He'd expected things to go sideways, but he hadn't expected things to get so bad so quickly.

The first sign that something was off was when River turned the coms on. Dylan had been sitting on his bed working on his plans when he heard a quiet buzzing. At first, he couldn't figure out what it was. Then the sound got a bit louder and he realized it was coming from his com link.

He put it in, expecting to hear static. Instead he heard River screaming, and the sound of glass breaking. He almost called her over the com link to see what was going on, but it occurred to him that if he did, whoever was attacking River might realize something was going on.

Where's Wren? Why isn't she helping? His mind automatically jumped to the worst conclusion, and he ran for his car, slamming his bedroom door behind him as he left.

"Don't die, Wren. I'm coming."

***

Wren's house was an inferno when he got there. Sirens wailed, and when he pulled up to the driveway, he saw several fire trucks and ambulances already parked on the roadside.

He threw the car door open and hopped out, running for the building. One of the firefighters spotted him just as he was about to enter and grabbed his shirt collar. "Hang on there, son. You'll get yourself killed."

"There are people in there!" Dylan protested, pulling out of the firefighter's grip.

"Calm down..." A loud crash interrupted the man, and Dylan watched as the house collapsed in on itself.

"Wren!" he screamed.

Maybe she wasn't in there. Maybe Akram didn't want her dead immediately. Deep down, Dylan knew the protests were ridiculous, though. Of course Akram wanted her dead. What use would she be alive?

A lone figure emerged from the wreckage. Dylan's heart skipped a beat. Wren. Her hair fell in a tangled mess around her shoulders, and soot covered her fact, but he knew that gait. Knew the determination with which she held her head up.

He ran to her, and she collapsed into his arms, her body wracked with coughs. "You're alive!" he said.

She smiled wanly. "I... rescued myself... this time," she said. Then her eyes drifted closed, and she went limp in his arms.

He stared at her for a moment. Her clothes were ripped and blackened, and burns covered her hands and arms. Handcuffs kept her wrists together, and he could see where the heat from the metal had burned circular shapes into her arms. Then he realized she wasn't moving.

"Wren?" He checked her pulse, and relaxed. Her heart was beating. She must have gone unconscious.

Someone picked her up out of his arms, whisking her away to an ambulance. He watched as they drove her away. It was happening again. They were taking her away from him. He wouldn't be there for her when she woke up again. And her family...

He looked at the burning rubble that had once been Wren's home, then turned to the firefighter that had stopped him from going inside. "Her family. Did you get them out?" he demanded.

"Yes," the man replied. "But we didn't see her. I didn't realize anyone else was inside."

Dylan let out a sigh of relief and nodded. They're alive. He wondered who had called 911, though. It was nearly one in the morning- few people would have been awake to notice a fire. Yet someone had. He didn't want to imagine what might have happened if they hadn't.