"And that's how my best friend Kyle went to the second grade dance with a fish." Kace loosened his grip on the wheel of the car and squinted. "Hm... I never realized how weird Kyle was."

Kaiso, as usual, was not particularly listening to his companion, but rather looking out the window wondrously as the trees zipped by as a blur. According to the map, the pair were just outside the city of Newport. The nervous feeling in Kaces' gut arose more and more the closer they got. The boy noticed the fuel gauge on the dashboard and gasped. "Shit!" No more fuel. The car rolled to halt on the empty road and the engine shut down. "Well..." Kace gripped both hands over top each other and inhaled sharply. "Fuck." He swung the driver door open and stepped out onto the cold asphalt, Kaiso right behind. "Should just be a few more miles that way, bud. What do you think we should do? Stay on the road and head directly for Newport, or go through the woods and them as cover during our approach?"

Kaiso almost inherently ran for the trees, however Kace knew it was simply his K9 instincts doing the deciding, not the boys question. "Alright, wait up!" He called. Kaiso disappeared into the treeline, leaving a matted down trail through the tall grass. Kace followed as best he could, but eventually lost his companion in the brush. "Kaiso?! Where are you, buddy?"

There was a bark just twenty feet to his left, however it was not a friendly bark to alert his friend of his position, this was a defensive bark meant to ward off attackers. Walkers. Kace thought and quickly sprung into action, pulling his staff from over his shoulder. He pushed through the thick shrubbery until he tripped over a loose tree trunk and stumbled into a large clearing occupied by short grass and a refreshing looking pond right in the middle of it all. Kace lifted his face from the grass and groaned. Kaiso scratched one of his paws on the boys shoulders urgently. "What is it, Kaiso?" Kace stood and spun his staff at his side and planting it firmly against the earth. Kaiso glared behind his friend and growled. With a quick one eighty, Kace gasped. "Oh..."

There, no more than ten feet from him were two strangers staring directly back at him. Both looked no more more than nine year old girls, both with black hair and big blue eyes that were desperate, pleading. One of them laid motionless on the ground with a large gash across her left leg while the other girl sat next to her and tried to cover the heavy bleeding with her hands. "H-help." The uninjured girl said softly.

Kace was no stranger to first aid, as the schooling at St. Simon required him to be efficient, however this situation was very different. The girls were defiantly in distress, there was no disputing that, but Kace had been so long without seeing another friendly face that he stood there shell shocked for a few moments. He remained stone faced, jaw slightly ajar and held his staff at his side. "Uh... I.. I.."

"Please!" She yelled, the tears overflowing her eyelids and dripped down her cheek.

Kace shook his head quickly in attempts to refocus. "Ok.. What happened?" He ran to the wounded girls side and knelt down. Kaiso relaxed. If his companion was comfortable around these two strangers, than so would he.

"She was just trying to climb a tree so she could see everything, she said that we'd be able to find out group easier if we knew where we were! Our group just.. just left us!"

"How long ago?"

"Two days."

Kace pulled a spare blue shirt from his backpack and wrapped it around the open wound. "Hold this in place."

The girl complied and used both bloodied hands to keep the gash covered while Kace ran over to the pond and began pulling the long cow tail weeds. Makeshift rope. The stems aren't long enough... I'll need a lot but I don't have much time. "Okay... Okay I can use these. Kaiso get your ass over here, now!"

The dog instantly sprinted the short distance and stood ready for Kace's next command.

"Take these." He held out a hand full of small weeds and pointed to the strangers. "Take these over to the girls and come back. Fast!"

Kaiso broke out into a sprint. Back and forth, over and over again until Kace ran back to begin tying the bandage together. Despite the shaking hands and the noisy pleading from the watching girl, the boy managed to tie together a binding long enough to reach around the wounded girls thigh. It was sloppy, sure, but it was better than nothing. "We need to get her somewhere safe, like now. What's your name?"

"I'm- I'm Tatum. That..." She inhaled sharply through her clenched teeth as she fought back the sobs. "That's my sister, Circe... But we... I just call her Ciri."

"Alright." Kace supported the injured girls back as he lifted her off the ground and carried her, one arm holding up her legs, and the other, she shoulders. They headed back through the woods towards Kace's car. Once they finally reached it, The boy swung the back door open and placed the girl inside. "Just let her rest for a moment. She should be okay for now, but she wont last long unless we find her real treatment or medicine."

Tatum sighed and climbed into the back next to her sister and began stroking her hair lovingly. "Please, Ciri... Wake up. I- I need you."

Kace shook his head at the sight. How the hell does a group leave two little girls like that? Cowards. The sun shone directly over head, revealing the sprinkling dust that drifted down slowly onto the street. Kaiso sat next to Kace's leg and itched behind his ear with his hind leg. "Heh..." Kace chuckled. "You got it, bud?" He knelt down and scratched his dogs head. "It's weird seeing you act like a normal dog. It's kind of-"

An ear piercing scream erupted from inside the car. Ciri had woken up. "T-Tatum?!"

Tatum tried her best to calm her sister, but the pain of the injury and confusion of the situation was too much. "W-Where's uncle Owen? Where is everyone?!"

"They aren't here, Ciri."

"My leg... I- I can't feel it."

"I know, Ciri, I know. Just don't look!"

Kace began to look around, praying nothing heard the commotion. "Tatum, you gotta calm her down."

"I know! I'm trying!"

Ciri sat up and looked down at her leg. "W-what?!" She began to cry out in pain, a cry that was particularly heart wrenching for Kace. "It hurts, Tatum!"

"Ciri, you have to be quiet!" Tatum covered her sisters mouth with a hand and used the other to place a finger over her own lips. "Shh."

Unbeknownst to neither Tatum or Kace, Ciri's movements caused the bindings on her bandage to come loose, reopening her wound. Ciri gasped nad shoved her sister off of her. The blood was flowing off her leg and onto the seat. She didn't say a word, or make one final cry, just fell backwards unconscious, most likely due to shock.

"Ciri?!" Tatum yelled.

Kace began to walk back and forth urgently. He swore he heard rustling in the treeline somewhere, but he couldn't pinpoint it. "Uh... Tatum can I get a status update, please?"

"She's shaking!"

Kace quietly mouthed the word 'what?' to himself and looked inside the car. Ciri's whole body was shaking wildly. Seizure. Just as he thought this, a hail of moans came from directly behind him. He spun and saw the one thing he was hoping not to see. Walkers. A lot of them. Only twenty five feet away. "Fuck..." Kace learned in first aid that it's best not to move or manipulate someone while they are having a seizure or else it may cause even more damage. "Tatum?"

"Y-yeah?"

"Close the door, okay?"

"But the monsters are gonna get you!"

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine! When she isn't shaking anymore open the door and let me know! I'm gonna push the car so we don't get surrounded!" He had no idea why he felt so obligated to help these two girls. Maybe it was because they were like him in a sense. Both were abandoned by the ones the loved and both had been alone for quite sometime. Tatum closed the door and peered out the window at the approaching horde. "Kaiso!" Kace positioned himself behind the car and placed both hands on the back rim. "Distract as many as you can! Bark, run around, do whatever you can to keep them away!"

Kaiso could tell from the urgency in his friends voice that he needed to be aggressive. He let out a snarling growl and began to lead half of the walkers away in the opposite direction with a series of barks and howls.

Kace put his full force into pushing the car, however he was moving it just barley faster than the dozens of walkers behind him. "Come on, Ciri... Wake up..." His arms began to grow weak after about a minute of pushing. There was no where to run, no where to hide. he couldn't just leave the two girls trapped in the car surrounded by walkers. It's either they live or we all die. With one final shove, Kace collapsed to his knees, no longer having the strength to go on. He pulled his staff from his back holster and stammered to his feet. "Come and get some." The walkers began to drop one by one as the boy slashed, jabbed, and swung his way through the first ten with ease. However their numbers were insurmountable. With one final look back at the two young girls in the car, Kace knew what he had to do. A distraction. "Over here!" He ran off the road and began to lead the horde directly by the car, being sure to keep their attention. Inside, Tatum held her sister still and tried her best not to be seen by a walker. The strategy worked, but Kace knew that Ciri and Tatum would not last long without him. This thought cause him to inadvertently freeze in place, unsure of what to do. I have to get back to them. Kaiso came running back down the street, leaving half of the walkers at least one hundred feet away.

Just then, he noticed something black and square fly through the air and disappear into the middle of the horde. Within seconds, a large explosion blasted the walkers into pieces, scattering limbs everywhere. Kace himself even got knocked onto his back. He groaned and rubbed his head, equally relieved and confused. Under normal circumstances, his attention would have been drawn to whoever or whatever threw the explosive device, but instead, he immediately ran to the car and swung the back door open. They were okay."How is she?"

Tatum held her sister in her arms and let out a sob. "Her breathing is really slow. What does that mean?"

Kaiso finally reached his companion and let his tongue hand loose as he tried to catch his breath. A strange voice suddenly spoke from behind Kace. "It means she's slipping. What's her injury?"

Kace did a one eighty and saw two kids. One was a boy who had dark skin and black hair. He held a bow in his right hand and a bundle of arrows in the other. The other was much shorter, had long brown hair and big eyes that freaked Kace out. They must have been he ones who threw the bomb. "It's her leg. There's an open wound on it and it's bleeding like, a lot. I think she just had a seizure."

The older stranger lowered his guard and sheathed his bow behind his back. "Do you have any bandages or morphine?"

"No, I only just found these two ten minutes ago."

Tatum cradled her sister closely and began to panic. "She isn't moving. We have to do something, now!"

"You." The stranger pointed at Kace. "Carry her. We'll take you to our camp, we have a nurse."

Kace grabbed Ciri from the back seat and helped Tatum out of the car. "Wait... Camp?"

"Yeah. We've actually been looking for survivors. Pretty much anyone who can pull their own weight." The teen led them back through the trees and onto a beaten down path leading deeper into the forest. Kaiso pranced through the tall grass just off the path like a deer. Tatum saw this and for the first time, Kace saw a slight smile creep across her innocent face. This smile quickly faded when she looked back at her dying sister.

"Have you heard anything about a community nearby broadcasting over the radio about a place called Newport?" Kace asked.

The younger of the two strangers gasped and stared at his friend. "The broadcast! It worked, Aasim!"

Kace narrowed his eyes, confused. "What do you mean? Do you know about these people?"

The teen, apparently named 'Aasim', shushed the tot and sighed. "Y-yeah we do, actually."

"Wait... Aasim. I know that name. You were the one who did the broadcast, weren't you?"

Aasim bowed his head and exhaled unusually deep through his nose. "How long have you been by yourself?"

Yeah, sure, just avoid my question. "Not one hundred percent sure. Probably a year? A year and a half?"

"How many people have you killed?"

Kace stared at Aasim blankly. "None."

"What?!" The kid with huge eyes sounded shocked. "None? Ever?"

"Never. Killing the living isn't exactly my thing."

Tatum looked up at him and smiled. She seemed to like his answer.

"Nonetheless." Aasim continued. "Have you been part of a group before?"

Kace began to grow frustrated. What does this kid think he is? "Where are all these questions coming from? Can we just focus on getting this dying little girl to safety?"

"If I'm gonna let you into my home around my friends, I wanna know who you are."

"Yeah because I'm gonna do a lot of damage with a god damn staff, right?"

The younger boy chuckled and punched his friends ribs. "He's got a point."

"Ow! Shut it, Willy. You know how dangerous people can be."

Kace sighed and pulled his attention off the boys and back down to Ciri. Her wound wasn't bleeding as much, however that may not be a good thing, perhaps it was just because her body was running out of blood. Her breathing was turning into a gut wrenching wheeze. The pain must have been overwhelming. Kace saw in her what he saw in himself all those years ago when his parents left him at St. Simons, just a scared kid who wanted to belong to a family.

Tatum stopped staring at Kaiso for a brief moment and looked towards Kaces' feet. "Why did you help us?"

Kace was taken aback. He had to help them. How could he not have? "It was just the right thing to do, Tatum."

"Kevin told us that all strangers were mean, and that they wanted to hurt us."

"He's not totally wrong. Some strangers are like that."

"Then why didn't you?" Her bright blue eyes made him feel a sense of guilty sorrow. The fact that someone left them behind was utterly upsetting to the point where Kace didn't even want to imagine them being alone to fend for themselves. He was alone since the age of fifteen, however Tatum and Ciri were alone at the age of eight. Awful.

"I just felt like... You deserved another chance. And if I was the only one able to give it to you I'd risk it all over again. No one your age should be alone out here. It's just... not right."

Tatum dipped her head and stared at the dirt path, walking a little closer to her new friend. "I'm glad it was you who found us and not a monster."

Kace nodded even though he knew she couldn't see it. He just could not muster any words. Never before had he felt wanted nor needed, so Tatum's words struck a deep cord within his nerves.

Aasim pointed forward down the path. "There. See it?"

Kace squinted and focused intently. A wall. "Is that a gate?"

"Sure is. Just a little advantage of settling in a school."

Kace did not have time to question it, Ciri was slipping. "Alright, let's pick up the pace." He jogged as fast as he could with the young girl in his arms allowed him to. The two boys ran ahead and appeared to wave at someone on top of the lookout tower. "Ruby! Open up! We got three, one injured!" Aasim yelled.

"Oh hell!" A girl with a thick southern accent said. The gates opened surprisingly quiet despite their rusted bars and loose hinges. The five ran into the walls as two of the other survivors closed them. "Which one is hurt?" Ruby hopped off the last step of the ladder and march towards Kace who held up Ciri.

"You gotta help her." He was more worried than he'd like to admit. The starring eyes of the local survivors felt like daggers slicing into him. They were all in separate parts of the courtyard minding their own business for the most part.

Ruby grabbed Ciri without saying a word and rushed her away to a tall overgrown building across the yard, Tatum following close behind after shooting Kace a worried look.

"Don't worry about them, man. That's Ruby, our nurse. She'll take good care of them." Willy nudged Kace with his elbow, pulling his attention away from the sisters. "She can get kind of mean, but you'll get used to it."

Aasim stepped in front of Kace and extended both arms outward. "This is it. Our little home away from the hell; Ericsons Boarding Academy."

"Sounds like a private school. You used to go here?"

"I did. Most of the kids here besides Clementine and AJ did. We've been a big family for a long time." Aasim stepped closer and placed a hand on Kaces' shoulder. "Do not ruin it or else, got it?"

Kace fought back the urge to say 'or what', and simply nodded in agreement. "Wasn't planning on it."

"Good... Now if I were you, I would go see Violet, she's kind of in charge around here more or less . Basically just don't come off as an asshole and you'll be okay." He turned and began to walk away with Willy. "Oh yeah." He turned back to offer one more piece of advice. "Start making friends, don't be anti-social. We hardly see any new people around here so I'm sure everyone wants to get to know you. They don't bite, i promise."

"Bad joke." Kace grinned.

Aasim chuckled and turned to walk away. "I guess you're right."

There Kace was, by himself surrounded by strangers. None of them seemed to shocked by his sudden entrance, which made him slightly more comfortable. Kaiso's ears perked up suddenly. Turning around, he saw another dog. It was big, muscular, and had a nasty pair of teeth that still had bits of dried blood, no doubt from walkers it had killed. The two K9's began to run around with each other, finally being able to be dogs in this cold, brutal world. Kace smiled as he watched the two play. Focus Kace. Let's meet the survivors. He glance around, trying to find someone he could make friends with. He decided on a boy to his left wearing a brown trench coat practicing his archery on an old red circle target. He seemed frustrated. This became apparent when one of his arrows completely missed, hitting a tree situated behind the target. "I hate archery." He groaned.

Kace leaned against a tall tree stump and watched as the teen knocked his next arrow and drew it back to fire. "Use three fingers to draw the string back."

The boy flinched at the unfamiliar voice and gasped. "W-who the hell are you?!" He dropped the bow and ran for some sort of blunt club with nails sticking out of the top. "Who let you in?!"

Kace was not in the mood to be as outgoing and friendly as he usually was. In all honesty he didn't even want to be out here talking to strangers in the first place. Instead, Kace wanted to make sure Ciri would be okay, and be there for Tatum. "My name is Kace. I kinda just got here."

"You... you heard the broadcast, didn't you?"

Kace nodded. "I traveled a long way to get here."

The teen lowered his weapon and smiled wide. "You're the first one that's came. Holy shit! It worked. M-My name's Louis, by the way."

Kace couldn't help but grin at the strangers overtly joyous nature. "Settle down, dude. You're making me feel like I just walked into a trap."

"Ha! No. No trap. I'm happy because my girlfriend was the one who had the idea of sending out that broadcast. She's been doubting the decision ever since she made it, and considering you don't look crazy, I'd say you're a fairly decent first candidate to join out little community."

"Well you tell your girlfriend I said thank you. That broadcast gave me a reason to go on when I was all alone."

Louis pointed over Kace's shoulder and glared at something behind him. "Tell her yourself."

Kace turned and saw a girl with dark hair wearing a faded blue jacket and cargo pants topped off by a purple and white baseball cap. She was accompanied by a young boy with a short afro. He stared at Kace suspiciously.

"Clementine!" Louis smiled and hugged her, placing a gentle kiss on the side of her head. Despite this, Clementine held her intimidating gaze of Kace. "This is Kace, he heard the broadcast."

Clem let go of her boyfriend and stood face to face with the new kid. Her look was cold and made of stone. "Where are you from?"

Wow her voice is monotone, who would have guessed? "Before the outbreak or before I came here?"

"I don't care about your life before the walkers." She took a step forward, hiding her young boy behind her side. "I need to know if I can trust you."

"You think you'll get that information by asking where I'm from?" Kace hated being challenged, especially if the other person was blatantly trying to intimidate him. He preferred more civil and proper interactions with strangers, never believing that intimidation was the way to get a point across.

Clementine sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "You have to understand. This is my home. This is where my family is. I'll be damned if I let any of them get hurt because I let someone dangerous in."

Kace grabbed his bo staff and laid it on the ground in front of him. "I'm from Virginia, and I'm not your enemy. I'm just a guy looking for a place I can call home. I mean after all, you guys were the one who sent out the broadcast."

The young boy, AJ, seemed to want to pick up the staff and examine it, however Clementine held him back. "This can be your home, but right now, you're just visiting. You have to show us that you're able to pull your weight around here."

"Whatever keeps me and the girls out of danger is fine by me."

Clem and Louis glanced at each other in confusion. "Wait... girls?" Clementine asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"Yeah. Tatum and Ciri. I found them earlier today. One of them is really hurt, she may not even make it through the day. They're only nine years old... Can you imagine being all alone at that age?"

"Yeah..." Clementine said, nearly in a whisper. "I can."

The four sat in an awkward silence before Louis finally spoke up. "So like... Are you taking care of them?"

Kace felt a drop in his stomach. He never felt so relied on before in his life. Here he was just a few days ago with absolutely no one, and nothing by his side. Now he was surrounded by his peers in a community with big walls. He liked the idea of taking care of someone who needed help, however he was not sure if Tatum and Ciri even wanted someone to take care of them. He felt the same sort of obligation that he was sure Nathan felt when presented with this opportunity. Responsibility. Giving someone else a chance when no one else would. It's something that he wished someone else would have done with him while he was alone in the world, so why not do it for these two girls who he practically saved. "I'll do whatever it takes." he finally mustered out. "For them."

Clementine gave him a doubting look. "I've only seen one other person actually keep that kind of responsibility, and he's dead. ." And with that, she walked off with AJ, leaving her vague statement to settle on Kace's conscious.

"Wow." Louis almost chuckled when she was out of ear shot. "I have seen that girl go through some crazy shit, and even still I've never seen her like that."

"Great... First impressions were never my thing, anyways."

"Me neither. Don't worry, give her a few days and she'll warm up to you."

"Ha. Probably not."

"Just don't be a dick and you''ll be okay."

Kace shrugged to himself and grabbed his staff from the ground. "Easy enough... Hey, one of the girls I came in with is really hurt. This girl named 'Ruby' took them away somewhere. Any idea where I can find them?"

"Ruby usually does her doctor stuff in the admin building just over there. Just go right up the main stairs and you'll find her."

"Alright. Thanks."

"No problem. And Kace?"

Kace stopped and glanced over his shoulder back at Louis. "Yeah?"

"You're gonna be okay here. You're gonna be safe. Trust me."

Kace didn't say a word, however his new friends word hit the bottom of his gut hard. Safe. The idea still seemed so far away. He gave a subtle nod and began to make his way to the admin building. Upon entrance, he immediately heard the crying from Tatum. Not good. Kace ran up the stairs only to see Ruby standing behind as Tatum clutched at her motionless sister desperately. Ruby noticed the boy and simply gave him a deep, sorrowful glare and shook her head. Ciri had not made it.

Hours Later, Admin Building

Kace sat against the wall directly across from the couch Ciri had passed away on. Tatum now slept on it, the tears still leaving wet trails on her neutral face. Kace had been there for hours as she cried, not saying a word. He had never been in a situation where he had to calm someone down from this kind of extreme emotion. Best to let it play out. The hallway was only illuminated from the candle that Ruby had left when she took out Ciri's body with another teen named 'Omar'.

After hours of sitting patiently, Kace heard Tatum shift on the couch. He blinked his sleepy eyes open and saw her wipe her eyes.

"H-Hey." He raised up to a kneel and watch as she sat on the edge of the cushion, leaning towards the arm of the couch. She was silent. "How are you feeling?" Of course he already knew the answer, he just needed something to kick start a conversation where he could hopefully cheer her up.

Tatum rested a hand on her head and shrugged weakly. "I don't feel good."

"... I know."

"Where's Ciri? Is she..."

"Yeah. She is."

The young girl dipped her head, some of her black hair drooping in front of her face. "I got to say goodbye."

Kace sighed. The death of a family member should never be endured at such a young age, however he was surprised that she was so positive despite it happening so recently. "That's... good. It'll all be okay, you know?"

"... How?"

Kace got up and sat next to her, propping his ankle on the opposite knee. "When I was your age, everything felt like it was the end of the world. I had the luxury of being part of a big community for years after the walkers came. After the community failed, I realized something very important about surviving in this world. Do you know what that is?"

"Uh uh." She shook her head and sniffled sadly.

"Life is this game of patterns, you know?"

"Like in art or Christmas lights?"

Kace chuckled, he hadn't seen Christmas lights in years. "Exactly."

"Well what does the pattern mean?"

"Whenever something bad happens, the next cycle in the pattern will come, replacing it with something new. Now that something may be good or bad, but you have to keep fighting to find out." He paused and thought for a moment to find a good analogy. "Today was a crappy day right?"

"The crappiest."

Kace pulled out his notebook and flipped it to an empty page. He drew a small circle on the very edge and showed it to Tatum. "That circle is today. But something will always come after." He drew another circle right next to it. "It could be anything."

"Tatum slide over next to Kace and analyzed the circles. "-And we have to fight to find out what it is."

Kace looked at the girl and smiled. "That's right... What do you want it to be?"

Tatum bit her lip and slouched her shoulders. "I want it to be... something really, really good."

"Ah, come on." Kace teased. "You gotta be more specific than that."

"Hmm... I want to find chocolate and eat it."

"Just chocolate?"

"Yeah."

"Nothing else?"

"Uncle Owen told us to never be greedy."

Kace inhaled deeply and stared at the wall across from him. Sure, that piece of advice was valuable, but this is a little girl who has lost all hope in the world. "Reach higher than that."

Tatum looked at him with a shocked face, but it slowly turned into a smile. "I want to go to the moon. I heard it's made of cheese. Could you imagine? We'd be able to feed everyone in the whole world."

There it is. Kace was hoping she would say something like that. His child like wonder was torn away from him the day his parents left him, and just like them, it never came back. If he could give this girl another chance at being a kid, it would make up for lost time. "You want to be an astronaut?"

"I always liked imagining what's up there. The stars and comets, they're all so pretty. Our group never let me ask any questions about it, though."

"Why not?"

"They said it wasn't worth learning about. 'More important things at stake'." She quoted with her fingers.

Kace peaked out the window at the end of the hall. There were no clouds in the sky. Perfect. "Come on." He stood and extended a hand.

"Where are we going?" She asked as she accepted his help to her feet.

"I'm gonna teach you about the stars." He smiled.

Tatum gasped and her grip on Kace's hand tightened. "Really?!"

He laughed a little and nodded. "Shhh. You don't wanna wake everyone up. Come on, let's go." They made their way down the hall and down the steps, disappearing through the door that led outside.

Clementine sighed in guilt and rested her head against the doors to the main office just next to where Kace and Tatum just were. As much as she did not want to admit it, she was eavesdropping on their conversation. "I misjudged you." She whispered to herself and got to her feet so she could continue what she was doing before she heard the two new comes. Clem grabbed the map of the area from Violets desk and exited the room.

They're so pretty. I wish I could just fly to them.

A/N Poor Tatum :( Leave a review and lemme know how you think this story is going.