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"Where are we?" Griffin heard his sister ask. He turned to look at her, a concerned look crossing over his face as he finally noticed how exhausted she was. Face red and blotchy, Fae gasped for breath as she reached for something to lean on with a trembling hand.

"Do you need to take a break?" While he knew she did, his sister had always been stubborn. He wasn't surprised when she shook her head, strands of blonde hair falling into her face.

"I'm fine. I'm just worried we're lost," she replied.

How would she react if he admitted they were? Guilt began to build up, gathering in his throat and making it hard to swallow. Frustrated tears filled his eyes and he turned quickly to hide them from her.

"W-we just need to go a little further. I'm sure-"

"Griffin-" Fae stepped forward slowly, resting a hand on his shoulder, "we are lost, aren't we?"

She took in a breath at his slow nod. In reality she was scared- terrified even, but Griffin had always been good at putting on a tough facade around others. In reality he was nothing more than a softy, more susceptible to emotions than others. She would often have to comfort him growing up, eventually building up a kind of trust that only twins could have.

Fae felt as if it were her duty to protect him, seeing as she was older by almost a minute.

"It's okay. Look, we'll be fine-"

"No! We won't be okay! Look around us, Fae!" She jolted at his voice. It was filled with anxiety and anger. His voice strained as she finally noticed his tears- "Mom and dad are gone, Fae! They aren't ever coming back. And now we're here, in the middle of nowhere, and I don't know what to do!"

A few birds squawked from up above, fleeing from their spot in the trees at Griffin's shout. His breathing became rapid and he squeezed his eyes shut. Fae noticed the panic attack creeping up and slowly moved around to face him.

He was right- their parents were gone. Murdered by the intruders that broke into their home. They were ruthless, tearing apart the entire house as they threatened each of them at gunpoint. Fae had been reliving the moments in her mind as they stumbled aimlessly through the woods, hoping to God that they hadn't been followed.

Griffin tried his best to breathe, but the pain in his chest was becoming too much. He could feel Fae's hands on his shoulders, gently pushing him to sit down. She did the same, taking his hands and holding them gently as she started to take in deep breaths.

It was something they did often, and it always brought Griffin back. He followed her breaths, trying to rid his mind of their parent's, bloody and bruised, who had died in their living room.

They sat together in silence after several minutes. The sky shifted colors as the sun began to set. Had they been traveling for that long?

Fae noticed the sky as well, feeling nervous as she released Griffin's hands. "It's getting late. What are we going to do?"

He glanced around, tapping his fingers on his knees as he continued to breathe at an easy rhythm. His vision was blurry from his tears and initial panic- there was no way he could continue to travel without throwing himself into another panic attack, and Fae was already beyond exhausted. Both of them were.

"We'll have to stay the night out here. I don't know if they're following us, but we've at least bought ourselves a few hours of time. What were they even looking for?" He whispered that last part under his breath, and Fae fiddled with her fingers in nervousness.

"I don't know- they kept mentioning a name I didn't recognize. But they looked like they were part of some military branch with the way they were dressed. But still, why-" her voice cracked, "why would they murder mom and dad? Instead of arresting us? I don't know what we did wrong, but I don't think these guys are good news."

Obviously, Griffin thought sourly, grinding his teeth. They had demanded for something. A relic, they called it. Their parents had claimed to know nothing about it, and that got the men upset. After taking them away, threatening to kill both Griffin and Fae if they didn't cooperate, their parents were thrown back into the house not even an hour later after being unsuccessful in their search.

One man in particular ordered their execution before taking a group into the woods behind their house, and two more were left behind to complete the job.

Fae had screamed in terror when a man tugged her up, dragging her away toward the direction of a bedroom while another took aim and shot their parents between the eyes. Griffin had felt numb, heart pounding in his ears as his parent's cut-off scream was replaced with Fae's cries from another part of the house.

Without much thought he had lunged forward, catching the man with the gun off guard and knocking him to the side. The gun went off, missing Griffin by mere inches and hitting a window. Glass sprayed everywhere, hitting the two of them and his parent's bodies on the floor.

He had grabbed the gun into his hand, several years of muscle memory taking control as he aimed and fired. After watching the man drop to the ground, he set off for his sister.

Fae had been fighting too, blood trickling from her temple as the man gripped her by the hair, one hand fighting to rip off her sweatpants.

Anger surged through his body as her head was forced onto the desk next to them. Fae spotted her brother and screamed for him, lifting her leg and frantically kicking at her attacker. When the hand holding her hand was removed and instead placed over her mouth, she bit down hard.

Griffin didn't hesitate to pull the trigger, hitting his target right in the groin. Fae had flinched at the man's screams, following behind Griffin as he grabbed a hand towel from a nearby laundry basket and placing pressure on her head wound.

Then they were running frantically throughout the house, shoving food into two lunchboxes before packing a backpack with a flashlight and a first aid kit, along with whatever else they could grab on the way out the door.

Griffin had been the first to spot the slashed tires on their parent's SUV. If they followed the main road he had no doubt those men would find them. Even if they didn't right away, it took several hours to reach the nearest town, and the road would be the easiest way to track them.

So they took off into the woods- jumping at every little noise, scared that those men would find them. After several hours it became clear that they were nowhere near, but Griffin knew that if they were desperate enough to murder two people without hesitation, they would stop at nothing to find them.

Now they were here, sitting across from each other.

Fae noticed the far-off look her brother had. 

"Are you okay?"

Griffin stared at her head, which was beginning to bleed again. The towel had become soaked to the point it was no longer usable, but luckily it had stopped after a while. Now, a trickle of blood dripped down the side of her temple.

"No. I'm not okay. And neither are you. We need to rest here for tonight- I'll watch over you while you sleep. I'm worried they'll be back while we're resting. But now we at least have a way to protect ourselves." He placed his hand over the gun in his jacket pocket.

Fae nodded in agreement. "Okay. Luckily it won't be as cold tonight. We shouldn't need a fire. Besides, it would probably lead them right to us."

"Agreed. Let's find a spot that's not so out in the open. Are you hungry?"

The two found a spot under a group of trees close together. Griffin leaned against one large trunk and tossed an Uncrustable sandwich to Fae. She caught it with ease, looking surprised at herself and giggling despite their situation. Griffin looked away at her smile, not wanting to cry again.

When it finally grew dark Fae lay on the ground beside him, staring at the sky before her eyes began to flutter shut. Griffin was soon left to his own thoughts, gun in his hands as he sat, tensed, staring off into the night.