The morning was dark and dreary. Thick smog covered the entirety of the sky, casting the world into shadows. Dew glistened on the grass, though most of it was dead, trampled underneath car wheels in desperation to escape the city.

Lyria drove in silence. She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel, flicking the radio on in the van.

Static crackled.

Lyria turned the radio off. She hadn't expected anything different, not really. The radio had been silent for days.

It was as if they were alone in the world.

"Can anyone hear me?" Esther spoke into her handheld radio, switching between the frequencies when no one replied.

"We're in Merriedge, just north of the city. Please. Is anyone out there?" Esther continued.

No one responded.

Esther slouched against the wall of the van, her head tilted up at the ceiling. She couldn't accept that there was no one else, that they were the only ones left.

Katherin rolled over. She rubbed Esther's back with her palm, gently trailing her fingers over bare skin.

Esther shivered. Katherin's fingers were freezing.

"Try again tomorrow, okay?" Katherin mumbled, her voice laden with sleep.

They had stopped the previous night to scavenge for more supplies. Jaxx, Morgana and Katherin had ventured into the darkness, leaving the others in the van.

Gwynth hadn't been happy. She'd wanted to go on the raid, to escape from the confines of the van. Ivory had prevented her, though. Gwynth wouldn't be able to move freely until her leg healed properly. It was too dangerous for her to go outside while she was still injured. Gwynth had begrudgingly agreed. They needed someone to stay behind and keep the others safe, anyway.

Katherin had been excited to leave the confines of the van, but it had left her feeling empty. They had tugged clothes off dead bodies, pulled threadbare sheets off a child's empty bed and stolen food from the local grocery stores. There hadn't been any medication in the houses that they'd searched for, but there'd been condoms. Katherin had given them to Jaxx, who'd shoved them in his back pocket, glaring at Katherin through the blush on his cheeks.

They'd only returned in the early morning. Katherin hadn't had much sleep since then, though she'd been laying on the mattress for hours. She hadn't expected to sleep much, anyway. Since the apocalypse had begun, Katherin hadn't been able to fall into a deep sleep.

Katherin shook her head. She needed to concentrate on Esther, who was clearly distressed.

"No! There are people out there! I know it!" Esther protested.

"Esther, please," Katherin responded softly.

Esther didn't reply. She flicked her radio onto the next channel, repeating her message, despite the static that crackled through the van.

Katherin reached out, prying the radio from Esther's grip. They struggled for a moment; Esther digging her fingers into the radio, Katherin wincing as she pulled the radio from Esther, her forearm screaming out in agony.

The blisters covering Katherin's wound split. Katherin bit down on her tongue, forcing herself to keep her expression neutral. She tucked the radio into her belt.

Esther huffed. She shrugged away from Katherin's touch, shuffling to the other side of the van.

"Katherin's right, Esther," Ivory soothed. "Maybe we'll hear something tomorrow. You've been trying to find people for hours. It's time to take a break."

Esther nodded hesitantly. She dropped her hands to her sides, not knowing what to do without a radio.

Katherin stood unsteadily, crossing the van to Esther. She sunk to the ground next to Esther, laying her head in Esther's lap. Esther ran her fingers through Katherin's hair.

Jaxx's stomach rumbled. They hadn't eaten since the raid.

Jaxx reached into their basket of food, retrieving a loaf of bread they'd baked themselves. It was already stale, crusted on the outside, but it would have to do. There was no use wasting any food. If they ate the food they'd only just found, the food that was still relatively fresh, then they could risk starving later. No one was willing to risk that.

Jaxx handed a chunk of bread to Raven, who took it gingerly. She poured honey over the bread, hoping to conceal the stale taste, before shoving the morsel into her mouth.

"That tastes foul," Raven grimaced.

Jaxx's mouth twitched as the bread hit his tongue.

They'd used too much baking soda, not knowing how much they needed without a recipe, in an attempt to make the bread rise. The bread had risen well, but the taste was awful.

Jaxx handed the loaf to Rosabelle.

Rosabelle shook her head, scrunching up her nose in distaste.

"I'm not hungry."

"You have to eat," Jaxx replied sternly.

He shoved the bread in Rosabelle's direction again.

"I can smell the baking soda from here," Rosabelle sniffed. "Who made this? I thought we were going to let Ivory do all the baking?"

"Sorry," Esther muttered softly.

Ivory took the bread from Jaxx. She tore at the loaf, popping a piece in her mouth, fighting to keep a smile on her face.

"It tastes fine, Rosabelle. Come on. Eat up."

Rosabelle shot Ivory an icy glare. She shoved the bread into her mouth, swallowing without chewing.

The bread got caught in Rosabelle's throat. She swallowed harshly, a cough rising in her throat.

They ate in silence.

The city loomed over them, stretching out into the sky. They were entering the inner suburbs, where the rich and privileged lived in relative privacy. There was no sign of them now.

Katherin stared at the buildings. She remembered the city vaguely; she'd been there on a holiday with her parents before their murder. It might have been their last holiday together. Katherin couldn't really remember. Whenever she thought of her parents, she saw her mother's severed hands, the diamond ring glistening with fresh blood.

Katherin shuddered.

Esther withdrew her fingers entwined in Katherin's hair.

"What's wrong?" Esther searched Katherin's eyes.

Katherin mumbled incoherently in response. She stood, placing her hand on Lyria's headrest to steady herself.

"Have a break. I want to drive," Katherin hovered behind Lyria, speaking into her ear softly.

Lyria chuckled, shaking her head.

"Not a chance. You can't drive."

"I can!" Katherin hissed.

"It doesn't count if all your experience comes from stealing cars."

Katherin felt someone stand behind her.

Jaxx's hand landed on her shoulder.

Katherin turned around, shrugging Jaxx's hand off. Jaxx let his hand drop.

"What are you trying to achieve?" Jaxx asked.

A shard of light shone through the van. Katherin winced. She'd spent so many days in the darkness that her eyes had become sensitive to the light.

"Katherin," Jaxx snapped his fingers in front of Katherin's face.

"I need fresh air," Katherin mumbled.

Katherin couldn't tell Jaxx the real reason. He'd stop her from going outside, again.

"Tell me the real reason," Jaxx clenched his jaw.

Katherin went to step around Jaxx.

Jaxx grabbed Katherin's bad wrist.

"You went here with your parents?" Jaxx pressed.

The others were growing quiet. Esther leaned closer, craning her neck to catch glimpses of the conversation. She often felt like Katherin spoke more to Jaxx about her past than she did to her. It hurt, more than Esther would like to admit.

Morgana touched Esther's shoulder, mouthing at her to turn away. There was no privacy, no space for anyone to vent anymore. Katherin clearly didn't want the others to hear about her struggles. They needed to respect that.

"Leave me alone, Jaxx," Katherin hissed.

"I can't help you if you don't tell me anything!" Jaxx shouted.

Raven tugged on the hem of his jeans, reminding Jaxx to keep quiet.

Jaxx silenced.

"Lyria, stop the car," Katherin said.

Katherin's eyes flickered to Esther. She offered a half-smile to her girlfriend, trying to reassure Esther that everything was okay.

Esther didn't smile back.

The van slowed to a halt.

Jaxx unlocked the back of the van. He jumped out onto the grass, grimacing as dew soaked into his socks.

Katherin followed. She closed the doors behind her, preventing the others from listening in on their conversation.

They walked down the road. Their footsteps echoed across the empty suburb, crunching loudly as they trudged over gravel.

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong or are we just going to walk?" Jaxx said.

The cold air tickled the back of Jaxx's throat. He coughed into his jacket. The stench of blood and sweat swarmed his senses.

"I need to know who killed them," Katherin replied.

She kicked a loose rock. It tumbled across the road, thudding against a nearby house.

Katherin heard the thud like a punch in her head. She flinched.

"You're never going to find them," Jaxx sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"You don't know that," Katherin responded angrily.

"Look around you!" Jaxx gestured to the empty suburb. "There's no one left! You've got to let go!"

Katherin whirled around. She jabbed Jaxx in the chest with her index finger.

"You have no idea what I've lived through," she hissed.

"I watched you grow up! I know more about you than anyone else!"

"Giving me a fake ID doesn't mean you know everything about me!"

"Does Esther know about that?"

"She has nothing to do with this!"

Footsteps.

Katherin and Jaxx stopped arguing, their hands immediately reaching for their weapons, pressing their backs against one another.

Jaxx had left his knife in the back of the van. Katherin only had her radio.

"Don't move," a voice spoke from the window.

Katherin's eyes flickered to the voice.

A man spoke from the window. His beard was outgrown, his skin leathered and old.

The man held a gun in his hands. It was pointed at Katherin.

"I said don't move!" He growled.

Katherin swallowed.

Jaxx's fingers curled around Katherin's belt loop, pressing the button on Katherin's radio, connecting to their common frequency. If the others had their radio on, they'd know that something was wrong.

"What do you want?" Jaxx frowned.

The man ignored Jaxx.

"Girl, come here," he demanded.

Katherin squeezed Jaxx's bicep gently, hesitating for a moment, before crossing the gap between her and the man. Someone was speaking through the radio. Katherin lowered the volume, readjusting her shirt so that the radio wasn't visible.

The man kept his gun trained on Katherin.

"Katherin. Don't be an idiot," Jaxx hissed, reaching out to tug Katherin to him.

The man turned his gun on Jaxx.

"Don't move."

Jaxx grunted in response, his fingers still wrapped around Katherin's wrist.

The man glanced away for a moment.

Jaxx grabbed Katherin, pushing her into the garden.

Two shots rang through the air.

The man's arm exploded.

Jaxx and Katherin tumbled to the ground.