Louie had known this moment was coming, but the words still hit her like a sucker punch to the gut. She stood stunned, staring at Peyton, unable to speak or move. Peyton took a step forward, his face full of urgency.

"Louie, I can't stay here. You were right. I'm not meant for confinement and the longer I stay here the worse it will become," Peyton said, one hand reaching out for her.

Louie came back to herself and her spine straightened, her shoulders tensed and her hands fell to behind her back. She took one step back and Peyton dropped his hand.

"I understand Peyton. It's for the best," Louie said, her voice sounding removed.

Peyton took a step forward, his face showing an intense look of annoyance.

"Don't shut me out Louie, don't do this. Please don't," Peyton's words had started off hard, but softened at the end.

Defensiveness sprung to Louie lips, about to spill over into heated words, but were halted as she looked into Peyton's face. The fight drained from her. Her shoulder's sagged. She dropped her hands and lowered her gaze, unable to look at him.

"I guess it's my own fault. I was the one to tell you to leave and now I'm getting mad at you for doing exactly what I asked you to." She looked up at him. "I just didn't expect it to be this soon, but you're right."

Peyton's body relaxed and he breathed out.

"I need to leave now, before I get in your way."

Louie frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Peyton ran a tired hand through his hair, looking at the floor.

"Apparently you caused quite a stir in your meeting and some people aren't too happy with it. Some people already tried to approach me, ask if I would step up as leader." Peyton met her gaze, guilt flashing across his features. "I can't stay. You are the leader of this Compound and the sooner everyone sees that, the better. Without me here it will make it more clear."

Louie nodded.

"I wish what you are saying didn't make sense. I wish I could argue it somehow. Make you stay, but we both know you're right. This is going to be difficult enough as it is without people looking to you to step up and be the next leader." Louie let out a tired sigh. "I thought we would have more time."

Peyton took a step closer, smiling slightly.

"I thought we would to, but we both live in a world where our plans never unfold as we want them to."

Louie rested against the wall, her energy depleted.

"When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow."

Louie nodded, her gaze drifting to the floor. The space filled with a heavy silence that neither knew how to push away or make better. Eventually Louie looked up, meeting Peyton's eyes.

"Thank you Peyton, for everything. Know that this Compound can be your home when you're needing one. The gates will always be open to you. That is one promise I will always keep."

Peyton looked at her silently. Then an intense look lighted his eyes.

With one step he was before her, his hands cupping her face, his lips pressed against hers.

This time Louie didn't pull away. Instead she stepped into the moment, reaching for him, knowing it was the last time she would ever have with him.

Unlike the last time Peyton's lips weren't hesitant, but demanding, grasping to keep Louie in the moment for as long as he could. Louie gripped his shirt, deepening the kiss. The warmth of Peyton's lips and the feel of his hands coursed through Louie's body setting every nerve buzzing.

When they finally pulled apart, Peyton kept his face close to Louie's. He laid his forehead against her's, his hands still tangled in her hair.

"I would ask you to come with me, but I know this Compound needs you more than I do." Peyton raised his head. "Still I'm selfish. Come with me Louie."

Louie let out a weary sigh and rested her forehead against Peyton's chest.

"Don't ask me to do that, please. You know what my answer will be," Louie said.

Peyton cupped her face, lifting it so their eyes met.

"I do, I have always known. This is your life and the Compound is where your heart lies. It's where I plan on leaving mine."

Louie felt the lump in her throat return and she blinked back tears, it didn't feel like it was true anymore.

"Don't go. Stay with me," Louie whispered.

Peyton smiled and leaned in, kissing her. This time his lips were gentle. A farewell kiss.

"Goodbye, Chief," Peyton said.

He let go of her and left the office, leaving Louie exactly where she was, rooted to the floor. For a long moment all Louie could do was stare at the door, willing Peyton to come back.

He never did.

Her eyes moved to the piece of paper that still lay open on the desk. She drew strength and resolve from her father's words. Louie straightened, pulling herself back together, inch by inch.

The evidence of Louie's tears were gone by the time she stepped out of the office. Mr. Andrews strode towards her as she headed for the entrance to the Cage, his expression revealing troubled thoughts. He stopped in front of her, hesitating.

"Louie, I need to ask you. Do you really believe you can do this job?" Mr. Andrews asked, his tone worried.

All of Louie's defenses rose to her lips and she leveled him with a defiant glare.

"I do, but not because I just happen to be the Chief's daughter, but because it is what I was trained to do."

"That is not a fact I am questioning. I know better than most what you have done for this Compound. What I'm asking is whether you can do this job, while faced with so much opposition? Chief believed he would have more time. That you would at least be in your 20s before this weight was put on you."

"Age shouldn't matter. I have spent years proving myself. Doing everything in my power to make this Compound run smoothly along side Chief."

"It shouldn't, but it does. That is what I'm trying to tell you. They don't see you because you have worked so much in the background. They don't see the leader, people like Marc and me see, but a girl who is wounded, in more ways than one."

Louie clenched her fists, every muscle taut.

"Then that's something that I will just have to prove is wrong. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have rounds to make," Louie said, brushing past him.

Mr. Andrews face fell. "They don't trust you."

The words halted Louie in her tracks, but she didn't turn around.

"That might be true for now, but time will change that."

"Do you really believe you have that much time?" Mr. Andrews asked, his voice low with concern.

Louie didn't respond, leaving Mr. Andrews alone in the Cage, as doubt followed her out.

Louie found at every turn there was discord as she made her rounds through the Compound. No thoughts were held back from her, their opinions clearly voiced and in a volume that other's could over hear. Louie listened with an impassive expression to every word, defending herself when the need arose.

By the time she made it to Security her shoulders were weighted down by the words that had been so freely voiced and the opposition that she had waded through. Marc was waiting for her behind the rows of desks, his face blank, manner respectful as always.

"Afternoon Marc," Louie said, trying to keep the weary tone from her voice.

"Afternoon ma'am."

"How is everything?"

"Everything is in order."

Louie nodded. "Good."

Louie's gaze wandered. A sudden trapped feeling washed over her, as eyes darted to and away from her.

"Marc, give me a knife and a rifle."

Marc handed over the items and watched as Louie strapped the holster to her thigh.

"May I join you, ma'am?"

Louie looked up, about to decline the offer, but caught something in his eyes that spoke of something more serious.

"Of course."

Marc called out orders to another member and joined Louie on the other side of the desks, weapons in hand. They made for the gates, slipping into the overcast day. The world seemed muted under the blank of gray that hung over head, the day darkened. Louie's gaze fell to the world beyond the barrier, a world of bare trees and abandoned houses.

Images of an endless sea of stars, fire light and shadows of trees danced before her mind, but she pushed the thoughts away. Without saying a word, Louie turned away from the Compound, heading to a destination that had been on her mind.

The dark patch of earth stood out against the weeds and dried up leaves. At the head there was placed a small cross, baring the single word, Chief. Louie's gaze drifted to the right, finding the other cross that bore her mother's name. They stared silently for a long while. The wind whispered in the bare trees, and sent small storms of leaves tumbling behind them.

"He was a really great leader," Louie said.

"He was indeed, everyone knew it."

"I will never be like him."

Marc didn't reply and Louie knew he didn't need to. There was something about Chief that made a person love and fear him. It was a trait that Louie knew, that even with time, she would never possess. Marc let out the quietest of breathes.

"Just tell me," Louie said, her gaze never leaving the mound of dirt.

"They're not ready for someone so young to be in charge. I believe that you could do this job better than any but..."

"What kind of job would I be doing if everyone was against me?"

"Some saw your defense this morning as arrogance. There are some who saw it as the signs of a leader, but they are few."

Louie nodded.

"I left to prove myself and find in my absence I have been cast off, just as I have become the leader I needed to be and the one they needed."

Louie looked at Marc and saw the truth in his eyes.

"Being a leader means making the hard decisions," Marc said.

The words of her father drifted into the forefront of her mind 'I know you will make the decisions that are the best for the Compound, even though they may be difficult'. A part of Louie wondered if he had known all along what would happen when he was gone. Was he trying to tell her that walking away was the best decision? Guilt and shame flooded Louie as she thought of leaving; stepping away from the roll that he father had wanted for her and had known she could do.

"There's no point in me fighting this, is there?" Louie asked.

"No, there's not."

Anger flared inside Louie and she spun on Marc, fists clenched.

"But this is what I was trained for! What Chief and I worked so hard for. Am I suppose to throw it away because some people don't like me right now? Am I suppose to turn my back on the people I told Chief I would take care of when he was gone? How can I just walk away when this is my home and it's where I planned to be for rest of my life? Huh! Tell me," Louie said, her voice raised, filling the air.

Marc took a surprised step back and Louie's shoulders sagged under his startled expression.

"I'm sorry."

Louie rubbed her forehead, the fight leaving her. Chief's face rose to her mind and she turned away from Marc, staring down at the plot of land that held all that she had once cared for.

"What would he say if he knew that after one day of being in charge, I gave up?"

Marc moved to stand beside her.

"Giving up and making a decision, though hard, but is best for the Compound are two different things. Chief knew the difficulties of being the leader. Whenever he made a decision, it was always for the sake of the Compound."

Louie nodded, then smiled mockingly to herself.

"A house divided on itself can not stand. I am the division. I thought all the years I put in keeping this place running would mean something. Now I see I was simply blind to the struggle that was against me."

"Not all of it was a loss," Marc said.

Louie didn't say anything, but Marc must have sensed her doubt because he kept talking.

"You supported Chief when he most needed it."

"Then it was worth it. Even if it means now I pass on what I believed would be mine."

They stayed silent for a long moment.

"What will you do?" Marc asked.

The corners of Louie's mouth curved upward.

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

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