Kieran drops over the side of the cliff like a kid going down a fucking drop slide. His arms fly up, terror on his face before suddenly he disappears, a panicked yell echoing behind him.

My hands fall from Emilia's waist as Anna screams bloody murder. She launches herself towards the edge and Jordan grabs onto her at the last second before she jumps after her brother.

All of us are instantly at the edge of the rocky ravine, and I drop to my knees as I peer over the edge. Seeing only the rapid water and rocks that jut out, I inhale sharply at the realisation that Kieran's chances are probably one in a million. If even a rabbit missed those rocks, it would be a fucking miracle. Shit. Fuck. Kieran.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Emilia drop her backpack to the ground, rolling up her sleeves as she looks over the edge. I furrow my eyebrows, knowing she's about to piss me off.

"What the fuck are you doing?" I say, her eyes flitting to mine.

"Jumping after him."

"What?"

"Are you fucking stupid?"

"Mils, no!"

"He did it for me," Emilia snaps, glaring at us before taking a step closer to the death trap.

"What?" Heidi looks confused.

"When Zac was locked up," she exclaims. "Got drunk, fell in the River. Kieran didn't even hesitate before saving my damn life!"

"Fucking let me go!" Anna yells at Jordan, turning in his arms and battering his chest. Jordan is clearly struggling to contain Kieran's hysteric sister as she fights him, countless tears on her cheeks, battling for freedom.

I curl my hand around Emilia's waist, stopping her from moving, panic shooting through my veins.

"You're not going in there," I tell her, my voice low and strained.

"Why not?"

"Because you'll fucking die!"

"We can't let Kieran drown!" she yells and I grit my teeth at her words, trying to hold myself together. I'm no more happy with this situation than she is. Maybe I should go after him.

"I know!" I snap.

"We can't jump." Jordan shakes his head. "The risk of death is too high."

"So we just let my brother get swept away?" Anna yells, still struggling in his grip. "He'll die!"

"Kieran is a strong swimmer," I remind her as my arms tighten around Emilia, breathing in her familiar scent to try and calm down. My words are not only an attempt to convince everyone else, but also myself. I'm stupidly close to ignoring my own words, letting go of Emilia, and jumping.

"He is," Jordan agrees. "That's how he got you out of the Trent, Em. Hopefully he'll be able to pull himself to the side."

"So, what do we do?" Jen pipes up, eyes full of worry as she continues to stare at the vicious water below.

"I guess... we head downstream, sticking close to the river and keeping our eye out for any sign of him," Jordan suggests. I quickly nod, trying to convince myself that Jordan has the smartest plan.

"It's what Kieran would want us to do," Heidi pipes up, her eyes dull as she steps forward. "He wouldn't want us risking our lives."

"She's right," Jordan says, Anna finally giving up in her fight to escape. "Anna?"

"I know he wouldn't," she snaps, pushing his arms away and wiping furiously at her face. "Let's get fucking moving." She grabs her bag in record time, pulling it onto her back before starting towards the trees, her eyes pinned to the river.

Jen hurries after her, fear on her face as Sam follows close behind, his own eyebrows furrowed as he watches the dangerous current.

Everyone is terrified. Kieran is a central component to our team, not one person here ever having a bad word to say about the guy. Jordan and I have known him for three years, the smart man instantly becoming our brother.

I still remember the look on Anna's face the day he appeared in front of us in the centre of the city, the two siblings reuniting in a hysteria-filled hug. Neither of them had ever expected to see each other again.

Kieran had been with a friend the night the war started whilst Anna was at home in bed. They each assumed the other was dead until a couple of years later when Kieran was assigned to Nottingham instead of York.

Jordan and I helped him get settled in the Boys' house, Anna ridiculously worried about her brother. It was less than four months later when Kieran convinced us to start training ourselves to fight against the State. He knew I hated them, that we all wanted an out, but he's the guy who suggested we find a Safe House and truly get things going.

He saved Emilia, he's always kept the peace, he's led us every step of the way in our mission to get to London. His loyalty is unparalleled, the two of us always cracking jokes at each other, especially before this shit.

He's an absolute fucking saint. I'd die before I let anything happen to him.

Yet here we are.

"Emilia?" I call out as she heads after the group. "Emilia!"

"What?" she retorts, glaring over her shoulder. "Now you want to talk to me?" I deserve that.

"I'm sorry," I say and she scoffs, her fast pace making her breath heavier, her gaze trained on the water beside us. "I mean it."

"Okay," she mutters and I grit my teeth, taking a deep breath before deciding what to say next, her stubborn attitude forever grating on me.

"I do."

"Maybe." She shrugs.

"What the fuck does that mean?"

"It means I'm not sure I believe that you're sorry," Emilia snaps back, narrowing her eyes at the water.

"Why the hell not? I know I've been a dick but-"

"But, nothing," she cuts me off. "I didn't do anything wrong and you fucking shut me out!"

"I shut everyone out," I argue.

"You aren't supposed to! I get it, you need space," she retorts, whirling around, the intense, turmoiled emotion in her eyes startling me. "But I am your wife! I thought we told each other everything. That we talked through our troubles together!"

"We do."

"Fuck off. Don't treat me like an idiot. If Kieran hadn't fallen, how long would it have taken before you spoke to me?" Emilia snaps and I nod, knowing that she has every right to be mad at me.

"I know," I say softly. "I just... don't know how to do all that opening-up-shit."

"Well, start trying." She hisses, turning and starting off down the riverside.

My eyes trail back over to the strong torrent of water, praying that Kieran is as strong a swimmer as he always boasted he was.

Even the strongest, heroic swimmers can't survive everything.

*~*~*

It's been over half-hour that we've been travelling downstream. I grab another tree branch, bending it back and lifting my leg to climb through the tangled twigs, staying as close to the river as I can.

Anna keeps begging to be allowed to yell for her brother, Jordan only permitting it every ten minutes and reminding her that Kieran will most likely wait by the river's edge. The only thing that making a racket will do is attract Slayers to our location.

Suddenly, my eyes zone in on what looks like a dark rock at the edge of the water. Something looks off about it, the water soaked object not having the usual sheen of a battered rock.

"Wait!" I call out. Everyone stops, looking back as I point towards the dark outline. Jordan instantly hauls Anna back to his chest as she tries to run for the suspicious lump. I take a hesitant step closer, shakily drawing in a breath.

"Is it..." Emilia trails off as each one of us takes a few steps towards it. The smallish, circular object is looking less like a rock every second and my heart beats fast against my chest, making me feel nauseous.

I take another couple of steps, pushing Emilia behind me and ignoring as she curses under her breath. From here, I can see that it's definitely not something natural next to the water edge, and not something that belongs. The sight of the wet, sodden looking fabric leads me to believe that it is, in fact, someone who's washed up from the river.

"Kieran!" Anna exclaims, tearing herself out of Jordan's arms and throwing herself at the motionless figure on the ground.

"Oh my god!" Heidi babbles, stumbling towards Anna and falling beside her. Both of them roll the person over as the rest of us watch from afar. My heart is in my throat, cutting off my breathing as I watch the figure's face become visible.

I exhale sharply, my limbs frozen in place. I still can't breathe, my eyes drying up as I continue to stare at the sight in front of me.

I can't blink, I can't speak, I still can't fucking breathe.

I'm not processing it, I'm not understanding what's just happened or how our dysfunctional group came to this.

Another dead member of the family.

"Kieran!" Anna cries. Her head is buried into his neck as she wails, completely lost to the world.

I can't look away from the glassy, pale blue eyes that stare up, utterly lifeless. A huge, bleeding welt is on the side of his head, Kieran having clearly hit one of the deadly rocks or another fatal obstacle.

"Oh God," Heidi murmurs once more, hand over her mouth as she stumbles back. Sam is suddenly on his knees, puking his guts up as Emilia lets out a heart-wrenching sob.

"Is he breathing?" Jordan asks, pushing through the girls and crouching down. Even I know he's not.

"No!" Anna sobs, hauling her brother's body closer.

Finally finding the will to move, I robotically step forward, lowering myself next to Anna and helping her move him onto her lap. Her heartbreaking cries are wrenching my chest apart, and I shakily lift my fingers, reaching towards his eyelids. As soon as I touch the skin, I'm a mess, my own tears coating the length of my face as I gently close Kieran's eyes.

Suddenly he looks peaceful, only the open wound on his head giving away the dire situation. I want to yell at him, to shake him until he wakes up and laughs at the fact he's given us such a fright.

But that's not going to happen.

My heart is physically aching, hurting with every breath I take. My oxygen supply is low as I rasp, collapsing my forehead on Kieran's chest. Emotion rises inside my head to an overwhelming level, feeling as though my brain is going to burst out and kill me.

I don't hide my tears as I look up at my brother's face, unable to comprehend that he's gone. He was here, talking to us, only a few hours ago, but now...

Now he'll never make it to London, he'll never find safety. He's gone, Kieran is fucking gone.

"Zac..." Emilia whispers in my ear as her arms wrap around my shoulder. She buries her head in my hair and I curl one of my hands around her shoulder, grateful that she's here.

Kieran is dead. He's broken and lifeless, motionless and silent. He didn't manage to pull himself out of the fucking water, the strong swimmer cut down by nature as we fight against various fucking Savages.

We never even dreamed to watch out for nature as the fucking enemy.

We're so close to London, and I feel a tinge of regret consume me. I wish we'd stayed in the North. Why didn't we just follow the State's rules?

I grip tighter to Emilia's arm as I turn my head to look at the gorgeous blonde, her upset eyes searching mine.

"We have to make it to London," I mutter and she nods. It's what Kieran wanted. What he would want us to do.

Leaning down, she briefly presses her lips to mine. No matter how quick it is, I savour every second; the way it feels, how soft she is, the way she tastes, how reactive my body is to her. My favourite fucking thing in the world.

A sudden yell from the trees has us springing apart. My gun is instantly in my hands and I swipe the tears from my eyes as I stand up. Looking behind, I see Myles and Jen fighting a couple of fucking Slayers as more emerges from the trees with every passing second.

Can we ever catch a fucking break?

"Heidi, stay here with Anna... and Kieran," I instruct, knowing that his sister can't leave just yet. I want nothing more than to tell Emilia to stay behind, but don't dare risk it after spotting the deadly glare on her face.

Checking that my gun is loaded, I stalk towards the enemy, not hesitating to think before I aim at two of them, shooting them in quick succession. Emilia launches one of her knives into another's chest as Jordan makes light work of a woman to the left of him, disarming her of her spear before shoving it into her own stomach.

We've just lost someone, we're absolutely fucking heartbroken, and you can tell by the ruthlessness of our actions.

Emilia slits a woman's throat, her eyes wild as she searches for her next victim, blood covering her face. Jordan's fists are pounding into two of their faces with force, quickly disarming them and chucking the weapon back to Myles.

Our movements are less thought through than normal, our emotions fuelling every vicious stab, hit and kill.

Myles and Jen are battling three of their own Slayers, with shots soon sounding out from behind us as Heidi and Sam defend themselves and Anna.

Reaching into my pocket for more ammo, I'm suddenly shoved from behind. The gun falls out of my hands as I land heavily on the ground, quickly scanning the area for something I can use.

Spotting a sharp-looking rock only an arms length away, I reach for it before a violent tug wrenches me over, onto my back. A large man clambers on top of me with a knife, his eyes wide when he attempts to jam it into my ribs. My arms push against him, a strangled battlecry leaving my lips as I shove with all my might. He's heavy, his sheer fucking weight helping him stay in place.

Reluctantly, I pull a hand back, only holding him off with one as I use my fingers to fumble across the ground for the weapon. Reaching out, I stretch and attempt to grasp onto the rock, relief filling me when I managed to touch it.

Shifting my body ever so slightly to the left, I manage to curl my hand around the lump of stone, lifting it and swiftly slamming it into the side of my attacker's face. He collapses on top of me and I shove him off, standing up just in time to see Jen shoved by one of the Slayers, another directly behind her who then curls his arm around her neck.

Picking my up gun from the ground, I cock it, aiming across the woodland and noticing the man in front of her brandishing a large knife.

I don't hesitate, pulling down on the trigger and watching the man fall to the ground, my bullet hitting its target with ease.

Emilia yells out as she swipes a knife across a woman's stomach before kicking her away, another Slayer instantly running at her.

I move to go and help her just as Myles yells out, "Jen!"

Turning, I see that the guy who was holding Jen from behind has gained control of one of our guns, holding it to the petrified girl's head.

Every one of us stop our fight, Emilia's arms rising in surrender at the sight.

I quickly join, unable to look away from Jen's terrified expression. My gun is pulled from my hand, Emilia and Jordan also disarmed before the rest of us.

A quick kick to the back of my knees has me falling forward, down towards the ground. My hands are still in the air as they do the same to everyone, Jen being the only exception as our weapon continues to sit against her temple.

Emilia lets out a cry of pain as she falls to her knees and I grit my teeth, struggling to stay where I am, wanting nothing more than to shove a spear down the Slayer's throat.

Anna, Sam and Heidi are dragged towards us. The three of them are thrown down beside me, Anna not even able to stay on her knees, instead falling face first into the mud before Heidi tries to pull her up.

"Fucking idiots," one of the Slayers mumbles. Myles' face is like thunder as he keeps his eyes glued to his sister, his hands behind his head. "Kill them all."

I barely have time to register the words before a loud, heart-stopping, gunshot sounds out, echoing around the vast woodland.

Jen's body slips away from the Slayer's fingers, falling limply, straight down to the cold, muddy terrain below.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Eeeek! Please don't leave...

This was absolutely, one hundred percent the most brutal chapter I've written, but I promise, there's a reason I felt this was the way it had to go. I hope you'll understand as we continue the story.

Who's going to miss Kieran?

And Jen?

P.S. I'm sorry...