Spere stood, sore, dazed, hungry, and tired. Her back was pressed against a cold wooden pole, not very thick around, that her arms were pulled around and tied against behind her back. It rubbed uncomfortably against her shirt. She hadn't eaten in a couple of days, and her body was thin and aching. Beside her on a separate pole was Windy, the golden cross necklace dangling from his neck as he hung his head low from exhaustion. She stared at his face for a long while in silent admiration. She yearned more than anything now to be close to him, to comfort him. To feel him. But alas, she could not, tied up, far away, and defeated.

She turned back to the floor, attempting to relax in the bitter cold, and lost in thought, thinking of Mayhem and Stonehenge and Fallen World and Cloudy and Rebel. But mostly, she thought of what she would do when they got out. The first thing she would do is hug Windy. Maybe she would kiss him too. She'd never truly felt romance before now. And now that she did, it drove her entirely, pushing her on, giving her confidence and a purpose and overwhelming her at times. She didn't mind. She enjoyed the new sense of purposefulness she had. It made her focused. Maybe focused on the wrong thing. Maybe she shouldn't be focused on protecting Windy at all. But then she thought of him, and the time they'd spent together, and she knew it was only fair for him that she cared about him like he did for her.

The door creaked open, and sunlight flooded the dark room. Spere's eyes took a moment to adjust as she blinked. A figure stood in the door. She recognized Stonehenge immediately. Windy stirred beside her now, his head lolling from one side to another weakly. Stonehenge shut the door behind him, and approached the two.

He cleared his throat, then said, "Spere. Are you willing to tell me where we can find more food?"

Spere spit on the floor, "Eat shit."

"Spere," Stonehenge tried again, unevenly this time, "Can you tell me anything about the two boys you were with when we found you?"

"Why?" Spere smirked, "You want them?"

He lowered his gaze, "What are you implying?"

"You know, with the way you've been touching me, I didn't know if you wanted them for that too," Spere hissed, recalling the few times in the last couple of days he'd used her to try and coax information out of Windy. He didn't break, although he had cried out for her. Spere was disgusted, but ultimately, didn't care. He hadn't raped her in any manner; just touched her. And hurt her. Stonehenge threw a punch at Spere's gut, and she coughed, her face strained.

"Tell me," he growled. She refused. Another punch, another body of ache and pain. She still refused. A third punch. The cycle continued.

Stonehenge yelled, "All you've ever done is put me down and make me look bad!"

"Oh, so you're beating me up because I hurt your feelings?" Spere snarked. Another punch. Her rubs ached, and her cut had reopened itself and bled down her front. Stonehenge slapped her a few times, and then left the room, the door slamming loudly behind him. He had such a temper now. "Still an infant," Spere muttered, and then allowed the pain from his punches to consume her. She sobbed from it. She should never show him weakness, but in the dark, alone, with Windy and drained, she needed to.

It didn't take but a while for the door to open back up. Spere sniffed and struggled to wipe her cheeks on the shoulders of her shirt the best she could. But this time, it was Mayhem. She hadn't seen him the entire time she'd been there, so it was odd. He very quietly clicked the door shut, plunging them into darkness again, and then shuffled forward to stand in front of Spere. Spere worried about what would come next. But really, nothing did.

Instead of a punch, he spoke, gently, "Spere, I'm so sorry. For everything, for Stonehenge. I didn't want to be a part of this. We were supposed to attack your group but not kill anyone. And then he made us look for you afterwards, like a deranged dog."

"Like an infant, having a tantrum," Spere muttered.

"Exactly," Mayhem said. Then he paused, and said a bit more quietly, "Two guys approached the border yesterday..." Spere held her breath. He continued, "Not the main gate. They were trying to sneak in. I was on border patrol with my group, and recognized them, and said I'd deal with them." He chuckled to himself, "I did, I made a deal with them. I help you two get out, and I get out, too. They're waiting for us close to the back of the zoo, we can sneak out easily."

"But how?" Spere asked, stunned. "Won't people see us?" Is this a joke?

"No, nobody is out right now, there was a squirmish downtown with the other town."

Spere shook her head in disbelief, "The bird folk?" Mayhem nodded.

"Zenshock started it, but that's a whole other story," He muttered. Then, he moved around to Spere's back and began to untie her hands. Once done, he moved on to Windy's. Spere stood in front of him, and once untied, he collapsed into her arms. She held him tightly, savouring his warmth and smell, and then helped him to his feet. He was still dazed, and mumbled something she couldn't hear. It was all happening so fast. No time to think. Act now or never.

She helped him shuffle along the cold cement floor, thankful they were still wearing shoes, and cautiously out the door, Mayhem eyeing their surroundings warily. Spere didn't trust him, but she figured it couldn't get much worse, and knew she'd regret it if she didn't take the chance. Even if she didn't trust Mayhem, she had decided to trust Rebel and Cloudy, and so she just hoped that Mayhem hadn't been lying about their involvement. Or maybe it was all a trap and they were in on it. She glanced at Windy's sad face, his arms around her shoulders, pressuring on her spine as he used her to walk. This was about him now. She needed to get him out of here. And if she had to blindly trust even for a chance, she would. Mayhem prodded her shoulder for a second, and when she turned to face him, he pulled her gloves from his pocket, and handed them to her.

"Oh, thank you," Spere said, unsure of how to react. She took them with her free hand and put them in her hoodie pocket. Then, Mayhem turned and began walking past several buildings and cages, veering off to the left, clinging to walls, and staying off of the main path. Spere followed him, slowly, dragging Windy along with her.

Eventually, they found a tall chain link fence on the outskirts of the campus. Past it was a downtown type of feel, with taller buildings, and many of what used to be stores. Mayhem put two fingers to his mouth and whistled. After a moment, from one of the buildings, appeared Rebel and Cloudy's new but familiar faces. After a moment of recognition, they moved out of the doorframe and walked through snow to get to the border fence, followed by a small black cat. Spere pressed her free hand to the cold wire, and Rebel and Cloudy matched her movement, grinning, all three of their hands touching.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Cloudy said.

"I barely know you guys, I can't believe you came to help," Spere said in amazement.

Rebel scoffed, "Don't doubt us. You helped us, too. How's Windy?"

Spere pressed her arm around him tighter, "Not good. He needs to get out." She turned to Mayhem. "Can we hoist him over?"

"No need to," Rebel said, a smirk splayed across his face. Cloudy smiled and sat a small bag on the ground, and pulled out a large set of wire cutters. Spere grinned. Cloudy used the hefty things to clip a large hole in the fence, and Rebel's face filled with pride.

Carefully, Spere lowered Windy to his knees, where Cloudy and Rebel helped to kindly pull him through without scraping or ripping his clothes, and then gently lay him in the snow on the other side, the entire time, Spere's gut twisting with worry. Windy looked incredibly pale, with black bruises across his face, and undoubtedly his stomach swollen and twisted with yellow and purple marks as well. His necklace should protect him! She cursed at the white cat. He was supposed to protect Windy. But then, she took a deep breath. God would protect him. He would heal Windy's wounds quickly and without problems. She knew that much.

She gently but hastily sat in the snow on her knees, and then crawled like a dog through the hole in the fence. Then, Mayhem followed.

"What's next?" Spere asked, helping Windy to his feet, Rebel on his other side.

"Now, we find someplace new to begin," Mayhem said confidently.

Cloudy's face lightened up, "Let's try and find the town that survived The Event."

Rebel grinned, "Fantastic idea, my love!"

Spere nodded, "That's next on the agenda then! But first, let's find a building to rest in. Windy needs time." The rest of the group agreed. As they walked through the snow, past buildings and stores, looking for a building suitable to stay in, Spere couldn't help but think about the child she'd been wanting to find. Perhaps before they found the surviving town, they could make a quick detour...

"I will lead you to her," The faceless cat whispered in her ear. "But you must get on with God's plan. No more making friends. Kill the next stranger you come across."

And then you will bring me to the girl and the woman who stole her? Spere thought.

"You've my word," he said.

They eventually chose what appeared to be a motel. It had a long hallway with about 10 or so bedrooms lining it. Cloudy and Rebel chose a room, and then Mayhem chose a room by himself. Spere chose a room beside theirs for her and Windy. She pulled him into the carpeted room, and slowly laid him on the bed, which was surprisingly intact, although dusty. There wasn't anything else in the room except a few broken wooden boards in the back, near a busted out window, where the floor was covered in snow. By the bed, however, it was relatively warm, with untouched bedsheets, of which Spere gently covered Windy up to his shoulders with. She set a hand on his face for a moment. His skin was hot and irritated from movement and over-exertion, despite how cold the room was. Then, she pulled away, wanting to give him space to heal, but was stopped, as his cold hand weakly gripped hers.

"Stay," he murmured.

Spere turned back to face him for a moment, and then said, "Sure." Careful not to touch his bruised body, she moved to his other side, and climbed into the bed with him. He strained, but rolled over onto his side, and tightly wrapped his arms around her, his eyes closed just mere inches from her face. She pulled him close as well, hugging him, and praying for his well-being. Then, she kissed him, quickly and gently, before resting her head against his warm chest and sinking with the sounds of his slow and raspy breathing.

Please be okay, she prayed. I love you.

It took a while, but she eventually drifted into a peaceful slumber. She appeared in her dream in a warm darkness, the faceless cat sitting in front of her, dignified.

"He would've died, if not for you, you know," He said gravely, flicking the end of his tail. "I hate to admit it, but you are a fine person, Spere. I know you'll do what's right. I pity you, I really do, and I've decided to spare all of your friends and yourself from the inevitable, however, remember Spere, I can only protect those with the necklaces."

"I know," she said. "I don't regret my decision for who has them."

"No," the cat hissed, standing up now, fur fluffed, "Be careful. Just because you want Windy and yourself to have them, does not mean you always will. They're objects; they can be stolen and lost." Spere nodded, wanting to make a joke, but then deciding not to. She knew better than to not take the cat seriously.

She awoke after what felt like just moments of sleep. It was barely light outside, and Windy hadn't woken up yet. Spere snuggled herself closer to him, listening to his now even breathing. He sounded better, less raspy, and she silently thanked the cat for it. She laid there with him for a long while, not falling back asleep, but simply relaxing and enjoying his presence. After a while, though, he stirred awake. For a moment after opening his eyes, he simply stared, right back at Spere.

Then, he quietly said, "We should probably get up."

"Don't want to though," Spere said. Windy slowly smiled and closed his eyes again. She was tempted to kiss him again, but didn't know how he'd react now that he was conscious. Her indecisiveness was ridded by a knock at the door. Slowly, Windy sat up, pulled his arms away from Spere and lifted a hand to his head. Spere stood, stretched, and opened the door. It was Mayhem. "Is anything wrong?" She asked.

Mayhem shook his head, his hair wavering with it, "No, I just think we should all get together and discuss where to go next."

Spere nodded, "Yes, let's do that." She turned back to see Windy attempting to slide himself off the bed, but with little luck. "You'll hurt yourself," she hissed, matter-of-factly.

Mayhem chuckled, "Well, you two join us when you're ready. Room 22. Don't take too long." Spere nodded. "Oh, and, Spere?"

"What is it?"

Mayhem smiled, "I'm so glad to be back on your team again."

"You've changed," She said, admiring his long hair, and ruffled clothes. "You're more mature. I'm glad to have you on my team, too."

"Thank you," he said. And with that, he'd left, and closed the door behind them. Spere turned around and moved to help Spere off of the bed. He was struggling, so she first simply help lifted him back onto the bed, sitting there, where his legs hung over the side.

"Wait," she said. "Can I see your wounds? What is it that has you so immobilized? I thought we received the same amount of punishment, but I guess I was wrong."

Windy looked away from her, "No, no, it is the same, I guess I'm just more of an infant."

"Stop that," she growled. "Nobody here is an infant except Stonehenge. He did this to you. There's nothing anyone could've done to stop it. Now let me see, I have to know if you'll be able to make it if we decide to travel soon." He grumbled out of annoyance, but didn't reject Spere as she pulled up the front of his layered shirts. She didn't gasp, although she wanted to. True, it did look a lot like her own stomach, swollen and bruised and sore. Even hers was still in pain, her cut still open, although she'd forced herself to ignore it. Her pain didn't matter while Windy was hurt. But different than hers, he had a sort of lump beneath the skin. Very gently, she touched his skin, and he gasped in pain. She pulled away.

"Broken ribs," she said. "You can't go anywhere until the pain goes away."

"But-"

"No, none of that. Look, Windy, I need time to heal, too. It's not just you that could use a few days off," she said, certainly. He slowly nodded. "It's probably better if you rest, so I'll just see if they want to regroup in here." Then, Spere left the room with one last glance at Windy, and let the door click shut on her way out. She hadn't thought about it, but she was lucky that the locks didn't work. Or perhaps she would've felt safer if they had, and a key could've been found.

She left the room and walked down the hall to find room 22. It was odd to her that they were numbered out of order. There wasn't any room 1 or 2, for example, but did happen to be a room 25 that she passed. She found it fairly quickly, just down the hall from hers, and heard familiar voices inside, so simply opened the door and let herself in. The three boys turned and looked up at her, sitting in a circle on the carpeted floor.

"Oh, finally," Mayhem said.

"Windy can't walk this far, do you guys think we could go back in there so he'd be a part of the conversation?" She asked lightly, fumbling with her hands. The boys each nodded, and it didn't take long to move the group back into Spere's and Windy's room, where they sat on the floor in the center of the room, next to the mattress that Windy sat up on.

Rebel started, "Alright, well, first off, do you two have any plans for where we should go next?" He pointed at Spere and Windy.

Windy shrugged, "Anywhere with food. Far, far from those two towns."

"Aww," Rebel groaned. "We wanted to stay close, maybe kill their leader and steal from them!"

Spere narrowed her eyes, "As much as I'd like that, you know that's not the safest thing to do." Cloudy nodded in agreement with her.

Rebel grumbled, "Fine, what then?"

Spere sighed, "Alright, don't think I'm crazy..."

"We already do," Rebel mumbled.

"Crazy-er, then," Spere said. "But I know, I just know, that there is a young girl, about 5, and her mom is... not the best person. I want to save her. I don't expect you all to help me, but-"

"Who do you take us to be?" Cloudy asked. "Of course we will help you..." He turned to Rebel. "Isn't that right?"

Rebel nodded, "Yeah, I guess we'll help you with that. How do you know, though?" As if on cue, Soul trotted right up to Spere, and found himself a home in her lap.

She stroked the top of his head, "Just trust me."