Prologue: Hitchhiker

James Stryder walked dazedly down the dark, winding corridors of the volcanic caves he had called home for the past four years. He passed Lily in the corridors and gave her a small smile. Even after three years, she was still suffering from the loss of the man she loved. They all missed Wes, but it was worse for Lily because they'd loved each other in the worst of times and now that love was not lost...but gone.

"Hey Jamie." Her voice wasn't a monotone or distant as it had been that first year but there was always an undercurrent of sadness. It poured through in her brooding silences and rare, quiet laughter.

"Hey Lily. Working in the kitchen today?" she nodded absentmindedly and sighed softly as she walked along. Jamie sighed as well, slipping into his moody behaviour of the last few months. He felt so incredibly alone. It had only progressed over time. The more he saw his sister and Jared, Wanda and Ian and strangely enough Kyle and Sunny, the more he envied them their love and the more he wanted that love for himself. How was it fair to any of them that even souls could find love when they couldn't? He would never take away Wanda's happiness, he loved her too much to do that but if only he could have a bit of that happiness himself.

He walked silently into his empty room, missing the camaraderie of other people. Two years back both Aaron and Brandt had decided to join Nate's band of rebels and although he'd had roommates a few times over the years most of the time Jamie had slept in the big, empty room all alone and it drove him crazy. It was time to change this, something had to change or this sinking, morbid depression would only get worse. He tried to bear it for Mel and Wanda, but how could he hide that fact that being alone like this was killing him from the inside? Torturing him more than any soul ever could.

He lay down on his mattress, sighing again as his shaggy black hair fell into his chocolate eyes. He should let Mel cut it; she didn't like that it was almost the same length as hers. It didn't matter to him anymore. Nothing did. He closed his eyes and fervently wished for someone, somewhere to come to him and make his life better as he drifted off to sleep...

"I worry about him a lot." Melanie's voice was barely a whisper as she lay curled against Jared's side. His fingers ran up and down her arms, leaving trails of goosebumps wherever they touched. "He seems so...out of it. Like a shell. Like his body's here but he's somewhere far away and I don't like it. I want my Jamie back."

"I know. I miss the kid too but I think I know what's wrong with him." Jared paused, seeming to think it through and ever impatient Melanie grunted in frustration. "Ah Mel, just relax, baby."

"Tell me what's wrong so I can fix it." She demanded. Jared chuckled then sighed.

"It's not exactly something that you can fix, Mel. Jamie has to fix it...or rather he has to find someone who can fix it and I'm not sure if that's ever going to happen." The confusion on her face made him smile. "He's mopey and depressed because we all have someone to love us while he's all alone. It didn't matter so much three years ago because he was only just turning into a man but now he sees the love we share and thinks that maybe there's someone out there that he wants to spend the rest of his life with, even in a cave."

"Oh." Her baby, with a girl? Why did that sound so...wrong? "I never thought of that."

"No because you will always see Jamie as your baby brother and you will never think any girl in the whole invaded world will ever be good enough for him." she nodded her agreement. Who could ever be good enough for Jamie?

"You guys are going to raid soon right? Maybe that would cheer him up."

"Maybe. Who knows what we'll find?"

"Come on Ian. I've been raiding for three years already, what do you think is going to happen?" Wanda sighed at her partner as he held her in his arms, looking up into his cobalt eyes, her gray ones with their silver undertone full of reproach.

"I will always worry about your safety, Wanderer. Don't you know by now how much I love you?" she smiled at him then, her eyes becoming warm. He grinned back, placing a light kiss on her lips.

"I know how much I love you. If it's even a piece of that it's a lot." Ian shook his head at her, trying to subdue a smile.

"You really have no idea how much you mean to me, do you?" he sighed and his eyes were intense as they bored into hers. "Please take care of yourself. I already have Jared's promise that he won't let anything happen to you but he'll need help with that. Don't leave me Wanda, I couldn't take that."

"I won't leave you, Ian stop being so anxious. I'll see you when we get back, okay baby?" he nodded reluctantly and leaned down to kiss her lips, starting out slow but succumbing to the heat after a few seconds. Their languid, furious kiss was interrupted by the beeping of the sedan's horn and they pulled away from each other, both looking in the direction of the car.

Jamie sat in the passenger seat, leaning across the cup holders to pound the horn furiously, a disgusted look on his face. 'Not just disgust.' Wanda thought, perplexed. 'Something else too, jealousy maybe? But what should Jamie have to feel jealous about?'

"Chill Jamie. What's the rush?" Ian asked, surprised by the furious look on the boy's face and the despair he saw when Jamie turned back around, slumping into the seat when he thought no one was looking.

"I'll be back soon, okay baby?" Ian nodded and smiled at Wanda before kissing her one more time. The beeping started again for both them and Jared and Mel and all four rolled their eyes. Melanie moved to stand beside Ian and they waved as Wanda and Jared jumped into the car and sped off.

"I hope nothing goes wrong. Kyle took the jeep already, right?" Ian nodded at her, his mind still preoccupied with Jamie's strange behaviour. "She'll come back, Ian. Wanda's got more luck than an Irish leprechaun."

"I wasn't thinking about Wanda even though I'll get around to worrying myself sick about her soon enough. I was thinking about Jamie. What's up with him?" Mel sighed.

"I really wish I knew, Ian. I really wish I knew."

"Are you okay?" Jamie looked up and forced a smile onto his face at Wanda's words. He hated having to lie and pretend that everything was fine but he couldn't make her worried.

"I'm fine, big sis. Stop being so motherly." She rolled her eyes and ruffled his black hair.

"I'll see if I can get a scissors so Lucina can do something decent with this mop." Jamie grinned and shook his head.

"Don't you have some shopping to do Wanda?" she swatted his head and he laughed while she stalked off the store and started her shopping.

"Can I help you, miss?" she smiled at the tall, lanky, brown haired shopkeeper.

"No, I'm fine but thank you for asking." the man returned the smile and turned away from her toward another customer. As she walked between the aisles picking up bags of rice and peas, she felt a presence behind her. She turned and for an instant she thought she saw a black haired figure but she blinked and it was gone.

'Get a grip, Wanderer.' she thought, 'You're losing it.'She quickly found everything that she could in the store and as the shopkeeper checked them she thought she saw a girl standing by a shelf. She shook her head at herself and walked out the door but she still couldn't shake the feeling that someone was following her.

"Ian is probably dying of boredom without you Wanda. He must be so incredibly ecstatic that we're going to be back soon. I wager he was counting down the minutes." Jamie lived to tease Wanda. She was as much his sister as Melanie and he loved her beyond reason. He'd do almost anything for them both. And now as they made their way through the desert back to their haven he couldn't resist jabbing at her a bit but it lacked the enthusiasm he usually had.

"You are just lucky that I love you James." she said and rolled her eyes as Jared laughed. It was so much easier to be around Jared now. He wasn't prickly around her, he trusted her and since Mel was back inside her own body or rather she had her body and mind to herself, they had developed a quick friendship.

"You're just jealous because you don't have anyone at home waiting for you." he said and Jamie just shrugged. If only Jared knew exactly how true that was. They fell silent for a while but as they grew closer the conversation picked up once more.

"I bet Ian's waiting for us. He usually starts standing outside every night around the third month we're gone, waiting for us to come back. He's whipped." Wanda giggled as they pulled up to the place where the cars were hidden and sure enough there stood Ian, grinning like a fool as he clapped eyes on the love of his life who lost no time in jumping out of the jeep and into his arms and he lifted her and twirled her around, kissing her with all the passion he'd been keeping inside for three months while Jamie and Jared just laughed at them.

"Welcome home, my Wanderer." Ian whispered in her ear, his voice sending chills all over her. Suddenly bright line shone in their faces and a small black car pulled up alongside the jeep. Before anyone could even wonder where it came from the driver door was thrown open and a girl jumped out. Her hair was a long black curtain around her face. Her eyes were almond shaped and emerald green. Her straight nose led to full, sensuous lips. Her neck was long and swanlike and it veered off into delicate shoulders which were covered by a blue T-shirt aptly saying 'A Surprise Is Around Every Corner'. Her arms were crossed under full breasts and over the straps of a blue backpack. Her hips were curvy but narrow and her mile long legs, covered in black skinny jeans, were the stuff of men's dreams, her sneaker clad feet small. Jamie stood and stared, taking her in and right there he vowed that this creamy skinned beauty would be his, if it was the last thing he did.

The girl pulled out a flashlight and held it to each of her eyes, slowly moving it back and forth. An audible sigh of relief went through the four and they visibly relaxed but only a little.

"Hi Ian." a soft, melodious voice said clearly, not a trace of surprise in it. Ian's jaw dropped as he stepped closer to the girl.

"Layla? Layla is that you?" she nodded and stepped willingly into his arms, letting him hug her so tight Jamie wondered how she could breathe.

"Guess I'm not the only O'Shea who can make it in an invaded planet." she clung to him for all she was worth and Ian was holding onto her as if his life depended on it while the others just stared at them in bewilderment.

"I'm sorry to break up the reunion but who the hell is she?" Jared said gruffly but for some odd reason he backed down as soon as the girl turned her emerald gaze on him. There was something about her that spoke experience beyond her apparent age of seventeen.

"Layla these are my friends and my girlfriend Jared, Jamie and Wanda. Guys, this is Layla O'Shea. My cousin."