Mason rushes us back towards our makeshift camp, but instead of stopping, he pushes past the buzzing crowd. It takes all the willpower I have not to shove past him and run to where Maggie is rooting around in the forest.

Surprisingly, the scenery begins to change. The trees cluster together, until Mason's forced to push branches aside. While it's not a huge change, even the air feels different. I notice then that we're moving uphill. Did we not come this way before?

Mason pulls to a stop beside a very confused Maggie. She's kneeling in the grass, pushing aside some foliage.

"Tell her what you found," Mason says, stepping aside.

She looks back at me with a frown. Is she considering telling me to get lost? It would be a stupid move.

After a long minute of us just staring at each other, she sighs and scoots over.

My breath leaves me in a rush. This isn't possible...

Gently, I kneel beside Maggie and pick up the single sheet of paper.

It's bigger than anything that would have come from one of our books. Plus, I'm pretty sure none of the Luddites stopped to gather up their reading collection. I know I didn't.

"This has to mean..." My voice trails off as I think.

"It's just paper," Linux says, quietly.

"It's not just paper. It means—"

Maggie cuts me off. "There are humans nearby."

Linux sucks in a sharp breath. "Seriously?" Maggie and I both nod. Hope flashes on his face for a second. "How close?"

For the first time, Maggie looks at me without disgust. She waits for me to tell him information she assumes I have.

"I'd say they've been here within the past twenty-four hours. It rained early yesterday morning, and this is perfectly dry."

"Can they be tracked?"

I look up at Linux, thinking. "Maybe," I say slowly. Then, I let myself drift away from him. My mind instead enters the forest around us. Mice crawling around under the fallen leaves. A snake sliding across an ant- and worm-filled log. Gnats buzzing, descending down on us as the night settles. Crickets— no, cicadas— belting out a song all their own.

I switch my focus. The sweat of humans several yards away. The must of a canine's fur clinging to the leaves. Wet, earth and decomposing leaves. The soft smell of ink, bitter and thick.

Underneath it all, there's something new. A hint of...

"Fresh vegetables," I blurt, eyes still closed. "And soap. Maybe intended to be unscented because it's so faint."

The three of them shift.

"You can follow it, though, even if it's faint."

He says it like he already knows I can. Oh, to have as much faith in myself as Linux does. I bite my lip and meet his eyes.

"Surely, but we're going to have to go now. Before it's gone."

Mason's gone before anyone can tell him to move. I assume it's to round up the rest of the group.

"Moving this late in the evening will be dangerous. Go tell Mason to arrange us in the paired formation." Linux nods and then leaves as well. He watches the ground as he does, hissing quietly in protest as the forest grabs at his ankles. I glance back at Maggie. "Thank you for letting me know what you found."

She nods. "To be honest, I didn't want to. Mason made me."

"Either way, thanks."

I cling to the paper, holding onto the scent like my life depends on it. It's hard to focus on anything else, but I still hear Maggie pacing beside me.

"Can you really follow a scent?"

I nod briefly, scared that if I talk, I'll lose it.

"What sort of vegetables did you smell?" she asks. Her voice is small, gentler than I've ever heard from her. I glance her way, confused.

"It's a faint trace. I'm not really sure." Long pause. "Why?"

"No reason," she says quickly. Maybe a little too fast. "I was just wondering." With a huff, she walks away from me.

All Maggie's done over the past two weeks is argue with me. There's a pattern to her actions, a routine. She meets my eyes, crosses her arms, and stands her ground. Yet, this Maggie holds herself differently. I let the scent go for a second and listen for her heartbeat. A moment's attention picks up the increase.

She's lying.

What does Maggie know?

I open my mouth to ask, but Mason and Linux reappear before the words can leave. I'll do it later, when I'm not in a hurry.

Linux takes his place by my side, and Mason retreats to the back of the caravan where Az is waiting for him. The smallest and weakest of us is positioned firmly in the middle, each tucked beside a stronger counterpart. The one child in the group, an Anthros rescue named Teddy, gets carried by someone else. Maggie slides in beside a younger Luddite who fell a few days back and hurt his ankle.

If we're attacked, everyone is protected.

But we won't be. I'll make sure of that.

"Ready?" I ask Mason, whispering over their heads. He nods in response as he wraps an arm around Az. "Then, let's go. Try to keep up, Lin."

A grumpy snarl answers me, but Linux doesn't argue. I'm surprised the forest hasn't killed him yet. As soon as it gets dark, the boy stumbles around like he's truly blind.

One hand clutching Linux's cold, damp one, I open up to the forest around me. It's similar to what happened before, but this time, all of my senses are on high alert at once. The nanos buzz in my bloodstream as they work overtime to keep up with the demand. I'll be exhausted after this, surely, but it's impossible to watch for the Artificials while I'm following the scent otherwise.

01001100 01100001 01110100 01100101 01110010 00101110 00101110 00101110

We walk well into nightfall, holding and guiding each other over uneven terrain. The once tight line fades into a knotted string. Mason still brings up the rear, occasionally calling out to make sure I know he's okay. He doesn't know that I've got each of them in a small section of my networking. I know which Luddites are tiring, which rescue is complaining, which group member stomach growls.

Keeping constant tabs on them all physically and emotionally drains me. Letting a little bit of desperation ease out of me fuels the nanos, though. Plus, Linux's grip on my hand keeps me grounded beside him.

When the moon looms directly overhead, we pull to a stop. An expanse of water lies before us, silver in the dark night. Linux exhales sharply and then falls to his knees before it. The rest of the group rushes forward. Some scoop it up with their hands; others dip their whole faces into it.

Mouth dry, I watch them, trying to keep a tab on the trail. It's fainter than ever before. The water must've washed it away.

"They crossed here," I mumble as Linux stands back up. Liquid drips from his chin. He wipes it away with the back of his hand and looks out over the river.

"There's no way we can do that. It'd be suicidal."

I chew on my lip and nod. "I know, but if we wait until I find another path, the trail will be lost. It's almost gone now."

When he doesn't answer me right away, I glance his way. He's staring out at the water, eyebrow furrowed in thought. His hand slowly rises to his mouth, and he gnaws on his thumbnail for a second. There's an emotion on his face that I haven't seen since the first few days out of Druxy.

Fear.

Does Linux know how to swim? Do any of the Luddites or rescues? I could carry them across one by one, but how much energy will that require? I'm already running on empty.

"Crossing isn't an option," I finally say, looking at Maggie as she approaches us. "It's too much of a risk." I won't put Linux through that.

"I was going to ask how you planned to carry us all over." Maggie laughs. "I can't swim."

Rubbing the back of my neck, I kneel down by the water. "Let's just set up camp here for the night. We can keep moving in the morning."

Without a word, Maggie walks away. She goes straight to Mason, who starts telling everyone else to start settling down. I'm not sure when he started taking on such leadership roles, but I'm glad it's not all my job. I couldn't handle much more

"Go get some rest, Lin," I say gently, dipping my fingers in the cold water. It successfully wakes me up a little.

"I can't."

I look back up at him only to find him staring towards the water once again. His pace hasn't slowed. Instead, it's steadily climbing. His hands clench at his sides in a rhythm not unfamiliar to me. He chews on his lip, face contorting faintly.

"What's wrong?" My voice is small, gentle. Human. Linux looks at me, his face softening.

"I'm— It's— This—" He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and flattens his hands at his side. It's almost as if I can see the struggle written in the worry lines of his forehead, dripping down his nose as the humidity causes him to sweat. I wait patiently for the knot in his words to untangle itself.

"I don't like that there's someone this close to us," he blurts. "I know we need refuge. Fast. But just because they're human doesn't mean they're our allies."

I grit my teeth, every nerve coming to life.

There was a time when I would have blindly assumed any human was on my side, when Linux wouldn't have to doubt the trustworthiness of his own species.

"I won't make the same mistake twice," I say through my teeth.

"Not intentionally, no."

"You don't have to trust them, anyway." Our eyes meet in the darkness. "Just trust me, Linux."

His face instantly softens, heart rate relaxing. He hasn't lost his faith in me, yet. I exhale slowly, reaching across the short distance to hold his hand.

"I won't let anything happen to you," I whisper, almost desperately.

Linux meets my gaze, our eyes holding each other for a minute. "I know that." A whisper, softer than the air settling in around us. What I wouldn't give to wrap my arms around him, to make him feel entirely safe again. "I do... I'm just scared."

Forcing a smile through the pain radiating in my chest, I nudge him gently. "I thought we were past your chicken phase."

He rolls his eyes. "Yeah, me too." With a sigh, he adds, "I know you're probably tired, and this is incredibly stupid, but will you stay up and keep watch?"

I answer without hesitation. "Yes. Of course. I'm not that tired." A lie. My fatigue would catch up with me at any time. I didn't know what that would look like, but I really didn't want to find out.

He nods, covering up a giant yawn with the back of his hand. "Thank you. I'm going to help Mason set up camp. Be safe."

With that, Linux leaves me standing on the riverbank alone. I watch him walk as far away as I can stand, craving nothing more than to run up behind him and hug him. To apologize for the millionth time.

It wouldn't help my conscience, though. The guilt is inescapable.

I lower myself onto the soft, weathered rocks and listen to the group setting in behind me. Mason and Azura giggle as they settle under a well-worn blanket brought from home. Maggie tells the little boy a story she's memorized, the same one I hear spoken in hushed whispers every night. The dark skinned couple from the Anthros intertwine in the darkness, safe from the cameras that once were permanently glued on them.

Even Linux drifts off to sleep quickly, leaving his glasses on just in case.

Just in case I let him down again.

For the second time tonight, I pull my knees to my chest and wrap my arms around them. Even though I close my eyes, my body resists sleep. I'd take exhaustion over the nightmares any day. So, the nanos remain on high alert, listening to the nocturnal forest awaken around me.

If anything comes within a mile of us, I'll know. 

A/N: I'm issuing a challenge! Can any of my readers figure out what that series of numbers menas? Shout-out in the next chapter to the person who figures it out. ;)

xoxo,

Amy J