"How can you say that everything is going to be okay?" Heidi cries, furiously wiping her hands over her face to get rid of the tears that coat her cheeks. "Nothing is okay about any of this."

"Heidi—"

"No!" she cuts me off. "Everyone I know is dead. Everything I ever had is gone! But you think it's all going to be okay?" She scoffs.

"No," I admit. "I'm not saying that will be okay, Heidi. I have no idea what lies ahead of us. But I do know that this new State may help us all."

"Really?" She looks doubtful.

I shrug. "Someone had to take control of the North. Maybe they'll bring law and order back, schools and jobs, even holidays," I nudge her shoulder, "and someday... maybe we'll all be able to move on from the war."

"Maybe," she mutters, dropping her head back to her knees. Her curly hair falls all around her, covering both her jeans and little pink top.

"I'm sure this big old communal house is just a short term solution." I gesture around us at the bedroom we've been forced to share. The Girls' House, they're calling it. I'm trying to see the positives. We've all been given a roof over our heads. "They needed to do something with the teenagers."

"I guess," she sniffles.

Walking towards her, I slowly settle on the floor next to her and lean back against her bed. With a small smile, I pull a bread roll out of my pocket and hand it over. She looks up, blinking her bright blue eyes at me, clearly surprised.

"You think I'd let you go hungry?" I smile as she takes a small bite. "Just because you didn't come to dinner, doesn't mean I wasn't thinking of you."

"Thank you," Heidi mumbles.

I nod, reaching up and hooking my arm around her shoulder. "And as for losing everyone?" I murmur. She looks at me. "I'm the same. My entire family is gone," I pause. "But now at least we have each other. And I promise that we always will."

She smiles at that, looking down at her bread. "We barely know each other, you might not even like me," she comments.

I shrug. "Some siblings hate each other," I remind her.

She laughs. "That's true," she agrees. "They also argue."

"Absolutely." I smile, nudging her shoulder. "But sisters always apologise to each other after a while."

"After a while," she repeats before going quiet. "I don't want to lose another family, Emilia."

I sit upright, turning and shaking my head at her. "You won't. We'll always have each other. We're going to protect one another," I promise.

Heidi smiles, holding her pinkie out towards me. "Pinkie promise?" she requests.

I grin, nodding before linking my finger with hers. I promise," I vow.

*~*~*

I'm not even looking at Heidi when she's shot.

Instead, I'm watching Poppy and Jordan as they try to figure out how we can escape, my brows furrowed as I gnaw on the inside of my cheek.

I'm not looking out for any danger that may be left. Or any danger that's new.

Instead, I'm enjoying the fact that we managed to fight our way through the Enforcers once more. And a load of Slayers.

'Take that, Gia,' is what I'm thinking.

I only turn at the sound of the shot.

My entire world collapses in on itself at the sight of my younger, brunette adoptive sister as she falls down. Forever.

Nineteen years and four months old. We'd celebrated her birthday back in the Safe House in the North. I promised her that for her twentieth, we'd be able to walk the streets — freely — partying until the early hours. She hated the idea.

Wanted to curl up inside with a hot chocolate instead. Told me she'd been craving it for years. A plan formed in my head — I'd find her that hot chocolate by her next birthday, even if it killed me.

I drop to the floor at the same time as Heidi, dragged down by the grief that instantly consumes my heart, wrenching it to the floor like a magnet.

A heartbroken scream leaves my lips as my nails coil around the dirt beneath my hands, fury filling every inch of my body.

Zac is tugging on my arm, trying to hold my torso upright as Poppy and Jordan crouch down beside Heidi, the two of them talking to each other as they analyse her wound.

It's straight through her fucking forehead.

They're literally wasting their fucking time.

I choke, my ribcage contracting tightly around my lungs, stifling my airflow.

Tears are falling down my cheeks as my eyes flicker above Poppy and Jordan, beyond where Heidi once stood. The French doors that we escaped through are open and I suck in a breath at the sight of the familiar brunette, her hair scraped back into a bouncy ponytail like always.

Gia slowly lowers her gun, a small smirk on her face. She turns away, disappearing into the house faster than I can move.

Letting out another scream, I push Zac's arms away from me before stumbling to my feet. He's too surprised by my actions to catch me, and then I'm sprinting away from all of them, my eyes on the fucking prize.

Complete tunnel vision.

I'm at the glass doors in no time, flying inside the hallway and and manically scanning the entire room to find her. She's nowhere in sight but I know without a shadow of a doubt that she wouldn't have descended the stairs to the dungeon.

Instead, I turn the other way, heading down the wooden panelled corridor as fast as I can. My body aches and groans, but the adrenaline pulses through me, forcing my limbs onwards.

Turning left at the end of the hallway, I catch a glimpse of Gia's stupid hair as she tries to dive down another corridor. Gritting my teeth, I'm hot on her heels, digging the gun out from my waistband and cocking it as I run.

With luck, the hallway opens into a huge, elegant room. It looks like an old ballroom, lined with deep red features, a chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Gia is sprinting away from me, not once daring to look behind her.

Her mistake. 

I lift the gun and stop in my tracks, quickly aiming for her leg and shooting. Bullseye.

She lets out a pained yell, immediately collapsing to the floor and rolling over with wide, fearful brown eyes. The fact that they're identical to Zac's doesn't even phase me anymore. I'm too far gone. She's too far gone.

I can't fight the grin that spreads across my face at the fear flowing through her eyes as she looks up at me. She knows she's been beaten.

I've taken away her escape, incapacitated her so that she has to look into my eyes as I destroy her the same way she has so many others.

"I killed Victor," I tell her. Her jaw tenses as she attempts to slide backwards along the floor. "And I've known him since I was seven years old," I pauses, cocking the gun once more. "So what makes you think that you're going to escape me?" I ask.

She just smirks, shaking her head.

"I'll never understand you, Gia," I add with a grimace. "Or your choices."

"I wouldn't expect you to," she retorts before grimacing from the pain in her leg.

Something suddenly crashes into the back of my skull and I fall forwards, dropping the gun in order to splay my hands out and break my fall. Stars dance across my vision as I hit the smooth wooden floor. Fuck.

Quickly blinking away the blurriness, I push myself away from the floor, the sudden dizziness making it harder. I guess the Enforcers' beatings haven't quite left me just yet.

Looking up, I see Gia unsteadily on her feet, the familiar uniform of an Enforcer beside her, helping her up and away from me. Grimacing, I quickly swoop for my gun, nearly missing it when my vision blurs once more.

Curling my hand around it, I lift and shoot blindly in their direction just before Gia and the Enforcer disappear around the corner. Letting out a devastated scream, I tear forwards, starting to run after them before someone's arm winds around my waist, yanking me back.

Turning, I look up at Zac, his face tense. He's stopping me from racing after his sister.

"Let me go!" I yell, slapping my hand violently against his chest.

He shakes his head. "We have to go, Emi," he replies softly. "Now."

My head roars with discontent at his words and I push against him once more.

"No we don't," I snap. "She needs to fucking pay!" I yell after Gia before attempting to fight Zac once more. He just grimaces, proceeding to drag me further away, back towards the hallway.

I scream and shout, kicking my legs back and forth, wrestling his grip every step of the way.

"Emilia! Listen to me!" Zac yells, turning me around in his arms and forcing me to look at him. "She will pay. But right now, we have to get out of here," he exclaims. "There are Slayers trying to break down the gate!"

"But... she..." I trail off, a singular tear escaping down my cheek. "She..." I swallow. "Heidi."

"I know," he tells me, his voice soft. "I promise you, we'll get her one day." Zac hauls me into his arms, gently caressing my back with his fingertips.

"Fine," I give in, my voice hoarse and my will broken. The ache in my legs starts to return as the adrenaline wears off, but Zac doesn't realise, grabbing my hand and tugging me to the corridor. Just before we leave the ballroom, he pulls a zippo lighter out of his pocket, igniting the flame and throwing it onto the bottom of the deep red curtains that cover the windows with a snarl.

I watch his angry expression, the way it contorts into a sadistic smile as the fire takes hold. He never liked it here. There was never anything for me to worry about when it came to Zac's head. He was always here, with me.

I look over my shoulder as the fire clings to the material, instantly swooping over every inch of it before building higher. Just like mine and Heidi's relationship did. We made a commitment to one another the second night we knew one another when she broke down crying, and it only grew more intense as the years past us by.

No matter what.

She was my sister.

Is my sister.

Zac curls his hand tighter around mine, yanking me away from the fire and I let it leave my sight before we're running down a different corridor, one that I didn't enter through. We run to the end and Zac grabs onto the bottom of the window, shoving the glass pane up before gesturing for me to exit. I quickly jump out, landing on a patch of grass. My thighs scream with agony but I bite down on my tongue, not wanting Zac to worry about anything more than he has to.

Looking around, I see that we're just around the corner from the courtyard, but the gate is nowhere in sight.

Zac jumps down behind me and then Poppy and Jordan emerge in front of us. Poppy gestures for us to follow her, and then we're all moving towards the weeds that edge the property line. I feel numb as I move, not saying a word as I do whatever they tell me, ignoring everything else.

We follow the fence all the way around, and as we approach the gate I flinch as the cries and yells of the Slayers reach us.

Poppy gestures for me to duck down and stay low. I drop to the long grass, sitting on the wet vegetation and watching as Jordan settles beside me. His hand reaches out, intertwining with mine and squeezing reassuringly. I don't bother looking up at him.

Zac and Poppy move ever so slightly closer to the gate, but I don't pay them much attention, letting my eyes run over the enormous house instead. I wonder what it was like for Gia to live here, all alone. She had Victor, I suppose. And her Enforcers.

But no-one else.

An image of all of us crowding around the kitchen table at the Safe House fills my mind. Claudia sitting on Jordan's lap, me on Zac's. Anna in the corner, glaring at everyone and everything. Riley and Kayla giving one another the eye across the room. Kieran and Sam laughing together. Heidi smiling as she tucked into the food in front of her, staying out of any conflict.

We had one another. A big, dysfunctional family.

And no matter what, no-one can ever take the memories away from us. We're far richer than Gia in that sense. We always will be.

Poppy leans forward, into the vegetation before reaching out and pressing something.

A deep groan sounds out and my eyes snap to the gate as the Slayers whoop and holler. Poppy and Zac drop beside us, and then all of us are hidden in the overgrown weeds as the Slayers heave against the now unlocked gate.

It takes them no time to shove it to the side before suddenly they're all pouring into the grounds of Gia's mansion, covering every inch. They disappear into the courtyard, around the side of the house, towards the open windows. They're infiltrating every part and I can't help but hope that Gia managed to escape.

She doesn't deserve a Slayer's death. She deserves whatever we deem fit to give her.

My heart is pounding in my chest at the sight of the Slayers so close to us. Any one of us could be spotted at any moment. Vomit rises in my throat when I look back over to the courtyard, to where we've had to leave Heidi's body behind.

She doesn't deserve to be left there...

I duck my head back down, not willing to think about her any further. Not now, anyway.

I can't get to her. There's no point overthinking it.

"We should go," Zac whispers, looking over his shoulder at us. There are no more Slayers entering the compound. They're already inside. "We need to find Callum. Now."

Jordan urges me to move forward as Zac and Poppy straighten up. My heart is still racing manically in my chest as we edge towards the open gate, ready to step out and flee the scene of mass destruction.

Luckily, none of the Slayers are paying any attention to us, far too wrapped up in their new adventure. Gia has well and truly lost her mansion. That's something at least.

Zac's hand curls around mine, hauling me through the gate before we merge into a run. I don't register the pain in my legs that spasms up and down, I don't let the pounding in my head slow me down. 

We need to get away from here as fast as possible, that much is clear.

I'm jumping over logs and twigs, Zac and my hands' disconnecting to allow us to be more agile in our escape. Poppy and Jordan are right beside us, none of us daring to look back as we tear through the trees.

The leaves whip against my face, leaving scratches in their wake. I barely notice, the realisation that it's approaching spring only dawning on me after we're halfway up the hill away from the mansion.

I inhale sharply at how long we've been in the South, and how much we've ended up losing here.

Was it a mistake coming here?

I mean... what have we even achieved?

Nothing.

There's nothing that's been solved by coming to the broken south. Only more chaos and destruction to try and solve.

I'm out of breath by the time we reach the top of the hill, begging that we stop for a rest. Jordan seems as breathless as me, nodding his head at my request before glancing behind us and raising an eyebrow.

I follow his gaze, slowly turning and looking over the valley below. Smoke billows up from the mansion, something that will no doubt draw more Slayers from the surrounding area.

The sounds of the Slayers can be heard from here, the house well and truly taken over by the ruined southern population. I can't see anything more, the trees covering the majority of the chaos.

Biting my lip, I let the tears fall down my cheeks.

We've escaped, but this isn't over.

Hell, it's like it's only just begun.