Uncle Tommy has his arm around her shoulder, a fond grin on his face as he stares down at us with the gifts they gave us. He actually cut his shaggy hair the day before, mainly because Mom constantly nagged him about it. Seeing the two of them with us in this picture makes my heart ache in a painfully familiar way. 

"You know them, sir?" Danielle's voice breaks the silence, and I finally look up. 

"Not personally, no," Leon answers, his eyes never leaving us. "Though Thomas always talked about them every chance he got," Leon says. 

"Funny, he never told us about you," I retort, refolding the picture and pocketing it. 

He raises an eyebrow but doesn't argue against it. "Your uncle and I were a part of a special military force," he continues. "Sworn to secrecy. I'm not surprised he never spoke of me."

I glare at him. "If you knew who we were, why go through all of this trouble to question us? What's this really about?" 

Leon sighs and takes a seat on the stool. "This infection has made many good people do horrible things to stay alive. It's turned friends and family both against one another in a neverending blood bath," he says. "I had to make sure that you hadn't gone to the Widow's - or worse - as a means of protection." 

"Joining up with the Widow's, even for protection, is the worst thing you can do," I growl. "They've tried to kill my siblings and me on several occasions, and to be a part of them? They require you to kill someone. No one is worse than they are."

Josh and Danielle exchange a look I can't read, and Leon nods. "That's understandable, though we're off from our first question," he says. "What are you three doing this far from home?" 

I tense. We came here all the way from central Texas, and he knows this. At least, I'm sure he suspects it if Uncle Tommy talked to him about us. I can't tell him the whole reason. Not until I know who he really is, and he doesn't seem keen on telling me.

"We're going to see Mom in Atlanta," I finally settle on. 

Josh raises an eyebrow, and Danielle rolls her eyes. "That's a shot in the dark," she mutters, and I glare at her, but she just stares right back. 

"Danielle is right," Leon says, an eyebrow raised. "Atlanta has been a warzone for the past couple of years, between the Widow's and another group calling themselves the Valkyrie," he explains. "Their war has started to spread here, with the Widow's searching for more supplies and people to fight for them. The odds of Emily surviving it are slim, at best." 

The sound of Mom's name from his mouth sounds foreign, alien, but I shake my head. "It doesn't matter; you asked why we were here, and that's why." 

"You're putting your family at risk," Leon notes. 

"Breathing the same air as you is also putting my family at risk," I growl, "but it's necessary to keep them safe."

Josh finally speaks up. "So, what are we gonna do with them?" 

"Can we trust them?" Danielle asks. 

For a long moment, Leon stays quiet, watching us with thought as Felix and Octavia are stiff beside me, watching the strangers with morbid interest.

"They are welcome to stay here for as long as they wish while Cassandra heals," Leon finally says, and I look up at him. "You're welcome to eat with the rest of us once lunch is ready. For now, however, Danielle and Josh will show you around the camp while I find suitable accommodations for the three of you. You'll likely be bunking with one another."

He looks to Josh and Danielle, who both nod and open the doors, though Danielle looks just as miffed as she did when we fought. Leon takes his leave as the other two gesture for us to follow them outside. A few people stop to stare at us, noting that I'm no longer covered in blood. They seem to relax from 'curious-mob-on-the-verge-of-a-riot' to merely 'curious mob'. A few of them give my siblings and me the side-eye but pay us no attention when they see Danielle and Josh with us. 

"Over here are the cabins where most of our people are staying," Danielle says, gesturing to an arrangement of several wooden buildings. "Most of them are already full, with a few people sleeping on the ground. These tents are where the overflow stays." 

"How many people are here?" I question. 

She gives me a look that tells me she isn't happy with my inquiry. "Enough to defend ourselves."

"We're a little over-populated," Josh confesses. "But a lot of these people are here for the same reason we are."

"Hiding from the Widow's," I conclude, and they both nod. 

I feel bad for their situation, especially knowing firsthand how ruthless the Widows are. Some people outside wave to Danielle and Josh as we pass them, and a couple even cautiously greet my siblings and me. 

Danielle and Josh lead us away from the cabins and over towards a smaller collection of buildings that look like they were built from scraps. "These are the storage sheds for weapons and food. Our crops are over there, by the river, and our farmers tend to them," Josh points out. Further ahead of us, I can see several rows of corn, tomatoes, potatoes, and other produce while a few people are harvesting some. 

"With the winter coming, our crops won't be able to last that long, and we'll have to go out and scavenge supplies," Danielle says. "Hunting will be our best chance to get through it, but with the Widow's out there..." her voice trails off as she stares out at the field. 

"Cassy is a pretty good hunter," Felix offers, and all of us stare at him. 

"Cassy also can't stay through the winter," I remind him gently. "We have a job to do, remember?" 

"You know," Danielle says, turning to look at me. "Leon says that he knows you and seemed surprised to see you out here. Where are you from?" The question doesn't sound so much like a general inquiry as it does another interrogation. 

"We came from Granberry, over in Texas," I supply. 

"Never heard of Granberry," Josh notes, glancing back at me.

"It's a few miles southwest of Dallas, not too far."

"Oh, huh. Is it small?"

I just nod as we walk along through the camp. 

"You really came all this way to see your mom?" Danielle asks. She doesn't bother hiding the mistrust in her voice. 

I bristle. "Yeah, is there something wrong with that?" 

She glares at me, unsatisfied with the answer, but doesn't press me any further.

They show us to the mess hall where everyone eats, a make-shift training yard where a few people are sparring, and a building they've turned into a small school, where a few children are inside doing various activities. 

By the time they've finished showing us around, it's time to eat a late lunch, and at the mention of food we don't have to cook ourselves, Felix, Octavia, and I perk up. Danielle and Josh lead us back to the mess hall, where several people are already gathered, grabbing plates and piling on their meal. I can smell the deer the moment we open the doors, and my mouth starts to water. 

"Go ahead and grab a plate," Josh says, chuckling at our eagerness. "You can sit with us while you eat." 

Danielle shoots him a brief glare before rolling her eyes, stalking off to grab a plate for herself. 

Josh sighs, shaking his head. "Don't mind her; we've all been pretty on edge with the Widow's being sighted around the woods lately." 

"I understand her mistrust," I say, watching as she briefly chats with someone else from camp before she grabs her fill and wanders over to an empty table. "It sounds like you guys have been through a lot lately." 

"You can say that," Josh chuckles as he leads us to the line. "We've been in hiding for the past two and a half years. Trying to keep morale up while being hunted isn't the easiest thing in the world right now, especially now that you guys have shown up." He sighs, rubbing the back of his neck. When he notices my siblings' crestfallen expressions, he quickly shakes his head, his smile returned. "We're not blaming you, though! At least, I'm not, and I know Dani doesn't. Leon believes in you, and I'm sure that once he talks to the others about you, they'll learn to trust you a little more." 

"Well, we don't really plan on staying for very long," I remind him. "Once I'm healed up, we're heading back out there to finish what we started." 

For a moment, he watches me, curious, then shrugs again, leading us over to the table Danielle claimed, where two other people are sitting with her. The two strangers perk up when they see us approach, smiling. 

"Hey, you must be the new guys' everyone's talking about!" The young man says cheerily. He looks about my age, with an olive complexion, short, shaggy dark hair, and inquisitive dark eyes. Around his neck is a torn-up orange bandana that has clearly seen better days, and on his back, to my surprise, is a katana. 

"Yeah," I say uneasily, setting my plate down opposite Danielle and the two strangers. "I'm Cassandra, and these are my younger siblings, Felix and Octavia." 

My siblings give a nervous wave in greeting as they sit on either side of me. 

"Welcome to Cottonwood, then! I'm Sparrow," he gestures with a flourish to himself. "And this is Jocelynn!" The woman sitting beside him smiles, and waves to us as she eats. She looks a little older than us, with chocolate skin, long, wavy dark hair, and soft hazel eyes. 

Jocelynn swallows her food and grins. "I heard you and Dani had an interesting first meeting."

Danielle rolls her eyes, staying quiet. 

"Yeah, 'interesting' is certainly a word that would describe what happened," I reply slowly, trying to keep things light. Danielle barely glances my way before she continues eating. 

"Unfortunately, they won't be staying long," Josh says. "They wanna leave as soon as they can." 

"Aw, but you just got here!" Sparrow whines. "We haven't seen any friendly new guys around here in so long. Not since I came here last year anyway."

There's a slight commotion near the head of the mess hall, and everyone looks up to see Leon standing to get everyone's attention. The room quickly quiets down as he clears his throat. 

"May I have your attention, please?" His voice rings out loud and clear. "Earlier today, Danielle and Josh brought three guests to our camp," he starts, and everyone glances over at us. Octavia and Felix shrink down in their seats while I try to sit tall, defying some of the glares cast our way. "After an extensive interview," - I scoff at that - "we've deemed them as friends who will be living among us for a short time." Several campers cast cursory gazes our way, only a few of them kind, as murmurs fill the room. "We welcome them into our home for the time that they are here, and I trust you all to treat them like some of our own."

Some campers are still glaring at us with mistrust, but no one speaks out against him. Leon goes to sit and eat, but a commotion outside stops him, pulling everyone's attention. 

Shouts of pained yelps, the racket of shattering glass, and people barking orders just outside the building put everyone on edge, and everyone starts to grab for their weapons. My siblings and I stand, tense, as all eyes in the mess-hall dart to the exits, some others standing to peek out the windows. The doors to the mess hall burst open, and a guard, covered in blood, stumbles in, holding her side. 

"Widows! They found us! Outside the front gate!"