If I didn't believe in miracles before, I did now. Finding a working military Jeep outside the safehouse was basically a given due to Beta Five's presence. But discovering a note with the whereabouts of the nearest Star settlement amidst the supplies stored in the back was divine intervention.

Despite having travelled in the vehicle for a few months, I still found it unreal. Of course I was very thankful for it, because this old clunker kept us protected from the weather and the revenants, not that they hadn't tried barging in. I couldn't forget how it faithfully took us through the twelve hundred miles from Massachusetts to my home state of Arkansas.

It was crazy that the three months worth of travelling we'd done would take only twenty-two hours before the pandemic. Back then they didn't have to worry about crushed cities, fallen bridges, missile-destroyed highways, and bloodthirsty infected like we did. Let's not forget to note all the detours we had to take that the Jeep miraculously took us through. Thankfully we always managed to hunt down enough gas to keep us going despite all the hang ups.

What was time anyway, besides the counting down of days until you were either killed by a revenant or died of other unseemly ways? Or maybe it was something similar to my life. How many years it took to shoot everyone you loved because they suffered a fate worse than death.

"Uh, baby girl?" Soren's anxious tone interrupted me from my dark thoughts.

I leaned up from my seat with a slight tingle of alarm running up my spine. "What's wrong?"

"I think this old thing has gone as far as it can," he said as he kept the wheel of the vehicle steady.

A frown wrinkled my forehead when the scratchy sound of the motor cutting out reached my hearing. It definitely sounded like this Jeep was about to give up the ghost. "Can you fix it or something?"

He shook his head and it sputtered to a stop. "No ma'am. It's just worn out, and probably needing a refill but we're out of gas and there ain't a decent hunk of tin around to get any from."

A sigh breached my mouth and I rubbed my forehead, biting on my lip. "How close are we to the Star settlement?"

He pulled the folded map from his pocket and opened it before laying it down flat on the steering wheel. His brows knitted so close together it almost seemed like he had a unibrow, and I coughed to cover the laugh it brought. "Well, I'm not sure exactly where we are right now since this is nothing but trees. But if I had to guess, I'd say about fifteen or so minutes on foot."

"What would we do about our supplies?" I questioned. Uneasiness sprung up in my gut at the thought of leaving behind a lot of our food, ammunition, and medicine.

He sighed and shrugged, refolding the map into a perfect little square. "I don't know honestly. We sure can't carry it all."

"No shit, Sherlock," I teased with a chuckle and a shake of my head. "You're Superman though, right? So why don't you push us to the Stars."

He laughed, but it turned into a smile as his attention focused on something outside the Jeep. Lifting his hand, he gestured at the windshield. "Looks like I won't have to."

I followed his pointing and I nearly jumped out of my seat. Five men dressed in civilian clothes slowly walked toward our Jeep with a various assortment of guns, all of them aiming our way like we were hostiles.

Instead of waiting for them to reach our position, I popped out of the Jeep with a smile and a joyful heart. But I wasn't stupid in my haste and I kept my hands raised near my head just to let them know I meant no harm.

"Are you two lost?" The obvious leader of the group lowered his hunting rifle, looking over us carefully like we would turn into revenants at any moment.

"No sir, we're not," I answered in respect. If there was one thing I didn't want to do, it was piss them off. For all I knew they could be robbers or something of the sort, and I'd had enough of those types to kill a cow since leaving the safehouse. "But we could use some assistance."

His dark eyes softened a bit in his ebony face but he remained tense. No doubt because we, too, were armed. "What's the issue?"

I glanced over the other men before staring directly at the one standing before me. "My husband and I are looking for the Stars. We were told they have a base somewhere here. Would you happen to know where they are?"

I hated to lie about my relationship with Soren, but I knew single women were a prime target out here in the lawlessness of the outside and I didn't want to risk it. It wasn't like Soren would object anyway.

A small trickle of laughter spread through the group and it even touched the main man, who extended a hand to me. "You're looking at them. I'm Brendon, and you are?"

"Daytona," I replied as I shook his hand firmly, jerking my chin to the side. "And this is Soren."

Soren stepped a little closer to me. "A pleasure to finally see y'all."

"Wait," a middle-aged woman with wispy blonde hair and pale green eyes called out. She stepped up from the group and her eyes narrowed as she looked over me. "You're the Daytona, the one aiding Tess in Boston?"

I nodded, sending a quick glance at Soren. "Yeah, that's me."

The woman broke out into a relieved smile that returned more youth to her hardened face. "Then you're welcome among the Stars. Let's get you to Scar. He'll be happy to see you."

The Stars escorted us to their hideaway more quickly than I expected. The moment we arrived, they guided me past the living spaces and stables housing a beautiful assortment of horses to the main building where I would meet this Scar. If his name was any indication on his personality, I was in for quite the meeting. I hated to do this without Soren, but he was in capable hands so there was no need for worry.

Despite the intimidating name, Scar wasn't very scary at all. Sporting warm blue eyes, a friendly smile, and the remnants of a wound carved across his cheek, he stood a few feet shorter than me but he was built as sturdily as a boulder. His arms were massive, almost like Ward's, but held a more refined edge. He reminded me of a lot of Jonathan's personal trainer back in the day.

"It's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance," he greeted with sincerity as I stood before the makeshift desk he sat behind. "You and Tess have helped us a lot in gathering information. We have yet to create a cure, but I believe we're well underway in some areas thanks to the both of you."

I nodded and offered a polite smile. "It's all for the greater good."

He folded his hands on the desktop, a gentle sparkle of curiosity highlighting his irises in brighter blues. "What brings you here? You've come a long way and it's obvious you've been through hell and back to do so. I have a feeling this is no social call."

"You're right, Scar. It's not." I took in a breath and gripped my hands together in my lap. "The man I have with me, Soren, was infected around twenty-one months ago, but hasn't turned into a revenant. I have reason to believe he's immune."

Scar jumped up from his desk. "Extraordinary! And here I was believing immunity was just a wish."

"It's more than a wish, it's a reality," I confirmed. "Soren does show certain revenant traits, such as the yellow eyes and heightened senses. But he also possesses a strength, agility, and speed unlike any other human being I've ever known."

"Well I'll be damned," Scar whistled out softly. He paced a little behind his desk, rubbing the back of his head full of brown hair as he chewed on his lip. When he looked at me, a big smile strung across his lips. "He's the supersoldier the President wanted, albeit in a much more rough form."

I nodded again. "I agree sir. The reason I'm here is because he wants to help find a cure. He believes he can bring about an antidote for LycanZ."

"I believe that was well." He walked past me to the door of his office. "I'm gonna prepare a team right now, and we'll bring him to our research center. We'll take it all from here. You've done an excellent job, Daytona. The world will owe you."

I turned to face him again. "Thank you sir. I'll be glad to hand the honor over to you."

I didn't think it was as simple as Scar made it out to be, especially after I followed him out and watched from a distance as he picked out a few of his soldiers and the best horses they owned. I never objected to letting them take over, and I had no intentions of doing so. Instead, I just let him do it.

Regret churned in the pit of my stomach and threatened to make me sick, but I held it back. It was for the best that I stayed behind and let them have Soren for the final leg of this voyage. Who knew how it would go once he made it to the facility? Every part of me knew it would mean the tragic end of our budding relationship, and my heart wouldn't be able to handle that.

Turning my back on the preparing group, I closed my eyes. I would rather my heart be ripped apart by watching him go, than to sit around while he got too consumed with everything at the research center and forget about me. Besides, I wouldn't be able to stay there with the Stars. Sure I'd helped them, but they were not where I belonged. Hell, I wasn't sure I belonged anywhere.

Scuffling footsteps caught my ears and I slowly turned to face them. My breath lodged in my lungs as I looked into Soren's eyes and noticed all too painfully the hurt and confusion blazing there. "They told me you're not coming."

I forced myself to swallow the lump of guilt rising in my throat. "Soren, I—"

He didn't let me finish. "You said always," he reminded me, and when his voice broke, so did my heart.

Those words rang with clarity in my mind and I steeled myself. Instead of watching him walk away like I braced myself to do, I jogged after him like my life depended on it.

When I caught up, I didn't speak a word. What could I say? I was sorry? Nothing could cut it. Walking with him in silence said more than anything I could formulate with the English language.

Here we were, two broken souls scarred with wounds from our demons, playing a dangerous game of trust and love. And maybe, just maybe, it was a game the both of us could win.