"To the town we go, into your hideaway

Where the towers grow, gone to be far away."

-Agnes Obel

Marina weaved against the current of people as she tried to keep up with Colson. Mumbling apologies to everyone she bumped into, she kept her eyes locked on the back of his head bobbing above the others. He swiftly dodged between bodies, anticipating their movements, the space between the two of them growing rapidly.

Asshole.

He knew she could never keep up. That was why she wished he would trip over himself and erase the smug smile he surely wore. He was quicker than she remembered. The only advantage Colson ever had on Ryder was his deft ability to dodge and escape, but even then, Ryder would still knock him on his back.

Marina sifted through the crowd mercilessly, pressing her elbows into the sides of the people who would not get out of her way. He could not have gotten that far in front of her, but the fact that she could no longer see him made the panic set in. Her lungs constricted, making breathing hard to do. Her gut twisted, a familiar feeling creeping over her skin.

Marina knew that she could turn around and walk home - no big deal - but that thought was just a wisp among the suffocating desperation that pounded at her instincts. She had to find him. She had to catch up with him. If she didn't, she would never see him again. She had nothing, no one—she couldn't lose him too. She shifted her weight onto her toes, searching for a head of blonde hair in the crowd.

Wait.

Marina shook the thoughts out of her head, her pace slowing to a walk. Why was she looking for blonde hair? Ryder was not there, but it felt like it. She was searching for Colson, but her heart shook with tremors like it was Ryder she was trying to find all those years ago.

Marina slipped through the crowd, no longer frantic and searching as her mind exploded with memories from her past. She slipped to the edge of the sidewalk, finding an opening between the buildings. Once alone in the alley, her back slid down the wall, her knees curling in as she buried her head into her folded arms.

She remembered the days following the massacre. She remembered friends and family watching each other being pulled from their homes and executed for being a Wielder. The Great Purge lasted for close to a month and Marina's family stayed holed up in their apartment, not one of them daring to lift a curtain to glance outside.

They barely ate from fear of the Authorities knocking on the door. Sleeping was done in intervals, Marina and Ryder's mother or father always staying up to listen and wait. They watched every news update. They saw who had been purged, who was taken prisoner, how many had escaped and how many were shot down.

There were reports of those that had succeeded. Some Wielders fled across the long narrow bridge that connected Acadia to the mainland, escaping into the small seaport town of Dormer and beyond. There were Wielders who fought back. Colson's family stayed safe, but their other childhood friend, Obsidian, watched his mother and father's bodies destroyed with bullets before being taken prisoner. The city was in turmoil, the streets a battleground as Marina and her family shivered with anticipation in their apartment.

Ryder tried to remain strong for her, always, especially when their parents could not. Their father could never sit still, his pacing wearing the rugs down. Their mother would lock herself in the bathroom, her sobs echoing off of the walls. It was Ryder's hand that Marina reached for in the night, when the world was quietest, and it was he who squeezed back, letting her know he was there.

One day, after the reports of the Purge began to die down and the announcement of the construction of the Wall commenced, their parents sat them down. Bags rested by the front door.

"There's a boat," their mother said, kneeling on the floor in front of them. Her hands rested on their knees, tears lighting up her eyes. "I need you to grab a bag from your room and pack some clothes. We are leaving soon to meet the Gages."

"Where are we going?" Ryder asked, his eyes filled with fear but his voice strong and steady. "When does the boat leave?"

"We have to be at the dock in the warehouse district in an hour," their father answered, his voice not nearly as optimistic as their mother's. He was worried, and he should have been. What if the Authorities spotted them? "Go pack your things, quickly."

Ryder didn't need to be told twice. He stood abruptly, grabbed Marina's hand and pulled her to their bedroom. He strode across the floor and threw a bag at Marina. They packed as much clothes as they could, their hands still clutching for shirts as they heard the first pounds against the door.

Ryder only froze for a second before throwing his bag over his shoulder, pulling Marina behind him. Their mother's white, defeated face appeared in the doorway, tears falling down her cheeks as her chin quivered. Marina peered around their bodies, her eyes spotting her father, his shoulder rammed into the door, trying to keep it closed as the Authorities pounded against it.

"Get her safe, Ryder," their mother whispered, putting all her faith into her twelve-year-old son. She reached for the doorknob. "Get to the boat. Get to freedom." She let out a quiet sob as she closed the door. They didn't see her face as she said, "Stars above, I love you so much."

Marina felt as if all the warmth inside of her emptied, leaving her cold and vulnerable.

Ryder didn't hesitate as he scrambled for the window, unlocking it before pulling the glass up. Marina couldn't move. She heard her father yell as the front door finally slammed open. She heard feet enter their tiny apartment. She heard the guns firing more shots than needed. Then she heard nothing.

Marina needed to scream. Something had to fill the void of silence that had not only filled the apartment, but also her heart.

Ryder grabbed her, dragging her to the window. He picked up her numb, lifeless body and placed her on the platform of the fire escape outside of their window. Ryder stepped out behind her. Seeing his determined face despite the anguish in his eyes woke her up, propelling her down the stairs, the metal of the fire escape clanging loudly with their steps. She was afraid that they were too loud, that the Authorities would catch on and follow them, but that fear was exactly what kept her going.

Once on the street, they dug their feet into the pavement and ran. Marina had run before, but never like that. There was no burn in her thighs, no stitch in her side, only adrenaline coursing through her veins. Ryder ran in front of her, leading the way to the warehouse district. Their father had taken Ryder with him once to work there, but Marina only knew that it was on the northwestern tip of the island.

Ryder ran too fast. Marina got left behind.

She searched the streets for him, for his head of thick blonde hair, but he was gone. She didn't even know which direction was north, she had spun in so many circles searching for him.

Tears filled up her eyes as she walked, her feet dragging behind her in defeat. She dropped her bag from her shoulder, too weak to hold it anymore. She didn't mind that the sidewalk was scraping and ruining the material of her bag. Let it be ruined, just like her.

A hand clamped on her shoulder, sending her into panic all over again. She spun around, sending her arm into an arc, the back of her hand slamming into her attacker's mouth. She turned to run, not waiting to see their reaction to her defense.

"Marina, wait!" a familiar voice called. She stopped and turned on her heels. It was Colson Gage. He was staring at her, pain in his brown eyes, a thin line of blood slicing his lip.

She didn't speak, she didn't move for a moment. Then all of a sudden she flung herself into his arms, her sobs silenced as she pressed her face into his chest. He was only two years older than her, but he was already growing like a weed, her mother would say. But her mother would never say anything, ever again.

She quickly told him what happened in whispers, his own story closely matching hers. The Authorities had also shown up at his family's apartment, murdering them as well.

Marina didn't remember how long they stood there, what Colson had said to her to calm her down, or how he had calmed himself down. What she did remember was Colson picking up her bag and guiding her to the warehouse district where Ryder might have been waiting for her.

Sure enough, he was there, his face raw from tears, his blonde hair standing in all different directions from tugging at it. He leapt to his feet when he saw the two of them, his knees shaking as if he might collapse back down to the ground. Marina closed the distance between them, wrapping her arms around his torso. Her legs could hardly stand up any longer. They dropped to the ground, their arms remaining wound around each other.

Marina could hardly understand Ryder as he apologized over and over, making promises to never leave her behind again. In the distance she could see the boat that their parents had planned for them to board and escape to freedom. Marina glanced over Ryder's shoulder, her eyes finding Colson's, sending him a silent thank you.

Marina, Ryder, Colson. They all became orphans that day, along with so many other Wielder children.

The Council had the Wall built, each year its height growing taller and taller. The Authorities stopped searching for Wielders, letting them come to them by accidentally revealing themselves in public. After all, their magic was as instinctive as breathing. Ryder and Colson, always looking older than they actually were, were able to get jobs. The three of them lived together for a while until Colson got his own apartment and he drifted away from them.

Colson went into a downward spiral after everything that happened. He spent more and more time on his own every year that passed. Marina barely saw him unless Ryder forced him to come to their place, which wasn't often.

Now the reality of Ryder being gone was officially setting in. She was truly alone.

She had spent so long being paranoid of the Authorities coming for her, that she hadn't even given herself time to grieve his absence, to grieve his broken promise. He did leave her. In fact, he had made her leave him.

Marina stood from the ground, brushing the dust from the back of her pants. With the sleeve of her jacket, she wiped her wet cheeks. She would save the rest of her tears for when she was home.

She turned towards the mouth of the alley, smoothing her blonde hair back away from her face and stopped. Colson was standing there, staring at her, his brown hair wild and windblown, breathing hard like he had ran all the way back to find her. Not likely.

"You, asshole!" she screamed at him.

"Marina, I—"

"Don't." She cut him off, her gaze flicking away from him to the smooth white stone of the building next to her.

"No, listen." His steps towards her echoed through the alley, but she didn't move and she definitely didn't glance at him.

"No, you listen." She couldn't take it anymore. She unleashed her wrath on him. "Do you have any idea what you just put me through? I went through all of it again. All of it!" She stepped towards him, the look in her eyes making his widen. "I searched for you. I panicked. I was trying to find Ryder all over again."

"I'm sorry, Marina," he said. She believed the sincerity in his tone, but that didn't make her any less angry with him.

"Thanks for the apology, but sorry isn't going to cut it. You left me behind without looking back once. You want to go alone? That's fine. You've spent the last few years being alone so I'm sure you're used to it. I was wrong to come to you." That was a jab, but it was necessary.

"Ouch." He didn't dare move closer to her, he knew that, or else she might reveal herself to the public right then and there. She never could control herself. "You're right. I'm used to being alone, which is why I left you behind. I didn't mean to, I swear. It just happened, I honestly forgot you were with me.  I've become so used to walking these streets alone.  What can I do to make it up to you?"

"You can move, so I can go home."

"That's not happening."

"Yes, it is. Now, move."

"No."

Was this really happening? Why wouldn't he just get the hell out of her way and let her go? Not only did he leave her behind, but he also thought that he could tell her what to do?

The alley grew cold. She didn't mean for it to, but her power seemed to have a mind of its own, especially when it came to Colson for some reason.

"Marina, stop," Colson said frantically, glancing behind him to make sure no one was watching the alley.

"You know I can't help it. Maybe you shouldn't piss me off and just let me go home." Ice crackled down the sides of the building's walls on both sides of them, the air growing colder by the second.

"You have to come with me. I should have come to you and taken you with me a long time ago. You have to learn how to control this."

He was right, in a way. She did need help, but not from him, not right then.

"Move," Marina said firmly, sending a shard of ice his way. With a flick of his wrist, Colson made the ice transform to steam.

"Stop, now." Colson stepped towards her, lowering his voice so not even someone standing behind them could hear. "I know you're pissed at me. I said I was sorry. I can't go back in time and change it. But what I can do is take you to meet Aeron and change everything for you, give you a purpose."

"I don't care about anyone named Aeron. I don't care about the Den. I don't care to go anywhere with you, anymore."

Colson shook his head, a fire blazing in his eyes. He was getting mad now. Good. Perhaps he would get so angry with her, he would let her pass.

"This isn't about me, Marina. This is about Ryder. How we can save him."

Marina laughed for the first time in a while. A real laugh. The cold vanished, the ice melting off of the walls.

"I'm serious, Marina. Aeron is at the Den. He has shown me so much. He can show you so much. He can help you, if you let him."

"Just stop, Colson. Please, let me go."

"Fine!" he yelled, shocking Marina, making her take a step back. He stepped aside, holding his arm out to his side. "Go. Just one question, though. When your body is dead and cold in the ground one day, will you be satisfied knowing that you did everything you could to save your brother, just as he would do for you?"

Marina didn't reply. She couldn't. She didn't know what to say. He was right and she hated it. In that moment, she hated him, even though deep down, she was extremely grateful to him for being so damn stubborn.

"You're right," she whispered, finally.

"What was that?" Colson asked, shoving his hands in his pockets. He leaned forward, the corner of his lips tilting up. "I didn't quite hear you."

"You heard me," Marina argued, pushing his chest with the tips of her fingers. "You're right."

"I've never heard two more perfect words." The chocolate of his eyes turned liquid, irritating her even more because of the effect they had on her.  She could melt right there on the pavement.  But she wouldn't show it.

"Shut it." She crossed her arms, putting her weight on one leg, her hip going out to the side. "Take me to this Aeron."

A/N:  Thank you for continuing to chapter 7!   If you didn't listen to the song posted for this chapter, give it a listen, seriously.  It sets the whole tone and mood for the chapter.

Playlist ~ Fuel to Fire by Agnes Obel

Visual: Colson