Slowly, Aisling opened her eyes to find herself in an unfamiliar room. Sitting up, Aisling noticed the sound of a crying child could be heard from another room.

      Aisling got up, feeling the cold hardwood floor beneath her feet as she looked around the room. It was mostly barren with only a few photos with their faces marked out. Inspecting one of the photos, she tried to see if she recognized who was in it. But, since the photo was without a face, she couldn't.

      The crying child got louder, causing Aisling to set the photo aside before walking out into the hallway. There were slash marks on the walls but Aisling paid them no attention as she walked through the hallway, searching for the source of the crying.

      Eventually, Aisling found a door where the crying was loudest. Gently, Aisling pushed the door open. A crib was visible within the room.

      Aisling walked over before peering into the crib. The crying suddenly stopped as Aisling only saw a single stuffed rabbit within. It looked like the ear and side had been stitched back together as it was more like a ragdoll than a real looking bunny.

      Picking up the rabbit, Aisling felt a pair of eyes burning into the back of her head. Whipping around, a woman waited within the doorway with a twisted smile. She had long, messy brown hair and grey eyes. Blood began to trickle down her face before she said in a monotone voice, "You did this to me."

      Aisling backed up until her back was pressed to the wall, clutching the rabbit close to her chest. Suddenly, she realized she was clutching a bloody hatchet rather than the stuffed rabbit. The woman slowly pulled a knife out of a vertical gash down the middle of her chest.

      As the woman slowly drew closer, Aisling stared at her reflection in the hatchet. She saw her younger self staring back. Looking up, the knife grazed her skin beneath her eye. Aisling lashed out, swinging the ax at the woman while screaming, "Get out of my head!"

      A voice repeatedly called out to her, "Aisling... Aisling... Aisling!"

      Aisling's eyes shot open before quickly sitting upright, colliding heads with Molly. Molly fell backward and rubbed her head as Aisling shook hers before asking, "What the hell, kid?"

      Molly replied as she sat up, "You were struggling in your sleep so I thought you were having a nightmare and woke you up..."

      Aisling looked at the clock before saying, "We should start getting ready to go. I don't wanna waste time." She got up and dug through her bag before finding a hairbrush. Looking at Molly again, she said, "Sit on the edge of the bed and face the window." Molly complied before Aisling sat behind her.

      As Aisling struggled with the knots in Molly's hair, Molly asked her, "What was the nightmare about?"

      Aisling replied, "Nothing that concerns you, kid."

      Molly shrugged, "I mean, it can't hurt to talk about it, right?"

      Aisling responded in a nonchalant tone, "I'd rather not. I'm not the talking type."

      After a few moments of silence, Molly spoke up, "Are you scared?"

      Aisling scoffed as she brushed Molly's hair, "I'm part of the Resistance. We don't get scared."

      Molly stared out the window as she said, "Everyone gets scared sometimes. It makes us human. Besi- Ow!"

      Aisling said, "Shush and stop moving. It'll hurt less that way. Besides, I'm almost done."

      Molly fell silent as Aisling fought the last few knots with the brush. As she stood, Aisling said, "Now finish getting ready. I've already been delayed enough."

      Molly complied, walking to her room as she gathered what little she had into a backpack. She grabbed a pair of goggles with circular, orange lenses before putting them on her head like sunglasses. She said to herself, "I wonder why she's in such a hurry to get to Bellheir."

      When Molly was ready, Aisling tossed her a small, brown paper bag, "It's not much but it's the best I can give you in terms of breakfast."

      Opening the bag, Molly saw some biscuits with a couple pieces of sausage and canteen. The canteen was filled with orange juice. Molly smiled and ate as Aisling gathered the last of her stuff.

      The two went out to the motorcycle and began driving. Molly would tap either Aisling's right or left shoulder to indicate where to turn. Once they were just outside the checkpoint, Aisling stopped and looked back at Molly, "You sure you wanna come with me to Bellheir, kid?"

      Molly nodded determinedly in response before asking, "Why do you wanna go anyways?"

      Aisling turned to the front again as she replied, "I have something I need to take care of in America."

      Molly asked, "Can I come with?"

      Looking back again, Aisling raised an eyebrow and asked, "Don't you have important stuff here?"

       Shaking her head, Molly replied, "No, I don't really have any family or friends anyways. Besides, it's better than staying here..."

      Aisling looked to the front again as she stated, "Alright. But it's gonna be dangerous so if you see trouble, run. Don't try to be a hero."

      Molly agreed before Aisling began driving again. Aisling thought to herself, 'Hopefully, I can make up for lost time. Taking a boat straight to America would be quicker than going to Ireland and finding someone there to help. I hope bringing this kid was the right choice. She could help at some point.'

      As Aisling drove, she muttered to herself, "This forest is larger than I remember..." A forest separated Ardosa and Bellheir.

      Toraigh Island had never been very populated so there was no need for mass construction of suburbs. Instead, there were large cities that depended on each other through trade alongside small towns that were normally for farming and livestock. But, the war left the island contaminated with radiation. The radiation mutated animals within the areas without cities or towns. This caused towns to become more independent as traveling was dangerous. Lately, people have adapted and began finding safe ways to travel for trade.

      Molly asked, "Have you ever been out here?"

      Aisling replied, "Not since the Crisis. I was stationed in Cosain during my apprenticeship."

      Molly said, "You probably don't remember because of all the battling. That and the Crisis was years ago."

      Aisling let out a small growl of frustration as she drove. Suddenly, a shadow passed by the corner of her eye. She stopped and took off her helmet, looking around with narrowed eyes. Molly asked, "What is it?"

      The young girl was quickly shushed as Aisling held up a finger, carefully getting off the motorcycle. Molly watched anxiously from the bike as Aisling drew her sword.

      A large roar like sound caused Aisling to whip around as time seemed to slow down again. Aisling looked at the animal lunging at her. It looked like a bear but extremely large. Its front legs were without fur alongside half of its face. It seemed to have an extra limb branching off one of its front legs. The part of its mouth closest to the furless part of its face had the lips pulled further up like a snarl except it was permanent. A long tooth jutted out, curving a bit upwards like a tusk on the furless side of its mouth.

      Aisling looked for any weak spots as the animal had a paw raised to strike her. Time returned to normal as Aisling twisted to the side, avoiding the blow before dragging the blade across its side as it passed by her. The creature reared back, standing on its two back legs as it led out a horrid roar.

      The sound of rustling in the forest accompanied by large footsteps pounding down onto dirt, snapping twigs as they grew closer caused Aisling to lose focus for just a moment.

      Suddenly, Aisling felt herself get pinned to the ground as her sword fell out of her hand. Time slowed again as she saw the animal going to sink its teeth into her shoulder. Looking over, she figured the sword was too far from reach. Her sniper rifle was strapped to her back but she was unable to move her arms.

      Quickly, Aisling noticed the creature's paw was injured. The other paw had the second limb pinning her mechanical arm with it, slightly crushing the metal. Once again, time returned to normal as Aisling bit the injured paw. The bear cried out in pain as it drew back the injured paw. Aisling rolled onto her side to face the other two limbs to allow herself to grab the rifle. As the creature went to strike again, Aisling pointed the gun at it.

      Molly watched the creature fall limply onto its side as Aisling got up, covered in the creature's blood. Before Aisling could make her way back over, Molly yelled, "Behind you!"

     Time slowed once more as Aisling turned to face whatever was behind her. But, before she could process anything, she was hit by a wave of lightheadedness as time snapped back to normal speed. The creature slashed her side, causing her to drop her rifle.

      Molly saw the creature and looked at the gun. The creature roared at Aisling. It was another bear like mutant but with goat legs replacing its back legs and horns on the sides of its face, curving to point forward. Its tail was long and had a tip similar to the horns.

      Aisling clutched her bleeding side as the mutant went to strike with its two front horns. Quickly, Aisling twisted to the side before the tail struck her in the face, leaving a small cut on her cheek and causing her to lose her balance as she staggered back a bit.

      A gunshot echoed through the area, causing Aisling to stop as the creature tensed up before crashing to the ground. Looking up, Aisling saw Molly clutching the rifle with a shocked look on her face.

      Before Aisling could say anything, she felt herself stumble back a few steps before taking a few steps forward as she held her head. Then, she fell to the ground as her vision went dark.

      Molly rushed over before rolling Aisling onto her back. Lifting up the shirt, Molly could see the claw marks in Aisling's side. Quickly, she dug through her bag for a medical kit, "Don't die don't die don't die." Panicking, Molly finally found the medkit. She pressed on the wound to slow the bleeding, gagging slightly as she felt blood seeping between her fingers.

      Grabbing a rag and a canteen, Molly used her free hand to pour some water on the rag before beginning to clean the wound. Aisling groaned as she was still unconscious. Molly then grabbed a small vile, putting some of the liquid inside on the rag. Then, she began wiping the wound with it, Aisling wincing a little before Molly began quickly stitching the wound.

      Once she was finished, Molly began cleaning the blood off of herself and as much as she could off of Aisling. Afterward, she tried picking her up before quickly realizing that Aisling was far too heavy for her to carry. Instead, Molly dragged her to the motorcycle, careful not to open the stitches as she propped her against a tree.

      When Aisling finally woke up, she let out a pained groan. Molly quickly looked over and smiled, "You're awake!"

      Aisling looked around as her eyes adjusted before asking, "What happened?"

      Molly replied, "Well, you blacked out from blood loss so I stitched the wound..."

      Aisling slowly stood again as she said, "Thanks." She looked around, seeing the sun beginning to set as she thought, 'Damn it, that's another day wasted.' Looking down at the stitches, she thought to herself, 'I'll admit it though, the kid's good with injuries.'

      Molly said, "It's getting late. Should we keep going?"

      Aisling shook her head, "No, it's too dangerous out here at night. Let's find a safe place to rest. I think I saw an abandoned house earlier."

      Molly raised an eyebrow, "A house? Out here?"

      Aisling explained, "It's not that uncommon. Before the war, plenty of people enjoyed living out in the forest. Now come on, let's go before we're stuck out here with no shelter."

      The two got back onto the motorcycle before beginning to drive again. Soon, they found a run-down house near a lake. The lake looked murky but Molly thought that at some point, it was probably clear and pretty. Aisling rammed her shoulder into the door and checked around in case there were any mutants or other people. Once it was clear, Aisling said, "Find a place to rest. There's a couple of beds upstairs. Watch where you step though, this house isn't very stable."

      Molly nodded and wen to find a place to sleep. Meanwhile, Aisling began digging through her bag as her stomach growled. She found some rations and began eating them out of the can with a plastic spoon as she sat on the old couch. It was broken on one side, leaving it uneven as the broken side laid on the ground.

      As Aisling ate, she looked out the window at the lake. Molly came back downstairs and Aisling looked back over as Molly was holding out a small box. Aisling asked, "What's this?"

      Molly shrugged, "I don't know. But it had a picture of someone that looked like you in it. I didn't look any further but I thought maybe it was yours."

      Looking at the box, Aisling noticed it said, "Aisling Flynn" on the top. Molly asked, "Is that your name? Aisling Flynn?"

      Nodding, Aisling slowly took the box and opened it. Quickly, she closed it again after seeing the picture on top. She asked quietly, "Kid, where did you find this?"

      Molly replied, "Upstairs in one of the rooms. Is something... wrong?"

      Aisling got up and walked upstairs before walking into the room. She hadn't checked it during her sweep of the house since she had thought it was locked. Immediately, Aisling recognized the room.

      Freezing in the doorway, Aisling saw blood splattered on the walls as a girl with disheveled, brown hair stood in the center with her back to Aisling. A bloody hatchet was held loosely in her hand as the girl was slightly hunched over, her arms limp at her sides. Slowly, the girl turned towards Aisling, a fresh cut bleeding under her eye.

      Molly suddenly spoke up from behind Aisling, "Ash, are you okay?"

      Aisling turned to Molly before looking back into the room. It had returned to normal as the girl vanished. Aisling mumbled, "Yeah, I'm fine. Thought that maybe I'd been here before..."

      Molly asked, "So, what's up with the box?"

      Aisling shrugged, "I don't know. Must be someone else's. I mean, my name's not that uncommon. Besides, this house has been here for years it looks like. Just get some rest, alright?"

      As Aisling walked away, Molly frowned a bit as she thought, 'Maybe she hit her head during the fight... I shouldn't worry about this right now. It's getting late.' Molly crawled into bed, staring at the ceiling as she mulled over Aisling's behavior. Shaking her head, Molly rolled onto her side before drifting off to sleep.

      Meanwhile, Aisling sat on the couch downstairs as she looked at the box. Opening it, a picture of her younger self stood in front of the house with a wide smile. Beside her, a thin woman with long, brown hair and grey eyes stood with a hand on her shoulder and a warm smile.

      Aisling gripped the photo as a she felt hot tears slip down her cheek before falling into her lap. She whispered softly, "I'm sorry... I never wanted to hurt you..."