I left camp without talking to anyone. I was on a mission and refused to let anyone stop me. No longer would I be the woman that hid away in a safe place. Today, I was the hero. A terrified, panic-prone hero. But a hero nevertheless.

Many Dormas citizens crowded around me on my way to Black Manor. Angry chatter filled the town’s center, and Mark Caverly blocked my path with a grim look on his face. "Where is the leadership council, Jules?" he demanded but I didn't respond. I wasn’t in charge here. I was on a mission.

People flooded out of their buildings and homes, bombarding me with questions and concerns.

"Where is Cyler?!" a man asked with a frown.

"Where are you going?" another asked.

I wanted to keep moving, but they blocked my path. Irritation hit me, and in a moment of frustration, I let loose a screech which caused the mob to stop and stare.

“No need to burn the town down. I’ve got this under control,” I yelled with a nonchalant wave of my hand.

I hoped my reassurance would placate them, but instead, more questions were thrown my way. This time with much more anger.

"Where are you going?"

"Who’s in charge?"

I looked up to the sky and sighed deeply. I didn't envy my brother's job at this moment.

“Look, I don’t have time to answer your questions, I’ve got places to be,” I complained as someone pushed closer. I took a step back but was pushed into a thick chest. I screeched again.

"BACK OFF!"

The crowds pushed as more complaints were thrown my way.

"She was kicked out of their home, she probably doesn’t even know where they are!” a man who I recognized as being a mine worker yelled before pushing into me. Someone pulled my hair, and I fell to my knees as chaos broke out. The normally calm people of Dormas were crumbling under their fear, and I was their unwitting victim.

A loud shot pierced through the sky. The bang reverberated throughout the town's center like a firework. Dormas citizens dispersed and moved away from me while I stood dusting off my pants.

Once my eyes focused through the dirt and crowds, I saw a group of Scavengers, some of them I remembered from my classes, some from the mines. In the middle stood Nikketa who held a shiny, black metal object angled with a handle.

"You all back off that poor woman this instant!" Nikketa yelled out over everyone. People immediately stepped away as the stern Scavengers walked towards me. Their eyes were fierce and penetrating, daring anyone to question their authority or bother me. After making sure no one else would try anything funny, Nikketa approached.

"What’s wrong?" she asked in a low voice, keeping her eyes on everyone else.

"Tallis needs me."

Nikketa nodded and lifted her loud object in the air again. I saw some of the older citizens flinch in fear, like she was holding a deadly weapon.

"Citizens of Dormas, you are now under Martial Law. I’m your temporary leader. Everyone get back into their homes until we can sort this out. I don't want any funny business!"

Nikketa stepped near Lois Caverly who held her mouth open in shock. Her cheeks stormed with red fury as they stared one another down. Just as Lois was about to speak, Nikketa made a barking noise, causing the nosy woman to flinch.

With a nod towards Nikketa, I straightened my shoulders and made my way through the parted crowd towards Black Manor.

I didn’t consider the consequences of stealing Cyler’s precious motorcycle. I filled it up with what gasoline he had and prayed it was enough to get me to the safe house, while thanking God for those driving lessons as a kid.

Normally, traveling alone across rocky terrain on an ancient mode of transportation would cause me to break out into a fit of anxiety, but my mind was driven by one singular purpose:

Get to Tallis.

The rumble of the motorcycle was loud, and I zoomed past a few infected Walkers and abandoned cities. Transports headed to the Capital looked on in amusement as a trouser-wearing member of the elite passed by on a rudimentary mode of transportation. I didn’t have time to care, nor time to worry about my reputation. I rode. I didn’t stop until I arrived at an abandoned building in a town seventy-miles outside of Dasos. My teeth chattered from the prolonged vibrations of the bike long after I dismounted.

When I walked through the battered front door with chipped paint and rusty hinges, I screamed his name. I looked around the abandoned house with sharp attention. I took in the dust on the covered furniture. The mice scurrying across the floor. The light shining in through the fractured window.

“Tallis?!” I yelled once more, praying that he was here, that he was safe, that we would somehow figure this out. When he turned the corner and waltzed into the entryway, I lost all composure and threw myself at him. Our lips crashed onto one another. Our teeth colliding painfully, but the passion dulled the ache.

“I’m here,” he reassured through muffled and preoccupied lips. My hands reached for his shirt and I pulled it over his head before roaming my eager fingers across his chest. Across his back.

“You stupid ass, you scared me!” I exclaimed before snaking my hands through his hair and grabbing him. Hard. He opened his mouth to me, our tongues dancing together in a delicious reunion. With a slight jump, I wrapped my legs around his waist and my breathing became heavy and burdensome. I couldn’t get enough air. My thoughts were dizzy and drunk. My blood pulsing with lust.

He pushed me against the unsteady wall and dust billowed around us. I clenched my thighs tighter around him and arched my back, wordlessly demanding that he press against me harder. His hands roamed the curve of my butt as I tore my shirt from my body. The feel of his scarred skin on mine made me shudder with pleasure.

Everything slipped away. I wasn’t of the Elite class. He wasn’t a Scavenger Chief. I wasn’t an accumulation of my faults and failures. We just were.

He slid the straps of my lace bra down, the soft material tickled my arms, and I shivered when his hot breath swarmed my exposed skin. As we kissed, his large hands roamed over me, exploring each curve, each nerve. He abandoned my lips to suck a deliriously sensitive spot on my neck and I gasped at the pleasure of it. The flick of his wet tongue against me made me squirm. He put my feet on the ground and lowered to his knees. “Tallis,” I moaned out as his sharp teeth lightly nipped my hip bone, the sting quickly soothed by his skilled tongue and lips.

We moved towards a couch covered with linen, and the lights flickered overhead. I didn’t care that we were in danger or in a dirty home. I didn’t care that the world was hanging by a thread, he was my salvation.

“What are you doing, beautiful girl?” he asked as I fumbled with the button of his pants.

“What do you think I’m doing? I need to feel you, Tallis. I need to know you’re here,” I whispered. Tallis tenderly brushed my hair out of my eyes as he stared down at me with openness and love.

“Is this what you want?” I knew he wasn’t just asking about the physical implications of my desires. He was asking about us.

“Yes,” I whispered as my hands roamed his abs. His back. He sighed, my touch and admission combining into an all-encompassing pleasure that spurred him further.

“Finally,” Tallis groaned, before slowly trailing his lips down my neck and torso. After pausing at my hips, he slid the too-tight leather off my thighs in a slow, teasing rhythm.

“I love you, Agapimenos,” he said. His voice sounded certain and adoring. His penetrating gaze looked to me as if asking one last time if I was ready. If this was what I wanted. If he was what I wanted.

“I want you,” I assured.

That night he carried me to a place of love and adoration. He made me feel treasured, again, and again, and again. We forgot about the world. Forgot about the fears, the abandonment, the future. We settled into the dim, dirty imperfections of our surroundings and brought it to life. He illuminated my soul and I burned brighter than I’ve ever been.

Once he was fast asleep, I nuzzled closer to his chest and I watched his steady breaths. I reveled in the comfort of his arms. Then, once I was sure he couldn’t hear, I said in the faintest of whispers, “I love you too, Scavenger.”