Be the change you want to see in the world

-Mahatma Ghandi

Emma

Blob after angry blob hits the wall. At the moment I'm not concerned with painting pretty pictures. I just want the anger to leave my system. How could I have ever thought this would be easy? And there are two more groups aside from Max'.

I let out a frustrated growl.

"You're quite the artist." I whirl around and find myself face to face with Max. "Though I like your forest landscape in the game room better."

I glare at him. "What do you want?"

Max raises his hands. "I come in peace." He walks further into the storage room. "I have to say you have quite the temper."

I grit my teeth. "I'm sick and tired of defending Burns all the time. He is a good person. You can trust him."

Max shrugs. "Seems you have Nate and his lot believing you."

I give him an even look. "Shouldn't that mean something to you then? That's twenty people, me not included, that vouch for Burns."

Max sighs and leans against the wall. "Even so, this 'Burns' is only one of those creatures. There's still eight billion of those things out there that still form a threat."

"It only takes one person to make a difference," I say softly.

Max seems to think on it. He tilts his head. "Then be that person," he says, "convince me."

I stare at him. "Convince you? How?"

He shrugs. "That's up to you. But it better be good. We've all got experience with how deceptive these parasites can be. They'll tell you whatever you want to hear to get you to trust them. And then they take you. They'll use your own family against you, your friends, tell you it will be alright." He swallows. "They work their way into your mind until you believe them."

"Who did they take?" I whisper. It's obvious he's struggling with something.

"My brother," he answers, "he got taken in the early days of the invasion. I almost believed him when he came to find me." He pauses and there's regret in his eyes. I'm almost afraid to ask. I've heard too many of these stories. I've lived these stories.

"I knew he wouldn't want to go on as some sort of robot," Max continues, "so I did the only thing I could."

He killed his brother. I can see it on his face. It's eating him up inside, but he would do it again. Anything's better than being taken.

How can I ever tell him the truth now? He'll never forgive himself. If he finds out there was a chance his brother could still be alive...

"Everything alright here?"

I turn at the sound of Burns' voice. He's standing at the entrance of the storage room and looks at me concerned. "You've been gone for a while."

"I'm fine," I nod, "I'm sorry. I just needed to blow off some steam."

Max watched us curiously and then looks at me. "Who was he to you when he was still human?"

Even though I had expected the question, it still takes me aback. I look at Burns, who patiently waits for me to answer.

I sigh. There's no way out of this now. "We didn't know each other then," I say softly. A faint smile appears on Burns' face.

Max blinks. He doesn't look like he believes me. "You're telling me you met him when he was already one of them? And you went with him just like that? And he never turned you over or tried anything?"

I smile wryly. "Well... not 'just like that'. It took us a while to work things out."

Max shakes his head confused.

Burns takes a step closer to me. I smile and lace my fingers with his. "Well, I guess it took me a while." I take a deep breath and look at Max. "We might as well sit down. It's a long story."

...

It's easier than I thought to tell Max everything, from the moment I met Burns until the day we ended up here. He doesn't interrupt me once, but glances at Burns every once in a while.

Burns lets me talk and presses my hand when my voice breaks at certain parts in the story. A few of the things, from when Sky had occupied my body, he's hearing for the first time too.

I'm more open with Max than I had been with Blake at that time. Perhaps because I don't know Max that well. Or maybe because of what he's told me about his brother. But when I finish, I'm relieved. And parched.

I've never talked so much at once in my entire life.

Max' expression is one of a man in pain. He rakes his hands through his hair and leans his head on his knees. "He could have been saved?" he croaks, "I killed him for nothing?"

"There's no guarantee," Burns says softly. It's the first time he speaks since I began my story.

Max turns to him now, though I don't think he's actually heard what Burns has said. "You... did that for her? Betray your own kind? For a human?"

Burns glances at me. "I saved a life that would have been lost," he says, "and I don't regret it."

Max sighs again. "Leon," he mutters, "I'm so sorry."

Burns shakes his head. "You couldn't have known."

"He was my brother!" Max howls.

I flinch. I'm not good at comforting people, especially when they're older than me.

But it seems Burns does. He sits next to Max. "You must have loved him very much," he says quietly, "I can't imagine how it would feel. Souls don't have siblings, nor strong family ties. Yes, they care about each other, but they don't feel as deeply as you humans. Your kind is very privileged." He sighs. "Human emotions are so intense."

"Privileged," Max scoffs, "it would have been better if I could feel nothing."

"That's not true," I say, "if you feel nothing, there would be no point in carrying on. And then your brother really would have died for nothing. You need to keep going. Keep fighting. For him. Because as long as you remember him, he'll never completely disappear."

Max stares at us for a long time. I can't imagine what he must be feeling. I've never had siblings.

But I had parents. And friends. I could never have done what Max did.

Max turns his head away and looks at the goods that line the shelves of our storage space. "So you arranged for all of this huh?"

"Not all of it," Burns mutters.

"We couldn't have done it without you, Burns," I say, "not in this quantity and not without danger."

"I'll do whatever I can to help," Burns says, "if it makes our lives easier here. If I can keep you humans safe." He looks at Max. "I can't undo what my kind did, but I can help at least a little."

Max sighs. "If we don't end war, war will end us," he mutters. He looks at Burns and holds out his hand. "I'll give you a chance. Time will tell if it was the right thing to do."

Burns shakes his hand. "I'll do what I can do show you you can trust me."

"It's not just me you have to convince," Max warns, "but I'll inform the other groups too when I see them. The rest is up to you."

Burns nods. "I understand."

"We should head back," I say and stand up. If we stay any longer, someone will come looking for us. I don't want that person to be Theo or Holly. They're still suspicious of Burns.

Max nods. "I'll talk to Theo and Holly," he says like he has read my mind. "They're not as hard as they look."

"No, I understand," Burns assures him, "don't worry about it."

"They'll need to hear your story too," Max says.

Burns nods. "Just... just tell them not everyone can come back. I don't want them to have false hope. And they shouldn't put themselves in danger by kidnapping people." He must have realized what it sounds like, an excuse to defend the Souls, because he continues, "I'll help bring people back if I can, but please... don't hurt anyone. Soul or human."

Max gives a serious nod. "I promise we won't take drastic measures."

Burns swallows and nods. It will have to do. This is probably the best offer we can get. I can't even blame them. We all want our loved ones back. Me included. And I'm the only one who's experienced the other end. I know it's not that simple.

...

When we arrive back in the kitchen, most people have scattered. Anna-May is still there. So are Carlos, Blake, Theo and Holly.

Max' friends look at us suspiciously, but Max nods at them and excuses himself from us to sit with them.

Anna-May walks up to us and hands me a plate. "Saved you some dessert," she mutters and turns back to cleaning the dishes.

"Thanks," I say softly and I look at Burns. He smiles at me and guides me over to the table where the others are sitting. He sits at the far end, the furthest away from Theo, while I sit next to Blake.

Blake nods at me and gives me a questioning look at which I offer a reassuring smile. Then he turns back to join the conversation. "So when are you finally going to take the next step and relocate?" he asks Carlos with a smirk on his face.

Carlos smirks shyly and looks away as if embarrassed. "Cindy's still young. She wanted to wait 'til she turned nineteen, which is in a month or so."

"You have a girlfriend?" Burns asks surprised.

It's the first time I've heard of it too. I look at Carlos curiously.

Theo stiffens when Burns involves himself in the conversation, but no one else reacts to it.

Carlos nods and smiles. "Cindy. She's with Russel's group. We've met a few times when we ran into them and we got along. So we've talked about relocating. Nate's group is already pretty large, so I'm moving there."

"Good for you," I smile.

"She's making him wait though," Blake smirks, "perhaps she's changed her mind. She must have found out you snore like a hungry bear."

"You're just jealous because you don't have anyone," I tease him.

"That's just because you don't want me, squirky," he retorts.

My face heats up and he smirks. I glance at Burns nervously, but he's watching us amused. From the corner of my eye, I can tell our three guests are watching the exchange curiously.

"Leave the girl alone, brat," Anna-May has walked up to us and slaps the back of Blake's head. He winces and rubs the spot where she hit him. "I was just kidding."

"Then be a kid somewhere else. I need to clean this table. You lot should find Nate and see what you can trade and then find some place for our guests to sleep since Burns and Emma took up the guest room.'

"We're more than willing to move," Burns says, "we didn't know."

"Nonsense," Anna-May interrupts, "it's your place now. We'll find a spot or they can share."

"It's alright, Burns," Max says, "we're used to bunking together."

"Are you sure it's not a problem?" Burns asks again.

"Geez!" Theo growls, "will you stop already? We're fine. You don't need to be so bloody polite and nice all the time! It's giving me the creeps."

"Sorry," Burns says awkwardly.

Max raises an eyebrow at Theo. "And you being a loudmouth ass all the time makes us want to hit you."

"Shut up Max," Theo growls and Max rolls his eyes.

"Let's just find Nate."

...

We find Nate in the greenery with a few of the others. Evan and Mick are bagging some carrots. I hope Max will take a whole bunch of them. I've seen enough carrots to last a lifetime.

Nate glances up at us and studies me and Max carefully. "All good?" he asks.

"All settled," Max answers, but Nate looks at me for confirmation.

I nod. "We're good."

Nate nods. "Good." He nods towards the bag of carrots. "You can take some carrots home with you, Max. I think we've had our fill."

"That would be much appreciated," Max nods, "we can trade you grain. We also have some mushrooms and Lizzy's herb garden is doing great so we have some of those too. She gave us a few plants for you to start your own garden."

"Anna-May will love that," Nate grins, "we have a lot to share this time thanks to Burns. Some luxury items too if you're interested. Maybe some new clothes? Soap?"

"Clothes?" Holly perks up, "you mean fresh, clean clothes?"

"Now you've done it," Theo sighs.

I look at Holly hesitantly. She is a fair head taller than me and a little heavier. "I'm sure we can find you something that will fit," I say softly.

She narrows her eyes at me. "What? You only got something in your size? Didn't think about anyone else's needs?"

"Shut up, Holly," Blake says, "if she got something twice her size there would have been questions. We couldn't risk drawing attention."

"You could go with us next time," Burns offers.

Holly flinches and eyes him warily. "Go? With you?"

"Ellen is about her size," Evan nods, "if Holly's too scared, Ellen will go and we can trade next time around."

Holly crosses her arms and huffs. "I'm not scared." They all ignore her.

I listen as they talk some more about trading goods and how the other groups are doing. My mind starts to wander. Max has decided to give Burns a chance. I hope the other groups will see the benefits of this arrangement. Perhaps we can make this work.

The next few words catch my attention.

"... abducting Souls?"

"Near Picacchio Peak?" Max questions, "we haven't been there. As far as I know neither have the others. Could be a coincidence though. The terrain is rough. All kids of things could happen to a person that ventures out there unprepared."

"In any case," Evan offers, "we should probably avoid that area for the time being. Just to be sure."

"Good idea," Max nods.

I look at Burns and find his eyes on me. When he catches my look, he smiles and wraps an arm around me, ignoring the stares of Theo and Holly. I lean into Burns' embrace and smile.

One way or another, we're going to make this work. We're going to find our place in this new world. Who knows, maybe one day we can even learn to co-exist.