The walk back to the warehouse where the Pride stayed was long and torturous.

Eli couldn't forget the sight of The Risen dragging the man behind them. Every corner loomed in front of him. Every shadow looked ominous. Every noise made him jump. Terror coated his skin like a well-worn jacket as his heart sat in his throat.

Jaelynn was right, he had been sheltered. Now, his eyes had been opened to the horrors of the Risen and the reality was almost unbearable. Every single step brought the possibility that some of The Risen would find him and even the whistle of the wind made him jump. His trembling hands fought to keep hold of the gun.

Even worse than his mind-numbing fear that he would be discovered, was the revelation that the screams he constantly heard came from living people. Eli had always known that there was something off about Lorenzo, but the truth was even more horrifying than he could have imagined.

He hoped with all his heart that his father wasn't aware of what Lorenzo and Delta were doing, but the chances of that were unlikely. Unlike Eli, Emmanuel had encountered the Risen a few times before. He would have known that they don't feel pain.

It was this thought that kept him up last night, struggling to fall asleep on the uncomfortable couch. Though Elias and Emmanuel didn't always agree on everything, Elias loved his father. He was the only parent that he had left and the possibility of him being involved in something so evil made it difficult for Elias to breathe properly.

Relief filled his chest when he finally caught sight of the warehouse. The stone grey walls, imposing steel pillars and numerous chimneys had never looked more inviting to him as they did in that moment. He entered the main door quickly, eager to be out of the hot sun and off the quiet streets. As soon as he crossed the threshold, the relief turned to apprehension, the impending talk with his father causing dread to swim through his veins.

The interior was the same as it was yesterday, and yet somehow it seemed different. Maybe it was the recent revelation, tainting his view. Possibly, it was just his imagination. But Elias was sure he could feel a shift in the air, dark and ominous.

"Eli," a very familiar voice squealed and a small ball of energy sprinted towards him, wrapping her tiny arms around his legs. "You didn't come back last night."

"I'm sorry, Eden." Eli bent down and scooped her up, so happy to finally have his little sister in his arms again. He searched her cherub face for signs of exhaustion and tears, relieved when all he saw was a big smile. "Was it bad?"

"No." She shook her head vehemently. "No noises."

A heavy weight lifted off Eli's chest and he breathed deeply, so grateful that she didn't have to experience the sounds of someone else's pain without him. "Have you seen dad?"

She pointed towards the office before placing her thumb in her mouth and looking up at him with her doe eyes. He placed her back down on the floor, wishing he could spend more time with her, but knowing that he had something more important to do first. "Why don't you go see what Tobias is making for dinner? I need to talk to dad."

She nodded and headed off in the direction of their makeshift kitchen in the far corner. He watched her go, promising himself that no matter what, he would get her out of this evil place. Even from here, Elias could see steam rising from something that Tobias was cooking up and the smile on his face as Eden arrived.

With a heavy heart, Elias strode towards the office, occasionally nodding or greeting one of the others. Despite what Jaelynn had said, there should always be time for pleasantries in this world and Elias refused to be rude to people just because his stomach was churning with worry.

He lifted his arm, ready to knock but paused just before he could, his entire bod tense. Behind the heavy wood door he could hear his father's muffled voice talking. It reminded him so much of yesterday, except this time everything was different. Elias almost wished he could go back in time to before he knew the truth, when everything seemed so much simpler.

He rapped his knuckles softly against the wood, and without waiting to be called in, he entered the confined room. "Dad, I-," but he stopped short when he saw that it was Lorenzo in there with his father.

Hatred filled his body at the sight of the greasy haired man, so intense that it felt as though it would burst from his skin. His hands curled into fists as bile rose up his throat and it took all of his will power to shove it back down.

"Elias, I was so worried." Emmanuel crossed the small space and enveloped his son in a hug. "Where have you been?"

With a furtive glance at Lorenzo, Elias answered, "I encountered some of the Risen. There were four of them, dragging a survivor behind them. I hid, but by the time I felt it was safe enough to move, it was dark. I stayed in an abandoned building."

"Quick thinking," Lorenzo sneered. Elias almost wanted to retaliate and say that it had been Jaelynn who had saved him, but he didn't want Lorenzo to know about her. Now that he knew the truth, he was worried that Lorenzo would go after her if he knew there was another survivor in the vicinity.

"Did you find any supplies?" his father asked.

Elias thought of the apartment that had been stocked with food and canned goods. The apartment where he was due to meet Jaelynn the next day. "No," he said. The lie tasted sour on his tongue, like vinegar and regret. "But I would like to go back tomorrow. I didn't get a chance to look properly because of the Risen."

"That won't be necessary," Lorenzo replied. "Your job was to scout ahead, not actually get supplies. You can point out on the map where the Risen were and the direction they were heading."

Elias nodded, swallowing the retort that he wanted to leap from his tongue. "Dad, can I speak to you in private for a moment please?"

Emmanuel's eyes widened, but he tilted his head slightly toward Lorenzo. The greasy haired man seemed to take his cue, exiting the office quickly, leaving Elias alone with his father.

"Do you trust Lorenzo?" Elias started, wanting to try and figure out how far Emmanuel's loyalty went.

"Of course I do." Emmanuel sank into the chair behind the desk, surveying his son with a confused expression. "He's guided us well so far, don't you think?"

"Yes, but." Elias gulped loudly, trying to dislodge the fear from his throat. "The chip removals-,"

Emmanuel sighed as though the conversation was a nuisance he could live without. "Elias, I know you don't like the noises but it's a small price to pay for progress don't you think?"

"It's just, I saw the Risen yesterday, dad. They're emotionless, ruthless. They don't feel pain. They don't scream." He echoed Jaelynn's words, almost wishing that his father would deny them and offer up a plausible explanation that would make Elias feel better.

Emmanuel was silent for a long moment, eyeing Elias carefully, his eyebrows creased and his nose crinkled. "What are you saying?"

Elias knew that he was a younger version of his father; that they shared the same looks. They were so similar that, if it hadn't been for the age difference, they could have been mistaken as twins. Elias could easily see his father's confusion, as Emmanuel's expression was identical to his own, and this gave him the slightest bit of hope that maybe his father didn't know.

"Lorenzo's not removing the chips from The Risen," Elias explained sadly. "He's removing them from survivors."

After seeing Emmanuel's confusion, he had hoped, maybe even expected, that his father's face would wrinkle in disgust, or that he would recoil in shock with his eyes wide.

However, Emmanuel did no such thing.

Instead, his face became impassive, stoic, as though the revelation was no surprise to him. The crease in his brow smoothed out, and his eyes searched Eli's face coolly as he leant back in his chair.

Elias's heart dropped straight to the floor at his father's lack of reaction. He fought back the tears of betrayal that wanted to leak from his eyes. "You knew. You knew all along."

In a calm and measured voice, Emmanuel stated, "I had my suspicions."

"Why haven't you done anything about it?" Elias had to work hard to keep his voice down. "You've just let him continue!"

"His methods may be... questionable." Emmanuel kept his composure in the face of Eli's accusations, folding his hands gently on his lap. "But, his motive is sound. Lorenzo wants to rid the world of the Risen altogether."

"That makes no sense! Lorenzo's killing people, survivors. And for what? All he's doing is turning more people into the Risen!" Elias couldn't keep the horror from his voice. It was all too much. Every time Elias had asked his father if they could leave because of the screams, Emmanuel had known what was really happening and had still forced them to stay with The Pride.

"They don't turn if their bodies are burned." Emmanuel shrugged, still sounding far too calm and composed for the current situation.

Elias flinched as though his father slapped him, physically hurting from Emmanuel's callousness. "You actually agree with him, don't you? Have you stopped to think about what this means for our family?"

"You and Eden are the exact reasons I have done nothing about Lorenzo's practices. Both of you have had the chip installed, and I would like to believe that one day, Lorenzo will figure out a way to remove it that doesn't result in death." Emmanuel stood from his chair, his eyes flashing with anger. "You don't want to turn into one of The Risen do you?"

Elias was almost relieved that his father was finally showing some emotion. It was better than the robotic and calm responses he had gotten so far. "I would rather that than stand by as Lorenzo kills innocent people."

"You're just a kid," Emmanuel scoffed. "You don't understand the way of the world yet Elias. Sometimes-,"

"Don't talk down to me," Elias snapped. "I stopped being a kid long ago. Somewhere between my mother being killed and having to cover my little sister's ears at night while Lorenzo killed people in the same building as us. Justify it however you want, but there's a word for what Lorenzo is doing and that's murder. If you're letting it happen, you're just as bad."

"I'm sorry you feel that way." Though Emmanuel's expression betrayed his words, he didn't look apologetic about it at all. "We are just trying to make the world a better place."

Elias couldn't help but marvel how his father went from vaguely knowing about it to suddenly being involved. His heart sank further as he realised that Emmanuel had begun the conversation by lying to him. It was only when Elias sparked Emmanuel's anger that he started being honest. Emmanuel had been in on this from the beginning. He was just as evil as Lorenzo.

Blinking back the tears that welled in his eyes, Elias looked at his father in revulsion. "Just tell me one thing. Does Lorenzo know? About us?"

"No."

That was all Elias needed to know and he planned to keep it that way. Without saying another word, he left the room, slamming the door behind him.

Betrayal was a heavy stone that sat in his stomach as Elias faced the fact that his father was involved. Hatred, disgust and revulsion fought for the top spot in his emotions as he realised that not only was Emmanuel evil, he had placed his own two children in danger. Elias knew that he would never be able to look at his father again.

He had to get Eden out of here, soon. Before the inevitable happened and Lorenzo realised that he had three possible test subjects living under the same roof as him. If Emmanuel wanted to stay and be a part of this, then that was his prerogative, but Elias sure as hell wasn't about to let Eden be killed for some stupid experiment.

Elias not getting permission to go on the supply run was another spanner in the works. But if he left early enough, no one would notice that he was gone until it was too late. He would go, meet up with Jaelynn and find out from her if her group had space for him and his little sister. While he was out in the world, he would scout out a safe route to bring her on. He didn't want her to have to witness The Risen in all their blood stained glory.

Then he would come back and get her, save her from this horrific life and the people that they thought they could trust. She would be reluctant to leave Emmanuel, and Elias didn't want to burden her with the truth, but he would find a way to make her agree to come with him.

Plan decided, Elias went in search of food, hoping that there were no screams tonight.

Now that he knew the truth behind them, he couldn't bear to hear them.