Elias was a fool.

Saving that man would have gotten them both killed. And yet, she found something endearing in the way he wanted to try, at the risk of his own life. It seemed that this world had not turned him into a monster the same way it had done to her.

"See, that wasn't so hard was it?" He tried to joke with a soft grin. His attempt to lighten the situation was admirable, but considering what they had just witnessed, it fell flat. His small smile fell and he withered under the stony glare that Jae shot him.

"Names have meaning Elias. And I don't plan on seeing you ever again." She glanced at the world outside. The sun had set and the moon had taken its place, a small crescent hanging in the inky black sky. "I'm not sure about you, but I'm not going anywhere tonight. It's too dangerous."

"We should check out the apartments," he suggested. "We could find supplies as well as a safe place to stay."

"We shouldn't do anything," Jae snapped. "I don't know you and I certainly don't trust you."

He surveyed her for a moment, shrugging his shoulders before responding. "Even so, you're stuck with me for the night. You might as well get used to it."

The boy had a point, and it infuriated her. She weighed her options. It might not be a bad thing to have the defence that a gun could provide. Although there was always the possibility that he would use it on her, she didn't think it was very likely. Maybe she could even steal it at some point during the night. A weapon like that would come in handy in the future. She nodded once, making sure to keep her hand close to her dagger, just in case.

"Fine," she said curtly, before turning away from him and heading once more to the stairwell. "Just try to keep up."

He hurried along behind her as she started to ascend the stairs. They trudged on in silence. The only sound was their breathing which became heavier as they climbed higher, and their footsteps that echoed loudly in the confined space. By the time they reached the top floor, Elias was panting. He leaned over with his hands on his knees to catch his breath.

"You're unfit." Jaelynn meant it more as an observation instead of the insult it sounded like, but she couldn't completely hide the disdain in her voice. "You should really try to exercise more. What happens if you have to run from them?"

In high school, Jaelynn had been on the cross country team. Of course, when everything went to hell, she continued to run every chance she could get, determined that if it came to it, she could escape death.

It looked like Elias hadn't thought that far ahead.

In fact, she would hazard a guess that he came from a privileged family. He still seemed to carry around an air of grace and the cluelessness that came from being wealthy and never having to do anything yourself. The Rise had clearly stripped him of some of it, but nothing could take it away completely.

She was surprised he had lasted so long in this dystopian world. But then again, she was cynical and oftentimes, too harsh. It was entirely possible that she was playing into stereotypes and allowing her preconceived notions to taint her opinion, something her parents had always warned her against.

But they weren't here to scold her now.

And if Elias did come from money, it was also possible, if not extremely likely, that he had the chip in his brain. If that were true, then if he died, he would turn into one of The Risen unless his body was incinerated.

Which essentially meant that he was a ticking time bomb.

She wanted to ask, but she was sure he would lie and say that he didn't. Elias may have been naïve and sheltered, but she didn't think he was that dense. Even someone like him should know how dangerous that kind of information could be in the wrong hands.

"I have a gun," he wheezed, still doubled over.

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at his weak excuse. "Like I told you before, that won't kill them. A head shot will slow them down but I don't know if that would be enough for you."

"You're incredibly rude." He finally straightened up, his stony gaze meeting hers. "Has anyone ever told you that?"

"There's no place for pleasantries in this world." Jaelynn smirked, pleasantly surprised that he did have a backbone after all. She never would have thought he would call her out. "But yes, I've been told that quite often."

"As long as you're aware." There was a hint of a smile on his lips, as though he was proud of himself for his remark. "Should we try this one first?"

The door he pointed to was slightly ajar, as though someone had left it open in their haste to run away. It could also be from other survivors breaking it open to raid it, but the wood looked intact and the lock still whole, which were good signs.

Jaelynn proceeded cautiously anyway, nudging it further open with her boot and holding her dagger poised. She only hoped the place was empty. It wouldn't be the first time she'd had to use it, but the memory of the steel embedding in flesh still haunted her.

She'd rather not relive it.

"Hello?" Elias called out, like the fool he was. She elbowed him hard in the ribs, ignoring the wince of pain that crossed his face and the grunt that sounded from his mouth.

She should have trusted her instincts when it came to Elias. He may not have pulled the trigger, but he was still going to get her killed. She should have left him in the reception. Or allowed him to try and save the man and let The Risen get to him.

"What's the matter with you?" she whispered furiously when his call was met with silence. "You have no idea who or what could be in here. They could be hostile, or The Risen, and you want to alert them of our presence?"

"I was just seeing if it was empty." He spoke too loud in the quiet apartment and she fought the urge to stamp on his foot. If she did, he'd probably yell out in pain and make even more noise.

"Well, don't. Just keep your gun out and follow me. Quietly," she added, placing as much emphasis as she could on the word and hoping that he had enough common sense to listen to her.

"Fine," he huffed.

She didn't have the time or the patience to deal with his bruised ego, nor did she care to. Instead, she took a few steps forward before pausing and surveying their surroundings.

Whoever had lived here seemed to have a penchant for loud colours. The couches were an awful yellow that clearly used to be bright but had faded over time. The rug was a dark brown with big green circles covering it and the walls were half cream and half blue. Nothing matched, not even the floor lamp that had a colourful beaded shade.

It was all so ugly.

"They should have hired an interior decorator." Elias' nose wrinkled in disgust as he looked around the apartment. Clearly, his thoughts on the décor matched her own.

Except she would never have thought of hiring someone to fix it. It was the kind of luxury that only wealthy people would suggest. Further proof that he used to be able to afford expensive and unnecessary things.

Such as the chip.

She eyed him carefully, taking note of the gentle slope of his nose and the strong curve of his chin. His tan skin was flawless under the dim light that emanated from the beaded lamp. His hair was too thick to search for the scar that she was now sure was there. Maybe she was too suspicious, but his high cheekbones screamed of a well-to-do family.

It was also possible that this world had made her too cynical. Either way, she would have to be wary of him. Putting the thought aside for the moment, she glanced away and stepped further inside the apartment, with him just slightly behind.

The wooden floor creaked under their feet as they walked through the living room. Jaelynn listened carefully, her senses on high alert for any sounds or movements in the small space. She kept her dagger up, ready for any sign of trouble.

"Check the bathroom," she told Elias. "I'll take the bedroom."

If there was someone hiding out in here, they would be more likely to be in the bedroom. But her reasons for checking it and sending Elias to the relatively safer room were far from selfless. She was sure that at the slightest hint of noise, he would fire his gun and that kind of racket could attract all sorts of unwanted attention.

However, she needn't have worried. When they met up again in the hallway, Elias shook his head silently. Her search had also come up empty. The apartment appeared to be abandoned. They could search through the kitchen for supplies without any worries of someone jumping them.

Jaelynn opened the cabinets and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that they were fully stocked with numerous tin cans and bags of dry pasta. Whoever had lived here before had clearly been hoarding in preparation of waiting out the Rise. Sadly, it looked like it didn't do them any good.

For a fleeting moment, she allowed herself to wonder what had happened to them. Had they travelled to a safe zone or been taken against their will? Were they killed or did they go on the run? She shook off the thoughts quickly. Thinking about it now wouldn't help anyone.

Elias watched her as she raided the kitchen cupboards, stuffing what she could into her backpack before forcing the zip closed. It had definitely seen better days, the straps were frayed and the hem had started to split along the left side. She hoped that it would hold together long enough to get back to The Lost.

"Aren't you taking anything?" she asked him, confused as to why he was just staring at her.

"I'm supposed to just be scouting ahead," he answered, sitting down on the tiled kitchen floor. "I didn't bring anything to put stuff in."

"Well then, why did you come up here?" This kid was confusing. She couldn't figure out what his motivations were and nothing he did made sense. He was a puzzle that she couldn't fit together and that worried her immensely.

"A safe place to hide for the night. Like you said, it's better not to travel after dark." He wrapped his arms around his legs, propping his chin on his knees. "Besides, now I can go back tomorrow and tell them about this place."

She really would rather he didn't tell anyone. If he did, then his group with their ridiculous name would ransack the entire building, leaving nothing for The Lost. But she couldn't stop him either. The place wasn't hers.

"Correct me if I'm wrong." She joined him on the floor, crossing her legs in front of her. "But if you're scouting and you don't go back, aren't they going to assume that you're dead?"

He clearly hadn't thought of that. His nose wrinkled and a small crease appeared between his eyebrows before he answered. "Well, they'll see soon enough that I'm not. Oh no." His eyes widened as though he had just realised something, "Eden!"

"Excuse me?" Jae questioned.

"My little sister." He got to his feet and began to pace in front of her, back and forth across the room. "What if they capture another of The Risen? She won't be able to sleep."

It was Jae's turn to be confused. "I'm going to need a little more context here. Why wouldn't she be able to sleep?"

"Lorenzo and Delta," he spoke in a rush, as though he couldn't get the words out fast enough, tugging at his hair in frustration. "They're attempting to see if they can turn The Risen back to their original state. Sometimes they manage to catch one and try to remove the chips. The screams from the Risen echo throughout our entire warehouse. Eden struggles to sleep when that happens and she comes to me."

There was something completely wrong about this revelation. Jae struggled to put her finger on it as she watched the boy in front of her worry about his sister. The chip was the only thing keeping the Risen alive. Surely once it was removed then they would just go back to being corpses?

However, that wasn't what was bothering her. No, it was something else, something much worse that was niggling at her. Realization hit her like a slap in the face as she figured out what the problem was. She stood up quickly, grabbing Elias by the shoulders, the words falling from her lips like grenades, sure to leave destruction in their wake.

"The Risen don't feel anything. It's part of the reason we can't kill them. They don't feel pain." She shook him slightly, hoping to get her point across.

"What?" He looked puzzled, like he didn't understand what she was trying to say. She resisted the urge to slap him, willing him to figure it out faster. Sighing in annoyance, she released her grip on him.

"Elias, the Risen don't scream."