"Tobias!" Eden squealed, racing towards the man at the back of the cafeteria.

Elias stayed where he was, glued to Jae's side, wary of the chef. Tobias had always been so kind and pleasant, but given all of Elias' recent revelations, he wasn't sure if he could trust him. Eden reached the other end of the room, throwing herself into Tobias' arms. He caught her easily, whirling her around with a massive smile on his face before placing her down and walking towards where Elias, Jae and Tyrell were standing.

"Elias!" He grinned, clapping a hand on Eli's shoulder. "It's so good to see you. Lorenzo told us that you died. I knew he was lying. I-," Tobias stopped in his tracks as he took in the carnage at the front of the cafeteria.

Keenan's body was still on the floor, encircled by a pool of blood. Jae was determinedly avoiding looking at it. Elias could feel how tense she was as she averted her gaze. Lorenzo's almost decapitated head lay by his body, though no crimson surrounded him. Chairs and tables were knocked over and broken. Medical supplies were scattered on the floor where they had tried to fix Jae's arm.

"Lorenzo... had the chip?" Tobias asked uncertainly. "What happened here? Who is that? Who are you?" He looked away from Keenan's body and directed his question at Jae and Tyrell.

"I'm Tyrell, this is Jae. We came from another group. That," he looked sadly at Keenan's corpse, "was our leader."

"Did Lorenzo..." Tobias trailed off, clearly unsure how to ask the question.

"Your leader was a murderer," Tyrell said bluntly. "He was killing survivors by trying to remove the chip when they were still alive."

"No." Tobias shook his head vehemently. "He was removing chips from the Risen."

"Tobi." Eden tugged his hand so that he looked down at her. She pointed to her forehead, where the small cut from Lorenzo's scalp was visible. "Tyrell's right."

"Lorenzo hurt you?" Tobias looked down at Lorenzo's corpse with disgust before reaching down and scooping Eden up into his arms. "I'm so sorry, Eden. I'm glad you killed him, or else I would have ripped him apart with my bare hands," he said to Tyrell.

"All that matters is that he's dead," Elias stated, speaking for the first time since Tobias appeared. "Now, we need to find Delta. Do you know where she is?"

"I haven't seen her since this morning. Hey, are you okay?" This time Tobias was looking at Jae, concern crossing his face. "You look really pale."

"I'm fine," she answered in a small voice. "Broken arm."

"Want me to have a look at it?" Tobias offered. "I took a first aid course a while back. I won't be able to fix it or anything, but maybe I could help. I'm sure there's plaster somewhere in one of these rooms, I'll take you."

"No," Elias answered before Jae could. "No offense, Tobias, but Jae's not going anywhere with you."

"Elias," Tyrell started but Eli cut him off before he could finish.

"I mean it, Tyrell. I'm not letting her out of my sight. If you want to help then I'm coming with you to make sure she's okay. How do I know you weren't working with Lorenzo and Delta?" he questioned, eyeing Tobias suspiciously.

"Don't be silly, Eli," Eden insisted. "It's Tobias."

Elias looked down at his little sister. He knew that she was right, but a little nugget of doubt had settled in his chest. He wasn't sure who to trust anymore, apart from her and Jae. If anything happened to either of them, he wasn't sure he could continue on in this life.

He had already lost too much.

But, so had Eden and yet she hadn't let the world ruin her yet. Elias should have been grateful for that. He should have been happy that Eden was still capable of trust, the same way he was before all this had started. Something had changed in him and he knew that the shift was permanent. He may have been able to recover from it if he hadn't of seen his father's corpse right outside this very building.

That thought stopped him in his tracks. Did Eden know that Emmanuel was dead? If she didn't, how would he tell her?

"Eli." Jae drew his attention to her. "We've already wasted too much time. I'll go with Tobias. You and Tyrell check the rest of the hospital for Delta. We can meet up back here."

"No," he whispered, turning her away so that his back was to Tobias and lowering his voice even further, he continued. "What if something happens and you can't defend yourself? I can't even give you the gun, unless you can shoot left-handed?"

She shook her head, confirming his suspicions that she would have to go in unarmed. "Remember when we met? I was the untrusting one, the one who was suspicious of everything and everyone. You changed that Elias, you changed me."

"I'm not the person that I was, Jae."

"I know," she agreed sadly. "But right now, I need you to trust that I will be okay. I need you to trust me. We'll meet you back here, okay."

With that, she removed her arm from around his shoulders and walked unsteadily towards Tobias. Eli's heart sank as he watched her, scared of what might happen while they were separated.

"Take care of her, Tobias." He stopped himself from pulling out the gun and threatening the man with it, though it took more effort than he would have thought. "I mean it."

Tobias nodded once, his mouth set in a grim line. "I will."

He took hold of Jae's good arm, placing his hand under her elbow and guiding her towards the door. Eli stood there until they were out of sight, the niggling worry in his chest refusing to leave him. He hadn't even said goodbye to her properly.

"Right," he started, annoyed that his voice shook with the word. Clearing his throat, he tried again. "Let's go find Delta."

+

A couple of hours, and many curse words later, their search had come up empty. Eden, tired of all the traipsing around, had managed to convince Tyrell to carry her on her back, where she happily stayed while Elias scoured every room with his gun aloft.

Not only did they not find Delta, they hadn't see anyone else, either. The hospital had become a ghost town since Lorenzo had appeared in the cafeteria. The rest of the Pride seemed to have packed up and run, desperate to escape their leader who had turned into a ruthless killer.

Well, he always had been one, they just didn't know that.

"Damn it!" Elias shouted as they entered the last room on the top floor, only to find it devoid of people. He kicked over a table, its contents scattering across the floor with a loud rattle.

Delta wasn't here. He had separated from Jae for no reason and she could be in trouble for all he knew. He was stupid to have let her go in the first place. After all, he still wasn't sure if Tobias could be trusted. What if he was taking her to Delta?

Jae doesn't have the chip.

The reminder did nothing to appease him. After all, Tobias didn't know that. Elias tried to remain positive, though the task was proving extremely difficult. He had always liked Tobias and gotten on well with him, but the niggling worry had grown with every room they searched.

Something bad was coming, he could feel it.

"It's okay Elias." Tyrell placed Eden on the floor and approached him. "She must have legged it before we got here, or while we were caught up with Lorenzo. But, we'll find her eventually. We just need to keep looking."

Elias didn't bother answering him, instead he said what was really on his mind. "I should never have let Jae go with Tobias on her own."

Tyrell chuckled, the sound loud and jarring in the confines of the small room they were currently in. "I should have known this was about her. Come on little one." He walked back over to Eden and crouched down, allowing her to jump back on his back. "Let's go get your girl, Elias."

"She's not-," Elias started to protest, determined to explain that his feelings for Jae were purely platonic. But, Tyrell never gave him the chance, stalking from the room and heading back down the hallway.

Elias hastened after him, matching his pace as they went back down the stairs. They walked to the cafeteria in silence, Elias lost in his thoughts, his worry for Jae growing with each step he took. Finally, they reached the double doors, and with his heart in his throat, Elias opened them.

Relief filled his chest when he saw Jae sitting on one of the chairs, deep in discussion with Tobias. Her arm was now covered in hard plaster, though even from here he could see that the job was messy. He didn't care though, she was alright, her cheeks slightly more colored than they had been earlier as she nodded her head, agreeing with whatever Tobias was saying. Sheets had been placed over Keenan and Lorenzo's bodies and Elias was thankful that Tobias had thought of that, reminding himself to thank him later.

He resisted the urge to run over to her, clearing his throat loudly to alert them of his presence. Jae jumped up with a big smile on her face, though it slipped away quickly as she wobbled slightly on her feet. Tobias reached out a hand to help her, and she grinned at him gratefully.

Elias approached them quickly, just managing to stop himself from breaking into a sprint. He pulled Jae into his arms, careful not to bump her injured arm. "I was so worried about you," he whispered into her hair.

"I'm fine," she insisted. "Actually, I'm good. Tobias found some morphine and that's helped with the pain a lot." She looked behind him at Tyrell and Eden still in the doorway. "No Delta?"

"Nothing, we're going to have to find her."

"Another search?" she grinned. "Good thing Tobias and I thought of that." She gestured towards the floor where several overstuffed bags where packed. "We searched all the rooms on the bottom floor and grabbed all the supplies we thought would help. Your people didn't seem to take anything when they left. We should thank them for leaving their bags. If we ever find them that is."

"You are my people, Jae," he argued, immediately annoyed with himself for how corny it sounded. But he meant it with his whole heart. Even if they never found Delta, and even if they never ran into any other survivors, as long as he had Jae and Eden, he had all he needed.

"We should get a move on then," Tobias said loudly from behind them. There's only a couple of hours of daylight and I think we should find somewhere to stay. I'm sure as hell not staying in this creepy place. No offense," he added, looking at Tobias apologetically.

"I couldn't agree more." Tobias bent down to pick up two of the bags. Elias released Jae to help him, and Tyrell placed Eden on the floor, also grabbing a couple. Between the three of them, they managed to carry the seven bags filled with medical supplies, food and drinks, ignoring both Jae and Eden's offers of help.

Eden ran over to Jae, placing her hand in Jae's uninjured one as they left the cafeteria with Tyrell in front of them. Elias' heart swelled at the sight, glad that they seemed to be bonding as well, before following behind them and letting Tobias take the rear.

The walked in silence through the hallways of the hospital, eager to get out of the place where so much had gone wrong in just a few short hours. Tyrell reached the double glass doors first, pushing them open and stepping out into the sunshine.

As soon as he did, Elias knew that something was wrong. Tyrell froze in place, his feet seemingly rooted to the floor. Elias looked back at Tobias, whose worry-filled eyes spoke volumes. Jae and Eden appeared oblivious, heading towards the doors. Tyrell glanced over his shoulder, his eyes catching Eli's as he shook his head slightly.

But it was too late, as Jae and Eden had stepped behind Tyrell and Elias heard loud and clear as Eden spoke.

"Daddy?"

His heart lurched, pounding against his rib cage so hard he feared it would leap out of his chest. He dropped the bags he was carrying, ignoring the sound of glass shattering as one of its contents broke, and sprinted to the door.

What he saw made his heart stop altogether.

It wasn't the dead bodies that littered the ground, the remains of the Pride that had attempted to run, or the black tar of the parking lot that was covered in crimson stains and splatters. It was his father, standing tall in all his blood stained glory, his eyes completely devoid of emotion.

Emmanuel's hands were scarlet and his clothes were red as he surveyed the damage he had done with his expressionless face. He looked up as Elias crashed through the door, his gaze narrowing in on him as though he didn't recognize his own children, before he started towards him.

"Jae, take Eden inside," Elias instructed, his eyes never leaving his dead father's. "Now."

He didn't check to see whether she listened as he pulled the gun out of the waist band of his shorts, raising it high as the man who gave him life approached.

"Elias," Tobias muttered hesitantly." You should go inside too. Tyrell and I will handle this."

Elias didn't bother answering him. Instead, he squeezed his finger, pulling the trigger. A loud crack filled the air as the bullet flew out, whizzing past Emmanuel's left shoulder as he came closer. Taking a deep breath, Elias tried to remember what Jae had told him, as he lowered his aim and tried again.

The shot hit Emmanuel in the chest, though it did nothing to deter him. Elias breathed deep and tried again, this time hitting him in the neck. Emmanuel was getting closer by the second, almost within arms-reach when a bullet finally pierced his skull, straight in the middle of his forehead. He fell to the ground with a loud thump, though no blood poured out from the wound.

"Give me a knife!" Elias demanded, his eyes still trained on the man lying by his feet who was twitching as though attempting to get up.

"Elias-," Tyrell tried.

"Give me a fucking knife," Elias cut him off, holding his hand out until he felt the handle placed on his palm.

He knelt beside his father, raising the weapon high and bringing it down on his neck. The blade embedded itself in his skin, not cutting all the way through. Elias sliced again and again, his attempts becoming more and more hysterical as his eyes filled with tears.

"Elias." A hand landed on his shoulder as he brought the knife down again. "He's gone."

With blurry vision, Elias looked down at the mangled mess that used to be his father. His hacking had been messy and Emmanuel's neck was barely intact. It reminded him of a few hours ago when Tyrell had done the same thing to Lorenzo's corpse.

"Eli?"

He turned to see Jae, standing with Eden's face pressed against her stomach, looking at him as though she didn't recognize who he had become. He couldn't blame her. After all, he didn't either.

Elias looked back down at Emmanuel's face. At the bullet wound that sat proudly in the middle of his forehead and the strings of skin and sinew that trailed from under his chin. Eli felt the last of his innocence shrivel and wither away as he looked at his father's lifeless eyes.

A piece of him broke, never to return. He felt the shift as though it was a tangible thing. No longer was he the sheltered and naïve boy he had been only a few days prior. Now, he was ruthless, damaged and shattered beyond repair.

He was truly lost now.