Grace's eyes flickered open. She was lying on a floor in a house, but she couldn't remember how she got there. Rolling over, Grace saw a girl with pink ribbons in her hair staring at her with wide eyes.

"Hello." Grace's voice caught on itself, her throat dry.

The girl scampered away, out through a door and out of sight.

Grace pushed herself up, trying to get her bearings but not recognizing anything. Vague memories of the previous night came back to her. She remembered collapsing and Hunter calling her name. After that, she could only put together fuzzy pictures of Hunter helping her across the rest of the field and into the house. But after that, everything was blank. She must have fallen asleep immediately.

Grace heard footsteps approaching, and her insides immediately clenched up. She didn't like not knowing where she was or who she was with. She tried to push herself up and stand, but gave up when Hunter came into view. She let herself collapse back onto the floor and leaned back against the wall.

He knelt down next to her. Grace had a million questions. "You're okay?" was the one that came out.

Hunter gave a weak smile. "Yeah, we're okay," he said. "Thanks to you."

Grace shook her head. "Anna?"

"She's fine. I think the Cantamas appreciate having someone to keep Emily busy."

A few puzzle pieces clicked together in Grace's brain. "The little girl in here," she said. "That was Emily Cantama. I thought she looked familiar. But, how? They don't live anywhere near the border."

"They didn't live anywhere near the border," Hunter corrected. He sat down on the floor, crossing his legs in front of him. "When we got across the border, this house was the first place we came across. Their security team wasn't exactly the friendliest, but I guess the Cantamas want to know who crosses their land, so we got in to see them. I didn't know you had don't a job for them until I saw Emily."

"The ribbons?" Grace guessed.

Hunter nodded. "I didn't tell them our story from the beginning, just that we were running from militants. They didn't seem to believe me, but then Emily came in and I remembered your story about the pink ribbon. Hers looked so new, and it's not like many people have it. So I asked if someone named Grace got it for them. After I explained how I knew you, they let us stay here to wait for you and Danielle."

"What about everyone else?"

"The Cantamas said they got reports from a farm a few miles away of a large group congregating and then crossing their land. So it must have been them."

Grace nodded. It sounded like most everyone had made it. "And then right after I collapsed, what exactly happened?" She was desperate to fill in the gaps in her memory.

"I was keeping watch," Hunter said. "I saw you and Danielle coming across the field, just I couldn't tell if it was you two or not. It was too dark. But I went out anyway, saw you collapse, and started yelling. Mr. Cantama came out and helped me get you and Danielle back to the house. Your militia uniforms kind of freaked him out, but Ms. Cantama remembered you well enough to recognize you, so we got you up here so you could sleep."

Grace looked down. She wasn't wearing the uniform anymore. Instead, she had on a fresh pair of sweatpants and a black t-shirt.

"Ms. Cantama changed your clothes," Hunter supplied.

"Good." Grace hated even the short amount of time she had worn the militia clothing. She glanced out the window. The sun was going down. "How long was I asleep?"

"Over 12 hours," Hunter said. "Emily volunteered to keep an eye on you. She told Mr. Cantama, and I quote, 'It would be creepy if Hunter did it.'"

Grace snorted. "Good for her. I pity any future boyfriend of hers."

"But then she came and got me when you did wake up," Hunter said.

"Right." Grace reached over to her pack that lay next to her, rummaged around, and pulled out the now almost completely crushed bag of stale Oreos. She pushed herself up off the floor. "Well, I need some air," she said. "And I should probably go give my thanks to the Cantamas. Coming?"

Hunter immediately stood up and followed her out of the room.

Downstairs, Grace found Ms. Cantama sitting at a table in the kitchen. The older woman looked up as Grace came in, and a look of relief went across her face. "It's good to see you up."

"Ms. Cantama," Grace greeted her. "I don't even know what to say. Thank you, for everything."
"Of course. We want to help where we can."

"What are you even doing here?"

"Yes, I suppose this isn't exactly where you last saw us," Ms. Cantama acknowledged. "We had to move. My sister lives here, and she got sick, so we came to take care of her. She's in the bedroom at the top of the house, so I just ask that you don't go there."

"Of course. I'm sorry to hear that. Ms. Cantama, is there anywhere I can go to get a bit of air?"

"Anywhere on the property is safe for you to go," Ms. Cantama said kindly. "But if you want somewhere peaceful, I would suggest the back porch. It has a lovely sunset view."

"Thank you."

"Take your time."

Hunter showed her the back door, and the two sat out on the porch steps, watching the sun go down. Grace opened up her bag of cookie crumbs and she and Hunter split them, savoring the sweetness of the chocolate and crème.

"So, what happens now?" They had finished the bag and had been sitting in silence for a while when Grace asked the question.

"Well, Danielle wants to head to Sunrise. That's where everyone else was planning on going, so she figured that she could reconnect with them there. The Tanakas already agreed, it should be a good place to start fresh."

Grace nodded in agreement. "It should be, yeah." She waited a minute. "And you and Anna? You're going with them?"

"Anna wants to check in on some of the people she traveled with in the Ocean Train," Hunter said. "So, yes, we're going, too. I don't know if we'll stay, we'll just see how things go."
"Makes sense."

"You should come with us."

Grace closed her eyes at Hunter's words. She didn't know if she should be elated that he wanted her to come, or torn apart by the answer she was going to give him. "I can't."

"You don't have to stay forever."

Grace didn't want to look at him, but she turned toward him, anyway. His eyes were dark and soft, and the setting sun lit up one half of his face and hid the other in shadow. She remembered how when the first met, her first impression was that he was a good-looking guy. Now he looked beautiful.

"I know you miss Seaside, but what's the harm in coming with us first and then heading to Seaside from Sunrise?"

Grace looked away and at the sun. It was just barely shining over the horizon. "I miss them," she said. "And I've been gone for too long. They probably all think I'm dead. We both know what that's like, the uncertainty of not knowing someone's fate. And..."

"And what?"

"If I go to Sunrise, you're right, that's only delaying my return by a couple days," Grace agreed. She took a deep breath, her insides twisting and turning. "But either way, I'm going to say goodbye to you, soon," she said. She turned her head back toward him. "It's not going to be any easier there than here."

"What do you mean?" Hunter asked breathlessly.

Grace leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. Ever after everything, they were surprisingly soft, and Grace felt herself fill up with warmth as Hunter slid his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him. He was strong and alive and good, and Grace could have stayed in the moment forever. She pushed herself away.

Hunter stared at her, speechless.

"Your sister has friends at Sunrise," Grace told him. "Friends are important. Friends keep you alive. It makes sense for you to stay there."

"And what about us?"

"There's no us, Hunter." Grace's words were sad, but in her heart, she knew they were true. "Maybe in a different lifetime, but not the one we're living in."

"It sounds like you're breaking up with me, but we're not even together." Hunter's words joked, but his voice was strained.

Grace looked down at her forearm and lightly traced her tattoo with her fingers. "I never told you about this."

"I've barely even seen it," Hunter said. "You usually have your jacket."

"They're called mobius strips." She traced each of the three interlocking circles. "If you take a strip of paper, give one end a half-twist, and then put in into a loop, that's a mobius strip. It technically only has one side, but it goes on forever like a circle." Grace closed her eyes, but could still trace the tattoo. "My brothers and I each got one," she told him, "right after I turned 18. Three interlocking, infinite strips."

She knew Hunter was watching her closely, but he didn't say anything. "I can barely even think about them," Grace said. She knew she was getting close to crying. "Not for very long, anyway. I can't say their names, I can barely remember their faces. All of my pictures were destroyed. We were so close, and now..." Grace opened her eyes and shook her head. "Well, now I'm never going to see them again. When I told you about them at Underground 106, that was the first time I talked about them in ages. And I felt like my heart was getting ripped out of my chest."

"I'm sorry, Grace. I really am."

"Yeah." Grace sniffed and sat up straight. "Which is why you and your sister need to go to Sunrise, and I need to go home. Because it doesn't matter how much you like me or how much I like you. Those feelings are dangerous, Hunter. And if I went to Sunrise with you, or you went to Seaside with me, it wouldn't be worth it. I don't know what you want out of me, but I won't be able to give it to you."

"Grace..."

Grace stood up. She touched Hunter's shoulder with her fingertips. "I'm going to get some rest, but then I'm going to leave tomorrow morning. Goodbye, Hunter." The last two words caught in her throat, and she hurried back into the house before he could say anything.

Grace lay awake, staring at the ceiling as the sky outside grew darker and darker. Tears slid down the sides of her face, but she didn't try to stop them. Once she had told Hunter the story of her tattoo, the floodgates of her memory had opened and all she could think about were the people she had lost.

She liked Hunter. She really, really did. And there was a possibility of her eventually caring for him as much as she cared for her brothers, albeit in a different way. But she also felt like her heart had a cage around it. Even if she wanted to, she doubted she could open it up for anyone, even Hunter.

Mobius, mobius, mobius. One-sided but never ended. Grace traveled the same roads, did the same things, and nothing ever changed. Her life repeated itself constantly. And in that life, there wasn't a place for Hunter.

Grace rolled over and forced her mind to go blank, a trick she had taught herself in the early days after the bombs, when horrors were never far. She knew she needed the sleep. And with any luck, she would be back to Seaside in a few days. Back to her friends, back to normality, back to more of the same.