Start the song. It's Civilian by Wye Oak. One chapter left, folks.

Tyler woke up to someone climbing on top of him. He gasped, already beginning to hyperventilate before he could even see the culprit. His eyes shot open, finding the hazel ones he'd come to know so well since October second.

"Ashley, what the hell?" He demanded, lack of sleep getting the best of him. He let his head thump back against the pillow in exhaustion. Then he saw her eyes. She'd been crying. "Ashley?" He asked quietly as anxiety rose in his chest.

"You need to come with me, Tyler." Her voice quivered slightly as she held back tears. "It's important."

He nodded, climbing out of bed as soon as she climbed off of him. She took his hand and led him down the stairs. His family looked at him nervously when he came down the the steps. They were all gathered around the television in their pyjamas, huddled together as closely as possible. The news was on, and Tyler's heart stopped when he saw where the reporter was.

The temple was in the background as she spoke into the camera. She was inside of the community. Why the hell had she been allowed in? What was happening?

"Police identified one of the bodies to be William 'Bill' Dun, the prophet of the cult. Dun allegedly convinced his nearly two hundred followers, which include his family, to commit mass ritual suicide last night after police visited their community to investigate a possible link between The Family and a series of missing persons reports."

"No," Tyler whispered in disbelief as he stumbled forward.

"According to the available toxicology and autopsy reports done on the bodies of him and some of his victims, he is said to have poisoned his members using wine laced with cyanide. It appears that his followers all drank willingly. No survivors have been found at this time, and the nature of this investigation doesn't appear to be very optimistic," a woman reported as she walked through the community.

All around her were bodies covered in tarps and being loaded onto gurneys. Tyler recognised Lilith's body as medical professionals in the background lifted her into a body bag and zipped it up. The camera panned to only show the reporter, likely an attempt to avoid losing ratings as opposed to showing respect for the dead.

A male reporter back at the station added, "Sandra, did this man, William Dun, have any children of his own?"

Ashley's grip on Tyler's hand tightened. His whole world was falling apart as he watched the reporters on the screen. The only thing keeping him from falling apart completely was Ashley's hand in his.

"He had four, Steve. According to our sources, there was Ashley, Jordan, Abigail, and Joshua." The woman had a solemn look on her face, but Tyler saw right through it. This was just another interesting story to her. "Ashley, Jordan, and Joshua attended the local high school. It's always tragic when young lives are lost."

"It sure is, Sandra. From the looks of it, it seems as though there are a lot of children to mourn there," he continued.

The woman nodded, looking around the community. Finally, an honest expression of sorrow crossed her painted features. She looked back to the camera with tears gathering in her eyes. "You have no idea, Steve. This is proof that evil really does exist. I'm-"

"Pause it," Ashley said suddenly.

Mr. Joseph paused the television quickly, looking surprised when Ashley pulled Tyler closer to the screen. She pointed at a small black and white doll laying on the grass in the background.

"That's Batibat," she insisted shakily. "That's Abigail's doll, Batibat."

Tyler's eyes scanned the doll, wishing the picture was clearer. A small hand could be seen sticking out from under a tarp. It rested beside the toy, unmoving. Tears burned Tyler's eyes as he pointed at the hand.

"Then that must be Abigail," he whispered.

"Who?" Zack asked quietly, clearly trying not to upset his brother.

"Josh's sister," Ashley whispered, her voice small and unfamiliar. "She's only a little kid. If she's dead then...do you think-"

"Jordan said Josh was probably going to die last night. I thought it would be from Abigail's initiation, not this," Tyler said distractedly as his eyes scanned the screen for any sign of his husband. "Ashley...What if he's-"

She shook her head. "Don't."

Tyler was shaking as he looked at her. "Ashley-"

"This is all my fault," she whispered suddenly. Tears filled her eyes as she ran out of the living room and back up to Tyler's bedroom as she began to cry once again.

A sob built in Tyler's chest as he looked at the doll once again. That had to be Batibat. Josh couldn't be dead, though, could he? He would've known better than to drink that, wouldn't he? Part of Tyler wasn't sure if it was really about knowing better versus doing what had to be done. If Abigail had drunk the wine, Josh had too. He wouldn't have let her if he wasn't going to.

"Tyler, who is that girl? She showed up asking for you in a panic," his mother asked quietly.

"That's my wife. I have to go," Tyler replied distractedly as he hurried back up the stairs.

Behind him, he heard his father say, "I thought he had a husband."

"Maybe he has both," Madison said quietly.

"Go Tyler," Zack replied.

Ashley was curled up in a ball on Tyler's bed, sobbing into his pillow. This was what she'd looked like just a few days ago when everything had gone to shit. He sat down beside her carefully before pulling her onto his lap.

"This isn't your fault, Ashley," he said quietly, his eyes burning from crying so much in the last few days.

She shook her head, sobbing loudly. "My parents took me to the hospital yesterday because of what happened in the sanctuary. My mom told them that that's common inside the fence, and that they steal people to do it to. They sent the cops. It's my fault. Josh is dead because of me."

Josh is dead. Those three words broke Tyler down instantly as he heard them out loud. He sobbed as he pulled Ashley in closer. "Shhh," he hushed her shakily. "It's not your fault. It's Mr. Dun's fault and The Family's fault. As long as you're healthy-"

Ashley sobbed again, making Tyler even more scared. "Tyler, I can't do this."

"Do what?" He asked her fearfully.

"I can't do this without Josh. I should have never left. He could help me with this, but now-"

"Help you with what, Ashley?" Tyler felt like he was going to pass out from fear.

She sobbed, sitting back to look at him. "They ran all kinds of tests on me. They had to test me for STI's and internal bleeding and damage done to my body. Obviously Josh is clean because the only other person he's ever had sex with is you, so all of those tests were negative."

"That's good," Tyler replied quietly.

"None of the physical damage done to my body is anything that won't heal in time," she told him shakily, hiding her face against his neck like they always did with Josh.

Tyler rocked her gently. "That's good then, Ashley. It'll all be okay."

"No, it won't," she whispered quietly. "I need Josh for this."

"I'll take care of you until you're healed, okay?" Tyler said quietly. "And after that too."

"Tyler, I'm pregnant," Ashley whispered. "That's the only test that came back positive."

The ability to speak left Tyler immediately. His heart ached and his stomach sank. "Oh my god. Are you...."

"My mom wanted me to get an abortion," she whispered shakily. "I went to do it too. We went yesterday, but I couldn't do it. Tyler, this baby is the only piece of Josh left in this world. I can't...I can't take that away. He's our husband and our best friend and this baby's father and now...." She sobbed again.

Tyler could barely breathe as he held her tightly. Josh was gone, and there was no bringing him back. How in the hell were they going to survive this if she didn't keep this baby? How would they survive it if she did? All Tyler knew was that she wasn't going to do this alone.

"I'm your husband too. I'll help you," Tyler assured her although he was shaking so hard he could barely focus. "Just tell everyone it's my baby. No one has to know."

"It is your baby," Ashley replied quietly against his shoulder. "Yours, mine, and Josh's. We're a family."

"Yes, we are," Tyler replied despite the aching in his chest. "I'll take care of our family."

"I love you," Ashley whispered. "I'm so sorry."

Tyler shook his head as holding in his sobs became nearly impossible. "I love you too. Don't ever apologize to me for this, okay? This isn't your fault. It was just a matter of time before The Family did this, and Josh would never want you to blame yourself. He'd just want you to focus on healing and taking care of this baby."

She nodded against his shoulder before sitting back and kissing him softly. The kiss deepened after a moment, and Tyler knew it wasn't out of love or lust. They were both just searching for traces of Josh left on each other's lips. Neither of them attempted to break the kiss for several minutes until Tyler sat back and looked at her. Tears had gathered in her eyes and she was shaking.

"Come on," Tyler said quietly. "Let's get you some sleep. If you're anything like me, you haven't gotten enough lately."

Ashley sniffled as she nodded, letting him help her out of her jeans before laying her down on the mattress. He pulled the covers up over her as he laid beside her, wrapping her in his arms. She buried her face against his chest as he kissed the top of her head gently.

Clinging to her soft hair just barely was the scent of incense and patchouli. Tyler breathed it in as he closed his eyes. He slept more peacefully than he had during the two previous nights combined with Ashley pressed against him and the smell of Josh faintly present. Tyler had to learn not to rely on Josh for sleep anymore though. He was gone, and Tyler had to move on if he was going to survive.