Episode One, Part 5:

P r o p h e c y

How could a heart like yours ever love a heart like mine? 
How could I live before, how could I have been so blind? 
You opened up my eyes. 

Kodiak laid in the back of the truck, constantly drifting between a state of awareness and disorientation. With Aeryn having reached him, his chances of survival should have been better, but even as Sol sped the vehicle onwards to Basilisk, Kodiak's blood continued to spill, and even Aeryn couldn't manage to slow it down anymore. 

Elara was sitting in the front passenger seat beside Sol, feeling every bump and crack on the forest's path as they drove closer to home. She couldn't peel her eyes away from her hands; the blood that stretched along her arm had started to dry, but her fingertips were still red with blood, spilling down onto the seat below her. 

Sol could see her in the corner of her eyes, mostly noticing how she wasn't moving. There was chaos behind as the boys followed along to Aeryn's instructions, and the panic was expected: it balanced out everything she felt inside of her at the time, but Elara was just still. As if she was changing in the passenger seat, as if the violent truths of the Ground were settling in her bones. As if she looked down and saw the blood as a part of her... A reflection. 

"It'll wash off." Sol murmured. She spoke so softly that the sound was almost lost among the noise of the car. 

Elara released a breath, finally moving her gaze a little as she seemed to respond to what Sol told her. 

"Four days after my mum died, there was still blood under my nails. I scrubbed my hands for an hour in the water just to feel clean. It took Ares two days to realize her blood had soaked into his bed after he came home that night, and collapsed in his tent before it had dried up completely from his clothes." Elara looked over at the Sovereign. "You tell me it will wash away, but that doesn't mean I won't still feel it on my hands. I read something about that when I was in the Bunker: 'All that blood was never once beautiful. It was just red.'" She quoted. 

Sol was stumped, shaken to her core by what the girl had said to her. 

"You shouldn't..." Sol struggled for words - her mind trying to reason an answer, her feet pressing further into the peddles to hurry back to Basilisk. "You shouldn't know that feeling. I'm sorry." 

Elara wasn't expecting an apology, nor did she need one from Sol, but she appreciated it nonetheless. 

"What if Kodiak-" 

"Kodiak will be fine." 

"But if he isn't..." Elara worried, feeling a responsibility for his fate. 

"He will be." She concluded, cutting off room for debate. Sol's eyes glanced into the review mirror. "He has to be." 

// 

Aeryn exhaled as she collapsed down onto the stool, her head resting in her hands as she chucked the cloth onto the counter. Kodiak was finally stable after hours of a fluctuating pulse, and the spear had been removed and the bleeding brought to a stop. 

Wynnlow and Sol appeared together at the front of the medic tent, approaching quietly as they weren't certain what they were walking into. 

Sol made her way straight over to Kodiak, meanwhile Wynn went to go in and check on Aeryn. 

She looked up, smiling tiredly as he made his way over, his eyes glancing around and landing on Kodiak. 

"Hey." He greeted her, glad to see that she finally could catch her breath. 

"Hey Wynn." Aeryn breathed. 

"How's Kodiak holding up?" 

The both of them looked over at the Sovereign sleeping soundly on one of the medic beds, a sense of peace washing over them as he looked through the worst of it. 

"I think he's lucky this time. He pulled through." Aeryn told him. "Tonight will be tough, but it looks like he's going to be okay." 

Wynn nodded, letting out a deep breath, and relaxing into himself a little. "And what about you?" 

"I'm doing alright." She admitted, a slight laugh to her voice. "If anything, I've just been worrying about how you've been handling everything. I know this must bring up some bad memories, especially for Elara as she was there with him. Are you okay?" 

"Yeah." Wynnlow muttered, scratching the back of his neck.  "I wanted to talk to you." He began. "To say I'm sorry if I've been distant. I know I've been preoccupied with a lot of things lately. I-" 

Aeryn shook her head, knowing what he was talking about. Their fling had died down with everything that was going on, and they had barely found the time to even be alone in quite a while. There was always one thing after the other that came between them. 

"I understand. If anything, it's my fault. I rushed into this without even considering how you were adjusting to life on the Ground." 

Wynn exhaled, relieved that it was mutual and that she wasn't upset with him at all that they were calling things off from whatever it was they were. 

"And truthfully, I know she's been on your mind ever since you got here, whether you can admit it to yourself, or not. I know she means a lot to you." Aeryn said, a small smile appearing: it was genuine. 

Wynn's pulse picked up a little, trying to understand who she was talking about. As he tried to comprehend it, he realized she might have been right, and he was a little terrified of that. terrified of things changing again. His eyes flickered behind her for a moment, looking over at Sol, then suddenly pulled back towards her as she spoke. 

"She was a big part of your life for so long, and to lose her so suddenly... B ut also for that loss to stretch out as well for so long... I mean, of course it's complicated with her." 

"Huh?" Wynnlow stuttered, not understanding. 

"Lyra." Aeryn said. "I know you loved her. It's okay if you still do-" 

"I-I don't." Wynn hurried his words, desperate to deny them even though he knew deep down that what Aeryn had said abut Lyra was true. 

"Everything's different. I don't know what I feel anymore." Once again, he looked back over to the Sovereigns, trying to remember what he came here for, seeming like he had been on a rollacoaster of emotions since he walked in. 

"Elara's wondering when she can see Kodiak?" He just wanted to change the subject now, steering his thoughts away from everything else. 

Aeryn stood up abruptly, triggered by the Sovereign's name as if she needed to make sure he was okay still. She contemplated for a few moments before answering him. 

"Maybe sometime tomorrow, if he's awake. I'll make sure I'll come find you?" She offered.  

"Yeah, I'd appreciate that." Wynnlow smiled a little. 

"How did it go with your dad, by the way? Do you think he's going to come to Basilisk?" 

"Too soon to tell." Wynnlow replied. "We didn't get much time to talk to him before.." She got the gist of it, nodding in acknowledgement. 

"What were they like?" She asked. "The people." She added on to clarify. "'City of Targo' isn't it?"

"Yeah." Wynnlow confirmed. "Targo. But they wouldn't let use see dad. Not on our own, at least. The Commander wanted to be there." 

"Oh... So, did you get a chance to talk? Did you find out where's he's been?" 

"No. He seemed more interested in seeing Elara than telling us anything." 

Aeryn sighed, defeated by Wynn's news just as he was. She wanted to ask more, but noticed that Sol was beginning to make her way over, and didn't want her to overhear the conversation. With everything that had happened with Kodiak, the last thing she needed to worry about was the new Clan lurking around their lands. 

"When do you think he'll be up?" Sol asked as she approached, folding her arms as she waited anxiously to hear. 

"Tomorrow, I'm hoping." Aeryn replied. "He's doing okay, Riv. Try not to worry." 

Sol nodded appreciating her advice, but unable to follow through. She was quiet and hollow and far from her usual state as she dismissed herself and parted from the tent. Wynn's eyes followed her, concern growing as he turned back around to glance at Kodiak, still asleep. 

"You should go, too. Try and get some rest." Aeryn murmured. "You look terrible." 

Wynnlow laughed a little, then, suddenly finding himself leaning down as Aeryn wrapped her arms around him, holding him warmly. He mirrored, pulling her close as he tried to let his fear go. 

"We seem to spend most of our time here." Wynn mentioned as he pulled away. He was trying to be lighthearted, but Aeryn could see the truth burning in his eyes. 

"I know. But there's a heck of a lot more people that have lived to walk out of here, than those that haven't. Kodiak will be one of those that do. You don't have to worry." 

Wynn half-smiled, exhaling the weight of the day as he said goodbye to Aeryn. As he stepped outside into the cold, brisk night, only the light of the torches burning to help him see, Wynn knew that there was still something tugging inside his chest; that it wouldn't let him rest until he let it out. 

He made his way over to the Sovereign's Quarters, standing outside the entrance as he buzzed for one of the guards to let him in. The door was opened, and instinctively he went to walk inside, but the guard who appeared blocked his way in. 

"This is the Sovereign's Quarters." He informed Wynn. 

"I... Know." Wynn answered in confusion, wondering why he wasn't being allowed to enter. 

"That means this sector is reserved for the Sovereigns, not the entirety of Basilisk." 

Wynn swayed around, keeping his feet planted as he made a point of glancing around to point out the absence of people. It's just me, he wanted to say, not the 'entirety of Basilisk', just Wynn. 

"I wanted to speak to Sol." Wynn told him, hoping it would spark the man into allowing him in. 

"Alright, but you're not allowed in. You'll have to find another time." 

"Are you kidding? I've been in there so many ti-" 

"You're not allowed in." The man repeated himself. "And that's final." 

Wynn huffed, his hands in his pockets and he debated trying to push his way inside. He chewed on his lip, hesitating, but turning away only to hear the door close behind him. 

As he walked away, cursing the man in his head, he heard the door open once again - footsteps following a couple of faces. 

"Wynn.." Joren called his name, catching the boy by surprise.

He turned around, not expecting to see Joren, and for a moment not sure what he was there for. Joren stepped to the side, holding the door open as he motioned for Wynn to follow him in. He did, gladly, eyeing down the guard as he walked passed.  

"I wanted to-" 

"She's just down the hall." Joren cut him short, smiling reassuringly, already knowing why he had came here. He walked away without another word, leaving Wynn alone to find Sol. He followed his directions, walking down to the end of the corridor, the last door labeled 'Nobel'. 

Standing outside, gathering up the courage to knock, Wynnlow watched as the handle turned on it's own and as it opened, Sol looked up, completely stumbling as she saw him there. 

"Wynn-" 

"Sol-" They murmured together. 

"What are you doing here?" 

"Joren let me in." He answered. "I came to see you." 

Sol walked past, nodding as she listened. Wynn wasn't quite sure what to do, but he followed along as she began to exit the Quarters, even though he had put up enough fuss to try and inside in the first place. 

"Where.. Where are we going?" Wynn stuttered, trying to keep up with her. 

"Shut up and keep walking." Sol rolled her eyes out of habit, but no longer out of frustration for him. In fact, she found herself biting back a smile at how quickly Wynnlow fell quiet. 

Eventually the two of them reached the place where Sol was heading, but the truth is that Wynn had already figured it out before they were even half way there. Sol sat down on the log in her hideout, and Wynn perched himself opposite staring over at her as she stared outwards onto the Red Hills. 

"These people that your father came with; I don't think they're good, Wynn." 

Wynnlow dropped his head, suddenly interested in his hands as he began to crack his knuckles, pulling each of his fingers one by one. 

"I think, for whatever reason, they came here looking for someone, and I think you have a good feeling about who that is, don't you?" 

Wynn was almost too afraid to say her name, afraid that perhaps it would set something in motion. Make something real that he didn't want to be real. 

"Elara." Wynn answered, his sister's name like a dagger to his heart. "What do you think they want with her?" 

Sol shrugged, looking over at him. "If it was Riders, I could have a guess. But you know just as much as me about these people. They must have crossed the DeadLands to get here. It's the only way they could have done, but I don't how they survived it." 

"And there's so many of them..." Wynn pointed out, also trying to understand how they had endured the desert without looking on the verge of dying. 

"Do you think that they were the ones who did that to Kodiak?" He was careful about how he asked, considering every approach before realizing that every one would stir up uncomfortable memories for her. 

"It wasn't Targo." She confessed. 

"How do you know-" 

"It was Blood Riders... It was Noah." 

Wynn tilted his head, eyes narrowing as he looked across at her. 

"The same Noah that helped us in the DeadLands?"

"That's the one." Sol confirmed. She shifted her body, turning away from Wynnlow as she refocused her attention on the hills, a bid to hide her emotion. 

"Why? Why would he do that?" 

"You'll find out tomorrow." 

"Sol... Why?" Wynn pushed. 

The Nobel sighed, visibly exhausted as she looked over her shoulder at her friend. "It wasn't a shot to kill, although it could easily have been if Aeryn didn't come when she did." Sol began. Wynnlow leaned in closer, not wanting to miss a word. 

"It was a Shot of War." Sol explained. She reached into her pocket, retrieving a stub of wood and handing it over to Wynn. He noticed it was part of the weapon that had hit Kodiak - only with the spear and majority of the stick missing. 

"You can tell it by the markings on the spear that hit him: the number 96." Sol continued. 

"96?" 

"Hours. That's when they'll march." 

"Nice of them to let to us know." Wynn mumbled, not understanding why it seemed to be something scheduled, rather than an attack when the enemy was unsuspecting. 

"They don't tell us so we can get prepared, they tell us so we know they're already here. They're already ready." 

Wynn could feel his heart pick up in his chest, the fear beating through him at twice the normal rate. 

"Kodiak was the first warning; we're down to two Sovereigns. By the time everyone wakes up tomorrow, or even before then, we'll know the second." 

"A-are we ready to fight, Sol? Are your people strong enough? Will we survive?" 

She looked over at him for the first time in a few moments, glad that the darkness seemed to disguise most of her fear. 

"I'm sorry I opened that door." She spoke, not answering his question. "To the Bunker. Tonight in the Quarters. I shouldn't have told you this. I shouldn't have ever tried to bring anyone into this screwed up world." She stood up, hurrying her words out and turning to climb up out of the hideaway. 

"Hey." Wynn caught onto her wrist, standing up beside her. "You brought me home." He reminded her. "Now tell me, are we ready to fight back?" 

One // Part Five

All that blood was never once beautiful. It was just red.