One by one, the six teens began to return to the shelter. After Raven's distraction, everyone had been able to break free and scatter in different directions.

So far, Ryft, Atlas, Jade, Silver, and the two thieves were sitting beside the bunker entrance. No one was without wounds. Ryft's shirt sleeve was ripped at the shoulder and crusted with blood, Atlas had a black eye, Jade had a large bruise on her neck along with various scrapes on her visible skin, Silver had the gash in her leg, and the two thieves had several small bruises.

"So... What are your names?" Jade asked the thieves.

No one had the energy to chase them off, so might as well have a conversation.

The thieves looked at each other reluctantly, then the taller one spoke.

"I'm Soul." She said, pushing her straight blonde hair out of her face. "And this is Spirit."

The shorter girl, Spirit, nodded. "Uhh, sorry we tried to steal from you when you were looking."

"When we were looking?" Atlas shook her head.

"It doesn't count unless you're caught." Spirit responded, cracking a half smile.

"Alright then." Ryft said, watching the buildings across the street.

There was a brief pause of awkward silence that seemed to last months, though it was soon broken by approaching footsteps.

It was Raven, who was breathing hard and stumbling in their direction from the street, around the corner of the left building.

"Raven, you idiot!" Ryft shouted at the girl.
"We thought you were dead!"

"I didn't try to get isolated and murdered." Raven huffed and sat down heavily against the wall, next to Silver.

"Dang it, they were smart." Ryft continued, a troubled look in her eyes. "That was their Plan. When we're isolated, we're more venerable, therefore easier to defeat."

"Yeah but they captured everyone else." Spirit said, surprising everyone. "Why would they try to kill your friend?"

"Raven." Raven said.

"Uh.. try to kill Raven?"

"A show of power, maybe?" Jade suggested. "If they showed us a dead member of our group, then they think they'd scare us off."

"Well, they chose the wrong member."
Raven seemed unusually grouchy and distant, she hugged her knees and stared at her feet.

Suddenly, the crunching of shoes on broken bits of road was heard, getting closer. Everyone looked up to see Fang, who looked exhausted.

"Dude!" Atlas shouted. "Get your butt over here! What took you so long?!"

"Had to take the long way." Fang said between gasps. "Couldn't shake 'em."

He paused to look distrustfully at Soul and Spirit, who returned the challenging stare.

"Dude, they're cool." Jade said.

"And how would you know that?" Fang growled. "You're the one who got us into this." He didn't wait for a response, just sat down next to Ryft and Raven.

A hurt look passed across Jade's face and she looked down. Everyone knew it was true.

"What would you have done in that situation?" Silver spoke up, challenging Fang quietly.

There was a pause of silence. Everyone looked surprised. It was out of character for Silver to challenge anyone like this.

Fang, appearing equally confused, opened his mouth, only to slowly close it again.

Silver waited a few moments, then sighed.
"Exactly."

"Where did that girl with the beanie go, anyway?" Atlas asked, and everyone looked at each other.

"That girl went over here." Came a new voice from inside the ruins on their left.

A girl with dark brown hair and eyes with a red beanie stepped out from behind the rubble. She looked incredibly irritated.

"Oh. Hi." Atlas said awkwardly.

"Yeah. I had it all under control, then you guys had to show up and ruin it!" The girl began yelling at the group. "This isn't a normal world, were in a fallout!" She was thoroughly angered. "People will stop at nothing to kill!"

"Are you done yet?" Fang looked annoyed.
The new girl opened her mouth, then closed it again, clenching her jaw with rage.

"Whatever. Just don't cross paths with me again! I'll make sure you regret it!"
With that, she stomped off.

Despite the circumstances, Spirit couldn't help but giggle at Fang's reaction.

"Hey, uhh," Soul spoke up. "Um, what if we could work out a trade?"

"A trade?" Ryft asked.

"Yeah. We help you scavenge or guard your camp and you give us some food." Soul muttered.

"Sounds good to me. We need all the help we can get." Fang said in Ryft's direction.
Everyone else nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, Silver let out a small noise and went limp.

"Silver!" Atlas screamed, running over to her.

"She's lost too much blood!" Jade shouted.

"Do we have a first aid kit?!" Ryft yelled in panic, shooting up to her feet.

"Oh my god..." Raven whispered loudly. "I left it. I freaking left it at the hotel."

"Whatever. Someone, find some sort of clothing or something to tie around her leg!" Fang called, standing straighter.

Ryft hesitantly gave Atlas her scarf, a sad look passing across her face.

Atlas nodded in gratitude and swiftly tied it around Silver's knee, above the wound.

"We need to go back." Jade said loudly, shaking a little. It was a bold statement, considering what had just happened.

"Hell no, we-" Fang began.

"We go back, or she dies." Jade said.
The weight of her sentence silenced everyone.

If there was one thing they couldn't loose, it was Silver. Silver was the glue that held everyone together. Even Jade, who had only just joined, felt a thrill of fear at her condition.

"That's an easy answer." Raven stood, grinning, though it was clearly strained. "I'm going, even if you losers aren't." She said lightly, keeping the mood up.

"Well, I'm no loser." Atlas stood up beside Raven. "And I'm certainly not letting Silver die."

"Alright, me too." Fang shifted to stand next to the two feisty girls. "I didn't get enough fighting for one day."

"I'm coming!" Jade shot to her feet. She wanted to make up for provoking the fight earlier. She wanted to prove herself.

Ryft watched them for a bit, then sighed. "Looks like I don't have a choice." She stood. "I mean, why not throw ourselves back into imminent doom? Sounds fun."

Atlas snorted, and Fang turned to Soul and Spirit.

"So, how much would we have to pay you to guard our base and Silver?" Fang asked. "Without stealing anything." He added quickly.

"Two!" Soul practically shouted.

"Two food cans!" Spirit shouted at the same time.

"Sounds reasonable." Ryft muttered, still annoyed that she had to go back to the clearing.

"Deal." Fang grinned. "Okay everyone, huddle together. I've got a plan."