NaNoWriMo 2020 TTtW Story

In honour of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), all 30 stories written in the month of November will (hopefully) create a single multi-part story that will reach its conclusion by the end of the month. Stay tuned for a new story part every day!

Read the entire NaNoWriMo 2020 TTtW story here!

Part 1: SKYE’S POV

I swear, the stars used to be brighter. I couldn’t tell you if that was before or after the apocalypse, but I’m sure that at a certain point in my life, they were brighter.

Or maybe it’s just wishful thinking on my part. Maybe the stars always used to look like this. Or maybe I’m just missing the time when everything was brighter.

The time when everything made sense.

I sigh and pick my way back through the bushes. I know that Marcus is waiting for me, but that doesn’t exactly motivate me to head back to camp any faster. So, I take my time. Because why the hell not?

Still, I have to head back eventually. When I do, I find Marcus waiting for me, his foot tapping impatiently and that disappointed look that I’ve gotten to know so well plastered all over his face.

“You’re late,” he growls.

“So what?” I say as I pass him. I walk through the camp to my tent as he trails along behind me.

“You need to come back at the agreed upon time,” he chastises me. “We were worried about you.”

I spin around to face him. “No,” I snarl, “you weren’t worried about me. I know what you and Vinny say behind my back. I know that you call me useless and that you wish that I was dead. You just wait for me because you want everyone else to think that you’re a caring leader so that they’ll worship you and give you their extra rations as thanks for keeping them safe. But I’m not falling for it.”

Marcus looks almost amused at my outburst. “Then why are you still here?” he asks, cocking an eyebrow.

I scowl at him but don’t give him the satisfaction of a response. Instead, I turn and push my way into my tent.

As soon as I’m inside, I sit down, pulling my knees against my chest. He doesn’t deserve to know my story. What I’ve given up. What I’ve seen. And even if I did tell him, he wouldn’t understand.

But maybe he’s right. Maybe it’s time that I got out of here. Because let’s face it: it’s only a matter of time before I hurt everyone here. It’s only a matter of time before I kill them. Just like I killed my family.

Part 2: MASON’S POV

The apocalypse has taken everything from me. Mom, Dad, Garrett, everyone. They were all gone on the very first day. The Day of the Halving, they call it, because they approximated that half of the world’s population had been wiped out right away.

Now, one hundred and twenty-three days later, I’m fairly certain that the remaining population’s been halved again.

So, how am I still alive? A brainless, useless lump of flesh and bone?

Well, I’d honestly chalk it all up to sheer luck. That, and my incredible pre-existing exercise regime.

I’m mostly kidding about that, but quite honestly, I’m so glad that I decided to take gym class in all four year of high school. I was actually in gym class when we received the news of the apocalypse.

The running shoes helped a bit, but the shorts and t-shirt in the snow part wasn’t extremely comfortable.

But I prefer not to think about the beginning days. I like to stay in the present, to focus on what I can control.

And right now, I’d really like to find some other people. I don’t think I’ve seen another living creature in over a month now, and I’m starting to go slightly insane. More insane than I’d gotten after seeing my big brother get ripped to pieces right in front of me, that is.

I miss Garrett. I miss him more than anything. If I’m being honest, his smile is the only thing that’s keeping me going. Because that’s my last memory of him. He freaking smiled as he was getting torn apart. Because he wanted to let me know that everything would be okay.

Even though everything was the complete opposite of okay. It still is.

Ugh, there I go again, dwelling in the past. No, Mason, don’t think about that. Think about the present. Concentrate.

I saw smoke rising from the forest that looks like it’s about a day’s journey from where I am now. With any luck, it’ll be a camp with actual human survivors and not just their burning remains. And, with just a little bit more luck, they won’t want to kill me.

I guess I’ll find out tomorrow.

Part 3: SKYE’S POV

I’ve decided: I’m leaving. Today. Right now, in fact.

Which also means that now it’s time for the tricky part. The escape.

Vinny’s probably awake already, smoking whatever they looted from the last trip into town. Unfortunately, he’s the one that’s the real danger to me. Literally anyone else would’ve been fine, but Vinny would rather shoot me than let me leave with any of the group’s supplies.

So, I’ve got to do this carefully. Very carefully. Which, I’ll admit, isn’t one of my strongest suits.

Still, I think that I can muster the tiniest bit of carefulness to make it out of here alive.

I slip out of my tent, trying to make as little sound as possible, and head to the back entrance of the camp. It’s Dana’s surveillance shift, and she probably won’t question me heading out with a massive backpack.

As I creep through the camp, the stench of tobacco catches in my nostrils. I feel it claw its way down my throat and eventually settling there.

My eyes bug out as I try not to cough. But it’s too late.

I blink and Vinny’s standing in front of me, smoke surrounding him.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he spits. A drop of saliva flies from his mouth and lands on my cheek.

I curl my lip in disgust but don’t bother wiping it off. His next words will just send more saliva my way anyhow.

“I was going to check the supplies,” I say.

“Just tell me the truth!” he roars, towering over me. His eyes are wide and I can sense the rage building in him.

And, me being the stupid person that I am, I do the exact opposite of the most logical thing.

I’ll probably regret it later. But at least I’ll be free.

Part 4: MASON’S POV

The smoke becomes thicker as I push through the trees. Finally, I get to a clearing.

The camp. I’ve made it.

Except it’s exactly what I feared. Burnt to the ground. Gone.

I let out an annoyed groan and sink to my knees. Why does the apocalypse have to be such a downer.

After sitting in the mud for a good moment, I force myself to get up and check out the camp because who knows, maybe there’s still someone there.

I carefully make my way toward the still-smoking campsite. My heart pounds in the eerie silence.

It’s at times like these that I wish I had a weapon. Not that it would help much if whoever did this is still here, but somehow the thought of just having something in my hands is still comforting.

I reach the edge of the campsite. So far so good.

I decide to take a chance.

“Hello?”

My voice echoes through the silence. Not even a bird gets scared away by the sound.

I sigh. I guess there really isn’t anyone here.

I enter the camp, letting my guard down slightly. Of course, there’s a chance that there is still someone hiding among the burnt remains of the tents, but I feel like I probably would’ve heard something by now.

The camp looks fairly empty. There’s burnt tents, burnt weapons, burnt bodies, and burnt rations. So nothing particularly interesting.

Oh wait. Now actually, there is something interesting here.

A backpack. It isn’t burnt in the slightest, not even the slightest bit charred.

I pick it up and open it up. The contents are… bizarre… to say the least. A comic book, two razor-sharp knives, a USB drive, and a single perfectly ripe tomato.

Whoever burnt this place down must’ve been holding the backpack and then dropped it before they left.

But why would they have dropped it? And, much more importantly, where are they now?

Part 5: SKYE’S POV

“Please forgive me.”

How many times have I said those words? How many more times will I have to say them?

And why does my stupid mind even think that I deserve forgiveness? I’m a murderer. That’s the truth, whether I like it or not.

Sure, I could chalk it up to self-defense and survival, but if I’m being honest with myself, that’s not a good enough excuse.

Once upon a time, I would’ve rather died than take another’s life.

How long ago that feels now.

I sigh as I stumble through the forest. I never realized before how much I had, how fortunate I was. I guess you hear it all the time, “You don’t know how lucky you are!” Of course I didn’t realize it then. Why would I even think about it? Why, when there was even more to have?

And, of course, I’d dropped by backpack full of supplies before I’d fled from the camp. I thought I’d heard someone and the pack had slipped right off my shoulder. I’d been too spooked to even think about grabbing it before bolting.

But there’s no way I’m going back to see if it’s still there. It’s probably completely safe, seeing as ours was the only camp on this side of the river, but I can’t bear the thought of going back and seeing what I’d done.

Forgiveness… No. I don’t deserve it.

Nor do I deserve mercy. So, I’ll suffer. Because that’s what I deserve.

Garrett would’ve tried to convince me otherwise. He always saw the best in me. No matter how much of a jerk I was being that day, he would always find a way to make me remember that I was a good person.

Hah, I challenge you to find something good about me now, Garrett. Find something beautiful in your monster of a girlfriend.

I sink to my knees in the dirt. I miss him. More than anything. I just hope that he’s still alive. Maybe if I saw him again, I’d be able to remember a time when I wasn’t… this.

But even then, I don’t think I’d be able to forgive myself.

Part 6: MASON’S POV

Garrett would’ve been so disappointed in me.

I sigh as I wipe the last of the tomato’s juices from my mouth. He would’ve scolded me for not rationing it out, but I was hungry, so I ate the tomato.

Garrett isn’t here anyway, so I can do whatever I want.

I let another big sigh as I kick around some of the ashes. As far as I can tell, this fire was pretty recent. Which means that I just missed the action. Which is both a blessing and a curse.

On one hand, I would’ve loved being able to see actual people again. But on the other hand, I’m glad I’m still alive.

A sudden fluttering sound scares the crap out of me. Immediately, I scramble for shelter.

My heart pounds as I peek out from the burnt flaps of fabric that are all that make up the singed tent. Two pure white birds are flapping around right beside the campsite.

My mouth drops open. I haven’t seen another living creature in what feels like forever.

I have no idea what comes over me, but I find myself approaching these beautiful, pure birds. They ignore me completely and let me approach until I can see every single perfect feather on their bodies.

I’ve decided: I’m keeping them. Somehow, I’m going to capture them and they’ll be my companions during the apocalypse.

I set down my backpack to find the length of rope that I found at a city a few weeks ago. I’m in the process of tying an extremely crude lasso when a sharp snap echoes around.

The birds’ heads shoot up as they try to find the source of the sound. I do the same, allowing my eyes to dart around.

I don’t see anything.

Still keeping an eye out, I go back to tying my rope. Just as the first loop is finished, I’m hit with a wave of regret. What am I doing, capturing these beautiful creatures? Have I really sank so low that I want to force these birds to suffer the same pain of flightlessness as me?

I let out a disgusted sigh and let the rope drop from my hands. They deserve to be free.

I’m about to try scaring them off when a flash of movement catches my eye.

There, in the forest, behind the birds. A teenaged girl, maybe one or two years older than me.

My heart jumps. Another human being.

I raise my hand to catch her attention, but her eyes are fixed on my two friends. She raises her hand, pointing a quivering finger at me.

Before I have a chance to yell or move or do anything at all, the world is engulfed in flames.

Part 7: SKYE’S POV

I’m not entirely sure what came over me. I shouldn’t have reacted so quickly, nor so recklessly. Yet, here I stand, above the remains of the two birds I just burnt to a crisp because they had moved.

Yep, you heard that right. I burnt the birds because I was jumpy. Honestly, I’m glad that no one else was around.

Something familiar peeks out from beneath the ashes. My backpack.

I frown as I walk over to it. I was sure that I left it at the camp. So how did it get here?

Looking around quickly, I scoop up my backpack and race back to the forest. Once I’m under the cover of the trees, I open my pack to see that everything is still there. Well, almost everything.

I let out a groan of frustration as I rifle through my backpack. My tomato is gone.

Great, so now I have no food. I guess it’s not like my tomato would’ve lasted a long time, but I love tomatoes and it was kind of the only thing keeping me going.

My hand hits something hard. I frown and grab the object and pull it out of my bag.

It’s a book. A notebook, actually.

I flip through the pages and see various designs of strange-looking, fantastical animals. I stop on one of the pages to read the scribbles underneath the picture.

The ‘mermicorn’ is a mix between a unicorn and a mermaid. D’vira Shiddan’s companion is a mermicorn as she travels from Hodie to Eif.

I cock my head as I examine the picture. Honestly, the drawing is quite good. Sure, the unicorn torso looks a bit strange attached to the mermaid tail, but the details are incredible.

I continue flipping through the pages until I find a name written in the top of the back cover.

Mason Barlowe

The notebook falls the the ground as my fingers go numb. No, it couldn’t be…

Part 8: MASON’S POV

The girl looks so familiar… I swear I’ve seen her around before.

I crouch in the trees as she looks through the backpack. Oh crap, she found my notebook.

She slowly turns, looking around her. I push myself even further down into the bushes as her gaze rakes over my hiding spot.

“Mason?” she calls. “Mason, are you there?”

She looks my way again and I catch a glimpse of her eyes.

Those eyes…

Skye.

I let out a gasp and slowly stand up. Immediately, her eyes fall on me.

“Mason,” she says, her mouth dropping open. “How…”

I walk to her and cut her off with a big hug. She squeezes me back, still babbling incoherently.

Finally, I let her go and look over her.

“You look like crap,” I inform her.

She ignores me, instead grabbing my arm and looking through the trees. “Mason, where’s Garrett?”

My heart drops. How am I supposed to tell my brother’s girlfriend that he was brutally mauled to pieces by one of those mutant monsters? That I saw it and did nothing?

“Mason?”

I sigh and take her hand. “Garrett… He…”

A sob rises in my throat and I drop my head. “I’m sorry,” is all I can manage to whisper.

Skye lets out a gasp and drops to the ground. I don’t know what to do as she cries at my feet. Eventually, I crouch down next to her and put my arms around her, but it just feels wrong. I was a coward when it mattered most. I should’ve died with Garrett, but instead I ran. I ran, and now I have to live with the consequences.

Finally, Skye stops crying. She rubs the tears from her face and lets out a long sigh.

We sit in silence for a moment. But I can’t resist the urge to say, “So, you’re one of them now, aren’t you?”

She looks up at me sharply. “You saw that?”

“You almost blew me up,” I tell her before quickly adding, “But it’s okay. Obviously. Because I’m still alive.”

She frowns for a moment before seeming to deflate. “Yeah, I guess I’m one of them.”

I nod. “Okay.”

“What, you don’t want to get rid of me now because I’m one of them?”

I look down at her. “Skye, you’re the only living human being I’ve seen in over two months. It’s you and me now, you got that? We’re going to get through this together.”

She shakes her head. “I don’t know if I want to get through this,” she murmurs. “Everyone’s gone.”

“We’re not gone,” I say firmly. “We’re alive. And we’re going to stay alive for as long as we can.”

“Why?”

“Because we can,” I say. “Because we have this chance that not many other people do.”

Because Garrett gave this chance to me.

I hesitate for a moment before holding out my hand to her and adding, “For Garrett.”

Skye thinks it over for a second before nodding. “Okay,” she says, taking my hand. “For Garrett.”

Part 9: SKYE’S POV

Life is bittersweet.

On one hand, I now have a companion. On the other, I just learned that the love of my life is dead.

Still, I guess it’s kind of nice to spend time with Mason. We always got along, even if it was always just the weird boyfriend’s-brother-type relationship.

Then again, I can’t exactly afford to be picky about my companions at the moment, given that I just blew up the only inhabited campsite on this side of the river.

“Hey, do you have any food?” Mason calls.

I roll my eyes. That’s one thing I miss about being alone; having all the food to myself. Oh yeah, and also having food in the first place. That would’ve been nice.

“Sorry, I don’t,” I say. Then, before I can stop myself, I grumble, “I seem to remember someone eating my tomato.”

“I said I was sorry,” Mason retorts. “But I was starving! I haven’t eaten actual food in days!”

I sigh and clench my fists to calm myself. “I know,” I say. “Look, I’m sure there’s food somewhere in this forest. Worst case scenario, we just eat leaves. It’s basically a salad, right?”

He frowns and mumbles something under his breath before sighing. “Fine.”

We fall silent again. Apparently, the novelty of finding each other has already worn off and we’re back to being a couple of hungry, brooding post-apocalyptic teenagers.

We end up having to eat leaves. Surprisingly, Mason doesn’t complain and instead wolfs down twice as much as I do.

Eventually, we decide to stop for the night and set up camp. I’m actually enjoying the freedom of not having a destination; it means that I can come and go whenever I want. Honestly, though, I’m debating just setting up a little treehouse right here in this forest. It’s so peaceful here and (I think) far away from everything and everyone else.

I just don’t know if Mason would want to stay with me too.

I glance over at him to see that he’s fast asleep. A smile creeps onto my face as I watch him; the time when I could sleep that soundly feels like so long ago now.

I’m about to lie down as well when something grabs my arm. Before I have a chance to scream at Mason, something rough covers my mouth. Soon, I’m completely encased in something that feels like tree bark. I can’t move and can barely breathe.

Panic takes over me, but my fire is dead, still recharging after my little outburst earlier with the birds.

I’m helpless as I’m dragged through the trees. All I can do is watch as Mason’s sleeping form gets farther and farther away until the trees swallow him completely.

Part 10: MASON’S POV

I wake with a start. Something’s wrong; the forest is way too quiet.

I sit up and look around. Skye’s gone.

I mean, she could’ve just gone to look around or something, since her backpack is still here. But something tells me that that’s not the case.

I crawl over to her backpack and open it up. Everything’s still inside.

Something else catches my eye. The bushes on the ground, they’re all broken up.

She was taken by someone. Or something, actually. Unfortunately, big scary beasts aren’t actually that uncommon in the apocalypse.

I will say though that I’m glad I have some sort of purpose now. Other than not dying, of course, but an actual goal. It’ll be the main plot point in the memoir that I’m going to write right after I’m finished my big fantasy novel. Honestly, given how much free time I have now, I could be finished my book any day now. So I’d better get going on finding Skye so that I have a conclusion all ready for my memoir.

Obviously that’s not the main reason I want to find her though. Already, I’m feeling lonely again. It was so nice to actually have someone real to talk to.

I sling Skye’s backpack over my shoulder and stay low to the ground. If I’ve learned anything during my time alone in the apocalypse, it’s to stay low to the ground.

I follow the trail of crushed bushes and leaves all the way to the edge of the forest. Obviously, Skye put up a fight, because these bushes really took a beating.

Now, as I stand at the edge of the forest, I have no idea where to go next. There seem to be a bunch of paths that I can take. The first leads back into the forest, the second heads out onto a rocky landscape, and the third is straight into an extremely creepy-looking, rotting cornfield.

The forest path doesn’t seem to show any signs of struggle like the path I followed here, so let’s just go ahead and rule that one out. Don’t even want get me started on that disgusting cornfield, because there’s no way I’m going anywhere near that.

And so, that leaves one. The rocks. The footprint-proof, pain in the butt to walk on, rocks. Still, it’s probably the least terrifying path to consider, so there’s that.

I sigh and start walking. If I’m being honest, if I do end up finding her out here, it’ll be from pure luck.

So wish me luck, Garrett, because I’m going to need it.

Part 11: SKYE’S POV

I have no idea how or when I fell asleep, but apparently I did. Well, okay, either I fell asleep or I got knocked out. Honestly, the latter is probably more likely at this point.

Still, the point is that I was unconscious and now I’m not. Also, there’s a sword pointed right at my face, which is just what I wanted to see after I’ve been kidnapped. So yeah, this whole situation is just turning out great for me right now.

“Can I help you?” I ask, letting out a huge yawn.

The owner of the sword slowly comes into focus. It’s a man, but he’s massive. Like, just huge, and made completely out of muscle.

I lift a finger and slowly push the blade away from my face. The man scowls but doesn’t say anything.

When the sword is fully out of my way, I sit up to take a look around. I honestly have no idea how I would even begin to describe where I am. Everything just looks like a huge black sheet, apart from the little torches that give some light.

“Where am I?” I whisper, pushing myself off the ground to stand.

Immediately, the sword is pointed at me again. I let myself fall back to the ground and hold up my hands in surrender.

“Woah there, okay, I’m not going anywhere,” I say.

The man just keeps staring at me really creepily while I sit there, apparently waiting for something to happen.

It feels like hours as I stare into the man’s eyes and he scowls back at me. For some reason, I can sense that he’s not enjoying being my babysitter. Just like I’m not enjoying getting babysat by him.

Finally, I hear some rustling. I turn to see another man slipping into what I guess is a makeshift tent. Judging by the scratch marks on his arms, this is that man who kidnapped me. This is the man who stole me away from the little bit of happiness that I’d found since the beginning of this apocalypse.

Rage builds in my chest as I begin to stand. The sword seems so meaningless now, almost non-existent really. It’s just a little metal toothpick compared to what I can do.

The scratch-covered man raises an eyebrow at me, almost as if he’s mocking my rage. I’m about to let loose my fury when something slams into the back of my head and the world fades back into darkness.

Part 12: MASON’S POV

These rocks will honestly be the death of me.

It feels like I’ve been walking forever, but in reality, it’s only been a day. I’ve walked for a whole day, and I have no idea if I’m getting any closer to finding Skye.

Around noon, I stop for a break. I’m almost out of water and I can’t see a single source of water around here.

So now I have yet another choice. I can either head back to the forest and try to find a stream but most likely let Skye get farther away. Or I can keep going and just hope that I find some water and that I’m headed in the right direction.

I sigh as I weigh my options. The apocalypse is just the worst.

“I wish you were here,” I say. “I wish that none of this happened. Honestly, I even wish that I was still in school, if that would make everything normal again.”

“I know,” Garrett says. He puts a hand on my shoulder. “But this is normal now. Dwelling on the past won’t help you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I mutter. I sit down on the hard rock and Garrett crouches beside me. Suddenly, it occurs to me that Garrett doesn’t know about Skye. “Hey, by the way, I found your girlfriend.”

Immediately, Garrett’s eyes light up. “How is she?” he asks eagerly. “Is she safe? Is she healthy?”

I hesitate. I’m not entirely sure how to tell him that she’s one of… them.

Finally, I settle on saying, “She looked healthy when I saw her last.”

Garrett frowns. “What do you mean ‘when you saw her last’?”

I purse my lips. “Well… she got kidnapped last night while I was sleeping. At least, I think she did.”

Garrett’s eyes widen and he jumps to his feet. “Why are we sitting around then? We have to find her!”

“Look, I don’t even know which way she went,” I say, succumbing to the rocks. I lie down on my back and stare up at the darkening sky. “Plus, I’m running out of food and water.”

Garrett stares at me. “So?”

“So?” I scoff. “So, if I run out of food and water, that means I’ll be dead. And I can’t find your girlfriend if I’m dead, can I?”

“I guess not,” Garrett admits.

He falls silent for a moment, before saying, “Hey Mace?”

“Yeah?” I ask, my eyes starting to close.

“Whatever you choose, just remember that I’m proud of you,” he says, kneeling beside me and pulling my jacket closed around me.

A moment later, he’s gone.

I let out a deep sigh as sleep begins to overtake me.

“See you tomorrow, Garrett,” I whisper.

Part 13: SKYE’S POV

Red.

Everything’s red.

No, not red. A soft orange. Just the shimmering rays of the setting sun. It’s so beautiful, so peaceful.

That is, until my dork of a boyfriend comes running up the hill, practically dragging Olive and Rufus behind him.

“Your boyfriend is the worst,” Rufus announces as soon as they reach me.

“I’m well aware,” I smirk as Garrett walks to me and kisses the top of my head. “But what exactly did he do this time?”

“He wants us all to go to Quebec City for our graduation trip,” Olive whines. “Quebec City!”

I shrug. “So?”

“I mean, he couldn’t have chosen someplace exotic like France or Italy?” Olive says with exasperation, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Hey, you know I don’t like travelling,” Garrett says. His chuckles send vibrations through my back as he leans against me.

I tilt my head up to look at him. “Push me,” I order.

“Yes, ma’am,” he says, immediately placing his hands on my back to give me a push.

I swing my legs in rhythm with the swing so that I can keep going higher.

“I don’t see what’s wrong with Quebec City,” I say. “It’s really nice there, you know.”

“This is our graduation trip,” Rufus says, standing behind Olive and resting his head on top of hers. “Olive and I both think that we deserve to go somewhere a bit nicer than Quebec City after enduring four years of torture.”

I shrug and slow my swinging. Garrett’s hands hold my waist to help me stop.

“It was just a suggestion,” Garrett laughs. “Obviously we can go somewhere else.”

“Like where?” I ask as the sun’s red–no, orange–beams of light becoming brighter.

Garrett comes around to stand in front of me. He kneels and blocks the light. I focus on his eyes, those beautiful chocolate eyes that I’ve missed so much.

“We can go anywhere you’d like,” he says with a smile. “We’re unstoppable, you and I. We can go anywhere, do anything, be anyone. As long as we’re together, we’re absolutely invincible.”

The sun shifts and a trickle of light evades Garrett’s form. I try to focus on his eyes, but the sun’s too bright.

Slowly, Garrett’s image dims. The memory fades as the sun takes over. The orange sun. No, the red sun.

No sun. Just red.

Redness and pain. Excruciating, unbearable pain.

“Let’s try again,” a deep male voice says to my left side. I try tilting my head to see what’s happening, but I’m strapped down and can’t move.

“Are you sure?” Another voice. Female this time.

“She’s already dead, so what harm is there in trying again?” the male voice snaps.

A moment of silence, then a pinch in my arm.

A little, orange pinch, that grows into a red burst of pain.

This time, there’s no Garrett to block out the sunlight.

Part 14: MASON’S POV

I let out a loud groan. Nope, this isn’t to be a fun day, I can already tell.

I also didn’t mean to fall asleep halfway through the day, so that’s fun too. Okay, so I’m not in the greatest of moods right now, but I’ve always been an optimist, so I’ll just go with: There’s nowhere to go but up!

Yeah, even I’m starting to doubt that. I’m annoyed that I fell asleep yesterday and that I still haven’t found Skye. For some reason, I’m also annoyed at my brother. Does it make sense to be annoyed at someone for being dead? No. But I still am.

Still, even with all this annoyance built up in me today, I force myself to my feet and continue my trek across the rocks. Apparently, my body has decided to keep trying to find Skye rather than heading back to water.

I don’t know how long I walk, but I’m fairly certain I made a wrong turn at some point or forgot to actually make a turn, because there’s just more rocks in front of me. Just rocks. That’s literally it.

“I think you’re going to wrong way,” Garrett says casually, sauntering beside me.

“I’ll well aware,” I hiss. “I am looking for your girlfriend, you know.”

“Yes, thank you,” Garrett says. “Now, are you going to stop and think about where you’re going?”

“No,” I snap. “Leave me alone.”

Garrett falls silent but still kicks at the rocks every once in a while.

Eventually, I stop. “Okay, fine, what do you suggest I do?”

He shrugs. “If you don’t know then how should I know?”

“Good point,” I mutter, dropping my bag with a sigh. It falls open when it hits the ground and my water bottle tumbles out.

Garett picks it up and tosses it in his hands. “You’ve still got tons of water in here,” he says. “What were you complaining about?”

I frown and snatch it out of his hands. “No I don’t. It’s…”

I twist open the cap and peer inside.

“… full.”

I look up at Garrett questioningly, but he’s gone.

I take a big gulp of water and am immediately hit with a wave of nausea. Suddenly, I remember why I wasn’t drinking this water.

As I hit the ground, the last thing I think about is how much better dehydration felt than what the aftermath of this toxic liquid is going to be.

Part 15: SKYE’S POV

When I open my eyes again, I feel… new somehow. Almost like my body isn’t my own. Almost like I was reborn.

But something like rebirth isn’t possible, is it? I mean, that’s only something you hear about in fairytales and myths.

“Ah, so you’re awake.”

I jolt upright at the sound of a familiar deep male voice. A tall man stands beside me, hands clasped behind his back as if he’s some sort of rich snob.

“Who are you?” I demand. “And where am I?”

The man holds out a hand, as if he really expects me to shake it. When he sees that I’m more likely to bite it off, he retracts his hand and re-clasps it behind his back.

“My name is Winston,” he says, “and you are at a safe facility.”

I scowl. “Do you really expect me to be happy with that answer?” I snap.

He shrugs. “Perhaps. I’m afraid I really don’t know you all that well, Miss…”

I roll my eyes and remain silent. Hopefully he’ll get the idea.

He waits a moment more before nodding. “Well, I’m sure we’ll get to know each other quite well. In the meantime, please make yourself comfortable. If you’re hungry, just choose something from the menu and we’ll bring it right up to you. Unfortunately, it won’t be possible for you to leave your room at the moment, due to possible contamination from outside. But please, do make yourself comfortable for the time being. We will be able to move you to a much nicer room once the decontamination period has ended.”

Then, having finished his big speech, he spins on his heel and walks to the door. Just before he leaves, he claps his hands twice and some gentle, calming classical music starts echoing around the room. Then, he flashes me a smile before leaving. The door shuts behind him and I hear a lock turn.

I sigh and swing my legs over the side of my bed. This place is actually incredibly nice. And that’s based on before-apocalypse standards. It looks like a super fancy hotel that they somehow managed to either save or build after the apocalypse began.

Still, a little voice of caution screams at the back of my mind. Alright, so it’s not so little, it’s pretty much the main voice in my head right now. And it’s right; I don’t trust Winston. I don’t trust this room. The only people I trust right now are myself and Mason.

I need to get out of here.

Part 16: MASON’S POV

Okay, I think that the water is finally out of my system. Then again, I almost hope that it isn’t, because this is one weird situation that I’m in.

The walls around me are all white. Honestly, it’s like I’m in a horror movie or something where everything is just too clean and perfect to be real. I mean I’m even wearing a hospital gown, so if that isn’t creepy, I don’t know what is.

I feel so sleepy, so lethargic, almost like I’m floating on clouds and being weighted down by rocks at the same time. Everything spins around me as I sit up.

Still, I don’t think that the water is doing this. The hallucinations that that kind of toxin causes are much more subtle than this.

No, this is something else.

Somehow, I manage to stand up. I stumble across the room to the door. Of course it’s locked. Did I really expect to be able to just walk out of here?

I press my face against the door’s window. The hallway is just white, with doors to other spaced apart just enough so that I can’t see into them at this angle.

I give the door a frustrated punch before slowly making my way around the room. I wish that Garrett was here. But I guess he only likes to make an appearance when the water’s in my system. Garrett always was a picky one. He always refused to eat red food. Something about it being bad luck. I feel like luck and red food aren’t related, seeing as my favourite food is red peppers and I’m still alive and Garrett’s never eaten anything red and he’s dead.

The walls of my room are completely smooth. No windows, no light switches, no nothing.

So, I return to my bed. Because what else is there to do other than stare at the single pot light in the plain, white ceiling and watch as it swirls around and around and around and around…

Part 17: SKYE’S POV

I eventually manage to let my guard down enough to fall into a light sleep. When I wake up, sunlight streams into my room.

There’s a knock on my door and Winston walks in.

“Good morning,” he says, giving me a smile. His hands are still clasped behind his back. “Did you sleep well?”

I just glare at him in response.

His smile doesn’t falter, and he says, “Well, I’m happy to report that the decontamination process is now complete. I can now show you to your new quarters.”

He holds his arm out toward the open door. I guess it’s either go out there or stay locked in here, so I walk past him, careful to keep an eye on him as I go.

Winston slips around me and waves for me to follow him. “You won’t be needing to come back here,” he tells me as we walk. “This was just for the initial decontamination period, but now that you’re here, you should be fine.”

I narrow my eyes as I watch him. He seems completely calm, which is so strange to see after being out in the apocalypse all this time.

The hallway finally ends in double door. He pushes them open with a flourish to reveal the ocean.

Of course it’s an island. That’s the only way that this place could possibly exist in a world like this.

“Come,” he says, waving to me.

We walk outside and onto the fenced balcony that curves around the building. I can’t help staring out at the ocean; it’s just so beautiful.

We start passing other people lounging on reclining chairs with cocktails and various snack foods. They all smile and wave at Winston as he passes and he greets them all by name.

Eventually, we head back inside. He leads me to an elevator and we head all the way up to the penultimate floor.

The door slides open and Winston steps out. He turns to face me.

“Welcome home,” he says with a smile.

I step out of the elevator to join him and my jaw drops.

Part 18: MASON’S POV

I wake up to someone shaking me quite violently. I open my eyes to see a face pretty much directly in mine.

“Gah!” I shout, scrambling backwards.

“Good morning,” the girl says, smiling up at me. She looks around the same age as me, but much more awake and peppy than I think I’ve ever been in my entire life. “I’m Maddie! I’m here to show you around the Garden.”

I’ll just come right out and say it: She’s terrifying. There’s just something about all this energy that I don’t trust. So, I stay as far away from her as I can. Which really isn’t that far, given that my back’s up against a wall.

“Er, okay,” I say slowly.

She smiles brightly and holds out her hand. I take it hesitantly. Immediately, she yanks me up and off the bed. I stumble when my feet hit the floor; she’s a lot stronger than I ever would’ve guessed.

She drags me out of the room and down the hallway. I try to look through the windows in the doors that I couldn’t see yesterday, but all the rooms seem to be empty.

At the end of the hallway, she pushes through the double doors to reveal a kitchen. It’s bustling with people and everyone seems to be shouting.

“If you’re lucky, you might be promoted here later,” Maddie yells over the noise. “But since you’re new here, you’re going to be starting with an entry-level position.”

She leads the way out of the kitchen and into another hallway. It seems like we walk for forever before she stops in front of a service door. Without hesitation, she pushes her way in. I follow her with more caution, fully expecting to see a torture chamber or something. Honestly, the real thing is pretty much the same thing.

The room is full of uniforms, ranging from dance leotards to chef’s outfits.

Maddie finally lets go of my hand and orders, “Stay here.”

For some reason, I listen. She disappears in the racks and emerges a moment later holding a bright red uniform.

“Here,” she says, shoving it at me. “You’ll be working as a room attendant until you show that you deserve a promotion. I’ll be training you, so we’ll be seeing a lot of each other! Isn’t that exciting?”

I raise my eyebrows as she squeals but I can’t find the words to comment. Instead, I just shrug.

“Alright, now let’s get you into that uniform and we’ll get started,” she says with a grin.

I force a smile in return. Something here doesn’t add up. I glance down at the uniform in my hand and grimace. It looks like I’ll be here for a while, so I’ll have plenty of time to figure it out.

Part 19: SKYE’S POV

This room is actually insane. It’s fit for an actual queen.

“This is my room?” I whisper, stepping forward to look around.

Winston smiles. “It’s all yours,” he says, spreading his arms.

As I wander around the room, staring at everything, Winston follows me. “You are free to go wherever you please,” he says. “You have suffered tremendously out in that horrible world, but now it is time to relax. You’re home. Anything you need, anything you want, it’s yours. All you have to do is ask.”

I nod slowly, still processing this room. As I run my hand along the silk sheets on the king-sized bed, my heart slows. This place just makes me feel so safe, so relaxed…

Winston’s hand on my shoulder suddenly brings me back to reality.

“I’ll leave you to get settled in,” he says. “If you want something brought to your room, just push this button and someone will be right along.”

I glance at the little green button on the bedside table and nod.

Just before he leaves, I call, “Thank you.”

He glances back and gives me a smile before disappearing.

As soon as he’s gone, I jump onto the bed and lie back. I let out a big sigh; I can live like this.

My stomach growls. Food. I could really go for something to eat.

I press the little button and a timer pops up from a holographic screen. I guess it’s telling me that someone will be here to help me in two minutes.

The doorbell rings and I get up to greet whoever’s at the elevator.

A man around my age steps out, dressed in a bright red uniform.

“Hello, my name is Ryan,” he says, keeping his chin up and his hands clasped behind his back just like Winston. “How may I be of service?”

I look at him strangely. “Um, I was just going to ask where I can find some food.”

Ryan nods and pulls a map out of his pocket. He shows me and points to a number of different places. “Well, the pizza here is excellent, but if you prefer something a bit more fancy, there’s a dine-in restaurant over here.”

I watch him give me instructions with curiosity.

“Ryan,” I suddenly interrupt him, “why are you acting like this?”

He glances up at me, shock in his eyes. “Like what?”

“Like…” I struggle to find the right word. “Like a robot.”

He doesn’t miss a beat and says, “I’m just here to help. That’s my job.”

I frown before slowly nodding. “Well, if you say so.” I take the map from him. “Thank you, Ryan. I think I can take it from here.”

Ryan nods and turns to leave. The elevator dings to announce its arrival and he steps inside. He turns around to face me as the doors start closing.

Just before he disappears from view, he calls, “You shouldn’t trust him.”

And then, of course, the elevator begins its descent before I can ask Ryan what he means.

Part 20: MASON’S POV

I’m absolutely exhausted by the time we’ve finished the first room. And apparently, there are four more rooms to cover before we finish for the day.

Maddie seems to love to talk literally all the time, but she never really seems to say anything important. I tried to get her to tell me more about this Garden that we supposedly live in, but she keeps avoiding my questions. In the end, I just give up.

I grab all the cleaning supplies and drag them toward the elevator. The elevator arrives and the doors slide open to reveal a tall, dark-haired dude in a uniform identical to mine steps out.

“Hey Ryan,” Maddie says. I detect a hint of bitterness in her tone. “Enjoying the new job?”

“Maddie,” Ryan says, his voice short. His eyes flicker over me and a chill goes down my spine. I’ve decided: I don’t like this guy.

He continues striding down the hallway, his head lifted as if he owns the place.

Maddie rolls her eyes and helps me load all our equipment into the elevator. When the doors slide closed, I turn to her.

“Okay, what was that?”

She shrugs. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Oh come on,” I say with a sigh. “You haven’t told me anything all morning, so I think I deserve to know this one little thing.”

She just glares at me in response.

“Okay, fine, I get it,” I grumble.

I spend the rest of the day in complete silence, not even bothering to answer Maddie’s questions.

Finally, we’re finished cleaning the rooms. She brings me down to my new room, which I’m apparently sharing with three other boys.

“You’re allowed to wander around the lower two floors,” Maddie says. It sounds like she’s forcing herself to keep sounding upbeat now. I guess that Ryan guy really upset her. “The doors to the upper floors are locked anyway, so just don’t break any of them down and you should be fine.”

I can’t resist asking, “Why can’t we go up? We were literally just cleaning rooms up there.”

She just gives me another uncomfortably forced smile before darting out the door and leaving me alone.

I sigh and take a moment to use the bathroom before going out to explore. It takes me a few wrong turns, but I eventually find my way outside.

Unfortunately, Maddie’s there. She’s changed out of her uniform and has her back to me. The wind blows through her hair and she stands near the railing, just looking out over the ocean.

I’m about to head back inside when I hear a quiet, but recognizable, sound. I hesitate for a moment before deciding to leave her alone. After all, I don’t know her nearly well enough to ask her why she’s crying.

Part 21: SKYE’S POV

I check the map that Ryan gave me as I ride the elevator down. Obviously I’m looking for exits, but proper food is just a tiny bit more present on my mind at the moment.

I decide to check out the hamburger place on the top floor. Hopefully I’ll be able to see a way off this island from there at the same time as getting delicious food. See? Who said that multitasking was impossible.

The elevator doors open to a burst of fresh sea air. I take in a deep breath as I step out onto the top deck.

The place is crowded with people. Actual people. Like, living human beings.

I head over to the bar and miraculously find a seat. Immediately, a man appears to take my order.

As I wait for my food to arrive, I spin in my seat to look out over the ocean. There doesn’t seem to be a boat in sight, nor any type of aerial transportation.

So how the hell did I get here in the first place?

“Ma’am, your food,” a voice says behind me.

I turn around to see the most delicious-looking burger I’ve ever seen in my whole life.

“Thank you,” I murmur, taking a moment to just stare at it.

“Ma’am, is everything okay?”

I look up to see the server watching with me concern.

“Yes, thank you, everything’s perfect,” I say.

He smiles and gives me a small nod before turning to help someone else.

I pick up my burger and take a bite. It’s just incredible.

I turn around again as I continue eating. There’s got to be some way of getting to and from the mainland from here…

“I heard a legend once…”

I let out a gasp as the voice suddenly rings out beside me. My burger goes tumbling from my fingers, but before it can hit my clothes, a hand darts out to catch it. I turn to see a girl sitting beside me. Her eyes are slightly red and puffy, but she has a bright smile on her face.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you,” she says, handing me back my burger. “I just got excited to see someone else who looks my age around here.”

I nod and mouth a ‘thank you’ before she continues.

“So, this legend you see. It was about a princess who lived on an island. She had been exiled there, because she had these strange powers.” The girl pauses for a moment–for dramatic effect, I’d assume–before saying, “She could create ice with just the wave of her hand.

“The princess was trapped on this island because she was powerful, but not nearly powerful enough to turn the ocean into ice so that she could cross.

“So, instead, she spent her time creating flowers from ice, honing her skill so that she could one day return to the mainland.”

She pauses, and I feel obligated to prompt her. “Did she ever escape?”

The girl’s smile fades, her expression turning serious. “Yes, but she lived on the run for the rest of her life. Most people feared her powers, and the few who didn’t wanted to use them for their own selfish desires.”

Just as quickly as it had left, her smile returns. “But luckily it’s just a legend. I mean, imagine if people actually had real powers? That would be insane, wouldn’t it?”

Instinctively, I curl my hands into fists. “Yeah,” I agree nervously. “Insane.”

The girl suddenly slides off her stool and brushes down her skirt. “Well, I’d best get going,” she says, her eyes darting around as if she’s trying to avoid someone. “Looking forward to seeing you around.”

Just before she can leave, I call, “Wait, I didn’t catch your name.”

She glances back at me. “It’s Maddie,” she says, flashing me a smile before disappearing into the crowd.

Part 22: MASON’S POV

I spend the rest of my day trying desperately to find an exit. I mean, I wasn’t exactly expecting one to be in plain sight, but I can’t help but be disappointed that this one tiny little thing that I want isn’t happening.

Sure, okay, at least I have actual food and a bed and, somehow, a job, but there’s something about this place that just gives me the creeps. And then there’s Maddie and that weirdo Ryan.

But, like I said before, I suppose I’m going to have plenty of time to figure this all out.

Finally, I give up. I head back out to the balcony where I’d last seen Maddie but she’s gone now. I take her place to look out over the ocean.

Let me just get this out there: I’m terrified of the ocean. Just looking out there right now makes me want to throw up, but I force myself to keep looking because I’m on a freaking island so the only way out is obviously over the ocean.

“Dude, calm down,” Garrett says, putting a hand on my shoulder. “Remember the first time we went to the ocean?”

“Yeah,” I mutter, shivering at the memory. “It was horrible.”

Garrett frowns. “No, the very first time. You loved the ocean. You said that you wanted to become a fish so that you could swim around all day.”

I scoff, clenching the railing so hard that my knuckles turn white. “That doesn’t sound like me at all.”

“The next time we went swimming, you kept going out farther and farther from the coast,” Garrett continues. “You refused to come back, even when Mom threatened to take away your TV time for the day. You said that you were a fish, and that you could swim forever.

“But then the waves picked up and swept you under. You almost drowned, but Dad swam out to get you. You’re thinking of the next time we went to the beach, where we tried to get you to go into the water and you freaked out.”

I nod and suck in a sharp breath. “Yeah, the ocean isn’t a fun place,” I say. “I could die down there.”

“Maybe,” Garrett says. “But there are lots of other things underwater.”

I take a deep breath and force myself to look down at the waves. I’m literally about to throw up when I see something below the water.

A blinking red light. But it’s moving.

“A submarine,” I breathe. “That’s how I can get off the island.”

“Who are you talking to?”

I spin around to see Ryan standing behind me, his eyes narrowed.

“Uh, myself,” I mutter, backing away from him. My back is pressed against the railing and my heart pounds; if he takes a step toward me, I’m probably going to topple over backward and into the ocean.

Garrett puts a hand on my arm to steady me. If only he were actually here to do that.

Ryan continues staring at me for a moment. “You’re the new kid, aren’t you?” he asks. “The one Maddie’s training.”

I nod slowly. “Yeah…”

“And she’s already showed you her special place,” Ryan mutters under his breath, shaking his head.

“What?”

His eyes snap back up to mine. He strides forward and grabs my shirt collar, leaning in close.

“Listen, kid,” he snarls, “you stay away from Maddie, do you hear me?”

“We work together though,” I squeak, staring back at him with wide eyes.

He shakes me slightly and I yell, “Okay! Okay, I’ll stay away from her. Just let me go!”

He scoffs and drops me. I collapse onto the ground at his feet.

“See you around, kid,” he calls over his shoulder before striding out of view.

Part 23: SKYE’S POV

I head back up to my room, feeling quite full and content. Maddie’s story swirls in my mind, but I’m too tired to think about it too hard. Instead, I take a nap in my incredibly soft bed.

When I wake up, I feel the most refreshed that I’ve ever felt since the apocalypse started. I almost don’t want to leave, but I need to find Mason. Maybe once I find him, I can bring him back here and we can live in safety and comfort for the rest of our lives.

I head back outside to join the crowd of people. Everyone looks so happy and relaxed here; honestly, it’s like I’m vacation during non-apocalyptic times.

I search for Maddie, but she’s nowhere to be seen. So, I walk along the balcony, trying to circle around the entire island.

To be honest, maybe the one and only benefit of living in the apocalypse is that I’m super fit. Or maybe it’s just that the island isn’t that big. Nah, I’m just going to say that I’m really fit now.

Nevertheless, I’m able to make it around the entire island without stopping. I make sure to look both up and down to see any type of vehicle arriving or leaving, but there’s nothing. The only place I can think that the vehicles could reach the island is this one place where the fence prevents me from going all the way to the edge of the cliff. There’s another balcony way down below where I’d probably be able to see the ocean, but I don’t know how to get down there.

Now, I know this sounds awful, but the thought does cross my mind to just stay here and leave Mason out there by himself. I mean, of course I’d never be able to live with myself if I did that, but I just need to get it out there that I did think about it.

Feeling defeated, I walk back to my room. As I wander through the halls, a flicker of movement catches my eye.

Ryan. But he’s not alone. Maddie’s there too, looking extremely uncomfortable.

I press myself against the wall and creep closer to be able to hear them.

“… just couldn’t wait, could you?” Ryan whispers, his voice harsh

Maddie sighs. Even though her back is turned to me, I can picture her rolling her eyes. “Come on, Ry, we were together for two months. Two months. Plus, I didn’t show him, he followed me and found it all by himself.”

Ryan growls. “I still don’t like it.”

“You don’t have to like it,” Maddie snaps. Then, her shoulders soften and she looks around quickly before whispering, “Did he see it?”

Ryan nods. “I think so.”

“That’s not good.”

“I know.”

They fall silent for a moment before Ryan says, “I need to get to work. I’ll come find you later.”

Maddie nods. “I’ll try to figure out what he saw. Maybe he can help us.”

Ryan scoffs. “Right, and pigs fly.”

“Hey, if people can fly then pigs can fly too,” Maddie says. “Hey, did you see that guy who arrived last week? With the wings?”

Ryan scowls. “Yeah, I had to clean his room. There were freaking feathers everything. Not fun.”

Maddie chuckles before patting his shoulder. “Alright, I’ll see you later.”

Ryan nods, staring at her with a mixture of regret and sadness as she walks away.

Part 24: MASON’S POV

Maddie wakes me up bright and early for more work. Oh joy, just what I wanted to do first thing on my second day in my new home.

We head to the upper floors and clean our rooms in silence. I don’t really want to tell her that I saw her crying outside before, but I know myself, and if I started talking then that’s probably the first thing that would come out of my mouth.

We’re heading downstairs to lunch when Maddie finally breaks the awkward silence.

“Hey, do you remember the Day of the Halving?”

I frown. “Of course I do. It’s not every day that the apocalypse begins.”

She glances at me with exasperation before continuing, “For some reason, the thing I remember most is that the weather was awful. I was caught at my boyfriend’s house because the storm was so bad, and then this whole mess happened.”

Her eyes drop to the ground and she sighs. “I haven’t even seen my family since then.”

I shift uncomfortably, unsure if I should put a hand on her shoulder or something. “I’m sorry,” I end up saying. “If it makes you feel better, I actually saw my older brother die, so…”

She raises an eyebrow. “Are you trying to out-sad my story?”

I shrug. “Did it work?”

“Challenge accepted,” she smirks. She turns to face me, her arms crossed. “Like I said, I was with my boyfriend when the apocalypse hit. Two days later, he was hit by a car.”

I wince. “Sorry to hear that.”

“I’m not done,” she says, holding up a finger. “He wasn’t killed by the car, just badly injured. I helped him as best as I could, but his leg was broken and it became infected. We eventually had to amputate it, but the infection came back. He died a week later in my arms.”

“I’m–“

“Still not finished,” Maddie says, narrowing her eyes at me. “The night he died, I held his body for hours, just crying my eyes out. I was so scared to be alone, especially with all the crazy stuff that had been happening.

“About five hours into the night, he suddenly started moving again. He sat up and turned to me. His infection was completely gone, and his leg had even grown back.”

My mouth drops open. “And you’re sure you weren’t delirious or something?” I ask slowly.

“I definitely wasn’t,” Maddie says, shaking her head. “I can prove it to you.”

“Prove what?”

“That he’s still alive.”

“How?”

The elevator door dings open but Maddie doesn’t leave. Instead, she lowers her voice and whispers, “Well, for starters, that room we just cleaned? Yeah, that was his.”

Part 25: SKYE’S POV

I return to my room to find none other than Winston waiting for me. As soon as he sees me, a grin spreads across his face.

“Ah, perfect timing,” he says. He steps aside to reveal Ryan behind him; somehow, he managed to beat me up to my room and change into his uniform at the same time.

“What’s going on?” I ask warily, keeping my distance from them.

“We wanted to show you a very special feature of your room,” Winston says. He nods at Ryan, who walks to the wall. He digs his nail into the wall and flips open a panel. He presses a button and the entire room seems to… shiver.

The walls shake slightly, each breaking up into smaller panels that flip to just show white. Soon, the wall is completely white–even the furniture turned white at some point during this strange transformation.

“Come here,” Winston says, waving at me.

I slowly walk over to him, still trying to process what just happened.

When I reach him,

The smile is still on Winston’s face as he directs me toward one of the panels. “Place your hand here,” he says, pointing at what looks like a scanner in the wall.

I glance at Ryan. He’s frowning slightly, but hasn’t offered me anything since that last cryptic warning he threw me over his shoulder on my first day here.

Even though I have a bad feeling about this, I raise my hand just like Winston said to.

And the room explodes in colour.

The birch trees around me stretch up to the ceiling, spotting the whiteness with contrasting black stripes. The sky is clear, apart from the smoke rising to the left.

I take a step forward, but before I can look for the source of the smoke, two figures burst through the trees.

No, wait. That’s me! Me and Mason, the day that we had just found each other!

Ryan lets out a strangled-sounding squeak but doesn’t say anything else. Winston watches the entire scene through narrowed eyes, as if searching for something.

The panel warms up beneath my hand. I yank my hand away. The scene fades.

Winston turns to me. “Thank you,” he says, “for that very informative memory. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some work to do.”

Part 26: MASON’S POV

“Okay, woah, hold up,” I say, staring at her. “You’re saying that we just cleaned out a dead dude’s room?”

Maddie frowns. “No, I literally just said that he’s still alive.”

“But he was dead… right?”

She nods. “I mean, I think so. His heart stopped beating and everything. Plus, his leg grew back.”

“And you’re sure you weren’t hallucinating?”

“I’m positive.” She sighs and says, “Don’t tell me you haven’t seen strange things since the Day of the Halving. Strange, inexplicable things.”

My mind jumps to Skye and her strange fire-creating ability.

“Okay, yeah, I’ve seen some stuff,” I admit. “But limb regeneration? That still seems like a bit of a stretch.”

Maddie shivers slightly. “Regeneration is the nicer side of things. The things I’ve seen…” She trails off, shaking her head. Suddenly, her eyes snap back up to mine. “Come on, I need to show you something.”

She grabs my hand and drags me down the hallway, leaving our supplies in the elevator behind us. She crashes through the door into the stairwell and leads me up. I’m panting by the time she finally stops on a floor. She skids to a stop in front of the doorway and jabs a finger at the window.

“Look out there,” she says softly.

I peer through the window to see what looks like a vacation villa. I mean, I guess I wasn’t sure what to expect given that I’ve seen what the guests’ rooms look like, but this actually looks like paradise.

“Hold up,” I say with a frown. “Why are they out there and we in here?”

I glance at Maddie and see that she’s looking at me with exasperation. “Have you really not figured it out yet?” she asks. She pushes me out of the way at the window before exclaiming, “There! Okay, look,” she pulls me over beside her. “Look at that girl there, sitting on the edge of the pool.”

I squint as I try to pick out the girl that Maddie’s talking about. Finally I find her. She’s sitting on the edge of the pool, kicking her legs around.

“Yeah, what about her?” I say with a frown.

“Well, just watch,” Maddie says softly.

I keep staring at the girl. Just when I’m starting to feel creepy, the water around the girl’s feet looks like it’s getting lighter.

Ice. The pool is turning to ice.

“Wha….”

“They all have abilities,” Maddie says, her mouth right next to my ear. “That’s why they’re being treated like royalty. There’s this guy, Winston, he runs this place. He’s been collecting people from the mainland and bringing them here. People like us, the Normies, are kept down below and are used as servants for the Specials, who are those guys.”

I frown. “Who is this Winston guy? Why does he get to make all the decisions?”

The door that we’re both leaning on suddenly flings open. I fall forward with a quiet yelp, almost faceplanting on someone’s shoes.

“Ow,” I mutter, slowly pushing myself up.

Maddie’s already on her feet beside me, glaring up at a tall man wearing a labcoat.

“Winston,” she snarls.

“Ah, Maddison,” Winston says. “A pleasure, as always.”

Then, his eyes turn to me. A chill runs down my spine.

A smile spreads across his lips. “Mason Barlowe,” he says softly. “Just the person I was looking for. Come, we’ve got much to discuss.”

Part 27: SKYE’S POV

I haven’t moved from my spot since Winston left around ten minutes ago. I mean, one of my memories was just projected into the room. That’s absolutely terrifying just to think about. That type of technology shouldn’t exist.

“What was that all about?” I finally ask.

Ryan’s still staring into space, his eyes wide.

I roll my eyes and walk up to him. Waving my hand in front of my face, I ask, “Hello? Earth to Ryan. What’s going on?”

He blinks a few times before snapping out of whatever daze he was in. “That… that boy,” he says slowly. “You know him?”

“Who? Mason?”

Ryan shrugs. “I don’t know his name, but I know him. I’ve seen him.”

My eyes widen. “You’ve seen Mason? Where? When?”

“Here,” he whispers. “He’s here.”

My mouth drops open. There’s no way… I mean, what are the odds?

“Take me to him,” I order.

Ryan’s eyes narrow. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

“Why not?” I snap.

He shakes his head before saying, “Normies and Specials aren’t supposed to meet outside of service hours.”

“Normies? Specials? What the heck are you talking about?”

Ryan sighs before turning to leave. “You wouldn’t understand.”

I grab his arm. “Then explain. Tell me everything that’s going on here.”

“I can’t,” he says, yanking his arm away. “Just do me a favour and don’t try looking for your friend, okay? It’s not safe.”

I scowl but let him go. I mean, does he really think that I’m really going to let this go so easily? No, I’m going to find Mason.

First step: Annoy Ryan so much that he’ll have to tell me where Mason is.

“Hey,” I call after him, “since you’re heading out, I’d like a coffee with milk and cream, a strawberry sundae, and a slice of pumpkin pie.”

He turns back slowly, raising his eyebrows at me. “You’re joking, right?”

“Not at all,” I say, giving him a smile and batting my eyelashes. “And make it snappy, okay? I’m hungry.”

He scowls before turning and heading down in the elevator to get my stuff.

As soon as he’s gone, I head back to my bed and take out the map of the Garden that I’ve stashed in my bedside table. I flatten it out on my bed.

“Hold on, Mason,” I murmur. “I’m coming.”

Part 28: MASON’S POV

As Winston’s eyes bore into me, I find that I’m at a loss for words. I mean, I did just get overloaded with Maddie’s insane theory and now the big boss man wants to talk to me? I just don’t really know what–or how–to think.

“Come, Mason,” Winston says, apparently not caring that I’m in a state of shock right now. “Maddison, I trust that you will be able to finish your work by yourself.”

Maddie scowls before turning away. She shoots me a glance before disappearing back down the staircase.

Great, now I’m alone with Winston.

“Come along,” Winston says, waving to me like I’m a dog that he’s telling to heel.

Still, I follow him. If he really is in charge here like Maddie says then maybe he’ll tell me how to get off this island.

As we weave through the crowds of people, I keep an eye out for Skye. Obviously there’s no way of knowing if she’s even here, but I can’t help but hope to see a familiar face.

Finally, we head back inside and go up a whole bunch of stairs before entering an expensive-looking office. Winston pushes open the door and I walk inside.

Honestly, I’m scared to even touch anything. I’m pretty sure every single item in here costs at least a thousand dollars.

“Please, sit,” Winston says with a smile, gesturing to the couch.

I sit down slowly, expecting it to collapse beneath me. Luckily, it doesn’t.

Winston sits down beside me, obviously much more at ease than I am. He turns to me with a smile.

“So, Mason,” he says, “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

I frown. “You have?”

“Oh yes,” he says, his voice strangely pleasant. Too pleasant. “You see, I have had the pleasure of working with someone who knows you well.”

Immediately, I perk up. Skye is here?!

“However,” Winston continues, “before I let you two reunite, I do have a few questions for you.”

I scowl. Seriously? He’s making me wait to see Skye? I can’t believe it.

Before I can protest, Winston says, “You were alone since the beginning of the apocalypse until just recently, correct?”

My eyes narrow but I nod.

“And you have not been seriously injured in any way, correct?”

I nod again.

Winston’s eyes narrow in thought. “Very interesting. Well, thank you for your responses. I will now let you two reunite.”

Without explanation, he walks out of the room. The door closes behind him and I’m left alone.

A moment passes and I let out a frustrated sigh. I really shouldn’t trust him. Maddie warned me about him, and yet I just freely gave him answers to questions he was obviously interested in.

Just as I’m about to get up and leave, the door swings open again. I freeze.

I must’ve been swallowed by a magical portal that brought me back in time, because that’s the only reasonable explanation for why I’m seeing my perfectly healthy and very much alive brother walking toward me.

Part 29: SKYE’S POV

Okay, I already regret making Ryan get me all that food. I’m completely stuffed because he stuck around to make sure that I ate everything.

I glare at him. “Don’t you have anything else to do besides stare at me?”

He shrugs. “Not really. Winston moved my other client out of my care, so you’ve got my full and undivided attention.”

I let out an exasperated sigh and point at the pile of dishes beside me. “Clean that up, will you?”

“Of course, your royal highness,” he says with a smirk. “While I’m down at the kitchen, can I get you anything else? Another slice of pie, or maybe an entire pizza?”

“No,” I snap. “Just go.”

He grins and bows before leaving my room with all my dishes.

I pull out my map again. My plan to annoy Ryan obviously isn’t going to work, so it’s time for plan B.

I grab everything I need–which really is just my map, a pair of shoes, and a backpack–and sneak out into the elevator. Apocalypse me is kicking myself for leaving behind such a nice room, but pre-apocalypse me is driving me to go back out there and find Mason so that we can get out of this weird place.

When the elevator stops, I peek out to check that Ryan isn’t waiting to go back up to my room. Luckily, he isn’t.

I continue out into the hallway and push my way through the doors and onto the balcony deck. I try losing myself in the crowd, but a hand on my arm stops me.

“Hey, where are you going?” Maddie asks, dropping into step beside me. Her eyes flicker down to my running shoes and backpack.

I hesitate. Can I really trust her when the only time we’ve interacted was when she told me a legend about a magical ice princess?

“You’re leaving, aren’t you?” she asks, her voice dropping to a whisper.

I make up my mind. Maddie’s been here for a while so she’s probably my best bet at getting out of here.

“Yeah,” I murmur. “But first I need to find a friend.”

“What’s their name?”

“Mason.”

Maddie stops in her tracks and stares at me. “Mason?”

I frown. “You know him?”

She nods slowly. “Yeah, I work with him. But he’s with Winston right now.”

Slowly, the pieces fall in place. Winston saw Mason in my memory. But what could he possibly want with him?

“Where?” I demand, turning on Maddie.

Her eyes narrow slightly and she grabs my hand. “In Winston’s office. I’ll show you.”

As she pulls me through the crowd, I suddenly get the feeling of eyes on me. I turn to see Ryan watching at me from across the deck.

Slowly, he rises into the air, as if propelled by an invisible force. A chill runs down my spine.

Ryan can fly.

Part 30: MASON’S POV

I can’t move. I literally cannot move a muscle. I just stare at my… brother… No, that’s just too weird to say. Plus, it’s impossible. My brother died. He’s dead. Not breathing. Not moving. Ripped to shreds.

Yet, he’s standing here in front of me. Alive. Breathing. Moving. Very much in one piece.

Maybe it’s a Frankenstein-type situation? Even that seems like a bit of a stretch. But it’s the apocalypse, so I guess anything’s really possible…

“Mason?”

Even though he’s speaking, I still can’t figure out how to get my body to respond.

A smile breaks out on Garrett’s face. “Mason! It is you!”

He rushes forward to give me a hug, but my arms refuse to squeeze him back.

He finally releases me and steps back with a frown. “What’s wrong?”

Finally, finally, my brain lets me move my mouth. Somewhat successfully. Okay, so not super successfully, but I’m able to get my message across.

“You… DEAD!… saw… ripped… monster!!”

Yeah, yeah, I get it, I sound like an idiot. But I already said that, so let’s just move on.

Garrett’s smile falters. “Yeah, I guess we should talk about that.”

He leads me back to the couch and sits down. “A lot has happened since I last saw you,” he says softly. “It’ll take a moment to explain.”

I frown and shake my head. “Just… just tell me how. How are you alive? I saw you die!”

His eyes drop to the ground. “I know. I know you did. I thought I died too. But somehow I woke up here at the Garden in one piece. Winston can tell you more.”

My skin tingles at the mention of Winston’s name. There’s just something about him that I don’t like.

Garrett puts a hand on my shoulder. “I know that Winston can be a bit of a strong personality, but just give him a chance. He saved my life.”

I sigh. Well, I guess since he saved Garrett… “Fine,” I mutter. “I’ll give him a chance.”

“Thank you,” Garrett says with a smile. Then he stands up. “Come on, I’ve got a surprise for you.”

“What, other than the fact that you’re alive?” I mutter.

Garrett smirks. “Trust me, this is much better.”

Part 31: SKYE’S POV

I grab Maddie’s arm and stop her.

“Ryan’s flying,” I hiss in her ear.

Maddie glances back quickly and her eyes widen.

“So that’s what he can do,” she murmurs before shaking her head. “We’ll deal with him later. First, we get Mason.”

I nod and follow her up the stairs.

Let me tell you, pre-apocalypse me never would’ve made up it to the top floor. So I’m pretty proud that I’m able to make it all the way up without really breaking a sweat.

We stop in front of a pair of double doors. Maddie steps in front of me before I can knock.

“We’re not supposed to be up here,” she whispers, holding a finger to her lips. “It’s best if we wait for Mason to come out.”

I sigh but nod. “Fine,” I say.

Just as I’m about to step away from in front of the doors, they swing open. Maddie lets out a startled yelp and jumps out of the way.

And out walks the one person I thought I’d never see again.

“Garrett,” I whisper as I stare at him.

He glances at me but doesn’t say anything. He just walks right past, completely ignoring me.

Mason hurries after him, pausing beside me. He looks back and forth between Garrett and me, the confusion clear on his face.

“Mace, you coming?” Garrett calls.

“Y-yeah,” Mason replies, looking at me for a moment more before following Garrett.

Maddie steps up beside me. “Mason knows Garrett?” she whispers.

I nod, trying to hide the fact that my heart completely shattered. “Yeah, they’re brothers.”

“Oh wow,” she breathes before pouting. “Well, that’s just not fair.”

“What?”

“Mason gets an automatic promotion from room cleaner to royalty,” she says with a huff.

“Why?”

Maddie glares after Garrett and Mason. “Because he’s Winston’s second-in-command.”

Part 32: MASON’S POV

I race after Garrett, barely able to process what just happened.

I mean, I just learned that my brother was magically resurrected, that Skye is here at the Garden, and that Skye and Maddie are friends?! It’s almost too much for me to take in at once.

I force myself to go a tiny bit faster so that I catch up with Garrett.

“Hey!” I pant. “Slow down!”

He slows down slightly, glancing back at me.

“Hey, what happened back there?” I demand, jumping in front of him and forcing him to stop completely.

“What do you mean?” he asks. He hasn’t even broken a sweat.

“Those girls we passed, do you know them?”

Garrett glances back up the stairs, but neither of the girls followed us. “You mean Maddison?”

“Yeah, but what about the other girl?”

He frowns. “No, I’ve never seen her before in my life. She’s pretty cute though, don’t you think?”

My heart drops. Something’s wrong.

Slowly, I back away from him. “You’re not my brother,” I whisper, trying to stop my voice from trembling.

“Of course I am,” Garrett says. “Why would you say that I’m not?”

I point a shaking finger up the stairs. “That girl up there? The one you say looks ‘cute’? Yeah, that’s Skye, your girlfriend.”

Garrett’s eyes bug out of his head. “My girlfriend?” he whispers. “I have one of those?”

“Yes,” I reply flatly. “You did. And you never shut up about her either. It was always ‘Skye this’ and ‘Skye that’ and ‘guess what I did with Skye today’. It was literally the most annoying thing ever.”

His eyes drop to the ground. “I… I don’t remember any of that,” he admits.

“Well you seem to remember me just fine,” I hiss. “Or what, is this just some type of joke that Winston had? To torture me with a recreation of the brother who was mauled to pieces in front of my eyes?!”

“No!” Garrett shouts. “No, of course not. It’s just…” He sighs and runs a hand through his hair before saying, “After the incident, when I woke up again, I only had fragments of my memory. You were the only person I remembered from before I had died. Winston suggested that it was because I could only remember the person I loved the most.”

I scoff. “Yeah, right. Well, either Winston’s wrong or you’re lying, because I wasn’t the person you loved the most. That would’ve been Skye.”

“But… but you’re my brother,” Garrett murmurs. “Of course I loved you the most.”

“No,” I snap. “You loved Skye more. You made that clear when you left us for her.”

Something’s off here, and I really don’t have the energy or willpower to deal with it right now. I shove past him and run back up the stairs, ignoring his desperate pleas for me to come back.

Part 33: SKYE’S POV

“Woah, okay, hold on. Garrett’s what?!”

“He’s Winston’s second-in-command,” Maddie repeats, shuffling her feet anxiously. Suddenly, she looks up at me. “Wait, how do you know him?”

“Uhh…” My cheeks turn bright red. “Well, he was kind of my boyfriend.”

Her eyes bug out of her face. “Seriously?”

I nod slowly. “Yeah,” I whisper. My heart suddenly sends a sharp pain through my entire body and I sit down heavily. “He didn’t even remember me.”

Maddie sits down beside me. “I’m sorry,” she whispers. “If it makes you feel any better, my last boyfriend is here too, and I wish he didn’t remember me.”

I scoff. “It really doesn’t.”

She shrugs. “Well, I tried.”

I sigh and bring my knees up, resting my forehead against them. He just looked right past me. It was like I was invisible. That was the one thing I never felt with Garrett. Invisible. He always made me feel like the most special person in the world.

But now…

I angrily wipe the tears from my cheeks. I spent all my time since the Day of the Halving trying to find him and now that I finally did, this is what happens? No, this can’t be it. There’s got to be a way to make him remember me.

Footsteps pound on the stairs and I look up to see Mason running toward us, looking like he’s about to pass out.

“Where’s Garrett?” I demand, jumping to my feet.

He collapses onto the ground in front of us and pants. He holds up a finger and I cross my arms, tapping my foot impatiently as I wait for him to catch his breath.

Finally, he collects himself enough to gasp out, “That’s not Garrett. At least, not the Garrett we know.”

Part 34: MASON’S POV

My whole body is on fire. Luckily, it’s not Skye’s actual fire, but everything burns just the same.

“Mason!”

“What?” I look up at Skye. Both she and Maddie are staring down at me.

“What do you meant that isn’t Garrett?” Skye asks. Her eyes are puffy and red; she’s been crying over Garrett. No surprise there; those two were practically inseparable.

“I mean he said that he loved me more,” I tell her, letting out a loud–and extremely attractive, might I add–groan as I force myself to sit up.

Skye frowns. “So?”

“He says that he only seems to remember the person he loved the most,” I tell her. “And he said that he only remembers me.”

“I don’t see why that’s concerning.”

I frown at Skye. “Seriously? He loved you more, not me. So he should remember you.”

Skye shakes her head and sits down beside me. “No, he didn’t. Do you know how much he talked about you? You were his hero.”

I scoff. “Yeah, right.”

“It’s true,” she says.

“Then why did he leave me?” I shout suddenly. “Why would you run off together? Why?”

Skye frowns. “We never left, Mason. You did.”

I scoff. “What? I would’ve never done that.”

“Well, you did,” Skye says, her voice dropping to a whisper. “You ran away. Garrett and I split up to go look for you. Then all… this… happened and I never found him again.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” I say slowly, trying to process what she’s saying.

“We were surprised when you left too,” Skye says softly. “It was almost like you were possessed or something, you left so suddenly.”

“This was the Day of the Halving?” I ask.

She nods. “Yeah, just before everything went crazy. We were still split up when the screaming started…” She trails off, staring at the wall.

“I… I don’t remember any of that,” I murmur.

“That’s okay,” she says. She stands up. “For now, let’s just get out of here.”

I nod and let her pull me to my feet.

Part 35: SKYE’S POV

Thoughts of Garrett tumble around in my mind. Whatever happened to him, it was my fault. I know that much. I never should’ve left him alone, especially not after what happened…

“You okay?” Maddie asks, falling into step beside me.

Not in the slightest.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I say. “Now where are these submarines?”

“Through that door,” she says, quickening the pace to lead the way.

I glance back at Mason. He’s still stumbling along a few paces behind us, looking slightly dazed.

Still, I don’t slow down to help him. I just can’t… I can’t talk to him right now. I can’t think about Garrett. I need to focus on getting us out of here.

“Just where do you think you’re going?”

I freeze at the sound of a familiar voice.

“Hey, Ryan,” Maddie says. I stop in my tracks and Mason almost crashes into my back. “I was just showing these guys around the place. The complete tour and stuff, you know?”

Ryan’s eyes narrow. “You were going to leave without me, weren’t you?” he asks.

I freeze. He knows that we’re planning on leaving?

“No,” Maddie says, chuckling nervously. “No, of course not. I would never do that.”

Ryan scowls. “What, is it so unbearable to be around me that you just couldn’t stand it anymore?”

“Yes, it is, okay?!” Maddie suddenly yells. “There, I said it. Are you happy now?”

Ryan’s eyes sparkle with amusement. “Well, not exactly happy, but I’m glad you said it.”

As they’re locked in a glaring contest, my heart starts pounding. I’ve got a bad feeling that we’re going to get caught soon.

“Guys,” Masson suddenly says, “can we go?”

Both Ryan and Maddie glance at Mason and me.

“Where’s Garrett?” Ryan asks, suddenly tense.

“Not here, don’t worry,” Maddie says.

Ryan’s eyes narrow and he pushes past me to come to a stop in front of Mason. “You’re not coming,” he says sharply.

“Why not?” Mason asks, glaring back.

“Now that your brother knows that you’re alive, he’s not going to stop chasing us until he finds you.”

“So?”

Maddie jumps in. “We can split up as soon as we get to the mainland. Come on, Ryan, we can’t just leave Mason here.”

Ryan glares at Mason for a moment longer before turning. “Fine. As soon as we get to the mainland, you understand?”

Mason nods quickly.

Ryan’s attention sweeps over me before he strides back to the door. “Okay, then let’s go.”

Part 36: MASON’S POV

Somehow, now there’s four of us. Skye? I’m glad that we found each other again. Maddie? I don’t really mind if she comes along. Ryan? I’d rather let Skye burn me to a crisp than be with him for another moment.

Then again, at least he’s helping us escape. At least, I think he is…

We slip into the room and I see that it’s basically an underground garage for submarines. Yup, because that’s completely normal.

A few guards and staff mill about, tuning up the submarines or checking screens on the walls.

“Okay Skye, you’re up,” Ryan says, nudging her.

She looks at him with wide eyes. “What do you mean?”

“I know what you can do,” he says before gesturing at the people between us and the submarine. “They’re in the way.”

“I don’t just burn people for fun,” Skye hisses, wrapping her arms around herself.

Ryan rolls his eyes. “I’m starting to think that you don’t really want to get out of here.”

“I do!” she insists. “But can’t we do it without hurting anyone?”

Ryan glances at Maddie. She shrugs and he sighs. “Fine, I’ll do it myself,” he mutters.

Wait, what does that mean?

Slowly, Ryan rises off the ground. And by rising off the ground, I don’t meant that he stands up. He literally starts flying.

Ryan is flying. What even is happening right now?

Maddie shakes her head as she glares at him. “I can’t believe that you took the offer,” she mutters to him under her breath; I have a feeling I wasn’t supposed to hear that.

Ryan ignores Maddie and floats to the nearest guard. Without hesitation, he jabs something at the guard. The guard drops to the ground with a dull thud.

My eyes widen. Did what I think just happened actually happen…?

Ryan continues flying around the room, felling guard after guard. I’m frozen in place, unable to even register what’s going on right now.

Finally, Ryan returns to us. The front of his shirt is dark red.

“Come on, let’s go,” he says, wiping red off his face with his sleeve.

Without a word, I scurry past him and onto the nearest submarine.

Part 37: SKYE’S POV

I can’t stop my body from shaking as Ryan maneuvers the submarine out into the sunlight. Mason is pressed against my side. Either he’s so stable that he can’t feel me shaking or he’s shaking just as much as me.

Maddie, on the other hand, seems completely fine. She’s running all over the place, checking controls and cameras and a bunch of other computer stuff that I don’t understand.

I have no idea how much time passes before the submarine shudders to a stop. Ryan and Maddie climb to the back with us.

“Get out,” Ryan says sharply.

My body refuses to move. The red spots on Ryan’s shirt dance in front of my eyes as he leans over me.

A hand grabs my arm and drags me out of the submarine. Sunlight pierces my eyes, burning them. Still, I see red. Everywhere.

My stomach can’t handle it. I run to the nearest tree and… well… you get the idea.

I walk back slowly, careful to avoid looking at Ryan.

Mason suddenly appears beside me. “So you can burn down an entire campsite but can’t handle looking at blood?” he mutters.

I wrinkle my nose at the taste in my mouth. “There’s no blood in a fire,” I whisper back.

Maddie walks to me and puts a hand on my shoulder. “Are you okay?”

I nod. “Yeah, I just don’t like looking at blood.”

“Me neither,” she says with a shudder.

“Are you done?” Ryan asks crossly. He strides to us and I look away.

“Yeah, just stay back there,” I say.

“Fine,” he snaps. “Well I’m heading off anyway. Like I said, Garrett is going to be here any minute, and when he does, I’d rather not be here.”

Mason shrugs. “Great,” he says. “See you never.”

There’s a pause; I assume that Ryan’s glaring at Mason. Then Ryan says, “Come on, Maddie let’s go.”

Part 38: MASON’S POV

Maddie looks at Ryan, uncertainty in her eyes.

“Come on,” Ryan scowls.

“I…” Maddie looks up at me. I shrug.

Sighing, she looks back at Ryan. “I’m staying with them.”

Ryan frowns. “Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

Maddie stands, keeping an arm behind Skye in case she suddenly faints. Honestly, I forgot that Skye doesn’t like blood. I mean, I guess part of me also assumed that she’d be used to it by now, having survived the apocalypse for so long…

“You’d rather stay with them?”

“Yes.”

“Garrett’s going to find you.”

“I know.”

“He’s going to kill you.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Come with me.”

“No.”

“Come on, Maddie.”

“No.”

“Maddie…”

“No.”

Ryan glares at Maddie, but Maddie looks like she couldn’t care less. I don’t really understand why Ryan wants Maddie to go with him; they don’t seem to get along in the first place. Then again, what do I know? I just met these guys, like, three days ago.

“Can we find some shade?” Skye says suddenly, using her hand to shield her eyes from the sun.

Ryan continues glaring at Maddie. Maddie continues ignoring him.

“Come on, let’s get under the trees,” Maddie tells Skye, guiding her toward the forest.

Which leaves me with Ryan. Alone. Great.

Part 39: SKYE’S POV

As Maddie leads me through the trees, my stomach finally starts to settle.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go with him?” I ask her, half teasing.

She snorts. “I’d rather die.” Then she pauses. “No, wait, then I’d be one of them.”

I frown at her. “What do you mean?”

She stops, her eyes wide. “Sorry,” she says, her cheeks reddening. “I… I didn’t mean that I wouldn’t want to be like you. It’s just… I don’t know, it’s just weird.”

I look at her with confusion. “I’m still not following.”

She opens her mouth before stopping. After thinking for a few moments, she whispers, “Have you really not figured it out yet?”

“Figured what out?”

“Your…” she hesitates, searching for the right word. “Abilities.”

I glance down at my hands. “I’d rather not talk about that.”

“Winston calls people like you Specials,” Maddie continues, completely ignoring my request. “People with special abilities, that is.”

“So?”

“You have abilities,” Maddie says slowly, as if waiting for me to figure it out. “You didn’t have them all your life, right?”

“Right…?”

“They happened after the Day of the Halving.”

“Sure.”

“After the world went to crap.”

“Uh huh.”

“Lots of people died.”

“Yeah.”

Maddie stares at me, as if waiting for me to make the next comment. But I don’t, because I still don’t understand.

Finally, she sighs. “After the Day of the Halving, something happened. I don’t know if it’s something in the air or the water or what, but it makes it so that when you die, you come back. And when you come back, you have a special ability.”

“So…” My mind refuses to wrap around what she’s saying.

Maddie looks into my eyes. “What I’m trying to say is that technically, Skye, you’re dead.”

Part 40: MASON’S POV

I really don’t know why I’m still standing here next to Ryan. I should probably follow the girls before I lose them in the forest.

As I start walking, Ryan suddenly grabs my arm.

“I need you to do something for me,” he says softly.

I turn to him. “Why would I do anything for you?”

Ryan frowns. “Okay, well if you won’t do it for me, do it for Maddie.”

“Why would I do anything for her?”

“Do it for Skye then!” he growls. “Just… if your brother ever catches up to you, make sure he doesn’t take you back to the Garden. Promise me you won’t let him take you. Promise me you won’t let him take Maddie.”

I glare at him for a moment before sighing. “Fine,” I mutter before adding, “But just know that I’m not doing this for you. I’m not doing it for Maddie either. I’m just doing it for Skye. Understand?”

Ryan rolls his eyes and finally lets go of my arm. “Yeah, sure. whatever. Just… Well if he ever captures you…”

He hesitates slightly before pulling out his knife. It’s still stained with blood from our escape earlier. He flips it and points the handle at me.

“What would I do with that?” I snort. “You want me to hurt my brother?”

“No,” Ryan says. “I want you to kill Maddie.”

Part 41: SKYE’S POV

So… I’m dead. Apparently. At least, that’s what Maddie seems to think.

“Sorry, I guess this is probably coming as a shock to you,” Maddie says. “I just thought you should know.”

I stop and sit down heavily. “You… you thought I should know?” I whisper. “What, that I’m dead? How is that in the least bit relevant right now? Or important?”

“Well,” Maddie sighs, “everyone who has an ability has died at some point. At least, that’s how we think it works.”

“So Ryan…?”

She shakes her head. “No, not Ryan. That’s the thing. Winston was doing some experiments, trying to get some of us Normies to volunteer. Ryan said that he’d never do it, but then something changed. That promotion…”

She trails off before suddenly punching a tree. I wince when I see the blood from her knuckles staining the bark but she doesn’t.

“So Winston figured out what gives us our… abilities?” I ask slowly.

Maddie nods, cradling her hand. “Yeah, I guess so. But it’s unstable. Whatever he does to them, it eventually kills them. And they don’t come back.”

“But you just said that dead people come back to life with new powers.”

“Not these ones,” Maddie sighs. “We swore to each other that we’d never let him do that to us. He said he’d never be Winston’s pawn.”

I stay silent. Because something just occurred to me.

Garrett was dead. And now he’s not. So that means that he has some special ability too.

Part 42: MASON’S POV

“Geez, did someone die or something?” I ask, stepping through the bushes to join the girls.

They both jump at the sound of my voice.

“You can’t sneak up on us like that,” Skye scolds me.

“Maybe you guys should’ve been more conscious of your surroundings,” I say with a shrug.

She scowls at me before sighing. “Well, to answer your question, yes, someone did die. I did.”

I sit down beside her. “Listen, Skye, if this is about Garrett not remembering you, I’m sure we can do something about that. We can help him remember, he just needs a bit of time.”

She frowns. “What? No, this has nothing to do with Garrett. Or maybe it does, I’m not really sure. But the point is, I died. Like, actually died.”

Maybe I would’ve interpreted that as a joke before, but not now. I mean, just look at my brother. If he could come back to life then I’m sure Skye could’ve too.

“How did you die?” I whisper.

She shakes her head. “I don’t know. I didn’t even know that I’d died until about two minutes ago when Maddie told me.”

I stare at Maddie. “How the hell did you know?”

“Only people who’ve died have special abilities,” Maddie explains.

“Oh.” I look back at Skye. “So… what exactly does this mean?”

“Nothing,” she says, her voice short. “Nothing changes.”

The three of us fall silent.

Finally, I say, “Well… we did it. We’re out of the Garden. So now what?”

A sudden loud BANG erupts from behind us. I clamp my hands over my mouth to keep from screaming.

Maddie looks at me, her eyes wide, and whispers, “We run.”

Part 43: SKYE’S POV

“What is that?” I shout as another explosion shakes the world behind me.

“Ivan!” Maddie yells back. “He’s on of Garrett’s lieutenants. Can make explosions with a snap of his fingers.”

“Sounds like a nice guy,” Mason grunts, jumping over a log.

“He’s really not,” Maddie pants.

Another explosion, closer this time. I pick up the pace.

My legs burn, but I keep going. I don’t especially feel like getting blown to tiny pieces.

Wait, but I’m already dead, right? So what have I got to lose?

I slow down and wave at Maddie and Mason to keep going.

“What are you doing?” Mason shouts, slowing too.

“Go!” I scream at him. “I have an idea!”

I turn to see a dark figure appear between the trees. This must be Ivan.

“Skye, let’s go!” Maddie runs to me and grabs my arm. “We have to get out of here!”

I shove her away. “No, you guys go. I can deal with Ivan.”

“No, you can’t,” Maddie snaps. “Seriously, we need to go.”

“I can do this!” I shout.

From the corner of my eye, I watch as Ivan stalks forward. He’s not attacking anymore; maybe he thinks that we can’t run anymore.

Maddie steps in front of me, blocking my view of Ivan. “Listen, Skye, you don’t know Ivan. I’m telling you right now, he’s going to kill you.”

“So what?” I frown. “According to you, I’m already dead. Can’t kill something that’s already dead, can you?”

“Uh, yes, you can,” Maddie says. “If he blows you up, you won’t be coming back.”

My heart pounds. “Oh.”

“So can we go now?” Maddie asks, glancing back nervously. “Or are you still feeling brave?”

“Yeah, let’s go,” I say.

Together, we turn to join Mason before starting to run again.

Part 44: MASON’S POV

At this point, I don’t even really care anymore that we’re being chased by some guy who can blow stuff up and is apparently working for my brother. I just want to stop running.

Still, Maddie keeps dragging me along after her. So, I keep running.

I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to keep this up. My face is covered in blood and sweat (I keep getting whacked in the face by branches) and I don’t even know if my feet still exist because I can’t feel them anymore.

“Can we… stop… at some point?” I pant.

“No!” Maddie yells back at me as another explosion rings out. “We keep going until he gets tired of chasing us!”

“Is there seriously no other way?” I ask.

“No!”

I let out a long groan and continue running.

I have no idea how much time passes, but my body is starting to shut down. Something happens–I’d assume my numb foot catches on a tree root or something–and down I go. My hand slips out of Maddie’s as I fall flat on my face.

I don’t bother trying to get up. I already know that my body won’t respond anyway so what’s the point in wasting more energy?

I think Maddie and Skye are trying to get me to stand, but I’ve had enough. I just wish that they’d get out of here so that they don’t get blown up too.

Another BANG. Dirt sprays over me, landing on my face and in my mouth. It tastes pretty gross.

“Mason! Come on let’s go!”

From the corner of my eye, I see big boots approaching. Ah, explosion guy.

His hand lifts out of my field of view. I close my eyes and wait.

Silence. Then, a low growl.

Part 45: SKYE’S POV

I freeze. Someone else is here.

“Don’t. Move,” Maddie mutters in my ear.

“Wasn’t planning on it,” I whisper back.

Ivan hasn’t moved. He seems stiff, almost as if he’s just as scared as we are.

Heavy footsteps make the ground shake. A shadow looms over us, darkening the sky.

My hand flies to my mouth to cover my gasp.

It’s a monster. There’s no other way to describe it.

Huge and hairy, it covers us in its shadow. I can just make out crimson eyes staring back at me.

I grasp Mason’s arm and pull. “Come on,” I whisper. “Please, Mason, please. We need to get out of here.”

Ivan takes a step forward. My heart pounds.

“Mason, come on, please.”

Ivan’s hand raises.

With a ferocious snarl, the creature lunges. With one snap of its massive jaws, Ivan is no more.

The scream flies from my throat before I can stop it.

“We need to go!” Maddie hisses in my ear, yanking Mason to his feet.

I help her support Mason, but a flash of movement makes me jump. A streak of metal, then a howl of pain.

A familiar face suddenly appears beside us.

“Go! Move it!” Ryan shouts, shaking his blood-stained knife at us.

My adrenaline must’ve taken over, because the sight of blood doesn’t even bother me. Ryan shoves me out of the way and drapes Mason over his shoulder. Without waiting, he takes off running, ignoring the monster’s cries still echoing behind us.

I take off after him, ignoring the protests from my entire body. When I catch up to Ryan, I yell, “Let me guess, this guy works for Garrett too, doesn’t he?”

Ryan glances at me quickly with a frown. “No, he doesn’t work for Garrett,” he says. “That is Garrett.”

Part 46: MASON’S POV

I know that I’m pretty much delusional at this point from exhaustion, but I swear I just heard Maddie say that the four-legged, fur-covered creature following us is Garrett.

Look, I’ve called him worse things before. We’ve gotten into fights that ended in bloodshed and almost-broken bones. But I’ve never seen him like this before. No, this is another level of insanity.

Then again, it could just be that I’m imagining all of this and that Garrett’s actually not a giant monster with razor-sharp fangs. Yeah, I prefer that option.

I mean, my brain is getting pretty smashed around right now. Ryan isn’t exactly the most gentle, plus we’re going at a good speed. I’m guessing he’s caring more about running away than how much my head is getting whipped around.

A thunderous roar rings out through the trees. I somehow muster enough energy to look up.

Huh, I guess I wasn’t imagining the whole Garrett being a monster thing. That really sucks.

Part 47: SKYE’S POV

After what feels like running for a lifetime, Ryan skids to a stop. I wince as Mason’s head slams into Ryan’s back, but Mason already looks pretty out of it to begin with so I don’t think it affected him too much.

“Why are we stopping?” Maddie shouts, almost crashing into Ryan’s back and Mason’s head.

“Cliff,” Ryan simply says. He wipes the sweat from his forehead.

“Of course there’s a cliff,” Maddie says, rolling her eyes.

Another howl echoes behind us.

“Um, quick question, why exactly is Garrett trying to kill us?” I ask.

“Winston probably ordered him to,” Ryan says.

“And what, Garrett just does whatever Winston says?”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“Oh.”

The sound of snapping branches and heavy pawprints is getting closer. I know that I should probably be worried, but I can’t find it in myself to care.

The Garrett I knew and loved is gone. My family is gone.

Even I’m gone. I’m not the same person I was at the beginning of the apocalypse. No, that Skye is gone too.

I’m just like Garrett. Uncontrollable. Dangerous.

A monster.

I’m a monster. I’m not innocent like I used to be. I’m not the person I’ve been pretending to be.

So I’m not going to pretend anymore.

Part 48: MASON’S POV

I groggily open my eyes to see Skye step forward. She blocks my view, but I know that she’s standing between us and my brother.

“Skye?” I whisper. “What are you doing?”

Of course she ignores me. I know what she’s doing, trying to be all heroic and everything. She’s done it before, back before the apocalypse. She’s protected me more times than I can count, but now, it’s my turn.

No one’s going to hurt Skye on my watch, least of all my brother.

I push myself off Ryan’s shoulder, ignoring his yell of surprise. Adrenaline courses through me, propelling me toward Skye.

The trees split as Garrett crashes out onto the clifftop to join us. Now, in the light, I see him for the first time.

Images flash through my mind. Horrible, unforgettable images.

Teeth. Fur. Claws.

Red eyes.

The very creature that had killed my brother turned him into this. It had turned Garrett into one of them.

Garrett’s eyes meet mine, but he doesn’t seem to recognize me. His lips draw back over his pointed teeth, his red eyes narrow to slits. A low growl rumbles in his throat as his muscles tense under his fur pelt.

He’s getting ready to pounce. I’ve seen it before. I won’t see it again.

A scream rips from my throat as I start running. I shove Skye aside, catching a glimpse of her wide eyes as I race toward my brother’s outstretched claws.

Part 49: SKYE’S POV

“MASON!”

My voice echoes off the hard stone of the cliff. A stupid, useless echo. If only my first instinct had been to grab him, or push him, or do literally anything other than just scream.

But no, my body is still frozen, even now, watching blood pool onto the rocks beneath him. I’m in so much shock that I don’t even feel lightheaded from watching the red liquid slowly run to the ground.

A loud grunt draws my attention. Garrett convulses violently as his fur retreats back into his skin. His fangs and claws shorten as he stumbles, one hand flashing out to brace himself against the ground.

My breath catches in my throat. “Garrett?”

He pants hard, sweat making his hair stick to his forehead. His arm shakes before giving out. He lands, face first, into the puddle of blood.

Something clatters onto the rock next to Garrett. Ryan’s knife.

Mason slowly turns, face white, hands red. He drops to his knees without a word.

“No,” I whisper, my voice cracking. “No, no, no.”

Mason stands up, making a point not to make eye contact with any of us. He turns and walks into the forest, stepping over his brother’s still body as he leaves.

Part 50: SKYE’S POV

I don’t move to follow Mason. There’s no point; he’d just brush me off anyway.

Behind me, Ryan chuckles. “Wow,” he says, “Garrett’s dead. Maddie, do you know what this means? We’re free!”

Maddie doesn’t reply, but I feel her hand clasp my shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” she murmurs. “I know what he meant to you.”

I nod slowly, feeling slowly starting to re-enter my body. Ryan’s continued chuckles echo in my mind and my fury rises. I turn to see him starting to walk toward me. He veers around me and comes to a stop next to Garrett’s body.

“Not so scary now, are you?” he sneers down at him.

I clench my fists; he will not talk to Garrett like that.

“Ryan, shut up,” Maddie snaps while simultaneously squeezing my shoulder reassuringly. “Get your knife and let’s get out of here before Winston comes.”

“Winston’s powerless without his mutt to do his dirty work,” Ryan scoffs, poking Garrett with his foot.

I take a step forward. Red clouds my vision.

Ryan looks up, a stupid grin still on his face. But his expression quickly changes to terror when he sees me raise my hand toward him.

Part 51: MASON’S POV

What have I done?

The words keep repeating in my mind, sending a spike of pain through my heart with each repetition.

What have I done?

My brother’s dead. I killed him. And for what? To save my brother’s girlfriend who I don’t really know that well? To be a hero?

What have I done?

If I hadn’t done it, Skye certainly would’ve. So why did I have to step in? Why did I have to be the one to do it?

What have I done?

What have I done?

What have I done?

I stop in my tracks. I’ve become exactly what I’ve wanted for as long as I can remember. I’ve become the person I’ve looked up to, the person I’ve loved more than anyone else. The person who had held my hand in my darkest times. The person who I’d been looking for since the Day of the Halving.

The person who just tried to kill me.

The person I just killed.

A spike of pain shoots through me again and I drop to my knees. But this isn’t emotional pain. No, this pain is very real.

I slowly look down to see the rips in my blood-stained shirt from my brother’s claws.

As the world starts going fuzzy, I think about Maddie. Because if she’s right about what happens to people who die in the apocalypse, then I’m about to become even more like my brother.

Part 52: SKYE’S POV

“Skye, please don’t,” Maddie begs. But she stays a safe distance away; she knows that I’m dangerous. She knows what I’m capable of.

Ryan continues staring at me, eyes narrowed. He doesn’t say anything, just sizes me up as his hand slowly inches toward his knife.

His knife. The one that killed Garrett.

Sure, it wasn’t Ryan’s hand that held the knife, but Ryan still gave that knife to Mason. Mason shouldn’t have even had that option. I was supposed to kill Garrett. I was already the monster.

I failed my family. I failed Garrett. I failed Mason. I failed everyone.

So now what? What do failures do?

“Skye?”

My hands tremble before dropping to my sides.

I’ve failed. Not only everyone around me, but also myself.

I look at Maddie, then Ryan, then Garrett’s peaceful face. And I make my choice.

Part 53: MASON’S POV

Pain. Brain-numbing pain. It consumes my entire body, forcing screams from my throat.

Then, nothing. Absolutely nothing.

The world is dark even though I’m fairly certain it’s the middle of the day. I don’t even know if my eyes are open or closed. All I know is that something’s happening to me. Something… strange.

My body begins tingling. Not with pain, just… feeling. I don’t know how to describe what it feels like, just that it feels. Honestly, anything is better than pain.

But of course I speak too soon, because the pain is back. And it’s worse than before. Much worse.

Blinding light pierces my vision. I’m fairly certain that my eyes are open now, what with the sudden bombardment of brightness.

The pain is unbearable. It’s everywhere and nowhere at once. In my brain, but also not.

My mouth opens and releases a scream.

No, not a scream. A howl.

Part 54: SKYE’S POV

The howl pierces the air, sending chills up my spine. I stop in my tracks, right at the edge of the cliff.

“What was that?” Maddie whispers, interrupting her begging for me to stop before I go over the edge.

I turn around, my heart pounding. “Garrett?”

No, it’s not Garrett. He’s still dead, eyes glazed over and staring back at me.

Then who….?

Another howl echoes through the trees. It sounds pained, almost as if it’s a cry for help. And it’s coming from the direction that Mason left.

Wait, no. It couldn’t be. That wouldn’t make any sense… would it?

I exchange a glance with Maddie. Her face is white; is she thinking the same thing?

The trees crash to the ground and a gasp tears itself from my throat before I can stop it.

The monster’s back. And, once again, it turns out it isn’t me.

Part 55: MASON’S POV

My entire body feels weird. Like it isn’t mine. Like I have no control over my limbs.

I happen to glance down at a nearby puddle and I figure out why.

I look just like Garrett did. Except I don’t seem to have an on or off switch like Garrett had. At least, so far I seem to be stuck in this form.

Still, I can’t help but stare at myself. I’ve seen this creature before. But it did look a bit different; my teeth aren’t red with my brother’s blood, though my hands sure are.

A howl tears itself from my throat as I stare at myself. What I am… it’s not natural. It’s a result of the Day of the Halving.

“M-Mason?”

My eyes snap up to see Maddie watching me with wide eyes.

“Mason, is that you?”

Rage suddenly flashes through me. My lips pull back in a snarl.

But Maddie didn’t do anything wrong. I did.

My eyes flicker to Garrett’s body still lying on the ground and a flash of light catches my eyes. Around Garrett’s wrist is a metal bracelet with a simple picture of a tree. ‘The Garden’, it says.

The Garden. That’s where I’ll find my answers. I need to talk to Winston.

Part 56: SKYE’S POV

Mason stares at me as I stare back at him.

‘I’m sorry’ is what I want to say, but I can’t make my mouth form the words. But I think he understands. He nods slightly before looking down at Garrett. He walks over to his brother and rests a giant paw on his side before glancing back up at me.

His eyes say ‘Good-bye.’ A sharp pain spikes through my heart, but I understand. This is where we part ways. The next parts of our journeys are ours alone.

I give him a small smile before he turns and runs, disappearing through the trees.

“Was that Mason?” Maddie whispers, her voice trembling.

I stare after him for a moment longer before shaking my head. “No. Mason’s gone.”

“Who was that then?” Ryan snaps, his annoyance masking his fear.

I shrug. “I don’t know.”

I don’t think I’ll ever know. But I’m okay with that.

“So… what now?” Maddie asks, walking up beside me.

I look over my shoulder at the cliff’s edge. Another choice, but this time, Mason isn’t a part of the equation.

So, what now? Well, I guess that’s up to me.

The End.