"Autumn?"

I halt, glancing up at house before me. The old wood is rotten, and it slightly leans to the left. The windows have been boarded shut, and pieces of glass litter the uncut grass. The neighborhood itself mirrors the same image; broken, rundown, uninhabited. The sidewalk slops at weird angles and weeds grow from the cracks. Not to mention one house has been completely destroyed.

"Where are we?" Jared asks, disgust lacing his tone. "Please don't tell me we have to stay here."

Eva shoots him a pointed look, gently cradling the paper in her grasp. "It says to knock three times, pause, then knock another five."

I absentmindedly nod. How much has changed since I visited this place.

Crisp autumn leaves crunched under Ash's feet. Her laughter filled the air as Teresa, her friend, tapped her arm.

"You're it!" Teresa giggled, blonde braid slapping against her back.

"You better run, Teri!" My cousin shouted, her small legs pushing to catch up to her speedy friend.

I clutched my knees to my chest, idly watching them play. Teri's mother was friends with Ash's. I only came along to this play date because my aunt had to look after me. This was before I liked Ash, so I sat there, sulking, as the autumn wind toyed with my hair and caused goosebumps to rise on my flesh.

"Autumn, are you alright?" Cody queries, staring at me with concern in his eyes.

I nod, watching as Eva raps on the rotten door. I'm scared it might fall off its hinges from the force of her fist.

"You don't look alright. You've been here before, haven't you?"

Again, I nod. "Yeah. I just had a flashback is all."

"Oh," he sighs, bracing himself against the harsh wind. It's become colder the long we've been sprinting, rushing away from our prosecutors.

A young woman tosses open the door, pistol firmly held in her left hand. A blonde braid is tossed over her shoulder, and her honey eyes remind me of Teri, the little girl I met all those years ago. I remember she was older than Ash by a year, so if it's her, she must be eighteen.

"We don't want any trouble, Teresa," I find myself voicing, taking everyone around me by surprise. Slowly, I step forward, my eye contact never wavering. "We were sent here by a girl that works for the Etchers."

She aims the Gun right at my heart. "Who told you my name?"

I take another daring step towards her. "You did. All those years ago, when you thought I was just Ash's dorky little cousin." I wish to tell her off, to point out what I've accomplished since then, the friend's I've made. However, I force myself to bite my tongue.

The corners of her lips tilt upward. "Autumn? Wow, puberty was kind to you."

A chuckle escapes my lips. "Thanks, but that's not why we're here."

"Of course," Teresa nods. "Hey, where's Harper?"

My eyebrows furrow. "Wait, you know her. Was this planned or something?"

"Yeah," Jared cuts in. "What is this?"

Teresa lets out a long sigh. "I met Harper a ways back, when I was part of The Others as well." She opens the door wider, her posture relaxing as she shoves the pistol into a leather holster around her waist. "Come in, first."

I follow a dumbstruck Eva and Jared into the house, Cody close behind me. The floorboards creak under our weight and I grimace. This was never the most luxurious neighborhood, but years of neglect have taken its toll.

"We became close, almost like sisters," Teresa begins, gently closing the door. She starts to put about five locks and bolts back into place. "Except, I left them. I saw corruption and left.

"She didn't want to. I couldn't live with my family. They had become part of The Others as well. So, I came to a place no one would come looking for me, a place I felt safe. After all, you can't just leave The Others and have it all forgotten."

I stare at her, my mind still whirling from previous events. When I was a little girl watching Teresa play with Ash, I never imagined things would turn out this way. I never figured my Chip would fall out, or that Ash would be involved with the AntiChips. Never could I have fathomed I would be knocking at Teresa's door for shelter.

Life has a funny way of playing out.

"So, will you help us?" I speak up.

Teresa nods. "I will. Anyone involved in any type of rebellion knows about you by now. And, by the looks of it, the whole city does. That includes the government."

My blood runs cold although I already knew this. Ingrid was there when everything turned south. People witnessed my exposure. However, they didn't know my Chip was out, but that something was wrong, right?

"We have to keep Autumn safe for as long as possible. Who knows what will happen if she gets into the wrong hands."

They babble on as though I'm not in the room. Urgency fills the air and seems to strangle me with its heaviness. My back meets the wooden door and I want to scream. Everything's happened too quickly, and I fear for all of our lives. Why can't my live just be normal? Why did it have to come to this?

"Autumn?" Cody whispers gently, tugging on my arm.

I allow him to drag me through the house, away from the chaos behind me. We end up in the garden, which is more well kept than front lawn. Flowers grow in plots along the covered patio, and I find myself sitting in an empty spot of grass. I hug my knees to my chest as I inhale the fresh air.

"Thanks for getting me out of there," I whisper, fidgeting with my fingers in my lap.

"I could see you were feeling anxious." He takes a deep breath, plopping onto the grass beside me. "I just want you to know that we'll do everything in our power to protect you."

"It's not about me," I laugh softly. "It's about you guys. It's about my life crumbling before my eyes."

I nearly gasp as I'm pulled into a warm embrace. "Don't worry, Autumn. Just relax."

I push him away, ignoring the hurt look in his eye. His look is so cute, so innocent. No, stop it, Autumn! "I can't just relax. This is serious. She's your mother. Why don't you just tell her to, you know, stop?"

He chuckles, leaning back on his palms. "Please. She wouldn't listen to logic if it slapped her in the face and held her at gunpoint. It's not like she exactly cares about me either. All she cares about is my father, the man she's supposed to love, and her creation, Chips. This is all his fault. He's ripped my family apart!"

My eyes soften as I gaze into his vulnerable ones. In this moment, he seems so broken, so not Cody-like. It's like I've ripped away his outer layers and I'm staring at the depths of his soul.

"Your dad?"

He shakes his head, gulping in a deep breath. "I don't want to talk about him, okay?"

I shake my head. "You need to let it out. You can tell me."

"Maybe one day, but not now. He doesn't even care about me."

"Well, I care about you."

His eyes widen before returning to normal, as though he's trying to play it cool. "Well, I care about you too." His cheeks flame. "You know, in a friend way."

Something aches inside of me at his words. Do I care about him more than a friend? No, I couldn't. Could I? I mean, he's been there for me since the beginning. His mother is freaking Ingrid, yet he's never squealed on me. He went as far as to run with me, to try to protect and comfort me.

No. Now isn't the time to catch feelings.

"Oh, yeah," I choke out, my voice sounding dull to my own ears. "Right."

"Do you like me more than just a friend, Morales?" He teases, but I can sense an underlying motive.

"Um, no," I stammer, heart pounding like a drum. I glance away, staring at the blades of damp grass below me.

I jump as he brushes a piece of hair away from my face. "Are you sure?"

He leans in closer, his breath fanning my face. Even in the midst of all this chaos, I yearn for his lips to connect to mine. Maybe I'm crazy, but in this moment, crazy is normal, right?

"There you guys are!" Jared exclaims, causing us to jump apart.

"Jared!" Eva shrieks, swatting his arm. "You ruined it!"

He throws his hands in the air as Teresa watches, amused.

Plastering a smile on my face, I push myself to my feet as I dust off any dirt. "Sorry, we were just getting some fresh air. What are we going to do now?"

Teresa smiles. "I'll show you to your rooms, then I'll make you some food. Be warned, there isn't much, and it isn't very tasty, but it suffices." Her smile falters. "Also, be careful about leaving the house. You never know."

I nod, walking away and leaving Cody to follow behind me.

"Oh, and what ever happened to Harper?" Teresa queries, holding open the door for all of us. Hope lines her expression, yet I can tell she expects grim news.

"She's dead," Jared deadpans, and her face falls like a dead fly.

"Jared!"

"Oh, how did she die?" Teresa presses, attempting to maintain her cool as she follows us inside. She slams the door shut behind her and locks another five security measures.

"She saved us," I whisper. "She died a hero."

"Oh," Teresa replies, rapidly blinking. "Please make yourselves at home. I just- need a minute." Her voice breaks at the end as she rushes off, her sobs echoing throughout the cramped space.

Poor Teresa.