Episode Two, Part 5: 
Debts

There was more movement approaching them. Before Wynn or Ares could figure out where to run, the same noise echoed from behind them - the snapping of dried autumn leaves beneath someone's feet.

"Crap, this is bad. This is so bad," Ares muttered, crouching lower to the ground and pulling Wynn down with him. They leaned up against the large tree stump by their backs, hoping that staying low and still would be enough to keep them out of danger.

After what felt like forever, Ares turned to his brother, heavyhearted with what he knew he had to say. "You need to run back to the tunnel. I'll run in the opposite direction first - that should get their attention away from you."

"What?" Wynn frowned. A second passed and then he realized what his brother was saying. "No, Ares, I'm not doing that. I'm not leaving you without you."

"I don't think we have a choice! We have no clue how many people or whatever crazy thing that's trying to kill us, are out there. They know where we are, hence the what-I-assume-is-a-bullet they just tried to hit us with."

"You think that was a bullet?" Wynn gulped, knowing Ares was referencing the noise that had first alerted their attention. 

"You run back to camp," Ares insisted, purposefully avoiding Wynn's question. 

"I was the one who led us out here, I should be the one to stay." 

"I didn't stop you," Ares said, trying to take the blame off of Wynn. "I should have... Mom and Dad aren't here, so that means..." His voice grew a little unsteady - the newfound weight of the world making a home on his shoulders. "That means I'm in charge. And I won't let anything happen to you." 

"I'm not losing you!" Wynn argued.

It was a dead heat - neither wanting to be selfish and return to Basilisk without the other; neither wanting to save themselves if they knew it would put the other at risk. But more shots continued to fire around them, causing Wynn to tuck his head in his hands and involuntarily flinch at the noise, proving to Ares how terrified he truly was. 

"I can make it back," Ares said, finding some relief in the fact that Wynn was too afrad to realize he was lying through his teeth. "I'll hide. Please go back to Basilisk. Please." 

Wynn inhaled a deep breath, contemplating everything that was running through his head, but he knew that he had no choice. Not if they wanted to make sure one of them made it back to Quill. So he nodded - bravely - trying to summon up the courage to leave Ares. 

"I'll see you back at Basilisk," he said. "I'll be safe." 

Wynn nodded once - because that was all he could manage to do, before pushing himself to his feet and making a decision. He started running in the opposite direction of Basilisk and Ares knew immediately that it wasn't an accident or a case of Wynn simply forgetting which way they had come from; the lights from camp were still visible - peeking through the trees they were lost in... The truth was obvious: Wynn was attempting to sacrifice himself so that his brother could get to safety. 

"What an idiot!" Ares muttered under his breath, his nails dragging across the muddy earth at his side before he pushed himself up. "Wynn!" He called out, hearing his brother running away from him. "Wynn!" 

Of all the things Ares knew about the world outside of the Bunker, which wasn't much, he knew a world without one of his sibilings wasn't a world he wanted to live in. Especially with the likelihood of their parents and sister already being dead, Ares was more determined than ever to keep Wynn out of trouble. What would he say to Quill if he returned to Basilisk with not only having failed at finding the rest of their family, but bringing news of Wynn's death as well? He couldn't live with that. He couldn't survive it. 

Before he knew what he was doing, Ares found himself sprinting in the direction Wynn had disappeared to, acting out of nothing but the insticts in his heart. He continued calling out his brother's name meanwhile, becoming increasingly aware of the additional feet he could hear running nearby, and he flinched at every other sound. 

But up ahead, if Ares squinted, he could make out the sight of Wynn running up ahead and, more alarmingly, someone chasing after him. 

"Wynn! Look out!" 

Just managing to hear him, Wynn glanced over his shoulder as he ran, doing a double-take when he saw who he believed to be Sol running after him. 

Was she the one who had been out there the entire time? Was she trying to kill them? For trying to find their family? 

Not wanting to face the answer, Wynn pushed through the ache in his legs to outrun her, even though he knew it was a losing game. 

"Hey! Stop!" She yelled, barely sounding out of breath. "I said stop!" 

He glanced over his shoulder again, eyes widening at the gun he could see her securing in her hands. Instnctively, Wynn shielded his head and tried to shield himself right as Sol aimed her weapon forwards and began firing. 

The sound of each bullet felt as though it was tearing right through his body even though none of her bullets seemed to hit him. Was she just terrible at shooting? He wondered. Could she not hit a moving target? Wynn didn't know her well, but he knew there had to be a better explanation as to why she hadn't killed him yet. 

With no one to tell him it was a bad idea, Wynn slowed down and eventually came to a stop, awllowing Sol to catch up to him. He held his hands up weakly, unable to explain to feeling of betrayl beginning to creep in at the though of her slaughtering him without hesitation. Except she didn't. Sol grabbed onto the collar of his sweater so he couldn't get away, and kept her other hand on her gun as she shot forwards, suddenly alerting Wynn to their mutal enemy opposing them; the real stranger in the forest who had been trying to hurt him. 

Once Sol realised that Wynn wasn't going anywhere, she pulled him behind her so he didn't get shot, and continued taking aim at their attackers. 

"Wynn!" 

Both Sol and Wynn glanced behind them to see Ares running in their direction - not having figured out what was happening, or that Wynn was actually being protected by Sol. For all he knew, Wynn was in danger, and his desire to protect him meant that he was putting his own life at risk. 

"Don't do anything stupid," Sol mumbled, seeming to pick up on Wynn's silent inclinations to head to his brother. "Stay behind me or you'll be killed." 

Wynn gulped, not entirely sure if that was a threat on her behalf, or just a consequence of not trusting her warnings. 

"How many are out there?" 

"I don't know. Shut up." 

"But my brother-" 

"I said shut up!" Sol snapped, taking her finger off of the trigger so she didn't make a mistake, but an agonized wail in the distance caught her attention and it only took a matter of seconds to figure out what had happened. 

Unprepared for her efforts to be completely in vain, Sol tucked her gun away and grabbed onto Wynn, shoving him behind the nearby trees before he could make a run for it. 

"W-what was that sound?" Wynn stuttered, somewhat winded from the force that Sol had pushed him down to the ground with. 

But she didn't answer. Sol avoided his eyes and tried to stay alert to her surroundings, meanwhile, keeping Wynn on a tight reign. 

"Hey..." His voice was soft. "What was that? Was that Ares? I-is he okay?" 

Sol bit on her lip as the older boy could be heard in the distance, moaning out something distorted and horrified. There was no lie she could come up with that could disguise the turth, or  make it sting any less for Wynn when reality finally caught up to him. 

As his eyes widened in fear, and the desperation glimmered amongst his tears - something posessing him to get up and reach his brother - Sol knew she had no choice but to restrain him. As Wynn tried to sit up, Sol pushed on his shoulders and forced him back down, expecting him to keep resisiting, but not expecting the sudden strength he had against her efforts. 

"Wynn, if you want to make it out of this alive, stay quiet, and stay down!" She whispered. 

"I need to make sure Ares is okay..." Wynn mumbled, his voice disorientated and confused. 

"I know. But you have to wait. Just be quiet." 

"I have to get to Ares. I have to-" 

Afraid at not being able to stop him, Sol did the only thing she could think of and moved to straddle Wynn's waist - kneeling over him and keeping her weight on him so that he couldn't get up. It was just in time, too, as more wretched sounds could be heard coming from Ares' direction. 

"Get off of me... I have to help my brother-" 

"Shh-" 

"I said get off!" Wynn raised his voice, suddenly more aware; more terrified. "He's hurt! Let me get to him!" 

"It's too late. I'm sorry, Wynn," Sol apologised, her voice genuine and heavy in empathy, but it was useless to him. "There's nothing we can do." 

"That's my brother!" Wynn exploded, using his arms to try and push Sol off, but she grabbed at his wrists and pinned them down to the ground further restraining him. He continued to fight, but the horror at what was happening was quickly draining him of all of his strength, and Wynn knew deep down that he had no chance at escaping her hold. 

"That's my brother!" He continued, as if a plea for anyone who would listen to realise who the universe was trying to take away from him. "That's my brother! My brother! My... My brother..." 

For a few moments, there was nothing either of them could hear except Wynn's muffled crying and the vibration of his body as it trembled against the earth. Ares had stopped groaning. Wynn knew that meant nothing good and the defeat on Sol's face only confirmed it. 

Then, unrecognisable to Wynn, a slow slither along the forest floor could be heard, and heay thuds every few seconds as whoever had attacked Ares was now dragging his body away and out of sight. 

Sol knew to wait. She bid her time, and a little extra too - just to be sure that whoever was out there had well and truly gone - and shifted her gaze down to Wynn. 

He looked paralyzed; a fresh type of fear that she was used to seeing on the young children in camp whenever there was a violent commotion nearby, or perhaps even something as scary to a child like a thunderstorm, but never that kind of innocent, undeserved fear on someone Wynn's age. Never. 

She let go of his wrists and lifted some of her body weight from him, hoping it would encourage him to take a deep breath, but he seemed unphased. She almost wondered if he had stopped breathing entirely until he choked on a held-back sob and looked up at her with defeated, ocean eyes. 

"He's my brother," he whispered, seeming to know no other words. Nothing else would suffice. "My brother... My brother..." 

"Wynn, I..." She looked down at him, stuttering - captivated by the brokenness he heaved out. There was an innocence she had never seen before; an echo of humanity that hadn't touched the ground in years, gone as he looked up at her as if to tell her... It was like a part of him had just died beneath her. A sight Sol would surely never forget. 

Two // Part Five
My brother.

13/08/22.