Raven tore the radio from Jaxx's steely grip, bringing it to lips before Jaxx could stop her.

"You're lying!" Raven spat, swallowing the lump in her throat.

Despite Raven's determination not to cry, tears were already beginning to slip down her cheeks. She wiped them away angrily, furious at the situation. Of all people, why did it have to be Jaxx?

Jaxx reached out to stroke Raven's palm, to reassure her that everything would be okay; even if he wasn't sure himself. It had meant to be a comforting gesture, but Raven didn't seem to think so. She flinched, clutching her palm to her chest as if she had been burnt.

Jaxx froze. He found himself retreating, falling into the depths of himself. It felt as if he was being held underwater.

Without Raven, Jaxx didn't think he could hold his head above the waves.

"I'm sorry, okay?" Katherin spoke softly through the radio. "I didn't ask Jaxx to take a bullet for me. I would have rathered it hit me."

Raven's bottom lip quivered.

"You took a bullet for her?" Raven mumbled in disbelief. "You told me that the man shot at you - not at her. Why would you lie to me?"

"She's just a kid!" Jaxx responded, an ache beginning to resonate in his chest. "I couldn't just stand there and let her die!"

"She just killed a man! We both heard that gunshot, Jaxx. The newspapers were right. Katherin is a murderer."

"Stop," Esther snarled, her tone laced with fury.

"She killed her parents, didn't she? Why do you trust her? She killed people!"

Esther pressed her knife against Raven's throat. She felt Raven's heartbeat through her fingertips; erratic, afraid.

"I told you to stop."

Raven whimpered, swallowing the lump in her throat. She looked to Jaxx, pleading him to help her.

Jaxx was frozen. What was he meant to do? If he sided with Raven, he'd lose Katherin, and he doubted that Esther would ever forgive him. Would he be able to live with that? Jaxx wasn't sure he could.

Ivory wrapped her fingers around Esther's wrist.

"She didn't mean it, Esther," Ivory soothed.

Esther stiffened.

"You know nothing about her," Esther spat at Raven.

Raven held her breath. Fear choked her, preventing her from spitting out insults at the girl who threatened her. Raven felt confronted with the reality that she was going to die.

Raven had overstepped her boundaries. Esther was going to kill her. No one would stop her. They didn't see Katherin like Raven did; someone who was truly capable of murder. Everyone seemed to think that Katherin was innocent, that she was just a little girl. Even Jaxx had been fooled-

The knife clattered to the floor.

Esther stepped back, slouching against the wall of the van. She wrapped her arms around her knees, burying her head into her chest. Her body shook silently, chest heaving as she tried to calm her sobs.

Gwynth watched the scene unfold in silence. This wasn't like Esther. The Esther she'd known wouldn't have tried to kill anyone. She wouldn't have had the guts to do it.

Rosabelle had grabbed the radio in the struggle. She had meant to silence the signal when the argument had started but had forgotten to do so when Esther had pulled out her knife.

Katherin had heard everything.

Jaxx stared at Rosabelle, at his radio in her hands. His eyes widened in horror.

"Fuck!" Jaxx cursed. "Give me the radio."

Rosabelle shook her head. Jaxx had done enough damage. He didn't need to make things worse.

"Please. I just need to know that she's okay," Jaxx continued, reaching out to tear the radio from Rosabelle's hands.

Rosabelle brought the radio to her lips, using her body as a shield to prevent Jaxx from intercepting the signal.

"Katherin?"

A few seconds of silence. Then, the crackle of the signal.

"I heard everything," Katherin's anger was enough to rattle the most battle-hardened soldier, even through the radio.

Esther jolted at Katherin's familiar voice. She instinctively scooted towards the radio, reaching out for the device as if she was reclaiming a treasured object.

Ivory placed her hand on Esther's shoulder, warning her not to get involved. It wasn't worth it. Esther would be able to talk to Katherin later. They just needed to find the younger girl first.

Gwynth tightened the straps around her splint. If no one else was going to find Katherin, then she'd have to step in. Though her distaste towards Katherin was known, Gwynth wasn't willing to leave her twin heartbroken. Not when Esther had been so violent towards Raven, anyway.

Gwynth hadn't needed to prepare herself for the outside.

"Don't worry about it. I'll go," Morgana stood at the door of the van.

Gwynth nodded, sinking back into her seat, relieved. She hadn't wanted to go outside, anyway.

Morgana tugged her jacket tighter, bracing herself for the cold.

She hadn't needed to.

There was a knock.

Lyria looked out her side mirror.

"It's Katherin," she said to Morgana, raising her voice above the arguing in the cabin.

Lyria hadn't wanted to get involved with the others' conflict. She'd known better than to voice her own opinion. This wasn't the time to making enemies - especially if that enemy was Katherin. She'd known that girl long enough to know that there was certain darkness surrounding her.

Morgana unlocked the door. Katherin climbed in the van, a box shoved underneath one arm.

No one spoke. No one moved.

Jaxx locked eyes with Katherin.

Katherin shook her head, so slight that Jaxx could have missed it.

Jaxx had expected rage behind Katherin's eyes. Instead, he saw emptiness.

Jaxx wasn't sure he'd seen Katherin so broken, not since her parent's funeral.

Katherin tore her gaze from Jaxx, crossing the van to kneel in front of Esther. She pressed her lips to Esther's forehead, cupping Ether's chin with her thumb.

Esther entangled her fingers in Katherin's hair, pulling her closer. Katherin brushed her lips against Esther's ear, whispering softly.

Jaxx couldn't make out what Katherin was saying. He wondered if it was about Raven.

Esther nodded.

Katherin retrieved the handcuffs from her pocket. She'd found them in one of the vacant rooms in the house. They'd been locked to a bed, which had been bolted to the floor. A woman's severed hand had been suspended by the handcuffs. Katherin had tossed it to the floor.

The handcuffs clinked together as Katherin turned to Jaxx.

"You can't do that!" Raven protested.

Katherin didn't respond. She clenched her jaw, flinching as Raven's finger's dug into Katherin's flesh.

"Stop! You don't get to decide who is dangerous and who isn't! I'm not letting you play God!"

Katherin turned her head, just enough to glare at Raven. The skin around Katherin's eyes was puffy and tear-stained. Had Katherin been crying when she'd returned to the van? Raven couldn't remember.

Katherin grabbed Jaxx's hand, locking the handcuffs around one wrist, lifting his arm to link the other cuff around the handle on the roof.

Jaxx tugged on the handcuffs. The metal dug into his wrist. His arm was already beginning to go numb. Jaxx was just thankful that Katherin hadn't touched his wounded shoulder.

Katherin dug a medical mask from her pocket. She'd found them in the kitchen. A whole stash of them. The man had been using them, forcing them onto the women he'd held captive. He'd been turning them into zombies. Why?

Katherin forced the thought from her mind. There was no point in dwelling on questions she couldn't answer. The man was irrelevant, now. Katherin had gotten rid of him. He wouldn't hurt the women anymore.

Katherin handed the mask to Jaxx.

Jaxx grabbed the mask with his free hand and shoved it into his pocket.

Being handcuffed to the roof was bad enough. Jaxx didn't need to wear a mask; not yet, anyway. If Katherin was right about everything, then Jaxx would put the mask on when his mind began to slip.

"Keep away from him," Katherin warned Raven, jabbing her thumb in Jaxx's direction.

Raven slipped underneath Jaxx's free arm, challenging Katherin with a glare.

Katherin grunted in disapproval, though she didn't try to reason with Raven. It wasn't worth it. If Raven became infected, then it would be her fault.

Katherin tugged on Esther's hand, nodding to the passenger seat of the van. It was best that they were separated from the others. Katherin had heard the argument through the radio. She and Esther needed to keep their distance.

They climbed into the passenger seat, curling into each other's arms. Katherin placed the box at her feet. It was covered in blood. Katherin's hands were too.

Lyria scrunched up her nose, disgusted at the smell of blood, though she chose not to comment on it. Instead, she put the van into drive. The van groaned in protest, trundling towards the city again.

Morgana watched Jaxx from the other side of the van. She'd known him since primary school, though they hadn't really talked until Katherin had invited them to her sixteenth birthday. Needless to say, both of them had gone, despite the teasing they'd received from their older friends.

Jaxx avoided Morgana's prying gaze. He could tell that she was furious with him, though she was biting her tongue, not wanting to stir up tension in the room. Jaxx was grateful, but he dreaded the moment they would be alone. Morgana wouldn't hesitate to speak her mind, then.

The city was beginning to envelop them. Tall buildings stretched into the clouds. Empty streets surrounded them.

"Where are we stopping?" Lyria broke through the silence, her voice oozing uncertainty.

A silent city made Lyria nervous. It was unnatural, like a scene from a horror movie. If they weren't careful, they'd end up dead. There were always creatures lurking into the dark.

At Lyria's question, Jaxx looked to Gwynth.

Gwynth looked to Morgana.

Morgana looked to Katherin.

Lyria stopped the van abruptly.

"I'm going to need one of you to make a decision," she sighed, too tired to care about being frank.

No one spoke.

"We need food, water and medication. Then, we need a warm shelter," Ivory prodded gently, hoping that someone would take the lead. She didn't like making decisions. It was so easy to upset someone if she chose the wrong option.

More silence.

"Stop at the nearest grocery store," Morgana said. "I'll go get some food and some bottles of water. It won't take long."

"You can't go alone," Jaxx replied. He tugged on his cuffs. "I'll go with you."

"You're infected," Gwynth responded dryly.

"You have a broken leg," Jaxx retorted.

"If someone drives, I'll go," Lyria offered. She didn't like the thought of going outside, but it was better than letting Morgana go alone.

"We need someone who can drive fast," Rosabelle told Lyria. "You're keeping the rest of us safe."

Katherin sighed, detangling from Esther's warm embrace.

"I'll go," Katherin mumbled. She kept her eyes trained to the floor, rubbing her toes together inside her shoes. The cabin was freezing. Katherin wanted nothing more than to return to Esther's warmth.

Jaxx's eyes flickered to Katherin. He didn't like seeing her so empty. Still, he couldn't bring himself to talk to her. Raven would be furious if he did.

"Are you sure?" Morgana asked warily.

"Yeah," Katherin muttered. "I've got to get some fresh air."

"Alright..." Lyria drawled, unconvinced that Katherin was fine to go outside. A sane person wouldn't be fine after they'd killed, after they'd heard their friends talking about them with such disrespect.

Katherin wasn't sane, though. Lyria knew that.

There was a grocery store up ahead. Lyria stopped the van.

Katherin and Morgana climbed out.

Lyria drove off. They needed fuel. Katherin and Morgana would be fine for ten minutes. 

Hi everyone!

Are any of you participating in the ONC challenge? I am! 

My ONC entry will be a novella detailing Ttod's side of the story. I will be uploading once every two weeks on Wednesdays, starting this Wednesday. This is so the end of Ttod's story won't spoil this end of this series. 

If any of you want to read Ttod's story, let me know in the comments! I'll dedicate a chapter to you so that you'll be able to see it! 

Happy reading x