"Emilia's right," Jordan says, stepping into the trees, back towards us. "The wall seems to stretch for miles."

"So it connects to the North?" Callum asks and Jordan shrugs.

"I can't be certain."

"There's only one way to find out," I answer, instantly reaching down and hauling my backpack over my shoulders.

"What are you doing?" Emilia exclaims and I sigh, not daring to look down at her bruised and battered face. The memory of two night's ago is still prominent in my mind, angering me every single time I remember it.

"Following the fence," I mutter.

"What if they spot you?" Poppy exclaims and I shake my head. As if I'd let that happen.

"I'll stay under the cover of the trees."

"You aren't going alone," Emilia snaps, grabbing her own bag from beside her feet.

"Oh, hell no," I retort, yanking the rucksack from her hands. "You would benefit from another day of taking it easy."

"I'll go," Jordan offers and I nod in relief. Emilia needs to stay behind. The bloody idiot is determined to get herself killed, and take me down with her. I step closer to my wife, laying a quick kiss on her forehead.

"See?" I tell Emilia with a fake smile. "I'll be fine."

"I'll go too," Poppy pipes up, stepping forward, her bag already on her back.

"Absolutely not."

"Why?"

"Because it's dangerous," I snap, glaring at the second idiotic girl I've had to deal with. Seriously? Are they fucking stupid? I need them here. Safe.

Poppy scoffs. "Please tell me which part of this entire operation isn't dangerous? From the minute we left London, it was a free for all."

I falter, grinding my teeth. I'm utterly unable to come up with a good fucking reason to stop her from joining us. I tense my jaw even harder to stop a barrel of curse words from tumbling out. Shrugging, I turn away, looking to Emilia once more.

"It makes me feel better that two people will be with you," she admits softly and I smile at her innocent eyes, knowing that she's trying to appease me.

"Don't leave Callum's sight, alright?" I tell Emilia and she rolls her eyes.

"I'm more than capable of looking after myself, Zac."

"I know," I reply. "That doesn't mean I trust him," I say quietly and she nods, slowly placing her hands over the knives in her waistband. She's telling me she understands, that I need her to watch Callum's every move and protect our tribe. I nod, stepping back as Bridget loops her arm over Emilia's shoulder.

"Stay safe, Zac Attack." She grins and I grimace at the nickname. Fucking idiot.

Turning away, I nod to Jordan and Poppy, the three of us stepping a few feet away from the group.

Stopping, I glance over my shoulder. "If we aren't back by this time tomorrow..." I start, trailing off, uncertain what to say.

"Then I'll be coming after you," Emilia pipes up, crossing her arms in her no-nonsense way, accentuating her cleavage in the process. Damn.

"With me, of course," Bridget reassures me with a cheeky grin. I nod before the three of us walk on, disappearing from the view of the group as we weave around the various trees.

Every so often, I glance over at the fucking mansion. The building gets smaller and smaller until it disappears out of sight. Instead, there appears to be only trees on the other side of the wall. Winter has left them bare, and through the empty branches, I can see a stretch of grass surrounding them.

A dark patch suddenly appears beside the grass and I stop, furrowing my brows to squint. I'm trying to make out what's disrupting the grass, the shadow of something darker suggesting that not all is as it seems.

Jordan steps up beside me, grimacing at the sight before letting out a low whistle. "Is that a track? For vehicles?"

"I think so," I reply, not taking my eyes off of it. "If this wall really does reach the main Wall then it makes sense."

"Why would they need a track?" Poppy asks.

"To drive back up to the North, East and West," I answer before we all descend into silence. Every single one of us is watching through the wall, staring at the life of luxury that's exists just beyond it. An entirely different world. "Let's keep going," I mutter gruffly before stepping back and looking away, hand on my gun as we continue back into the trees.

*~*~*

The hours pass with nothing changing on the other side of the wall. On their side, the track continues, stretching miles in a straight line. On our side, we find ourselves exposed, practically running for the next treelike as we pass old roads and towns.

Jordan takes the lead, Poppy in the middle as I follow, making sure to turn on my heel every thirty seconds and keep an eye out. The South is dangerous in more ways than one, and I'll be damned if I let my guard down.

I can only pray that Callum is trustworthy, that Emilia and Bridget are both safe right now. Hopefully they're waiting patiently, and peacefully, for us to return. I hate knowing how close Emilia might be to my sister, but knowing that Gia is staying put in her elegant fucking mansion makes me feel better.

Poppy suddenly slow down, waiting for me to catch up. I step alongside her, worry filling me as I glance down at her feet, then back up to her head.

"Are you okay?"

She nods before biting her lip. "Yeah. I just can't understand what the point of this is." She gestures to the wall beside us and I scoff.

"Me neither. Knowing what Gia's turned into, she did it simply because she wanted to."

"Mum would be so disappointed in her," Poppy says quietly. I simply nod, clutching tighter to my gun as an image of my mother flashes through my mind.

"Poppy?"

"Yeah?"

"What happened... the night of the war?" I ask and she grimaces.

"Mum said I could go out with Izzy," she replies. "We were in the shelter at the bus stop when they attacked. I saw a plane crash right into our building," she pauses, looking down at the ground. "The entire block just collapsed down on itself."

I grit my teeth at the revelation, too heartbroken to say anything in response. My poor, unwell mum was stuck inside on her own, not knowing what fucking hit her when the roof collapsed on her head.

"Izzy screamed and started running," Poppy continues. "That's when the shrapnel started pouring down from the sky. I was petrified, every single building around me bursting into flame, pieces flying everywhere, yet I couldn't bring myself to step out from under the shelter."

"I'm sorry," I tell her and she looks up at me, clearly surprised.

"What for?"

"I wasn't there."

Poppy scoffs. "That wasn't your fault. None of this is."

"I didn't help Gia-"

"Stop!" Poppy exclaims, shaking her head at me. "Gia was the oldest and she decided what she was doing with her fucking life. That's not on you. Just because Dad wasn't around doesn't mean we were all your responsibility."

"You are though," I reply and she stops suddenly, staring at me with wide eyes.

"W-what?"

"What?" I retort, confused by her reaction to my words. What did I say?

"You see me as your responsibility?" she repeats and I nod.

"You're my sister. The only family I have left," I reply. "Of course I see you as my fucking responsibility."

She smiles at me before suddenly launching herself into my arms. I stumble back, completely startled before I hesitantly wrap my arms around her.

"I thought you hated me," she mutters against my shoulder and I grimace, pulling back. She what? Fuck no!

"Never."

"But you've never-"

"Poppy," I cut her off. "One of the only people who I never thought would betray me, did. It's harder to move on than it looks."

"I know."

"No," I tell her. "You weren't there. Gia and I were stuck together in the North. It's not like she was alone. She chose to leave me."

"I can't even imagine."

"When I saw you, I was so fucking happy, Pop," I admit, not daring to look at her. Emotions could fucking crack me right now. "So happy," I pause. "But somehow I couldn't get the emotions out of my bloody mouth. You're my sister too... but who's to say you wouldn't betray me like Gia?"

She sighs. "I'm not Gia, Zac."

"I know that. Doesn't mean it's easy."

"I can imagine." She descends into a short silence, the two of us following closely behind Jordan. "I can't even begin to guess how I'm going to feel when I see her."

"See her?" I exclaim. She looks at me, wrinkling her nose in obvious confusion.

"Yeah?"

"You're not seeing her," I retort and she rolls her eyes.

"Fuck off with the big brother shit. I'm part of this."

"You're part of this," I agree. "That doesn't mean I'm not keeping you out of harms way."

"Too late," she argues. "I'm in harms way by simply knowing Gia is the fucking enemy."

"Language," I snap.

"Give over." She laughs. "I'm not fourteen anymore, Zac."

"Don't I know it," I mutter under my breath. She grins, continuing to walk beside me.

"I'm glad we found each other," she says and I nod, a smile spreading over my face.

"Me too."

"Do you remember what Mum used to say? That cheesy quote?" she asks and I shake my head, despite knowing exactly which fucking quote she means. "Families are like trees. We may grow apart, but our root remains as one," she quotes and I grit my teeth.

"She was wrong."

"Maybe Gia just needs reminding?" she suggests and I scoff.

"Gia's root got fucking tangled up in some sort of poisonous creeper plant," I argue. "She's damn well done for."

Poppy shuts up, biting her lip as she hesitantly nods. The silence that follows is ominous, but I feel no regret, only frustration that my sweet, innocent sister hasn't seen all the damage Gia has caused. I wouldn't want her to see it, yet sometimes, only a firsthand experience can be enough to shatter you into reality.

*~*~*

It's early the next morning when we spot the mansion. I breathe a sigh of relief and we step off to the side, heading deeper into the trees where we know our group was making camp.

Emilia spots us as soon as we enter the clearing, her eyes lighting up, jumping from the log she's sitting on as she launches herself towards me.

"You're back!" she exclaims, wrapping her arms around my neck. I wind my own around her waist and smirk, pecking her on the cheek. Yes I am, baby.

"Well?" Callum asks, stepping forward with his arms crossed. Poppy drops her bag to the floor, slouching onto the ground next to us, exhausted.

"The fence goes to the main wall," I confirm. The memory of our journey ending last night at the mighty, grey wall is prominent in my mind. Poppy's mouth had dropped open in astonishment, having never seen the monstrosity before. "Complete with a gate that connects their track to no man's land."

"Why the hell would they do that?" Bridget exclaims.

"She made herself a fucking holiday home." Emilia snorts before laughing slightly. "Messed up bitch."

"She did," Jordan agrees.

"Whilst you were gone we did some investigating," Bridget says, looping her arm over Jordan's shoulder.

"You did?"

"There's a gate right by the house," she tells us and I lift my eyebrows in surprise.

"There is?"

"It's so subtle, you can hardly tell," Callum says. "But there's one there."

"What for though?" Poppy asks and Emilia shrugs.

"I have no idea," Callum mutters. "I was about to contact the community back in London when you returned. I'm going to ask them to look into whether we have any information about any of this. Or anyone who knows of this place."

"Sounds like a good plan," I reply with a nod. I don't like that Gia is down here, two sectors seemingly under her damn thumb.

Jordan shakes his head, cursing before stepping back and disappearing through the trees. Bridget makes a move to go after him but I shake my head.

"Let me," I tell her and she nods. I squeeze Emilia's hand before letting go and heading after my friend. Within minutes, I find him staring up at the dark mansion, his eyes narrowed into slits. "Jordan?"

"She wanted all of this, you know?" he mutters, eyes not leaving the house. "Claudia. She wanted to have a big old fucking house in the countryside, one that she could feel safe in."

"I know."

"How the fuck is this fair?" he snaps, gesturing to the gated, rich, intact home.

"It's not."

"Gia doesn't deserve a sliver of fucking safety."

My heart twangs at the sound of my sister's name. I force myself to ignore it and nod. "She doesn't," I agree.

"Why the fuck did the northerners come South?"

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

Why indeed?! Any theories?

A little bit of sibling interaction which I think is so important for Zac and Poppy to move forward... what are your thoughts?

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