Hadley felt like she was resurfacing from the depths of a bottomless lake, gasping deeply for air as she quickly sat up.

She had failed!

She hadn't made it out!

She had doomed Jamila and Ruqwik!

Looking around, Hadley expected to see puke green paisley wallpaper, the four-poster bed with light green linen and the brown puritan dress folded over the wooden chair against the empty vanity table, ready for her to wear once Mrs. Smith unchained her.

Instead, Hadley's eyes fell on Ruqwik.

The vampire's gaze was soft, her eyes thick with emotion. Hadley looked away and focused on where she was. She was on a bedroll in a tent. The same tent that Trisca's people had assigned her and Jamila. The one she'd woken up in to find Teroi waiting at the door flap for her the last time she'd been in it. The same one she'd packed onto her new backpack before...

"Hadley?" Ruqwik whispered, as though afraid to speak louder.

Hadley froze.

The vampire was healed enough to speak again. How long did it take for a vampire to grow new vocal cords? How long had Hadley been here?

She ignored Ruqwik and took off the T-shirt and underwear she was wearing. They were drenched in sweat from the nightmare she'd just had, most of which she couldn't remember, thankfully. Without looking at Ruqwik, Hadley rummaged through her backpack which was at the foot of her bedroll and pulled out a clean set of clothes. Once dressed, she pulled on her boots and practically ran out of the tent.

She took a few deep breaths of fresh air, trying to calm her angry mind.

"Hadley!" a surprised, cheerful voice called for her.

Hadley turned to see Jamila race to her and gave her the biggest hug, almost knocking her over. For the first time since she'd woken up, Hadley's body relaxed, her heartbeat slowed down, her mind went silent, and her breath come in easier as she took in Jamila's essence. The familiar, homey scent drowned hard and painful memories pressing against Hadley's mind, giving her a break from the nightmares that had threatened to seep into real life at the sight of Ruqwik.

"Jay," Hadley breathed.

"I'm right here, Lee," Jamila whispered back, further chasing away the ghosts of weeks past.

Weeks.

Hadley pulled out of the hug and held Jamila at arm's length, looking her over carefully. Jamila had large dark circles under her eyes, but otherwise seemed unharmed.

"Are you okay?" Hadley asked.

Jamila gave a solemn nod. "Are you? When Ruqwik helped me out of the basement, and I saw you..."

Hadley looked around them, at all the tents that surrounded hers in a protective cocoon. At Crystal, Billy, Jael, and Teroi and Juvan – the last two remaining Progeny men – all of them standing around the camp's edge with sharpened spears of bone and stone heads in hand. The mothers and children's absence was palpable. Only Drew had survived, miserably poking a stick into a campfire. His dog was nowhere to be seen. The others turned to look at Hadley, and it was then that she realised she didn't recognise everyone. There were some new faces added to the group.

All the faces, both new and old, were strained, wearing heavy bags under their eyes. Hadley looked around some more and recognised where they were. It was a beautiful late afternoon, and she could see the steam past their tents and a few trees. They were camping at the hot springs.

"Who are they?" Hadley asked warily, after properly appraising most of their party. Many of them frozen in their tasks, staring at her in shock. She was specifically pointing at two heavy-set women standing a few feet away.

"Some of Trisca's people joined the others after the dog attack," Jamila explained, referring not just to the two women, but three men standing with Teroi at the edge of the camp circle, spears clutched tightly in their fists. Fear permeated the camp. "The women are Kiara and Matya. They lived in a Compound in Trisca's Enclave and were taken from their Compound and brought to the camp a few days before the Sun Festival. Apparently, it was something that happened every year with two pregnant girls from the Compound."

"They're pregnant?" Hadley repeated.

Jamila hummed in agreement.

"Kiara and Matya were there when our Compound mothers were killed by Trisca and her people," Jamila explained. "They say that they would have been killed too, but Ruqwik arrived just before it was Kiara's turn to be picked by Trisca. Ruqwik told them to run after she'd killed Trisca and the other vampires in the cave."

Hadley went silent, the images from that description finally completing the memory of her walking in on Ruq decapitating Trisca.

I was too late.

"How is everyone else holding up? Billy and Crystal? Teroi and the Progenies?" Hadley asked, pushing away the memories.

The one thing she noticed was that the memories pulled no strings inside her. They did nothing for her. That made them superfluous and thus of no use to dwell upon. Her focus now was on finding the Wildlings.

That still held utility.

Mrs. Smith may have gone about it the wrong way, but she was right to an extent. Humans and vampires shouldn't mix. Not while vampires treated humans as they did – with no value other than being a bag of blood.

"They're alive. Not doing that great, but alive. Josal and Teroi led everyone back here like you instructed." Jamila replied. "Ever since then, they've been waiting for us. Waiting for you. We didn't know what to do. Where to go."

"How long have I been..." Hadley sighed, trailing off, not quite sure how to ask the question.

What had she been? Dead? It felt like it. She was different now. She was no longer 'Disconnecting'. It was done. She was fully disconnected. Separated from emotion. It didn't really bother her. What she wondered about was its effect on the image she had crafted of herself over time. These people saw her as a leader. She would keep it that way. She just needed to make sure she didn't let on that she didn't care for any of them. That would make them difficult to lead.

Make it difficult to ensure they obeyed her every word.

"A week." Jamila said, carefully looking her over. "It's impossible, but you're fully healed."

Jamila reached out and gently touched Hadley's face, her fingertips softly grazing Hadley's forehead, left cheek and lips.

"There was a lot to heal." Jamila whispered, horror colouring the words.

Hadley didn't want her to elaborate. Didn't need her too. Every night would be filled with the terrors of what happened. The atrocious things she had done to Mrs. Smith. To chase away the memories creeping up on her, Hadley gently cupped Jamila's face, drew her close and kissed her. Jamila was surprised at first, but, as Hadley wove her hands into her hair and drew them closer, she soon melted into the kiss. The camp erupted into hollers and catcalls and Hadley smiled against Jamila's lips before pulling away. Jamila gazed rapturously into Hadley's eyes.

"I'm glad you're okay," Hadley whispered.

That kiss should have kindled a roaring fire inside Hadley. It usually did. And even as she smiled, Hadley was too aware of how her lips curved, wondering if it was... correct... enough. The smile was a motion she was going through. A motion without emotion behind it. She knew what she should be feeling, but she felt none of it.

Felt nothing.

The darkness in her mind was no longer an abyss that consumed her emotions. It was her.

Jamila leaned in to kiss her again, but Hadley, lost in thought, turned away. "I'm hungry. Do you have anything I can eat? Even a cooked boot sounds lovely."

Jamila laughed. Hadley turned back to face her.

"I think we can rustle up something a little tastier than a boot," Jamila smiled, her golden eyes sparkling. Hadley willed that smile to stir something within her.

Anything.

But there was nothing.

Jamila gave her a quick peck on the cheek and walked over to where Billy and Crystal stood, close to a steaming pot over a campfire.

As the others went back to their activities, an errant thought ran through Hadley's mind. She wondered if this was how it was for her mother. It wasn't that Hadley was devoid of every emotion. She knew she could be happy, sad, frustrated, afraid and angry. Especially angry. But there was nothing around her that seemed to stir the feelings. And she inferred the arrival of her daughter would be similarly underwhelming. She sighed. It was a little unsettling to think that she was now similar to her mother in this way. Hadley had hoped that, at the very least, she would have had time to enjoy her daughter's birth.

But that hope had been stolen from her. Stolen by the one person she had ever fully let inside. The bitter irony was that, before, when her mind had been connected to Ruqwik's when they left the Compound all through to Trisca's settlement and Mrs. Smith's cabin, Hadley had been experiencing her emotions much longer than she had in years before the darkness would consume them.

All her emotions were gone now.

Ruqwik had broken her.

There was a celebration that night to welcome Hadley back. Jokes were passed around, far-out stories told and there was even some song and dance around a giant bonfire they'd created. Hadley watched Jamila laughing and listening to Drew, who was finally smiling. Jamila then let Billy and Crystal convince her to join them dancing around the fire. Hadley tried to find the scene adorable. It was how she was supposed to be feeling. But what consumed her was how odd it was that Jamila was seemingly okay after the nightmare that was Mrs. Smith's basement. That and how they were wasting time here. They should have been walking towards the Wildlings.

Should have found them weeks ago!

There was true purpose to it now.

Mrs. Smith's words played in her mind.

"You don't know who you are, do you, Hadley Fisher?"

Hadley still didn't know what the woman had meant by the words, but she knew it was important. Nagara, the vampire who had tried to help her, revealed that the same name was recorded in Aunt Zee's diary, only readable by the Wildling Council. Hadley had to find the Wildlings. Had to find out what it all meant. That was the only thing that mattered now.

Not wasting time dancing around a bonfire!

Hadley banished the anxious thoughts and tried to focus on what was happening. Her eyes went back to Jamila and the others who made up the group. They adored Jamila. Almost worshiped her. It was understandable. Hadley may have been the one they looked up to for direction, but Jamila held an air of command around her that was simultaneously inspiring and a little intimidating. It wasn't something she wielded, as she should have been. It didn't even seem like she knew the effect she had on others. Hadley wondered how it came so effortlessly to Jamila. Wondered how to make it so that the others could see her in that light, not Jamila.

The gentle sough of the wind through the trees, sibilance of night insects and the crackling of the fire was a deeply relaxing background to the beautiful, cool spring night. It would be impossible to navigate the jungle in the dark, so Hadley let them continue their celebrations. She would move them out in the morning.

Hadley's thoughts shifted to Conception Day and how it had already come and gone. They were all pregnant now, her and the girls in her Cohort – Jamila, Crystal, Billy and Jael. Hadley placed a palm on her belly and imagined how it would be raising her daughter and Jamila's daughter together. That was once a dream she had to let go of after escaping the Compound, but life had given her a second, no, third chance at it. She wouldn't let that go or allow anyone to steal it from her!

"Are you having fun?" Jamila asked, walking over from the children's circle, and sitting next to Hadley on a log next to the bonfire. Jamila's dancing eyes twinkled in the orange glow of the bonfire. Had it only taken a week for her to get over what had happened to her in that basement?

"I'm a little tired," Hadley said, trying to show mischief.

Trying and failing.

Misreading the situation, Jamila's face fell. "Of course. Let's get you to the tent."

"I was thinking... maybe... you feel tired too?" Hadley replied, trying to recall how to lay on the charm. She was good at that. Or at least she used to be.

Jamila finally caught on and displayed a dazzling smile. A light of humour went on in her eyes mingling with an intense sensuality that would have once sent a thrill of excitement through Hadley. Jamila's gaze held hers, seeming to reach far into the realms of Hadley's thoughts. As if trying to fix her.

Hadley wished with all her might that it would work.

"I'll have you know that I'm not at all tired," Jamila breathed. "And I probably won't be... for hours."

"Good," Hadley smiled, taking her hand, and leading them to the tent.

A tiny pen light lit up the tent. As they slowly undressed, Hadley's eyes travelled down Jamila's body with all the power of an intimate caress. Hadley stopped taking off her own clothes and instead moved in to help Jamila's with hers. Once Jamila was naked in front of her, Hadley kissed her. It was slow at first, tentative. Then Hadley drew her closer, ran her hands up Jamila's back and now there was a fire to the kiss. A sense of agency.

Urgency.

That night, Hadley made love to Jamila and realised that, despite the darkness in her mind, she had never known such hunger, sensation, tenderness, and bewilderment. As they lay back after, Jamila had laughed at Hadley's surprise and confusion, as though understanding something Hadley didn't. But that was alright. Turning to kiss Jamila again, and giving into a delicious new tingle of lust, Hadley was happy to lose herself in the euphoria of their lovemaking and pretend for a while that the rest of the world was simply a place to which one day they might return. Here, in her arms, the darkness blanketing her emotions was tolerable because Jamila had reached in and found her in the abyss.

As sunrise filtered through the tent canvas, they woke up and made love sleepily, eyes closed, bodies entwined, as the dreamy, unhurried magic of a shared orgasm floated between them. Hadley took in the sight of Jamila beside her. Jamila's raven hair fell in an exquisite sweep over their pillow and the side of her face. Hadley wanted nothing more than to stay lost in this whimsical oblivion where nothing existed beyond them and the intensity of their desire and need for closeness. But she knew that it had to end. Knew that her mind was changed forever.

That even now, she was slipping away into indifference.

Only true, clear purpose mattered now.

Hadley was five weeks pregnant. Jamila too. And all the other women in their Cohort as well – Jael, Crystal and Billy.

They were out of time.

Hadley had to find the Wildlings.

And she desperately needed to pee too.

"Can we stay like this forever?" Jamila whispered into the crisp early morning air.

"It wouldn't be the worst thing," Hadley replied.

"I love you," Jamila whispered, hesitantly.

Jamila had said the words to Hadley a few times before, always in the same hesitant breath, but Hadley had never said the words back. At the Compound, when she was disconnecting, she knew the words wouldn't be completely true, and she didn't ever want to lie to Jamila, so she would always hold the words back, no matter what. But now, Hadley looked at things differently. She wanted to keep Jamila committed to her. She needed Jamila to stay committed to her. It was important for her daughter. For their future as a couple.

And for Hadley's image as a leader in front of the others.

Lying felt inconsequential in the grand scheme of things.

"I love you too," Hadley whispered back.

***

"My men and I aren't going anywhere with you, Hadley," Teroi said, in response to Hadley's instructions on how they would proceed if they were to go find the Wildlings.

Hadley kept her face blank. For the first time, she appreciated the darkness. Her mind was calm, untriggered by his outrage. After silently observing the group for the last two days, she had expected this.

"This is the only way, Teroi," Hadley said, as a matter of fact. He was a Progeny, bred to be a vampire – he would obviously find it hard to understand her point of view. But he was still human. Hadley would try to help him see the truth. All humans deserved the future she was going to lead them to. "Unless you want to face the monsters in these woods on your own, the Wildlings are our best bet."

It wasn't just that the Wildlings would play a key role in manifesting The Cause, which Hadley still fully believed in. Weeks ago, Hadley had thought the worst thing she'd ever have to face in the woods when she walked beyond the Compound walls was a vampire or two. Not vampire dogs or vampires who fed from newborns, children and pregnant mothers. Or a woman who taxidermized vampires. Or nightmares fuelled by memories of the gore and death she'd caused with her own two hands from a murderous rage that Ruqwik had telepathically seared into her mind, plunging her into an emotionless abyss.

She had been so naïve back then.

There was evil in these forests, and there would undoubtedly be more to face.

Finding the Wildlings was the only way to escape it all. Teroi had to know that. Besides, going back to a society led by vampires wasn't just running straight back into evil – it was absconding the righteous human role as rulers of the earth.

"If there are monsters out here," Teroi said, tersely. "They're not the only ones."

He switched his gaze to a spot behind Hadley. She didn't need to turn around to know that he was looking at Ruqwik. Hadley could feel the vampire's presence as sure as she could feel the breeze against her face. Her mental link to the vampire was mostly severed, but there was a lingering thread, and it irked Hadley to no end knowing that she couldn't completely cut the tie. It helped that very little now passed between them. Hadley did wonder what the vampire thought about the all-encompassing darkness that was now her mind.

"I'd rather head back to the safety of the Enclave I know than try my luck out here," Teroi continued. He pointed at Ruqwik. "Especially with a loose cannon like her for company."

Hadley wondered why Teroi was suddenly so antagonistic towards Ruqwik. The last time they'd been together, all he wanted was for Ruq to Turn him. Not that Hadley was complaining. Humans hating vampires was a good thing, especially for a Progeny. But, even though she hated to admit it, she needed the vampire to keep protecting them until they found the Wildlings.

That was the only reason she hadn't killed the vampire already.

The only reason.

There was no other.

There couldn't be.

"I've heard enough about Enclaves without Barons to know how dangerous it would be to go back there," Hadley replied, getting impatient. "There's nothing back there for us. What you're proposing..."

Josal cut Hadley off.

"What he's proposing isn't just walking back to Lujeo's Enclave," Josal said.

Speaking of hating vampires...

"Then what is it?" Hadley asked, ire climbing up her throat. Rage seemed to be the only emotion that hadn't been swallowed by the abyss and it was frightfully easy to spark it in her. She struggled to stay calm.

"Josal is going to Turn me," Teroi said.

Ruqwik moved forward then.

"What?" came the vampire's incredulous response to the statement.

Josal took a small step back before he spoke up again, trying to hold his head high.

"Turning him will make me a Master," Josal explained. "It'll give me the right to fight to claim an Enclave. Whoever is in charge of Lujeo's Enclave right now will need a new Champion to claim Trisca's Enclave and I'm going to ask her to let me be it. And when I claim Trisca's Enclave, you, Ruq, will back me up as my Chief of Security, just like you did with Lujeo. And once I'm a Baron, Hadley and everyone else can live in my Enclave under my protection. It's a solid plan."

Ruqwik laughed. "What makes you think I would agree to any of that?"

Josal stayed silent, more for effect than anything else, then smiled.

"I know what you are, Ruq," Josal said, moving close enough to get in Ruqwik's face. He carefully moved the hair covering her right eye. "You can try and hide your eyes as much as you want, but I've seen it. I've seen the blue. You're a Venom."

Ruqwik shoved him out of her personal space. "So, what?"

"So, you can either be a part of my Enclave as my chief of security," Josal continued with a smug smile. "Or you can lose every chance of being able to live in any Enclave once I reveal your secret."

Hadley was over it.

"I'm done with all this vampire shit!" Hadley all but screamed the words at Josal.

Hadley never yelled.

Josal turned to Ruqwik. "You never even told Hadley about who she really is, did you, Ruq? You never told her she was a Fisher."

Ruqwik knew?!

The vampire could have saved Hadley the overwhelming anxious uncertainty borne of everyone outside the Compound walls seemingly knowing more about her than she did, but Ruq had chosen not to. The duplicitous bitch! But what else could Hadley expect from a vampire? Hadley pulled back her focus to the task at hand. Her and her daughter didn't have time for this.

"You can talk about whatever this is for as long as you want," Hadley said, feigning disinterest as best as she could. "I'm going to find the Wildlings. Those who want to come with me are welcome. Everyone else can decide where they want to go."

"You can tell the whole world about me, Josal," Ruqwik sneered. "I'm still not going to help you."

They vampires squared off and settled into a stare down. Hadley felt Ruqwik's power gather in the air around them. Its intensity turned her stomach, but she kept her breakfast in place. Josal backed down and took another frightened step away from Ruqwik.

"I'll be back for you with an army, Ruq," Josal said, in a stern voice. He turned to leave and Teroi followed.

"I don't expect anything less," Ruq replied. "It's the only way you'll survive me."

The camp split into two. Those with Hadley and those with Teroi.

"Drew, let's go," Teroi called out to the little boy.

Drew stayed where he was, on Hadley's side of the divide. He slipped one of his hands into Jamila's and stood tall. The little boy had been miserable for days because his best friend, Brownie, was still missing, but he was determined in his defiance. Teroi pursed his lips in annoyance.

"Suit yourself." Teroi spat.

In the end, Josal left with Teroi as well as most of the men from Trisca's camp who'd joined the group to flee to the hot springs.

In addition to Drew, the last of Teroi's teen Progenies, the eighteen-year-old called Yuvan, stayed with Hadley. From Trisca's camp, two men, Kilo and Chaz, stayed with Hadley too, as well as a woman named Lulu and the two pregnant women Ruqwik had saved from the cave massacre, Kiara and Matya. The last of Hadley's group were the other three girls from the Compound, Crystal, Billy and Jael.

Lastly,and less than the least, Ruqwik stayed, of course.