Tate was okay.

At least, that's what everyone kept saying to her. "He's fine." "It's Tate, he'll be okay." If Autumn had to hear someone say something like that to her one more time, she was going to throw up.

Autumn's old room was being used by someone else, so she was staying in the guest room in Tate's "apartment" (at least that's what everyone called it.) She hadn't been able to sleep at all. After practically breaking down when Tate lost consciousness, she was forced from the room.

For her safety, she was locked in Tate's apartment. They had been waiting to hear from someone, anyone, about his condition for at least a day.

Autumn rolled onto her side, eyeing the empty side of the bed. She hadn't been able to sleep. She felt sick to her stomach. Every time she shut her eyes in an attempt to sleep, all she saw was Tate. His pale face, teeth stained with blood, and vacant eyes.

She also wasn't able to push the thoughts away: It's your fault he's lying there. If he hadn't saved you, none of this would have happened. It's all your fault.

A loud smashing erupted from the kitchen, Autumn jolting in fear. She rushed from the room, surprised to find Clarke sitting on the floor. She was scooping up pieces of a broken mug into her hand; coffee stained the wall behind her.

Without saying a word, Autumn wet a rag and kneeled down next to her. Tate had gotten a few more items since she'd left. He had a few rags, some more mugs and plates, and a new coffee machine.

"I got it," Clarke barked, shoving her away. She aggressively began piling the shards of mug into her hand.

"Clarke," Autumn called. Clarkes only response was a sniffle. "Clarke," Autumn said a little louder. Clarke whimpered, accidentally slicing her hand. "Clarke!" Autumn grabbed a clean rag and wrapped it around her hand. Clarke held it out, not fighting Autumn's help.

"I'm sorry," Clarke shook her head.

"For what?" Clarke sat back against the wall.

"I should have been there . . . I shouldn't have just let him go in by himself!" Clarke buried her face in her hands. "I should have been right by his side."

"Do you really think it's your fault?" Clarke eyed Autumn. Autumn had never seen her cry before; the sight broke her heart. Her eyes were puffy and tears raced down her flushed cheeks.

"He's my little brother. It's my job to protect him! I'm supposed to be the one . . . I'm supposed to keep him safe. And I failed. It was the one thing my mom wanted and I couldn't even do that." Clarke kicked the nearest counter, scuffing it up.

"Clarke, that's . . . it's not true."

"It's not?" Clarke scoffed, rolling her eyes. "I let him go off on his own. I was so angry at him, I called him names," Clarke ran a frustrated hand over his face. "And then he gets stabbed. And I'm not there to stop it. I'm not there to prevent it. I show up to late and the only thing I can do is watch him die!" She was wheezing, unable to find the right amount of breath to make her okay.

"The only reason he made it here was because of you. Do you know how hard you fought for him? You drove in and out of traffic, you-you shot out of a moving vehicle at them. You did your job, Clarke." Autumn found herself laughing from the humor of the situation; from Clarke thinking she hadn't done anything. "You did more than your job."

Autumn reached out for Clarke, pulling her hand away first. Autumn felt like she was reaching into an alligator's mouth; the second she did the mouth slamming shut. Autumn tried again, and this time, Clarke hugged her first.

Clarke seemed like the type of person who allowed everything to build up and never gave herself a chance to let it out. From what everyone had told her, Clarke didn't have many friends; no one to talk to.

Until now. Autumn wasn't going anywhere.

Someone knocked on the door. Clarke quickly fixed her hair, wiping away all the tears staining her face. She collected all of the shards of glass and began picking it up. Autumn leapt to her feet, opening the door. Cade shuffled inside, eyes wide.

"Any news?" Autumn questioned. Cade had been by Tate's side the entire time. Clarke threw away the glass and looked to him. Cade eyed her for a moment, probably surprised she had been crying, but didn't say a word.

"We're waiting for him to respond to something," Cade frowned.

"It's been a day, how long does it take to figure out if he's okay!?" Autumn snapped.

"It's a different process than with humans." Autumn simply bobbed her head. "We have another problem."

"What now?" Clarke sighed.

"The council wants to see her." Autumn and Clarke exchanged horrified glances.

"About what?" Clarke wondered.

"I don't know. David told me. I needed a break from . . ." Cade paused, unable to say it. "I came and told you the second I found out."

"Crap," Clarke roughly ran a hand over the back of her neck.

"What?" Autumn asked, Clarke's tone of voice unnerving.

"You weren't supposed to come back. Everything just . . . just happened so fast and I-I didn't know what to do." Clarke leaned against the counter, biting her lip. "There's nowhere else we can go."

"What if I explain everything? They don't know about everything Kyra told me-"

"There pissed, that's all I know. They aren't happy she's back, but if she starts with that maybe they'll forget. At least let her stay until . . . if Tate wakes up." Everyone just sat there bickering, no one knew exactly what to say or do.

The council had once broke the biggest rule they had and allowed a human to live there. Now, they were asking them to do it all over again.

"What do we do? We have to get her out of here," Cade found himself whispering, as if by keeping his voice down Autumn wouldn't hear him.

"Are you coming?" Jade asked, out of breath, stopping at the front door. "There not very happy."

"When are they?" Autumn asked, sliding past Cade and following Jade outside. Jade lead her down the hall, walking as fast as she could. Clarke and Cade struggled to keep up.

"There especially not this time," Jade scoffed.

"What do you mean?" All of the halls were empty; it was like a ghost town. Autumn guessed all the residents were hiding, preparing for the end of their world. Jade lead her towards the council, expecting to see at least a guard outside of the door.

But, again, no one.

Jade opened the door, Autumn hit with a rush of sound. She slowly stepped into the room, unable to hide the awed expression. It seemed as if everyone was there. People Autumn had never seen before, some she'd only ever seen once.

They covered the room, all hiding on the edge and as far from the council as they could.

"Oh my god," Clarke mumbled.

"They all wanted to be here."

"Ms. Sumner," Mr. Black sneered. The room was dead silent the second he spoke. No one dared to say a word. "You're back." Cade gave her a gentle shove forward. She stumbled, glaring at him over his shoulder, before shuffling forward. The council was a member short. Most of them appeared the same except for a few small things; Mr. Black having a five o'clock shadow for instance.

Autumn opened her mouth to speak, but all she could see the first time she'd run into the council. They all had screamed at her, disgust and rage in their eyes. Her body wouldn't physically let her say a word, and she just stood there mouth open like a moron.

"Are you going to respond?" Mrs. Jones questioned.

"Sorry," Autumn shook her head, trying to shake away the bad memories. "I think you guys should know that Tate didn't bring me back on purpose. It just happened, and I'm begging you not to-"

"That's enough," Mrs. Jones glared.

"The council has come to a decision," Sibella's mother spoke up. Seeing someone actually smile at her made her feel so much better.

"Even though not all members agree," Mrs. Jones muttered under her breath.

"Rule 314A, the president can be over ruled by the other members of the council if the majority agrees," the man with glasses said aloud as if he was reading straight from a book.

"We know," Mrs. Jones growled.

"Continue," Mr. Black shouted over Mrs. Jones.

"Autumn, you have done so much good here. I personally haven't seen any residents as happy as they are now in years. There relaxed, at peace. That kind of comfort can't be taken away. You are being invited to reside here."

Autumn's heart stop, the widest grin she'd ever worn appearing on her face.

"Reside?"

"As of this afternoon, if you'll have us. You will become a resident." Autumn looked to her friends, who were all smiling and jumping around like clowns. A few other people cheered, clapping and high fiving there friends.

Autumn couldn't wait to tell Tate; if he woke up.

"Thank you."

"You have earned it," Sibella's mother glanced at her daughter.

"We do have other matters to discuss," Mr. Black rolled his eyes, sitting up straight in his chair. "Clarke, Tate's well-being?"

"We're waiting for him to wake up," Cade answered for her. Mrs. Jones scribbled down what Cade had said on some paper.

"Clarke, we need a full mission report by the end of the day so we can assess the situation and respond accordingly. As of right now were not addressing this in front of them." Mr. Blacks tone of voice made it clear he didn't approve of the room being bombarded.

He kicked his seat back, ready to storm from the room.

"Wait," Autumn called.

"Excuse me?" Mrs. Jones snapped. Mr. Black held up a hand, pausing her.

"Yes?"

"She uh . . . said some things to me." Autumn wasn't sure how the others felt about Kyra.

"She?" Autumn sighed, clearing her throat.

"Kyra." Everyone shared the same expression; fear. Mr. Black sat back down, and for the first time Mrs. Jones actually wanted to hear what she had to say. "She's planning an attack." People whispered to each other, shocked.

Clarke and Cade seemed to be the most bewildered and terrified. They hadn't been told either.

"On us?"

"On a train station. It was down the street from my apartment." Mr. Black sighed.

"Why bother us with that? It has nothing to do with us."

"Thousands of people go in and out of that station every day!" Autumn shouted, clearly frustrated.

"Okay," Mrs. Jones scoffed.

"So you're going to pretend it's not going to happen?" Autumn knew she shouldn't be challenging them the way she was, but she was outraged.

"It is not our problem nor our concern! You should watch the way you speak!" Mrs. Jones shouted, her face red. She leapt from her chair and headed towards the door, Mr. Black following after her.

"So that's it," she bobbed her head. "You're just going to continue living the way you do."

"Nothing is wrong with the way we live, Ms. Sumner." Mr. Black stopped at the door, calling to her. He spun around stepping towards her. "We are happy. We do not fight, hurt, or kill one another like your people do."

"No, you don't. Instead you spend your lives miserable; existing but not actually living."

"What do you know about living?" Mr. Black laughed.

"I have family and friends. I have the outdoors. I can see the stars and the moon whenever I want. I don't have to sneak off or fill out paper work."

"So you're just going to insult the way we live? We accepted you into our home." Mr. Black reached Autumn, towering over her. "And this is how you thank it?"

"Aren't you sick of hiding?" She whispered. She tried to contain herself, not wanting to make a scene. But she couldn't contain the rage boiling in her gut. They wanted to leave innocent people, let them die, without even caring. "Aren't you sick of it?" Autumn said louder, looking to the fortis that lined the walls.

Some dared to look at her, others couldn't. She could see it in their eyes, some of them didn't care. They agreed with Mr. Black, what did some humans have to do with them?

"Aren't you sick of being the ones who have to hide? You're afraid. You spend your entire life fearing the moment when she bursts through that door and kills you all. Kyra has killed hundreds of humans, hundreds of my people. She's killed just as much of you. Aren't you tired of it?"

Autumn looked around the room, everyone deep in thought. She made eye contact with Cade.

"Kyra and her people have hurt you. Don't you want to make sure that never happens again?" Cade's eyes became glassy, removing his eyes from her glance and to his feet. "She's killed your own people, because they didn't do what she wanted them to. She's forced others to do things they don't want to do. And Tate is," she couldn't finish her sentence.

"What you're talking about is war," Mr. Black responded.

"One that we could win."