I'm staring at a bunch of dead flowers in the garden, the frost having clearly destroyed Gia's wonderland. It's still winter and I exhale, my breath visible in the chilly air. It's spookily quiet. Just the way I need it to be.

I'm miserably failing to clear my head.

Closing my eyes, a smiling — if ever so slightly angry — blonde fills my head and my shoulders instantly relax slightly. Emilia. I take for granted how much I need her. To help me, advise me, calm me...

I lost my cool back in that room with my sister and Victor. Everything finally got to me, overwhelming every inch of my being until I couldn't hold back anymore. The elastic band inside my chest snapped, ripping out through my mouth before I could rethink my actions.

There was no way to pretend I was okay with what has happened over these past few years. No way to hide my disgust at Sam's fucking father banging my sister. No way to hide the outrage that the two of them have shacked up here like newly weds enjoying their honeymoon. No way to forget the torture I endured. Emilia endured. All of us endured. Even if my sister was also attacked in the past.

How different our lives would have been if she'd come to me for help back then. Sure, I would have helped her hunt down those monsters and ripped them limb from fucking limb. But we certainly wouldn't be where we are now.

And what about everyone else? What about every other fucker they've subjected to live by their rules and damn the consequences?

I insisted to Poppy that I was okay, shaking my head when she offered to come out here with me. I need space, wanting to be far away from my younger sister to confront my demons. Poppy doesn't deserve a single ounce of this hell. I shouldn't have let her come with me...

Just another failure of mine as the man of the family.

She didn't come to me. Gia didn't come to me when the worst happened to her. I'm her younger brother, but I was the only family she had left and she abandoned it. I should have been the person she came crying too... hell, even Anna would have been better than some fucking random strangers.

And Anna would have told me. We would have made them pay.

"Zac?" The small, slightly angelic voice comes from behind me.

My jaw tenses at the sound. "What?" I almost growl out.

"I'm... I'm sorry." Gia's voice is so quiet that I barely hear it. "I really am."

I look over my shoulder, surprised to find my brunette sister with a forlorn expression, writhing her hands together as she steps closer to me. I let out all the oxygen in my lungs and look back at the weeds in front of me. 

"I just wish you'd come to me," I tell her honestly and she nods.

"I know," she answers. "I'm sorry for that too. But I... I'm the oldest, you know? I wanted to find a solution for us."

"We were in it together," I retort.

Her chin drops. "I know," she says softly. Her voice cracks halfway through the final word.

I grit my teeth and look up at the cloudy, grey sky. She's trying to get in your head, Zac. Don't let her emotions tear down your walls. It's not worth it.

"Why did you abandon the South?" I ask the first question that springs to mind. Her brown eyes meet mine. She's surprised by the question. "It's just..." I gesture towards the metal fence in front of us before letting my hand fall. "I don't understand why you didn't make rules down here too? It's hell here."

Gia sighs, looking away from me and picking at one of the dead twigs on the tree in front of her. "I didn't have enough resources to address the South," she explains. "One of the sectors had to give and... it's easier for us to just throw any problems here instead of filling up the prisons in each sector." She shrugs.

Each. Sector. Has. Prisons.

Noted.

I grit my teeth, biting my tongue as I look over towards the woodland.

Prisons. If that's what you want to call them.

"Zac?" Gia pipes up and I stay silent, haunting tales wracking my brain and silencing my courage whenever the prison is brought up. "Zac... I know that you spent time in Killmoor."

"Yeah," I mutter, my hands tightening into fists. Pitch black nights. High-pitched feedback. The rats. The punches. The water. The starvation. The screams. Killmoor.

"What... what happened there?" she asks.

 I inhale sharply, my face snapping to hers. Her eyes are wide and curious as she bites her lip, her jaw slightly tensed as she awaits my answer. Almost as if... she truly doesn't know. She doesn't have a clue what happens in her own prisons. Or, she just never wanted to know. Until now.

"Everything," Is all I manage to bite out.

She raises an eyebrow. "Torture?" she questions.

I nod. "Noise torture, water boarding, beating... Any kind of torture you can think of," I tell her. "They do it. After the first three days, I lost all concept of time. It was a fucking surprise when I was released."

Gia's eyes well slightly and I straighten my spine, uncomfortable with the sight. Her hands fall away from the tree. "I had no idea." She's quiet.

I still don't trust her.

"Sure." I scoff.

"It's true!"

"How could you not know?" I snap, whirling on my heel so that my entire body is facing her. Glaring down at her. "It's your fucking State! Your England."

Gia shakes her head. "Does it look like I'm in the North?" she counters. "As you just said, I have so much else to take care of." She gestures around us. "I'm barely ever there, Zac! I leave the everyday running to other people. Trust that they will do what I ask of them." She pauses. "I never asked for that. Not... that level anyway."

I scoff once more, looking past her and sliding my foot to the right, stepping away from her sight. Stepping forward, I head back towards the house. I'm done talking for today. This is too much.

I hear Gia spin on her heel after me.

"It was Germain, Zac!" Gia yells. "She did that to you. Not me. Never me."

I ignore her words and keep walking, heading straight for the ornate oak door, desperate to get out of here and back into my four walled bedroom to spend the rest of the evening.

"Germain did this," Gia continues. "And I promise you... she'll pay."

The chilling tone that edges her voice makes me shiver and I frown before sliding inside the house and leaving my villainous sister behind to wallow in her plans for revenge.

***

The sky is surprisingly clear tonight after such a cloudy day. It also means that it's a lot colder. I tug the sleeves of Zac's black jumper down, covering my hands as I stare at the twinkling sparkles that cover the night above us.

"Are you okay?" Jordan interrupts my star-gazing as he sits down beside me.

I smile at him and nod. "I was just looking at the stars," I tell him honestly.

He smiles, lifting his hand and squeezing my wrist reassuringly. "I'm sure Zac is doing the same."

"That depends on whether she has him locked up," I retort.

Jordan grimaces. "I doubt it. We know better than anyone that Zac can fight his way out of anything." He grins.

I smile back, despite the fact that inside I'm instantly sobbing from his words as my chest tightens and dread overwhelms me. Sure... Zac has battled successfully through everything so far, but in this life, it's only a matter of time.

We lost Rayden, we lost Claudia, we lost Riley and Kieran and Jen. Every single one of them I believed could fight their way out of anything.

But they couldn't.

And Zac is no different. He's only human.

Every single day in this world could be our last. For any of us.

Gulping down the lump in my throat, I point up towards a familiar constellation. "You can see the plough tonight," I tell him. "That's rare this time of year."

"It is?" Jordan asks, peering up, clearly not able to find the stars I'm talking about.

"Sure. It's always cloudy."

Jordan laughs, shaking his head at me before glancing across to the rowdy people on the other side of the clearing as they cheer and holler. "I'm surprised there aren't more Slayers around us tonight," he mutters.

"Should we sleep high up in the trees tonight?" I suggest.

"Absolutely," he agrees. "As high as we bloody can. Far enough that we can't see them being ripped apart."

"Are they trying to get us killed?" Heidi mutters, approaching us from the fire. She rolls her eyes as she settles beside us. "They have a ninety percent chance of a success rate."

"Ninety five," I counter, reaching down to grab the thin green blanket on top of me, shifting it to cover more of my legs. Nothing will convince me to walk over and sit by the fire. Not while they're acting like howler monkeys.

"We should try and sleep soon," Jordan suggests. "You two wanted to be the look outs tomorrow."

"You still up for it?" I ask Heidi.

She nods. "Definitely."

"Have we heard anymore from Kayla?" I ask Jordan, having spent the majority of my time avoiding Callum as much as possible.

"Briefly." He nods. "They haven't found anything out from Lyla yet."

"I wonder if Rayden knew," Heidi muses. "That his wife was a traitor."

"Definitely not." I shake my head. "He was fighting with us so..." I trail off. There's nothing more to say. Rayden was pure, kind, good. I still miss him.

"I agree with Em," Jordan says. "Rayden was a good guy."

"Agreed." I smile at Jordan. "They were all good."

Heidi nods, looking up at the twinkling sky. "We'll keep fighting for all our angels up in Heaven," she murmurs.

I can't fight a smile from spreading across my face at the sentiment. Following her gaze, I watch as the stars glisten against the dark sky, every now and again one of them illuminating slightly brighter than the others. Just like each of them are, indeed, one of our angels.

I look over towards the team on the other side of the clearing. Callum's laughing with one of his friends, the rest chattering loudly as they pass around a bottle of something no doubt alcoholic. Where did they even get that?

I know the answer before the question even pops into my mind. They brought it from London. Our rucksacks contain a completely different spectrum of items. Ours all hinge on survival.

"Do you think he knows what he's doing?" I ask Heidi and Jordan. I'm genuinely curious. I'm struggling to see it myself...

"To an extent," Jordan replies. "He's smart. I don't think we should underestimate him."

"I agree," I murmur. "You don't get that powerful without playing the game right."

"I don't trust him one bit," Heidi whispers. 

"Me neither," I say, picking at the edges of the blanket. "But Poppy does."

"Poppy isn't here," she argues.

I shrug. "And that's why we're still here. Because of her and Zac."

If they hadn't gone, we would probably be at the wall by now. Assessing it. Analysing the best route forward. Going North. Seeing Kayla.

"It'll be okay," Jordan assures us, lifting his hand and squeezing my wrist once more. "I'm keeping an eye on him." He glances at Callum. "And he's being careful with all of his decisions. He might hate it, but he knows that he has to include us in everything or we'll lose our shit," he pauses. "Well... Emilia will anyway."

Heidi giggles at that and I can't help but join in before reaching over and shoving Jordan's arm.

"You make me sound like I'm out of mind!" I exclaim.

"Sometimes you are," Heidi teases.

"Excuse me! Sometimes it's needed," I retort. "Especially now that Anna isn't here."

"Did you just admit that you're the new Anna?" Jordan raises an eyebrow.

"Sounds like that's her goal." Heidi smirks.

"Absolutely not," I squeal. "Shut up!"

Jordan wraps his arm around my shoulder as Heidi continues to giggle, the three of us surprisingly happy in our own little world. I'm so grateful to have them here, both of them being my strength throughout this entire ordeal.

They haven't even once mentioned the idea of leaving the camp and making our way somewhere else. They know that I need to be here, in the best place to ensure I can do whatever's needed for Zac.

We should be up in the North by now, surrounded by Kayla and the others, making sure they're okay. Instead, we sit here day in, day out... waiting for any news regarding my stupid damn husband and his sister after they took the selfish decision into their own hands.

He's alive though. I can feel it.

And that's something, if nothing else.

"I need a break from you two," I tease, pulling out of Jordan's arms and standing up. 

"What? Mils!" Heidi exclaims.

I laugh, shaking my head and tugging Zac's jumper down over my bum. It's long enough.

"I'm teasing you," I retort. "I just need the toilet. I'll be back in a minute."

She glares at me as I pick up my gun, stuffing it into the pocket of the trousers. "That was a cruel thing to say."

"The truth hurts," I joke before walking over to the trees and leaving them to their own, hushed conversation.

I use my hands to trail along the trunks of each tree, trying to memorise the roots that I feel through the sole of my shoes, remembering the way that I'm going so I don't get lost.

The light from the campfire disappears far too quickly and I take the moment to look up at the night sky once more, letting my eyes adjust to the darkness. It's the smallest amount of light pollution that's been removed, and yet it makes all the difference. The stars are gorgeous. If it wouldn't worry Jordan and Heidi, I'd stay out here for hours.

Shifting on my feet, I reach for the buttons on my trousers.

A sudden, hard, brutal whack on the back of my head makes me stumble forward, falling face first into the tree trunk in front of me. The wood scrapes down the skin, bruising and cutting me as I push my hands against the tree and move to turn around.

Seriously?

What is it with people interrupting me when I'm trying to go for a fucking wee?

Quickly, I jolt my elbow back into the person behind me, smirking to myself when they grunt and double over in pain. Hearing a hiss from the other side, I quickly move my other elbow, doing the exact same to the second person.

Whirling on my heel, I struggle to see anything in the dark of the night and reach for the gun in my waistband when someone kicks the middle of my spine. There's a third person. Shit.

With a grunt, I fall straight to the ground, hands grasping at the mud and quickly finding a fallen branch. Using all of my might, I swing it around, a small scream leaving one of my attacker's mouths as they stumble to the side.

Throwing the wood away, I struggle back onto my feet, ready to run before a fist slams into the side of my face. The dark of the night is leaving me reckless. I'm not taking the time needed to assess where each of them are.

I spit out the blood that pools inside my mouth, anger rising inside me at their prolonged attack. They're not giving up. There must be at least four of them and my gaze is sluggish already.

Widening my eyes, I can just about make out a dark figure that's coming my way and so I crouch down, waiting until they're just above me. As soon as they step into place, I shoot up, smashing my head into their chin before lifting my foot and stomping down on theirs.

They let out a yell and I pray to high heavens that Heidi and Jordan hear them before suddenly they go quiet, one of the other attackers silencing them. Damn it. They know we're close to camp. They don't want anyone hearing us.

"Don't be a stubborn bitch," a man hisses. I let out a growl at the words, fumbling in my pockets and coming up short. Why the hell did I think it was a good idea to leave my knives behind?

Reaching out, I attempt to swing for the enemy, only finding air and internally cursing to myself. They probably have me surrounded with no escape.

Crouching back down, my fingers desperately trail over the ground, eventually finding something solid. I curl my grip around the rock, ready to attack with all my might as soon as I figure out where they are.

Standing up tall, I grit my teeth and ready myself to attack, swinging my arm back.

A sudden burst of light blinds me and I stumble back, their torch annihilating any night vision I thought I had and rendering me unstable.

I can't see anything but light and the rock slips through my fingers unintentionally as I nearly fall over. Lifting my other arm, I reach for the stability of the trees, but instead, my palm finds an itchy, starch material.

That's not bark.

It's not bark.

It's...

"Got you," one of them hisses.

One of their torches swings around me and my hand retracts like I've been burnt. The familiar brown of the Enforcer uniform is the last thing I see before everything goes black.

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

No - your eyes do NOT deceive you. This really is the second update this week!

I'M BACK.

I want to profusely apologise for how long I've been gone. It's been a tough couple of years, but now I'm back, ready to try and fall in love with writing all over again. 

I'm so so grateful if you're still here.

From now on, there will be 2 updates a week for Broken South.