Okay... i apologize for wasting my (very few) reader's time with that notice, but i felt like i needed to rewrite chapter one at the very least. And I am so, so sorry that I've taken so long to upload. x.x I'll be faster from now on, for what very few readers i might still actually have. xD And I'm gonna be a little more busy with things for the next few weeks, so the chapters might be a little shorter for a while. I promise, I'll get it straightened out soon. Anyways, onto chapter 8. :D Please review!

Sam:

Sam was walking back down to his (And now Dekka's) houseboat after a little bit of work in the fields, cut short by Edilio just telling Sam to take the day off. He had to admit, Edilio really was always looking out for him. He still needed to repay his friend for that in some way.

After a little contemplation, Sam decided to go to the edge of the lake shore, on the far side of the lake. It was where he always seemed to go to think lately.

He layed down lazily in the grass, looking up at the false sunrise up above. He was wearing just a black sweatshirt and light - blue denim jeans.

He didn't regret what he had done. He needed to do it. Everything Astrid had done had eaten at him for months. Everything that had happened. Everyone needed to stop holding things in at some point... right? He just felt bad that it had caused her to leave Lake Tramonto. I mean sure, it would've been awkward with her here after that, but still...

He snapped out of his thoughts as he felt someone sit down in the grass to his right. Looking over, he saw Dekka, smiling down at him. "Hey. I asked Edilio if i could take the day off to come see you, and he said i could. You don't mind right?"

"Of course not," Sam said, sitting up and returning her small smile, though his was a bit forced. It had been nearly three days since the ordeal with Astrid had happened, but everyone knew he wouldn't just get over it immediately.

"Still upset over everything with Astrid...?" Dekka said, her smile fading a bit. It was pretty obvious she knew his smile was fake.

"Yeah... but i'll be fine."

Dekka wrapped her arms around Sam and hugged him tightly. He hugged her back, unable to keep himself from clinging to her, just a little, even if it did make him seem weak. He needed her right now.

She leaned her head up and kissed Sam, trying to comfort him. He kissed her back. The kiss lasted just a minute, before Dekka pulled away from it, snuggling back up to him. "I love you Sam."

"I love you too Dekka," Sam said, feeling at least a little better now. He laid there with her for the next few hours, just cuddling and talking about little things going on around the lake, trying to do anything they could to keep their minds off the events of the past few days.

Astrid:

Astrid was lying down on a small white bed in what was once the house she had shared with Mary and Sam, her short blonde hair still slightly matted from the two day trek through mountains and forests it had taken her to get here. The pillowcase her head rested on was stained with tears. She'd never been this torn up before... she couldn't blame Sam for what had happened, she just hadn't expected it. Not at all. She'd always just assumed he'd come crawling back to her... god was she wrong.

God.

That word was absolute in the FAYZ. The FAYZ was hell. There was no god here, unless you counted Petey, an ignorant five year old who potentially had the power to make every living resident of the FAYZ simply vanish. Or maybe the Gaiaphage, who would honestly be something much closer to a devil, considering it just wanted them all dead instead of gone.

Before the FAYZ, hell, before her time in the woods, Astrid had always been a faithful christian girl. She had gone to church every week, sometimes multiple times per week, prayed when she had a chance even in the FAYZ, and had fought desperately to stick to her christian beliefs. Which, in retrospect, probably played a part in why she was lying here, a wreck, in the territory of one of the few people she could honestly say she flat - out hated, feeling heartbroken and destroyed.

"There is no god..." She said to herself. "God abandoned the FAYZ." She whispered, almost silently, into her pillowcase.

Caine:

This... was interesting. No... this was hilarious. Even ironic. Diana had left him, joined the 'Good Guys', and allied herself with Sam. Now, Sam's little princess, Astrid, had come running to him and his town because Sammy dumped her. At first, when she had come to Perdido Beach, Caine had been incredulous. He was wondering what it was Sam wanted, and why he would send Astrid instead of Brianna or someone else. Then he'd heard why she was really here, and felt almost joy at the sound of it.

This breakup... even though technically it had been Sam who dumped her, would have Sam ripped to pieces over it for quite a while. He could use this... but did he want to? Caine frowned. For the first time in a while, he was second guessing himself. Him wanting power over everything is what had made Diana leave... and since then he'd been stuck with a psychopath who could drive people insane with a thought; Penny, a power - hungry businessman who undermined his authority at every chance he got; Albert, an overconfident fisherman who thought he could blackmail Caine by threatening to strike (Which he pretty much could); Quinn, and a moron with a gun who stood outside his office all day acting like he was actually good for something; Turk.

Needless to say, he really, really missed Diana. He wished he'd never left the island.

Maybe he could change... or at least seperate himself from the others so he wouldn't get dragged back into things. That might work. But still...

The knowledge that Sam would be confused and off guard for a while was beyond tempting. Heaving an exasperated sigh, Caine leaned back in the oversized leather chair which had formerly belonged to Perdido Beach's mayor and propped his feet up on the large mahogany desk out in front of him, shutting his eyes and drifting off to sleep. He could contemplate on whether or not he should try to kill his twin brother later, for now, he just wanted a nap.

Dekka:

She hated seeing Sam like this. He was so torn up, he seemed so different from the lively boy she'd seen just days before... now he looked like weary, overworked, underappreciated Sam who'd been put through hell once again. She wanted to help him... but she didn't know how. He'd loved her before, and had eventually come to accept that she was probably dead. Then, out of nowhere, she comes back from the woods. No warning, no... anything, except one night's sleep thankfully bought by Edilio.

She was honestly amazed he'd been able to hold on this well. Any other person, this would've torn them apart completely. He didn't seem like that... he just seemed sad. She cuddled up into him and kissed his chest lightly, feeling him clinging to her desperately as they held each other out on the lakeshore. This was all she could do for him right now, she supposed. Just be there. Try to help in any way she can. It was all she could do.

They stayed there for a couple more hours, just talking about anything and everything going on around the lake aside from Astrid. Dekka was glad that in some way at least, she was able to help him take his mind off all this. They sat there in the shade of a few trees out in front of them, watching the artificial sun set across the horizon of the lake, the water shimmering and glimmering slightly as the rays of the sun reflecting off the water's surface. Even though she knew it was all artificial, she couldn't help but think about how beautiful it all was. She smiled, just a little, and looked out at the now almost red - tinted water, then up at Sam, who seemed just as mesmerized by it as she was.

"You know..." Sam started, "Before the FAYZ, these little things, sunsets, stars, we took it all for granted. Wind, light, everything. Now... it seems like a treasure, even if deep down you know it isn't real. The FAYZ changed everything, sometimes for the worse..." He glanced at a scar across his left forearm, a mark left by Drake's whip, "And sometimes, for the better." He looked down at Dekka, a smile creeping across his lips. A real smile, not the fake one he had given her earlier.

They sat there in silence for a while longer, watching the sun go down, Dekka feeling happy that she had finally been able to help Sam, and Sam looking like he was finally starting to get over everything with Astrid. Maybe the FAYZ would let them be happy, if only for a little while longer.

Please review! :D Whether ya liked it or not. xD Constructive criticism is always welcomed.