as to what it meant. Then I wondered what implications it had. It was obviously rather important that Christian had seen it. It sounded as though Iszak was hiding something rather serious from everyone except Achlys—well, and now Christian.

Iszak continued speaking. "I'm fine, I'm fine," he grumbled. "It just caught me off guard. I wasn't sure what to tell her, so I kind of ended up telling her the truth."

There was a tremendously long pause. "You... told her?"

"Not everything. I don't think I could've gotten through that, regardless of whether or not I could think of an excuse. I'm not entirely sure of everything that I told her. I might've told her a bit more than I normally do, because I was so caught off-guard. I just thought you'd probably like to know."

His voice had grown husky with emotion during his story, and there was another long silence. The tension was growing thicker, and I could barely stop myself from popping up and asking Iszak and Achlys to explain themselves. It was only my lack of relationship with either one that prevented me from doing so. I knew that, at this point, I didn't have substantial enough evidence to accuse either of them of anything more serious than a tattoo. Not that I even knew what a tattoo was.

"Achlys," his voice sounded pained, tight and thick. "What if.."

Achlys cut him off before he could speak. "Don't. Don't even say it. Don't even think about it. You know why? Because it's not real. You're imagining it. And if you let yourself think about it, it's just going to hurt more when you realize that you were wrong."

Everything fell completely silent after that, just the sounds of the fire dying out, and my own breathing. I forced myself to close my eyes, and waited to re-open them until I heard the sounds of Achlys and Iszak getting into and closing their tent. When they finally did, I let out a soft sigh, and allowed myself to sit up, thoughts crowding into my head and making it pound unbearably.

I didn't know what they were talking about, but it sounded serious to me. Every part of me wanted to trust both of them, but I knew that it would be foolish to go into this situation blind. I had heard rumors about the rebellion, and if they ended up being true, I didn't want to get caught in the cross-fire.

My mind was racing, and I wasn't sure what else to do, so I forced myself to lie down and attempt to rest. Sleep was a long way off, but I eventually drifted into a tormented oblivion.

~

When I woke the next morning, I bolted upright at the touch of a hand on my shoulder. "Woah, bud! Easy there. Just waking you up to help pack up camp," the voice soothed. I groaned at the sound of Iszak's voice, still uneasy from the words I'd overheard the previous evening. Rolling away from him, I pushed myself up quickly, my body sore and aching from the nightmares that had plagued me all evening.

"I'm awake," I told him. He smirked slightly at me, but it disappeared the instant he took in my bloodshot eyes and obvious exhaustion.

"Are you okay?" He asked haltingly, studying my face for signs of what might be wrong with me. I flinched when he reached a hand out to me, feeling slightly guilty when I saw his face drop with worry.

"I'm fine. Just... a long night..." I related softly, turning away from him. I heard the soft sigh he let out, and I saw him run his hand through his hair in the corner of my eye.

"Please don't do this to us, Evrynn. Everyone has their hopes up that you will be different, that you'll be one of the only slickers who doesn't abandon the cause when things get rough. Please don't prove us wrong," he finished quietly, and turned and left.

I turned around quickly, ready to correct him, and then decided against it. If that's what he wanted to believe... well it was certainly easier than trying to explain what I had overheard last night. I didn't like that he thought I would revert so quickly, but if that's what kept me from having to explain what was really wrong, then I would have to deal with it.

I rolled up my sleeping mat and packed it away. Once I was finished, I went to help Lexter and Christian with their tent, but was hurried away after being told that they could do it alone. I then went to help with the other two tents, but was pushed away there too. It seemed as though my help wasn't needed or wanted anywhere. Maybe letting Iszak think that I wanted to desert was going to have a harsher impact on me than I originally thought.

I sighed and sat down in front of what used to be the fire, pulling my knees up to my chest and closing my tired eyes. Images from my nightmares flashed across my mind. Iszak standing over me while I slept, a devious device clutched in his hand, a maniacal smile painted across his face, laughing at the red splatter of blood he'd left on my now torn apart chest. The scene changed. Achlys and Christian, laying in the same pool of blood, arrows thrusting out from each limb. I run over to them, desperately trying to wake them up and save their lives, but I know that I am helpless. I look up, and see a near mirror imagine across a river from us. My mother and Leyca are lying there in a shared pool of blood, arrows in each limb, but it is my father standing over them who is helpless.

I forced my eyes open with a bloodcurdling scream, unable to take any more torment, and ran off before I had to face anyone in this group. I couldn't bear to see any of them right now. The thought of facing these people who I barely even knew filled me with such abject terror that I couldn't even begin to understand.

I headed into the forest at a dead sprint, planning to continue running until I was certain I'd gotten away. I heard footsteps following my sprint at the same pace, and I knew right away that they belonged to Iszak. He was the only one who would follow me. I quickened my pace, but just as I did so, my foot caught on a protruding root and I went down.