We all walked side by side, Tilly on my left and Aster on my right. As much as I wanted to grab water and take a dip in the stream before we left, Aster urged us onward. "We only have so many more obstacles left," Aster encouraged. "I just know it."

As much as I wanted to believe him, something inside me didn't. How many times had I told myself that? That this would all be over soon? That the nightmare would only last for so much longer? Too many times to count. And yet I still here, standing next to a shaking girl and a boy, who for some reason, I was falling in love with. At this point, I wasn't sure if there was an end to the Pestilention.

Tilly rubbed her nose on her sleeve. It had turned red from the endless hours of sniffling earlier that day. I stepped a little closer to her and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. She looked up at me. Her puffy eyes were filled with sorrow.

"How are you doing?" I asked. Tilly merely shrugged. "Didn't get that much sleep, huh?"

There was silence. I looked at Aster for support. He shook his head. He didn't know what to do. I sucked in a deep breath.

"I'm sorry." Tilly stared straight ahead.

"I miss him," she whispered.

Her words stabbed at my gut like a knife. I knew that it had hurt her the most out of all of us. That wasn't too hard to figure out. But I had forgotten that Tilly used to walk next to his side every day. That she would sit next to him when we all ate and made sure that her watch was before his so she could say goodnight to him.

Tilly had looked up to him. She had talked to him more than she had ever talked to me. Did she tell him things that she had told no one? Did he tell her his secrets? Would Tilly ever speak of them again, or would she never trust us as much as she trusted Ed?

I remembered being jealous of their friendship. I was guilty of still being jealous of it, too. I wouldn't replace what they had, though. Ed had found a replacement for his daughter. Tilly found someone to rely on. That could never be replicated.

I wanted to wrap my arms around her and never let go. Tilly had been through far too much for a thirteen-year-old to handle. She should have been worrying about boys and acne, not about death. And to make it worse, she had chosen this fate. To protect her sick brother.

How did they let a little girl through, anyway? It couldn't have possibly been dark enough for them to not tell the difference between a teenager and a young adult. I didn't ask her. It was far too early in the morning to pry.

Silence lingered amongst us we walked. Aster whistled. Tilly hummed the tune to the lullaby she had taught me. I couldn't help but think that the song fitted so perfectly right then. I couldn't help but hum it a little myself.

"Hey, guys—" Before Aster could finish, the floor broke out from under him, sloping downwards. I shrieked. My heel slid against the rolling dirt and fell from under me. I rolled onto my stomach, crawling frantically back to the path. Tilly screamed. I saw her sliding on her back, trying to twist and to stop herself.

Tilly slid next to Aster. He wrenched his body to the side and clasped his hand on her wrist. The floor broke inches away from them, crumbling and falling into an abyss.

My breathing grew heavy. The wall had collapsed into a steep slope. The other side mimicked our mountain. It shaved away its grassy layer on the top and revealed the dirt underneath.

"What now?" Aster shouted up to me.

My heart skipped a beat. Aster always knew what to do. Why would he leave it to me?

I sucked in a deep breath before taking my hands off of the ground. I immediately began to slide. Gasping, I dug the heels of my palms back into the soft dirt. My feet were centimeters from Aster's hair.

Once I had calmed my breathing, I started to look for options. Now that I could see within the abyss, I knew that we weren't supposed to jump down. Rocks as sharp as blades stuck out from the ground, daring us to come near them.

"We have to jump." Aster and Tilly shot their heads my direction.

"What?!" Aster cried. "We'll get ourselves killed!"

I shook my head. "What else are we going to do? We have no other option."

"I was kind of hoping that you would have another one."

I rolled my eyes and spun on my stomach. I army crawled up the hill. My knees slid down the dirt, but I managed to elevate myself high enough that the dirt wasn't causing me to slip. I stood up once I had reached the path. Aster had pulled Tilly to his side by then. She clutched onto the soil, scared to fall.

Before I could trip on myself, I was running down the hill. I stumbled a few times and ran in a diagonal line. My mind panicked as I got close to the edge, and I nearly stopped. I lifted my feet off the floor before I could plummet to my death.

I was flying through the air for what felt like a lifetime. My eyes trailed to the rocks, which my feet were nearly brushing against. When I landed on the other side, I slipped and fell to my knees. I grabbed a handful of dirt, refusing to slide.

I climbed up the dirt frantically. Like on the other side, my feet stumbled, and I fell several times, but I made it up and crawl to my feet. I propped them in the center of the trail, safe from the two slopes.

I turned around and grinned. "Come on, guys. It's not too bad."

Happy Tuesday! How well are they going to function without Ed? Is Kat going to turn into the leader without him? Or let Aster take that role?

Don't forget to comment, vote, and share this story with your friends. Vote for this chapter with your pinkie. Stay awesome.

This song is Ride by Twenty-One Pilots. If you're asking why just listen to the "I'm falling" part a few times and you'll get it.