I had hastily followed the stranger through the winding alleys of Omega for about twenty minutes before we arrived at a narrow door on the edge of a dimly-lit, half-deserted ward on a lower level. She lifted her arm and her omni-tool activated the lock. The door jittered open. She glanced over her shoulder at me and gestured inside with her head. The room was tiny; I had to stoop my neck to avoid hitting my head on low gurders which webbed the ceiling. There was an overpowering smell of damp, not surprising with the amount of water periodically dripping from the patchily rusted ceiling. In the room there was a bunk with a tattered piece of foam on top, a table covered in notches with a small, metal stool stowed messily underneath, a locker covered in scratches and a small TV with a picture of a man on top. My saviour strode to the locker, ripped it open and threw her shotgun in. The shotgun clunked against the metal before she slammed the locker shut. I stood silently by the door (which had now edged shut again) as she marched to the desk, unspeaking. She yanked the stool out and planted her foot on it, beginning to remove her giant boot.

"Sit", she ordered, without looking up.

I obliged immideately, and perched on the end of her bunk. She threw her boots into a corner and stood upright, finally looking at me. She did not look pleased. She was considerably shorter than before, but she was still as fearsome. She stared angrily for a while before perching on the desk and stating,

"You're fuckin' stupid, kid".

The words hung for a while. Why was she calling me stupid? Why did she bring me to her house?

"Look-", I began after a while, before she interrupted, slamming the table.

"Shut. Up.", she said, her eyes piercing mine. She took a breath before continuing, "Omega ain't no place for dumb, fuckin' kids running around playing hero. I don't know who you lost, but if you're pissin' off the blue suns and trippin' over vorcha, you ain't gonna be around very long to find them".

Her words were calm. She sounded genuinely concerned about me which made me very confused. She rose from the desk and went back to the locker. She pulled out some vacuum-packed food and threw it on the bed. I watched her cautiously as she picked up a pack of jerky and tore into it with her canines. I followed and scoffed two packs; I was ravenous with hunger. She took another chunk off her jerky before asking,

"So, who is she?"

"How did you...?" I asked, puzzled.

"How'd I know it's a girl? Come on! It's obvious! That little show you gave me in the market, it had to be a girl. So, you're lookin' for your girlfriend? That it?"

For a maniac, she was incredibly intuitive. I paused for a second before explaining,

"She's not my girlfriend, it's complicated"

"I've got time"

The woman leant back onto the desk. She was incredibly small and slender, with delicate features. Although, she was had a power to her, like she could conjure the strength and desire to tear you limb from limb at a moments notice. Her tattoos covered her whole body, except her face but her skin was littered with scars of all variation. This woman had clearly been through a lot but could only be in her twenties.

I sighed before speaking, "It's hard to explain".

I paused for a moment, trying to think why Lyra meant so much to me. As I thought about Lyra, and in the short time I had known her, she had been my only ally. She was there for me when my brother was killed, I was there for her when we found Bellamy. We found an instant trust with each other, even when we could trust no-one else.

"I haven't known her that long. Only a few days, actually. But we've been through so much. She's all I have left"

She stared for a minute before looking toward the TV. It was blaring static. We were silent for a minute. She stared at the bright screen as I stared at the ceiling, thinking of things I've lost, and things I refuse to lose. The woman hopped off the table and began to remove her combat trousers. She pulled them off her legs and dumped them in the locker, before reaching in and pulling out a pair of black jean shorts and thigh boots. As she began to pull her shorts on, I asked the burning question,

"Why are you helping me?"

"Because you remind me of me", she replied after a short pause. She began pulling on her boots. After a small grunt she continued, "'cept I ain't such a pussy"

We both smirked at the comment, but she wasn't joking.

"I used to be in with some bad people", she said, zipping up her boots, "We used to steal, burn, kill and not give a fuck. I've been arrested, abandoned and left for dead. The people I ran with, didn't give a fuck about me".

She pulled a small leather flight jacket out the locker and threw it on. She cracked a little smile before continuing,

"I met this one guy, this fucking guy, who showed me what it meant for someone to have your back. To be there for you. To show you what it means to be-", She stopped herself as she was getting visibly upset. She composed herself and looked over to me.

"He showed me what it means to be someone", she sighed after she spoke.

I waited a few seconds before speaking, "So where is he?"

Her face dropped, her eyes turned to ice and her voice came out low, "He's fucking dead".

She dropped her head and slammed the locker shut. After a few seconds, she turned to me and said, "You're buying me a fucking beer!"

My mouth went dry as I thought about going outside and almost definitely being spotted.

"I-I can't", I stammered.

"Why the fuck not?", she asked angrily.

"Because, the Blue Suns are looking for me, and I have to think about my next move"

"Your girlfriend's probably at the Blue Suns base, I got a friend who can get us in and out, piece of fuckin' cake! Let's g-"

"She isn't there"

"If the Blue Suns took her then, yeah, she is"

"She isn't there!"

"How do you know? She's got-...Oh! You broke the rule?"

I remained silent, waiting for the woman to speak.

"Well shit, I was lookin' for an excuse to break it too! Let's go fuck with Aria!"

"What?! What are you talking about?", I asked, incredulously.

The woman had already got her shotgun from the locker and jammed it in her holster. She was shaking with excitement. She knelt down and rooted around in the bottom. Her arm appeared from behind the metal door and threw a pistol at me. As I caught it it misfired and charred the wall. I jumped with fright but the woman didnt move; she let out a small chuckle from inside the locker. I saw her put a small knife into her boot before springing to her feet. She opened the door to the ward, which caused a light breeze to cool my face. She strode to the door before turning to me,

"Come on then, uh...?"

"...Isaac", I replied.

"Isaac. Hurry the fuck up, Isaac!"

I stuffed the pistol in the back of my pants and draped my shirt over it. She was walking toward the door, before turning again,

"I'm Jack".