As the helicopter flew over Sanctuary 3, Velma felt immediately like she was out of her depths. Sanctuary 3 was the biggest and wealthiest of any sanctuary in the world, home to 10,000 people, it stretched for miles. Velma peered down into he streets, she could almost believe that she was flying above a suburban neighborhood. She clutched the backpack she'd brought along with her. Having been born and raised in a town that only owned one airplane, flying was not something she was accustomed to.

As the helicopter hovered a few hundred feet above the helipad, Velma felt a jolt of nerves in her gut. Three years since she'd seen Daphne and Fred. Three years since she'd even been in the same state as them. How much could three years change a person?

Velma stepped out of the helicopter tentatively. She wobbled, readjusting to solid ground. When she finally had her bearings, she slung her backpack over her shoulders and moved off the landing cite in an odd, stiff-legged speed walk. She continued in this teetering stride until she reached the terminal, searching the crowd for a familiar shade of blonde or an orange ascot. And then, she spotted him,

Fred hadn't seen her yet. He was looking idly in the opposite direction, swaying slightly. He wore a long thick wool coat that, by Velma's estimation, was worth more than she payed for rent. She reached up, hand still quivering slightly, and tapped Fred on the shoulder.

Fred jumped, snapping out of his thoughts and turned to see who was standing behind him.

When his gaze landed on her, he paused, "Velma?"

She looked up at him, an endeared annoyance displayed on her face, "who else Fred?"

"Gosh! I almost didn't recognize you. Your hair has gotten so long!"

Velma ran a hand over her hair, which now just brushed the tops of her shoulders. She hadn't noticed the extra length. She ought to ask Daphne to teach her how to style it.

"Yeah well, it's been a long time," she smiled timidly up at him, "How have you been?"

"Good!" Fred wrapped his coat more tightly around his frame, "Lets head to the car, I don't know about you but I'm am freezing!"

Velma bit her lip. A car. Now that was a status symbol. It was a fortune to import from outside the sanctuaries, even more so to have one custom made. As she trailed behind Fred, she felt the same uneasy jitters wash over her.

Fred led Velma to powder blue station wagon, she eyed a bumper sticker with a familiar orange flowers and font. It read simply Mystery. Velma grinned at the homage, while silently marveling at the automobile. It was one thing to have a car, but another to have one that screamed stylish for the world to hear. Velma hopped into the second row of the car, and settled herself in. Fred chucked as he slid his keys into the ignition, "you don't have to do that anymore Velma. You can sit up front you want."

"Nah," Velma waved her hand dismissively, "this just feels right."

Fred threw his head back, laughing heartily, "oh, I sure did miss you Velma."

As Fred drove along the highway, he and Velma swapped small talk. They talked about their last year of high schools, their work, and the serious need for somebody to write something new for TV. But as they talked they found themselves carefully dancing around any mention of the past. Any mention of their school days together was merely reduced to quick "back then" or "when we were young." It was if neither of them dared to cross that line, in fear of how the other would react.

On their way, Velma noticed posters tacked up to walls and covering signposts. DOWN WITH THE WALLS One read. A second, larger one said WELCOME THE SURVIVORS. And finally, there was one that simply read THEY ARE STILL OUT THERE.

Velma gulped down a lump in her throat, "there sure is a lot of..." Velma stared at the bright posters plastered all over the walls, searching for a polite way of saying what she wanted, "...political discussion... around here."

Fred glanced over, "oh yeah," he chuckled awkwardly, "Daph and I aren't big into politics. I got enough of them from my dad and Daph talks about them all day for work so we stay away mostly."

Velma bit her lip, muttering some vague agreement. After that they went back to their amicable chit-chat. The conversation shallow all the way.

When Fred finally pulled into the driveway, Velma marveled at the house before her. It was a neat single family home with shy blue vinyl siding, but the thing that took her breath away, was where exactly the house was. Perched practically on the shore of Lake Eerie.

"Jinkies!" Velma laughed, "when Daphne said on the shore, she meant it."

Fred didn't get a chance to answer as Daphne made herself visible in the front doorway.

"Velma!" She exclaimed, reaching her arms out for a hug, "it's been forever! How are you?"

"Pretty good Daph, how are you?"

"Oh I'm doing great! Especially since the weathers finally cooled down."

"You mean absolutely frigid!" Fred quipped as he carried Velma's backpack inside, "now come on in you two, before we let all the warm air out of the house."

—

Dinner was served at 7:00, on a fine cherrywood table set for four people, but only seating three. Velma couldn't help but look at that empty chair and feel her nerves waver. Since she arrived, she'd been in the same dance. The three of them just barely skirting on what had happened to them or where they came from.

Velma stirred her steak and veggie stew, half listening as Daphne went on and on about her new job as a news anchor for a local station. One that Velma had never even heard of.

"Oh, you know" She chatted away happily, "it's a fun job, read the weather, talk about local elections, the whole nine yards."

"Yeah," Velma smiled, perhaps a bit too wildly, "sounds incredible Daph."

"Oh, you know," Daphne waved her hand, "it's a living. But that's enough about me! We've hardly heard about you all night Velm! Where are you living nowadays?"

Velma speared a piece of carrot on her fork. She looked past Daphne and shrugged, "oh you know, good ol' 18."

Velma saw the confusion play our in Daphne's eyes, "Sanctuary 18? How is it there?"

Velma slouched. She knew that Daphne knew what Sanctuary 18 was like, that was where they'd all fled to when everything went crazy. It had been a poor shanty town back then. It still was, the only difference was now it had cable TV and a few grocery stores.

But Velma couldn't say all that, so instead, she dodged, "oh it's still just 18." She forced a small chuckle, "hey, y'know speaking of the news, just yesterday I saw on STVN a reporter who was exploring the remains of Crystal Cove."

With those two words, Velma had avoided an awkward subject and broken a dam. She noticed Fred's eyes flit quickly to the empty chair, then back to Velma. The overly saccharine tone of the conversation completely dissolved, and they all breathed a sigh of relief.

"How did it look?" Daphne asked, as she wound a corkscrew into the top of a bottle of wine, "Pinot Noir anyone?"

"No thanks Daph, I'm don't turn twenty-one for another month or so." Velma tapped her fingers against the cherrywood table, "and as for Crystal Cove? It looked... well it didn't look good."

Velma drew a long sigh, "Honestly the place was falling apart... and that's why I asked to come. I saw it and I just thought about..." She trailed off, side eyeing that damned empty chair at the head of the table. She wasn't quite ready to tell them everything, not just yet. "I just thought it be nice to see you all again."

—

Night had fallen on the lakefront, but Velma couldn't sleep. Instead she found herself sitting on a dock only a few yards from her host's house. She dangled her feet into the icy cold water and gnawed at her chapping bottom lip. If she squinted out into the fog, she could see the glimmer of the steel wall, looming just on her other side of the lake.

What was she doing here? How could she possibly ask her two closest friends to uproot their lives just so she could chase some one-in-a-million fantasy? She shouldn't have—The noise of delicate footsteps interrupted Velma's train of thought.

"Hey Daph," Velma smiled.

"Hey," the redhead half-whispered as she kicked off her slippers and joined Velma in soaking her feet, "it's late, are you having trouble Sleeping?"

"No," Velma sighed, flicking her big toe up so it sent droplets dancing across the surface, "I just can't stop thinking about..."

Daphne raised an eyebrow, "about?"

Velma slouched in on herself, "about Shaggy."

Daphne took a sharp breath in, "yeah... do you know what happened to him exactly? I figured he didn't make it to a sanctuary before the lockdown, but, was he infected or—" Daphne cut herself off, noticing the tears beading at the corners of Velma's eyes. She grabbed her friends fidgety hand, squeezing it tight.

"Tell me."

Velma gripped the edge of the dock with her free hand, her knuckles white like snow, "I abandoned him there. Half the town were zombies at that point... his parents had just— you know... and when we moved East we didn't take him with us."

Daphne took her sleeve and wiped a tear from Velma's check, as Velma went on.

"I asked him if he wanted to come with us... he said no. Something about Crystal Cove being his home. But I was stupid to leave him there right? He was grieving of course he was going to want to stay... and I couldn't even be there to help him through that! I just—"

She squeezed Daphne's hand, the words catching in her throat, "I left him behind."

Velma set her glasses down on the dock as she hastily wiped tears from her eyes, "he's been out there for three years, with with those— things...so logically... I know he's gone..."

"But?" Daphne prodded, watching as Velma's expression wavered for a moment.

"But there's this ridiculous part of me..." Velma explained through shallow breathing, "That thinks that if we—I— go back, I'll find him there. And then..." Velma shook her head, trying her best no to devolve into ugly crying, "And then I can apologize... for leaving him behind, and maybe for a moment, we can have our old life back."

Daphne wrapped her arm around Velma, hugging her tightly. Velma managed to get control of her lungs and gulped down the cool air to the night to calm down.

"That's why I came here," Velma whispered, "I'm going back. Even if I don't find him... maybe I'll find closure." She turned away from Daphne, red shame rising in her cheeks, "and I was hoping that you two would come with me... but now I'm here and you have a beautiful life, I can't just ask you to..."

"To leave our lives behind?"

Velma nodded.

The two sat silently for a few paralyzing minutes, Velma watching the stars and searching for familiar constellations, Daphne lost in a deep contemplative thought.

Finally, Daphne broke their silence, "is sure would be nice to see Crystal Cove again... I feel like I never really got to say goodbye," she paused, looking down at Velma, "if I was willing to go with you... how would we get back in? The lockdown policy is nowhere near being lifted."

Velma sniffed, shock and gratitude played across her features, which then turned to dread, "I'm going to try to find a way," She bit her lip as she looked up at Daphne, "but there's a very real chance that when I leave, I don't come back."

—-

Author's note: hey y'all! I hope you liked this chapter, please favorite/follow or review to tell me what you think.

But! That's not all. I have an exciting announcement: Rotten Crystal has a cover now! I really like this story so far, so I went ahead and drew it a cover. I'll be adding it to the story later today. Can't wait to hear what you think. :)