If there's a word to describe how Flora felt at that exact moment, that word would be confused. When she left the headquarters for the last time everything looked normal, as normal as a resistance against demons can be. When she returned the next day, after her work shift, the chaos suffocated the place.

"Hey Leah!" she yelled to get the attention of the only person that stood in the hallway without running "What happened?"

On a normal day, Flora would have joked about the members' attitude, but the tense environment kept her away from unnecessary words.

"Aren't you a journalist? You should have heard about the attack on the farmers market," answered Leah, bewilderment present in her voice. "That crazy cult made a scene, apparently they also kidnapped Hannah. Stefan and a small team went to get her back."

A hurricane of thoughts flew around Flora's mind, her brain trying to organize the information.

"Where's Clio?" The question came out before she could even process it, so many years of friendship trained her to reach Clio when the world became dangerous.

"She's in the infirmary, the number of injured was too high, so they ask for her help."

With a hug she let the woman know about her gratitude. She made it to the infirmary in record time, what she found relaxed her a bit. The reality wasn't as bad as she imagined; the members resting on the bed, even though they had bandages decorating their bodies, didn't have any indication of pain in their faces.

A particular patient caught her attention, not only because she'd never seen the girl before, but also for the two young men next to her. Forgetting about her original reason for her visit to the room, she came closer to them.

Flora closed the distance between her and Lorcan, with caution he moved the chair next to him so the blonde could take a seat. Her eyes landed on the unknown girl that seemed to be drowned in a pleasant sleep.

The soft caress of Flora's hand brushed Lorcan's shoulder, she recognized Agatha's identity thanks to the sadness engraved in his gaze.

"Is she alright?"

"She's exhausted, she overused her power," explained Lorcan in a whisper, like he was afraid to wake her.

A hum left her mouth, "that's good news, with a little bit of rest and food she'll be like new."

"It's not that what worries me, they were in the middle of a fight," the tone of his voice started getting louder, his hands were shaking, "and it's not just demons now, anyone could be a threat. How am I going to keep them safe?"

"You're not supposed to keep us safe," Demir spoke for the first time, surprising Flora "We're your friends, not your responsibility. That doesn't mean that I don't appreciate what you did today."

Lorcan's posture tightened, his hands stopped shaking and one of them took Agatha's hands.

"I know it's not my responsibility, but I'm afraid. "

"You'll always be scared, it's part of what we do," Clio affirmed with her usual brutal honesty.

She checked Agatha's vitals, slowly, her capacity to ignore the disapproval looks she got from Demir and Lorcan amazed Flora.

No one dared to deny Clio's words, after all, they were true, a reality every member tried to escape.

They remained prisoners of silence, their expressions communicating what they didn't say. Minutes passed, Clio already found another patient to check, leaving them to process the wound she created on their insides.

The door opened, an incredible fast blur went through the infirmary. Nobody seemed to be surprised by it, only Demir showed signs of astonishment, his brown eyes and his mouth remaining wide open.

"Did you see that?"

Flora's mouth twisted into a grimace, "It's just Noah."

She waited for the redhead to pronounce himself, to act cocky and demand people's attention; yet, that moment didn't come. That's when she chose to take a look.

The everyday smirk was gone, a frown replaced it. Noah held Hannah between his arms, one would think that her unconsciousness caused his change of mood; Flora, on the other side, understood that the distress came from somewhere else.

Her theory found its confirmation once Stefan's figure crossed the door. The leader searched Flora with his gaze, a shine of recognition present in his eyes when he located the journalist. A movement of his head let her know that she was needed outside.

"We have to make some changes," he said. Both of them were standing at the end of the hallway, far from the others. "I need you to pause the investigation for a while until the injured members recover."

"At least I don't have to babysit Noah," she tried to hide her smile in vain, the prospect of staying away from the boy made her day. "Is it that bad?"

A sigh escaped from Stefan's mouth, his right hand slipped inside his jeans' pocket in an attempt to reach for a cigarette.

"We gain a new enemy, Peters is going after us, and with the injured members, we can barely cover the watch. What you and Clio had been doing is important, however, we have other priorities now. As I said, the investigation is paused until further notice, and please find a place for Mr. Cheaney to stay, we can't have it living in the headquarters."

Then, the leader left. Flora didn't even pay attention to him as he walked away, her mind was too occupied trying to process the orders she received.

To find a place for Mr. Cheaney turned out to be more complicated than she thought, the man's extravagant personality scared people away, ruining every opportunity. In the end, Flora didn't have any other options than to allow him to stay at her house.

Zygmunt spat an innumerable amount of activities plans after hearing the news. The happy tone in his voice almost made Flora excited about the new living arrangement.

Words and words ran inside the car, the old man wouldn't shut up and he had the unique ability to always be able to connect his speech with a larger conversation topic.

Flora pretended to listen to his rambling, a nod from once in a while was enough to get the talker going. The entire trip consisted of Mr. Cheaney's eternal dialogue and Flora's uncomfortable silence.

The house already entered their sight line. Did she forget to close the windows? Her memories told her the exact contrary. The girl was sure that she double-checked (a habit she acquired during her infancy in Buenos Aires).

"Stay inside the car," Flora ordered her companion before heading to the front door.

She held seeds of roses in her left hand just in case, his senses focused on her surroundings.

A screech was produced by the door as it opened at a slow pace. With careful steps Flora made it through the entrance, quietness filled the space, the girl considered it a good sign.

She turned in the direction of the living room. Then came the pain. A furious yell arose from her.

Embedded in Flora's hand, the thorn of the rose that grew as a result of the blonde wrath, was the cause of her pain. Yet she couldn't care less about that sensation. The state of her living room occupied all her thoughts.

What used to be a beautiful room became a ruin. Everything was broken, turned into pieces of a dead landscape. Glass spread through the floor, the purple sofa was pulverized, the coffee table sliced in half.

A message had been painted on one of the walls: "Mr. Peters sends his regards."

New chapter is here! Flora's house is the first victim of the Bearers of Salvation, what do you think about it? Are they really a threat?

Please don't forget to leave your vote to support poor Flora. And I would love to read your comments about the chapter.