This chapter is literally a collection of random thoughts. I'm so sorry.

Mitch was on the verge of tears as he ran through the forest. He didn't know where he was going, but he had to get away. Everything about that place hurt him, though he couldn't exactly pinpoint why. His parents didn't care that he was alive, they offered no explanation as to why they left Mitch to die, and Connor- he stopped himself before he thought of Connor. That could only bring more tears.

His heart sank as he remembered what got him into all this. He wouldn't have felt this unexplainable pain if he had listened to his friends and stayed home. They were typically right when it came to matters like these. Those were some of his flaws, Mitch supposed. He was ignorant and headstrong, but when things went wrong he got emotional and ran. Those probably weren't great characteristics to have.

Something in the river caught his eye. It was his reflection, he realized. He studied his tired eyes and messy hair. He was a wreck. If he had green skin, someone could probably mistake him for a zombie. The thought made him want to laugh and cry. What was he doing to himself? Why was it that the thing staring back at him was an empty shell of what he used to be, only able to pretend to live his life normally?

Mitch looked at the running water in vain. It was a powerful force with jagged rocks along the edges. He could end all his suffering right here, right now, and no one would even know or care-

Mitch frowned at himself. He wasn't that desperate- not yet, anyways. He shouldn't be upset at his family being alive, but there was something about their complete disinterest in his presence that upset him. His parents, no matter how much pressure they had put on him as a child, still meant a lot to him. It pained him to know he had been left in the dark for two years, and even then so much had happened. His parents looked as though it had been ten years, and Connor... It hurt Mitch the most to see Connor. The boy was 12 now and just about to learn the harsh realities of the world, just like Mitch did at his naming ceremony. Maybe living in a run-down isolated home was enough to open one's eyes. Mitch just wanted to protect Connor and keep him innocent at all costs, but he couldn't. That's what pained him.

He sat against a rounded rock and sighed. Why did life have to be so difficult? He wished he could go back to a simpler time when he wasn't part of a war. No, then he would still be miserable from school and his village life. When was he happy? There was always the early days of his channel before the leader came back. Those were good. Still, Mitch didn't have a time machine and had no intent of getting the technology. He had no option but to live in the present. He sighed once again at the thought.

"Mitch!" A voice called frantically. Mitch looked desperately for a place to hide but found nothing. "Mitch, are you here?" The sound of footsteps grew nearer as Mitch ran through ways to avoid talking to someone. "Mitch!" Mitch looked up and saw a furry animal looking down at him. He felt his heart sink as he anticipated the conversation that was about to happen. "Mitch, why'd you run? What's wrong?"

Mitch shrugged, purposely avoiding speaking. Maybe if he didn't speak, neither would Jerome.

"Did your family do something to hurt you?"

He shook his head, not considering his father's disinterest in his presence to be an action to hurt him. Hurtful, maybe, but not on purpose. Or at least he hoped.

Jerome panted from sprinting and looked at the rock. "Mind if I sit?"

Mitch shrugged again, not caring at this point. He hoped the bacca would leave him in peace soon although chances looked slim. Jerome slid next to him and rested his head on Mitch's shoulder.

"So why are you actually angry at you parents? Don't tell me you aren't, I can tell."

Mitch looked at Jerome and tried to read his thoughts. "No reason." He muttered.

"He speaks!" Jerome proclaimed. "Question is, what is he thinking? Why is he hiding his emotions? Will he ever answer my-"

"They left us!" Mitch burst out suddenly. "They abandoned the people, left us all to be conquered and killed. Not once did any of them come back and try to assist us. No, they left their inexperienced 17-year-old son in charge and only thought about themselves, not about the greater good."

"Didn't you do the same-"

"They abandoned me." Mitch choked out. "Left me to fend for myself and didn't even try to find me. Do you know how it feels to remember a near-death experience and know that your family was just blocks away and chose not to save you? Do you?"

"Yes." Jerome said calmly.

Mitch frowned through his watering eyes. "What do you mean?"

Jerome sat down on the rocks near the water and looked out. "When I was just a young bacca there was an attack on my tribe. I must've been about thirteen at the time, maybe just so. My mother had been dead for a long time and the man I thought to be my father was out hunting with the men of the tribe. No matter how much I begged, I was not permitted to accompany them. Instead I was left to prepare for a feast I could not participate in. No one would tell me what it was for either. Up until around the time I met you, the tribe kept me in the dark."

"My father did the same." Mitch said coldly.

"The hunters came home celebrating something, and as per usual I wasn't allowed to join in. I remember being angry and deciding that for once, I would celebrate. I slipped out of my room and sat at the top of the grand staircase in the shadows, listening as quietly as I could. I could only hear small talk, but someone said something about shooting an elder as revenge for the tribe leader. I didn't have time to listen any longer because that day we were attacked. Hundreds of humans flooded through the doors of our home and started fighting us. No one had any weapons at the party, so it ended in a one-sided massacre. I was terrified but I figured I was safe in the shadows, all until the human leader ascended the stairs. He found me cowering in a corner and nearly killed me."

"I don't get it." Mitch said. "Where does the whole my-family-abandoned-me part come in?"

"I was getting there. The human leader was about to kill me but he hesitated. He whispered something about having a son my age and not being able to do it... I was shaking so much I barely noticed when he left. It was only then did I see my father in the corner with a perfectly good axe. He had been watching the whole time and hadn't intervened at all. He could've fought them but he didn't."

"Oh." Mitch said. "Jerome..."

"My people have been fighting yours for a very long time, Mitch. Like you, I only found out when I was 17. Don't you see? We're the same. Kept in the dark, only to discover your family and friends are murderers. We've disgraced both of our tribes by being friends. Now we're afraid of the simplest things because we let someone take advantage of us."

"I never realized you felt the same..." Mitch trailed off, thinking about all he had just learned. Jerome understood him. It was a new thing for Mitch to meet someone who had similar experiences to him and knew all he had been through. Quiet honestly, he didn't know anyone else like him could exist, much less that they'd be right next to him.

"Hey Mitch." Jerome said with a new tone to his voice. "See that valley up there? That's where I killed a man for you."

Mitch couldn't help but smirk. "Took you long enough. I was nearly dead."

"Sorry you can't defend yourself."

Mitch lightly punched the bacca in the arm. "You know, I had some difficult news to comprehend that day as well. Surprisingly I didn't cry or feel sad. Why is it that I only get angry at the happy aspects of life?"

"You were taken by surprise." Jerome reasoned. "I mean, anyone would be. Imagine if my fake father sat down next to us, back from the dead? That'd be ridiculous! It'd defy all logic! You had a right to be angry, but now we've got to set it right. Apologize, you see?"

"I suppose." Mitch took a deep breath. "Let's get back, shall we?"

"Just one more thing." Jerome said. "You were looking at the rocks and muttering before. Were you okay?"

Mitch bit his lip. "I-"

"No." Jerome's eyes widened. "Mitchell Hughes, you wouldn't."

Mitch looked down at his feet guiltily before he was pulled into a hug. "Promise me you won't ever leave me." The bacca murmured into his shoulder.

"I'll try." Mitch said.

"No, you'll do." Jerome said as he pulled away. "What's a bac without his benj? I'm lost without you."

Mitch looked in Jerome's eyes and saw the truthfulness of the statement, honestly believing the bacca would never betray him. "I promise."

Jerome smiled in relief. "Let's go back to the home, eh? Hopefully Jordan isn't still freaking out about the 'unique architecture' when we get back."

Mitch chuckled. "I wouldn't be surprised."

The bacca grabbed Mitch's hand. "It's going to be okay." He said. "We're going to be okay."

If only Mitch could believe him.

So that was a thing. Will Mitch finally trust Jerome? Not even the author knows...

Also for anyone confused on how/why Mitch's family survived, there will be. better explanation later. I don't know exactly where I will fit it in, but it will happen. Yup.

~Scarlett