An hour later, Scarlett was leaving the Shaden household, her jacket pulled tightly around her and a solemn look on her face.

Tam had told her that Brian would be at their father's grave, and would stay there all day. Staring silently at what was left of the man he'd never cried for, rooted in place forever, never able to heal because he was still numb. Then at night he would disappear, and come back the next day beaten up and unwilling to speak to anyone. Scarlett didn't dare say anything about the night he'd showed up at her apartment with the dying girl slung over his shoulder.

So Scarlett approached Gracia, asking her if she could go for a walk. She said she was disturbed by the instance that morning, and needed some time to clear her head. Gracia had agreed heartily, apologizing profousely and telling her she could take as long as she needed. So she left without too much fuss, though Faith watched her curiously. Breathing in the cool air of the morning, Scarlett looked up at the crisp blue sky. Was she ready to face whatever was in store? She didn't think so. Then she thought of Brian, as he'd been before, that wide, charming grin on his face and his usually angry expression relaxed.

Finding courage in the image of that handsome face, Scarlett clung to it like a lifeline, securing it in her mind. She would save that part of Brian, whatever the cost. She set off down the dusty road, toward the place where the sun would set behind the dark blue of a lake, where Brian's father had been buried. While she was walking, she thought of Ben, of the exhaustion in his eyes and the worried crease of his brow after the fight. He loved Brian, Scarlett could see that, even if Brian couldn't. Something was tugging at them both, some old link that had long since become jagged and rusted. A link that strained what should have been what Brian needed; support after the death of his father.

Scarlett shivered, pulling her jacket closer to her body. It really was too cold for spring today. Dust billowed up around her feet with every step, blown by the breeze and whipped about. The stones of the road however stayed still, strong and resilient even in the chill. They would withstand anything, until one day it all crashed down on them, the enormity of the elements and the disturbances of living creatures. Would anything save them from that fate? She was suddenly tempted, seeing a cracked rock on the edge of the grass, to mend it somehow. There must be a way to heal scars, even if they ran deep to the core...

It was when the road began to climb steadily that Scalett knew she was nearing the place. It felt as though she'd been walking forever, and the steady incline of the hill only increased her exhaustion. When she finally reached the peak and stood on the golden grass, looking down below, she spotted his dark shape, a shadow next to the rippling expanse of the lake. For several long moments she stood there, watching him, not quite sure knowing how to approach him. Tam was right, that much she could see. He did nothing but stand there, frozen in time and space, his eyes trained on a single slab of marble that rose from the ground as naturally as though it was just another part of the landscape.

Slowly, she descended the hill. The ground was rocky and yielding beneath her feet, but she managed to get to the base of the rise without slipping too badly. Across the stretch of grass, focusing on a frog, a field mouse, anything but the lifeless man she was approaching. When she was finally by his side, he didn't move an inch, didn't even look at her. His eyes were dark and glassy, his lips parted slightly as he stared at the stone. He was trapped.

Looking down at the marble stone, Scarlett read the heading slowly. 'Tyler Garra', and written beneath that, 'a man for whom we shall remember for the person he could have been, not who he was'. She read that line, over and over, unable to make sense of it no matter how many times she turned the words over in her head. It went on to speak of forgiveness and that no matter what crimes a man did in his life, God may have mercy on their soul, should they truly be sorry for what they've done. The statements seemed empty to her, forced, disbelieving. Who had this man been?

"Will you tell me about him?" Her voice sounded so radically out of place in the peaceful landscape, she almost felt guilty for disturbing the silence. But when Brian slowly turned his head to look at her, that haunted look melting into confusion, she knew it was for the best. She placed one hand on his arm, and he jumped in surprise at her contact. Her brows furrowed in concern as he continued to stare at her blankly, his lips moving as though he was trying to speak. "Brian...?"

"What do you feel for me, Scarlett?" He asked her after the longest pause. The expression on his face stayed the same, though something like fear flickered in the depths of his amber eyes. The arm that she clung to tensed as she sighed and gave a small, strained laugh. "What's so funny?" He asked, eyes narrowed as he watched the expression on her face soften to amused confusion. Her grip on his sleeve tightened, and she gave a small sigh.

"I don't know what you want me to say." She told him, shaking her head. "What would get through to you? Would you listen to me? Does this have anything to do with... with whatever your father did?"

"I love you, Scarlett." He said suddenly, placing his hands on her shoulders. She looked up at him, startled by the sudden change in him and stilled by his words. Feeling her lip was trembling, she bit down on it and forced her nerves to calm as he spoke to her slowly. "I love you. With all my heart, whatever part of it may be left. Please. Please just try to understand that, and believe me... I would lay down my life for you. I can't... I can't imagine ever loving anyone else in the world..."

"Brian!" Her voice was harsh, like a slap in the face. His head snapped up from its bowed position and he looked at her, startled. She shrugged the hands away from her shoulders and jabbed at the man in the chest angrily. "You idiot! What the hell does this have to do with anything?" Her eyes were emerald flames as her voice rose. "Here I am, trying to bring your sorry ass back from whatever hellhole you fell into, and you give me this crap about loving me? When the hell have you ever needed to say anything like that, huh? When did your actions suddenly become not good enough?" She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself but failing. "Is your freaking self esteem so bad that you thought I didn't love you? Where did this whiny-ass begging come from? Hm?"

Speechless, Brian just stared at her. He'd grown up in a household where love was never shown between family members, only spoken through empty words. All his life, he'd been trying to find a way to make these words true, to find out the secret behind making them sincere. Now here with the only girl he'd ever truly loved, she was telling him he was wrong to be trying so hard. The word 'love' came so easily, so profoundly, to her, he found that be believed her instantly.

She continued to glare at him, but her brows were starting to quiver with supressed emotions. "Idiot." She choked out, turning to face the tombstone again, not sparing another glance in his direction. He thought so lowly of himself. He believed he wasn't good enough. The very concept made her want to laugh. A man like himself, with his commanding prescence and powerful charm, believed he wasn't worth the love of a fiery girl with a broken past. Believed she didn't love him, because it was impossible to love someone like him. "I love you." She told him now, her voice stronger than she felt. "I thought that was obvious. Now can you quit the whining and tell me what the hell you're doing here?"

His mouth felt dry now. So desperately, he wanted to speak to her, to pour out his heart and open up to her, the only sunlight in his life. So why wouldn't his tongue move? Why wouldn't his lips open? Why did his throat tighten and his heart constrict in his chest? After all she'd spilled to him, he was unable to do the same for her. He couldn't find the strength to truly open up... but what if he imagined she wasn't there? He was by himself, numb to the truth he'd speak, pretend he'd never said anything to her. He could do that. Just act as though he had nothing to lose. "My father died, eight years ago."

Scarlett didn't bother saying that she already knew. This was his story to tell, from the very beginning, and she wouldn't influence it in the slightest bit. Almost like she wasn't there at all, just a wisp of air that couldn't hear, couldn't judge him.

"It happened right in front of me." He continued. "He and I lived in the city that time, with my mother. Tam had run away about a year ago. She'd run into Ben on the streets, and he took care of her. That's how he and my mother met, when she went out searching for her because the police weren't doing any good." He swallowed thickly, remembering all to clearly his sister's defiant face, smeared with dirt and blood from living out on the street. The white-haired man beside her, just as ragged, but obviously willing to protect her should the need arise. That was when she'd slipped away from him. That was when the bond they'd shared was broken.

Scarlett could understand that, the breaking of a bond with a sibling. The same thing had happened when Leah decided that despite everything she'd trained for since the day she was born, she would dump all the responsibility on Scarlett's fragile shoulders while she ran off to medical school. The feeling of betrayel, of fear, as that person that had been beside you every second of every day slipped away from you.

"I hadn't met Hawk or Maria yet." The man looked up at the sky, which was steadily beginning to circulate with heavy gray clouds. Wonderful. "My father... my father was involved in drug dealing. The leader of a huge organization called the Shadow. The money was good, and we could afford a big house. At that time, I didn't really understand why it was so wrong..." He closed his eyes for a long moment before continuing. "The police in those parts turned the other way. They bartered with my dad for the drugs he smuggled from Mexico. Even when... even when he began killing... they pretended not to know. My mother knew as well, but she was too afraid of him to say anything. Tam was the only smart one, running away at the time she did."

Pieces were slowly starting to fall together in Scarlett's mind. Ben's close relationship with Tam, Gracia's fear of the past, Tam's refusal to believe anything about her father related to her in any way.

"The first time I saw him kill was a guy named Red. He was a close friend of my mother's, and I knew him well. But when he claimed not to have the money to cover my dad's shipment, he pulled out a gun and shot him." This was said so bluntly, so easily, it sounded strange in his own ears. "He told me I'd be doing the same soon. I had a job to do, he said. My sister was a failure in his eyes, but I was strong. I could put up with the work."

That rueful tone his voice told Scarlett that he still loved his father at that time, and regretted it. Despite all he'd done, he was bound to him by loyalty and blood. It seemed that with every sentence he spoke, another chain was binding itself around him. He was so trapped.

"I couldn't stand it anymore after about a year of being taught the 'art of killing'." His voice was sarcastic, rising slightly in anger. "I tried to stand up for myself. I told him I couldn't watch while he stole life after life from people he decided weren't allowed to live any longer. I didn't want this life for myself, when the time came." The numb stoicness in his deep voice seemed to give way slightly, allowing a tiny bit of that endless pain to show through. "He just laughed at me. Told me I was the dumbest kid he'd ever met. Here I was, being offered a good, steady job that would support a family and then some, and I was complaining. He wasn't my father after that. He was just... a monster. One that shared my blood."

"There was another gang that ruled up North. They had an on-going rivalry with my father. One day their leader, a guy that they called Scourge, challenged him to a one-on-one fight. My dad wouldn't refused." He voice was shaking so terribly, Scarlett had to resist the urge to tell him to stop, that it wasn't nessecary for him to torture himself this way. "He gutted him. Right in front of all of us. His men, my father's men... we all watched as his blood spilled from his body, as the light died from his eyes, as the last trace of disbelief on his face melted to fear, then to an almost peaceful expression..."

"Scaaaaaarleeeeett~~!" A voice suddenly sounded over the gentle lapping of the lake on the shore and the wind whistling through the grass. Both spun around, spotting Faith on top of the hill, waving to them enthusiastically with her silver hair billowing in the wind. Beside her was Craig, his hands in the pockets of his black jeans and a small, hardly visible smile on his face. Stan was on Faith's other side, looking relieved to see that the two were okay. And behind them all, peeking over Faith's shoulder, was Tam, who had the only stoic face on the bunch.

After several moments, Scarlett's face split into a grin and she raised her hand to wave. "Hey! What're you guys doing here?" Brian appeared disgruntled for a moment as Tam looked at him, obviously seeing the weakness on his face. So he turned away, staring at the lake as their four companions approached them across the grass. Faith wrapped her arms around Scarlett's neck and laughed. "We were so worried about you! You've been gone forever now! Stan was especially worried, weren't you?" She stuck her tongue out at her brother, who blushed and denied it quickly.

"You told them I'd be here." Brian spoke softly to Tam. Only Craig heard, since the others were bust crowding Scarlett. The tawny-haired young woman nodded after a long moment. He didn't speak for a moment longer, not quite sure whether to be happy his conversation with Scarlett had ended or disappointed. "What did you tell them?" He finally asked softly, noticing Craig's narrow blue gaze trained on them.

"The bare basics." She told him dismissively, waving her hand. "The hell, Brian, why're you being so defensive? The way you act, everyone knew something was up. You make it so obvious." As always, she found amusement in seeing the annoyance cross his face. "They were worried about you two. I wanted to go myself, but they wouldn't leave me alone." Her tone softened to something like fondness, her gaze traveling from one face to another. "They're not that much younger than us, are they? That's such a weird feeling..."

"Hey, guys?" Craig said suddenly, alerting the attention of the others. He squinted off into the distance, where a blurry black shape seemed to be approaching. "That's a big van. Why isn't it driving on the road, exactly? Hey... I think it's coming toward us..." The black-haired boy's gaze was soon followed by the others, who expressed their confusion as well. "I'm quite sure that's illegal..." "Who knows. We're in Texas, after all." "Stan, that's racist." "What? Since when did Texan become a race?"

"Brian, isn't that...?" Tam's startled voice was enough to shut up the bickering siblings. She stared at Brian, who appeared too shocked to say anything as the van approached steadily closer. "Brian! What do we do?" Her voice was becoming more urgent as a man leaned out the side of the van, holding something in his hands. Brian suddenly jolted, coming back to his senses. "Everybody, get down!" He called, just as the first shots rang out. All six dropped to their stomachs, the bullets grazing by them through the air.

"Brian!" Scarlett screamed, "What's happening?"

"It's the Shadow." Brian muttered as the van pulled up beside the tombstone, the screeching of the brakes assaulting his eardrumbs. Slowly, he stood up, his hands raised in surrender. "It's just me, guys. It really wasn't nessecary to shoot."

"Well, how the hell was I supposed to know it was you?" The man you'd been shooting out the side snorted, his rifle slung over his shoulder. He had black-striped gray hair that was slicked back over his head. On his leather vest was a little nametag that read, 'Hello, my name is Dennis.' It would have been harmless enough, had it not been splattered with long-since blackened blood. "What're you doin' with these kids? They got any juice on them?"

"No, Dennis." His voice was forcibly patient, though there was worry there too. "First of all, they're underage. Second of all, do any of them look like they could've gotten their hands on any sort of drugs? Honestly. None of them look like they just came from Mexico."

"Yeah, guess you're right about that. They're too pale. Would've baked in the sun." Dennis snorted, tapping the rifle. "Yo, what's that kid's name? The red-haired girl?"

Before Brian could respond, Scarlett sat up. "My name's Scarlett Thundera."

A slow, unholy grin spread its way over Dennis' cruel mouth. "Well, well! Isn't this exciting! Why didn't you tell me you got the daughter, Brian?"

"Um..." Before Brian could respond, two of the other men in the truck leapt out. Cursing under his breath, he met eyes with Tam, who gave him an equally despondant look.

"In the truck." One of the men muttered under his breath. He held a rifle similiar to Dennis', and he prodded it at Brian's back. "All of you."

"You can't take them!" Tam protested. "They're students!" She was quickly silenced by a whack in the head with the butt of the rifle.

"I'd quiet down if I was you, missy." Dennis cackled. "Where we're goin', age don't matter in the least bit."

So... characters introduced/mentioned:

Red- Redtail

Scourge- Scourge

Dennis- Darkstripe

Yep. Remember guys, the fanart contest is still going! Draw your favorite character, scene, whatever, and send it to me by email. I am ayla505 on .

Reviewers: Nightkill, an anonymous reviewer (GODDAMIT PEOPLE. BEN IS BLACKSTAR. DX), esthersim714, Sparkheart Of ThunderClan, Queen Of The Pens, winterthaw of thunderclan, tufted titmouse, BleedingDove, and Stargazer2000.

Thank you all so much for your support and reviews!

Review? X3 Please?