The sun had barely peeked over the horizon when Jae set out the next day to meet Elias.

A soft breeze danced along her skin, refreshingly cool. The sky was a kaleidoscope of pale pinks, yellows and light blues as she made her way down the now familiar route. Despite the ominous mission she was on, Jae found herself smiling for a moment at the stunning sight, enjoying the fresh air and the peaceful atmosphere.

Sticking to the open road, she kept her eyes peeled for any sign of movement, her hand never far from the dagger in her belt. Her thoughts were stuck on Elias' people and what they were up to. A shiver of revulsion crawled its way up her spine as she replayed the conversation with Elias in her mind.

The Risen don't scream.

How could he not have known that? Jae played with the idea that it was intentional. Maybe Lorenzo probably knew Elias wouldn't agree with what he was doing, so he kept Elias sheltered and clueless, never seeing the Risen up close. It was possible, although Jae didn't know Lorenzo well enough to know how likely it was.

She shrugged it off, not wanting to dwell on it too much. The reason for Elias' naivety was unimportant. The only thing that mattered now was putting an end to the man who was killing innocent people. These thoughts accompanied Jae all the way through the residential area and into the city centre.

She stopped outside a pharmacy that had been ransacked, and took a sip of water from the bottle in her bag, revelling in the cool morning air. The walk had gone quicker than expected with her mind occupied and she guessed it was about an hour until noon. She wasn't sure the exact time Elias would be at the building, but if she arrived early she could stock up on supplies before he got there.

Relaxing for a few minutes, Jae took another grateful slug of water, leaning against the cold brick of the pharmacy. It was only as she placed the lid back on her bottle and straightened up, that she noticed the lone figure coming towards her from the treeline she had walked through only the day before.

Jae's heart skipped a beat before hammering violently in her chest. She ducked into the pharmacy, stepping over broken glass as she desperately looked for a hiding place. Random pills, smashed make up and spilled nail polish covered the floor, the vibrant colours standing out against the stark white tiles.

The counter was tempting, but Jae knew she didn't have the time to cross the entire store without being seen. Instead she quickly stepped into the third aisle from the door, crouching down to the floor, a sheen of sweat covering every inch of her skin.

Through the metal slats of the shelf she was hiding behind, she had a disjointed view of the shattered window. Just outside, the figure stopped, snapping its head to the side and sniffing deeply.

The child was definitely dead.

Jae didn't need to get close enough to smell him. She could see it in the way he moved: robotic and stiff, each footstep calculated. She could tell by his eyes: cold, hard and devoid of any emotion. His eerie gaze searched his surroundings, looking for something.

Her.

Shivers ran up Jae's spine as terror wrapped its fingers around her heart. The kid was no older than eight, too young to be a ruthless killer, and yet that's exactly what he was. His eyes roamed over her hideout and she crouched down further, attempting to become one with the shelf in her desperate attempt to go unnoticed.

Jae was many things. Stubborn, rude, dangerous, a murderer. She had killed before but she knew that no matter what, she would never be able to bring herself to kill a child. Even if he was already dead. There are just some lines that one should never cross.

The scent of decay wafted towards her as the child took a step into the pharmacy. Jae fought the urge to gag, her stomach swirling as bile rose up her throat. It was the strongest smelling Risen that she had ever come across, which lead her to believe that he had been dead for a long, long time.

She held her breath as his beady eyes scanned the area, passing right over her hiding spot again. The smell of death and rotting flesh became almost overwhelming as he wandered down the second aisle, leaving only a set of shelves between them.

Jae's hand tightened around her dagger and she pulled it out, her shoulders tense. If it came to it, she would use it. Slam it into the kid's shoulder to distract him before she made a run for it. Jae was nothing if not a survivor, and she would do anything to live. Even if it meant losing the one weapon she owned.

The thudding of her heart drowned out the child's footsteps, but she could see him getting closer, occasionally cocking his head as he listened for any sound she might make. Jae had to do something, and fast. Though the Risen in front of her was a child, she had no doubt that he was stronger than she was, and would be able to kill her easily.

Fumbling around on the ground with her free hand, she breathed a sigh of relief when her fingers came into contact with a bottle of pills. Cursing as they rattled with the movement, she threw it as hard as she could over the counter and towards an open doorway behind it.

The child's head snapped towards the resulting clatter and he began to stalk towards the noise. Jae waited until he was almost there, before taking the opportunity and running out of the store as fast as she could, away from the dead child.

She didn't look back, nor did she stop until she entered the building in which she had met Elias in the day before. Her breaths came out in short bursts as she looked behind her to see if she was followed. Her heart slammed against her chest and sweat rolled in rivers down her face.

She leant over, placing her hands on her knees as she sucked in deep breaths, the straps of her backpack cutting painfully into her shoulders. Pulling it off, she dropped it to the floor, using the hem of her shirt to attempt to dry her cheeks.

She took a few moments to catch her breath, relief flooding her chest as she realised how lucky she was to have escaped. A burst of hysterical laughter escaped from her as she remembered the eerie and calculating way the dead child had looked for her.

Suddenly, a hand landed on her shoulder, closely followed by one over her mouth holding back the scream that wanted to erupt from her throat. She jumped out of her skin, her chest tightening. Her heartbeat, which had just started to calm down, leapt again, beating erratically against her ribcage.

"Jaelynn, it's okay. It's me." A familiar voice whispered softly. "It's Elias."

He released his hold on her and she turned to face him, resisting the urge to punch him in his innocent looking face. "You scared the hell out of me!" she admitted as her heart returned to normal.

"I'm sorry," he apologised, although it was accompanied with a smug grin. "What made you so jumpy? I thought you weren't afraid of anything?"

I'm afraid of you.

The thought came from nowhere, and yet it made her breath catch as she realised just how true it was. She didn't trust Eli one bit. For all she knew, he could be leading her into a trap. More importantly, she was convinced that he had the chip. If he were to die, he would turn into one of the Risen.

And Jae didn't want to stick around for that.

Instead of answering him, she merely shrugged her shoulders. "Did you speak with your father?"

Immediately Elias' whole demeanour changed. His shoulders stiffened and his hands curled into fists. The smile slipped off his face, replaced by a scowl. His gaze was full of fire, the anger radiating off of him. Without him even responding, she knew what he would say.

"He knew." Elias spoke through gritted teeth. "This whole time."

"I'm sorry, Elias." Jae attempted to pat his back awkwardly, searching for a non-existent silver lining. "At least you know now, I guess."

He looked at her with such distaste that she almost flinched. "I would rather not know, actually."

"Well, too bad for you then," she replied snarkily, unable to keep up the sympathetic act for too long. "But do you at least now see why they need to be stopped?"

The fight seemed to seep out of him, replaced by an all-consuming sadness that felt almost too personal for Jae to witness. "What do we do now, then?"

"Let's go see Keenan."

The walk back to the house was made longer by Elias' incessant need to dissect every detail of his conversation with his father. Jae attempted to tune him out, her shoulders aching with the effort of carrying her now full backpack.

Though Elias had wanted to leave straight away, she had convinced him to stay downstairs and keep watch while she raided an apartment on the first floor. She was pleasantly surprised to find some tinned fruit left in one of the cupboards and even managed to refill her water bottle.

Now, as the sun approached the horizon and the sky turned to a colourful mass of dark orange, red and navy, she almost wished he had won their argument about the supplies. At least then her backpack would be lighter. She was also starting to wish she had left Elias behind. Or searched for earplugs while she was there.

"It was weird, Jae," Elias said between heavy pants as he struggled to keep up with her. "It was like he changed halfway through. One second he was saying he had his suspicions, the next it was like he was suddenly heavily involved in it."

"Don't call me Jae," she told him through gritted teeth.

"Doesn't he understand how dangerous it is for Eden to stay under the same roof as Lorenzo? If he finds out she has the chip-," Elias finally fell silent, cutting himself off before Jae could. He stopped in his tracks, eyes wide as she turned back to face him.

For a long moment, they stared at each other in silence. Jae had guessed that he had the chip and now that the truth was out there she felt almost relieved to be proven right. Elias shifted from foot to foot, looking like he had been caught in the bathroom by one of The Risen; scared, startled and cornered.

"I already thought your family might have the chip, Elias." Jae eventually shrugged, putting the poor boy out of his misery. "As long as you don't die around me, we're good."

"How could you tell? Do you think that Lorenzo would be able to?" Elias asked, his voice filled with panic.

"If he hasn't killed you yet, then he probably can't tell." Jae avoided telling him how she guessed, partly because she didn't want to hurt his feelings. Mainly, because she still didn't trust him, and somehow knowing he had the chip gave her a slight bit of power over him.

Jae could see that her words had done nothing to calm him down. Instead he looked even more worried, grabbing her arm and whispering, "I'm serious, Jae. What if he can?"

She wrenched her arm from his grasp. "Like I said before, if Lorenzo knew you had the chip, I'm pretty sure you would have been one of his little experiments by now. And yet here you are, annoying me and calling me a nickname that I did not give you permission to. Seems to me that you're in the clear."

He was silent for a moment, clearly mulling her words over. "You won't tell anyone, will you?"

She eyed him carefully, wondering if it was a promise she would be willing to keep. For some reason, she felt as though Keenan would want to know about Elias' family having the chips. Instead of lying to the poor kid, she neither confirmed nor denied, changing the subject completely. "We better get a move on."

If he wanted to argue, she didn't give him the chance, trudging ahead of him down the familiar route. She made sure to keep a few steps in front of him so that he didn't feel the need to start up another conversation. By the time they finally arrived at the small double story house that she called home, the silence between them was almost comfortable.

This time, she didn't have to do her special knock. Keenan stepped out of the front door just as Jae and Elias reached the porch steps. "This him?" He inclined his head in Elias' direction, his features a mixture of wariness and curiosity.

Jae nodded, pulling her backpack off and handing it over to him, rolling her shoulders in relief. Keenan took it, eyeing Elias suspiciously before stepping aside to allow him entrance. "Get inside, quickly."

Jae stepped in first, eager to be in the comfortable surroundings of her makeshift home. Elias followed, fear rolling off him in waves as he pressed his back to the hallway wall. Jae wanted to congratulate him on finally being cautious, but decided against it as Keenan pulled the door closed behind them.

Well, Elias." Keenan turned to face the newcomer. "I believe we have a lot to talk about."