"Oh my God-" Emilia exclaims, her words cut off as Bridget jumps into her arms. Anna quickly reaches out too, already a bawling mess as she loops her arms around our missing friend.

"No fucking way," Jordan mutters, shaking his head at the sight in front of him. I continue to stare, absolutely dumbfounded at the ridiculous revelation. I always imagined that Bridget was dead, or at least imprisoned in one of the Northern prisons - yet still probably far away from Nottingham.

Apparently, just like my thoughts regarding my sisters, I got it completely wrong.

Bridget is here, she's alive, and she looks healthier than the day she went missing. What the fuck?

Bridget soon pulls back from the two weeping girls, slowly turning to Jordan and I before jumping towards us. My usual hostile rejection is thrown out of the window and I wind my arm around the girl who had become like a sister to me. I'm in complete disbelief that she's actually here right now. Alive.

"You're all here," Bridget exclaims as she steps away, glancing at all of us. "Where's Claudia? Kieran?" She grins. I swallow the lump in my throat, noticing as Emilia tears up, sadness clouding her eyes. "What?"

Bridget looks directly at Jordan, my best friend's expression instantly dropping at the mention of his fallen wife. Anna's lip trembles from the question and her gaze also moves to the ground, trying to conceal her emotions. Both casualties are still red raw, the mere mention of either of them being something that none of us can quite cope with. I wonder if it will ever get any easier...

"No," Bridget almost yells, her voice cracking. "You're wrong!"

"We're not," I manage to say, my voice hoarse.

"You must be!"

"We saw both of them happen," Anna spits through gritted teeth. "What's done is done."

"But... they..." Bridget trails off, slapping her hand over her mouth as she lets out a sob. "They're family..."

Emilia reaches out, grabbing onto the blonde girl and pulling her in for a hug. Bridget buries her head into my wife's shoulder as she cries it out like the rest of us want to.

"I know," Emilia assures her before pausing and glancing across at Anna and Jordan, tears in her eyes. "They still are," she promises and I nod in agreement.

They always will be.

*~*~*

"So..." Anna trails off straight away, stretching her hands along the surface of the table before quickly shaking her head and looking away. She's obviously unsure how to begin asking the shit load of questions that are paralysing us as we sit across the table from Bridget.

Emilia sighs, sitting up straighter and staring across the table at the tear-streaked, worse-for-wear looking Bridget.

Half an hour of explaining what happened to Claudia, Kieran and Riley, we now sit at one of the cafeteria tables, ignoring the many people in the room. Instead, we stare at Bridget for answers.

"What happened to you?" Emilia asks and Bridget bites her lip before opening her mouth to answer.

"I got grabbed by the Enforcers on the street where we lived," Bridget answers. "I was on my way home from work and they came out of nowhere. Stuffed something in my face until everything went black," she explains. "When I came to, I was in the back of a truck with five other people. I drifted in and out of consciousness until I woke up on the ground in the damn woods."

"In the woods?" Anna repeats, furrowing her eyebrows.

"We were in the South. Took us a while to figure that out." Bridget nods. "Dumped here to be killed off by the bloody Slayers."

"That's why they have all those trucks," Emilia exclaims suddenly, realisation dawning on all of us. "Back in No Man's Land."

"That's what they do with their prisoners?" Jordan replies. "Everyone we ever knew who disappeared..." He trails off, wide eyed.

"Most of them are here," Bridget confirms, turning and pointing across the hall at a slightly familiar looking redhead. "Remember Briony?"

"Bitch," Emilia huffs under her breath as the redhead laughs with her friends.

"She's been here for as long as I have," Bridget tells us. "The two of us were wandering through the South for over seven days before Callum and his team found us."

"Found you?" Jordan questions, furrowing his eyebrows.

Bridget nods. "They patrol the wall every few weeks to find survivors."

"So..." Anna trails off. "They literally... dump everyone in the South?"

"As far as I know." Bridget nods. "It means people aren't their problem anymore. Plus, they expect every single one of us to either starve or be murdered."

"Wow," Jordan breathes out. "I guess... at least that answers one of our questions... the North really does know what's happening down in the South."

"Fuck," I exhale, shaking my head before dragging my hand through my hair.

"Why is your sister doing this?" Bridget asks softly and I scoff before looking back at her.

"I haven't got a fucking clue," I answer. "How the fuck does Gia even know everything? There must be someone helping her."

"Or she has Enforcers in every section?" Myles offers before shrugging. "They probably guard the entire wall."

"True," Heidi agrees.

"We're no further forward with any of this." I smile at the irony, sitting back in my chair. "We battled to get to the South and lost people along the way," I pause. "All for what? We have literally achieved fuck all."

"We have more people," Sam argues and Bridget nods in instant agreement.

"Callum is definitely up for taking the wall down," she tells us and I watch as Emilia's mouth drops open.

"The entire wall?"

"Why not?" Bridget shrugs. "That's how it was before the war."

"The world has changed," I retort. "I don't particularly want a united band of Enforcers coming for all of us."

"They can already get through the wall if they want." Bridget scoffs. "What if the other sections feel the same way as us?"

"She has a point," Heidi pipes up before shrugging. "Everyone might want to be free."

I quieten down as they continue talking, chewing on the inside of my lip and contemplating what they're saying. There's no doubt in my mind about the idea - ripping down the wall would eliminate all of the problems that each sector is facing. It would connect us once more, allowing the tyranny of my sister's State to end.

The idea of a unified England is fucking incredible, but I can't help but wonder whether it's too late... if the population of each sector have been tainted and destroyed to the point of no return.

After all, there's only so much pressure you can apply to someone's throat before they snap.

*~*~*

"No way," Anna exclaims, chucking the grape across the table and laughing as Jordan catches it in his mouth. I smile at the sight when Heidi claps her hands and Emilia giggles, a sandwich in hand.

It's the first time I've seen them all this happy for as long as I can fucking remember. The threat of the State has been hanging over us for bloody years. Every single move that we make, every crumb that we eat, water we drink, every single damn thing has been monitored since the State set up their extreme regime six months after the war ended.

Whereas here, surprisingly, all of us already appear free and eager to enjoy ourselves. None of us feel threatened, and I know that the company of Bridget has helped with that. Hell, my own trepidation decreased monumentally when the light-hearted blonde stepped back into our lives.

Back in the North, Bridget was always my go-to girl, the one I'd actually speak to about shit. Everyone knows that it's best to stay away from me if I'm in a foul mood, but Bridget would always press harder, urging me to open up.

Much like Emilia when she came along. I guess it never should have come as a surprise to me that those two got on so well, their positive similarities clear to even the dumbest of idiots.

"Hey." Poppy suddenly appears next to the table. Bridget grins, waving for my sister to sit down.

"I had no idea you were that Zac's sister," Bridget exclaims and Poppy smiles.

"I never would have guessed that your Zac was mine," she replies. I shift in my seat, looking away from the two girls as they laugh over how small the world is. It's fucking alarming, the dwindling population increasing the chances of running into people you know... but this shit is getting out of hand.

Gia was dead, Poppy was dead, Bridget and Briony both dead.

Until suddenly, none of them are.

"I was wondering if you'd like a tour around the warehouse?" Poppy offers. Bridget quickly nods her head before turning to face us and wait for an answer.

"Sure," Anna agrees, glancing around to check that everyone's okay before agreeing. I keep my face clear of emotion, desperate to keep some form of distance from the miraculous undead who keep appearing. Who knows when any of them will be ripped from my hands once more? Or, even, when they may betray me?

Standing up, we follow Poppy down the corridor, all of the girls up front with Bridget as Jordan, Myles, Sam and I hang back, all of us still slightly wary. I glance at Jordan, silently communicating with him to keep his eye out, not trusting this place or Callum.

He nods, understanding my message and wordlessly following the group through the pristine white corridors. We pass by a modern looking gym, a blue hair salon, this ridiculously large clothes shop before walking alongside the library and laundromat. My mind boggles more with every single room. They've tried to make an entire town inside this one giant warehouse, and I can't fault them for that.

The kids' nursery is bustling with activity, Emilia and Anna's eyes lighting up at the sight of happy children, something that was a rare sight back in the North. An orphanage leads off of it, Poppy sadly explaining the impacts of the damn war like we haven't fucking lived it ourselves.

Heading down the corridor, she points towards some steps which lead to a rooftop garden, advising us that anyone is allowed up there during the daylight hours. She points to the numerous guards as we proceed through the building, making it abundantly clear that this place is safe. I nearly scoff, keeping my eyes to the ground every time she mentions it. Doesn't she realise that nowhere is fucking safe?

Turning the corner, Poppy stops, gesturing in front of her as the girls smile in response.

"This is the office. Everything and anything is documented here, so that we can keep track of all that's going on," Poppy explains. The other side of the glass window is bustling with activity, just like a typical London office used to be before the war, no time for anyone to chat as they walk between desks.

"Wow," Heidi says. "It's so big."

"We have a lot of people," Poppy replies with a smile.

"How many?" Jordan asks.

"Around three hundred." Poppy shrugs.

"You need that many people to monitor three hundred people?" Sam asks, pointing back inside the crowded office.

"They monitor everything. Food and power levels. How much water is sanitised. What days the school operates," she answers. "Everything."

I take a step back, pretty overwhelmed by the crazy, overwhelming amounts of information being thrown at me. This warehouse is almost entirely self-sufficient, and completely invisible to the outside world.

Why do they even care about us? What do they have to gain by ripping the wall down? I don't trust their plan, completely at odds with their motives behind it....

If I were them, I would stay inside this airtight bomb shelter and let the outside world fend for itself. I mean, bloody hell, all I want is for Emilia and the others to be safe, damn any resulting consequences.

"Zac?" A sudden female voice catches my attention. The entire group turns with me as I look across behind at the familiar brunette. My mouth nearly drops open at the sight, another girl who I thought was fucking killed standing in front of me.

"Isla." I almost choke on her name, at risk of passing out any minute from the overwhelming reality.

"Oh my god," Isla breathes out, the papers in her hand dropping to the floor. "I never thought I'd see you again." That makes both of us.

"Alright," Poppy exclaims, stepping between us. "Yes, Zac, your old flame Isla is still alive. She works in the office," she pauses, looking the other way. "Yes, Isla, Zac is healthy and well. He came down from the North to seek help from London," Poppy finishes and I open my mouth before shutting it again, unsure of what to say.

Glancing beside me, I notice that Emilia's face has hardened, fire in her eyes, arms crossed as she glances between the brunette and I.

I almost smirk at the obvious jealousy, unable to inform her that Isla was only ever three nights of fun, nothing more. It would be rude in front of all these people.

Instead, I settle for sending a warm smile to my wife. She narrows her eyes at the expression, clearly taking it the wrong way. Fucking woman.

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

More of a filler chapter... just a bit more information about where they are and what happened to Bridget.

I hope you enjoyed it!