Nugget Pov

We were all sitting around Evan. Aside from Bear, of course. He was sitting on my bed in the other room. I figured I didn't need him as much anymore- it was time for me to grow up.

Minus Bear, Cassie, Dumbo, Zombie, Canary, Poundcake, Flintstone, and I stared at Evan, our eyes bearing into his body. Wake up! we all seemed screamed.

Megan wasn't getting better and we'd procrastinated doing anything about her for a couple days now, which according to Zombie, was too long. We needed to do something before something bad happened. What that was, I didn't know. But Zombie was the leader and I trusted that he knew what he was talking about.

So here we were, all of us sitting on the floor, hoping that Evan would either wake up or that an answer would miraculously come to one of us.

"Anyone have anything?" Flintstone asked.

Our eyes darted momentarily to Flintstone.

"No," Cassie said, her voice breaking.

From the little time I'd seen Cassie around Evan, I knew that he meant a lot to her. This was probably the hardest on her than it was on anyone else. I felt bad. But at the same time, he was an Other. He killed Mommy and Daddy. So honestly, I didn't care if he died or lived.

"No," Dumbo said, trailing off.

Dumbo was disappointed too. Not that Evan was unconscious, but that he was unconscious and despite having medical training, Dumbo couldn't do anything about it. Dumbo blamed himself for the issues we were having with Megan because we were all counting on Evan to pull us out of this rut.

I looked over to Zombie, waiting for him to say something before I did.

He rubbed his eyes before running his hard through his hair. Zombie's hair was longer now than before. He never let Cassie cut his hair, so I was going to start doing the same.

"Ok, what are our options?" Canary asked.

"We can leave her," Flintstone said quietly. "We can leave her and go to the caverns Ringer set out to find. Maybe we'll even catch Ringer on her way back."

"We're not leaving Megan!" I said. "What is she going to do without us? She's going to die!"

"She's probably going to die regardless of what we do," Zombie said.

I shut my mouth. I didn't want to leave Megan but I also didn't want to disagree with Zombie.

"Well there's got to be something we can do," Cassie said, frustrated. "How's Megan doing exactly, Dumbo?" she asked.

Dumbo shook his head softly. "Not great. She's slipping in and out of consciousness. Whenever she is awake, she can't say or do anything. I'm not a doctor or anything-" Dumbo always made sure to add that "-but unless we figure out something to help her, she's probably not going to make it."

"So we need to get the tracking chip out of her throat," Zombie said plainly.

"Ok, so we get the chip out of her throat," Flintstone repeated. "How exactly do you suggest we do that?" he added. Apparently Flintstone and Zombie had some beef with one another because Zombie gave him a cold glare.

"You think I know? That's what we've been trying to figure out for the past week," Zombie said through gritted teeth.

Then I saw the slightest movement- Canary's hand shifting to touch Zombie's. Zombie's tense body seemed to relax. They confused me. Half the time they were arguing like old people and then the next minute they were holding hands or exchanging glances with one another when they thought no one was looking.

I was almost positive they loved one another. But I was pretty sure they didn't know that. Not yet at least.

Flintstone was getting ready to retort something back to Zombie before Canary spoke up.

"Flintstone, can you bring Megan in here?"

Flintstone took a second to look at Canary before nodding. "Yeah."

He got up, left, and came back a minute later holding a sleeping Megan in his arms.

"We're going to have to wake her up," Zombie said, starting to stand up. "Give me your canteen," he said to Dumbo.

Dumbo handed him his canteen. Zombie unscrewed the cap. We watched as he tilted the canteen.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Ever head turned to face the body on the floor in front of us. Dumbo's jaw hung open. Cassie let out a cry of relief.

Evan Walker was awake.

"Evan!" Cassie shouted, scrambling to stand up. She stumbled over to where he was lying and helped him up into a sitting position.

Evan said something to Cassie in a low voice so the rest of us couldn't hear him. Then Cassie said something and Evan smiled.

He reached over and planted a kiss on Cassie's forehead. I looked away, disgusted.

"Why?" Zombie asked loudly, interrupting their moment. "Why shouldn't we wake Megan up?"

"Because it's not a tracking device in her throat," Evan said, looking around Cassie.

What was that supposed to mean?

I was about to open my mouth to ask, but Zombie pointed at the door. "Everyone, out," he said.

I knew better than to argue with Zombie. I hung my head and trudged towards the door alongside Flintstone, Dumbo, and Poundcake.

Cassie didn't follow. The reason for that was obvious. And Canary didn't budge. Zombie couldn't tell her what to do. We all knew that.

Looks like it was just the four of us leaving.

We left the room and closed the door behind us.

"I don't understand why it's always the four of us leaving. I mean, I get why Nugget and Poundcake were told to leave-"

"C'mon Flint, I should be in there just as much as anyone!" I protested, crossing my arms over my chest.

I was tired of always being left out or looked down upon because I was the smallest one here. It wasn't fair. We'd all gone through the same thing and we all had the same right to know what was going on.

"Shh! They're saying something!" Dumbo said in a hushed whisper, his ear up against the door.

"Fine, bro," Flintstone said quietly, holding his hands up.

We stood there in silence, Poundcake, Flintstone, and I all waiting for Dumbo to give us an update on what was going on.

"It's a bomb," Dumbo said quietly. "It's a bomb. In her throat."

Flintstone opened his mouth. "Wha-"

Dumbo put a finger to his lips. "Shh. It's a bomb that's set off by a CO2 intake so that-" his eyes squinted and he moved closer to the door, trying to decipher the next part of the sentence.

"that's why we can't wake her up because then she'll take a deep breath," Flintstone finished thoughtfully.

My eyes widened. I didn't know exactly what they were talking about, but I knew enough to know that Megan was a bigger problem than we'd originally thought.

"Zombie just called Evan a 'dipshit'," Dumbo said casually. He waited for a second, inching closer to the door. "And then Canary told Zombie to stop being a 'dipshit'..."

"Wow, very informative, thanks," Flintstone said, rolling his eyes. "What are they saying about Megan?"

Dumbo gave Flintstone a dirty look before concentrating again on the door. "Uh...it's possible to get the bomb out," he said slowly.

I smiled. "Great! So we can save Megan!"

Flintstone and Poundcake rose a finger to their lips. "Quiet! We don't want everyone and their mother knowing we're listening," Flintstone snapped.

"Shh all of you!" Dumbo said.

We shut our mouths.

"It's possible to get the bomb out...but the odds of it not detonating are a lot better if-" Dumbo stopped mid-sentence. His eyes widened and he moved slightly away from the door.

"Well?" Flintstone asked impatiently, putting his hands on his hips.

"A lot better if what?" I asked, cocking my head to the side in confusion.

"If we kill her first," Dumbo said quietly.

~*~*~*~

Canary pov

It'd been a couple hours since I'd last seen Zombie.

After Evan woke up and we found out that the tracking chip in Megan's throat wasn't actually a tracking chip after all- but instead, a bomb, I'd caught the four boys lurking outside, eavesdropping.

After that, I caught them up on what was happening and I decided to stay with them the rest of the night. I didn't know how Megan was doing or what Zombie, Cassie, and Evan had decided to do about her.

And now, hours later, long after Flintstone, Poundcake, Dumbo, and Nugget had all gone to bed, I was still up.

I wasn't going to sleep until I knew what had happened. I stroked Nugget's hair, happy that after a whole hour of Nugget's probing questions about Megan, he'd finally fallen asleep.

The door creaked open and I turned my head, careful to not make any sudden movements to avoid waking Nugget.

It was Cassie.

"Canary," she whispered.

I carefully set Nugget down on the floor and drew his thin blanket up to his chin.

I tiptoed around the sleeping bodies, making my way to the door. "What happened?" I asked Cassie.

She ushered me outside and closed the door behind us.

"Ben tried to kill Megan," Cassie said quietly. "But he couldn't do it. He wouldn't say why but Evan and I going to try to get the bomb out tomorrow. For now, Megan is in Evan's room."

I nodded slowly. I wasn't sure if I should be relieved or not. Great, Zombie didn't kill someone. But not great, Megan was still a ticking time bomb that could go off any minute. We still needed to find a way to destroy the bomb, or find a way to extract it... all the while knowing that every second we waited was a second closer to when we'd all be blown sky high.

"How's uh he doing?" I asked, shifting uncomfortably. "Zombie, I mean."

"Ask him yourself. He's in the next room over," Cassie said. "I'll take over watch duty."

"Thanks," I said gratefully.

Cassie and I got along better now after we'd nearly died during our stupid escapade to find supplies. I didn't know if we were quite at the level of being friends yet but we weren't awkward acquaintances anymore, which was a step in the right direction.

"Oh, and Canary?" Cassie said.

I nodded. "Yeah?"

"I'm sorry."

"About what?" I asked.

"I always knew that Ben liked you. Even in high school. I just didn't want to believe it so I didn't tell you. I'm sorry about that. I realize now that I made a mistake. It wasn't fair to you and it wasn't fair to Ben."

I shook my head softly. "It's fine Cassie, really. Everything is ok now" I paused, "I mean, considering everything that's going on. I don't care about what happened in high school anymore. It's all in the past...and that's where it should stay."

Cassie nodded. "Thanks, for understanding," she said.

I nodded. "Yeah."

Cassie smiled back before heading down the hall to Evan's room.

Cassie's apology was unexpected. And it surprised me that she had known all along and hadn't bothered to tell me. But it was fine. Cassie and I were good and for the first time since the waves, I was actually happy. I'd let the past bother me for far too long.

I walked down the hall, and pushed open Zombie's door, moving inside to where he was sitting on the floor.

He was looking out the window, with his legs out in front of him and his back against the wall, propped up with a pillow. l. The circles under his eyes seemed to have gotten darker and his lips were pressed into a thin line. My heart fluttered and I had to take a deep breath. I didn't know if I should hate him or love him for making me feel this way.

"How's your leg?" I decided to ask, coughing slightly.

Zombie looked up, the corner of his lips turning into a small smile. "It's fine," he said.

I crossed my arms, trying my best not to smile. "You sure about that? You're not lying to me?"

Zombie gave me a small deep laugh. "I'm not," he said.

I smiled, unable to keep it in any longer. I sat down next to him, pulling part of the blanket over my legs.

"Are you ok?" I asked softly, looking sideways at him.

He looked down at his hands, his hair flopping into his eyes through the process. "Cassie told you, I'm guessing?" he said.

I nodded. "She did," I said. "We're going to figure out something to do about Megan one way or another, we always do. Don't blame yourself for this."

"I just couldn't do it, I couldn't kill her," he said. "I'm just mad at myself for thinking that I could...for thinking that she didn't matter."

"Zombie, she has a bomb in her throat. There's not many ways this could go down," I said. "And there's more bad ways this could go than good. Please don't be hard on yourself. No one judges you for trying. I don't judge you for trying."

He leaned his head back against the wall, his jaw clenching. "She's still a problem," he said. "Me not killing her only means that we're still in danger."

I gave him a small smile. "Zombie, when are we not in danger? If Megan weren't here, we'd have some other problem to deal with."

He laughed softly, a ghost of a smile dancing on his lips. "You're right. God, why are you always right?"

My cheeks grew warmer and I had to bite my lip softly to stop myself from smiling too much. "I mean, I'm not always right."

Zombie's eyes met mine for a second before he reached over, sliding his palm against my cheek.

My eyes darted down to his lips before as my heartbeat started to quicken. If it weren't for Megan or the rest of the squad, I'd ask Zombie if we could just stay like this forever. I'd ask if we could leave the hotel and never look back.

I had myself believing that for all of two seconds before a knock came to the door.

"Canary? Zombie? Are you in here?"

I guess Nugget hadn't actually fallen asleep after all.

Zombie let out a small sigh, letting his hand drop from my cheek.

I pursed my lips in slight annoyance. "Yes, Nugget," I said.

"Can I stay with you guys tonight?" Nugget asked, his face illuminated by the moonlight as he stepped inside the doorway. "I can't sleep."

I nodded, diverting my eyes from Zombie's face.

Nugget smiled and brought his pillow over, settling down in between Zombie and I.

I loved Nugget, probably too much, but at that moment, all I wanted to do was cry out in frustration.

It got me wondering if there'd ever be a time I could truly forget about everything and just be selfish for once.

No I thought. If it hadn't been Nugget, it would've been something else. An Other would've crashed through the window or the hotel would've burst into flames.

Our world had no room for selfishness.

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Hey everyone! Sorry for the late updated.

The chapter was a transition chapter so I apologize for the slowness.

Shoutout to my favorite comment by @voidstydia_24 from the last chapter!

I'll be picking my favorite comment from this chapter to should out in chapter 12 so comment away!

I'm officially on summer break now so get ready for updates upon updates upon updates!