Episode Three, Part 5:
Never Let Me Go

I'm there in the water, still looking for you. 
I'm there in the water, can't you see? Can't you see? 

Kodiak had managed to grab hold of Elara, and after she struggled to get away from him again, he couldn't help but let his own fear spill out of him, pleading with her to stop running, desperately begging her to realise that he couldn't live without her. 

He wasn't sure if it was because he had scared her by how intense he was, or if it was because she was coming to terms with the fact that now she would have to live without her brother, but Elara gave in, surrendering to Kodiak as she fell into him, no longer trying to escape. 

As he led her back over to Fenn and Quill, Kodiak pulled out his radio, stepping away from the siblings for a moment as he called Basilisk. 

"Kodiak!?" Dreea exclaimed. "What's going on? I don't know anything. I've heard a few calls from Ares' radio, but nothing else. He said he needed help. Did you manage to send the flood?" It was a lot more questions than she would usually ask, but she knew how much was depending on the plan that she couldn't leave anything unexplained. 

"Dreea, I need you to meet us at the dams. Bring both of the jeeps and a team out: shooters and searchers..." His voice was quiet, heavy, exhausted - void of anything except defeat. 

"...What's happened?" Dreea asked after a moment, knowing that something had gone seriously wrong. "You and River are already out of camp. You know the rule: one of the Sovereigns has to stay at camp unless it's-" 

"Unless it's an emergency, yeah," Kodiak finished for her. They both knew the other was aware of the rule, but Dreea just hoped that she was wrong for once. She hoped that Kodiak had forgotten and would tell her that whatever had happened wasn't serious enough for her to have to leave, too. 

"The flood did happen, and Fenn said it's wiped out about half of them, just not Rhea or Kane," Kodiak informed her. 

Dreea sighed into the radio. "What aren't you telling me?" 

Kodiak looked back over at Quill, Elara and Fenn, making sure he was far enough for them not to hear his reminder. The Sovereign sniffled, drawing in a deep breath as he confessed the tragedy to his friend. 

"Ares was killed." 

There was silence between them both for a moment, Dreea now knowing what to say. She knew it might have been a little insensitive to ask, but for the sake of doing her job properly, she had to understand what had occurred. 

"How?" Her voice was wavering, not like the Dreea she normally was. Truthfully, the news broke her heart. 

"He was in the dam when the water came. He-" Kodiak couldn't say anything else, and he didn't need to. Dreea could piece together what happened. 

"Okay. We're leaving now. We'll be there soon, Kodi." 

The boy exhaled, placing his radio in his pocket and returning to the others, holding them close until help arrived. 

///// 

The cars pulled up beside the dam, a team of shooters immediately crossing the river to focus on securing the surrounding areas, and a separate team of searchers heading down the slope to help Wynn and Sol recover Ares' body. 

As Dreea moved over to the siblings and began to help Quill into the back of the vehicle, Elara seemed to realise what was happening and hurried to her feet. At first, Kodiak thought she was ready to follow Quill into the jeep and get as far away as she could from the terrible place they were, but it became apparent very quickly that Elara wasn't wanting to leave. 

"Hey, Ell, it's okay," Kodiak consoled her, stepping closer to her every time she took a step back. 

The young girl shook her head profusely. "I'm not leaving! Not until we find him." She declared. 

"River and I will find him," Dreea stepped in, empathetic at how afraid the young girl was. "I promise we won't come back until we do." 

"No," Elara argued. "No, I need to be here. I'm his sister! I won't leave without him!" 

Kodiak looked over at his shoulder at Aeryn who was hovering by the back of the jeep, watching on at the situation unfolding. He gave her a nod, telling her to move forward with the plan the two of them had discussed, Kodiak knowing that Elara was more than likely to put up a fight. 

Aware of the plan as well, Dreea snapped forward and grabbed onto Elara, too fast for the young girl to stand a chance at getting away. 

"Get off of me!" Elara struggled, angered at the Sovereigns for trying to take her away. 

Aeryn came over holding a cloth in one hand and a container of liquid in the other. She dosed the material in it, handing it over to Kodiak with a warning to be careful. He nodded regretfully, slowly approaching Elara who was still trying to fight against Dreea's hold. When she noticed what he had in his hand, she became terrified, not knowing what it was and why he was bringing it closer to her. 

"Stop! What is that? What are you doing?" Elara cried out, using her feet to try and keep Kodiak away. 

He changed angles, coming at her from the side. He stopped when he was right in front of her, knowing that she had the right to know what was happening to her, even if they wouldn't change their minds about going through with it. 

"It's a knockout serum," Kodiak murmured, one of his hands reaching up and caressing the back of her head. "It'll send you to sleep for a little bit." 

"No. No, Kodiak, please don't, please. I-I'll stop trying to get away, I promise, I-" Elara begged, unable to control the tears as Kodiak moved in on her, a similar reflection of sorrow glistening in his own eyes. 

"I'm sorry," he whispered to her. "I have to be sure you won't get away. I have to make sure you're safe, Ell." 

She shook her head again, her gaze softening as he stepped forward, a final attempt for him to change his mind. 

Kodiak tore his gaze away, pulling Elara into him as his other hand brought the cloth to her face, slowly sending her unconscious as she breathed the chemicals in. He dropped the material - one hand steady on her back, the other sweeping under her legs as he lifted her sleeping body into his arms. 

Quill looked up as Kodiak approached the back of the jeep - slowly coming out of shock. He was worried for a moment when he saw his sister, but as he noticed that no one seemed to be too alarmed that she was passed out, he figured they had everything under control. 

Aeryn helped Kodiak lay Elara down in the jeep, holding her gently until Kodiak climbed in, resting Elara's head on his lap. The Sovereign looked down tearfully as she slept, running his fingers through her red hair that he adored so greatly. Despite how resistant she has been to him knocking her out, Kodiak knew it was the right thing to do: he couldn't risk her trying to escape when Targo were so close by, and perhaps - more than anything, it meant that for a little while, she could escape the raw, soul-shaking grief of having just lost her brother. He held onto that thought, keeping it as close as Elara herself, trying to strengthen himself to help her through everything. 

"You're going to be okay," he whispered to her, knowing she couldn't hear him. "I'm right here. I'll always be right here." 

///// 

Once Sol had received a radio call from her shooters confirming that the survivors of the Targo and Riders Clan were nowhere nearby, she motioned for the group of searchers to continued the remaining walk down the slope and begin searching the water for Ares. 

After exiting the cars, they had followed Sol and Wynn down the same path, waiting with the both of them among the trees until then. 

Wynn was still sitting on the ground, Sol no longer on top of him. She at his side, close enough for him to lean his head against her, not a word exchange since the searchers had appeared. 

When they had all retreated to the bottom of the river, Sol carefully stood herself up, standing in front of Wynn. She held a hand out to him, waiting for him to accept her help and let her lift him up. Eventually, he took hold - lacing his fingers with hers, but even when he had gotten to his feet, he wasn't ready to let go. 

As she went to walk behind the others, Sol noticed he hadn't let go. Empathy flashed across her face as she turned around and looked up at him. He nervously flickered his sorrow-filled eyes to hers, fearing rejection for whatever reason, even though he should have known that Sol would never turn him away. 

Without a word, she squeezed onto his hand, pulling him behind her as they walked to the river. 

It was a hazy reality when they first reached the water. Wynn flinched when it rippled against his feet due to the amount of people moving around in it. Sol knew what he would be thinking: the water was cold, it made his steps heavy when he tried to walk, and where in the water was his brother?

By the time Dreea had made her way down to the bottom of the cliff, Wynnlow had let go of Sol's hand and was treading around the water miserably on his own, checking every lifeless face twice in case it was Ares. 

Dreea walked over to the other Sovereign, sharing a remorseful look with Sol, as if to say 'how could this happen?' 

"Dreea," the Nobel muttered out her friend's name, softly embracing her in a hug. 

She pulled away, understanding Sol's pain. "I know," she shared her burden. "Let's just get Wynn home, okay? It's probably best if he's not the one to find Ares' body." 

Sol glanced over at Wynn, watching as he waded through the water, all that was left of her heart now broken. She had to make a decision, a choice that she didn't want to, but she knew it was for the best. 

"You take him home for me," she exhaled, trying to convince herself to leave his side. "I'll find Ares and make sure we bring him home. I... I have to do this for him." 

Dreea nodded, understanding her request and waited for Sol to approach him. 

She held onto his arm softly, her fingers trailing down to his hand and taking hold. Wynn didn't even look up at her at first. It was like it was second nature now for them to be this close, and he didn't think anything out of the ordinary until she said his name, getting him to look up at her. 

His eyes were red and swollen, wondering what she had came over to talk about. He just wanted to get back to looking for his brother. 

"You should go home, Wynn." She suggested, wanting him to make the choice himself. She didn't want to have to do the same thing to him as Kodiak had to with Elara. 

Wynn shook his head, looking down at the water without saying another word. He pulled his hand free, focusing on the body floating by his feet, already knowing it wasn't him. 

"Wynn," Sol murmured his name delicately. She raised her hand up and placed it on his cheek, turning his head around to face her. 

His eyes flickered back to hers, hoping she could figure out what he was feeling. 

"I'll bring him home. I promise you," she whispered, caressing his skin softly. "But right now you need to be with Quill and Elara. That's what he would want." 

Wynn tried to think of something he could argue, but Sol was right. The only thing that could take even a fraction of his pain away was being with his family. 

"You have to go, Wynn. I'm sorry... This is an order." She hated speaking to him as a Sovereign. It didn't feel right to be anyone else than who she was with him, but if it was the only thing that would make him listen, then she would do it. 

She expected a little resistance from him, a plea to let him stay in the river, but he didn't. Wynn nodded, leaning ever so slightly into her hand that was still on his cheek, and fell back from her. He turned to Dreea who was waiting to take him up to the second jeep, the two of them returning home together. A home that felt incomplete. 

With Wynn gone, Sol didn't have to try so hard to put on a brave face. That was until she saw Fenn. 

He was standing in the water, tens of metres away from her, frozen still as he stared down. There was a sinking feeling in Sol's stomach and she hurried over to him, losing her breath when she was a couple of metres away.  

There were the ruins of a fallen tree at the edge of the river, in the water right in front of Fenn. As sol stepped over to him to get a closer look, she noticed a boy at his feet whose jacket had become caught on one of the branches. It was likely the only thing that had stopped him from being swept away further. 

The boy was Ares. His skin was pale and blue, covered in bruises, scratched open by the rocks and branches that drifted in the water. There was a part of him that was unrecognisable; he was so beat up that it could have been easy to pass by him without taking a second look, but Fenn knew it was him. He knew the boy he loved, even when he was floating by his feet, dead. 

"Hey," Sol whispered, pulling Fenn into a hug so he didn't have to look anymore. 

"I should have stayed with him. Maybe if I did, he would still be here." 

The Nobel shook her head. "This was an accident. A terrible accident. You can't think about what you could have done." 

Fenn pulled away, glancing down at Ares' body once again, but it was too much to stomach. He didn't want that to be the way he remembered him. He wanted to remember him with his forehead against his, or their lips attached, or finding hidden nooks together at Basilisk. He wanted to remember the boy he loved alive, not gone. 

"Come on," Sol said. "Let's take Ares home." 

Three // Part Five
I'll bring him home. I promise.

Too many emotions! What was your favourite part of this chapter? I really liked Kodiak's struggle with what he had to do to ensure Elara made it home safely, or where Sol took hold of Wynn in the water.

17/04/20