Devyn stood beside two dead bodies covered by sheets outside the townhomes as the other council members stood on the other side. Central officers worked on the crime scene inside the townhomes looking for more evidence.

"So, these are Protectors of the Living guys?" Kevin asked.

Devyn nodded, but Ivory cut her off.

"Allegedly.  We will need to wait to hear from Central if these are PoL," she rushed. "I don't understand why they would try to attack a council member."

Phil scoffed at her while adjusting his sunglasses. "She pissed them off. It has been the chatter for the past few weeks. This expedition into the forest to prove that the undead and partially undead could be human was the last straw."

Leroy shook his head. "I doubt they could be that idiotic."

"I'm sure if they were, it is easily covered up by the right connections," Devyn shrugged, making Ivory and Tanya gasp. "Oh, shut up. We all know who you will side with if this comes to a vote."

"This isn't about a viewpoint right now," Omar said, motioning towards the bodies. "If they think it is okay to assassinate someone who steps out of line, we could all be in danger."

Leroy looked at Omar sharply. "You think that's the case?"

"I said as much, didn't I?" He responded, making Timothy choke on a laugh.

Joanna adjusted her hat while glancing behind them at the crowd forming on the other side of the gate. "Listen," she started. "We need to be unified here. Once Central comes back with their identities, we need to condemn these actions."

"They were only—" Leroy started, but Kevin cut him off.

"If you can't join us, keep your mouth shut in the back row. We don't need to make this worse."

Devyn bit her lip to keep herself from laughing while sharing a look with Timothy. Phil sighed and placed his hands in his pockets.

"This is taking too long," Phil muttered.

"We could decide on party members for the group going into the forest," Devyn offered. "Joy Tanaka has already volunteered. She works as one of the research members and specializes in preserving written works."

"She's also your friend," Tanya added. "We can't just fill this group up with your friends."

"That's fair. Why don't we each pick someone? I will send Audrey Karp. She works on one of the Houston law committees. Who do you want to add?" Timothy asked, glancing over to Omar, who was already writing things down on a notepad.

"I don't know," she drawled, looking around and over to the crowd. "Maybe, Matthew Philips? He is a member of Central in their detective unit."

Over the next few minutes, council members named who they wanted to send into the forest. Omar counted the names to himself before repeating them aloud to the group. Once everyone consented, he walked over to an officer and handed him the list. Omar provided specific instructions for everyone on the list to meet at the south Beltway 8 train station with a bag packed for one week. With any luck, the group would be able to be assembled and away by this afternoon.

"Who is going to meet them?" Ivory asked.

Timothy met her worried gaze. "I think we can get a member of the RFUPD to meet them and take them to the first camp location, no problem. All they need are two cars and drivers."

The council members became quiet on seeing the lead Central officer, Quinn Pope, walking toward them. Devyn wanted to smile at him but decided against it. Jim specifically requested him to come out, and she now understood why.

"We've found evidence to confirm that these men were members of the Protectors of the Living," Quinn confirmed. "We also found evidence about what they planned to do with the councilwoman. I don't want to say too much here, but I will have individual reports delivered to each member. I suggest that all of you consider increasing your security until things calm down."

Phil tilted his head to the side. "What was the evidence?"

"We found their weapons engraved with PoL membership signs. One of these idiots also forgot to destroy some written instructions from the PoL. They planned to take Ms Tanaka to a field to kill her and leave the body. They planned to drown Councilwoman Palmer with a message written on the tiles for whoever found her," Quinn supplied. "We found the message.  Central will be taking all of this evidence seriously."

Joanna scoffed and shook her head. Tanya paled while looking at Ivory in shock. Ivory refused to meet her gaze while staring Leroy down.

Phil nodded his head. "I move that the Council and Central investigate the Protectors of the Living. We need to bring the leaders in for interviews."

"I second that," Devyn nodded.

Omar tapped the paper with his pen before speaking. "I agree as well."

"Omar!" Tanya gasped.

"Those deaths would not have been right," Omar replied. "You know that, Tanya."

The vote passed 7 to 2 in favor of investigating the PoL. Tanya and Ivory left separately.

---

Two hours later, Devyn and Joy stood beside each other outside the Beltway 8 train station. Joy had changed her hair color to a bright red. Devyn didn't need to ask her why she did it. The two friends hugged each other awkwardly.

"This isn't goodbye," Joy promised before adding in a whisper. "I won't let any of these assholes kill me."

Devyn nodded. "I know." She slipped a note into her pocket. "These are some instructions Jim left for you before he disappeared. He said that Paige would be on the lookout for the cars."

"Do you think Tim got a dog?" Joy whispered with a hint of excitement.

Devyn's eyes widened and sparkled. "Oh my gosh, I hope so!"

"A big fluffy one?" Joy asked, using her hands to approximate the size.

"Named Rover?" Devyn added, jumping from foot to foot in excitement.

Joy straightened and made a disgusted face. "No, that is way too basic."

A honk sounded from the two cars driving up to the small crowd, cutting off whatever Devyn was going to say. The vehicles parked and shut off in front of them.  Two people in Central uniforms got out. The woman and man looked vaguely familiar, like everyone else in the stupid city, but Devyn couldn't place their names.  The red-headed woman looked about six feet tall, matching the brunette man's height.  They both had the slim, muscular build of a Central officer.

"Hey, y'all," the red-headed woman shouted, using her arms to make sure she had everyone's attention. "My name is Emma Anderson, and this is my partner Fernando Burgos." The man waved to the group. "We will load everyone up in these two cars and head out. These trucks have enough energy to last us approximately 250-300 miles. So, maybe we will be able to go the full week. If not, we will return early. Please do not decide to do anything cute while we are out there. This isn't a joy trip. Our mission is to gain information. We do not have clearance by the council to shoot unless under extreme distress. So, please do not do anything stupid to create that situation. Are we clear?"

A soft murmur of agreement sounded amongst the nine people leaving.

"Great," Emma smiled, pointing at the five closest people to the second car. "You five go with Fernie. The other four come with me."

Joy nodded in Emma's direction before giving Devyn a quick hug. In a few moments, she sat in the backseat of Emma's car. 

No one from the Council moved until the cars had driven through the wall's gate. Even then, they waited. For what? Maybe a scream. An explosion. But, there was nothing. The expedition had gone through the walls to understand the undead.

***

Devyn stood outside of a one-story building. She considered the sign in the window, the outline of a cat and dog.

"Should I do this?" She wondered aloud.

Devyn turned to look over both shoulders. No one walked by. She shifted from foot to foot for a moment. Her mouth opened to say something, and she snapped it closed with a sigh.

The building's door opened suddenly; a teenage boy opped his head outside. "Lady, you have been there for about thirty minutes. Are you coming in or not?"

"Oh," Devyn smiled awkwardly. "Sorry, I didn't realize I'd been here that long. By any chance, are you a dog or cat person?"

"Cat," he responded.

"Then, no, thank you," Devyn responded and walked away from the building.

***

Chapter WC: 1,403

Total WC: 17,079