Athena

I tap my fingers across the cracked leather surface of the steering wheel and fiddle with the dial on the radio for the millionth time. The red bar passes over black and white numbers, but the only thing I hear is white noise. The front windshield fogs over, and beads of condensation run down the inside.

"Don't leave the engine running."

The plastic seat groans as I jump and swivel my head to the left.

"Don't sneak up on me, Isaac," I snap, reaching for the dangling keychain. When I turn the switch, the truck dies.

"Hear anything?" Isaac asks as he circles around the truck. He opens the passenger side door and scoots across the seat.

"Not a word," I mumble, looking at the now dim front display. "You would think Compound 2 would be looking for him. We're close enough to pick up their frequencies. It's been two days since we received the message saying he was captured. By now they could be torturing him, or he could be- "

Isaac holds up a hand, shaking his head.

"Don't talk like that, Athena."

I shake my head, staring out at the endless expanse around us.

Two days ago, Quinn lended his troops and vehicles to Jay and Isaac. Two days ago, I begged Dr. Patel to let me go with them, saying that their team needed a trained medic and someone to look after the vaccines. I fit the quota like a glass slipper on a princess.

Plus, if Sakir was involved, an army couldn't keep me away.

Yesterday, the calvary split into two groups - Jay's select team on one side and the rest of Compound 5 and Compound 3's troops on the other. They were headed to deliver the vaccine. We were headed to save Sakir.

We are somewhere between Tennessee and Pennsylvania, camped on the side of the highway. The green and white highway signs show a state shaped like a fried chicken leg with a flattened bottom.

God, I'm hungry.

"I'm sure Sakir is fine. He's a pretty tough guy."

I laugh, gripping the steering wheel with both hands.

"He sure acts like it, anyway," I mumble.

Everyone knew Sakir as a fighter, the guy who hits first and asks questions later. Tall and muscular, he looks more like a cage fighter than the boy who grew up being coddled. The Saki I know is afraid of cats, even the tamest kittens within the orchard, and laughs at the stupidest jokes. He likes the smell of freshly poured asphalt and hates the texture of pears.

He wouldn't last for more than a few days under torture.

He broke a toe when he was twelve and thought the world was ending.

"Get some rest," Isaac says, reaching for the door handle. I nod, running a hand through my long hair. "We leave at sunrise. Jay says we will be at Compound 2 tomorrow."

I smirk, remembering how bad the girl is at reading maps.

"Why aren't you navigating?" I ask as he gets out of the truck.

"Because she's bossy, and I don't like arguing with her. Plus, I fall asleep too often to give directions."

We share a laugh, a rare occurrence on the long stretches of uninhabited highways. It bounces around the truck, settling between us like dew.

"Sleep, Athena."

He gives me a soft smile, the kind that warms you from the inside out.

Isaac's probably the nicest person I've ever met. He reminds me of Sakir's mother, always trying to take care of people. His hands don't shake as much as they used to, and he keeps a gun holstered on his belt. From their stories, I know he used to be afraid of them. He still limps occasionally, but he's learned to hide it well.

If I'll listen to anyone, it's him.

He leaves me alone, walking across the short distance to a make-shift tent where three more shadows cluster in the dim light of a battery powered lamp. Isaac pulls the tent back, revealing the people inside.

Jane, given away by hair which catches the light and makes it look like her head is on fire.

Trevor, a dark haired man only a few years older than me with incredible aim when it comes to shooting and a pessimistic attitude. He came from Jane's original crew.

And Jaelyn, sitting cross legged in the center of the tent, talking with both of her hands.

Laughter reaches out and grabs my navel in an attempt to pull me into the fun. They aren't my people, though. They've got their own stories, and I don't star in any of them.

My person is locked up somewhere undergoing God knows what.

I lean back in the seat, taking a deep breath.

"I'm coming, Saki," I whisper, letting the natural quiet of the world settle down over me.

Mya

When I wake up in the morning, Finn's already in the bathroom. Steam rolls out of the open door, covering the concrete walls in a thin sheen of water. I roll over, listening to the gentle pulsing of the shower, until it comes to an abrupt stop.

Instinct takes over, and I pull the covers over my head.

"Good idea," Finn says in a husky voice.

Through the thin blanket, his shadow passes, standing in front of the closet before moving back to his bed.

"I'm dressed," he mumbles, and the bed creaks as he sits down.

"That's what you said last time. I'm not falling for it again."

"I'm not in the mood for jokes."

His voice is so tense and firm that I push the cover down and squint at him.

It's Monday.

It's Finn's turn.

I check the time as I swing my feet over the edge of the bed, wincing at the cold that seeps through the soles of my feet. Six fifty-five.

"Is Mom already here?" I ask, braiding my long hair.

There's no point in me washing up. I'll just get sweaty again later when Finn comes back from the lab and I have to take care of him.

"Yeah. She got here about an hour ago. She's with Sakir."

"Did you get any sleep at all?" I ask, scowling.

He shrugs, pulling his knees up to his chest.

"I keep thinking about that list," he whispers as I cross the room to sit beside him. One hand closes around a wad of his pants leg, causing his knuckles to go white. The other taps a random beat on his kneecap. "I checked. It did have percentages on the back. What's the likelihood that Mom remembered the exact composition of today's formula?"

"She'll remember," I say, easing my hand into his.

We both know I'm lying though.

Mom keeps a calendar because she can't remember whose week it is. She's messy and unorganized, generally scatterbrained. Her office resembles the rubble left behind a cyclone.

Once, she forgot to lock the front door when she left.

Luckily for her, we're more scared of being outside than the experiments.

Well, back then we were. Things are different then.

Finn sighs, rubbing circles with his thumb on the back of my hand.

"Everything's going to be fine, right? I'm just overthinking this, aren't I?"

"Of course you are," I say, smiling at him. "Just the other day, you nearly had a panic attack over a little blood. You overthink everything. Remember when you found that mouse in the kitchen?"

He laughs in a one short breath, but only one side of his mouth lifts.

"I didn't sleep for days," he whispers. "I thought I could hear them in the walls."

"But what happened when Mom put out traps?"

The other side of his face softens.

"We didn't catch anything."

"Exactly. You're overthinking this."

The spare bedroom door opens, and Mom's stethoscope clanking against her keychain fills the hallway. Finn tenses up beside me, dropping his legs off the bed. Her footsteps approach.

One. Two. Three steps.

She pushes open the bedroom door, looking up at us with a sad, forced, toothless smile.

"Ready, Finn?" she asks in a low voice.

Finn swallows beside me and nods.

His face turns white, though, and sweat gathers under the messy strands of damp hair. His breathing comes out uneven and ragged, panicked.

"It's going to be okay," I whisper, giving him a tight hug. "I'll be right here when you come back."

He glances at me out of the corner of his eye and nods.

"You better be," he mumbles and walks across the room to Mom. "I'm ready."

"Alright. Let's go." Mom points a finger at me. "We'll be back at the normal time. Make sure his bed's ready."

I nod, frozen in uncertainty.

What if everything isn't alright?

What if Mom forgets the percentages?

What if something goes wrong?

I have to trust her to do her job right. She's creating a cure, not trying to murder us. Hope's all I have right now. Hope and trust.

The lab door shuts and locks, leaving me truly alone down here.

Well, I guess not truly alone.

Sakir's in the room next door.

I change out of my pajamas, pulling on a pair of gray shorts and a comfortable tank top. When Finn comes back, my job is to make him comfortable and ensure he doesn't roll off his bed, even if he thrashes around in pain.

In the meantime, though, I'm free to do whatever I want.

So, I grab a tablet out of the office and a book from the shelf. Reading the cover tells me its another history book. Why Mom buys so many history related textbooks, I'll never know.

I sit myself down at the kitchen table with a pad of paper under my arm and a pencil hanging out of the side of my mouth. The questions I want to ask him run out of my head, down my arm, and out of my fingers like warm honey. Before I know it, scribbles cover the front and back of the sheet of paper.

That's probably enough. I don't want to overwhelm him.

Leaving my tablet behind, I tiptoe to Sakir's room, leaving the door open just a crack.

"Morning, Mya," he mumbles, through pinched lips.

"Good morning, Sakir," I answer, eyes falling on the now full bag of the virus hanging from the IV stand. I haven't got long; the virus will knock him out within an hour.

Discussion: Two different perspectives for this chapter! I wanted you guys to know what our mysterious Athena was up to. As it turns out, she's traveling with our favorite rag-tag group of heroes, who've grown up a little. ;) What do you think's going to happen to Finn? Is Mya right? Can she trust her mother? Will everything be alright? (So many questions! Just like Mya.)