Ten days after Kendle had been taken, Gloria and the others finally arrived at base camp. Entering the large cave system, Gloria felt like she was coming home. She smiled slightly before grabbing Michael and Henry and pulling them toward the Commons. "Come on, it's time to find Rachel."

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Kendle was still getting used to life at Tyler Renold's household; it was unlike anything else she had ever experienced.

He never beat her, never berated her, never even ordered her to do anything. He asked. He let her sit at the table with him, helped her make the meals and clean up the kitchen afterward. He tried to have conversations with her, asked her questions about herself, like he wanted to get to know her. Insisted she call him Tyler.

Tyler Renolds confused her.

But it had only been a week, so there was still time for him to show his true colors. This was all a ruse and shame on him for thinking she didn't know that.

She played along, though; she ate with him, answered his questions, and called him Tyler. Sometimes she thought he got annoyed with her compliance, she'd see him looking at her sadly when she went off without a word to do a chore he had asked her to do.

Kendle looked up  from the dishes she was washing and pulled herself from her thoughts when she heard the door being thrown open and then slammed shut. Drying her hands, she walked to the living room and sas Tyler laying on the couch, arm flung over his eyes and a frown on his face.

"Sir-I mean, uh, Tyler?" She said softly, catching herself. He seemed to be in a bad mood and she didn't want to upset him more. He lifted his arm and looked over at her before sitting up with a sigh, patting the couch cushion next to him.

"Sit."

Kendle walked over apprehensively and carefully sat down. She kept her eyes off Tyler's face but she could feel him staring at her.

"Look at me, please." He whispered and Kendle slowly looked up, keeping her gaze focused on his nose, not meeting his eyes. He sighed and lifted a hand. Kendle dropped her head and flinched back. I knew it. I knew it was coming. It was only a matter of time. She waited for the hit to come, but it never did.

She hesitantly listed her gaze to look at Tyler through her hair, using it as a shield. Hs had his hand in his hair and a sad look on his face.

"Kendle," he said softly. "I'm not going to hit you. I'll never hit you." He carefully reached out a hand and brushed her hair back, tucking it behind her ear and seeking out her gaze.

His amber eyes captured her own and he stared at her earnestly. "I will never hurt you, Kendle." His eyes pleaded with her to understand, so even though she knew he didn't mean it, she nodded.

"Okay," she muttered.

Tyler closed his eyes and dropped his hand from the side of her face where it had moved to cup her cheek, letting out another sigh. "I'm sorry. I know this is hard to understand, to believe, but I won't hurt you. I know you've lived your whole life with horrible, despicable people; I've seen the scars." He opened his eyes and looked at her earnestly. "But I promise you, Kendle Brooks, I will never hurt you."

Kendle's eyes watered and her breath hitched in her chest. "Okay," she muttered again, and while she would never admit it out loud, maybe, just maybe she was starting to believe him.

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Gloria dragged Michael and Henry through the compound, skirting around people who wanted to welcome her back; they didn't have time for pleasantries, they had to find Rachel. Finally arriving at the Commons, Gloria pulled them toward a corner and told the boys to stay put before walking over to a table and climbing atop it. "Rachel Brooks!" She called out, as loud as she could to be heard over the general din of the place. "Rachel Brooks!" She called again, this time louder.

A hush fell over the place and everyone turned to look at her. Gloria scanned the crowd for a familiar face with amber eyes and golden hair. Sapphire eyes met honey and Gloria smirked. "I have something for you!"

The amber eyes winked at her and the golden hair started weaving through the crowd. Gloria climbed off her table and walked back to Michael and Henry, waiting with them.

It wasn't long before the crowd parted and out stepped Rachel Brooks.

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Kendle made dinner, Tyler helping out afterwards to clean up the dishes and wipe down the counters. As she was getting ready for bed, still amazed that she had her own room with a bed and everything, there was a knock on her door. She walked over and eased it open. "Yes-" she stopped, seeing the tears in his eyes. "Tyler?" She asked, concerned and slightly startled.

He sniffled and ducked his head. "Sorry, Kendle, I just," he paused, unsure of what to say. She reached over and put a hand on his shoulder.

"What's wrong?" She asked softly, not wanting to anger him. He took a deep, shuddering breath.

"I miss my brother." He whispered. Kendle's heart grew heavy.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He nodded slightly and Kendle grabbed his shoulders and steered him into her room, sitting him down on the bed. She rubbed gentle circles on his back and made soothing noises as he tried to get himself under control enough to tell her about his brother.

"He, uh, he died a few years ago. He was an Invalid, and I bought him so we could stay together, I didn't treat him any different, he took care of me. He was my older brother, and I just..." Tyler took a deep breath and Kendle muttered a few more encouraging words. "I had a couple of friends over and they, they weren't good people and I wish I had known that then. They got mad at him, and they-they beat him to death. In my own house! I tried to pull them off him, but they were too strong, they knocked me out. When I woke up," Tyler was sobbing now and Kendle was struggling to make out his words. "When I woke up, they were gone and Sebastian was-was dead."

Kendle pulled Tyler close to her, tucking his head into the crook of her neck and brushing her hands through his hair. Kendle didn't know how long they sat there for, Tyler crying into her shoulder, but it was some time later when he finally pulled away and wiped his eyes.

"Sorry about that," Tyler said, laughing nervously. Kendle smiled softly.

"It's okay, Tyler," she said, placing her hand on his knee. "Sometimes you just need to talk about it."

"Yeah, I guess." He said.

"Do you want to hear about my oldest brother?" Kendle said softly. Maybe knowing he's not alone in the death of a brother will help him feel better, she thought.

"You have an older brother?" He asked.

"Well, I had two, but my oldest brother was killed."

"If you don't mind talking about him," Tyler whispered, staring at her with wide eyes. Kendle nodded and took a deep breath.

"I was ten, when I first got my mark, and my mother decided to have me sent to The Farm. My oldest brother, his name was Emmet, and my older sister Rachel, figured it out and Rachel tried to protect me, but my mom wasn't having it. She decided that she couldn't risk my baby sister, Krystal, being marked an Invalid, and she was going to have her sent to The Farm as well. Emmet tried to stop that, he tried to protect Krystal. He held her and kept her hidden from the guns. My mom told them to shoot him. And then they shot Krystal. She was five. Their bodies were thrown in the back of the truck with me." Kendle said, ducking her head as tears sprung to her eyes. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked over at Tyler.

"That must have been horrible," he whispered. Kendle nodded, reaching up a hand to wipe at her tears.

"I still have nightmares," her voice came out hoarse and she cringed. Tyler gave her a sad smile.

"Understandable," he whispered back. His smile disappeared and he bit his lip, looking nervously at the flood.

"Tyler?" Kendle said, bending forward to try and meet his eyes, studying his features.

"Would you mind if I stay in here tonight?" He asked softly, hesitantly. Kendle was shocked for a minute. "I-I don't want to be alone." He admitted quietly and smiled sheepishly at her. Kendle smiled back softly.

"Of course I don't mind," she said, wrapping her arm around his shoulder. "Here, take the bed." She said, grabbing a single pillow to place on the floor.

"I can't do that! It's your room and your bed, you deserve to sleep in it." Tyler said, looking slightly horrified. Kendle giggled, his wide eyes were comical.

"I'm no stranger to sleeping on the floor, Tyler, it's fine. And this time, I'll have a pillow which is more than I've ever gotten before." She meant it to be reassuring but he just looked even more destressed.

"Sleep on the bed with me," he blurted out, looking almost panicked when he realized what he had said.

"W-What?" Kendle asked, shocked.

"W-Well, I mean, we could share the bed, you really don't have to sleep on the floor, I don't want you to sleep on the floor." He rambled, eyes darting around the room. "Please?" He almost begged, looking at her hopefully. Kendle caved and nodded, putting the pillow back.

"Alright, we can share the bed." Tyler's face lit up in a grin and he scooted over to one side, making room for her next to him as they both stretched out on the bed.

Kendle curled up on her side and closed her eyes, trying to ignore the other presence in the bed with her, and quickly fell asleep.

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The shot rang through the otherwise still air and Kendle screamed, a sobbing mess in the Invalid's arms. "No!" She screamed and she screamed and she screamed but another shot quickly followed the first and her big brother and baby sister were dead. She was thrown in the back of a truck and then their lifeless bodies were thrown in next to her. She screamed louder, unable to look away from their bloody faces.

"NO!"

Kendle shot up in bed, panting, still reeling from the nightmare. She was soaked in sweat and she could feel her heart trying to pound out of her chest. She felt arms wrap around her waist and she flinched so hard she almost fell out of bed.

"T-Tyler! I-I'm so-sorry I didn't-didn't mean to wake y-you." She whispered.

"Nightmare?" He asked softly. Kendle nodded as tears sprang to her eyes.

"Oh gods it was like being back there again, in that truck with them." She shuddered. "It was so real," she sobbed.

Tyler sat up and pulled her close to him, tucking her head into his shoulder and letting her cry, rubbing gentle circles on her back and muttering soothing words into her ear. He started stroking her hair and the actions reminded her so much of Gloria that she began to cry harder. She missed her best friend, and her brother, and sweet little Henry. She didn't even know if they were alright.

She finally calmed herself down sometime later and pulled away from Tyler, wiping aggressively at her face and laughing nervously. "Sorry," she said, turning away from him. Tyler gently grasped her chin and turned her head to look at him.

"Don't worry, we all get nightmares, it's okay." He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Now let's get back to sleep, shall we?" He smiled gently and Kendle nodded, rolling over and lying back down.

Her eyes shot open when she felt arms encircle her waist and Tyler nuzzle his nose into the crook of her neck. "W-What are you doing?" She asked, alarmed.

"Cuddling," he said easily. "Thought it might help."

Kendle's breath choked in her throat and she nodded jerkily.

She was awake long after Tyler's breaths had evened out and the soft puffs of breath on her neck grew slow and steady.

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"Gloria! Honey, how're you doing!" Rachel said, rushing forward to catch Gloria in a hug, not noticing the two boys standing behind her.

"Rachel! Look, there's someone who I think would like to see you," Gloria said, stepping to the side and smiling. Rachel's eyes zeroed in on her brother.

"M-Michael?" She asked hoarsely, shocked.

"Hey, big sis," he said back, smiling nervously.

"Oh my gods, Michael!" Rachel cried, lunging at her brother and wrapping him in a tight hug, making Michael squirm just a little, which was much to Gloria's amusement, of course.

Rachel pushed Michael back to arm's length, her hands on his shoulders. "How've you been? How did you get away? How did you get here? What-what–" Rachel poured out questions, pulling Michael close to her again and burying her face in his hair. "I thought I'd never see you again," she muttered.

Michael pulled away and grinned. "It's good to see you to, Rachel. But before we get all caught up," Michael paused and looked over at Gloria, cocking his eyebrow to ask her a silent question. Gloria nodded.

"Let me tell her," she said, walking over and placing a hand on Rachel's shoulder as she whirled to face her.

"Tell me what?" She demanded. Gloria hesitated, suddenly not so sure of her decision, and dropped her hand to wring her hands together.

"Your sister's alive." Gloria said carefully.

Rachel froze, her eyes widening before narrowing to slits.

"Is this a joke? Do you think this is funny?" She snarled, glaring at Gloria.

"It's not a joke, sis." Michael interjected, placing his hand on Rachel's shoulder. "Kendle's alive."

Rachel looked back and forth between them, eyes wide and brimming with tears. "Kendle is... Alive?" She said softly, barely allowing herself to hope. Gloria and Michael nodded.

"Yeah! She's really nice!" Came a small voice, and they all whirled to face Henry, Gloria feeling bad that she had forgotten he was there. "She's awesome! She saved me!" Henry grinned up at Rachel before running forward and wrapping his arms around her legs. "You're her sister?" He asked, eyes wide and innocent.

Gloria saw Rachel's heart melt as she smiled down at the little kid. "Yeah, Kendle's my little sister," she said, ruffling his hair before dropping to a crouch to be more on Henry's level. "What's your name, little man?"

"Henry!" The kid beamed. Rachel smiled back.

"That's a lovely name. How do you know Kendle?" She asked.

"Kendle worked for mommy and daddy, she took care of me all the time and played with me and she's really cool and I really like her and she's awesome but mommy and daddy are mean to her so we runned away to come find the, um," he paused thinking hard for a moment. "Re-bell-i-on." Henry sounded out the word carefully, smiling when he finished. "Yeah!"

Rachel pulled him into a hug. "You are very brave, Henry." She ruffled his hair again before standing up and looking around.

"So where is she?" Rachel said and Gloria winced.

"We were attacked on our way here; she was taken." Gloria whispered. Rachel froze, rage filling her gaze.

"Where?" She demanded.

"We don't know," Gloria sighed.

"Well then," Rachel grabbed Henry's hand in one of hers and Michael's with the other and started to pull them out of the Commons, Gloria quickly following behind. "Let's go find out." 

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