Hello readers! Thank you so much for the lovely reviews! Shout out to: Sapphire2112, Kyrania, and Queenspeller67! Means a lot!

Reply to guest: (sapphire2112) Great to see you again! I always look forward to reading your reviews! They mean a ton. I don't know the shipping Lucaya, but I will be sure to check it out! I appreciate your kind words :) And I hope this story turns out alright!

There will be some violence in this chapter, so be aware.


"How long have you two been infected?" the man asks Drew and Ash as they sit inside the train cart.

After explaining to the green haired boy - Drew as he later found out - that he was in no way associated with the Branders, and after assuring him that he knew May, the boy finally opened the door up for him (even if it was a bit reluctantly). The man was surprised to find another boy when he came into the room as well, but May had told him the story of what happened, so it began to make sense. He had also found out a little more about the two of them.

Ash and Drew had met each other on the train, and because they were headed in the same direction, decided to travel together. This was upon Ash's request. Drew preferred to go solo, and almost refused until he started having his own burning fit. He would caused quite the ruckus if it weren't for Ash being there. The raven haired boy saved his life in a way, so it only made sense that the two of them should stick around each other. They were on more than one train until they reached this one, since they lived so far away. Ash's town, the one called Pallet, had been the farthest. Drew refused to say the name of his.

"Almost a week, I guess," replies Ash, rubbing the back of his head.

Drew nods his head in confirmation before speaking. "More for me."

The two of them sit next to each other on a couch inside the cart - Ash on the left, and Drew on the right. May is sitting on the arm of the couch next to Drew, mostly keeping to herself. The boys, May thinks, make an odd duo. Ash is loud and rambunctious, his dirt-covered clothes full of tears and holes, and his hair a mess on the top of his head. Drew on the other hand, is far more reserved, but also has a haughty air around him that is insanely aggravating. His hair is neat, and his clothing lacking the clear signs of destruction found on Ash's, and all in all of you were to place the two of them next to each other, they would seem as polar opposites. Yet, they're friends.

"Okay," the man says. "Now I need to ask, why are you on this train?" He folds his arms over his chest, and awaits their answers.

Ash chooses to speak first. "Isn't it obvious? We're going to the Institution."

May's head perks up. "You are too!?" she asks. The two boys nod.

"Yup, we were told it was the only place to go to get better."

"How did you find out about the place?" came the man's next question. "Or rather, who told you?"

Drew bristles suddenly. "What is this, an interrogation?" His features morph into a scowl. There is a crease that makes itself present between his eyes, and May wishes she could just it smooth over. Why is he getting so worked up all of a sudden anyways?

"It's an important question."

"Yeah well, it's not like any of this is your business."

"Hey," says Ash, putting his hand against Drew's shoulder, "it's okay." The green haired boy shrugs him off.

"No it's not!" Drew growls. May frowns. Whatever it is, he really doesn't want to talk about it. Still, her companion said it was an important question, so if it is vital to their situation at hand, he has to tell them.

"Maybe we should move on to another question," she says, trying to keep the peace. If it's important they can get it out of him later.

"May you don't understand, I need to know this. Was it from a random person, or someone who claimed to work there?" the man presses further, his stormy eyes boring into Drew's. The green haired boy sets his jaw, refusing to speak. "Tell me," he says again, his voice firmer.

"Why should I!?" Drew barks, finally breaking under his gaze. "Why should I tell you? We don't even know your name, or who you are!" He throws his hands up in exasperation.

"Fine, you want to know why this is important!?" the man's voice booms. "I work at the Institution, okay? Last week one of our members went missing. She left on a mission to find people like you to bring back, something that is an everyday occurrence. Only, she hasn't communicated back for far too long. Now if you heard about this place from her then that would lead me to believe you know who she is, and also where, so you are going to stop being so obstinate and tell me already!"

Silence suddenly fills the room's expanse. It passes as long as a burning fit lasts, and May feels as though she is choking on the tension in the air."Solidad," comes Ash's voice, small and quiet, and utterly broken.

Drew stands up out of his seat, before striding over to the other room, and shutting the door with a bang.

Ash hangs his head.


Solidad found Drew in his town pharmacy begging for medicine. He was on his hands and knees bowing his head at the owner who looked at him as if he were the plague.

"Please," Drew had screamed, momentarily looking up, and revealing his tear-streaked face to Solidad. "I need help! It's my chest, I'm...I'm -" he was cut off as the owner whacked him across the head with a broom.

"You're one of them infectees!" she accused, readying herself for another attack. "Get out of my sights before you bring bad luck, there's no help for you!"

"P-please! I -" Whack! Drew recoiled from the hit. He scrambled to his feet as she swung her broom again, cursing as loud as she could as she did so. He booked it out of the door just as the woman began to throw a bottle at him. He barely had time to dodge.

Solidad caught up to Drew as he ran, and yelled to get his attention. "Hey! Stop!" He turned his head around to see her, but as he did so his feet stumbled over one another, causing him to trip. He face-planted into the dirt. "Are you okay!?" He lifted his head up, cringing.

"I'm fine," he said, spitting out some dirt. Drew clutched the left side of his chest with his hand, his breathing raspy.

"Your chest." She pointed at the spot. "You've been attacked haven't you?"

"Shouldn't that be obvious?" came his response. He looked at her with a flat expression on his face, and let out a sigh. "I mean, you already heard me in that store, right?" He rubbed his face, which was red from humiliation. No wonder his response was so cheeky.

Solidad rolled her eyes. He was just lucky she took pity on him. "Look, I know you're on edge," she reprimanded, "but there's no need to get snappy with me."

Drew peered up at her. She was a tall young woman with dark pink hair, and a kind aura all about her. He pushed himself to his feet. "You're right, sorry."

"Don't worry about it. Listen, I'm here to help."

"Help? I don't know if you realized this, but there's no medicine in the world that can help me. My parents say I'm dying - well actually they told me I'm destined for life beyond the grave. It wasn't a very poetic way of putting it as they thought."

"Aren't you the optimistic one."

"Excuse me for not having a smile on my face."

Solidad sighed. "Okay, what if I told you there's a place that can help you? It's called the Institution, and by going there you can get better."

Drew raised his eyebrows. "Better? How so?"

She smiled, and held her hand out. "You'll have to trust me."

.

.

.

"Drew!" Solidad screamed, her voice breaking. Her eyes were wide with fear, and her head swished from side to side in a mad attempt to find him. She ran as fast as her legs would allow her to, ignoring the burning sensation that they brought. Around her, trees loomed over her body like giants, their spindly branches reaching out towards her, threatening to snag her clothing and pull her towards their embrace. Plants sliced at her legs as she flew passed them causing blood to surface on her skin. She paid them no attention. "Drew!" she screamed again, this time even more frantically.

"Solidad!" she heard Drew's voice sound. Her chest heaved with a sigh of relief - he was okay. But then her heart stopped as she heard his scream. Was it a burning fit, or something else!? Her mind raced with unanswered questions, and she bolted in the direction of the sound, praying that he was alright.

"You can't do this to me," she said to herself, blinking back tears. "Not now." She had never failed to protect one of her companions, not ever. It was her duty. She would bring him to the Institution even if it killed her.

Finally she found him: he was lying on the ground in one of the forest clearings, screaming his lungs bloody. His body was squirming in every direction, and he gave a cry of protest with every motion. Her heart pounded in her ears at the sight. "Drew hang in there," she called out to him, hoping that he wasn't too far gone not to hear her. Then, she heard a rustle, and whipped her head in the direction of the sound. Someone was watching them.

"Who goes there!?" she yelled out in a booming voice, her eyes piercing through the darkness. There was a man staring at them with wide eyes. She could barely make out the silver pin against his chest - but she knew he was one of them. "Leave," she ordered. "Please, you can't do this to him, he's just a boy!"

"That's no boy," came the man's response, "that's a demon!"

"He's just a kid!"

"He's infected!"

From the ground, Drew gave another ear piercing scream, and Solidad heard the click of the man's gun.

"I'll dispose of the trash from this earth!" he promised. Solidad inched forward.

"If you do that," she said slowly and powerfully, "I'll have no choice but to hurt you." The leaves beneath her feet crunched as she stepped over them, the sound suddenly defeating in her ears. All of her senses became heightened as she focused on her target.

She would bring Drew to the Institution safely; she would save him, and he would have a chance!

"Take one step closer and I'll shoot you too!"

She charged at the man as fast as she could, not paying any attention to his threat. He shot his gun, but unluckily for him he missed. Solidad screamed out as she tackled his body to the ground. As he fell, Solidad heard a sickening sound of crunching metal slicing through the atmosphere. To the her and the man's horror they found that his shoulder had fell on a bear trap, chopping through his flesh. He screamed out as blood began to soak his shirt. Solidad got to her feet, backing away unsteadily.

"I warned you," she spoke, her eyes filling with tears at the sight of him. "I warned you!" His agonizing cries of pain made her want to throw up. She backed up until she was next to Drew, and fell to the ground by his side. Her ears were ringing. "Drew," she choked out, "are you okay?" That was the only thing that mattered.

"I'm okay," he replied, his body still phased from his burn. "Soliad, I'm sorry - I shouldn't have came out here! I was just trying to find a shortcut to the next station, and you could have been hurt, you-" she cut him off with her hand upon his shoulder.

"This is not your fault. Besides, I'm okay! I'm-"

Drew heard the fire of a gun. His eyes widened as he saw Solidad fall to the ground, the bullet passing straight through her head. He couldn't scream. He couldn't do anything.

The man who had been hit with the bear trap had fired his gun with the last amount of energy he had left.

Drew's heart stopped. Solidad was gone!?

It was all his fault. She told him not to go there - she told him!.

.

.

.

"My name is Ash!"

"...Drew."

"Why are you on the train? You going somewhere special?"

"Yeah, to this place called the Institution."

"The what?"

"A friend told me about it. They...they're supposed to help. I-"

The sound of someone knocking on his door breaks Drew from his thoughts

"Drew?" May asks timidly from the other side. "It's me, May...I've come to talk to you."

Drew groans, and holds a pillow up to his face. "Get out April, June, or whatever your name is! I don't want to speak to you."

"Hey! I literally just told you my name, how could you have forgotten!?"

"I didn't forget, I chose to ignore it! Can't you see I don't want to talk right now?" Damn, she's worse than Ash when it comes to taking a hint. He hears her angrily sigh, before she pounds on the door again.

"If you don't open the door I'll be forced to come in myself!"

Drew rolls his eyes, and tries thinking of a good excuse. He smirks as he finds the perfect one, and inwardly laughs at what she might say.

"You can't," he says "I'm naked. So you're free to open that door, but I'm not sure if you'll like the sight." He bets his life she's blushing.

"Wh-what!?" she shrieks. "You aren't - you can't be...you're bluffing!"

"Want to bet?"

"Ugh!" he hears her footsteps retreat. Aaaand, he thinks triumphantly, checkmate.

Or so he thought.

Before he has time to register it, May barges into the room, covering her eyes with her hands as she does so. "Alright!" she announces, her voice suddenly a much higher pitch. "You better make yourself decent, because I'm not leaving this room until we've had a chat!"

"What the hell!? Why are you so stubborn!?" he asks in disbelief, offended that she would actually come into the room. "I told you I didn't want to speak, didn't I?"

"I'm choosing to ignore that!"

"Damn it all! Fine, I'm fully clothed. God June, can't a guy get some privacy? You sure were eager to come in here knowing that I wasn't dressed." He sees her cheeks blaze with (even more) color. She finds enough courage to remove her hands from her eyes, and gives a sigh of relief when she sees he has pants and a shirt on. Then she takes in the sight of his face.

"Drew...you've been crying," she points out. A frown finds itself onto her features. His eyes are puffy and rimmed with red, a sight that makes her heart heavy.

Drew curses. This is exactly why he went away from the three of them. "I am not," he replies in a mumble, turning his head away from her gaze. Crying in front of others is not his style.

"Ash told me what happened…" May pauses. "it wasn't your fault, you know."

"He told you!?"

"Don't blame him! My companion made him do it...he needed the story so that he could tell the Institution what happened."

"..."

Her voice grows softer. "Drew-"

"Stop." the green haired boy cuts her off, knowing that whatever she has to say won't do him any good. "Just stop." He sighs, and scoots over on the bed to let her sit. She obliges. The bed isn't the most comfortable thing, but on a long train ride it's worth it. All of the sheets are white, and May finds herself clutching onto the blankets.

It's quiet for a while, the two of them stuck in thought.

"Hey Drew?" she asks.

"Hm?"

"Do you believe the Institution will help us?" She tilts her head towards his own, searching his eyes. They are still an enticing green color, even when he's been crying.

He nods. "I believe with everything I got."

"Why?"

"Because Solidad promised me. And she never lied; not once."


The train rumbles to a slow stop, and there's a loud burst of pressure that whistles through the air as it does so. May, Drew, Ash, and the man are the only ones that have gotten off, which is probably for the better; they don't want anyone following them.

"Ugh, I'm starving!" Ash whines, clutching his stomach in an over dramatic way. The man sighs. He knows they haven't eaten in a long while, but still, they just got off of the train, they could at least stand to wait a few more minutes. The Institution is close, after all.

Beside Ash, May groans in agreement. "If I don't get something to eat soon, I think I'm gonna pass out."

Drew rolls his eyes. "Geez," he says, shaking his head at the two of them, "you two are such babies. You don't see me whining do y-" he is cut off by a long growl from his stomach. Drew sweat drops.

"Ha! You're hungry too!" May laughs.

"I'm not the one complaining, now am I?"

"Oh yeah, well-"

The man tunes out of the fighting. Honestly, he wishes the two of them would learn to get along better, at least to save poor Ash from getting caught in the middle of it all. He pulls the raven haired boy aside.

"Ash," he says, "I need to make a call. Do you think you could, erm, notify May and Drew while I leave? I'll only be gone for a little while."

Ash nods in agreement. "Sure thing!"

He makes his way over to the small building beside the tracks that acts as a shelter from the rain. Inside there is a small phone attached to the wall. He dials the number.

"Hello?" the voice picks up. "May I ask who is calling?"

"Sir, it's me...Campbell," the man replies. His name is only given to this one man. Why Solidad gave Drew hers, he'll never know.

"Is the line clear?"

"I'm assuming so."

"...okay-" the voice takes a deep breath, "-speak."

"I have three new members, all of which are in need of some food, and a proper medical check up, but that's not the main reason I'm calling. One of them...he knew Solidad, sir. More importantly, he knows what happened."

"He knew her, huh? It bothers me that you aren't using the present, Campbell."

The story unfolds from there.


Howard Caprice leans over his desk, his hands clasped together, and his face buried somewhere behind them. He's sighing. Across from him sits a woman with a severe looking blonde bun, and a large black overcoat hiding her frame.

"How many?" Howard asks, not for the first time that meeting. He still can't grasp the amount yet, nor does his mind want to.

The woman shakes her head. "Too many," her response is quick, and doesn't offer room for explanation.

"It's getting worse."

She observes him with pity. "You've known this for years now, Howard. When you signed up to be the dean of this institution, you knew perfectly well that the problem was bound to grow exponentially, and-"

He cuts her off with his hand. "You know the reason I founded this place. It wasn't like I had much choice."

Her sharp gaze softens as he says this, allowing her to forgive him for interrupting her. He's just angry is all. "We are helping them," she comforts, "and that's all that matters." She sets her pale pink lips into a purse. "Still, if we don't find a way to stop them, then the problem is only going to get worse."

"You don't think I know this? Cynthia, I've been trying for years." For the first time since the meeting began, he lifts his brown eyes up to meet hers. His greying hair rests limp against his forehead. She is struck with the notion of just how broken he looks when his walls are put down; also of just how selfish he is.

She shakes her head. "You've been looking for a cure, I agree, but not for anyone else's sake."

He ignores that one.

Straightening out his back, he lets his eyes find hers once again. Cynthia swallows hard at the sight of them: watered down, and rimmed with red. "I received a call today. It looks like we have some new members."

She wants to leave. Cynthia knows that when Howard gets upset, bad things ensue. Judging by the look in his eyes, whatever he is about to say can't only be about the new members. She takes a deep breath. "Oh?"

"I've also received word that Solidad is dead."

Silence.

She sits as straight as an arrow as Howard's reserved shell begins to break, not even flinching as he throws a vase right over her head.
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