Picture of Trent 

*** Switching tenses not really sure what tense I want to write in. Please comment and let me know what you think!

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Confusion evident in her whisper she asks "Where's here?"

Matt, undeterred by the grimy surroundings, points to a decrepit building, its entrance obstructed by a dangling beam that forces anyone entering to crouch. "Here. It stretches down to the end of the alley, roomier than it looks. Great for hiding the sick and injured." He tells her and swings himself through the doorway. Ash folds himself through the doorway.

"No wonder you were panicking, we were close to it." Trent comments as Matt heads towards the doorway. Matt ducks into the darkness and Trent motions for Valery to go next.

Valery follows right behind. The creek of the beam and a musty smell permeate the air. And she knows that as she passes through the doorway, more expectations await her.

Through the doorway, Valery spots two Guardians guarding the entrance, both of whom she knows from classes: Savannah and Gavin. Engaged in conversation with Ash. They are probably the ones who saw the smoke and alerted him. She nods to them.

They nod back in greeting, hands resting on their blades, ready for trouble.

"Where is everyone?" Valery asks as her eyes adjust to the dimness.

"We obviously can't keep them too close to the entrance. We need this place to look abandoned," Matt tells her.

The room they are standing in is empty, yet feels suffocating, the air heavy with dust. Faded wallpaper hangs in tattered strips, hinting at happiness and laughter that once bounced off them. The floor is covered in so much dirt, that it's impossible to make out what flooring the building was built with. A toppled chair with a missing leg, and a shattered mirror reflecting a distorted image are all that remain from the home's last occupants.

"Doing a good job of it, the rats are a great addition," She comments, eyeing up another rat as it scampers away from them.

"It's a falling city. Carrion eaters are going to be out," Trent tells her.

"This can't be good for the sick," Valery tells him.

"We make sure to keep the healing chamber clean," Ash tells her. "It's all about keeping up an appearance. There's a lot you need to learn when it comes to strategy, having to survive in a land where you're hunted. Matt, take them back."

Matt nods. He guides them through the crumbling building. He leans his back against a wall and pushes. A panel swings open, revealing a room full of hustle and bustle; graduated Guardians stand around, some alert, on watch, others relaxed, eating their share of soldier rations. Valery looks around, anxiety starting to nip at her, hinting that she doesn't belong, the only non-graduated Guardian within its walls.

"Ey Trent." Brent greets, wiping some gravy off his sun-stained face with his sleeve. "Good to see you again."

"You too." The two men shake hands.

"This way," Matt murmurs.

Matt guides her over to the injured lying on yoga mats, some asleep, others staring wide-eyed at the plain ceiling, reliving whatever horrors they've faced that brought them to this moment. Very few were willing to talk.

"Some are planned to be brought back to the city, the mayor has housing arranged for them. We need to make sure they aren't sick and don't have something that can spread through the city. Check them out first. If they are clean, we want to isolate them from the others. Some, the ones on the red mats, are dying. You're not expected to try to save them. They just want peace, a safe place to pass. Purple mats are infected wounds. Green mats are those who are recovering, and treated with first aid. They might be moving to yellow mats, which are the future city folk."

Valery nods, taking in the grim line of people.

"Go away, let me work." Valery shoos him. "I can't do this with someone watching me."

"Do your best, call me if you need help. Some are disoriented, might put up a fight being touched."

"Will do." Valery nods.

She focuses on the woman sitting on the yellow mat in front of her.

She's holding her arms against her chest as if a child lies in them. But her arms are empty. Valery's heart aches as she takes in the woman's anguish. Slowly, gently, Valery kneels down beside her. She speaks softly, her voice filled with empathy. "Hi. My name is Valery, I'm here to help you, ok?"

Her face is twisted in pain, eyes are full of unshed tears. Grimy black locks hang over her shoulders, a time long gone when she cares about their upkeep.

The woman remains distant, her eyes fixed on the wall, lost in her own world of pain. "Help me? Help my baby." Her voice is full of desperation as tears trickle down her face. Her sea-green eyes remain detached from the present moment.

Valery scans the room, none of the other Guardians are paying attention to the woman's heart-wrenching plea. She is the sole witness of the lady's grief, grief strong enough to shatter her own heart. She refocuses on the lady, determined to provide some sort of solace. "Tell me about your baby. What happened?" Valery asks. She keeps her voice gentle, gaze unwavering.

"They killed her." She answers simply. "I want my baby. If you want to help me, get me my baby." She repeats, her words carrying unrelenting anguish.

"I-I'm sorry." Valery murmurs "I don't have that sort of power," She tells the woman, wishing that she was able to do something.

"I want my baby." The woman sobs.

"I know, I'm so sorry." Valery lays a comforting hand on the woman's scuffed-up arm, looking as though she broke through a window to get free. The woman stiffens up, pulling free of her touch. "I'm just trying to help you find some sort of relief," Valery assures her. "I can't help your baby, but I can help you. Here." Valery picks up the doll she found, laying it in the woman's arms. "It's not your baby, but at least you have something to rock now." The woman focuses on the doll's face, the honey brown eyes.

"My daughter's eyes were this color. Such an innocent face." She murmurs, a final few tears falling on the doll's face, washing away from some of the dirt. The woman starts to rock the doll, singing it a lullaby.

Valery places a hand on the woman's arm again. This time, the woman doesn't pull away from her. As the woman focuses on the doll, Valery focuses on the woman and healing her injuries. She envisions the arm, the torn flesh and muscle, pleading with it to heal. These types of injuries are easy. Finished, Valery stands and looks around. Trent and Matt are both looking at her now, Trent smiling. A few of the injured are looking at her too, waiting their turns. A sudden hope burns in their eyes. Their injuries are going to be harder. More of a challenge.

She clears her throat and continues her way, ignoring their looks.

After the display with the woman, no one gives Valery any trouble as she makes her way one by one, sensing their injuries, both body and soul. Every one of them is eager to open up to her. Most are eager just to talk, letting her get lost in their injuries, urging each wound to heal, cleaning tainted blood. Yellow mats cleared for separation, two people on purple mats revived, and she felt her power draining out. She straightens from helping a black man who had a broken leg bone from jumping out of a second-floor window, the bone having punctured through his leg. Feeling drained, she looks around.

Valery's emotions overwhelm her, the weight of the situation bearing down on her. She takes a deep, steadying breath as if trying to come up for air while drowning. It doesn't help. Only intensifies as she feels the expectant gazes of those around her. They see her as an angel sent, a bringer of hope, and a provider of the help that they need. Deep down, she knows she should be that person for them. She needs to be that person. But looking at everyone, she doesn't know how.

Trent notices her distress, the fire within her starting to stir. He makes his way over in quick strides. "You're looking a little pale, are you alright?" He asks her, concern etched across his face.

Valery's voice quivers. "I can't do this." She scans the room again, looking at everyone looking back at her. "They need help. They are looking at me like I'm some sort of savior. I can't. I can't heal them all. I can't fix the big things." Her voice cracks. "I can't. I have nothing left to give."

Trent places a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "You don't have to carry this burden alone. Together we will help them all. Healing comes in many forms, even the smallest act of kindness can help them."

Valery hears his words of support. Despite his kindness, she finds it difficult to accept his words.

"Val, look at me." Trent murmurs, turning her to face him. "Look at me, not them." He places his hand under her chin, pushing her face up so she can look him in the eyes. "By helping even one person, you help the world. That woman? You changed her world. So, you can't help everyone. That's ok. You're not here to help everyone. No one is here for that. We are a team. And as a team, we help as many as we can. But even then, we don't help everyone. We can't do that. I told you when we were coming up here. We wanted to see what you could do. Most of these people already have transportation arriving to be taken to HQ for Olivia to look at. You cut down on her job significantly. The ones you've helped, are going to be taken back to the city and enrolled in a program that's going to help them have a new life. You've done what you can here, and that's all anyone can ask of you. Ok?"

As tears stream down her face, she finds solace in his words. She wipes her tears away, ready to face whatever stands before them.

Trent presses a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Let's go home, huh?"

She nods.

Trent takes her by the hand and guides her over to Matt.

"I'm sorry," Valery whispers to all those still looking at her with hope in their eyes. "I'm sorry. I tried."

"You're done?" Matt asks.

Valery nods.

"I'll take you guys back to the car." Matt offers. Ash joins them, trailing behind, keeping an eye out for trouble as they retrace their steps back through the city.

"You did an amazing job," Trent assures her as they walk. He raises her hand and lays a kiss on her knuckles. Valery doesn't say a word, her mind on all that she's seen and heard.

"Sorry about your shirt Matty." She tells Matt, breaking her long stretch of silence as Trent's car comes into view.

"Ah, don't worry about it, I have plenty more." He assures her, giving her a hug. "You did a fantastic job today."

"Thank you." She murmurs and climbs in. She buckles herself in and sits, arms crossed, staring into the woodlands.

"You stay safe," Trent tells Matt, the two of them sharing a hug.

"You too," Matt tells him. "Don't be too hard on her, she's done great today."

Trent nods and heads to his door.

Matt joins Ash and the others off to the side of the clearing as Trent climbs in behind the wheel.

"Replaying the experience?" Trent asks her slowly, trying to figure out all the emotions he feels stirring inside her, stirring up her fire.

Trent starts the car, the engine revving to life as he puts the car in reverse, slowly navigating onto the road that nature has fully reclaimed.

Valery, deciding it best to start from the beginning, slowly opens her mouth, trying to find the right words. "You don't want me fighting beside you, do you?' Her voice carries a mixture of frustration and vulnerability, yearning for the truth yet fearing it.

Trent takes a deep breath, measuring his words as he says them. "It's not that." He puts his jeep into drive and grips the steering wheel tightly. Stalling as he scrambles to find the right words, trying to shield Valery from the truth.

"What is it?" She demands, pressing him for more. Her voice was unrelenting. Demanding.

Trent keeps his gaze on the road, refusing to meet her eyes. He clears his throat, trying to dislodge the emotions brewing within him. "I already lost one family." He starts, his voice barely audible. "Killed right in front of me as I hid cowering under the dining table. And." He pauses to clear his throat and wipe his face. "And I became a Guardian. Moved into HQ. Then YOU became my family. I never prepared myself for what it would feel like, to see a sword pointed at you. I felt like I was right back under that table." His voice is heavy with anguish, a pain that is never going to go away.

With a gentle touch, she places her hand on his wrist. Trent remains unresponsive, unmoving. He seems a million miles away, trembling like he is back under that table.

"Trent." She murmurs, attempting to bridge the gap between them. "Your parents were blindsided. They had no idea they lived in this world. I understand your concern, and I can't even begin to understand your pain, but that isn't the case here. I've been preparing for this my whole life. And besides. I love you too much to let someone, or, something take me from you. I'm not going to go out anytime soon. As everyone keeps reminding me, I was made to stop this mess."

Her words hang in the air. Painfully long minutes pass, and his jaw remains tight. Eyes, unwavering from the road. She gives his wrist a light squeeze.

"Don't make promises you can't keep." He finally tells her.

"I'm making this one. That's how sure I am." She tells him, using her empty hand to latch back onto the handle as the jeep rattles down the road.

"Nothing is for certain," Trent tells her, his voice filled with so much emotion she can't even begin to sort them all out.

Valery's eyes furrow as she watches him, trying to figure out what the next right thing to say is. She can sense his apprehension, his need to protect her. "I kicked ass out there and you know it." She tells him, attempting to remind him of how capable she really is.

her eyebrows creasing as she watches his fingers twitch against the wheel. His gaze out the windshield has yet to waiver.

"Cockiness will get you killed."

Valery fights against a frustrated groan. "I'm not being cocky! I feel I did well and so did Matt. Can't you celebrate with us? How many horror stories have you heard about rookies freezing up in the field? I was told what to do and found a way to make it happen."

Somehow, Trent's hands find a way to become even tighter on the steering wheel. "You charged ahead, and didn't pay attention to the danger around you."

"I told you to cover my back. I knew you would. I'm supposed to trust in my team." Valery counters.

"You didn't give me time to react. To give you the clear." Trent tells her, frustration starting to override all his other conflicting emotions. "You would have been run through if I didn't follow right away. You're lucky I was able to get that guy off your back."

"But you did." Valrey insists, her voice firm. "There's no reason to think about what ifs all night."

"One of us needs to. I'm supposed to be your mentor tonight. You don't think things through, you just act."

Valery sighs. "Didn't Matty tell you to be nice to me? We have gone over all this already." Valery tells him, resigned.

Trent falls silent. Still refuses to look in her direction.

Valery huffs as she lets her hand fall from Trent's wrist.

"I keep running the scene over in my head. There was a wad of newspaper on the corner, stuck under a car tire. That wouldn't have created the attention we needed. The garbage can was plastic and we didn't know what was in it. Burning it would have been toxic for us all. I think you made the right choice."

"And?" She presses.

He smirks.

"Have I ever told you how proud I am that you chose me?" He asks her instead of answering her own question.

"I'll take that." She grins, resting her head on his shoulder. "So. When are you going to take me on that real date?"

"Let me talk to Liana and we will go from here."