For two days the world was darkness. There was no abyss. No Cayde to lead her home. There was no thought or feeling. Only nothingness.

Until there wasn't.

A thrumming in her ears began as just a sensation, luring her back to the waking world. It was a pressure in her ears, reverberating in her skull and with it came a pulsing of pain through her limbs. She couldn't open her eyes. Not yet.

She had to regain feeling first and the thing that caught her from the start was the weight that had settled over her body. Her stomach groaned and clenched from hunger. Lips dry and cracked, throat stinging with every breath. All of the pain Kiran had been healing as she ran through the Cabal ship, and the effects of being kicked from it, came back full force.

Wren opened her eyes and peered up through the visor of the helmet, now coated with a thick layer of ash and dust. She wiped it away.

The fires were still burning. The stars were blocked out by the light pollution from it all but seeing stars from the City was a rarity anyway. It wasn't a dream. It was real. All of it.

"Kiran?" she croaked and rolled over.

He was gone. Fell off the Tower before her but… shouldn't he be close to where she fell? She struggled to her feet, ribs sending shockwaves of pain through her body.

She was alone. There wasn't another living being anywhere nearby except… the thrumming in her ears settled and she realized it was some sort of Cabal transport overhead. As it subsided, she realized she could hear them. The Cabal speaking to one another. She couldn't get caught. She was defenseless.

Slowly she made her way down the rocky slope, seeing a line of Cabal in a blown out building nearby. Though her steps were painstakingly slow, she still slid on the loose stones and debris. She couldn't get her footing and rolled and slid to the bottom where she let out a miserable whimper.

Her head was too heavy to hold up and her helmet hit the dirt. She lay there and cried for some time, wishing a Cabal would come by and end her suffering. But… maybe he got out. Cayde… maybe he was still out there. Somewhere.

Wren forced herself to crawl, hand over hand until she reached a shallow waterway and almost sobbed in relief. It was likely acrid. Poisoned by ash. But she didn't care. It was water. She ripped off her helmet and cast it aside before collapsing onto her belly in the cool little stream. She drank and though it tasted stagnant, it wasn't as bad as she was expecting.

For a time she lay there, gulping the water down until her belly was full and threatening to spill their contents right back into the stream. Her hair was soaked, plastering to her face, but it felt good against her skin.

She abandoned the helmet. Her armor was damn near useless now anyway. Scorched, dented, and some even missing. The bones that made her boots work as they did were shattered, hanging by shards. Still, if Cayde was out there, she had to get to him.

For what seemed like hours she trudged through the waterway, crawling under debris to hide from Cabal ships with spotlights searching for survivors. The City was destroyed. Buildings lay in piles of rubble, concrete and rebar protruded like the claws of beasts crushed under the rubble. Loose wires and cables sparked, threatening to dip into the water and end her for good so she walked along the sides, trying to keep her footing on unsteady ground.

Ahead was a bridge she recognized. Ivy dripped from the roadway and she knew it would be safe enough to stop and rest a minute before continuing. Out in the open waterway, she was trapped by high walls on either side. If the Cabal found her? There was no escape. The bridge might offer shelter long enough that she could recover some.

"This can't be happening," a crackling voice said from ahead and Wren froze, fearing at first it was Cabal, but then a familiar frame came into view.

"Kiran?" Wren's voice broke and tears streaked her cheeks as she hobbled closer, feeling a small burst of energy to see him again. "Kiran."

He turned his little blue light to her and slowly hovered to meet her. "Wren… I thought you were dead."

"We will be if we don't hide."

He followed her as she stumbled under the bridge and hit her knees.

"I thought you were dead," he said, a pale light emanating from him and encircling Wren. She felt the warmth, though fainter than before, as her bones began to mend. They were still sore and her body ached, but it was much more bearable. "I can heal you, but I can't revive you."

"I don't know how I survived that fall without you."

"What happened after I…"

"I'm sorry I dropped you."

"I don't blame you, Wren. I'm just happy we're together again."

Wren sat back against the wall and held out a hand for him to nestle into her palm. She pulled him tight to her chest and stroked his broken shell.

"Ghaul," she muttered. "That's the name of the bastard that did this. He kicked me off his ship and… I really don't know how I survived."

"It's been two days."

"Two? Dammit. We have to get out of here and find the others. Find Cayde."

"The Light is gone now… the Cabal have taken the whole City. Where will we go?"

"I'm sure there are survivors. There has to be. They have to be out there, we just have to find them. We need to go."

"Do you have any way of protecting us?"

"No. I'm completely out of ammo. Daggers, bullets… Light too I guess. We'll have to be careful."

Kiran traveled in a now empty pouch at her belt. The journey took hours until they escaped the City and by the time she saw the wilds on the other side, dawn was breaking on the horizon. She found a place inside the tree line where a rock outcropping would shield her from passersby, and collapsed.

"Wren?"

Kiran's voice woke her after several hours. She rolled to her back and stared up through the canopy where she could see the brightness of the sun. Midday.

"There's a Cabal patrol coming. We need to leave."

"I don't know where to do. I don't know where to start."

A bird flew close over her head, making her duck. It circled back, then flew up the nearby slope. Wren and Kiran exchanged a look, then she shrugged. He retreated to her belt pouch and she followed the bird. Through the forest to a valley, away from the fires of the Last City.

Wren lost track of how long they traveled and soon lost sight of the falcon. Maybe it wasn't guiding them afterall. Too late now. She had to go somewhere, and this path was as good as any.

"You have to find food soon," Kiran said.

"I know. I just don't think I have the energy left to find it."

A mechanical crackling from the top of the ridge made Wren jump. She stood stone still, watching. Waiting. Listening. Another crackle.

"What is that?" she whispered.

"Sounds like a radio or something. I'm not detecting anyone nearby."

Wren knew his senses were dulled but decided to trust him anyway. She eased up the ridge and there he was. An Awoken with a hole in his chest the size of Wren's fist. A Hunter, dead against the tree. She neared him. He was beautiful. Sleeping almost except for his blood-soaked armor. He'd not been dead long. The blood was still liquid and so deep red it was almost black.

"What strange wounds. Other than the blast in his chest there's a lot of thin punctures. Like he's been stabbed repeatedly," Kiran mused as Wren knelt beside the Awoken man and gently laid him down. She didn't have time to actually bury him but he deserved to rest… for whatever that meant. His snowy white hair stuck to spattering of blood against his gray skin and Wren thought of Franz.

"I've screwed up so bad."

"What?" Kiran rested on her shoulder. "Wren, none of this is your fault."

"I know I just…"

"Look, this Guardian isn't coming back. But maybe he has something in his pack that can help you. he has a sidearm too. I don't know him, but I'm sure he'd want to help. Right?"

"I know I would. Feels wrong though…"

"You need to survive."

Wren carefully searched the Hunter for anything of use. His pack had some food, a canteen half full of water, some ammo, throwing knives, and some rope. Looked like he'd packed what he could and ran. She took his cloak which had a fur lined hood, and his gloves, slipping them onto her fingers which had already gone red from cold.

From there, she started walking, eating as she went. She and Kiran traveled in silence for two more days, resting here and there but Wren didn't feel safe sitting still for too long, despite her body screaming at her to sleep longer. When night fell and she tried to sleep, it was only a matter of time before she'd hear something thundering through the brush. Snarls and strange howls she'd never heard before echoed from the trees and she'd be forced to her feet once more.

Midmorning on the fifth day since the attack, Wren stumbled up a slope in a shallow gorge. Her eyes were half open and she had no idea why or how she was still moving.

The screech of a falcon caught her attention and she looked up to see one staring at her just before it flew off over the ridge.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say that was the same bird from a few days ago," Wren said.

"Maybe we are supposed to follow it."

"And maybe I'm dead and this is… well, whatever comes after."

"You're not dead. Keep moving and be careful."

"Just rest in my pocket. You still sound terrible. Besides, I see a banner on the ridge. Maybe it's other Guardians."

"Please be careful, Wren."

At first she felt a perk of energy as she approached the banner, but at the lack of noise other than the flag snapping in the wind, she worried about what she might find. She peered over the edge of the rock outcropping and deeper into the gorge where there was a Guardian campsite.

Still with Guardians in it.

Lifeless.

Blood spattered the ground and Wren hit her knees where she stood. It felt so very pointless. The Cabal… they were even out this far, days from the City looking for survivors. They'd killed the Awoken Hunter and now these… could she hope to escape them?

"These Guardians," Kiran sighed. "They were helpless without their powers."

Wren made her way through them, taking what supplies would be of use. A part of her wanted to roll up in their sleeping bags and stay there. Rest. But it felt as appealing as sleeping in the temple of the dead in the City.

"Can you mark their location? And that Hunter from before? Maybe someone can come back for the bodies later. Bury them or something…"

"I can. Please, be careful. These bodies have the same strange cuts and punctures the Hunter had. I don't know what caused them, but whatever it is… I don't know we stand a chance against it."

Wren made sure the Hunter's sidearm was loaded. She found some ammo that would fit the Better Devils but there wasn't much. She'd have to conserve the harder hitting stuff for now and hope she didn't need it later. She refilled her canteen, ate some rations, and stuffed a tent and sleeping bag into a pack with the rope from before.

"We'll travel a few more hours, then I have to sleep. I'm exhausted and I'd rather sleep in the middle of the day then try it at night with whatever the hell has been out running after dark." Wren slung the pack over her shoulder and started up the other side, away from camp and the way they'd come.

She was getting higher on the mountain. Beyond here snow lay scattered on the barren rocks and she saw something glistening in the sunlight from between two bounders. A sword of some kind? She took a few more steps and it moved. The lunched.

A beast she'd never seen before ran out and was met by a couple others. They were almost dog like, but much larger and instead of fur they were covered with this reddish skin and scales. Large fangs protruded from awkward mouths that didn't seem to close quite right on their arrow shaped heads. They were fitted with harnesses that carried what looked like huge razor blade, or sword blades.

These things were what killed the Guardians. She drew up the sidearm, hoping it would be enough as the beasts ran for her, blades casting blinding light in all directions.

They were tough to kill, but not stupid. The moment the first one dropped, skidding into a puddle of mud, the others split into singular units and backtracked. Wren took that opportunity to aim for the closest one, knowing the range for the sidearm wasn't going to get her far. She clipped its hindquarters and it howled in anger and pain before turning to rush her.

She was able to kill it but the other two were too fast. One raced past fast enough that one of its blades sliced Wren's forearm as she raised it to defend herself. She spun and hit her knees, clutching the bleeding appendage close. Fuck this! She drew the Better Devils and shot off a whole clip into the two remaining beasts, dropping both.

"Hold still," Kiran crackled, and healed her wound. But he was weak and dropped into her palms when he was finished. Bloody fingerprints marked his shell.

"Shh," Wren soothed. "I've got you. I don't know what the hell those things are but I think I can break off a blade and use it against them next time."

"I'd rather you keep it at a distance," he whispered. "You're not trained for close combat like that."

"I killed Crota with a sword." She tried to smile. God killer. That's what they'd called her. Ha. If only they could see her now.

Wren worked in silence to break one of the blades from a dead beast. She wound scrap fabric and some strips of wood around one end to make a sort of handle that wouldn't slice her hand open, then moved on, away from the campsite.

Days passed. It'd been more than a week since the attack but Wren was having a hard time keeping track of the days. She seemed to walk on aimlessly forever but as soon as she lost hope, she'd see the falcon again. Leading her onward.

Or at least she liked to think it was leading her somewhere. They'd settled into a routine or sorts. She'd travel so many hours before resting, most of the time choosing to eat cold rations, which were now running dangerously low, and passing out in a sleeping bag. The tent was too much trouble and so far, despite the blistering cold at night, she hadn't needed shelter, though she did long for the warmth of a fire.

They were much higher in the mountains now, surrounded on both sides by high cliffs. Snow settled here but not much and a good deal of the wind was blocked by the peaks. He teeth chattered as she moved through the narrow pass, again following the falcon.

On the other side was a snow covered ridge that curved around the side of the cliffs. Below fir trees stood proud and tall, tops white with fresh powder. Beyond that and far in the distance… the Last City. She took a moment to watch as Cabal ships, tiny from here, slowly hovered around the walls. Smoke still billowed toward the sky.

There was no time to stand around and be nostalgic. A Cabal ship flew low overhead and Wren ducked into cover as rocks crumbled overhead and fell across the path, crashing down the cliffs. It was headed for the City. She ran as fast as she could force herself to go, along the narrow outcropping and around the curve of the mountain.

On the other side of the mountain it was hard to believe what she had left behind. The sky was clear blue as far as the eye could see. A river snaked across the valley far below, waters glistening in the sunlight. Untouched wilds. A perfect place for Hunter. Cayde would love this place. He… her shoulders dropped.

He had to be out there. She knew it.

And so she began to descend.

Sightings of Cabal became a little rarer all the way out here but she made sure to kill any that she could find, getting in practice with her new makeshift blade. She hated the thing. Despite her efforts to make the grip comfortable it still scrubbed blisters onto her palms, even through her gloves.

Farther down she went until the snow began to give way to hearty grasses and trees. Within the day there was more grass and dirt under her boots than snow and stone and she thought she might be close enough to an area to rest as a river could be heard a little farther down.

The problem was, there were drops. She had no choice but to jump down distances that wouldn't have bothered her before but now caused shockwaves to shoot through her bones. Tired and aching she came to the last one. A jump straight across. It seemed it might be too far for her to jump, especially with her gear so she took it off, strapped the sword to it, and threw it to the other side where it barely landed on the edge, one strap dangling off.

"Wren, it's too far," Kiran warned, but Wren took a running leap anyway.

She slammed into the other side, hitting her chest on the ledge so hard it knocked the breath out of her. She scrambled at the ledge but only caught her bag before falling to the ground below. Her bag landed on her, the blade barely missing her cheek.

Wren slung the pack away and lay there, gasping for air with her eyes closed. Maybe she should rest here. Just sleep…. Sleep…

A shadow blocked the sun and she squinted up at a form above her, hand outstretched.

"Oh look," the person said. "Someone left a perfectly good Guardian lying around."

The woman helped Wren to hear feet. She was a stranger. Dark hair covered with a hood like a Hunter, but she wasn't a Guardian. She had strange circular tattoos, dots, in a circle on her face. A rifle slung over her shoulder. She looked at Wren with vague disappointment. "Things must be worse than I thought."

An explosion nearby caught her attention.

"That's our cue to leave," she said, before turning to call out to others that Wren had just noticed. "Let's move it people!"

She turned to go but Wren stepped forward. "Wait. Where are you going?"

"As far away from here as possible."

People started running toward a tank. Wren grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder when the screech of a falcon made her look up. The bird swooped low, landing on the stranger's arm.

"Is that your bird?" Wren asked.

"His name is Louis. And I'm Hawthorne."

"Wren."

"Well, Louis here is the best pilot we got. And what about you? Fit to fly?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Good. We're about to take off." She turned to face her people, giving them a signal to start their ships. They were well hidden in the trees. Wren didn't even notice them until they roared to life. "Hey Koro, get us some weapons over here. This Guardian's only got a makeshift sword and a sidearm that's older than me."

"Wait, Koro?"

"Yup. He found us a few days ago. Was with a pack of refugees but he's been damn useful."

Koro trotted up to them with an auto rifle but when he saw Wren he froze for a solid second before wrapping her in a bear hug and lifting her off the ground. She swore she saw tears in his eyes when he did.

"I thought you were dead!" he said. "I thought I'd never see you again and… and you're here! Alone?"

"I lost the others in the invasion. It's so good to see you." Despite their little falling out before, she found herself clinging to him, not wanting him to let go. She needed this. Something. Anything to keep her moving forward. "Have you heard from the Vanguard? From Cerulean? Anyone?"

He set her down. "No, I'm sorry. Comms have been cut for days. We just sort of… pick up who we find. You okay? You look terrible."

"I haven't slept much."

"Look, you can stay with me in the cargo ship. I'll make sure no one bothers you while you rest. We have a long fight ahead of us."

"Never thought I'd see the day where you'd say that."

Koro glanced at Hawthorne who was organizing her people.

"Yeah, well, a lot's changed. Our world is ended so… I have to survive right?"

"Right."

"Hey Wren?"

"Hm?"

Koro got a little closer, keeping others from hearing. "Are you doing okay? I mean, the last time I saw you…"

Wren hung her head in shame. The last time had been when she passed out and he helped bring her home. She'd been so preoccupied with escape and survival, fighting through exhaustion, dehydration, and hunger, that she hadn't had time to think about much else. She hadn't gotten enough sleep to dream of Beorn but… maybe it was just a better way of being punished for what happened.

"I haven't had time to think, honestly."

"Please don't do those things to yourself again. We were worried sick about you. But I mean… I guess now it's not really an option right? I mean, you're not a Guardian anymore. You're one of us." He put a hand to her neck and she looked up at him. "We're all in this together, and I'm not going to leave you behind."

Wren nodded slowly.

"C'mon kids!" Hawthorne yelled. "Move out!"

Wren followed Koro, feeling helpless. These people were organized. Bonded even after a short time and she had no idea what to do or how to help. Still she did her best with Koro's guidance and soon they were packed up and in the sky, flying to Traveler knows where.

There were a lot of mixed emotions. Not a Guardian anymore. Had that not even occurred to her either? The Light was gone. She was mortal… Kiran… she thumbed his shell where he rested in her belt pouch. Her ship was gone. Her Sparrow was gone. The freedom they brought with them had been destroyed. The fastest ways to find Cayde and Cerulean were gone. She'd have to do it the hard way and it reminded her of the privileges of being a Guardian. Things weren't always easy, and most of the time she wondered if she'd live another day, but some things could have been harder.

She watched the people around her load into the cargo ship, leaving the hatch open for air.

Still, there was a comfort to this. She wasn't alone anymore. Cayde was still out there, she had to believe that. But for now she rested against the shoulder of an old friend, and let exhaustion win.