I follow him out of the tunnel. He looks back at me, putting his finger to his lips. We both try as quietly as possible to head to the garage. Something must have grabbed his attention because as I'm about to step out into the living room, I feel Milo's hands on my waist, pulling me into his chest, his hand lightly over my mouth. As I breathe in to speak, his heart pulsates against my shoulder as I strain my ears to perceive what has him responding. Shifting our bodies in unison, he glides me towards the wall, positioning his hand right beside my face, obstructing my line of sight. He was so close to me I can smell fresh rain in the field that lingered on his skin, his lips parted as he looks around the wall, trying to make no sound, listening. The hand still on my hip releases me as he steps back, chancing, getting exposed to anyone lingering.

"Milo." Levi's voice sounds from behind the kitchen wall. I duck into the closest room. "Is Thea with you? I didn't hear her leave."

"No." Milo leans against the wall, blocking me more from view. "I don't know where she is."

"We need to discuss how to go about saving Nya, I'm scared they might take her to Jude, or kill her." He sighs. "I don't know what to do."

"Why don't you go get the maps of the town, and we can plot out probable locations?"

"I have an idea where." But his shoes click against the ground as he steps, I push myself more behind the wall until the click of his door.

Milo comes into the room, scoops me up in his arms, and rushes me to the garage. "Put me down." I hiss.

He drops me to the ground, right at the door as he goes into the kitchen, coming out holding up Levi's keys. "Hurry, I didn't buy us enough time."

I take his hand, pulling him down into the garage. Milo gazes into the trunk after I open it. "I can't do this."

"Milo."

"I need a minute." His hand was tight around mine.

"Milo?" Levi calls loudly.

"Minutes over." With a yank on his arm, he takes one step forward as the door handle rattles.

With his eyes shut tightly, he climbs in, and the moment I shut the trunk, I press the garage door button, and gradually, it opens. I'm at the driver's side, my foot in the car, when the door bursts open. Levi glances at me, the car, and the trunk. He knows. He tries to come out to us, but the streaming light from outside forces him to recoil.

"Thea, don't do this."

"We're going to save her." I enter the car and drive out into the sunny day.

"Thea!" But his voice cuts out as I pull the car out.

Never having received any formal driving instruction, I allow the car to descend the hill at a slow pace, applying excessive pressure to the brake as I approach the gate, and I regard a loud thud emanating from the trunk. Milo was going to rip me a new one once he was out, but I set my course on my GPS to the apartments closest to the university.

Terrified of being pulled over, and someone hitting me, or hitting anyone, I drive below the speed limit, although I imagine it's still too fast for Milo. My heart raced and my palms grew sweaty as I anxiously monitored the speedometer and avoided crowded streets, fearing that we wouldn't reach our destination before nightfall.

"You okay back there?" I call back, but all I gather is a grunt. For a trip that takes my dad a half an hour to make, it's been an hour when I pass the university. Fortunately, it being Sunday, there isn't traffic or students, so I can relax in my seat a bit. Until my phone informs me we are there. I come to a stop and survey the four buildings, considering four potential hiding spots for her. Choosing one with no order, I drive the car into a building that has sufficient width for the car. It's much too bright, the sun lit up three giant spots on the ground, bits of dust floating around in the light. I assess the area, identifying folded up abandoned tarps, utilizing them to shield myself from the sun to the best of my ability. Other sunspots loom larger, but given limited resources, I calculate Milo can navigate around them. The second I click on the trunk release, Milo burst out hyperventilating.

"Who," He gasps. "Taught you to drive?"

"TV?"

"You don't have a license?" He screams.

"I turned 16 two days ago."

"Wait, I need a minute; I'm going to be sick."

"We don't have a minute. We'll search in this area, then move on to the next building until we find her?" I head towards the stairs.

"That's not an option." Milo was looking at the car. "You popped three tires."

"How?" I went over and several nails stuck out of the tires, one ripping a long hole. "Well, shit. Then I will search for her by myself."

"No, there has to be a way to move around these buildings without being in the sun. Stay where you can get into the light while I go looking for it."

"Not happening."

"I am not putting a child in danger."

"I survived last night."

"We had an army protecting you."

"So, you're saying you couldn't protect me on your own?"

"No, I could, I can." He grunts, his eyes out towards the safety of the sun, but caves. "Fine, but stay close to me, and do not be an idiot as you always do."

"Hey." But has already turned away from me. "Why are you being an ass?"

He stops, turns to me, and it's evident in his eyes. He is terrified, utterly terrified for her and what is happening to her.

My eyes meet his, gazing into his bright green eyes, searching for what I saw last night. "Milo, I..."

He jerks his head, holding his hand up flat to me. "There is something here. Perhaps it's best you wait in the sun."

"No," my voice raises in offence, but he shushes me. "No, we are a team, we are doing this together."

"What actions are you possibly able to take? Get caught? Slow me down? Get me killed?" He hisses through his teeth.

I grab his wrist, but he jerks his arm, almost slipping from my grasp, but my fingers wrap around his. "Please, any sign of dangerous I will go out into the sun, but I want to save her almost as much as you do."

His jaw twitches, but he turns his eyes from me, but does not argue as he once more jerks from my grasp as he heads towards an open doorway. As I maintain a light jog, I glance towards the total darkness seeping from the frame. "What's the plan?"

"No plan, we're idiots for doing this. If I were a smarter man, I would make you go back to sun and wait for me." He stands right in the doorway, listening, before stretching his hand out behind him. "Do not leave my side."

The slight hesitation wasn't caused by holding his hand, but by his offer. Before he can grow more frustrated with me, I entwine my fingers through his as he takes the lead down the stairs. The dank, stale stench of a neglected room hits me almost as soon as I'm consumed into the same darkness, pulling myself closer to him. "Do you think she's okay?"

"Yes." His voice was firm, but I know he's trying to convince himself too. "They have her leverage, she's better to them alive over being dead."

"So, he led us right into the trap." I shiver, I should have considered this more before involving Milo.

"No, not exactly. Nya is worth something to Jude, if my hunch is right, they had to come here to heal from last night. They had the potential to make significant progress with the time they had, but if you're correct, they were too weak from the fight. They needed somewhere to rest for a day or two before heading out towards Jude."

"What are the chances that are true?"

"I would assume 1 in a 10 chance."

"1 out of 10!"

"Thea, keep down your voice."

I let my voice drop. "Milo, we shouldn't be here for a 1 in 10 chance."

"Those odds are fairly good. The only reason I don't give it a lower chance is that they are rogues, and they can be unpredictable." He stops. "Hush."

"I just think we should think—"

"Stop talking." He releases my hand, taking a few steps down. "Do you hear that?"

I observe the extremely limited visibility of him, once again experiencing that sensation from last night. It's possible that he is looking at me and I can't be certain he might get ready to kill me. No, stop that, not Milo. Putting forth all efforts to suppress the thought, I try to focus on his question. "I'm sorry? What was that? Oh, no, I...I don't hear anything."

"It's water, rushing water. Someone must have flooded down there to disguise their movements." I realize he wasn't looking at me. His head turns, and his piercing eyes meet mine in the dark.

"You should go back to the car."

Yes, that's all I want to do now. "No, we're a team."

He took one step up, the step right below me, his height almost matches mine. He reaches out to my arm, and out of instinct, I pull back. Calm down, he's your friend.

He had noticed and was withdrawing his hand when I reached out in the dark, taking his hand. Turning mine so my palm was up, he places something heavy in my fingers. "Wait near the car, in the sun. I'm going to check down there, see if there are interconnecting tunnels."

"Milo." I grip the stake tightly as he turns away.

He looks back at me, his eyes taking me in. "I will be alright; I want you to be too. Call Levi if I'm not back up in a half an hour."

Despite the overwhelming feeling of escaping, his unwavering confidence drowns out any doubts. "I'm sorry I dragged you into this?"

He shrugs. "It's the only plan we had, there is a possibility they will leave her once it's dark. Go keep safe."

"Milo." But this time he does not turn back.

I observe him until darkness consumes him.

Ascending the stairs, I pass the car and head towards the dark stairwell to the upper floors, where a faint light beckons from the top. Something urges me to move forward. Slowly, listening between steps, I make my way up a flight, keeping my body in as much light as I can, then up another. On the third floor I see a darkened room, starting my way towards it, I stop three doors away in a softly lit room. Sunlight streaks and illuminates the room, with a chair positioned by the window. I go in, taking my time to reach the chair.

Steps behind me cause me to swing around, grasping the stake Milo gave me, posing it the best I can as I bring my body around. My arm is grabbed as soon as I raise it. "I told you to wait by the car." Milo grunts, his eyes on me, sliding the stake from my fingers with his free hand. From the upper thighs down, he is soaked and dripping wet. "Why is it so hard for you to listen to simple instructions?"

With a forceful tug on my arm, I glance back at the chair. "You said wait where the sun could cover me. Do you think they kept her—"

A tickle sensation passes through me, someone is trying to compel me. My body tenses up, and a scream lingers on the edge of my lips as I glance back at him. A piece of wood that must have been sharpened to a point sticks right into Milo's chest, Jason's twisted face smiling over his shoulder, still gripping the wood. Milo's body crumples to the ground as he steps away.