I didn't have to sit there alone for long after Evan and Cassie left before Zombie showed up.

"Sorry, Nugget wanted me to read Green Eggs and Ham twice," Zombie said, coming into the living room.

My lips split into a smile and my eyes lit up at the sound of his voice.

"Well you can't pass that up. Green Eggs and Ham is a pretty fine piece of literature," I said, looking up at his approaching figure.

Zombie sat down next to me on the couch, a soft laugh escaping his lips.

"Oh yeah," he said, nodding. "For sure."

I smiled, looking back down at the blanket I had draped across my lap.

Everything was quiet for a moment before Zombie coughed lightly.

"So uh, what I wanted to talk to you about...I wanted to run something by you," he said slowly, scratching the back of his neck with one hand.

"mm yeah?" I asked, looking up at him. "What is it?"

He met my eyes for a second before resting his elbows on his knees, clasping his hands together. He looked out at the fire, every curve and angle of his face illuminating with its light.

"Well, we haven't seen or heard anything from Ringer and Teacup weeks and If they're still out there, maybe they know something..."

"To defeat the Others, " I clarified, my voice soft and slow.

He nodded, gazing over at me before turning back to the fire. "Yeah, to defeat the Others," he said.

I nodded slowly.

I was pretty sure I knew where this was going. And it didn't particularly bother me that he was worried about Ringer and Teacup, but it did bother me that this is what he'd waited all day to talk about. The past couple hours and with Cassie just minutes earlier, I had theorized about him giving some heart-filled declaration of how much I meant to him. Not one part of me thought he'd bring up the single most distasteful person I'd ever met.

"So, I want to find them," Zombie continued. "We know Ringer was heading to the caverns. It's quite possible they're there."

Or they're dead, lying alone on the forest floor, with dried blood covering their frost-bitten skin and crows picking at their rotting flesh.

I tried to not find too much pleasure imagining the glorious Ringer dead.

I shook my head softly. "Ok..." I trailed off, waiting for him to say more.

"I want to head to the caverns. It's not going to be easy. But if Ringer learned anything and she's still out there, it'd be worth it. I don't know exactly how it'd work, but I'm thinking I take one or two people with me with everyone else staying here, where it's safe. We'd take one of the guns, some food, and some knives-"

"You don't need to convince me to let you go," I said, cutting him off.

As much as I hated Ringer, I was worried about Teacup and Zombie was right. If anyone had any idea how to get to the Others at this point, it was Ringer. If she was alive, then it'd be worth our effort to find her.

"If you want to find Ringer, then I think that's what you should do," I said, picking at the ends of the blanket again.

I kept my gaze trained steadily on the threads I was pulling out. "You know how I feel about Ringer, but she's still a part of the squad and she might know something," I confessed.

He didn't say anything so I decided to continue. "What worries me is that you just healed from that bullet wound...and there are silencers everywhere...this isn't going to be some quick and easy mission where you'll be back in 24 hours."

"We'll be careful," Zombie said.

We both knew there were no encouraging words to be said about the silencers. You could be all sorts of careful and take every measure to ensure they don't see you, but there was really no way to safely go about them. They'd shoot at anything that so much as made a single sound.

"Yeah, I know you'll be careful," I murmured.

I drew my gaze away from the fire to look out the window on the other side of the room. After all the waiting, the sky had turned pitch black, making it impossible to see anything of the outside. For all we knew, there could be a silencer outside the door, preparing to attack at any second. That's how it'd be for Zombie when he'd leave for the caverns. He wouldn't see the silencers until it was too late.

I grit my teeth, incredibly annoyed with the predicament we'd found ourselves in. It's like the Others had thought of every possible way to make sure we never stood a chance against them. How were we supposed to defeat them if they had an army of Evans on their side? Physically and mentally, we were light years behind them. There was no clear solution in sight.

"I'm thinking about bringing Dumbo," Zombie said, changing the subject. "That way you'll still have Evan, Cassie, and Flint here in case some shit goes down. I know it's risky taking Dumbo, with him being our designated medic and all...but you-"

I shook my head once, surprised he had even thought in the slightest that I'd agree to stay at the safe house while he went on a suicide mission.

"Excuse me-what?" I asked. "You do know I'm coming with you, right?" I said.

My hands dropped from the blanket, every inch of my body completely and utterly still as I anticipated what he would say next.

I instantly began to relax when Zombie's face broke into a small smile.

"Yeah, I know," he said, pausing to sigh softly. "It was worth a shot."

I smiled softly, laughing quietly to myself. I pursed my lips, a little embarrassed by my sudden outburst.

He knew me well enough now to know me staying behind wouldn't have set well. And I knew him well enough now that me coming along really unsettled him.

From the way he'd acted leaving Poundcake behind and now with his desire to find Ringer, I could tell that the whole incident with his sister had really moved him to become the strong, protective figure in the group. And the more people that went out in the field, the weaker Zombie felt. Especially when it was me going out in the field with him.

"It'll be fun," I reassured, taking his hand.

Zombie bit his lip slightly, nodding once. "mm yeah," he said. He didn't sound too convinced, but I could still see the ghost of a smile on his lips so I took that as a good sign.

Then he coughed and cleared his throat. "Ok, so should Dumbo still come along?" he asked, scratching the back of his neck for what ought've been the billionth time that night. Not that I was complaining, it was a rather attractive gesture.

I took the time to look at Zombie for a moment longer before waging the internal battle going on inside my head.

Should Dumbo come along? Part of me screamed No.

I mean it'd be really nice to have some alone time with Zombie. And you know, it'd be safer going with a smaller group, of course.

But the other part of me desperately pleaded Yes.

He was our medic, and if something were to happen to Zombie or I out in the field, we'd want to have someone with Dumbo's abilities. We would probably need him more than the rest of the squad anyway. They had Evan and at the moment, they weren't in any particular danger being at Grace's house.

"Yes," I finally decide.

Zombie nodded, agreeing. "That's what I was thinking," he said.

I waited for him to say something else, but he was silent, the only sound being the passing of air in and out of his mouth.

"Ok, we'll head out tomorrow," I said gently, squeezing his hand once before pulling away. I stood up, placing the blanket on the couch beside me.

"Wait," Zombie said quickly, standing up to stop me. "Find both of the guns," he said in a low voice.

He placed his hands on my shoulders so that his eyes bore into mine, a hint of desperation shining through his tough facade.

I blinked twice, perplexed at the sudden shift in his attitude.

"We only have two guns," I said slowly. "If we take both, the rest of the squad won't have any."

Zombie nodded. "I know. But we're going to need both. If you're coming, I need you to have one, ok?"

His grip on my shoulders tightened for a minute before I nodded. "Ok," I said simply.

I reflected back on what I'd thought before, when I'd reasoned by Dumbo should come with us. The rest of the squad probably wouldn't be in any danger here. They didn't need the medic so they probably didn't need the extra gun. Maybe taking both of them wasn't such a bad idea.

Zombie nodded once. "Good," he said, satisfied.

He took my face in his hands and pressed his lips firmly against mine. "See you tomorrow," he said softly, kissing me swiftly on the forehead.

"See you tomorrow," I echoed back.

Then Zombie pulled away, heading down the hall to his room. I tried to hide my disappointment as he walked away from me without another word.

I ached to follow him and know the feeling of his arms around me as I fell asleep, but I stayed where I was, rooted to the floor.

We still hadn't talked about our relationship or what was next to come. I didn't know what he wanted or what exactly he thought of me.

One minute he'd be kissing me, a smile on his face, and then the next he'd get a distant look in his eyes and be completely withdrawn.

It was a complicated, confusing mess. And now that we were going out into the field, with silencers and death at every turn, I was doubting that it would ever truly get cleared up.

<><><>

Honestly, this chapter didn't really come together for me. So I apologize if anyone was disappointed with how it turned out.

Additionally, life has been pretty crazy for me. I've been working 40+ hour weeks and barely even have time to eat or sleep the coveted 8 hours. For that, I apologize again because this update was late again.

Anywho, I have a couple new story ideas circulating so by the time this story ends, yall can head on over to my new one! It won't be a fan fiction but I'm 99% sure my main male character will be played by Nick. So hey, why not give it a shot :)

Ok, start the drum roll everyone!

*drumroll*

And....I have decided to enter "Perish" into the Wattys! *crowd cheers*

This means I'll be doing some serious editing to the first two parts (I won't alter the story line or major scenes) to make sure there are no grammar mistakes or weird phrases! So, if you'd like to help ya girl out, I'd love for any and all of you to point out mistakes in my writing!

Wands at the ready, kids! Let's make "Perish" spick and span!