Brady sat at a table in the cafe, silently drinking a cup green tea. After the startle from last night and a crazy dream she had had, it was the only thing that could calm her down. But... maybe it wasn't a dream? She felt like this so called dream could have easily been a reality- a memory from when she was a little girl. When Brady was old enough to understand, Trudy told her about her childhood. Her father was awful leader of an old tribe called the Locusts. Everyone called him Zoot, though Trudy always referred to him as Martin. After he passed, a group of people called the Chosen had developed a sick fascination with him... idolizing him like a religious God of some sort. They'd brainwashed Brady's mother into thinking that she was the 'Supreme Mother' and Brady herself as the 'Divine Child'.

"I let a couple of terrible things happen to you... I was so stupid back then..." A couple of tears began to spill down Trudy's cheek. "I was so far into things that when they'd tried to take you away from me, I realized how wrong this was. You've been in a lot of messes at such a young age... I'm sorry."

"Oh, Mum..." Brady said, wrapping her arms around Trudy. She hugged her, smiling a little bit at the corners of her mouth. "It's alright." Many a night, Trudy would weep on Brady's shoulder over past situations that were coming back to haunt her. By the end of Trudy's life, she was very much so a mess. It was Brady that was taking care of her most of the time. They'd been so close… after she died, she rarely went outside to see sunlight. She couldn't bear to be happy again.

The memory that stuck in her brain the most was seeing the face of the man Trudy had called 'The Guardian', just looking at her... staring. He had a cracked smile... the smile of a madman. From where Brady was laying, he just watched her, his eyes wide... and that smile...

Brady received a shiver up her spine as she heard foot steps coming from the stairs behind her. She looked over and saw Falcon's sister, River, barefoot and clad in a little woven night dress. The girl sat down across from Brady and smiled slightly her way. "Hi."

"Hey." Brady responded, taking another sip of her tea.

"I... I just wanted to thank you for helping out last night." River told her, avoiding Brady's eyes. River thought her terribly intimidating.

"It wasn't just me." Brady remarked, putting the cup onto the table. "The rest of the tribe helped out too."

"I know..." River trailed off for a moment, looking curiously around the cafe. "This place is huge... How long have you lived here?"

"All my life. Once, when I was young, we packed all of our belongings and had to leave on a boat for almost over two years. We came back again, thankfully. Things got better after that."

"What do you mean?" River asked, her attention now focused on Brady.

"Well, back then, the Techno's had ruled. Every time a tribe that tried to take over the city left, another would come right out of the blue to keep us on our toes. When we came back after two years, there were no more takeovers... so said my mother. Now, it's a little different..."

"My mother lived in this mall once. That's why I made Falcon come here in the first place. I thought you guys, of all people, would have had an antidote to the virus. I thought if it was something just affecting our tribe, the Mallrats would know what to do."

Brady raised an eyebrow. "Your mother?"

"Yeah... Her tribe name was Eclipse. Something happened in her past... she was forced to leave the city. Eventually she stumbled into the Eco camp and our people took her in. She didn't really speak of old times, though."

"Oh." Brady got back to her tea. She took another deep gulp, finding the situation quite awkward. She never really liked engaging conversation with people she didn't know. She wished the girl would just go on about her business instead of making small talk… "I'm sorry for your loss."

"Yeah, same." River replied. They both stopped talking for a moment, diverting their eyes from each others. River squirmed a bit in her seat, folding and unfolding her legs. She seemed antsy to Brady... like there was a question behind her lips. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"What's your name?"

"Brady." Again, she picked up the tea to take a sip. This was all getting entirely too awkward for Brady to stand. "Look, I better get going… I have things to attend to-"

"Goodness, that name sounds familiar…" River murmured to herself, trying to figure out where she had heard that name from. Her eyes then widened as she stumbled upon whom's lips uttered that name; their harsh, gnarled words screaming, asking them if they'd seen her. When they'd said no, the skeleton's burnt down their homes and killed one of their friends. "Y-your name is Brady."

Brady's brows knit in confusion. "Yeah..."

"You're in danger." River said, the tone of her voice hushed. Her wide eyes glanced around the cafe, hoping nobody would walk in during their conversation. "I was so frightened… I couldn't understand them… but thinking back I know what they were saying. It's as clear as a bell."

"What is it?" Brady asked, just wishing the girl would get on with what she had to say. "What kind of danger?"

"Those men, the ones who raided our camp, they'd been whispering a name... your name. I didn't exactly understand what they were saying at first... I was just trying to gather up my people. They burnt down the entire village, saying we knew where you were..."

Brady's heart started beating hard in her chest. "You're crazy... absolutely bonkers." She wouldn't believe a damn word this girl was saying. Obviously this was a trick...

"No, you have to believe me. They were looking for you, the men with the skeleton faces."

Brady stood up, knocking her chair backwards. She'd had nightmares about things like this happening- her past and her father coming back to haunt her. There were nights where she'd wake up, drenched in a cold sweat. The only thing she could do on nights like that was try to slow down her heart from jumping out her chest. Who was this girl to tell her such lies and play on her fears? "Get out."

"Brady-"

"GET. OUT."

"What's going on out here?" Amara and Bray walked up the stairs, having just been counting their rations in the basement. "Brady?" Bray asked, walking over to his cousin. He'd seen her in panic mode before, but nothing like this. She had deep depressions in her forehead, her eyes looking as though they were going to pop out of her head. Her face was beat red- almost purple. He placed his hand on her shoulder. "Calm down, what's the matter-"

"Don't touch me… none of you." Brady pushed Bray out of her way. "She's crazy. Nobody's looking for me." Brady stomped off and after a few moments slammed the door of her bedroom behind her.

Her body instantly collapsed, legs curled up against her chest as she rocked herself back and forth. Images began to flash forward; images that she had tried to erase from her memory. Things that happened in her very early childhood traumatized her, causing dreams which ended in feeling as though she were going to die before dawn. The man who was supposed to be her father… Zoot, staring down at her with his deadly eyes. The Guardian's wicked smile. Things that she shouldn't remember were all coming back to her, full throttle.

A knock at the door distracted her for the moment. "Brady, it's me... Bray."

"Go away. Just leave me alone." Brady screamed, almost at the top of her lungs. Tears were a relief to her hot cheeks. Noises, voices, loud cries and chanting... filling the air.

"But I'd like to help you."

"Just stop it, okay?" At this reply, Brady could hear Bray's footsteps walking away from the door. "Why won't these voices stop?" She covered her ears, crying, wishing that her mother was there to hold her.