"So what's your name anyway?" Evan asked. "I feel kind of bad not knowing after all the time we've spent together."

I glanced over at him as we walked quietly through the thicket of bare trees.

Evan and I hadn't spent much time talking about personal things; we'd been too stuck on what our next plan was to worry ourselves with those kind of things. I suppose the change of subject was meant to distract us from the fact that we'd just strangled a girl.

"Canary," I said.

Evan nodded slowly. "The name they gave you at the base," he stated. We walked a little farther, the thick layer of snow crunching beneath our feet as we wound around trees and ducked under fallen logs.

"Why Canary?" He asked after a little while.

"I sing. Or did." I said flatly. Mentioning something as stupid as a hobby seemed completely irrelevant at this point. "Reznik," I paused, shaking my head softly. "One of the officers at Wright Patterson, thought it fit me well."

"And how about you? Do you think it fits you well?"

I took a moment to think about it. "No," I said finally. "Not anymore at least."

I honestly didn't want to even think about my time at the base. It only made me remember all the people I'd lost. Oompa wasn't with us anymore and I was miles, maybe even states away, from the rest of the squad.

"So what do you want me to call you then?" he said.

I shrugged. "I don't really think it matters anymore."

I expected Evan to say something, but he just nodded. The silence was interrupted shortly after by a gunshot splitting the air.

"Is that-" I started.

"Yes," Evan said quietly. "Run."

He grabbed onto my wrist and yanked me along with him; he was much faster than me, even with his injury, and his extra speed seemed to propel me through the forest.

Trees whipped past us and snow flew out from underneath our boots as we ran

I finally found enough air to manage the question that burned on my tongue. "How did Grace surv-"

"I don't know," Evan said.

A brief wave of uncertainty passed over me. Both him and Grace were Others. Maybe this was all part of their plan. Maybe they were working together and the whole chokehold was just a move in their game.

I glanced over at him as he shook his head in disbelief.

No. There was no way. Evan was just as surprised as I was.

We ran out from within the cluster of trees and crossed over a highway overpass.

I looked over my shoulder, but couldn't see anything of Grace. She was nowhere to be seen- but we knew better. She was there. Somewhere from within the straggled trees, amidst the snow and brush, she was there- monitoring our every move, just waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

It wasn't until the second day, when the sun was preparing to set, that we saw her.

She emerged from the shadows of the trees, approaching Evan and I just as we were sitting down to build a fire.

"Why didn't you finish me, Evan?" she asked, setting one hand on her hip while the other held a shotgun to her thigh.

"Canary, why don't you get some more firewood?" Evan asked carefully, avoiding Grace's eyes.

I nodded, understanding that this wasn't a conversation I wanted to be a part of.

I got up and walked slowly away from the clearing, not speeding up until I was out of sight.

Ever since Evan and I had heard the gun shot a few days ago, I'd been going over in my head how Grace had managed to survive the choke hold.

Any normal person wouldn't have lasted long enough to survive, let alone be in the right physical state to chase after their killers.

And aside from the bandage around her neck and the dark purple bruising, Grace looked fine.

Maybe it was due to her being an Other. Before Evan had gotten injured from the base explosion, he had clear physical enhancements. That was certainly evident from how quickly he had run through Wright Patterson.

Whatever the reason, I just wanted her to be gone and out of my life so I could focus on things that were actually important. Like salvaging my relationship (whatever that was at this point) with Zombie and you know, saving the human race.

I took a daring look in the direction I had come from. I couldn't see them, but I was still close enough to know if things went to shit.

I slid a kitchen knife out from underneath my shirt, tugging it free from my belt.

I was injured, weak, and cold. I wouldn't be much help if Evan needed it, but I was better than nothing.

"You're in love with a human," I heard Grace say.

I stopped my eyes from rolling to the back of my head. Cassie.

Evan said something in response, but his voice was quieter than Grace's so I couldn't hear anything aside from the faint mumbling of words.

"It can't be that!" Grace shouted. "Why won't you tell me what's going on?"

There was silence before a shot rang out.

Before I had enough time to process what was happening, Evan came bursting through the trees.

"Run!" He mouthed, swatting his hand in my direction.

Immediately after, the tree next to him had its bark erupt into splinters. He ducked. I turned around.

I dropped the log I had halfheartedly picked up a second ago before running away from where the gun shot had echoed.

Another rifle was fired and my eyes dashed from tree to tree, trying to find the safest route.

"The highway!" Evan whisper shouted from behind me.

My eyes darted to the right quickly, my legs stalling for a second. My head spun. My vision clouded.

Evan grabbed a hold of my arm, tugging me to the left. My legs felt numb. My old bullet wound ached- I could feel blood beginning to seep onto the bandages beneath my shirt, the skin reopening.

Keep running. Keep going.

"We're almos-"

Evan's voice halted, his grip loosened, and his feet slowed. He wouldn't make it much farther.

Any other time it would be encouraging to know that the Others weren't invincible. But not now. Now I needed Evan and his super abilities more than anything.

Our feet thudded. The shooting grew softer. Snow fell faster.

After what seemed like ages, we stumbled onto the highway.

"The overpass," Evan said, his voice shaking.

I nodded stiffly as he guided me towards the overpass. We both had the same idea when we collapsed onto the ground, our bodies finally deciding to give out.

Would we make it?

My body answered no; the cold concrete beneath it gave it feelings of comfort and safety.

My mind answered yes. We had to. Evan for Cassie. Me for Zombie. Both of us for humanity.

~*~*~*~

Nugget POV

"I'll be right back, Sammy," Cassie said.

I rubbed my eyes and rolled onto my stomach. "Where are you going?" I asked.

Cassie shook her head once, letting her eyes drift to the window. "I'm on lookout," she said, "Ringer is leaving today."

I nodded and she handed me Bear.

"Try to get some more sleep," she said simply, ruffling my hair before she left the room.

The rats had kept me up all night. I couldn't stand their squeaking and the pitter patter of their feet in the walls. The sounds were too much, and their bites on my legs didn't help either.

Although I didn't care too much for Ringer, I was incredibly happy she was risking herself to find a better place for us.

The hotel was cold and dirty. And it wasn't safe anymore – we'd already spent too much time in one place. Most of us were starting to get sick too.

Zombie also wasn't doing well, not with his leg and Canary being gone. He pretended like neither bothered him, but I knew both had taken their toll.

His leg was infected and he grew tense whenever someone mentioned Canary's name. He hadn't said much about her, but I'd heard him talking to Flintstone about her briefly right after we had arrived at the hotel.

"I just want to know if she's still out there- if she's still alive." His voice cracked. "It's my fault she got shot in the first place. If I hadn't-"

"Listen man, It's not your fault she was shot-"

"I was squad leader. I was supposed to keep everyone safe."

"Canary getting shot was the fault of the shooter," Flintstone said. "You can't control whether someone pulled the trigger or not."

"I know but I could've-"

"Zombie, I know you care for her, and I know this is hard, but thinking about what you could've done isn't going to bring her back."

Zombie ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. "I know, it's just I can't do anything." He glanced down at his leg before looking up again. "I can barely walk- I can't look for her-"

"Even if you could look for her, we need you here. We may not be at Camp Haven anymore, but we still need you as our leader."

At that point, Cassie had swept me away to our room, telling me it was time to go to bed. She had sung me to sleep, but it wasn't the same without Canary. It was great having Cassie back (and Bear, of course), but something was missing, and that something undoubtedly had to do with Canary.

I wanted to go looking for her, but no one had let me go. Cassie said it was too dangerous and Ringer had just yelled at me for being so stupid.

Some movement outside the window caught my attention and I stood up from my makeshift bed on the floor to get a better look.

Ringer was leaving. She trudged through the snow and I watched her until she was out of sight.

I was about to turn away from the window when I saw a shadow move.

Someone, whether it was an Other or a human, I didn't know, dashed out from the forest of trees. They were heading towards the hotel.

I got off of my bed and pulled on my boots over my bare feet. I had to warn Cassie.

<><><>

I hope everyone had a great holiday! I love you all and really hope everyone is doing and feeling amazing! 

And if you're not feeling that awesome, just take a look at that gif of Ben Parish and you'll feel 10000% better. 

Pretty great stuff is coming up in the following chapters of part 2, so stay tuned and hang in there!