Issac and Philip stumbled out of the twin's workshop hand in hand, soot and ash clinging to their lungs as they pulled the collars of their new shirts up against their noses.

They had set the crumbling building on fire like they were asked and now they stood by it and watched it burn.

"They didn't need to do this," Philip let out a series of coughs, wheezing as he spoke. His face was darkened by the rain of ashes as the flames rapidly consumed the building. For a moment he cherished the warmth, and the next he pondered where the oxygen fueling the blaze was coming from when the fog still surrounded it.

Issac shot him a worried glance.

"They did," his fingers dug into their newly mended uniforms, the folded cloth trapped under his arm.

"Take it as a show of commitment." He pulled his friend back as the fire expanded, the tongues of flames now grazing the toes of their boots.

"They can't come back if we fail." Philip said sullenly, letting Issac drag him deeper into the forest behind him. His eyes never left the fire.

"Then it's better not to waste anymore time," Issac slipped off his linen shirt and passed it to a dazed Philip.

"Don't breathe in too much of the fog." He warned the younger man sternly.

"O-Okay." Philip diverted his gaze from the shirtless captain and played with the material of his shirt. "I never knew we could actually breathe the fog."

"We can't." Issac answered, his voice soft. With every breath they took they were suffocating, even without knowing it. It was still a wonder to him how Esau and Edythe could take in so easily.

Philip looked up to see his friend only in his underwear and heat rushed to his face. He shut his eyes and looked away. "Just. . . Just hurry up and get dressed."

Issac let out a hearty chuckle, not at all bothered by his friend's embarrassment. "If this is how you are now I wonder what you'd do when we start living together."

Philip mumbled something incoherent in reply and Issac laughed again.

"Don't worry, I'm decent." he said.

"Okay, let's go." Philip said, suddenly out of breath.

A hand steadied him before he could trip on his feet and he found himself lost in the storm in Isaac's eyes.

"You have to change too." The captain hissed, his voice a bit muffled by the mask of his uniform. "The fog is poisonous, you know that."

"But—"

"You'll freeze to death and I don't have any more supplies to keep you alive."

Philip stilled. It was true that Issac had emptied the storage space of both their Chain nets to try and stop him from bleeding, freezing over and dying. If the captain hadn't stumbled upon the workshop both of them would have frozen to death.

It was the first time Philip doubted the chip that scientists claimed could cure anything. His gaze fell on his pale wrist.

The chip couldn't detoxify whatever poison was rushing through his body and for the first time in a long time, technology couldn't save him.

But. . .

Already, warm fingers were tugging his shirt away, exposing him to the cool weather.

"Iza," he shivered, his arms raised to his chest as though he could shield himself from the elements. "I'm already freezing!"

"Quite the nonsense you're pulling today, Phil." Issac pulled the uniform over the reluctant soldier's head. "Those children are probably mocking us this very moment."

"Fine," Philip grumbled and stretched out his arm into the holes of the shirt, "hand me my pants."

†

Of the squad of ten that had been sent to Silo, only Philip and Issac remained.

Philip didn't like to think about it. He didn't like to think about the deaths that had occurred in the short time he had left the capital. Yet it was death that brought him here. He was fighting a war. A war against creatures that were destroying the planet.

"Are you going to go back?" Issac asked him suddenly through the Chain net, breaking the messenger's train of thought.

Philip toggled the view of his goggles and shrugged. "Where?" He played with the dagger in his hand, increasing up his pace until he fell in step with the blue dot in front of him, Issac.

Esau and Edythe had taken the soldiers' rifles with them, leaving the two men only a pair of knives to use as protection. Philip hadn't been thrilled with the idea but what could he do?

"East." The captain answered.

"No."

The forest was eerily silent, eerily empty. Philip expected red dots to leap at his vision, a spooky sound to suddenly appear next him. But nothing. He had nowhere to channel his emotions.

"You do know that your father has been seriously ill," Issac paused and crouched by a tree, signalling Philip to stay still, "he might not live for long."

"What a coincidence," the messenger said with a hiss, "he has been dead to me for a while now."

"You don't mean that, he—"

The leaves of the bushes around them rustled violently and Philip grinned, eager for the distraction. In a quick move he held his dagger out in front of him.

Through his googles he saw the creatures creep in closer. He counted their numbers with a glance. It would take some luck and and a bit of blood lost but they'd survive.

He inched closer to the ground, falling into an offensive stance as he prepared to lunge at the first thing that came at him.

But he was not prepared for an attack from behind.

A hand pulled on his collar, yanking his back and away from his prey. "Not so fast," Issac's words echoed in Philip's mind, making his skull pulse in anger.

"Why?" He growled under his breath.

"We didn't come here to fight them." He said pointedly and threw something to the ground.

"But—"

Before Philip could start arguing, the world around him exploded with a burst of superheated steam. Issac had thrown down flare grenade.

Philip glared at the captain as the red dots surrounding them retreated. Meanwhile, Issac was staring into the fog with narrowed eyes. It seemed to have gotten thinner.

"Let's go, Philip." He turned on his heel and marched deeper into the forest, towards the spot that they were to meet Edythe and Esau at.

Though he was constantly moving, senses heightened and ever vigilant, he couldn't help but think back to the scene five minutes ago. It was just as Dawn had predicted. The fog was afraid of heat and so were it's inhabitants.

His chest suddenly warmed and Issac looked down at the orange glow blooming beneath his shirt. Esau had given the crude necklace to him, a thing made with string and a small orange stone; the child called it a blaze stone. It was to show them the way, the boy had said.

The captain paused and looked around. Where exactly were the pair hiding? Was this the destination?

Suddenly the air around him exploded with familiar heat and both men gasped, looking up and expecting to see the sun. Instead they were met with the twinkle of orange dust as it fell upon their faces, burning paths of warmth through their skin.

Next, the soldiers were bathed in the dull rays of the moon as the moonlight pierced through the thick soup of milky fog, aided by the burst of heat from earlier. Suddenly, the two men could see each other clearly.

They took off their goggles.

The fog was nearly inexistent, Philip gulped and pulled down his mask, breathing in the surprisingly refreshing air.

He took it in like water.

Issac shot his friend a stern look and the messenger stopped, the material of his uniform slipping back over his nose. It shouldn't have been possible but here they were, in a radius of a metre and a half with was no fog present. It was as though a forcefield had been erected around them.

Philip squinted at the sight. If I could report this to Miss Dawn. . .

"Took you guys long enough!" a childish voice shouted down and a chilling laugh followed, putting a stop to the messenger's musings as he looked up. "Are you two going to come up here, or what?"

The eighteen year old stared at the orange dust that fell from their hands and realization dawned on him.

They were the ones that broke the fog.

He and Issac shared a look. If this information was reported to the capital then the tides of this war would change. If they could get rid of the fog then the creatures that were attacking would be left vulnerable.

Issac took in a deep breath, about to say something when he noticed another pair of legs and arms sprawled on the thick branch Esau and Edythe stood on.

The children were up the tree, but they were not alone. Along with them, partly hidden by the fog but definitely on that tree, was a body.

†