Author's note: What? Another chapter already? This very dramatic scene was stuck in my head, and I needed to get it out to be able to sleep, lol. Enjoy!

ZzZzZzZ

Zed plucked absently at the rough, overgrown grass as they all sat and gazed out at the twinkling lights of Seabrook below them. This guy's night, despite the rocky start at the bowling alley, was actually turning out to be a pretty great evening. After they'd reached the cemetery, and Bucky had made his unanticipated apology to the zombies and Wyatt, they had all settled on the ground against the weathered stones to sit and talk. He was enjoying the conversation, and the view.

It was nice to take a night off from all of the recent drama.

"So when do you think you guys will be moving back into your houses?" Bucky asked, picking at tiny bits of gravel on the ground and mindlessly tossing them down the hill. Like Addison and her mom, Bucky too had spent many hours helping to gather salvageable furniture and other items. However, he hadn't seen any of the more recent progress.

"It should be by Thursday, actually." Zed said. "My dad and Bonzo's mom, and a few of the Seabrook contractors were working on painting the inside of Bonzo's house yesterday. They'll be working on ours all day today. If they get done, we can start moving back in tomorrow!"

"That's awesome, man!" Wyatt said.

"Yeah," Zed said, nudging Bonzo jovially. "It'll be nice to not be sleeping on Eliza's floor anymore, huh Bonz?" He chucked.

But Bonzo didn't answer. His brows were furrowed, and he was glaring downward towards the city with a look of rising concern.

"What is that?" He asked in his accented English, pointing out towards the upper east end of the town. There, a tall, dark column was rising silently into the clear night sky. It looked almost like...

"Smoke." Said Wyatt, his own brows dipping down. "It looks like there's a house fire down there."

"Should we call someone?" Bucky said doubtfully, as Qamar leaned forward to stare at the distant catastrophe. Zed was leaning forward too. He didn't know why, but the sight of the smoke was filling him with anxiety. Maybe it was just because it was a reminder of his own recent traumatic experience with fire.

"We need to go." Bonzo said, standing immediately and looking as though he was ready to take off running full tilt down the hill. Zed couldn't believe that his friend would even consider getting closer to a fire of any kind, especially one that large.

"Bonzo," Zed started. "There's not a lot that we can do, besides call for—"

"That's Bree's neighborhood." Bonzo said, his normally quiet voice loud and tight with worry.

Zed's eyes snapped back to the column of smoke. The odds of it actually being Bree's house were small, he was sure, but...

"Let's go." Wyatt said, having also sprung to his feet. His mate was down there, too. All of the women they loved were down there, somewhere, and suddenly Zed needed to know that they were all okay.

Pulling out his cell phone, Zed quickly speed-dialed Addison, not caring that it was nearly two in the morning. But it didn't ring. Instead, it went straight to voicemail. He dialed Eliza next, as the others watched with growing anxiety, but it, too, went to voicemail. Eliza always answered her phone.

"Come on, guys." Zed said, trying to feign a calmness he did not feel. "I'm sure that they're fine, but we should check it out, just in case." In fact, he wasn't feeling at all sure that they were fine. Qamar made quick eye contact with him, and Zed knew that Qamar could hear his inner monologue of worry.

At that, they all took off running, Bucky falling a bit behind as the others ran at inhuman speed. Qamar quickly overtook all of them, running ahead of Zed and Wyatt as the trees shot past them on either side. Wow. Lunites were fast. They quickly reached the trail, which led down and towards the main walking trail of Seabrook. It would take them right where they needed to go. In less than fifteen minutes, they had managed to run all the way back into town.

As they grew closer, Zed could smell the foul scent of the burning structure, which was indeed coming from Bree's neighborhood. There was a sense of dread growing in his stomach as they rounded the final corner that led up the street to where he knew Bree's house sat. Bucky was about a block behind them now, panting heavily as they climbed the final low, sloping hillside that would allow them to see the house.

Then, the trees gave way to the top of the hill, and Zed could see the house below. Bonzo shouted out a wordless cry, and sped up as they made the final stretch to the burning home. Two fire trucks were there, the workers waving jets of water in low sweeps at the base of the structure, which was fully engulfed with flames. This wasn't like in Zombietown, when Zed had run into Bonzo's house. There would be no running into this house.

He, Bonzo and Wyatt reached the front of the property, where Qamar was already standing, with both of his hands clutching the top of his head.

"I can't—" Qamar's voice broke. "I can't hear them! There's no one in the house."

He turned to face them, his blue eyes wide with terror. They were wet with unshed tears.

"They must have gotten out, then." Zed said resolutely, refusing to consider the alternative. But Addison's car was parked in the driveway, so they definitely hadn't driven anywhere. He glanced around him, spotting a z-patrol officer who was filling out paperwork on the hood of his patrol car as the firefighters continued to battle the flames. Zed sprinted over to him, calling out and lifting his uninjured arm to wave to the officer down.

"Sir! Excuse me!" He reached him, once again trying to feign a calmness that he did not feel.

The officer glanced up, a grave expression on his face.

"Sir," Zed continued, as he heard Wyatt, Bonzo, Qamar and Bucky running up behind him. "Sir, where are the girls that were in the house? They got out, right?" He heard the desperate edge in his own voice as he spoke.

The officer looked him over, appearing tired but guarded. "Are you, ah, family, young man?"

"I am!" Bucky spoke up, still panting heavily from his efforts to stay caught up with the much faster group of monsters. He bent over, resting his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. "My cousin was in there. Where is she?"

The officer looked at them, and the sorrowful expression that crossed his face told Zed what he was going to say before the words left his mouth.

"I'm sorry to be the one to tell you all this, but... No one got out of the house."

At this, Zed stumbled back, as though he had been hit with a physical blow. His heart felt like it was being torn into two separate pieces. Distantly, he could hear someone repeatedly mumbling "No, no, no..." and it took him a second to realize that it was him. It wasn't possible. They couldn't be gone. She couldn't be gone.

At his side, he saw Wyatt collapse as his knees gave out, his hands clawing desperately into the gravel at the side of the road. Tilting back his head, he released a long, agonized howl. The howl went on and on, and even in Zed's distraught state, it cut into his heart like a knife twisting in his torso. It was the sound of pure grief and pain. His girlfriend and sister had been in that house.

The officers and firefighters nearby paused in their movements, bearing witness to Wyatt's sorrow.

Zed could hear Bonzo's muffled sobs, as he too collapsed into a sitting position on the ground. Qamar, like Zed, seemed to be frozen in disbelief. His expression was blank, though pale blue tears were falling silently down his cheeks. Next to him, Bucky had stumbled, trying to steady himself on the stone mailbox as he stared horrified at the flames.

All Zed could think about was Addy.

She couldn't be gone. It wasn't possible. She was his whole universe. How could the wind keep blowing, the stars keep shining, if there was no Addison in the world? There was nothing without her. He pictured her bright blue eyes, gazing up at him with joy as she smiled. Her warm lips pressing sweetly against his cool ones. The sound of her giggles as they cuddled in the safe room at school. Her look of disbelief as she gazed down at the ring he had given her. Then, he pictured her and the others, trapped in the burning home. The panic, the pain they must have felt.

He took in a deep, shuddering breath. The pain in his chest was unbearable.

Suddenly, he saw Qamar rapidly shift from his frozen position, turning to face the woods that surrounded Bree's home. Rather than the blank expression that had been on his face, he now wore a look Zed had never seen on him before. Pure, absolute rage.

"CHARON!" Qamar screamed, and then he was running, bounding into the treeline.

Zed's eyes widened as he suddenly took in the meaning of Qamar's declaration. Charon was nearby. Which meant that this fire had not been an accident. This had been murder.

Roaring with rage, Zed leapt into action, skidding along the gravel as he turned to follow behind Qamar. He vaguely noticed Bonzo, looking up into the treeline with an dawning expression of pure hatred as he too realized what had happened. The fire reflected in his eyes, making them glow. Wyatt's eyes were glowing as well as he snapped his head towards the others. He heard their footsteps next to him as they too rushed into the woods.

Zed quickly cleared the trees, following Qamar's lead as they all made chase. Qamar's hair was not glowing, but the white glint of it in the moonlight was more than enough to use as a guide. Using the zombie senses that he generally ignored, Zed could smell the faint scent of Charon's cologne. He recognized it from the disastrous car ride he had taken with him. He heard Wyatt and Bonzo snarl viciously as they both caught the scent as well.

In this moment, he and the others were no longer people; they were monsters, hunting their prey.

After only a short sprint, he saw a second white head of hair fleeing in the opposite direction. Zed sped up, his feet kicking up a spray of dirt and pine needles. Charon would not get away, would not get the upper hand. Not this time. Zed focused completely on the anger, using it to distract him from the pain. As they burst through the trees and into the expansive yard of a neighboring home, Zed watched with great satisfaction as Qamar tackled the older Lunite, sending them both sprawling into the manicured grass. Next to him, Bonzo bellowed out a truly terrifying roar as he saw his target. Zed had no doubt that they were about to tear Charon limb from limb. He was going to pay for what he'd done to their friends and mates, with his life.

As Zed approached, he could feel a heavy buzzing in his head, but it didn't seem to be affecting him. It looked as though Qamar was concentrating deeply as they struggled, and he realized that Qamar was using his own powers to protect Zed and the others from Charon's counterattacks.

Running forward, They all seemed to strike at once. He watched as Wyatt snapped savagely at Charon's throat. He missed by a hair as Charon's arm shot forward, striking him sharply in the face. Wyatt snarled, baring his fangs as the cut on his cheek opened at the impact and a line of blood began to flow down his face.

Charon yelled, throwing Qamar roughly to the side only to be tackled again by Bonzo and Zed. Zed felt the sharp crunching sensation in his injured shoulder as his brace broke, but it didn't hurt. For the first time in his life, and despite the soothing pulses of the z-band, he gave in to the instinct to bite as they rolled across the lawn. His jaws snapped down into Charon's shoulder, hard, and the man screamed. Even through the fabric of Charon's jacket, Zed could taste blood. Next to him, Bonzo was punching him repeatedly in the face and upper torso. Suddenly, both Zed and Bonzo were thrown back, as the Lunite thrust them away from himself.

Charon began to stand before being once again overcome by Qamar, who flew into him as Wyatt kicked out at Charon's legs, causing his feet to fly out from under him. For a moment, the murderer laid there, sprawled out on the grass and panting heavily with anger in his blue eyes. Addison's eyes. Then, as one unit, Zed, Bonzo and Wyatt moved in to finish him.

"STOP!" Someone screamed.

Zed turned, breathing heavily with rage and exertion. Bucky was running towards them, holding up his hands as he approached the violent scene.

"STOP, you guys! This isn't what they would have wanted." He looked directly at Zed. "This isn't what she would have wanted, Zed."

Zed stiffened, the fight and the rage seeming to drain slowly from him. He looked back at Charon on the ground, who was still conscious but clearly unable to move. They locked eyes, and Zed knew that Bucky was right. This was not what Addy would have wanted. She would never have wanted Zed to be a killer. He backed away slowly on suddenly unsteady feet. The others gradually relaxed from their crouched positions, no longer looking as though the were about to strike.

"You don't understand," Charon said, looking up at all of them with earnest eyes. "This had to be done. It was for the good of all of Seabr –"

"Shut UP!" Bucky shouted. Stomping forward, Bucky swung out his foot, kicking Charon hard in the side of the head and knocking him out cold.

The group of young men stood in a loose formation around the now silent Charon, panting and bleeding and bruised from the fierce altercation. Zed could now feel the deep pain in his shoulder, certain that he had re-broken it yet again. The brace he had been wearing was shattered, now resting in two pieces on the pristine green grass. His football career was probably over for this season. It didn't matter, anyway. Nothing did, without her.

He could hear the padded thudding of many running feet on the forest floor, coming towards them through the trees. Good. Z-Patrol would take this monster into custody, and he would never hurt anyone again. But it was already too late. Zed didn't turn around to look at the approaching officers, not wanting to take his eyes off of the unmoving Charon, just in case. But Wyatt and Qamar were facing that direction, and he registered when their expressions abruptly morphed from sorrow to disbelief.

"Holy moonstone!" Wyatt gasped, and then he was speeding past Zed and Bonzo, in the direction of the approaching z-patrol. Qamar was following right behind him. Zed turned, and was met with a sight that his brain couldn't seem to comprehend.

The girls were running towards them, Mayar sprinting out in front to reach Wyatt. He caught her in midair, lifting her off of the ground with joy as they shared a passionate kiss. Behind them, Wynter, Willa, Bree and Eliza were rushing forward as well, looks of shock and apprehension on their sooty faces as they took in the scene before them. He heard Willa shout something, but didn't comprehend what it was as he caught sight of long, disheveled waves of white hair flying towards him.

Zed felt his knees buckle as he gasped, unable to speak as his head spun with realization.

Addison. Addison was here. Addison was alive. It was impossible.

She crashed into him, nearly knocking him off balance as she wrapped her arms tightly around him. Instantly, he felt his hands constricting around her small frame, pulling her flush against him. His head was at the level of her heart. He desperately pressed his ear to her chest, listening to the strong, even heartbeat that resided there.

"Addy, Addy Addy..." He was saying, over and over, not caring that tears were falling from his face as he held her.

"Shh," she soothed, tenderly running her fingers through his hair. "It's okay. Everything's okay."

Around them, chaos was ensuing as z-patrol finally arrived on scene. Officers were shouting, Bonzo and Bree were crying as they held each other, and Willa and Wynter were howling. A suddenly hysterical Bucky was being held up by a smiling Qamar, while Aruna explained the situation to z-patrol as they moved in to cuff a still unmoving Charon. But in this moment, Zed simply continued to hold Addison, and blocked out the rest of the world around them as he rejoiced in his love's safety.