Eli watched Jae and Keenan's conversation with interest from a few meters away.

He was almost positive that his name was mentioned more than once, though he had never been good at lip reading and so he wasn't sure. But, the furtive glances that they kept shooting in his direction spoke volumes.

He wondered if they had come to the same conclusion that he had. That the house had been burned down intentionally. The strong smell of gasoline could be detected just under the smoke, which meant that someone had set the house ablaze on purpose. Elias highly doubted it was the Risen, which left only one option.

Other survivors. Specifically, Lorenzo.

It had to have been him. He was a ruthless killer who wouldn't think twice about taking out an entire group in one go. The only question was, how did he know about the Lost at all? Elias had taken care not to mention Jae in front of him.

And if Lorenzo was going to kill people, wouldn't he rather do it on the surgical table where he could remove the chips and continue his experimentation? The seed of doubt began to niggle its way into Eli's brain, he had been so certain that it was Lorenzo, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized that it might not have been him.

If it wasn't Lorenzo, then who was it?

"Elias." Keenan's voice broke through his thoughts. "Jae told me what happened yesterday. She says you may know where the Pride is currently residing?"

"We have some ideas." Elias stole a glance at Jae whose arms were crossed in front of her, anger stamped across her face. "But we won't know until we get there."

"Well then, I guess we better get a move on," Keenan instructed, his tone final. "Lorenzo needs to be taken out." He turned towards Kenji, who was still on the floor. It looked as though the weeping man wasn't planning on moving anytime soon, not that Elias could blame him.

"Wait." Elias reached forward to grab Keenan's arm, pulling his attention back to him. "Don't you think that we are rushing things-,"

"Your people killed one of mine!" Keenan roared, cutting him off. Elias took a step back as flecks of spittle landed on his cheeks. "And they will pay for it. Now."

Tense silence filled the air as Keenan breathed heavily, his chest rising up and down rapidly. His eyes were filled with pain and unshed tears as he looked at the burning house. Elias was too stunned to talk, surprised at seeing the usually calm and collected man lose his cool.

Jae stepped forward and placed a hand on Keenan's shoulder, her own anger seemingly pushed to the side for a moment. The older man glanced at her, the sun gleaming off his bald scalp and his breathing slowly returning to normal. He looked back at Elias with apologetic eyes.

"Forgive me, Elias. That was rude." His voice shook as he spoke. "Martha was family and she will be dearly missed. This is an awful situation for all of us and we would like to get to the bottom of it as quickly as possible. I'm sure you would like to find your sister as well."

"Yes." Elias swallowed hard, fighting past the lump of guilt in his throat. Keenan was clearly barely containing his anger. His words, though polite, seemed slightly forced. "But I don't want to kill anyone."

"Neither do I," Keenan assured him. Elias wasn't sure why, but he wasn't convinced that Keenan was telling the truth anymore. Martha's death had changed the man, and revenge shone brightly in his eyes, unmistakable in the midday sun. "Please, give me a few moments alone with Kenji."

Jae nodded and tugged on Elias' elbow, pulling him away from the rest of the men. For the first time, Elias noticed the heat that poured from the house, even though the fire seemed to be diminishing. His cheeks burned slightly, whether from shame at being involved in the Pride, or residual warmth from the flames, he wasn't sure.

"Your integrity will be the death of you, Elias." Jae's words echoed something she had said to him before and he managed a half smile at the reminder.

In the short time they had known each other, they had come so far, and they still had such a long way to go. But, it was nice to see that Jae hadn't completely changed, that beneath her grief and anger, she was still the sarcastic and snarky girl he had first met. The last time she had said those words to him, he had fought back, earning her respect. This time, his answer was different, as the truth was impossible to ignore.

"I know," he muttered sadly. "I know it will."

+

Two hours later, Elias and Jae were leading the way as Keenan, Jonah, Kenji and Tyrell followed.

They stayed in the residential area, weaving between houses and sticking to the gardens, all of them keeping a lookout for any signs of movement. Elias was grateful that they had waited for Tyrell to come back before heading out. The man was six feet of silence and rippling muscle, a hulking and intimidating figure that looked as though he could knock someone out with one punch.

Kenji, devastated from losing the woman he loved, had to be supported by Jonah and Keenan. He was sobbing so loudly that Elias was almost worried about the attention he was drawing. Not that he could blame him, Kenji had lost the person closest to him. Elias would feel the same way if Eden...

No. He couldn't go there. He wouldn't let himself. He would find his sister, no matter what it took.

"It's getting dark." Keenan finally broke the hours of silence. "We should find a place to stay for the night."

Elias almost argued with him, but then he remembered the day before when him and Jae had had a similar conversation and decided against it. Being out after dark was dangerous, he understood that now. Last night had been the scariest of his life and his sleep had been punctuated with the Risen's face.

As if by unspoken agreement, Keenan started checking the doors of every house they came across, handing Kenji over to Tyrell. After ten or so failed attempts, he finally found an open one, stepping inside and beckoning for them all to follow him.

The house was shrouded in darkness as they all stepped through. The Lost immediately split up without any words exchanged, as though this was a rehearsed dance for them. Keenan and Tyrell went towards the back of the house where Elias assumed the bedrooms were. Jae and Jonah headed into the kitchen and Kenji sat on the floor by the door, his sobs had quietened down as he stared straight ahead with red rimmed eyes.

Unsure what else to do, Elias stayed with the heart-broken man, crouching down in front of him and placing a hand on his knee. "I am truly sorry, Kenji."

Kenji looked up at him, the grief on his face almost unbearable to look at, it reminded Elias too much of his own. "She was the one good thing I had left in this world. Now, I have nothing."

Caring about people destroys you.

Jae was wrong. Loving Martha had made Kenji into the man he was. It was losing her that had broken him. Caring about people didn't destroy them, it gave them something to live for, something to strive for, a reason to wake up every day. He wished that Jae would one day realize this. A life without love was the cruelest existence of all.

Elias was about to try and comfort Kenji, when Keenan arrived back, interrupting their moment. "Kenji, let's get you to bed. You and Jonah will take the guest room. Tyrell and I will sleep in the lounge so we can keep watch. Elias, you and Jae can take the master."

Elias wanted to ask why he got to go in the biggest room in the house, but he never got the chance. Keenan helped Kenji up and supported him to the second room on the left just as Jae and Jonah came back with two tins in their hands.

"This was all that was there," Jae said sadly, indicating their measly findings. "We will have to share it out."

But, even though she opened the cans of baked beans with a knife they had scavenged from the kitchen, no one made a move to touch them. Keenan arrived back in the lounge and they all sat in silence for what must have been an hour before everyone eventually decided to go to bed without eating.

Elias walked into the master bedroom, a few steps behind Jae, surprised to see the double bed sitting proudly in the middle of it. "I can sleep on the floor," he muttered quickly, a blush crawling up his cheeks. Sharing a bed with Jae seemed a little too intimate for their level of friendship, and his palms started to sweat just thinking about it.

"Don't be ridiculous," Jae replied. "Just keep your hands to yourself and I won't have to cut them off."

He chuckled awkwardly as they both slipped off their shoes. They crawled into bed in their clothes, the same ones that Elias had been wearing for days. He made a mental note to raid the cupboard in the morning to see if there was anything for him to change into. Silence stretched between them, taut as a rubber band before he finally broke it.

"I'm sorry I lost your dagger, Jae."

"That's okay," she muttered. "It's probably better that it's gone. I was holding onto it for the wrong reasons. Besides, you saved my life so you won't hear me complaining."

"Was it," he started, before stopping himself from asking a question he knew would upset her. He bit his tongue, pushing his curiosity away. Their friendship was so tentative, as if one wrong move could destroy it forever. He enjoyed having Jae in his life and he didn't want to push her away.

She was quiet for a long time, and Elias wondered if she somehow knew he was going to ask if her dagger was the weapon she had used to accidentally kill someone. He wished he could stuff his size eleven foot in his own mouth, where it probably belonged, to stop himself from continuously pushing his luck with her. Just as he was about to apologize for overstepping again, she finally spoke.

"I never knew his name," she whispered in the darkness. Elias turned on his side to look at her, she was staring up at the ceiling. All he could see was her silhouette, her face completely unreadable. "It was eight months ago, and I was on a supply run in a convenience store in the city center."

"What happened?" he asked softly, scared to say the words too loud.

"He came at me from nowhere," she answered. "I might have thought he was one of the Risen, but his eyes were so full of anger and pain that I could see he wasn't. He tried to get my backpack from me, and when I wouldn't give it up, he wrapped his hands around my throat."

She swallowed audibly, the sound almost deafening in the dark stillness of the room. "I didn't have a choice, Eli. It was him or me, and I didn't want to die. I still don't." She choked back a loud sob and Elias reached for her hand, entwining his fingers with hers and attempting to offer her comfort through his touch.

"Why are you telling me this now?" he questioned. He didn't want to sound like he was complaining, but it seemed a strange moment for her to finally let down all her walls and allow him to see the darkest parts of her.

"Because, I want to trust you, Elias," she admitted, unable to hide the tremble in her voice. "And I want you to trust me. But, you can't do that unless you know who I really am."

He sighed deeply, pleased that they were taking steps to further their friendship, but sad for the girl who carried so much weight on her shoulders. No wonder she hid behind sarcasm and dark thoughts, she was in agony, buried beneath her guilt and struggling to breathe. "What happened wasn't your fault, Jae."

"It was," she insisted. "And now my hands are scarred with murder."

"And yet," he answered, squeezing her fingers gently. "I trust them completely."

Even in the darkness, he could see the streaks of silver tears sparkling in the dim light as she turned her head towards him. She moved closer, laying her head on his chest and allowing him to wrap an arm around her. "Thank you, Eli."

"You're welcome," he muttered, marveling at this completely new side of Jae that he was getting the chance to see. "I'm so sorry-,"

He was interrupted by a loud knock and then the door was thrown open without either of them responding. "Jae, Elias, wake up." Keenan's urgent voice called. "Kenji and Jonah are gone."