"Danielle is tougher than you give her credit for," Leon adds. "Besides, since the Widow's know where we are now, they're going to be on the lookout for anyone leaving the camp. Josh and Danielle know a safe route through the woods to the main road, and they'll meet back up with us to get the camp ready to move."

I pause, glaring suspiciously up at Leon. "I thought you said the camp wasn't ready to move on?"

"We aren't," he sighs, "but since they found us, they'll keep attacking us until they either kill us or capture us, and none of us can afford to stay and defend this place. Keeping these people safe is a priority."

I nod in understanding, even though I know it likely means that the injured won't survive leaving so soon. Leon walks me over to one of the back cabins where I can see Felix and Octavia through the window, chatting with Josh and Danielle. Leon knocks on the door, and Josh appears in the doorway.

"Oh, there you are!" Josh greets. "We were just talking about you!" I glance inside, where Felix and Octavia wave at me from the couch, and I can see Danielle lounging in a lazy boy, pretending she can't see me.

"Only good things, I hope," I answer nervously.

Leon gives Josh a nod, "Mind if we come in?"

"Of course, make yourselves at home," Josh moves and lets us inside, where my siblings make room for me on the couch to sit with them.

"Cassandra and her family will be leaving tomorrow morning," Leon starts, and Felix and Octavia glance over at me worriedly. "You two are going to help them prepare for their journey to Atlanta in the morning and escort them to the main road once they're ready. I'll need you to meet back at the offices to help prepare the camp to move as soon as you can."

"Wait, we're leaving?" Josh asks.

"We're not ready for that yet, sir," Danielle adds, wincing as she sits up.

Leon raises his hand to quiet them before continuing. "I know, but the Widow threat grows larger than we can handle at present. Those who are able will help prepare the vehicles tonight, and we'll get the wounded on board in the morning."

Josh and Danielle are quiet for a long while before Josh speaks up again. "Where will we go?"

"Up north," Leon answers. "Cassandra told me that she believes the Widows might not have migrated upstate yet."

"Might not have?" Danielle repeats, glancing over at me. "Is that a chance we're willing to take?"

"It's the only chance we have, Danielle," Leon returns.

"Unfortunately," I add, "it is just a rumor I heard in passing a while ago. The Widow's could have migrated up there for all I know."

Danielle glares at Leon with a 'see what I mean?' face. Leon sighs once more, rubbing his temples. "It's the only choice we have," he sighs. "I'll talk it out with some of the others before we make a decision. In the meantime, considering that this is a Cottonwood issue, you should get some rest." Leon says with a tired smile towards my siblings and me. "I suspect you have a long journey ahead of you, so you'll need all the peaceful sleep you can get."

With that, Leon bids us a good night, leaving me with my siblings, Danielle and Josh. I step further into the cabin, examining it as I make my way to sit with Felix and Octavia. It's decorated rather plainly with no personal photos or trophies hanging on the walls. A fur rug of sorts sits in the middle of the living space under an oak coffee table, with two brown leather couches and a love seat - currently occupied by Danielle - surrounding it. A kitchenette sits off to the side of the living space with a small island in the middle, three bar stools on one side, with a heavy wooden picnic table off to the side.

"It's pretty cozy here," I note slowly, taking in the chandelier made of deer horns, the taxidermied heads of animals, and the gun parts scattered on the coffee table.

"We're not in here very often," Josh chuckles as he watches me take in my surroundings, taking a seat back on the empty couch. "Your sister was just telling us about your skill with a bow," he says, gesturing to my bow and quiver I set next to the couch.

"Oh, yeah, our uncle would take us hunting every summer," I tell them. "He didn't like hunting with guns; it'd scare off other game in the area."

"What, did he make you do parkour while hunting, too?" Josh asks.

I chuckle at that. "Ha, no, nothing like that. I took a few archery lessons back in school and went to competitions sometimes. Then this all started, and I had to teach myself how to fight with it, considering it's my primary weapon. Gymnastics helped out a lot, too."

"You learned how to fight like that on your own?" Danielle questions, looking mildly impressed.

I shrug. "Four years is a long time to practice."

"No, kidding..." Danielle breathes, settling back in her chair, and the conversation gets quiet.

Awkwardly quiet...

"Sooo," Josh draws out slowly, looking between my siblings and me, "Atlanta?"

I watch him, cautious, and out of the corner of my eye, Danielle seems to perk up with interest as well, observing me. "Yup," I clip.

The two of them raise their eyebrows almost simultaneously. "It's a warzone out there, you know," Danielle points out.

"So we've heard," I huff — Felix and Octavia exchange nervous glances between Danielle and me. "But, it's a warzone in here, too."

"You seem like you're in a hurry to get there," Josh notes as well, sitting back in his seat.

I can tell that they're trying to get more information out of me, and quite frankly, it's beginning to become bothersome. "Yeah, we're running a bit late," I grumble.

Danielle and Josh glance at one another, and I hope that they pick up on my 'I don't want to talk about it' vibes I'm putting off.

Seeming to take a hint, they move on from our plans of leaving and turn to my siblings. "Well, we know your sister can shoot like Hawkeye," Josh notes, "what about you guys?

Felix and Octavia glance over at me, silently asking permission to answer, and I sigh, nodding.

Octavia instantly brightens up. "Well, I don't mean to brag, but I was the star softball player back in high school, and I played for my freshman year of college before everything happened."

"Damn," Josh whistles at Octavia's bragging. "You must have quite the arm then!"

"Oh, yeah! My batting average was .487!" She continues.

Josh nods, the number obviously lost on him, and admittedly, it was always lost on me, too. "I have no idea what that means, but judging by your excitement about it, I'm going to assume that's a good thing!"

I sigh as Octavia starts to yammer on for an hour about all of her softball achievements, explaining practically everything about the game while Josh -who is looking more and more lost the longer my sister talks - simple nods along, smiling patiently and offering non-committal sounds to let her know he's still listening.

Once she's reached the end of her latest softball story, Josh switches gears and glances over at Felix, who has been sitting quietly and listening to the conversation flow.

"How about you, dude? What did you do for fun before this all happened?" Josh asks.

Felix looks flustered at being put in the spotlight, but Josh is quiet and waits for his response. "I, uh, used to take hikes in the forest around our house and watch nature documentaries. I used to be in boy scouts as a kid," he admits quietly.

"That's super cool, man!" Josh says. "You must know a lot about the woods and whatnot."

Felix grins, getting more comfortable as he talks about the different ways to bait a fishing line, how to mark the trees and bushes so you know how to find your way around. By the time he's talking excitedly for the first time in months, he suddenly stops himself, embarrassed. "I've been talking for too long, haven't I?"

Josh chuckles, "No, man, not at all! It's pretty cool to come across people who still have that excitement about the things they used to enjoy doing."

"What about you guys?" I ask, and Josh glances over at me. "What did you two used to do before this?"

Josh takes a moment to answer, taking a slow breath before he speaks. "Well, when we came to the states, I started working at a mechanic's shop in downtown Atlanta."

"Came to the states?" I ask, glancing between the two. "Where are you from?"

Josh laughs. "What, can't you tell from the accents?"

I shrug; I know that their accents certainly aren't any American dialect, but I didn't want to make any assumptions about where they were from in case it offended them. "I had my suspicions, but I didn't want to say anything and come off as more of an asshole than I already am."

Danielle actually chuckles at that.

"Eh, don't worry about it," Josh dismisses. "We were born and raised on an American base in London, but we came here after turning 18."

"That must have been one hell of a move," I note, glancing between the two. "I'm guessing that means you're related?"

"Well, not by blood, if you can believe it," Josh says. "We're actually step-siblings. My dad was killed in action, so Mom married Dani's dad. I think we were five when it happened?" Josh glances back at Danielle.

"Four, actually," she corrects, seeming less and less interested in the conversation.

"I see," I hum. "So, you're a mechanic from England, and Danielle is some sort of doctor, I guess?"

Danielle rolls her eyes, looking more annoyed. "It's Dani, actually," she snaps, "and I'm not a doctor. I just... know things."

"Right, yeah, uh-huh. You're lying through your teeth, aren't you?" I grin. Danielle - or Dani, I guess - bristles at my jab and glares over at me.

You know, when we're not actively trying to kill each other, it's pretty fun riling her up.

"No, I'm not," Dani growls, "I was a paramedic training to be an ER doctor. Not the same thing."

"What's the difference?" Octavia asks.

"A doctor can specialize in specific fields of medicine and are typically the people who diagnose others," Dani explains. "A paramedic is just the person who stabilizes those in critical condition, typically from major accidents."

"Wow," Felix breathes, "you had that answer prepped and ready to go, huh?"

Dani sighs, slouching further into her chair. "You wouldn't believe the number of people who mix the two up. People still come to me for check-ups and screenings."

Josh laughs. "It got so bad that Doc had to step in and teach her more doctor-y things to deal with it since people wouldn't listen."

"So yeah," Dani mutters, "not a doctor, I just know things."

"Hello, nurse," Octavia all but purrs under her breath. I jab my elbow in her side a little rougher than I intend to, and Octavia grunts with pain, slapping my arm. Dani watches us, looking confused.

"Stupid inside joke," I lie. "It's nothing."

Felix opens his mouth to ask a question but gets interrupted by a yawn, which causes Octavia and me to yawn as well. Josh opens his mouth to comment but also gets interrupted by a yawn, followed closely by Dani. Felix, Octavia, and Josh laugh about it as I stretch.

"Well, it's looking like we all need to get some sleep," Josh says, standing up and stretching. "We have a big day tomorrow, with clean-up and getting the camp ready to move."

Dani attempts to stand to her feet but groans with pain, holding her ribs. Without thinking, I stand, and I'm by her side, offering a hand to help her up. She pauses, glancing up at me warily, but takes my hand with a small sigh. I carefully pull her to her feet and loop one of my arms around her waist, grabbing her belt to help support her as she slings one of her arms over my shoulders. I'm surprised at how much heat she's giving off this close to winter, and I worry that it might be some sort of sickness, but she seems physically fine.

Well, save for the fact that she needs help standing from someone practically a foot shorter than her and half her body mass.

She doesn't look at me as she speaks, opting to look nowhere in particular. "We'll help you guys pack some supplies early tomorrow morning and take you to the main road," she says. "The spare bedroom is the first door on the right, bathroom right across the hall." With that, she gestures to a door at the end of the hallway, directing me to the back bedroom. Carefully, I help her to the room, and I'm surprised to see how clean it is.

Two twin-sized beds sit at opposite sides of the room with two trunks, one at the foot of each bed. A large writing desk occupies the space between the two beds, with a large bookshelf on the far wall.

I lead Dani to one of the beds, where she plops down, grunting with effort and sitting at an angle that favors her right side.

"Do you need anything?" I ask her, cautious.

"Eager to please, are we?" She counters.

I scoff. "Take that as a 'no' then." I turn heel and start for the door, too tired for any bitter back-and-forth bickering after the day I just had.