"Um, do you care to explain what you mean?" Jorah separated from the group to stand at my side. "Of what importance is Kayne?"

Quint and his family tensed, but Grams looked up with those clouded over eyes. "It's his destiny." She says, her voice thick.

"What is?" I ask, feeling my heartrate pick up.

Grams leaned forward, clutching a hand to her chest and Quint's wife, Tonya crouched down next to her, holding her hand. "It's ok, you can rest-." She was trying to say, but Grams shook her head quickly.

"No." She snipped, then patted Tonya's hand. "No, dear, I'm fine." She said more softly to her before turning back to me and Jorah. The others behind me seemed more concerned with the amazing way that Dani's wounds were healing so quickly and probably couldn't even hear us over Matty's cries, thanking Kayne over and over while holding Dani close to his body.

"The boy," Grams said again, bringing my attention back to her. "He's always the one...every time." She said, nodding to herself like that should mean something to us. "He's the one who can change the tides. He can push it forward, or he can stop it entirely. You, my dear, are important too. He found you, which means we've finally got another chance."

Jorah and I shared a glance probably both thinking the same thing.

"I know how crazy it sounds," Kate, one of the women, said. "I thought so too before all of this started to happen. And if this is true too, then we need him, and the rest of you. We can still turn this around, bring back life, not live in fear anymore...he can do that. With you. Please just hear her out."

Turn things around? As much as I'd like that, I can't see a world anymore where we don't live in fear. This is so close to being the end, how can we ever feel safe again. I want to believe in it, I really do, as much of a downer as I can be sometimes, I want there to be a world for us again. I just can't force myself to see it. Try as I might, I can't conjure up a way to make it happen.

"Come here, child, I'll tell you a story," Grams smiled and I hesitated.

Jorah stood ramrod straight at my side, looking between me and the others. "I don't think we have time for stories right now. We need to get out of here, they will realize they lost track of us soon and will likely circle back to check out things on foot. We need to not be waiting in a hole when they do."

Quint stepped out from his family. "They can come through these woods with every bit of heat sensing technology they've got, dogs, superpowers, whatever they want, and they still wouldn't find us here. It's safe."

"Safe isn't really a word I like to throw around." Jorah said, crossing her arms. I can tell she doesn't like not being in charge. She needs it to feel useful. Her face is strained waiting for Grams to talk again, but she pretty much looks like she may have fallen asleep in her wheelchair.

"Still here." The old woman said as if she read my mind, and a small part of me worried that she may have.

If there is anywhere no one should go, it's my head. Especially someone's grandma.

"Come here, sit beside me." Grams pats her knee and Tonya moves to stand behind her, her hands holding the handles of the wheelchair tightly. I realized in a moment that they were scared, of us. Of me. Likely they should be, they may have rescued us and be going off of their crazy grandmother's senile ramblings, but trust in this world is out the window unless you're blood. I peek over my shoulder to Tommy where he stands towards the back with his arm around Kaylin's narrow shoulders. His sad eyes catch mine, and I realize even blood isn't enough to trust anymore. Will was Tommy's blood, and he'd betrayed him. So these people were really going out on a very breakable limb to bring us in like this. I figured the least I could do was listen to an old lady's story.

I walked slowly towards Grams, not wanting to spook anyone, and then knelt at her side the way her daughter-in-law had been moments before.

"Rowan," She muttered my name under her breath and I looked up into her face. Long deep wrinkles told of a long life lived. I only could pray and hope I'd live long enough to get a wrinkle. Likely I'd die like I am. "Give me your hand."

I slowly placed my palm into hers and her eyes widened slightly, looking just past me.

"What did you mean about Kayne and me-."

"Shhh." She whispered, then tightened her grip on my hand. "Hmm." She murmured over me, closing her eyes. "You were close to death..."

"How did you know?"

She grinned, then let it fade away. "You've already seen the story I wanted to tell you." She said, opening her eyes again to look far away. "You know what he did to you once."

My breath caught in my throat and I froze. "What do you...?"

"It wasn't a dream, it was a memory...another death when you were so close to dying again." She told me softly, like she wasn't delivering the weirdest words ever. "He's found you once before, but you didn't find us...we need you as much as you need us. Without each other, the same fate would come."

I swallow back bile as I think of the strange dream I'd had while I was fighting the darkness. I'd been attached to that chair and Alexandrea had tortured me. I was begging for someone, demanding to know where he was...

"The name was different, but the boy was the same." Grams said and Jorah came to stand at my side.

"What happened?" She asked softly, desperate to be included.

I looked from Grams and then back up at Jorah. "When your people come back, when they were killing us all..." I hated bringing up what they'd done. These weren't the same people they were when they did those awful things, but like Kayne, I knew they still carried the guilt. "Kayne...he found me once before?" I phrase it as a question and Grams nods. "But it ended badly."

Grams hummed under her breath, closing her eyes again. "Something happened this time that didn't happen last time. I can't know what it was, it could have been as simple as taking a left instead of a right, but your path is different this time. The time he found you before, the two of you were captured, that much you saw yourself...but what you didn't see..."

"What?" Jorah and I asked at once.

"He was pulled back to their side, he killed you, and they moved forward with their plans. Living to come back and do it all over again." Her words made my chest pound, but I tried to remain calm on the outside. The possibility that Kayne had once killed me was always there, it shouldn't change anything, but it definitely felt very different knowing rather than assuming. The same guy I'd given my virginity to happens to be the same guy who I apparently gave my last breath to before.

"How did they get him to turn on me?" It was a morbid question, but one I felt warranted to know the answer to. This was my life we were talking about. "He betrayed me?"

"As I said, this time is different." Grams ignored my question entirely. "You are here, which means we can do this."

"Do what?"

"Win." The old woman lifted her chin. "This time, together, we can win."

She looked so proud, her clouded eyes looking off into the distance but her head held high, her thin frail lips turned up in a fragile smile.

"How?" I whispered, glancing back at the few who had survived this long with us. I knew we'd give anything, but even still...

"Together." Grams whispered.

At her side Quint moved into view, rubbing the stubble on his chin. "Leaving this spot is scary as hell to think about, but we've been prepping for this for a long time, we've got a plan, but we need you all to carry it out."

"With all due respect," Jorah said, looking over Quint's family. "We've had plans before too."

Quint grins as Grams nods. "Yes, dear, but with all due respect," she smiles brightly. "Our plans are better."

I want to stay to listen to the rest, but Kayne called to me and I excused myself.

"Come help me with this," He said, turning Dani slightly to her side. "I need to get the shirt the rest of the way off so it doesn't fuse with her skin anymore." He explained, showing me where to grab hold at.

"Where's Matty?" I asked, looking for him.

"He needed a minute." Kayne's expression was hard and focused on the task, but I could hear the exhaustion in him. "We're out of these." He pointed to the bandage things on her body.

"I heard." I nod, peeling the last of the sweater away and then helping him lay her gently back on her back. "We'll be alright." I tried to sound optimistic, but even Kayne knew that wasn't me.

His hands and sleeves up to his elbows were covered in her blood, even more across his cheeks. His eyes skirted to mine and for a half second, the world felt ok, but then he reached out to touch me and noticed his own red smeared skin, dropping the hand back.

"I hope we will be." He said, folding a jacket to put underneath Dani's head. "It felt good knowing that KaRayna and I had some healing pads left, made me feel like we had a little wiggle room for accidents, you know?" He shrugged one shoulder. "Now having none...if something else happens..."

I understood. If anyone else got injured, they'd likely die.

"How many did you use on me?" I asked. "How close to gone was I when you found me?"

He shuddered slightly, squeezing his eyes shut like he was trying to unsee something. "Very close, Rowan, very." He opened his eyes, the green in them seeming darker. "You scared the hell out of me. That feeling...I can't lose you. I won't." He said more firmly. "I used as many pads as it would take to bring you back, and I still couldn't save all of you." His gazed dropped down to my hand.

It was weird, it still felt like it was there until I looked down and it just wasn't. "Now I just have a conversation starter," I tried to make a joke. "Nothing breaks the ice like having nine digits." He didn't seem amused in the slightest, so I dropped the act. "You shouldn't have wasted them on me." I said after a moment. "You could have saved them for-."

"No." He snapped suddenly and I clamped my mouth shut. "Using them on you would never be a waste. Don't even think that. I'd have used every single one and then given you my life too if it meant keeping you alive, Rowan. I love you. I won't lose you."

The power of his words sucked the air right out of my lungs but in a good way. A lightheaded fuzziness fell over me and I wondered how this guy who I one hundred percent believe would do exactly as he'd just said had once before been the one to let me die. I decided though in that moment, it didn't matter. The past was the past, and this time...it was going to be different.

"I don't want you to save me." I said after a second. "I don't want it to be one or the other, you saving me or me saving you, as if that were possible." I laughed. "I want to save each other."

Kayne leaned forward, pressing his forehead to mine. "I've already told you," He whispered. "You did save me. The moment you decided to love me. You saved me, and I'll always chose you, Rowan. Always."

I pressed my lips to his, feeling them mold to mine like they were meant for each other, and just maybe they were. I wanted the moment to last forever, but Dani sputtered beneath us.

"The-the-the." She starting muttering, her eyes snapping open.

"Hey," Kayne leaned down to her, brushing her hair away. "You're alright, you're going to be alright, just rest."

I looked around but didn't seen Matty. "Someone find Matty!" I yelled. "She's awake!"

She flailed for a second, fighting to get up but Kayne held her firmly. "You're fine, just lie still." He said over and over, trying to calm her.

Her hands shot to her stomach, and her eyes poured tears. "The-the-."

"You were hit but you'll be ok." I assured her, rubbing her good shoulder.

"The baby!" She shouted and everyone froze in place. "The baby!"

Kayne and I hooked glances, then Matty walked into the room, falling down at her side and crying all over again.

"The baby!" she cried again and Matty placed his hand on her stomach over hers.

Kayne turned to look at Matty, his eyes wide in horror. "She's...?" Matty nodded, then continued to cry, laying his head on her chest. "KaRayna!" Kayne shouted, pushing off of his knees. "She's pregnant!" Kayne turned, ripping the blanket off of Dani that had been covering her bottom half and I gasped at the same time as him.

There was so. Much. Blood.