By the next morning, the worst of the storm had passed, meaning we were able to venture outside and survey the damage.

The biggest relief: there wasn't much. Debris had been washed across the streets by rising water, and there was evidence of flood damage on some of the weaker buildings, but structurally the place remained intact. A couple of miles to the west, a large tree had fallen, but the only building hit was already out of bounds; even before the storm it had looked ready to crumble. Perhaps the biggest miracle was that the generator had survived – and thanks to Art's repair job, there was no lasting damage.

Like everyone had assured me, we'd got through it.

With the storm now behind us, normal life resumed remarkably quickly. Even that morning, there was no time to be wasted – and after a slice of toast each made from the sandwich leftovers, Nova sent us on our way to pick up our usual jobs.

Just like that, life outside the capital continued.

It was easy to slip back into routine. Most mornings, I'd be up before the crack of dawn to help prepare breakfast, stifling yawns alongside Erica as we slaved over the latest batch of lab-grown scrambled egg. I got a short break in the middle of the day, which was usually spent taking a power nap in my room, or, weather permitting, catching some rare sunlight on a patch of grass outside – before being launched straight back into work for the afternoon.

It wasn't so bad. I was at least kept occupied, and my brain had something productive to focus on when there were a million other places it could've lingered. The last thing I needed was headspace to think over the events of the last few days, chasing my tail as I speculated hopelessly about where it all might lead.

And yet today, when I found myself alone in the communal bathroom armed with a bucket of bleach, I couldn't quite stop my brain from going there. I tried, but after holding everything back for days, holes were starting to appear in the dam – and one by one, the intrusive thoughts and endless questions gushed in.

I couldn't stop them.

Your abnormal genetic sequence, a voice in my head reminded me. You could drop down dead at any minute.

What about Nova's side effects? You know they could turn dangerous, even if you don't want to admit it.

Not to mention the fact that you'll probably never have a real relationship with her again.

And that's before even getting started on Jace, and where his loyalties lie...

Frustrated, I scrubbed harder at the shower tiles, like this might bleach some of the toxicity in my head. The harder I pressed with the sponge, the easier the dirt came off, revealing the original white colour beneath the grime. And yet the harder I tried to push my thoughts away, trying to break away from my own form of torture, the more force with which they came back.

It was pointless. And if I kept going, I would drive myself mad.

Several hours later, after my intensive scrubbing had given the bathroom its gleam of fifty years beforehand, I had to admit there was no more left to do. As I packed the cleaning supplies back into the storage unit, my stomach grumbled loudly; only then did it occur to me how hungry I was. Figuring it was probably about time for dinner, I headed straight for the dining hall.

The place was busy, and once there I grabbed a tray and moved toward the hot food hatch. On offer was some kind of stew, being ladled out from a silver vat, which looked like it contained minimal meat and a lot of bulky veg. I spooned out enough to fill my bowl and turned to face the rest of the room.

Truthfully, I was looking for Jace. We usually ate together in the evenings, and it was nice to be able to count on a regular catch-up after things had been sporadic for so long. A first scan of the room didn't reveal him, but that didn't mean much. It was still early, and it wasn't unheard of for him to get caught up in whatever job he was doing and stop by later. Thinking little of it, I took a seat on my own.

I only got about two mouthfuls into the stew.

Because when Nova appeared, everything went downhill.

"Astrid," she said, which seemed to replace a hello as she leaned forward onto my table. I just about managed to swallow what I had in my mouth before she started her question. "Have you seen Jace?"

It caught me off guard, and I searched her expression – but even up close it didn't reveal much. Her green eyes were stony, undeterred, the hallmark of a woman on a mission. "Uh, no," I said. "Not since this morning. Why?"

She didn't even attempt to answer, instead pushing herself back up from the table and turning away. I should've expected it; after all, it was a perfect example of the attitude she'd had from the moment I arrived here. And yet, as I watched her go, it irritated me beyond belief.

The anger had been bubbling near the surface for too long, and in that moment, it spilled over.

I got to my feet.

"Hey!" I yelled. "Don't just walk off."

She stopped in her tracks, pausing for a few seconds before turning back to me. When her gaze met mine, it was a definite challenge – but this time, I would rise to it.

"What?"

"I asked you a question," I said. "It's rude to just walk off."

She took a step closer. I folded my arms, determined not to be intimidated, despite her valiant effort. "What was your question?"

"You asked if I knew where Jace was," I told her. "And I asked why."

Her narrowed eyes didn't leave mine.

"He's gone walkabout," she said, her voice betraying not the slightest hint of emotion. Under the layer of ice cold, it was impossible to tell how she really felt. "We can't find him."

"What do you mean, walkabout? You think he's run away?"

"I'm not jumping to conclusions," she said matter-of-factly. I didn't like the way she implied I was. "I don't know where he's gone. I know he likes to go for these wanders, but Art's checked all the obvious places, and there's no sign of him."

All of a sudden, my anger towards Nova dissipated, replaced quickly by a thumping heart. It leapt into my throat, making it difficult to swallow over the resulting lump. "What?"

"I know," she said. "It's not ideal."

Every previous thought had vanished from my mind; I was now struggling to comprehend the blank, white space when there were no certainties with which to fill it. Jace had disappeared. He'd gone – but where? The trail of thought alone was endless, and I soon descended along a line of possibilities too sinister to think about. With so much unchartered territory around here, I couldn't even be certain of the trouble he might face.

Then, one clear thought came to me. "Did you check the lake?"

In any other situation, reminding her of what happened the other day would've felt like risking a death sentence – but here, I couldn't bring myself to care.

"Yes. He's not there."

My breath caught, and in that moment, Nova looked at me. Really looked at me. For the first time, there was something other than disdain there; instead, it felt like she genuinely thought I could help. "Do you have any other ideas?"

I wished I did; in fact, I wished it with every bone in my body. The thought of Jace going missing, vanishing into thin air, was too much to bear. I couldn't do this – couldn't be here – without him. The mere prospect of facing this lonely new world without him made me feel like I could barely breathe.

"No," I murmured. "I don't know where else he goes."

Part of me expected her to be annoyed – irritated that, yet again, I couldn't provide her with a useful answer. But she simply nodded. "Okay."

The conversation had reached a dead end, its path stopping short at a cliff edge, leaving us both teetering on unstable ground. Stood there, with nowhere to go, I was helpless – and so I said the only thing that might get me out of that state of mind.

"I have to go look for him."

I was prepared to charge out of the door then, but Nova's instantaneous response caused me to freeze. "No," she said. "Not now. It's too soon. Art's already out there looking, and if he really needs it he's got Erica's help. It's only been a few hours yet, which means it's entirely possible that he just lost track of time out in the woods and will show up on his own. If we start a search party now, all we'll do is cause panic."

I blinked, hardly able to process what I'd just heard. "You've got to be joking."

"I'm not."

"Do you hear yourself? Because it sounds like you've just told me Jace has gone missing, and in the same breath you said I shouldn't go looking for him."

"We don't know he's missing yet."

"Well, he's not here, is he? That seems pretty missing to me." I folded my arms, pretending to search the room. "Come on. You know this isn't like him. He might wander during the day, but he doesn't ever stay out this late. At least not without telling anyone. What if he's in trouble?"

"Then Art will find him."

"He's a whole lot more likely to be found if I go out there and help."

"Astrid," Nova said, in what I recognised as a warning tone. "You heard what I said. What use is it if you go running into the woods after him without the slightest sense of direction? I'm not looking to add to our absentee list."

"What use is it?" I echoed incredulously. "Other than finding him, you mean? Other than getting him out of potential danger?"

"He might not be in danger."

"But how will you live with yourself if he is?"

My words hung in the air, their impact intensified by how, in the absence of a reply, their shockwaves seemed to hit us over and over again. Nova's gaze attempted to hold my own. And yet a flicker of something behind her eyes, something raw and panicked and vulnerable, suggested it was more of a struggle than she let on. I'd touched upon something – but at a moment like this, I couldn't care less about the outcome.

"I'm going to look for him," I told her, with conviction that would rival all her previous orders. "I don't care what you say, how much you tell me it's dangerous or pointless or whatever else. Maybe you don't think the same way, but there's no way I can sit here doing nothing when there's even the slightest chance that Jace could be in trouble. So say what you want – I'm going out there to find him."

With that, I was back on my feet, propelled by momentum that would no longer give way to my sister – or anything. I turned my back on her and headed for the door.

"Astrid."

The protest behind me was expected, but I couldn't help noticing it was weaker than usual. She may have attempted to cling onto the final hope that I would follow her orders, but the proof that it had slipped through her fingers was right there in her voice. Deep down, she knew I was going to go.

And she had no choice but to let me.

The echo of her voice disappeared behind me as I pushed through the doors, soon replaced by the sound of my footsteps on creaky floorboards that took me down the corridor. Seconds later, I emerged outside, and the first breath of cold air rushing into my lungs sparked a new burst of energy. I felt like I'd broken free – whether it be from Nova's controlling grasp or something deeper inside – and, spurred on by purely my own impulse, the only thing I could think of was finding Jace.

Where did I even start? The lake would've been an obvious answer, but Nova had already told me they'd had no luck there. Not to mention, if it had been a leisurely trip, Jace would've been back hours ago.

Though thinking about it sent a stab through my gut, his continued absence hinted at something more sinister.

Still, the lake had to be a starting point. Just because he wasn't there in the most obvious sense didn't mean it was a complete dead end. What if he'd started there? It wouldn't take much to take a wrong turn on his way back, to lose his way among winding paths and wild greenery. It was hard to retrace steps here. Even harder when they weren't sure of themselves in the first place.

So I took off in that direction, powering through the concrete streets toward the line that marked the descent into overgrowth. I had a hazy memory of the route. I could vaguely remember the journey Jace and I had taken before, though at that time I hadn't known where we were headed. The adrenaline made it impossible to take a moment to get my thoughts straight – and so I had no choice but to rely on the heady, emotional rush that pulled me one way and then another.

Even deep into the wilderness, relics of a civilisation long forgotten cropped up here and there, stubbornly standing their ground as nature tried to reclaim them. Metal fences that used to mark the perimeter of a garden, some of which I had to leap over. The exposed foundations of houses that had since crumbled into individual bricks and threatened to trip me up. Old plastic that dotted the landscape as far as I could see.

I couldn't move fast enough. I lost count of the times I almost tripped over discarded bottles, jagged sections of pipe, or whatever else was hidden beneath dense thicket. It was impossible to move forward as fast as I wanted, at least not without running the risk of serious injury. Twice already my foot had caught on trailing branches, and the momentum had sent me flying forwards, throwing out my arms for the nearest stable object. I knew I needed to be careful, but when every wasted second felt like Jace was being dragged further away, there wasn't a part of me I could bring to slow down.

Every minute brought a new twist and turn, and the path was becoming increasingly convoluted. My feet were racing forward faster than my brain could handle. A left here, a sudden right here, a veer towards that split tree trunk... but wait, did that mean I'd doubled back on myself? This wasn't the way to the lake that Jace had shown me before... in fact, it had been a long while since I'd seen anything I recognised...

"Jace!"

As the sense of helplessness began to sink in deeper, the cry of his name escaped me without real direction from my brain. I was on the verge of tears – the only thing holding them back was that I couldn't catch my breath long enough to let out a real sob.

"Jace!" I tried again. This time it came out louder; with the sudden flapping of wings from above, I realised the shrill noise had been enough to scare off the birds from a nearby tree. And yet, in the silence that followed, it was all too obvious it was not enough to reach what I was looking for.

He was in trouble. I wasn't sure how, but all I knew was that the sinking feeling within me was too strong to have come from my pain alone. He was alone somewhere, in danger, and for all I knew there could've been miles separating us...

"JACE!"

It escaped with all the force I had left, my voice ringing out until my lungs burned from the lack of air. The echo lasted even longer, triggering more flapping as birds in more distant trees took off in fear. My desperation, hanging in the air like a toxic cloud, was enough to scare off anything.

I sunk to my knees, struggling to catch a breath as frustration took over. I knew he was here somewhere. I knew he needed me. And if I didn't find my way quickly enough, it could all be over.

Then, suddenly, I heard the noise. It was impossible not to, impossible for the deafening crack that split the air not to paralyse any living thing. Frozen on the spot, I didn't even dare to breathe – and I was powerless to stop the wave of pure terror that washed over me.

That wasn't a sound I should've heard here.

And if I'd been worried before, the danger level was now off the scale.

Because there was no mistaking a gunshot.

At first, I stayed there on my knees – acutely aware that this was one of the most vulnerable positions I could be in, and yet unable to move a muscle. If I dared to move, to get up, to do anything, I risked drawing attention to myself. With the shot close enough to leave my ears ringing, that was too much of a reckless move.

But then I heard something else. Another sound, this time the polar opposite of a gunshot – not dangerous or violent or lethal, but a whimper of pain that sent an icy chill down my spine.

The gunman could've been round the corner; I had no way to tell. Gathering to my feet could have been the stupidest and most dangerous move right then, but I did it anyway. The gut-wrenching pain in that sound meant I couldn't stay there – and no power in the universe could force me to ignore it. Despite all logic and rational thought, everything that told me to stay away from the source of the danger rather than running towards it, it wasn't enough to turn my feet in the opposite direction.

Maybe I was being noble.

Or maybe I just had a death wish.

As I stood, I felt like a zombie. My brain had lost the ability to process conscious thought, and it was an underlying compulsion that drove me in the direction of the sound. I stumbled forward, stepping over tree roots and pushing my way through thick tangles of branches, not even registering pain as thorns dragged against my bare skin. I kept moving, with a strange kind of numb focus that left no room to consider an alternative.

And then I realised why.

I reached out to sweep aside an overhanging branch that obscured my view, and what my brain had feared and yet not been able to process came into sharp, undiluted focus.

The realisation hit me all in one blow, and I screamed.

Because there was Jace, sprawled on his back on the floor, tangled in the overgrowth.

And when I looked down at my feet, I realised I was standing in a pool of his blood.

-------------------

Hi, guys! What is this sorcery... me uploading on a day that's not a Monday? It actually feels like an achievement for me, because this is one of the first chapters I've actually had to WRITE rather than edit, and I managed to get it out just one day off schedule. I must've edited this about 10 times, because for some reason it just wouldn't flow... but I think I've finally got to a point where it's passable.

In other news, something exciting happened this week... I HIT 130,000 FOLLOWERS!

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