Episode Five, Part 6:
Knocking on Heaven's Door

For the second night in a row, Sol began to set up camp, her frustration beginning to grow at their lack of findings. Still, it was nothing compared to how Wynn was feeling: the hope of a reunion seeming further away every day.

As Sol was beginning to ensemble the tents, Wynn surprised her by walking over, picking up parts of the frame in an attempt to understand how to put it together, and tried to assist. Sol looked up at him, shooting him a confused glance at his involvement.

"Just in case you die," Wynn smirked, echoing her words from last night.

Sol laughed before calming herself to instruct him, which wasn't going very well.

"Am I doing this right?" He asked.

"No," Sol answered. "And to be honest, I've never seen anyone do it so bad before."

"That was uncalled for," Wynn teased, surprised at how well they were both getting on, especially considering they had constantly been in each other's company for the past two days.

"Stop, stop!" Sol interrupted him, needing to take over before Wynn dug himself too deep. As she reached down to grab the poles and tarp from his grip, a sound coming from behind them made them both stop immediately.

Sol shot around, her gun being pulled from her waistband and aimed within seconds. As she glanced around in every direction, slowly bending down to reach her bag and fumbling around for something, she pulled out a second gun and handed it to Wynn.

"Stay behind me," she ordered him. "And don't shoot. I only gave it to you in case we get separated."

Wynn gulped. Suddenly, all of his training seeming to vanish from his memory as he stared down at the weapon in his hands. What if he had to use it? What if something happened to Sol? Or to him? There was no way they'd survive a trip back to Basilisk if one of them was injured, especially if that person was Sol. He couldn't survive without her.

"What's happening?" He whispered, staying close to her.

"Shhh!" She whispered back. "Someone's out there."

Wynn rolled his eyes. "Even I know that. I mean who are they?"

"Damn it, Wynn, does it look like I know that?" 

He ignored her, realizing that she was right and he was being stupid, but it was the fear talking. He was helpless, vulnerable, and his life depended on Sol.

The noise sounded again, this time followed by the silhouette of someone running past. He doubted it at first - a flash of blonde hair catching his eye - but as Sol was looking around and trying to locate the person, Wynn had already found them. They were standing still, hiding between the trees and staring right back at him. Seconds felt like hours, and it was more than enough for him to be sure.

Wynn stepped forward, scaring Sol from his movement. At the same time, the unknown shadow did as well, Sol's weapon ready to shoot as she yelled for Wynn to get back.

Appearing from the trees, Lyra stepped forward, running over to her best friend. She wrapped her arms tightly around Wynn and without hesitation, his embraced her right back.

Sol dropped her aim and watched on in confusion as she waited for the adrenaline to leave her body. Her hitched breath caught in her throat as the girl pulled away from Wynn, closing her lips onto his. She looked away.

When Wynn and Lyra broke apart again, Wynn looked forward in disbelief, gazing over every detail of her face. It was overwhelming how much it felt like he had forgotten: the three freckles on the bridge of her nose, the slight curve on the right side, the contrast of blue in each of her eyes.

"I found you," Lyra murmured, her voice weary with emotion. "Man, I found you. Everyone is going to be so relieved. Is everyone else with you? All eleven of them?"

A sinking feeling. Wynn's hands dropping from their place on her. "...Eleven?"

He looked over to Sol, to share his fear, but she offered nothing to the conversation, unsure where to start with the girl she was ready to kill less than two minutes ago.

Wynn just shook his head as he turned to face Lyra again, but he couldn't bring himself to meet her eyes."There's only five of us..." 

Lyra's eyes watered up. "No..." She said. "No, that doesn't make any sense. We only have six."

Wynn nodded, already knowing. "Bas, Quill, Azha, MaReya, and me." 

He could see her eyes light up for a moment at the mention of her brother's name, but he knew she was waiting for her sister's -Hayzel - as well, unaware her body rested outside of their Bunker along with four other members of their family.

"No. They have to be with you!"

"Sol took me back to the Bunker," he began, nodding over in Sol's direction. "I went to look for you guys. There were..." He didn't know how to tell her about what he had seen outside of the Bunker. "Not everyone survived. Junius, Valarie..." He said, then, "and Emlyn and Hayzel. I'm so sorry, Lyra."

Oceans poured out from her; sobs echoing as the night consumed what little light they had left. After a few moments swept over - barely allowing herself time to process the loss of her mother and younger sister, Lyra inhaled a sharp breath and somehow brought her crying to a stop. She wiped at her cheeks - her eyes looked miserable - but apart from her now-swollen lips, all evidence of her sorrow became disguised.

Lyra closed her eyes, whispering foreign words to herself that Wynn couldn't quite hear. "So from my mother and from my sister, I part."

"What? ...Lyra, what are you saying?" Wynn looked back and forth between her and Sol, trying to comprehend where her bizarre words had initiated from. 

"She from Blood Riders..." Sol informed Wynn, confirming her previous assumptions of the Clan Lyra and the rest of his family were taken by. "They forget their dead."

Wynn looked back to Lyra, not wanting to believe such an inhuman thing, despite not completely understanding what Sol had meant.

Lyra stared back coldly - speaking to Sol without looking her way. "The dead are not a part of this life. Remembering those we have lost only allows potential for weakness to take place."

"Lyra, that's our family..." Wynn interrupted. "What, do you think I don't have a brother anymore-"

Lyra snapped out of her emotionless state, scrunching her face up in response to him. "Quill didn't make it?" 

"No, he's fine... But Ares-" 

"He's with the others," Lyra said, noticing that Wynn's face was trembling in both hope and confusion. "He's been with me at Blood Riders. They bought him in a few days ago-" 

"He's okay? Ares is okay? He's alive?" 

Lyra nodded, smiling on his behalf. 

"B-but he was shot... Someone shot him and t-they took him away-" 

"It was a stim-bullet. The pain is real, but it does very little internal damage. He's fine. Your Mom, Elara, and Ares are all fine. They're waiting for you, along with Harlow and Fabian." 

Wynn felt his knees grow weak at the mention of his mother and sister being alive, and he almost collapsed to the ground in relief, until he realized that someone was still unnacounted for. "What about my Dad?" 

"...I thought he was with you?"

Wynn shook his head, the world stopping again. His Dad wasn't at Basilisk, and he wasn't with Riders, and he definitely wasn't outside the Bunker... So where was he? 

Five // Part Six
I found you.

18/08/22.