Episode Six, Part 2:
W i t h o u t  F e a r

The next morning, Wynn was up early with Bas; they were sitting near the tents together, having their morning rations as they waited to begin their day. 

"How's Ell doing?" Bas asked, picking at his food. 

"Really good, actually," Wynn smiled, it feeling somewhat foreign that he could say that about his sister and mean it. 

"The serum's working?" The hope in Bas' voice matched Wynn's, and he smiled back almost as brightly. 

"Yeah," Wynn nodded. "She didn't have a vision last night. I saw her earlier this morning and she seemed...normal. Like the Elara we had before all of this happened." 

"I'm happy for you," Bas murmured sincerely, turning his attention back to his dish.

"How's Harlow? I haven't seen much of him these last few days," Wynn inquired. 

"Yeah, he's doing well. They're training him along with some of the other kids around here. I'm pretty sure he's with Fabian or MaReya at the moment, though." 

"Training?" Wynn asked. "What for?" 

"I'm not sure exactly," Bas laughed. "Survival skills? Life skills? Something like that," Bas continued to chuckle at his own lack of observations, but the sound was drowned out by a deafening collapse that came from behind them. 

They automatically shielded their heads, covering their ears as the noise ripped through them. After a few seconds, they looked up - making sure the other was okay before trying to figure out what was happening. 

A mixture of smoke and dust clouded up from the back of the Sovereign's Quarters, and everyone had erupted into chaos - running around and screaming frantically. In a matter of seconds, sirens began to pierce through the air - the same ones they had heard the other day. 

The front entrance to the Quarters opened and as everyone ran towards shelter, Wynn instinctively ran towards danger, heading over towards the back section of the tents where the explosion had come from. 

He could hear bullets firing, and if it wasn't obvious enough, it was the final confirmation that someone was attacking them. 

"Wynn, where are you going?" Bas yelled ravingly. "Wynn!?" 

"The tents!" He yelled back, briefly glancing over his shoulder to look at him, hoping he would catch up to understanding his fear. 

"The back corner of the Quarters was targetted! Our tents are near there! Our family could be there!" 

Reality sunk in Bas picked up his pace, running alongside Wynn to get closer to the sight of the explosion. The back wall of the Quarters had collapsed - half of it spilling inside, the other in ruin in the surrounding areas. Immediately, both boys could see bodies scattered everywhere - some people choking in pain, some pushing the debris off from them, and some not moving. 

Wynn wanted to help everyone to their feet, but he couldn't bring himself to focus on anyone else until he knew his family was safe. They all could have been in the tents still, and to make things worse, Wynn knew that his sister was somewhere in the Quarters - possibly near when the explosion had happened. 

Whilst constantly ducking to avoid the shots still coming - both from the attackers and Basilisk's guards who were trying to man the fences, Wynn caught sight of someone sticking out from underneath the rubble. Despite the blood on her face, and the dust that covered her dark, brown hair, there was a recognition of who he was seeing... 

//// 

Elara was with Kodiak when the explosion hit. One minute she was sitting on the end of his bed and they were talking, the next thing she knew was that the room was shaking and dust was suddenly spilling from the collapsing ceiling. 

She tucked her head in her hands, the bed behind her shifting as Kodiak ran over. He pushed her against the mattress, leaning over her so she didn't get hit by anything, holding onto her tightly. They were in the basement level of the Quarters, and the room above had fallen through, sealing the door away from them. 

Once everything settled, and it was just dust floating through the air, Kodiak slowly leaned away from Elara. He pulled her to sit up, taking her face into his hands as he glanced over her fearfully. 

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" He asked frantically, running his fingers through her hair. 

"I-I'm fine," she mumbled, confused at what was happening - almost disorientated. 

Kodiak sighed in relief, pulling her to his chest and kissing her forehead. He didn't know what was going on, what had happened to the Quarters, or how they were going to get out of the room; the only thing that mattered right then was that Elara was safe.

The sirens came on at the point alerting Kodiak to an attack. Heaviness hit his heart -  a realization that his people needed protection, but he couldn't do anything to get to them. 

As he tried to hold Elara closer for comfort, he noticed how she pulled away and that there was a distant, withdrawn look in her eyes. 

The Sovereign looked over her once again, thinking that maybe she had lied before or just not had time to process if anything had happened to her. 

"Elara..?" Kodiak murmured. 

As if startled, the young girl jumped away, stepping away from the bed and backing up. Kodiak stood up too, worried, but it only made Elara more afraid. 

"What's wrong?" He asked softly. 

"The sirens..." She muttered, but it was as though she was talking to herself - trying to figure something out. 

Kodiak didn't say anything back. He stood with his hands raised a little - as if to show her that he wasn't a threat - desperately trying to understand her. 

"This isn't...real," she mumbled.

Then it hit him: Elara thought she was in a vision. 

"Elara, come here," Kodiak said. 

She shook her head, not even looking up at him, trying not to acknowledge him. 

"Ell, I'm right here. This is real," he promised her, beginning to walk closer to her. Despite how him approaching made her freak out, he knew he couldn't stop. Even as she backed herself into the wall, yelling at him to go away, he continued. 

Kodiak grabbed hold of her, feeling her struggle and try to push away from him, but he refused to let go. 

"You're not in a vision. This is real. I'm right here, Ell," he whispered, repeating over and over until her fighting turned into clutching onto his shirt, holding tight. 

"It's not a vision?" She whimpered, speaking against his chest. 

"No," he assured her. "Something's happened out there, but you're fine. We're okay. Just breathe." 

After a moment, Elara leaned away sightly, taking in the sight of the room now that she knew it wasn't all in her head. Mountains of rock climbed the floor and up through the ceiling and it wasn't impossible not to notice that if covered their way to the door.

"How are we gonna get out?" She asked. 

"I don't know," Kodiak sighed, letting go of her.

"All my family is out there-" 

"I know, Riv and Dreea, too. I-I think there's been an attack. We just have to wait until things clear up there and then they'll find us." 

An attack... Elara didn't even have to ask him who it would be. But if there was one thing she could hold onto, it was that she was trapped in Kodiak's room - somewhere Targo wouldn't be able to get her. 

She walked back over to the bed, wiping away the dust for room for her and Kodiak to sit down and wait - praying that no one they loved was hurt. 

//// 

Sol and Dreea had run out at the noise. As soon as they were outside and could see what was going on, they started ordering their people inside of the Quarters as it was the only building in Basilisk; everything else, even the main medical facilities, were built up of tents and makeshift teepees. Despite it having been hit by some sort of explosion, it was still safer than everyone being out in the open, exposed to all the shots tearing through camp. 

Amid everyone running through, Sol called out to Dreea, trying to piece together everything that was happening. 

"Was it just the one explosion?" 

"That's all I heard. The back wall is down. We have to hope there won't be another because all of our people in there!" 

Sol shut her eyes momentarily, realising Dreea was right. If there was to be another grenade set off in the building, a lot of them would be wiped out... But she couldn't think about that. She had to be strong for her people. 

"Where's Kodiak?" Sol asked suddenly, a terror in her voice as she looked around. She was paying attention to everyone who ran inside, scanning along every fence in case he was with the guards shooting at whoever was attacking. 

"He's inside with Elara. I'm sure he's fine - probably organising everyone inside." 

There was relief, and again at the mention of Elara being safe. 

"What about..." she was nervous to say it. "What about Wynn? Was he with her? Any of them?" 

"I-I don't know. Ares was inside, but I don't know about anyone else." She replied. Then, her voice quite tender, she called out her friend's name. It felt too soft to belong in that moment or to come from Dreea. 

"River?" She said remorsefully. "It's Targo..." 

Sol looked over. There were less and less people left outside and neither of them had to shout anymore over the crowds. 

"I know," she uttered, feeling all of her courage melt away. 

Returning back into the chaos they were in, Sol instinctively reached out to grab onto someone that passed by. 

Almost too caught up in what was going on, Atlantis barely recognised that it was Sol who had stopped her. 

Sol didn't know what she was trying to say at first, and she could see that Atlantis was getting anxious just waiting there. 

"I'm glad you're safe," Sol told her, a sincere look of cherishing on her face. "Hurry inside." 

Atlantis nodded back, wanting to savour the softheartedness Sol had shown her, but knowing that she needed to listen and follow her mother to safety. 

In that time, everyone else had made their way inside, and as far as the Sovereigns could see, it was just their guards who remained outside, shooting past the fences. 

"Come on, we should head in as well," Dreea advised, turning to head into the Quarters, but Sol remained where she was, narrowing her eyes as she scanned around the campsite.

"Riv?" Dreea asked. "Come on!" 

"I didn't see them go in." She stated simply. 

"What are you talking about? Who?" 

Sol looked over, trying to get the names out, but she didn't want it to be a declaration - as if it would mean the fears raging deep in her heart would become true if she said it. 

"I saw his family go in. Most of them, but not him. Not Wynn." She confessed, hoping that Dreea would register just how terrified she was. 

"Did you see Jonas anywhere? I never saw him." 

"I-" Dreea stuttered, trying to recall seeing the young boy enter the Quarters. She knew she had seen Azha run in with Harlow and Quill, but now that she thought about it, she couldn't remember seeing Bas, Wynn, or Jonas, and a few others as well. 

"He's small. He probably ran in and we didn't see him over everyone else," she tried to ease her worry, but she knew it didn't mean anything. "Wynn probably went straight in to find his sister. We should head in until this is over. Start looking inside." 

Sol stared back at her friend, her eyes glistened over with tears, a look that screamed 'I want to believe you,' but heavy with a heart that said otherwise. 

"You go inside. I have to find them!" Sol screamed, running in the direction of the explosion before Dreea could stop her.

Six // Part Two
You go inside. I have to find them.