Warning: I don't usually do these, but there is going to be graphic violence here. I don't think it's too bad, but you are forewarned.

Even though it is well into the next day, Percy can not and will not leave her bed. After all, Hades' blood stains the cheap linoleum in the entryway. After all, his blood covers her arms and her knees, and as soon as she gets up she is going to realize that the blood and mud from burying her dog have stained the sheets. Every so often her stomach flips inside out, and she doesn't care which of her friends is in pain, even if it's Hope dying.

There are texts on her phone, which buzzes and buzzes and buzzes. She isn't sure if they are the group chat, or if they are just Lee, or if they are Eden. Maybe everyone knows, maybe no one knows, maybe they are trying to figure out who broke into her house and slit her dog's throat on the night that someone tried to murder Lee, or maybe they know and don't care.

None of that matters, because as long as Percy lies here, she can pretend that the day isn't happening, and that her dog is sleeping in the next room, and not buried behind the dumpster of a shitty apartment building.

~~~

Jamie still hasn't answered the phone, which is fine. He must be busy, Wesley thinks. Cara is still at the hospital too, and June is busy. Actually, the text that she just sent him is making his stomach do flips, but he can't tell if it's related or unrelated.

Basically, that leaves only one person who Wesley is relatively neutral on.

He knocks on the door. It takes a few seconds for Wesley to hear shuffling inside. A tired Eden opens it. The boy's hair is messy, spread out in every direction.

"It's 2:00 PM," Wesley points out.

Eden opens the door wider to let Wesley in. "I'm in college."

Wes nods slowly and makes his way over to the couch. It's stained, although Wesley wasn't expecting anything better from Eden. He drops his bag and skateboard. Then, he sits down and sinks, probably because the springs are broken. When Eden sits down, he sits at the exact opposite end.

Instinctively, Wesley rolls his eyes. Straight boys.

"So, I take it Jamie told you?" Eden begins.

Wesley blinks. He casts a glance at his bag, filled with every piece of clothing he owns, as well as half a dozen notebooks and pictures. For the first time in a while, Wesley is lucky that he was bounced all over the place as a child. Everything he owns can be carried, which makes for an easy escape.

Now that Jamie's roommate is gone, Wesley has somewhere to stay.

"Yeah, he told me," Wesley offers.

"I don't think it's that big of a deal," Eden reclines, but his body is rigid when he does. He is trying to play natural, and Wesley hates fakers. "Not enough that you have to flee anyway."

"Wait, what?" Wesley doesn't pretend any longer.

Eden jolts in his seat. Wesley's eyebrows are furrowed, and one of his steady hands rests on his chin. He waits for Eden to clarify, so Eden swallows.

"Nobody cleaned up your blood, and the police will be able to test it," Eden notes.

Wesley puts his head in his hands. As if his day couldn't get any worse. "How much blood was there?"

Eden shrugs. Lee didn't exactly go into details, but it was enough to freak out the police. Besides, Wesley might have died. Nobody has quite come to a consensus on that yet, and Eden hasn't been able to do anything but sleep since then.

"Why would you tell Jamie that and not me?" Wesley asks. He would stand up if he weren't still tired. Besides, he hopes he doesn't have to fight Eden. "Is it because I'm gay?"

Eden's eyes go wide. He drops his arms off the back of the couch into his lap. He begins to wring his hands over and over again. The skin on his fingers has gone dry from the habit he has picked up from Cara, but Eden doesn't give a damn. "Are you kidding? No. I was just talking to Jamie about other stuff, and it came up."

It takes a second for Wesley to exhale. Eden finds himself breathing in rhythm with the other boy.

Then, their stomachs seize. It's almost like they've been thrown upside down. Neither of them says anything since they've both seen the text, but the feeling persists.

"Do you mind if I chill here until Jamie gets back from the hospital then?" Wesley asks. "Unless you were planning on visiting Cara. That's what you were texting him about, right?"

Eden cheeks tinge pink. "It's fine."

~~~

"You are not playing at any more bars," her mother stammers, trying to grow herself to Lee's size. Lee watches the frail woman's fists shake. Her mother has always been thin, but she seems to grow gaunt each passing day since Cassian disappeared.

Not disappeared. Left.

"Okay," Lee rolls her eyes.

Her mother shakes her head. "No, you are going to listen to me. There aren't going to be any more bars, and you are going to get together a college application together. Once the FBI no longer... we are going to be moving to Penobscot. Hamilton has nothing left for us, especially not those damn bars!"

There is a knock at the door. Lee brushes off her mother, but she can feel her lips forming the crook of a smile. Maybe Lee isn't going to apply to college, but she is happy her mother is finally going to get them out of Penobscot. Even if Cassian ruined her life by leaving, Lee is going to try to put the pieces together.

Lee gets to the door and opens it. She leans in the doorframe to protect her mother, who she can already hear scurrying out of the room.

"Lee Hayde?" There is a woman in the doorway. Her dark eyes are hidden by a pair of exorbitant black frames. The woman runs a hand through her silky black hair. The woman seems to only exist in shades, not full colour.

Lee nods. She notices the woman has a slight accent, though Lee can't exactly place where it is from. Which is her bad, really, because Lee isn't exactly worldly.

"I'm Emily Hsiao," the woman offers Lee a gloved hand, which Lee doesn't take. "Do you mind stepping outside?"

Sparing her mother only a passing glance, Lee joins Emily on the portage. The woman glances around, checking the streets for anyone, before she pulls off her glasses. Lee catches a spark of amber around the woman's irises.

"I don't have a lot of time before someone notices," the woman leans into Lee, who takes a step back. Suddenly, she can feel her stomach doing summersaults. She isn't sure if it's Emily, or if Erik is making good on his texts.

"Come to finish the job?" Lee gulps, pressing her hand into a fist.

The woman coughs out a laugh, though quickly ends it. "I didn't try to kill you. Shooting people like us is superfluous."

Rather than take the woman's bait, Lee listens. People like us.

"Who was with you in the park besides Dorothea Davis and Hope Thomas?" The woman's voice is low and harsh. "There's got to be at least one more. My branch and I have an invested interest in your safety."

"How do I know you aren't trying to kill me?"

Emily shakes her head. "Do you need me to slit my wrists on this porch, or are you going to trust my judgement? The organization... I don't have time to explain what they are, but if they found you then they almost definitely know your entire branch. We can offer you protection, but only if I know the others."

Lee thinks for a second, as a smile creeps on her face. "Only one other. Percy Coleman."

~~~

For the first time, and preferably the last, Erik is on June duty. He tries his best not to look at her, because whenever he does, her eyes seem to narrow, and her lips press tightly together into a grin. It's a victory that Erik would rather not grant her. Instead, he glances at her through the reflection in the marble counters.

"So, what's your plan?" June asks.

Erik doesn't answer. He hasn't told her about the message he sent to the June Duty group chat detailing his plan. Not that he sent it there to keep it secret. After all, they only have two group chats, one which has them all, and the other which has a distinct lack of Lee.

June tries to read his expression. It's incredibly hard, so hard in fact that June wonders if unlike the rest of the crew, her power shuts her out from the minds of others. Before all of this, it seemed to be easier to read other people. Her eyes trail over Erik as he brushes a strand of hair out of his eyes. Is he trying to be flirtatious, or is he fiddling with himself because he is afraid of her and this house, and the wealth her family has?

Finally, Erik exhales. "You told me that you want to know your limits."

Slowly, June slides off the barstool and makes her way across the room. Erik begrudgingly trails after her. At least they are the only two home, he tells himself. Whatever June is hoping to do, can be done.

At least, as long as it is not on carpet.

They make their way up the stairs. Erik watches how June's hands trail along the balcony. Her grip is firm, but every time she lifts her fingers, they look so delicate. Erik decides that if they all have unique powers (which Hope might have suggested? He doesn't really understand her) then June's is the ability to appear soft and yet sting sharply.

Maybe he is reading the poetry out of Wesley's head, but it doesn't matter. June is like a lake. She is calm on the surface but joining her feels like taking a plunge into icy waters. Especially today, two days before the Autumn festival.

Eventually, they are in June's room. It's too clean for Erik, though he doubts it because of June. He doesn't doubt that the Jones' can afford a cleaning service, but their money is all too foreign to him.

Oblivious to his ponderings, June makes her way over to the balcony. She opens it and peers outside. Finally, she turns to face him. "Truth or dare?"

Erik grits his teeth. "Dare."

"I dare you..." June takes a step closer to Erik, grabbing his hand and pulling him onto the balcony with her. She is careful to watch his face, to wait for a flare in his nostrils or anything. Nothing comes. "I dare you to jump off the balcony."

Erik shrugs at her. Only sparing a glance at the grass below, he pulls himself over the ledge and leaps down. He falls two and a half flights to the ground. At first, his feet hit the ground and he feels himself tumbling forwards. His chest hits the ground next and he can feel the air expelled from his lungs. He rolls over, finally biting his tooth. He feels his canine chip in the back as he hits the ground.

June makes her way down next to him, ignoring the sinking feeling in her body. She wants nothing more than to touch him, but she lets Erik have his space.

He blinks and sees her. His ribs are sore, and it hurts to breathe, until slowly, over seconds and seconds, he feels better. His tooth is still chipped, but he is able to stand.

Though he feels like he could pass out any second, he keeps himself upright. "Truth or dare."

"Dare," June responds.

Erik waits a beat. He rubs his tongue along his tooth. Still chipped. "Hang yourself."

June nods. She heads to the shed in the back, grabbing a rope and a stool. She meets Erik back in her bedroom. There, she ties the rope up against the chandelier. Erik doesn't dare ask her if the chandelier will hold.

"Cut me down if you think I'm going to die," she tells him.

Erik nods.

With certainty, June wraps the rope around her neck and holds herself up on the stool. Quickly, she kicks it out from beneath her.

Her body drops a foot, but her feet scrape the ground. Immediately, June feels herself panic. Every muscle seems to spasm as she forcibly tries to push her chest up and down, but it won't move. Her hands raise themselves up to her neck, scratching so hard at the rope that she draws blood.

Erik can feel his face turning red. He moves both hands up to his neck and he tips to the side as he loses balance, though he tries his best to move with her. He has to cut her down.

June's vision goes dark.

Her knees collide with the ground. She rolls over, desperately gasping for air. Erik throws the knife across the room, kneeling down over June. He rolls her onto her front and moves her red hair out of her face. Slowly, June begins to laugh.

"So, we can be strangled," she says. Her laugh is too nervous, Erik decides. He watches as the red lines of rope burn disappear from her neck. "Truth or dare?"

"Dare," he answers, too quickly.

She dares him to stick a fork in a socket and he does. He feels the jolt of electricity run through his body. It freezes his muscles, and June has to kick him away from the socket. Next, June cuts her leg open in the bathtub. Though blood pours out, and Erik has to catch her as she nearly faints, her leg heals over before she bleeds out. Eventually, all of these events seem to blur into one as the two struggle to keep themselves from sleeping.

"Truth or dare," June manages, as she watches the last of her blood wash down the drain.

"Dare," Erik answers, though he can barely keep his eyes open.

They walk back into June's bedroom. Instinctively, June sits on the floor and leans her head against the bed. Erik follows suit, sitting down next to her. With her, he feels both immensely drowsy and wide awake. They are feeding off of each other's energy, and the alertness comes in waves.

"I dare you to kiss me," her voice is nothing but a whisper.

Erik scans her face. She looks pale, and her bright red hair and lips see, brighter than ever before.

"First, truth or dare," Erik asks.

June swallows. "Dare."

"I dare you not to sleep around anymore."

Slowly, June nods.

Then, Erik kisses her.

~~~

Jamie touches her arm lightly, and Cara jolts awake. He smirks softly as he sits down next to her. Spending a day straight in the hospital has worn on Cara. Her hair is dirty, her make-up from the club is still on, but smudged. Though her skin is free of injury, exhaustion plagues her.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he begins, sitting down next to her. "I wanted to check up on you, I didn't want to interrupt your sleep. Not that you need sleep, well, everyone needs sleep but not you specifically. I don't even know how you've been able to sleep through God knows whatever Erik and June are doing. That's not the point. Sorry. How are you?"

Her eyes are barely slits, but Cara has the energy to softly giggle. She delicately pulls Jamie down to her height and rests her head on his shoulder. "I'm fine. Thank you."

"Just making sure," Jamie prays to God that Cara does not notice the blush across his cheeks.

"You shouldn't be here," she offers but rubs her head against his shoulder. His coat is so soft. "Don't go though."

Jamie shakes his head. "I won't. Besides, you wouldn't be Cara if you hadn't told me to leave."

The two sit for some time in the quiet room. For the first time in far too long, everything feels safe and good. Perhaps this isn't the end of the world, but the beginning.

A doctor in the waiting room steps forward. "Mr. Thomas? Your daughter would like to see you."

~~~~~

Lol, RIP! This chapter is cuckoo-bananas. Like, AHHHHHHHH! Literally all of it is AHH. Emily Hsiao, and June and Erik, and Hope! And literally everything. Wesley leaving his parents? Literally, argh!

Anyway, I'm super excited. There are like, ten-ish chapters left. I'm so stoked!