Were it not for the fact that I needed his help with finding Josh and Dani, I would have shot that smug grin off of Matt’s face an hour ago. Once he heard that we took his deal, he’s back to his usual smart-ass self the entire time he walks with Sparrow, Quentin, and I to the Valkyrie armory, where Sky and Bree help to outfit us. Luckily for me, they have a spare bow and quiver of arrows I can use for our mission.

“I’m likely not going to be able to give this back to you guys, you know that, right?” I tell Sky.

She shakes her head, chuckling. “I know, I don’t expect you guys to come back here once you find your friends. You can keep whatever you use in here.”

I muster up a friendly smile and pat her shoulder. “Thank you, Sky. I’ll find a way to repay you for everything you’ve done for us.”

Shy scoffs, patting my hand away. “You can repay us by saving the world.”

I grin. “I’ll do my best, Sky.” Though I mean it with every fiber of my being, the weight of my own words weigh heavily on me.

Sky’s expression goes serious as she looks me dead in the eye. “I know you didn’t ask for it, Cassandra, and I know it’s a lot to ask of any one person, but you’re the only one who is capable of stopping this mess. I – the Valkyrie – believe in you. And more importantly, I know that your friends do, too.”

I nod, grabbing a quiver and slinging the bow over my back as Sparrow grabs a machete, giving it a few experimental swings, then pouts.

“I already miss my sword…” Sparrow grumbles, settling it on his hip, obviously dissatisfied.

Quentin walks over to Sparrow, patting his shoulder. “I wasn’t able to grab it before we left, but I’m sure we’ll find one similar to it at a pawn shop or something.”

Sparrow similes up at Quentin, his face as red as his scarf.

“If the pawnshops haven’t been pillaged in the past four years that is,” Sky comments.

“Gee, thanks for the helpful input, Sky,” Sparrow groans.

“Just being realistic,” Sky adds with a grin.

“Yeah, this is all heartwarming, and whatever,” Matt drawls, “but we have a mission to complete, so let’s hurry this up, okay?” He goes to grab a pistol, but several pairs of hands stop him, and Sparrow levels his machete at his throat. Matt pauses, eyes wide and glancing around, then he sighs. “We won’t get anywhere if I don’t have a weapon.”

“Is that a threat?” I growl, reaching for an arrow.

“No,” Matt groans. “It’s a fact. If I’m going to lead you into the lions den, I’m going to need to be able to protect myself, from Feral’s and Widow’s alike.”

I exchange glances with Sparrow, who mumbles something under his breath, then sheathes his machete again.

“Fine,” I growl. “If you try anything-”

“You’ll put an arrow through my head, I’m sure. Are we good now?” Mat interrupts.

Sky walks over to one of the tables and grabs a couple backpacks, handing one to Sparrow, Matt, Quentin, and I. “Here,” she says, “take some provisions for your trip. There’s a walkie in each one so you can tell us where their base is.”

“Thanks,” I gladly take the backpack and peek inside. It’s mostly a bunch of dry rations, some basic first aid, a flashlight, walkie, and a flare gun.

“Keep ‘em.” Sky says. “You’ll need all that more than we will.”

“We’ll make sure to get our people out and let you know where the base is,” I tell her, and hold out my hand. “Good luck.”

She takes my hand and gives it a firm shake. “You, too. May we meet again further down the road.”

The boys and I finish gathering our supplies and double checking our weapons. Sky hands me a shot-gun and Quentin a rifle, letting us know that they’re for Dani and Josh when we find them. We head out to the courtyard of the Valkyrie base and Sky orders the guards to open the gate, and I spot Octavia and Jocelynn walking our way. Octavia still looks sour, but determined, and I’m glad to see my sister before I head out again.

“Cass,” Octavia greets as they near. “Here, you should take this.” She holds out a sheathed combat knife for me, and I recognize it instantly.

“This is Uncle Tommy’s knife,” I gasp.

“Yeah,” she shifts from foot to foot, wringing her hands. “He gave it to me before he… disappeared,” she looks me in the eye, a steely resolve in her eyes. “You should take it.”

I stare at her, stunned for a moment, before I smile and strap the knife to my belt. I want to hug her, but I know that the tension between us is still raw, and I don’t want to start another fight with my sister.

“Thank you, O.”

She shrugs half-heartedly, staring down at the ground, and Jocelynn elbows her gently.

“Go on,” Jocelynn mumbles to her.

Octavia briefly glares at Jocelynn and in my moment of confusion, Octavia envelops me in a tight hug. Stunned, I slowly wrap my arms around my sister and squeeze her back, and we stay like that for a long moment.

“Don’t die out there, alright?” Octavia mumbles in my ear, then lets me go.

“I promise,” I grin. It’s a small gesture, but my heart feels lighter knowing that my little sister doesn’t entirely hate me anymore.

Octavia looks over at Sparrow, a twinkle in her eye. “Make sure my stupid older sister doesn’t do anything stupid, yeah?”

Sparrow chuckles. “I’ll do my best, but you know her.”

“I’m standing right here, you know,” I grumble, but I can’t help but to grin.

“God,” Matt huffs, “could you guys be any more mushy? Let’s get this ball rolling already.”

We all glare at Matt, but quickly exchange our last good-bye’s with our friends and the Valkyrie before we step out onto the street beyond the gates. Once we’re a safe distance away, the Valkyrie close their gates, and Matt takes the lead out into the city.

It’s still dark outside, and I can’t tell what time it is, though I would assume that it’s past midnight. We trek on through the streets, keeping to the shadows and avoiding several Ferals’ that are out hunting, though I end up having to take one down that got too close to spotting us. I retrieve my arrow and we continue on, down several alley’s until we’re out of the downtown area. Matt leads us with cautious confidence through a gas station to avoid a collapsed building that blocks the road.

“So,” Matt says, glancing over at me. “You seem pretty keen on getting those two back.”

I stay quiet, knowing that he’s trying to get a rise out of me.

“I thought Dani didn’t trust you, and Josh usually goes with whatever Dani says.”

“They’re our friends,” I comment.

Matt nods with a grin. “See, now I thought so, too, but she and Josh went with you when you ditched us at that warehouse. Why is that, I wonder?”

I glare over at him, my lips sealed.

“You’re ready to take on an entire camp of bloodthirsty murderers on the off-chance that those two are still alive. Do you even know who they are?”

“Dani told me,” I snap at him.

Matt chuckles. “Funny, she was the one who said that we couldn’t trust you with that information.”

I bristle at his remark and it takes all my willpower not to shoot him. “How did you join the Widow’s?” I return.

“Well, when you ditched Leon and I back at the warehouse, they showed up and attacked. I tried slipping away, but Jessica found me.”

“That’s not what I meant,” I growl, stopping him. “How did you join them before Camp Cottonwood? Dani said you were marked by them.”

Matt stares at me for a long moment, his face blank, then he sighs, pulling up his sleeve. Dark and bold, the Widow tattoo sits on the inside of his forearm, covering it from the wrist to the nook of his elbow. “I killed my brother for it.”

My blood runs cold as I stare at the mark, and I level Matt with a murderous glare.

“It was before Dani and Josh showed up, a month into the outbreak,” Matt goes on. “They told Andrew and I that if we wanted the full protection of their group, we’d have to kill someone for it. Andrew turned on me and tried to kill me, so I killed him instead.”

“That’s insane,” I growl.

Matt shrugs. “That was how it was. After that, they marked me as one of their own, and a month later, the others showed up. But you still haven’t answered my question.”

He grins at me and Sparrow can see that I’m about to hit him, and puts a hand on my shoulder.

“They’re my friends,” I growl. “I don’t suppose you know what those are, though, so I don’t expect you to understand.”

Matt laughs. “Ouch, that was harsh, Cassandra. But fine, that’s acceptable.”

We continue walking on in silence until he stops us not far from a public park and gestures for all of us to take cover in the bushes.

“Past this park is the border of their camp,” he informs us, pointing through the trees where we can make out the silhouette of the tree-line. “They’re staying at the power-plant on the other side of those trees. That’s likely where they’re keeping Dani and Josh.”

“Oh yay,” Sparrow says sarcastically. “We get to play in the forbidden playground.”

Quentin gives him a confused look at the term, but Sparrow doesn’t give him an explanation. I shake my head at his attempt at humor, and assess the situation. I can see the top of the power plant over the trees, and guess that it’s less than a mile away from us, though there may be traps and patrols and Ferals’ between us and them.

“We can sneak in through this way,” Matt says, gesturing to the tree-line to our left. “That’ll lead us to the fence line where they’re likely to have prisoners.”

We stay in the shadows as we sneak through, dodging a patrol that walks right past us.

“They’ve been here for months now,” one of the Widow’s grumbles. “What do you think Jess has planned for them?”

“Who knows,” his partner responds, sounding bored. “But I’m not gonna be the one who asks her what she plans. You saw what she did to that girl.”

The first Widow makes a hissing sound, rubbing his face. “Yeah, I’m surprised it didn’t kill her…”

“We’re almost done here,” the second one comments, “Let’s hurry up, I’m fucking tired.”

I feel icy rage coursing through my veins as they pass by us, and Quentin has to hold me back from going after them when they round the corner.

“We can’t risk it,” Quentin whispers to me. “If they don’t show up back at their camp tonight, they’ll know something is up, and will be on the look-out for trouble.”

Sparrow rests his hand on my other shoulder. “He’s right,” Sparrow whispers. “We’re already here, we just have to lay low.”

I grumble out a response, and the urge to capture the Widow’s and demand to know where they’re hiding my people is unbearable, but Sparrow and Quentin have a point. If I just charge in now, I run the risk of getting the others killed, or worse.

Matt moves up once the patrol is out of earshot, and I follow him with the other boys sneaking behind us. We eventually come across a chain-link fence, and on the other side is a sizable camp with tents and tarps pitched all around the inside. The power-station is much larger than I expected it to be, with a small shack to monitor what would be the electrical output of the station. The patrol that passed us is just now getting back and meets up with two guards at the main entrance on the other side, then split off to go to different tents. No one else is around that I can see, but Sparrow quickly taps my shoulder and points off to one of the supports holding up the surges.

Tied to the support is a familiar figure, hunched over and shivering.

It’s Josh.

I suppress a gasp of relief when I see him, and quickly look around, trying to spot Dani, but I can’t see her anywhere around him.

“I see Josh, but I can’t tell where Dani is,” I whisper to Sparrow.

“She’s gotta be around here somewhere,” Sparrow whispers back.

“I’ll go in and get him, and see if we can figure out where she is,” I mutter back, glaring over at Matt. “Watch over Matt while I’m gone. Quentin, you’re with me.”

Matt raises an eyebrow at me, but shrugs, while Quentin glances between Sparrow and I.

“Is that a good idea?” Quentin asks.

“Better than walking around their camp with one of their people,” I return pointedly.

Matt glares at me but stays quiet as Quentin nods.

“Is there another way in?” Quentin asks.

I glance around, wishing I had wire cutters on me, but I don’t have anything that will cut through the fence.

“Not unless one of you has wire cutters on you,” I mutter back. The boys all check their bags, shaking their heads. “Looks like we’re climbing then.”

Sparrow leads Matt into the bushes to keep watch while Quentin and I carefully climb over the fence, making sure not to rattle it too much. We land on the other side and take cover behind a supply crate as a Widow guard walks past, yawning, and heading for the main gate. Once he’s gone, Quentin and I make our way over to Josh, watching out for any more Widow’s.

“Josh,” I whisper to him once we’re close. He stops shivering, but doesn’t turn around. “Josh, it’s me, Cass,” I whisper again.

Slowly, he turns his head around to face me, and I gasp. There’s a large scabbing scar over his eye, and he’s much more pale than normal. His usual bright blue eyes are sunken and dark, heavy black rings under his eye show his obvious exhaustion. His hair has been cut and mangled, looking more like a nappy nest for rats than the haphazard wavy mess it usually would be. When he sees me, he blinks a few times, squinting in the dim light of the various torches.

“Cass?” He croaks, his voice cracked.

I glance around and quickly crouch in front of him to work at the ropes binding his wrists to the supports.

“It’s okay, we’re going to get you out of here,” I whisper to him.

His eyes shift over to Quentin as he keeps watch around us.

“You brought the Valkyrie?” Josh whispers.

“No, not this time. It’s a long story, I’ll tell you once we’re out of here,” I cut the rope away from his wrists and he slumps over, exhausted and obviously starving. “Where’s Dani?”

Josh shakes his head, rubbing feeling back into his hands. “Don’t know, they’ve kept us separated since they captured us. Probably so we don’t come up with a plan to escape,” he looks up at me, his eyes pleading. “We have to find her, Cass. I heard screaming last week from the shack over there, and I’m pretty sure it was Dani. Jess is here, too, and she’s been much more of a sadistic monster since we’ve been here.”

I growl, wishing I could hit something at the news. They’ve hurt Dani, and Jess is here, too. I figured she’d be here, but we’re no match for that psycho and the entire camp with just the seven of us, especially since two of us are in no condition to fight.

“Quentin, take him back over the fence to Sparrow, I’ll find Dani,” I tell him. Quentin nods and helps Josh stand, slinging Josh’s arm around his shoulders to carry him over to the others. I glance over to the building Josh mentioned, and sigh. There’s a chance that I’ll find Dani there, but there’s also a chance that I’ll find Jess, too. It’s not ideal, but I’m not leaving until I find Dani.