"Lauren! Andy! Time for school!"

She rolled out of bed, grabbed her dressing gown, and hurried into the bathroom. Five minutes later he was yelling and banging on the door.

"Lauren! You always take ages!"

"You snooze, you lose!"

But that was gone now.

Andy huddled alone, playing on some handheld console, while Lauren laughed and chatted with some of their mom's coworkers' kids.

He kept his head down, she kept her smile up.

But that was gone now.

They said nothing in the car, Lauren messaging friends on her phone, him playing a game on his, their mom trying to talk to them and them ignoring her.

The black gunk rained down outside, and the only thing important to her was finding him, and the only thing important to him was getting to her.

They said nothing in the car, because if they did they might be found and killed, so instead they huddled together in silence, him pressed to her side and her listening to the sound of him breathe.

But that was gone now.

Long days and longer nights at the old hostel, speaking to James and Sheila, laughing with Adam and Chance.

It was temporary, they thought back then, temporary, until all this was over and they could find their mom and dad again and it could all go back to the way it used to be.

But that was gone now.

Eternal days and nights that stretched out forever at the cabins by the lake; hunting and practising with their powers, and they weren't family by blood, but they were a family they had made by circumstance, their little group.

But that was gone now.

It was just the two of them.

And somewhere along the line, the arguments had stopped.