Yawning loudly, I rest my chin on my knees and look around the circle at everyone in various states of undress. We've been playing for a while, and so far I've removed my socks whilst the others are all in their underwear apart from Bo who is fully naked and has been for a while.

Bo places his cards on the floor. 'I'm out.'

'Me too. Next time, Kit, give us a heads up when you're this good at something,' Mercy grumbles, dumping her cards on the floor.

'We should have given up after the first few games.' Nate huffs, joining the others in getting redressed.

'Well, I want a rematch. I'm determined to get your clothes off, Kit.' Cas picks up her top and pulls it over her head.

'Anytime,' I laugh.

'Cas, admit it, you've found someone who is better at poker than you,' Bo says flatly.

'I was unprepared that's all.' Cas waves a sock in the air.

'What's your secret?' Mercy asks.

'I played a lot of poker with my family. No technology growing up meant card games were our main source of entertainment.' I shrug.

'What do you mean no technology?' Cas's eyes widen as she leans forward.

Looking down in embarrassment, I focus on my discarded socks. 'The settlement I grew up in rejected modern technology; they believed it was the cause of society's problems. When Virulence spread, they set up a settlement, and apart from eventually installing some lights in the cabins, we didn't have anything electrical or technological.'

'That must have been terrible. I couldn't live without movie night.' Nate shakes his head.

'Didn't you feel like you were missing out?' Cas asks.

'You can't miss something you've never had.' I shrug.

'Suppose.' Cas leans back, resting against the sofa behind her.

'But I thought you and Zach came from the same place, you know, you both had alterations made to you to make you resistant to Virulence,' Nates says.

Did Zach really tell Nate about what happened to me? Why?

'What else did he say?' I ask stiffly.

'Only, you're both resistant cause of some alterations made to you before you were born or something. I didn't really understand it.'

'Zach's not resistant, only I am,' I say.

Nate glances at Cas who frowns and turns to me. 'Zach said he was resistant too.'

'He's not.'

'Shit,' Cas curses quietly as she looks at Nate.

'What's going on?' I ask.

'Zach's done something even more stupid than I originally thought.' Cas crosses her arms and glances over her shoulder to look out the window.

'There's still time,' Nate says.

'Not long, it's going to start getting light soon,' Cas says, chewing on her lower lip.

'Cas and Nate what is going on?' Bo snaps.

'Zach told us he was resistant.' Cas frowns.

'So?' Bo says.

'Him and Raz headed over to the old Diner last night. They were going to draw away the Outsiders and prevent them from coming back.'

'How?' Bo asks.

'I don't know the details.' Cas shrugs.

'What details do you know?' I ask. Why would Zach be so stupid?

'They left after Faith's ceremony and were going to leave a trail that would draw away the Outsiders.' Nate offers. 'He also radioed someone from his community or settlement... whatever you call it. He said they'd help.'

'They wouldn't help him.' I don't think. I stand up. 'When are they meant to be coming back?'

Cas averts her eyes and looks at Nate. 'Raz said he'd be back before sunrise.'

'Only Raz?' I croak.

Cas nods.

I clear my throat. 'And what's the plan if he wasn't?'

'They took a two-way radio. If there were any problems they would let us know,' Nate says, picking up a small black lump positioned next to him; he gestures at it.

'That will work. Because they'll have loads of time to let you know if they're being attacked,' I say sarcastically and snatch the black lump out of his hand.

'What are you doing?' Cas says.

I stare at the lump of plastic with various buttons which I have no idea how to use. 'How do you use this?

Nate stands. 'I don't think-'

'I don't care what you think,' I shout. 'How do you use this?'

Bo points to a button on the side. 'Hold down this button while you talk. If he's got his one on, he'll hear you.'

'And so will anyone else who's tuned into that channel. They could be listening,' Cas hisses, jumping up.

I press the button. 'Zach? Zach, can you hear me?'

'You have to let go of the button to hear him,' Bo says.

I let go and wait. Seconds feel like forever. There's no sound, no noise, no Zach talking back.

I press the button again. 'Zach, stop being the idiotic jerk that you are and respond now. What are you doing? Talk to me,' My voice cracks. I let go of the button.

The silence hangs heavily in the air.

A crackle makes me drop the black lump. 'I'm prepared to make a deal, Kit. I'll swap; him for you.' The distorted voice echoes around the room filling me with dread.

I grab the gun Bo placed on the side table and run out into the hallway. I storm through the main entrance, swinging the door open I ignore Fara as she spins round to face me with a look of surprise. 'Kit, you can't-'

Pushing past her out, I run out onto the road which leads to main gate. Bo is running behind me. 'Kit, you need to calm down and think about what you're doing.'

'I know exactly what I'm doing,' I snap.

'Which is?'

'I'm going to free Zach.'

'Don't do the swap, Kit.'

'I won't. I'll free Zach and if I have to, I'll kill Klein.'

'You have a one out of seven chance of hitting him, Kit.' Bo pants behind me.

'It's better than zero out of seven.'

'He has a group of people with guns. Whatever you're planning won't work.'

'I have to try,' I say with a shaky breath.

'I'm not coming with you. I'm not helping you do this,' Bo growls angrily.

'I never asked you to,' I retort, increasing my pace towards the gate.

'He was going to give you up.'

My shoulders stiffen. It's true. 'He helped me when I was in danger, and now it's my turn to help him.'

Bo continues to follow me; my hand tightens around the gun. I will threaten Bo if I have to.

I reach the fence, ignoring the person standing by the closed gate who starts to object to my presence. I can't see any vehicles on the other side of the metal wire; that doesn't mean they're not out there, camouflaged by darkness.

Following the perimeter of the fence, I look for the gap Zach and Raz must have crawled out from. Why would he leave? His mum won't take him back without me.

Roman runs up to me, closely followed by Cas.  'What are you doing?' 

'Looking for a way out that won't announce my exit to anyone on the other side.' I continue to stare at the ground but in the dark it's impossible to see anything clearly.

'Come back inside; we can come up with a plan.' Roman follows me.

'I have a plan.'

'I meant a solid plan that doesn't involve you running out there with a gun you can barely aim and no shoes on your feet,' Roman retorts.

'We don't have time.'

'Exactly, which is why you need to stop wasting time with this nonsense.'

'If I don't try to free Zach they'll take him. You said Klein infects them with Virulence and Zach's not resistant. If he told you he is, he was lying.' I croak. My hands are shaking, every part of me is trembling with fear. I hate Zach. I love Zach. I don't want him to die.

'He may not have been caught. Klein may have found the radio.' Roman steps in front of me. 'And if he has been caught, what are you going to do? You won't get close enough to shoot Klein. You'll be caught, you'll both be infected with Virulence and you'll be forced to watch Zach die.'

I stumble slightly before walking around Roman and continuing my search for a hole to get out of here. 'They'll swap me for him. If I tell Klein he's not resistant-'

'They'll kill him and take you. Take the gun, Bo,' Roman barks.

Roman grabs me from behind, wrapping his arms around my chest and Bo takes the gun from my hand before I can stop what's happening. I struggle against Roman's grip; his arms tighten around me.

'Get off me,' I shout, kicking my legs back. I swing my head in an attempt to connect with his face however Roman's positioned himself so I can't hurt him.

Terror rises up in me; it's not due to Roman touching me. It's because Zach is in danger and I'm not doing anything. 

'Cas and Bo, grab her feet,' Roman orders.

They each grab a foot, and I'm carried back to the building struggling until I give up and glare at the back of their heads. Bo occasionally sends me an apologetic look while continuing to carry me against my will; Cas looks like she's enjoying this too much.

They carry me pass Fara who is guarding the main entrance, along the hallway and into the office where Ethel is waiting with Nate.

Roman drops me; my butt thumps against the hard floor and I cry out. Cas and Bo let go of my legs gently and stand back.

You better stand back.

'This is stupid,' I snap, jumping up to standing.

'I agree. You're being incredibly stupid,' Roman retorts.

'You can't keep me here.' I shout.

'And we won't. Just like we won't let you blindly run out with no strategy or knowledge of how they operate,' Roman shouts.

'Stop,' Ethel says, holding her hand up. 'You two screaming at each other is not going to solve anything. Nate, have Zach and Raz contacted you at all since they've been gone?'

'No. They were meant to turn the radio on as soon as they reached the Diner but we said we'd only use them if there was a problem,' Nate says, glancing at me warily.

'He's not resistant to Virulence. I can't let Klein take him back to his community.' I turn to Ethel.

Ethel pinches the top of her nose and closes her eyes for a moment. 'We can radio Zach's settlement and tell them he's been caught, they may make a move to save him.'

'Unlikely. Zach is of no use to them. They want me not him.' I cross my arms. 'Contact Klein and do a swap, me for Zach.'

'No.' Ethel looks up.

'Why?'

'Multiple reasons. The most obvious one being I don't trust Klein. Knowing him he'll try to take both of you.'

'Fine, back to the original plan. I'll go out there, find them and release Zach. If I have to shoot Klein I will.'

'That's not a plan,' Roman growls. 'You may as well walk straight up to Klein and say come take me then rape and impregnate me!'

'Roman enough,' Ethel hisses.

Through the window, I see the hint of a new day making it's appearance. Usually, I would love to be awake to watch the sunrise; the colours, the slow appearance of light making you realise a new day has formed, the world is still spinning, life is still going on. It's calming and soothing; today it feels me with terror.

'Ok, I have an alternative plan,' I say.

'Can't wait to hear this one,' Roman says sarcastically.

I glare at him. 'Send a message to Zach's settlement. Say Zach and me have been captured by Klein.'

Ethel frowns.

Roman nods. 'That could work. They'll go to the village in search of you and they'll have no choice but to get Zach released to find out where Kit is.'

'Klein will tune into your conversation. He'll know you're lying,' Bo says. 'He heard Kit on the radio. He knows she's here.

'He'll make us pay for sending Zach's people after him,' Ethel mutters.

'You need to know something else,' Cas interrupts. 'Zach radioed them.'

'Who?'

'His community.'

'When?' Ethel says.

'Yesterday, an hour before sunrise. I helped him use the radio.' Cas avoids making eye contact with me. 'He asked for someone called Lola, told her he and Kit had only arrived but were being chased by Klein's people. He told her he'd convinced Kit to leave due to the danger.'

'And?' Ethel asks.

'He arranged a meeting point. It was some hut where a forest used to be. He told the woman, him and Kit would wait there for her to arrive.'

'I don't understand,' I whisper. Why would he arrange to meet at the cabin we first did other stuff in? And he didn't take me. He knew I wouldn't be there when she came to meet him.

'Zach said the radio message would draw away the Outsiders. When Raz overheard Zach talking to me about the plan, he wanted to be involved,' Cas exhales and closes her eyes. 'They took a gun each and a round of bullets.'

'How did they get into the safe?' Ethel snaps.

'I've known the code for a while. Don't ask me to explain how I know it. I'll tell you another day, when I'm in less trouble, because you're going to go mad when I tell you because I may have undertaken some stalker activities to find it out,' Cas says.

Ethel growls. 'This is a mess.'

'You could radio Zach's community and tell them Zach was caught, Kit found out and went after him.' Bo shrugs. 'Klein will think Kit isn't here anymore, and Zach's community will go looking for the two of them at Klein's place.'

'And if Klein doesn't fall for it?' Ethel asks.

Roman crosses his arms and ankles and leans against the desk. 'What other option do we have?'

'Doll has left at completely the wrong time.' Ethel exhales loudly as she rubs her forehead. 'Klein will go back to his community if he thinks Zach's people are on their way, but he'll leave one or two trackers to watch us. If they report seeing Kit here.' Ethel straightens up. 'Well, I'd rather not think what Klein will do.'

Roman looks at me. 'You have to stay inside, Kit. For your safety and ours.'

Outside in the hallway, I lean against the wall and inhale deeply; it doesn't make me feel better. I won't feel better until I know Zach's safe.

'I need to go to bed,' Bo says gruffly. He looks at me. 'Can I go or do I need to stay with you to stop you doing something stupid?'

'Bo...'

'No. I don't want to hear it, Kit. I understand you care. I also care. The only difference is I care about everyone including myself. You only care about Zach.' Bo shakes his head.

'I can't just let him die,' I snap.

'No, instead you'll happily sacrifice yourself.'

'What else do you suggest I do?'

Bo looks around the hallway as though the brown walls filled with paintings of dead people will give him the answer. They won't. None of them survived Virulence. 'Forget Zach existed. He made his decision. He was planning on leaving which meant there was always a chance of him getting caught. If he hadn't told Cas and Nate his plan, you wouldn't have known any different.'

But I do know. I know he's not safe. And even though part of me is bitter and hurt, I can't let him die. I can't let him get hurt. He was there for me when I needed him. He saved me.

'I can't do that,' I whisper.

'Of course you can't.' Bo shakes his head. 'Have fun destroying yourself, Kit, because that's the only way this is going to end. You being destroyed in a bid to save Zach.' Bo storms off.

Maybe, Bo's right. However, I know it's my turn to be there for him regardless of our non-existent future.

I'm realising now I was wrong about love. It's not hard to fall in love, that's the easy bit. It's the falling out of love which is hard.

Author's note
What is Zach doing? What's going to happen? I rewrote this several times... I tried to make it simpler.
Does it work? Xx