Louie woke to the feel of someone tugging on her arm. Rolling over, she found Peyton looking at her. He nodded his head.

"Come on, its time to go," he said, softly.

Louie gave a bleary nod. She swung her legs out of the bunk as Peyton landed noiselessly back on the floor. The Compound was asleep, the lights still low. Louie quickly pulled on her boots. The sounds of heavy breathing, rustling sheets and the faint coughing floated around her. As she left the Cage she twisted her hair up into a tight bun, her boots tapping out her exit on the hard concrete floor.

At Security Louie found a group had formed, Chief walking in the midst of it. Marc was talking to Dax, one hand on his son's shoulder, the other pointing at him, giving the final orders. Louie passed them and heard Marc's deep voice say, "Watch out for her."

Jonas was rocking on the balls of his feet, his lean agile body restless with energy. Peyton talked with Luther, their heights and build similar, though Luther's light skin and blonde hair contrasted with Peyton's tan skin and dark hair. Trevor stood silently off to the side, his eyes never resting on a single thing, his tall, narrow frame as straight as an arrow's.

Chief approached Louie, his lips smiling but his eyes holding the worry she knew he would never speak. He gently placed two, strong, wrinkled hands on her shoulders, taking her in. He seemed to note every feature as if to make a mental image that would never fade.

"I'm proud of you Elouise. I know that you have to do this and so I will say nothing more, except good luck and be safe," Chief said.

"I will. I'll come back, that is a promise."

Chief could only nod, the tightness in his lips speaking volumes of his love and concern. He hugged her, whispering softly to her.

"I love you Elouise."

"I love you too."

They broke apart and Louie straightened, tightening her shoulders, pushing away the weakness that she felt inching into her throat. Marc stepped forward, giving Louie a rare smile.

"Be safe. Watch your back out there. And keep an eye on Dax for me," Marc said.

Louie gave a curt nod and a tiny smile.

"Of course I will."

Peyton left his conversation with Luther and stepped to the front of the group.

"We need to be heading out. It's a long day a head of us and I don't want to waste more time. Grab your packs and we'll get started," Peyton said.

Louie strapped on her knife holsters and lifted her rifle over her head. As she straightened, Marc handed her a large pack. She slipped it on to her shoulders, before looking back to Chief.

"Take care of yourself," Louie said.

He nodded and gave one more smile.

"I will as long as you come home."

"I promise."

Louie turned away, knowing that her resolve would crack if she waited any longer. Peyton hoisted his pack on to his shoulders, looking at his team.

"Are you ready?"

There was a murmur of assent and Peyton looked to Chief and Marc.

"Thank you."

Chief and Marc nodded once, then watched as the group headed towards the gates. Louie's heart started to pound fiercely in her chest as the doors were hauled open. The chain grated against the metal as the world was exposed. Louie didn't look back as she stepped out into the early morning, and felt the chilly air of the late autumn breeze brush across her face.

The world was still dark, the sky that stretched above them a deep midnight blue with just a hint of change on the horizon. The gates clanged shut behind them and the silence of the world encased them. They moved over the cracked pavement to the barrier. The final wall between them and the Outside. A Security member opened the small chain link gate for them and nodded as they each passed through.

Peyton turned back and looked at each member, his eyes settling on Louie for a second longer.

"This is not an easy path we take," he said. "And you will not be blamed for your choice at a life that is safer. So I ask one last time whether you are up for this?"

There was no sound from the group, their only response the defiant look in their eyes. Peyton nodded.

"Alright then, lets go. Trevor, I'm going to have you bring up the rear."

Trevor gave a solemn nod and positioned himself behind Louie. As they headed off, Louie looked back for a second, seeing the only home and existence she had ever known slowly melting into the darkness.

The dark morning sky eventually gave way to soft, warm colors, which gave way to a bright white blue sky. They spoke little, their attention locked on the terrain and the shifting world around them. As they kept growing further and further away from the Compound Louie felt the weight of hundreds of eyes and judging thoughts fall from her shoulders. As the new, odd sensation took hold of her, Louie watched as shifts in her fellow companions happened as well.

With each step Peyton's face and body seemed to change, a strength she hadn't ever seen coming back to him. Jonas's restless energy found direction, as Peyton told him to run ahead, scout out collapsed buildings, or small ravines. Trevor's never ending gaze found new and endless things to look at. Luther's quiet, steady disposition took on a more alert and active energy. Louie found Dax as silent and focused as ever, though there was a curious spark in his eye that she had never seen before.

The world around them was vastly different than the one Louie imagined it to be from the glimpses she saw of it from within the fence. Nature had taken a more solid hold of the world as man made structures were worn down by weather and the climate. Trees grew from cracks in roads, weeds and grass sprouted up endlessly.

Vines crawled along buildings until there was barely slivers of the structure left to see. Towns that had once been neat rows of houses divided by paved streets, were now forests of trees that pushed aside the empty buildings. Large branches and roots broke up smooth roads.

They walked for hours, their muscles accustomed to the movement and their minds preoccupied with taking in the world around them that never stopped changing.

They had left behind the over grown towns by the time Peyton decided to stop. They were surrounded by thick clusters of trees with a wide shallow river that snaked its way through. Wild patches of grass and weeds lined the river and dotted the land where the tree's roots hadn't already staked their claim.

"We'll rest here for an hour," Peyton said. "Then keep moving. I'm going to look around, I'll be back." 

Everyone nodded and sank down into the clearing by the water. Louie eased her pack off, then pulled off her boots and slid her feet into the river. The water was icy cold and refreshing. Overhead the bare tree branches swayed, their shadows dancing across the ground. Dax settled beside Louie, a quiet smile coming to his lips as he dipped his feet into the water.

"Did you ever image it would look like this?" Dax asked, quietly.

Louie's gaze dropped to his face, as he kept glancing around.

"No."

They didn't say anything more, their attention trapped into the scene before them. A rustling sound reached Louie's ear first as her focus shifted to a point on the other side of the river. Before she knew what she was doing a knife was in her hand. As a figure pushed through a clump of bushes Louie set the knife sailing through the air. Peyton ducked and the knife landed in the trunk of a tree behind him. Smiling, he pulled the knife free and stepped out. Louie's heart was beating erratically and she felt her hand slightly shaking.

"Good to know you're alert," Peyton said.

"I thought you were..."

"Sorry, I crossed the river further up. I wanted to make sure the perimeter was clear. I'll say something next time."

Louie nodded, breathing deeply, trying not to show the panic that was coursing through her.

"How did you..."

"I saw you reach for your knife and I know how well you aim."

Louie nodded and pulled her boots back on as she worked to compose herself. By the time Peyton had crossed the river, her calm had returned and she took the knife from Peyton with a simple thanks.

"It's all clear," Peyton said.

The sound of the forest grew louder as everyone fell to eating, their senses heightened, their ears tuned to anything that sounded off. Louie sat by Peyton, and eventually became aware of a sort of energy that radiated off him, though looking at him he seemed perfectly calm. She watched him, his manner at ease but could tell by the way he looked about him and listened that he was acutely aware of his surroundings.

"Peyton, how long have you been tracking Crawlers?" Jonas asked, his leg bouncing.

"Three years give or take a few months."

"What made you start in the first place?" Luther asked.

"A group I was with was attacked once while we were trying to get to a new Compound," Peyton said. "I managed to kill a Crawler and for the first time I realized they could die. Which was something I had been taught couldn't happen."

"How old were you?" Jonas asked.

"Fourteen," Peyton said. "I found the Doctor three years later. He told me what I had already learned, that's when we started working together."

Louie's gaze flickered to the scars that criss crossed the back of Peyton's hands and ran down his wrist. He reflexively clenched his fists and Louie glanced up to find him looking at her.

"How many Crawlers do you think are out there?" Dax asked.

"I don't know," Peyton said. "There could be millions. There could only be thousands. I know they're dying off, but how much that has decreased their numbers is hard to say."

Heads nodded as gazes drifted away, as the words lingered in the air.

*********************

The sun had melted from the sky and the black velvet canopy overhead was splattered with thousands of constellations by the time the group stopped again. They had followed the river North, keeping it in sight as they traveled. It still was beside them as they stopped to make camp for the night.

Jonas, Trevor, Dax, and Peyton split up and covered the surrounding area, checking for Crawlers as Louie and Luther gathered wood and built a fire. The flames were blazing by the time the group reformed. Peyton, with the help of Jonas, zig zagged around the trees that lined the clearing, connecting the trunks together with a length of fine wire.

"What's that for?" Trevor asked, as Peyton and Jonas settled around the fire.

"It's our defense," Peyton said. "The river will warn us if Crawlers approach from that side. The wire will alert us if they attack from this end. We'll set up a watch but still, extra precautions."

Everyone nodded. The sounds of wildlife billowed in the night air, howls drifting to them on the breeze, as the group ate in silence.

Dinner dispensed with, conversations slowly bloomed.

"Where were you when the first attack happened?" Jonas asked, Peyton.

Peyton gave a wry smile.

"I was two," Peyton said. "So it's not something I really remember, but technically I was in San Diego with my family. My father realized the seriousness of the situation before a lot of people did. He moved us to Canada where some of my relatives lived. He realized the attacks were happening mainly to the bigger cities and so we took to the mountains."

"I was four when everything happened," Dax said. "My father knew Chief and they started preparing early."

"I was only three," Luther said. "My family lived in San Francisco and we got out of there as fast as we could. Came down South and met Chief along the way." 

Trevor stared out the fire as if he could see clearly in the flames the place where he had been during the out break.

"My parents died within the first year," Trevor said, quietly. "I was with an uncle when L.A. was attacked."

His words hung heavy in the air as thoughts of those that had been lost over the years floated to the forefront of everyone's mind.

"My grandparents where one of the first to build the Compound with Chief," Jonas said. "They owned the warehouse. My parents helped getting the different sections setup."

Peyton looked to Louie who was staring into the flames, her memories hovering about her.

"Where were you?" Peyton asked.

Louie stirred and looked at him briefly, then stood, feeding another log onto the fire.

"No where. I was born in the Compound," Louie said, shortly.

She pulled her knife from her holster and flipped it.

"I will take first watch," Louie said.

Everyone nodded and started moving about, pulling out sleeping bags and climbing in. Louie settled herself back down on the broken tree branch. She flipped the knife over and over in her hand, her thoughts preoccupied with the past. Wordlessly, Peyton took the space beside her, his gaze locked on the fire. Sparks broke free and went drifting into the night.

"You should be getting some sleep," Louie said.

Peyton shrugged.

"I've never been able to fall asleep right away. I figured I would keep you company until I can sleep or until you can."

Louie looked at him and back at the fire.

"Alright."

They sat there is silence for a long time, the fire's constant movement holding them while their minds wondered.

"Peyton..."

Peyton looked at her, waiting.

"Were you really fourteen when you killed your first Crawler?"

A small smile curved Peyton's lips.

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"It just seems so young."

"I was, but you were fifteen when you started helping your father with the Compound."

Louie met his gaze, but broke from it after a second.

"That's different," Louie said.

"We both did things normal teenagers don't normally do. Different circumstances, but the same."

Louie nodded. Peyton pulled off his jacket and tossed it to the side, the fire light playing against his bare arms. Louie glanced at the thin white lines that marred his skin.

"What was the worst situation you've ever been in?" Louie asked.

Peyton followed her gaze to his arms and clenched his fists reflexively, a dark look clouding his expression.

"I was tracking a large group of Crawlers with two other members from my Compound," Peyton said. "It was the first time we went out looking for them. We were attacked from behind by about thirty Crawlers."

Peyton went silent, a frown slashing his lips as he flexed his arms again.

"I survived. They didn't."

A silence, weighted down with pained memories, settled between them and Louie felt as if the world around them had gone quiet.

"I'm sorry Peyton," Louie said, softly.

He met her gaze and the frown vanished, the cloud disappearing from his features.

"It's the main reason I do this alone," he said. "I would never want to put someone else in that position." He looked back to the fire. "I know a lot more now and that's why I agreed to let you come, but still, working alone is the safest for other people."

"Though lonely," Louie whispered.

She tried to imagine traveling by herself, not being surrounded by hundreds of people constantly. Peyton smiled.

"True," he said. "But I haven't found anyone who is up for the challenge. Or has the skill to keep up with me." He shrugged. "Who knows maybe I wouldn't go alone if I found someone like that. But I haven't and so for everyone's protection I'll keep doing this by myself."

The night's stillness wrapped around them once more, the only sounds that of the snores of their sleeping companions and the lone howls.

"I hope you find someone to travel with you. No one should be alone," Louie said, her mind drifting back to her father and then settling on her mother.

Peyton stood and looked down at Louie.

"I could say the same thing to you. Goodnight Louie."

Peyton settled into his sleep bag, Louie watching him as his words floated through the air.

*******************

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