Megan Cauthran awoke to the sound of an alarm blaring.

Her heart was pounding out of her chest, her limbs propelled her to bolt upright in bed, and her mind was fighting desperately against itself as she tried to take stock of her surroundings. Alarms were never good in Everton. They were sounded when the city was under attack, signaling the need for help from the militia. They were sounded when there was a flare-up, giving everyone warning so they didn't breathe toxic air. And, in her more personal experience, alarms blared when medical assistance was needed, and quick.

God. Had she fallen asleep at work again? She couldn't help it. There were so few doctors and nurses, and when she wasn't at the hospital, she was taking care of Ash, which left absolutely no time for sleeping.

But no. As her vision slowly focused, she realized she wasn't at the hospital. She was at home, actually getting a bit of rest. Or she had been, until that godawful sound. She parsed it out even as she blinked blearily, but the tone she'd heard wasn't one of the ones assigned by the International Alert Agency. It'd been too shrill. And too close.

She wrinkled her nose as the smell of an MRE--bacon and eggs, maybe--hit her, and her brain finally caught up with the fact that she wasn't alone.

Ash was standing over her, the bag of "food" in one hand, a small... something in the other. It was round, with numbers etched into the face like a clock and a button on the top. Most of the paint was scraped off, and the elements had started to warp what Meg assumed was metal of some kind. Ash looked damned pleased with herself, that smug Cauthran grin spreading across her face, so she could only assume the sound had come from that monstrosity.

"What the hell was that?" she asked, her voice scratchy from lack of sleep.

Ash's grin widened. "It's some sort of timer. You just turn this knob, and when it counts down all the way..."

Meg watched--and listened, unfortunately--as the timer ticked down. After five ticks, it blared again and she winced. Okay. It was definitely too early for that much noise.

"I found it in the Pit," she said, turning the timer over in her hands.

If the noise hadn't done enough to wake her, that definitely did. Her gaze narrowed at her sister, who didn't even have the grace to look mildly ashamed. "Ashley, we talked about this."

Meg pushed herself up, ignoring the ache in her muscles. Her mattress--if it could be called that--was hard and probably in need of a cleaning, but it was still better than what a lot of people in Everton got. Stumbling over to a worn dresser, Meg pulled some clothes out of a drawer and sniffed them. Yep. These were clean. Good to know.

"You said I couldn't go there on school days. Today's not a school day," Ash said around a mouthful of reconstituted mush.

Meg froze, a chill snaking its way up her spine. When she turned to look at her sister, Ash actually did look reasonably contrite. Good. Megan might not set the most firm boundaries, but there were some things that were beyond just an eyeroll and a shrug.

"You went while I was sleeping? Are you kidding me?" Her voice shook, and she wasn't sure if it was from fear or anger.

The place Ash and the rest of the locals called the Pit was actually part of a larger... chasm, was the best way Meg could describe it. A large city had existed outside of the boundaries of Everton, well before Meg was born. Apparently, it had been bombed into oblivion, and the crater left behind made everything that wasn't destroyed just fall into a deep hole. It was mostly old, rusted metal, overgrown with vegetation. It had formed a weird sort of cave that was chilling to behold.

To everyone except Ash, anyway. Her little sister had a penchant for exploring old human ruins. Meg only tolerated the Pit because it was mostly solid ground, and not nearly as large as the full chasm. There was danger still, but it was visible from up above, and it gave Ash an outlet for her explorations; one that Meg could safely monitor and intervene in when necessary.

Unless her sister went there unsupervised.

"I'm sixteen! And I can take care of myself," Ash said with a little scowl before she shoveled more food into her mouth.

"Giving Grayson Haliwell a black eye doesn't count as taking care of yourself," Meg muttered.

Her sister shrugged. "He deserved it."

She didn't doubt that, and if she'd been able to play the role of big sister, Meg might have agreed. She might have even let herself appreciate Ash’s particular brand of crazy. But she hadn't been a big sister for years now. Not since their parents died.

"Okay, seriously. I haven't been psycho bitch sister, have I?" Ash shook her head. Grudgingly. "So you need to follow the few rules I do have, because they're important. I don't mind you being there when I'm with you, but those ruins are too dangerous for you to go alone."

Ash let out a dramatic sigh. "Fine. Oh. This was waiting for you when I got back."

Her sister fished a piece of paper out of her pocket and handed it over. Meg's heart started to race for an entirely different reason, her fear forgotten and replaced by a deep sense of both anticipation and dread. This was it. This was the letter that could decide the future she and Ash would have. The letter that would tell her where she was supposed to be stationed next.

A part of her hoped the Medical Society would see all the work she'd put in slumming it at the hospital, staying there day and night, covering a range of patients that was greater than anything she'd ever trained for. She hoped they'd see that, and have her moved to a bigger facility in a bigger city. There'd be more people there. More protection. She'd make more money and have more reasonable hours. Plus, it would get her the hell away from Waystation Helios and the Karuvar.

Meg slowly unfolded the letter, feeling her sister move behind her to peer over her shoulder. She hesitated, scanning only the first line over and over, too anxious to move to the actual assignment. What if they were sent across the country? What would happen to this place? To the memories her mom and dad had built? Ash, being who she was, gave her the shove she needed by just reading it aloud.

"Megan Cauthran, Medical specialist, Ident. number 03407." Okay. Did Ash really have to read all the details Meg already knew about herself? She shot her sister a glare, but it went unnoticed. "This letter hereby informs the recipient that their request for transfer has been processed. You will find your new assignment at..." Ash paused, her tone growing more excited as she continued, "Waystation Helios, holy shit! Report at 0900 for details--"

"What?!" Meg focused on the letter, scanning for those two, damning words. Waystation Helios. No. This couldn't be right. "There has to be some mistake."

"Your ID number's on there," Ash said. "Even if you go to the admin, they'll just send you to the Waystation."

Dammit. Dammit. And she wouldn't be eligible for another transfer for six months. What was she supposed to do? Waystation Helios was... it was everything Megan hated about life in Everton. A place where the Karuvar could go and demand tending from humans without bothering to actually contribute. So they'd given mankind the key to their survival above ground. It wasn't like it was some selfless gift, and considering what happened to her parents, Meg still wasn't convinced it wasn't a long con. A way to slowly kill off all humans so the Karuvar could just take over the place once and for all. No muss, no fuss.

Plus, she knew absolutely nothing about Karuvar anatomy or physiology. She'd never actually seen one before, since they didn't deign to travel to Everton, even though it was less than fifteen miles away from Waystation Helios. She'd seen pictures of them. They were big horned motherfuckers who always looked like they had a stick shoved up their ass. Part lion, part dragon, part... ram? She didn't even know what to call them, but she wasn't a vet, and the day she put her hands on a Karuvar would be the day she died.

Which...

Meg looked at the notice again, skimming the rest of it. The date marked was... today. She sucked in a breath, her gaze darting to the clock on the wall. 0900 was less than ninety minutes from now. It would take her thirty minutes just to catch the bus out to the Waystation. Shit.

"Are you really off school today, or are you just ‘off school'?" she asked her sister, tossing the notice onto her bed and bundling up her clothes.

"Cross my heart," Ash said, signing it across her chest.

"Get your stuff and get ready," she said, grabbing the toiletries she needed. "You're coming with me."

If she was going to have to worry about alien parts all day, she didn't want to have to worry about where her sister was, too.

"Sweet!"

Apparently, today was going to be the day she died, and her sister couldn't be more excited.