Episode Two, Part 4: 

B a d   B l o o d

"ᴏʜ, ꜰᴀᴛʜᴇʀ, ᴛᴇʟʟ ᴍᴇ: ᴅᴏ ᴡᴇ ɢᴇᴛ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴡᴇ ᴅᴇꜱᴇʀᴠᴇ?" 

Everyone had gathered around the table, sitting close as Wynnlow stood by the end, cracking his sweaty knuckles as nervousness got the better of him. He didn't remember when, but sometime in them being down here, they stopped saving the seats for their lost ones; the space in between Wynnlow and Elara wasn't left open for Lyra anymore, nor the space beside Harlow reserved for Hayzel. They had filled what vacancies they could manage, pushing on some days as if nothing was even missing. But as Wynnlow stood where his father had once done, it felt impossible to ignore the memories that rushed back to him - knocking the air out of his chest as realization caught up to him. 

There were no adults for them to rely on to make the decisions. No one to tell them what was wrong or right, where they should go, what to consider. Still, the most terrifying part about all of this was that they were all looking to him. 

"What's this about?" Fabian asked, kicking his feet up onto the table. Something his dad would have reprimanded him for. And, as if the same thought crossed his mind, Fabian hesitated, slowly lowering his feet back to the ground. 

"I saw Sol yesterday." He said. "She thinks its best if we come back to Basilisk." 

He had expected at least a little challenge in response - perhaps Quill being too afraid to leave the Bunker again, or Fabian still feeling the trauma from Riders that he wouldn't give the Ground another chance, but they were all silent, as if there nothing more to say. 

"Well...?" Wynnlow pushed, still not having an answer after a few moments. 

Ares looked to the others as if deciding among them who would tell him. "What do you think?" He asked. 

Wynnlow shifted his weight, already knowing what he wanted, but not prepared to admit it in the extent of his desire. "I-I think she's right." He stumbled on his words. "I mean we only know so much about the Ground, and our resources won't last forever. It's only a matter of time is what I'm trying to say." Wynn admitted. 

"Okay then." Ares responded. His voice was soft, assuring his brother as he smiled, his head nodding along a little. 

Wynn cocked his head, disbelief striking him. "That... That's it? You're okay with it?" 

Fabian laughed a little, breaking the silence. "We were kinda all just waiting for you to be ready." 

"For me?" Wynnlow exclaimed. 

"You know more about Basilisk than any of us. If anyone was not gonna like the idea about going back, we thought it'd be you." Quill chimed in. 

A peace covered over Wynn. He closed his eyes and breathed out in relief, not even imagining how he would have felt if they had said no. 

"Um, right." He shook his head, collecting his thoughts. "When do you guys want to go? She mentioned something about not leaving it too long-" 

"First light?" Ares suggested, seeing if Wynn was okay with the idea. More than anything, he had interrupted to shut up his rambling. "Morning, I mean." He corrected himself, remembering there were no windows in the Bunker. 

Wynnlow chuckled along at his brother's words, feeling as if everything was falling into place. For the first time since they were brought up onto the Ground - the first casualties of their family settling in - it seemed as if they were finally going home. 

"I can't wait to see Azha again." Elara turned to Wynnlow, resembling the light in his eyes. 

At the mention of him, as if resurfacing in his mind, Harlow spoke. "And Bas and Lyra can come back." He declared, the youthful tone to his voice almost enough to disguise the sorrow hidden within it. 

Quill smiled sadly beside him, as did everyone else at the innocence of the young boy, wanting more than anything to let that stay with him. He wrapped an arm around him, pulling him close. "Maybe bud." His voice just a whisper too loud to hear the shattering of their hearts, all breaking at the hope that filled Harlow's eyes with what Quill replied. 

"Well... I guess everything changes tomorrow." Wynn tried his best to turn the moment around, but the truth was long buried inside them by now: no matter where they went, someone would always be left behind. 

- 

Sol's eyes opened to reveal a blur of colours, swaying around her vision as she floated along completely disorientated within the world. She wasn't sure she was awake at first, let alone alive, but gradually her senses began to return to her, the pain in her head almost crippling. 

She tried to move a little - to understand where she was, but there was no solid ground beneath her. As if she hadn't remembered until now - until she felt the tight grasp of a hand around her leg, Sol began to squirm around - her body slung around Ellery's shoulders. 

Caught off guard by her sudden consciousness, Sol managed to break from his hold, falling backwards onto the ground. Her body was weak enough without the impact of her landing, and only when she tried to get to get to her feet did she seem to realise the restraints on her wrists. 

She looked up at the two men - people she had known her entire life, sworn to protect not only Basilisk, but the Sovereigns in particular. A hatred burned within her that she could see staring back down at her. 

She fell against the ground for the second time, confused at what she leaned against as she laid helplessly waiting for the drug to kick in. Sand dusted the side of her face when the grass should have been, or the dried mud that covered most of the woods on the way home. It was when she started to realize what they were doing. 

Adair sprung from the right, a mask covering half of his face. The cloth that had almost suffocated her earlier on now being stretched out towards her, drenched in whatever chemical it was that put her out in the first place. She knew she could fight it and stand a chance at getting away, or at the very least buy herself some time - or she could give in, allow her mind to escape and know that she would wake up far, far away, the possibility of ever returning to Basilisk long gone. 

Sitting up on the ground, Sol didn't flinch as Adair reached her, only finding his eyes to search for the truth: who had sent them? Her eyes began to flutter closed once again, but she fought the darkness long enough until her heart pulsed with the answer she knew was real: it was her father. 

two // part four

No one to tell them what was wrong or right.