Cameron Dawson was in the in-between, as he liked to call it. His position in his city's political affairs was on a pedestal, but when it came to the truth, he wasn't quite sure he mattered. He was Harper and Phoenix's cousin. He was connected to the two of them by blood, a bond that he could never break. When the plague hit his cousins' town in California, they moved in with him and his family. He was there when the disease took his uncle, and they supported him through the news of his deadbeat dad's death. Only their mothers were left alive, but they instructed the trio to run to the woods. They promised that it would be safer, that they'd avoid the sickness altogether. As far as Cameron was aware, that was the last any of them had heard from the sisters who gave them life.

At least, that was what he thought. One afternoon, he went off of his typical trail, and decided to visit the corridor where the Team of Six first met. It was all for the nostalgic value, of course. It made him a little bit sad to walk down that cold white hallway. It was now just an empty corner on the middle floor of an apartment building in Fidelus. He and Phoenix had shared the room on the left, across the hall resided Jacob and Donovan, and between them lived Harper and Kamai. They were put together so perfectly back then; they thought their friendship was fate.

He overheard a small voice in that hallway, however, and decided to approach it. As he got closer, he recognized the distinguishing tang in the girl's tone, and based off the door from which it came, he knew exactly who was speaking. It was Harper, sitting on the floor of her old dormitory. There was a second voice there too, one that Cameron couldn't instantly place. He could tell it was a woman, a real grown up woman. This puzzled him, as the oldest person in the City of the Forgotten was only 22 years old. He put his ear to the door, trying to make sense of this conversation, and he realized they were speaking over a video call. Cameron didn't fully understand how this city managed to maintain their technology. The devices all worked when they arrived, and somehow they hadn't stopped.

"I'm not sure what else you want us to do," he heard Harper say, "We told them that we'd kill my best friend. Was that not enough?"

The woman on the other line sighed, "Did they react? Has this left any mark on your people?"

"I don't know," Harper said, "I don't want to hurt Kamai."

"Harper, darling, listen to me. You must keep your people inside the boundaries, or else we cannot track them. This is the world's greatest social experiment, remember? We need to work together to learn, sweet child. You and I could discover something amazing about the human race, wouldn't that be great?"

"I'm not the one discovering," Harper murmured, "That's all you. I'm just condemning my people to this fate at your hands."

The woman responded, "Yes, but in return we finance your city. We pay for your water, your supplies, your technology. If you refuse to help us, then you lose everything. Is that so hard to understand? You are saving your people, Harper."

"I get it, mom," Harper said softly. At that, Cameron took a step back, shock and confusion manifesting inside of him. Harper was speaking to her mother, his Aunt Jeanette. The details of their conversation confused him, and while he longed for clarification there, what he mainly wanted to know were the details of his aunt's survival. The next immediate question was there as well: what had become of his own mother?

However, he did not get the answers he desired. Within the next minute, Harper and his aunt hung up on their conversation, and he realized that if he stayed in his current position, he'd soon be discovered. So he ran. Although unsure of what his next objective should be, his feet seemed to have an idea. He found himself in front of the office he shared with his cousins.

When Cameron barged into the room, Phoenix's head shot up. The moment he entered, the room seemed to get significantly cooler. He was clearly confused, and a look of betrayal resided in his eyes.

"Your mom's alive," Cameron said, breathing heavily, "Did you know that?"

Phoenix's face dropped, realizing exactly what his cousin had somehow discovered. He'd kept this secret from him for over a year now—Harper insisted it was best if the information stayed within the family. He'd pointed out that Cameron was family, but apparently everyone outside the nuclear bloodline was off limits. Phoenix had to admit, he was surprised that his sister had trusted even him with this valuable news.

"How long have you known?" Cameron asked, understanding that this was nothing new for his cousin. To be completely honest, he didn't want to know the answer. He didn't want to acknowledge the secrets being kept from him. He was in some strange predicament now: Harper and Phoenix were the only two people he had left, but did they even count? If it turned out that they were hiding from him the survival of their other relatives, did he really have anyone at all?

"That doesn't matter," Phoenix muttered, "I'm sorry. We should have told you."

"You think?" Cameron snapped. His face was serious now, as he was about to ask the question he feared most. "And my mom?"

Phoenix sighed, "I have no idea. Harper and our mother have the most communication, I haven't been allowed to talk to her once since the coup. I barely know anything. I'm sorry, Cam, really."

Cameron took a deep breath and sat down in the ratty black swivel chair at the desk that was technically his. Phoenix's answer was better than it could have been. He could have told him she was dead. But his vagueness, his apparent oblivity, striked Cameron as odd. He couldn't imagine what system was in place that would somehow allow for a daughter to speak to her mother, yet ban the son.

"Can I ask how you found out?" Phoenix asked after an uncomfortable minute of silence. He hated this tension between him and his cousin. Like Cameron, ever since the coup he'd been separated from the boys he was once friends with. Harper made it exceedingly clear that Coby and Donny couldn't be trusted anymore. Coby had even changed his name, obviously trying to dissociate himself from any remaining ties to the Team of Six. Cameron was truly his only friend over the past year, so this uneasiness in their atmosphere felt foreign and wrong.

"I overheard Harper," Cameron began, "They were on a video call, talking about Kamai. It sounded like your mom had something to do with it. Almost like she was behind it or something." As he spoke, he began to realize for the first time the severity of what he'd heard. His dear Aunt Jeanette was involved in Kamai's death sentence. She had referred to the city as the world's greatest social experiment.

"That's cause she was behind it," Phoenix sighed, "She's been behind this whole damn city. Harper didn't want to tell you."

The other boy shook his head, running his hand through his hair. It was an old habit, one that always came out when he was under stress, "Why didn't you tell me, Phoenix?"

His cousin looked down, "I don't know." He hated keeping these secrets from his cousin, and he realized now that Cameron deserved to know the truth. If they were both supposed to stand behind Harper, they both had to know everything. "But there's more I should have told you. Kamai is in that forest, and my mom wants our city to take it over. It'll be all the remaining teen survivors under one government. They'll study us, watch how we interact, examine our different cultures. I don't even know if we have different cultures yet, it's only been two years, but they've been living in some the wild for awhile now."

"Who is your mom to declare this?" Cameron scoffed, gaping at this new information, "She was a pediatrician, not a sociologist." His Aunt Jeanette had always been a little bit extreme, so this didn't seem unrealistic. Harper had to inherit her ambition from someone.

"I don't really get it. All I know is they're going to pit us all against each other. As far as I'm aware, the three of us are the only ones legitimately safe," Phoenix frowned. "I don't support it, but I don't have a say. And you can't tell anyone about this or else you're risking your own safety."

Cameron shook his head, "So what becomes of everyone else? They're your mother's lab rats? I won't let her put my friends in danger with any of those Rogue people." As having been a member of the core trio, he did know some vague information about the Grove Forest. He knew that they were mainly composed of small, decentralized groups that always seemed to be fighting or killing one another. The idea of the City of the Forgotten trying to overcome these people seemed ridiculous. The people in that forest would only ever want freedom, and Harper would only ever crack down on those who were different than her citizens. It would lead to blood, violence, and death. They'd already escaped the plague—now was not the time to throw their lives away.

Phoenix sighed, clearly understanding that gears were turning in his cousin's mind, "What are you going to do?"

"Get Kamai out of that forest," he declared, leaving the room. Phoenix did not try to stop him. If he was being honest, that idea seemed like the best option. He worried, however, that Cameron could face the same fate as their friend. But Harper wouldn't kill her own blood, right? They were family. Did that count for nothing?

-----

When Cameron knocked on the door in Paricida, he was met by an angry looking girl in a red sports bra and black leggings. Her dark hair was tied up in a high ponytail, and she stood in just the position where he couldn't see into the room. Cameron had spent very little time in this part of the city, and was surprised to see how dirty it was compared to everything else. At the same time, it seemed more lively than his streets in Fidelus. There, they were forced to grow up. In Paricida, it seemed that the kids were still wild and reckless.

"Are you Rachel?" Cameron asked the girl, as that was the name listed for this address. He'd seen enough records to know where his old friends had been spending their time lately.

"No, but I live here," she shook her head, "Can I help you, your highness?" She clearly recognized him from all the newscasts, but she seemed more hostile than admirative.

"Are Coby and Donny here?" he asked, immediately regretting saying the former boy's old nickname, "Jacob, I mean. Jacob and Donovan."

"Not sure they'll want to see you, but I'll ask," the girl said. At that, Cameron heard some footsteps approaching her behind the door.

"It's fine, Natalia," one of the boys said. The girl, Natalia, stepped away, and was quickly replaced by the two boys.

"For what do we owe this pleasure?" Jacob smirked, pronouncing each word in a proper and sarcastic manner. It was obvious that both boys felt some resentment towards the one who once completed their trio. Not to mention he had just appeared in a newscast that revealed a death sentence for one of their closest friends. Cameron and his cousins were by no means on the best terms with the other two boys.

"I need to talk to you guys," Cameron said, cutting straight to the point. "It's about Kamai, she's in trouble."

"Shocker," Donny muttered, "It's not like you broadcasted that she'd be killed if she ever came back here."

"There's a bigger threat now," he said, "And you two can help me save her." All three boys looked to each other, and the stoic eye contact that had once served for all communication was back. Jacob and Donovan were far from trusting Cameron once again, but they knew that he was loyal to Kamai. If she was truly in danger, the boys in Paricida realized that the privileged cousin would risk everything to help her. It was simple: the Riot Boys, as they'd once referred to themselves, were back in business.