I pull away after a few minutes of no response. I feel all of the emotions I’ve been shoving down flood over as tears prick my eyes and flow down my cheeks. My head hits into his shoulder. “please, will… wake up.” 

“ethan?”  Will calls out ever so softly before he sways heavily, and I’m forced to grab his weight to hold him up. His hands wrap around me in a stern grip as he shoves his head into my hair and takes in a large, shaky breath. “I knew I was missing something,” He whispers into me. I can’t even feel embarrassed because I’m still crying with relief. I pull away from the hug after a few moments. Now isn’t the time for reminiscing. I wipe my eyes and pull out the rope from his backpack before I tie it between us. This time, Will doesn’t argue. I leave enough slack so we can move freely without getting separated. It takes a few minutes for me to fill in Will on what I’ve observed, and by the time I’m done, he’s hardened himself and shoved the hurt back down. I take a step only to stumble in pain. With the relief of finding Will, my body has decided to remind me that a two-inch shard of bone is stuck in my calf. I grit my teeth and let out a stifled groan as Will’s arms keep me standing. “You’re hurt?”  He says, immediately bending down and unwrapping the now blood-soaked shirt. “Fuck” He swears as he slings his bag over his shoulder. He spends the next few minutes properly bandaging my leg while cursing me out for how I did it. 

“Will?” I call out as he stares into the black nothingness of the warehouse. He’s frozen still. I move in front of him to make out what he’s looking at and instantly feel my heart drop. She looks so… thin. There she is, a few feet in front of us, a girl I’ve only seen in photographs. She sways back and forth, trapped in her own little reality. Her bones are practically protruding out of her body. I’m not even sure how or if she’s still alive. If she is still alive, she must have been here for at least a week.

I try to sprint over to Will’s sister, but am wrangled back when the cord of rope between us snaps taut. I turn back to look at an unmoving Will. He’s just staring at her. “Will, it’s ok,” I call out with a soft, reassuring smile. He slowly nods before walking behind me. I’ve never seen him this docile. “Marcy?” I call out as I turn her towards me. She looks even worse from the front. Her eyes are sunken in, and her lips are cracked and bleeding, but her pulse throbs slowly when I press my fingers into her neck. She’s alive.