Back at camp, Mark stood over one of the two small gardens. They were planted in rows with mainly cabbages because that was one of the few seeds they could actually find.

"Everything has been harvested much quicker," Landon remarked, who had been a boy who helped with the gardens. "Now that we have the store inside, it helps a lot! I can't wait for peanut butter cookies."

Mark wanted food, just like anyone else around here. However, Ashley, along with her followers, roamed the area, so going off to get the food wasn't the ideal choice. He stood with a wooden bucket of cabbage, carrying it back to one of the base areas.

Mark spotted Emma pacing back and forth. "Emma," he called.

"I'm not panicking!" she exclaimed, but she chewed on her lip. "Cindy came, bringing those four somewhere. They were supposed to go somewhere else, not wherever she took them."

"Relax," Mark said.

"Ashley's still out there, plus I don't know if Jade found Esme. All of it is stressful," she said, sitting down in a blue lawn chair.

"They might be going to that meeting with River," he implied. "Apparently, his mother was at the bubble."

Mark had never seen someone with as much anxiety as Emma. She constantly paced whenever she had a bad feeling or anything related to someone running off.

"Nobody told me," she murmured, hanging her head. "Most of the helpful freaks are away, which doesn't help if Ashley appears. I know we have those followers, but it's still not completely safe."

"We aren't safe until Ashley's gone," Mark said.

"I think people are starting to offer themselves."

"Sacrificing themselves?"

"I don't know who or how many, but people are already deciding to die. How could you make that choice? Like... Bella wants to."

Mark still heard what she said. Of all the people, Bella wants to sacrifice herself? She was the least expected person he thought would make that choice.

"Did she say why?" Mark asked.

The thought of Bella wanting to give up her life seemed strange. There was a noticeable change in her behaviour; the obsessive behaviour she once had when it came to protecting Jason had vanished.

"We don't even know if she'll be chosen. Why leave when she just came back?" Emma panicked. "I thought she was suicidal, but she wants to do it. Followers are close to being destroyed, but they have supernatural abilities. Cassandra is basically a puppet master to them, but some of those only have supernatural power."

Mark grabbed her shoulders to stop her pacing. "You can't worry about every little thing. You'll turn out like Emma, who passed out in the infirmary during the storm."

"I didn't pass out that much."

"Every time I went there, you'd be passed out on the ground. There had been a rare chance you were awake."

From grabbing buckets of vomit, intestines, and urine constantly in the infirmary, Emma was always passed out on the floor or against the wall. He knew that overusing her healing ability drained her energy, plus she was going through a rough mental breakdown.

"I'm better now," she mumbled in her hands.

"Says the one who forgot to eat last night."

"Stop teasing me. You sound like Bryce."

Mark smiled weakly at the compliment. He's seen the many instances where Bryce makes a comment about her not eating enough or needing to sleep longer.

"You have to eat," Mark said.

"I get busy with all the chaos happening," Emma panicked.

Just then, Mark spotted Bella walking toward them. Her lips were pressed in a tight line, and her hands were trembling.

"Don't ask me more questions. Scarlett might know, but not me," Emma stated.

Mark knew she meant the Divina situation. Bella looked uncomfortable but nodded, walking away.

"She really wants to do it?" Mark asked.

He would have assumed Bella might have been lying. Then again, he didn't expect her to go off the grid for six months alone.

"Why?" Mark asked.

"Jason will be distraught," Emma mumbled, chewing her lip. "I know he's away, but when they're done, Cassandra announces it."

This whole situation was just like what happened to Ashley. Before, Ashley had just been Jason's stepsister, someone they didn't interact with much. He always found it weird how sometimes, she'd follow them around when they went to play volleyball. He still remembered when he accidentally spiked a volleyball, hitting her square in the nose.

"People could still die out there," she said, pointing out into the fields. "We've had enough deaths from what happened in Simcoe."

Mark looked around the quiet campground due to the followers surrounding the outside like bodyguards. People didn't care to talk to them, especially since they were actually dead.

Mark felt a tap on his shoulder that he barely felt. He spun around and saw someone he hadn't in months. Melany stood there, causing him leap back.

Melany was Cindy's sister. He'd seen her lifeless body months ago. She had been shot in the chest by Luke after trying to protect Ciney. It happened right after Cindy got a knife to the eye.

"Wait, I thought you weren't a follower." Emma's voice trembled.

Melany smiled sadly, and the gunshot wound on her chest was still. It was the exact sight he witnessed when he helped bury her body.

"I was, but I never attacked anyone," Melany said.

Mark did not know how to respond to this situation. He had seen Melany oftentimes from the infirmary due to her working there.

"Why?" Emma gasped, taking a shaky step back.

"Revenge on Luke," Melany stated.

That was the normal response a lot of these followers had. All of them wanted revenge on either being killed by Luke or knowing someone who was injured by him.

"You never showed yourself or anything. It's not Cassandra's power, right?" Emma trembled.

"I was looking for Cindy, but I haven't seen her," Melany said.

"She's off with River and some others," Mark implied.

Melany stood slowly looking around the campground. People nearby seemed to stare in shock, their faces a mix of disbelief and fear. Just then, Cindy finally appeared in front of them.

"Emma, we need..." Cindy stopped her sentence.

She slapped her cheeks multiple times, rubbing her eyes as if she stared at something from her imagination.

"Wait," Cindy stammered. "What's going on?"

"I've been hiding," Melany stated.

Cindy stumbled back, her eyes widening in disbelief, tears spilling down her cheeks. She dropped to her knees, shaking her head. It seemed like an unreal sight that none of them were expecting.

Melany set a hand on top of Cindy's head, sadly smiling. "I'm still dead," she said.

"I know," Cindy's voice cracked without looking up at Melany.

Mark realized it had been a long time since someone had seen Cindy break down in tears.

Standing in front of the warm fire, Scarlett could see some of those creepy followers lurking. Despite the fact that her daughter reached some agreement, they were dead, guarding like they were still alive.

"Some of my friends died from the storm," one boy named Max said.

"That's awful," Scarlett remarked.

"I get to see them only for that short time now," he implied.

All of it in a short amount of time. What felt strange was having a lot of the people gone. Even without having her daughter, who somehow turned out to be a good person. Warning people not to do something because they could get killed.

Scarlett felt herself changing because she was being a better mother than her own. Nicer to people, even if sometimes that snarky remark comes out. Cassandra had said she's nice, which maybe means one part is deep down under everything.

Feeling a tap on her shoulder, she looked over to see Bella. This housewife was away for months on some isolation punishment for everything she pulled on Jason.

Scarlett smirked, raising an eyebrow at her. "Yes?" she asked.

"I need to ask you about something," she whispered, tugging her away from the fire.

Bella started pulling her close to her own RV, at which point Scarlett opened the door. She stood facing her with her arms folded, waiting for what she would say.

"It's about Cassandra," Bella said.

"She won't be back for a couple of days," Scarlett said.

"No, it's not that. Has she given you more information on the host body situation?"

"Other than Divina needs a body, she can't be a choice. I'm guessing you're thinking of being the sacrifice."

Scarlett watched Bella tense but wasn't surprised she wanted to be the sacrifice. She had all this leftover guilt from whatever else she did to Jason, which was just some possible toxic behaviour.

"Others might sacrifice themselves. Cassandra isn't much different than us in terms of knowing information," Scarlett said.

"Right..." Bella trailed off but didn't say anything else.

"Why choose to sacrifice? I'm sure it's not just about redemption," Scarlett inquired.

"I want to free him," Bella whispered.

Scarlett was never close to Bella because she annoyed her. Her own redemption was to be a better person, but not just for her child. Cassandra was the prime example; she had done something right, as she'd warned people of what could happen.

Although Cassandra is still like Greyson by being filled with determination and ambition to get what she wanted done. That was why she is out with him and Jason somewhere, destroying those followers. Cassandra wasn't taunting, but she had her sarcasm. Good of how her own mother should have raised her.

It's not that she could do bonding activities with Cassandra, such as going to the park. Now that Ashley had burned Simcoe, there was nothing a parent could do with her child. However, her daughter is the mutant child who has been able to save them.

"Is that all?" Scarlett asked.

"Yes," Bella said, walking away.

She has thought about being the host body, but she hasn't decided. On the one hand, she should, due to all her evil behaviour in the past. After all, it gave Greyson that free pass out of here.

They talked last night. It had been awkward, but it had been about some of the things. From between their own child, who smiles wide seeing them.

However, those aren't the words. Scarlett wanted to ask a firmer question because she needed to know the truth. Not out of confirmation, because she knew that months ago. From hearing those words that scared him.

Walking slowly out of her RV, she looked around. It's not that she could do anything; she had been like many here. Scarlett wanted to go on a mission, but those were suicide missions. Plus, she just had a baby not too long ago, and her body needed some rest.

It's not that she can run around freely without feeling sore. Maybe by the time Greyson's back or the host body is chosen. Should she consider herself a candidate? Scarlett has taunted and used people before, while mentally breaking some as well.

People had forgiven her, surprisingly, like Emma. She and Greyson both played a part in mentally destroying her during the storm, which neither saw. Somehow, Emma forgave her, but half the time she was panicking about it.

During that time, people slowly began to forgive her, but change was hard. She was so used to dealing with the underling schemes or taunting that not doing it felt out of place.

Being good, while some were excited about her pregnancy, that frightened her. She didn't know the best way to raise a child or even what she would have looked like. Now, Cassandra looked just like her, except with curly hair and bright blue eyes.

This is her being redeemed. She has always been mocking and cruel. Her own redemption started when she chose someone over Greyson for once. She knew that if he discovered the child, he'd want to know as much as possible.

Now, he's out with Cassandra somewhere in this place. His first response was shock, which maybe he could change for once.

Their own relationship changed on the island, but Greyson was still Greyson. They were basically those couples that break up, then get back together.

Scarlett narrowed her eyes, sighing. "Choose me," she whispered.

She did have a strong feeling she wasn't going to be picked. Not because she doesn't exactly have a useful power, but because she's Cassandra's mother. There would be some way Cassandra would refuse her from being picked.

All because Cassandra cared for her. She cares that more people didn't die or that she and Greyson never got injured. She was determined for that not to happen because she couldn't have it happen.

If that happened, she'd be furious with both Ashley and Divina. It doesn't exactly help when she's supposed to be stronger than both of them.

Maybe she would get overall redemption, but raising a perfect child did help. One who was loved, unlike the two of them with their own parents.

Greyson may have had it worse than she, because his parents treated him without that hint of love, plus he was given up for adoption at birth. Scarlett could only hope that maybe she would be picked.

Except that Divina already had its choice among the many that had asked. All it had been playing the intelligent route. It knew who had to be the choice, but it wouldn't tell who until all the followers were gone.

The four of them walked together through an empty field surrounded of broken corn stalks and dried dirt. There were so many fields that Stick had lost count of each of them.

"I really hope we don't run into Ashley." Mallory panicked, her lips tightly pressed together.

"Zane said it should only be followers," Angel remarked.

Stick felt weird being in a group such as this. Maybe it was because none of them had killed someone and left the murder scene quickly. However, Angel had helped in slicing up Luke's body in the lake.

He'd prayed to God cleansed him of his guilt, but it clung to him like a second skin. His past life seemed like a distant dream. He had grown up in a house where ambition was a constant influence, where he was the golden child.

Stick's parents weren't wealthy. His mother worked at the LCBO, while his father was a welder. But then the soccer scouts had started to notice him, and suddenly the future seemed ablaze with possibilities. A scholarship, a university team, a life beyond this small town for soccer and volleyball.

"If we do run into Ashley, we have to try to fight," James said.

"She's got Jason's burning or Greyson's telekinesis; I think we might die!" Mallory panicked, waving her arms around.

"We just have to hope we don't," Stick said.

He didn't actually know if they'd make it back alive. The fear of their situation pressed down on him, suffocating him. It wasn't just Ashley's endgame, or Cassandra's existence, but from seeing the outside world.

As they walked, people still pressed close to the bubble that separated them from the rest of humanity. They held up phones, snapping pictures and taking videos. Reporters clustered together, microphones in hand, trying to uncover information from anyone.

"We have to do our best with avoidance," James started.

"I'm not a fighter myself, but I want out of here," Angel said.

"We do have food now, which is great!" Mallory cheered, jumping on her toes.

It was good that they had food, but there had still been negatives. Cassandra may be attempting to help prevent everything, but death is still looming; most of the freaks are out, including himself, despite his resolutions; this could serve as another aspect of redemption.

"Does your power actually flatten objects?" Angel asked Mallory.

"Yeah, I once flattened a stick before. I have to make myself fall," Mallory explained. "I barely fall down anymore, so I leap to the ground."

"Can you flatten a person?" Stick asked.

"I don't think so. If I could fatten a follower, that would be amazing! I'd be cool like Esme," Mallory beamed, smiling. She looked up to being like someone.

Did Stick ever feel that way sometimes? Stick tried to remember any famous soccer players he used to look up to. Right, Cristiano Ronaldo, because of how outstanding he played when he watched a match.

When he was around five, they went to a game, seeing the awe of how he played. He dreamed of playing in a different country where he could be that superstar.

"Let's hope Jade ends up bringing her back. How could she take on Ashley alone?" Angel inquired, pressing his lips together.

Ashley couldn't, but the old Stick could. Now, he's Stick, who was forgiven by God for his terrible behaviour toward others and the murder he committed. Eden had helped him with that process, but she wasn't exactly a religious person.

"Why is Eden so..." Stick started but didn't know how to finish the words.

"Crazy?" Mallory asked. "It's how she's always been, apparently. She's done really bad things, like getting into fights or burning stuff."

He knew her personality was different when he witnessed her bringing drugs to that house in the woods. He was pretty sure she knocked him out once too. He hadn't seen it happen, but he and a splitting headache and only remembered being left alone in the dark house.

"Keep her on your good side," James implied.

Stick had seen the unhinged girl in action. He remembered she had drugged Bella to prove a point by stuffing a pill in some pudding. The way Eden smiled was the most disturbing part. It almost seemed like an innocent facade under that real personality.

"The police ended up shipping her to Uden Academy," Mallory stated, looking around the empty field. "The gang got disbanded, which is why the police thought she needed a change."

Gang activity at such an age, so why did his behaviour seem sane compared to some at Uden Academy? Yes, he was prideful, like some he had met, but it all extended.

The backgrounds of lives they shouldn't have lived, like getting into drugs young, which he couldn't retaliate against due to smoking pot himself.

Suddenly, Stick felt himself go flying away from the ground. He landed hard, the impact hurting his teeth and sending a wave of dizziness crashing over him. He widened his eyes, glancing back in the direction of Ashley.

"I can't see you, but you'll die," Ashley taunted.

They broke into a sprint away from Ashley's location and near some bare trees. It did that help Ashley couldn't see, but not that she had mutant powers. In any second, she could fry one of them to ash.

"Where did you go?" Ashley roared.

Stick felt his heart hammering as they stumbled inside a thick, overgrown bush. It wasn't the one where Emma had some haunting feelings, but a different one. Maybe it had been one near Uden Academy, but Stick wasn't concerned about that.

"Let's hide," Angel whispered.

They huddled together behind a pile of fallen pine trees. A thick log lay across the top, offering some cover. Stick peeked from the side, where fallen leaves surrounded it. All of them sat still, not even breathing. Nobody had the power of hearing, which did help.

Ashley travelled inside the bush, searching around. Stick wanted to say something to them, but he couldn't find the words. Did he magically assume that Ashley might be gone? No, she felt they had been here, leaving them all fearful. It wasn't that any of them had performed many heroic actions before.

"I found you," Ashley taunted, palms facing toward them.

There was a wave of unseen force that sent all four of them flying backwards in the air. They landed on the hard ground, the breath knocked from his lungs and his body aching.

"This isn't who I wanted to run into..." Mallory trembled.

Stick knew he needed to find a way out. Angel held out his hand as he watched a few branches of trees fall near Ashley. They heard a frustrated groan, but Stick felt his stomach twist.

"We should be okay, but if she has Jason's light, we're in trouble," James whispered.

Which is exactly what started to happen. Jason's power filled the forest with blue light. Trees were sliced through, exploding into flames. They scrambled to their feet and ran blindly in the opposite direction, but he knew they couldn't hide.

"Should you throw things?" Angel panicked in a whisper, staring directly at Stick and James.

Both of them could gain unrealistic strength, so it almost seemed crazy. If Stick focused on the fact that he had been hungry, it'd work.

"Okay," James said while wobbling and standing.

"Mallory, you need to stay down," Angel said.

James used his super strength, and grabbed a fallen tree with his bare hands. He swung it like a batter at a home-run, sending it hurtling towards Ashley. As the tree went connected, sending Ashley reeling, he was caught off guard. A blur of motion, and then a crushing blow sent him flying, slamming into against a ither tree.

Ashley was already back on her feet, using her super speed. She appeared directly in front of Stick, a feral grin plastering her lips. He barely had time to react, grabbing a thick, broken branch and hurling it at her.

"You think you can beat me?" she taunted, dodging the branch. "That will never happen. You will all die before the goddess gets a body."

Stick glanced over as Mallory and Angel quietly tried to escape. Ashley searched around as Stick watched James wobbly stand. There was blood gushing down the side of his head as he held a hand to his forehead.

He needed to distract Ashley. Spotting a broken branch, its tip already ablaze, he grabbed it. He took a breath before rushing at Ashley.

As he threw the branch at Ashley, a yelp escaped her lips when it made contact, burning her flesh. Suddenly, he felt himself thrown backwards, crashing into a broken log, as pain rushed in his side.

"I hear you," Ashley taunted, heading toward the direction of Angel and Mallory.

Both froze at her voice. Stick groaned, pushed himself up, his gaze landing on the scene around him. The bush was burning, and soon enough, they'd all be fried like hamburgers on a barbecue.

"Run!" Stick exclaimed.

Angel and Mallory broke into a sprint in the opposite direction. Suddenly, Mallory lost her balance and tripped over a long branch.

Ashley charge towards Mallory as Stick stumbled. She aimed her palms directly at Mallory. In an attempt, Mallory threw the flattened branch from her hand, causing Ashley to stumble back slightly.

Stick observed Mallory standing. He noticed Ashley standing with gritted teeth. She faced her palms from a distance, directed at Mallory. Angel screamed at her, but Stick made an unconscious decision.

Stick ran in front as Mallory failed to see the blue light headed towards her. He pushed Mallory out of the way. He felt searing pain in his stomach and saw a large hole burned through it, almost the size of a tire.

Mallory let out a bloody scream as Stick looked down at the hole in his stomach. It was an unexpected outcome, but he and no regrets.

He fell flat on the ground, his vision becoming dark as Mallory yelled at him to stay awake. Yes, this has been his redemption. Instead of killing someone, he saved someone. There was nobody clapping or celebrating that he had sacrificed himself.

Mallory fell to her knees, tears streaming down her cheeks. Not Stick the killer, but Stick the golden boy. Someone who should have known that death would be his salvation.

Stick didn't want pity or tears need; he needed the peace of knowing he and redeemed himself.

"Thank you," he heard the tremble in Mallory's voice.

Mallory deserved to live because she still had a future ahead of her. Stick didn't, but he was glad that he sacrificed himself to save her life.

I cried like a baby writing Stick's death. Our golden boy finally forgave himself.

Plus we got Cindy and Melany meeting again. The reunion you never expected to happen again...