"So Clary," he spoke smugly from behind her. "Let's talk."

She immediately went rigid. The fear of death that had loomed over her moments ago had returned full throttle. Had it ever really left?

"Jace," she forced a chipper grin upon her face and turned back to face the boy who currently had her trapped in his grip, a satisfied smirk upon his face. "How are you? Oh, did you think, no, you see I didn't leave, I was just out to repay the favor and hunt some food for breakfast when…"

She let out a sigh, taking in his rolling eyes and the background snickering of the two bratty siblings that had gotten her into this mess in the first place.

"Are you buying any of this or is there just no point in continuing?

"As interesting as it could be to hear how the hell you would talk yourself out of this, I'd rather not spend too long waiting for more lame brains to get a whiff of that blood."

Clary's eyes lit up, nodding her head quickly in agreement.

"True. Wouldn't want that. If you would just let me go, we could both be on our merry way before the next herd shows up." Her smile was sickeningly sweet while she attempted to free herself from Jace's grip. Clary frowned when he didn't release her.

"God, I wish we had some popcorn," muttered the elder girl to her brother. He nodded enthusiastically.

"I miss popcorn. And burgers. And nachos and—"

The girl cut him off with a gentle slap upon his head, turning their attention back to Clary and Jace. Jace pretended he was unaware of the commentary, instead keeping his gaze trained on her.

"Where's my stuff, Clary?"

She visibly flinched at the question, remembering the raw trust he had shown her when they had met and how she had betrayed him. She had stolen his stuff, only to have the stuff stolen from her and set up in a trap that he had saved her from.

She was so screwed.

Clary scanned the forest floor, examining routes of escape she could make. The pads of his fingers pressed into her bare forearm more firmly.

"Where is my stuff, Clary?" He repeated, more firmly this time. His eyes—dark and unwavering—connected with her own. She swallowed roughly.

"Gone," she breathed out. "The old bastards that trapped me and left me for dead took everything."

Jace's grip on her loosened just a fraction. He let out a breath, his eyebrows bunching together in fury. Clary swallowed, her eyes locking on the empty gun gripped tightly by his other hand. She had seen firsthand what he could do with that gun, even without the bullets. Her death surely would not be a pretty one.

She waited, bracing herself for impact, but Jace made no movement against her. He looked down, messy tendrils of hair obscuring his features. Finally, he looked up at her.

"What did they look like?"

Clary blinked, not expecting a response devoid of rage. Instead, he was nearly impossible to read, but his eyes betrayed an emotion that mirrored Clary's own. Fear.

"There were three of them. One woman, two men," she described lowly. "They…looked like old people. Wrinkles, grey hair, etcetera. I caught one guy's name—Hodge. He was more on the short, stocky side. The girl, there wasn't much anything distinctive about her. She looked like a nice grandma, but she was clearly the leader."

Clary noticed the siblings looking to one another in confusion at Jace's insistence. The girl with black hair that was shockingly and annoyingly devoid of tangles or twigs pursed her lips before adding, "They kept mentioning someone named Liam. They were saying things like 'remember what happened to Jem' and stuff. They stole our group's supplies too. After that, well, we couldn't find our group or our brother Alec."

Jace's expression tightened, seeming to visibly pale. Clary raised an eyebrow at the reaction, but didn't get a chance to say anything before his gaze was once again on her.

"Sorry about this," he breathed, inches away from her face. "But I've got to make sure you don't run off again before we get a chance to catch up."

Before she could question him, she was spun around and there was a tight pressure around her wrists. Rope, she realized. Her heartbeat quickened and realization set in. She had escaped one trap only to end up in another. She wasn't sure which was worse.

"We have to move quickly," Jace said to the three of them. "We have to get as far away from here as we can."

The siblings nodded agreeably, the boy saluting him playfully. With a smirk, Jace leaned down to be level with Clary's ear. His breath was warm on her neck as he whispered, "I told you I'd find you."


Hours later, they had set up camp and felt it safe to rest for the night. Still bound, Clary was seated beside the warm glow of the campfire, glaring at the embers when she heard the familiar approaching footsteps of the current bane of her existence.

"You want something to eat?" He asked her. She kept her gaze on the fire, not daring to look at him.

"Who are we running from?"

She heard his breath falter above her. She smirked at the reaction, finally looking at him to see the brief flicker of surprise on his face.

"You know, Jace, I've realized that during our party the other night, we didn't really get to go into your dark past."

"Who says I've got one?" He challenged, lowering himself to sit across from her. She snorted, rolling her eyes.

"This is the apocalypse. Everyone's got one," she spoke matter of factly. "Besides, if you didn't, you wouldn't be so scared by whoever you think is coming after us. And, since you've so rudely involved me in your drama by tying me up, I have a right to know what it is we're running from."

He pursed his lips, taking in her biting retort silently.

"We're fine," he responded finally. "We're in no more danger than the normal amount."

Figuring she wasn't going to get anymore out of him, Clary sighed impatiently.

"Fine, then answer a different question for me. Why'd you care so much to hunt down and save some random girl who stole from you?" The question had been nagging her painfully. "Most survivors would have killed me, you know."

Instead of responding, Jace merely rose an eyebrow.

"Did you want me to?"

Clary didn't respond. She kept her expression neutral, impassive as her time around so much horror had trained her to.

"You reminded me of someone I used to know," he responded, breaking their silence. "That's why I came after you. I chose to save you, I chose not to kill you because that would be letting them win. We may be in an apocalypse, but I'm going to survive by still being me and doing what's right. Otherwise, what's the point in surviving?"

Clary's expression widened, startled by his answer and the honesty in his gaze that was locked on her own.

"Who was it?" She asked eventually, feeling almost embarrassed. At his look of confusion, she continued, "Who was it that you said I reminded you of?"

He chuckled lowly without humor before replying, "She didn't steal from me, if that's what you were wondering. Only you were ballsy enough to try that. She was the most human girl I had ever met, so much so that she thought she was too far gone."

He paused, looking up at her with an intensity she found herself both drawn to and terrified by.

"But she wasn't," he concluded. Clary bit her lip.

"What happened to her?"

His expression darkened.

"What happens to everybody."

Clary knew the pain enough to not ask anymore prying questions about the girl Jace had once known. She had her own individual graveyard of ghosts that haunted her. Everyone did.

"Why did you leave, Clary?" He asked suddenly, interrupting the silence she had grown so accustomed to. She bit her lip, surprised at the familiar gnawing within her that she recognized as guilt. She didn't answer him, she couldn't. Mentally, she asked, Why did you want me to stay? but she didn't dare say the question aloud. She wasn't sure if she wanted to hear the answer.

"Fine, then," he sighed and Clary couldn't help but frown at hearing the disappointment in his voice. "Different question, then."

"Oh goody," she remarked dryly. He ignored her, instead running his palms absentmindedly along the smooth base of Mr. Pointy and asked, "When did you realize that things would never get better? That there was no going back?"

Clary clenched her jaw, looking up at him coldly. Sensing her hesitation, he held up her beloved stake. "Just answer the question and I'll cut you loose."

Clary perked up at the offer, but still couldn't hold back her suspicion.

"Why is it so important to you?" She questioned instead.

He only rose an eyebrow. "Do you want to be cut free or not?"

Sighing, Clary bit back the insults that rested on her lips and instead forced her emotions back as the memories forced their way to the surface and words began to tumble from her lips. "During the first group I ever stayed with. Some—some idiot brought someone bitten into the camp. Lied about it, thinking they were protecting everyone, that the rumors were a hoax, and that they would be fine."

Clary paused, leveling her gaze with Jace's.

"They turned overnight. Had a big ol' feast on the entire family that had so graciously let them stay, including three little girls. They couldn't have been older than ten. In the end, it wasn't the zombie to blame for their deaths. It was the girl who was too weak to understand the reality of the new world that really killed them. She didn't deserve to be the one who lived."

Jace paused, taking in the story as the weight of it settled upon him. He looked at her in surprise.

"You still want to let me out of these restraints?" She spoke coldly, challenging him, wanting him to see what she really was. Why she couldn't have stayed with him. Because he was pure; good. She was a monster with a pulse that refused to quit. Jace walked toward her so deadly silent that she wondered if she had finally pushed him far enough, but the stake didn't touch her. Instead, the pressure around her wrists went slack. She brought her hands forward slowly, Jace still kneeling down before her, as realization sunk in. She was free. She could leave. But—

"You don't have to go, Clary," he spoke earnestly, surprising her. "You can stay. You may think that you're benefitting everyone by being alone, but you're not too far gone."

She shook her head slowly, backing away from him.

"You don't want me here, Jace. I'm not—I'm not you or that girl or whoever you want me to be so that you can prove that I'm still a good person and earn a boy scout badge," she argued, bringing her arms up to her chest.

"Fine, you don't want to stay, then fine. I can't force you to see what I can see," he ground out. "But…just stay for a little while. We were planning on sneaking into the city to get to the mall for new supplies. We'll need all the fighters we've got and we've already proven we make a good team. And, as the one who stole my supplies in the first place, you owe me."

"That's a suicide mission." Clary shook her head. "The city is crawling with zombies. You won't make it five blocks, let alone the mall."

"I've done it before," he grinned back cockily. "Plus, that means other people haven't been able to get to it and there will be virtually unlooted supplies there. How far do you think you're going to get with only a stake and no cooking skills?"

Clary bit her lip, remembering how scarce the berries had been getting lately. She was running low on options. Yet, the sound of laughter from one of the tents drew her back to reality.

"There's a reason you don't see kids anymore," she murmured, keeping her voice low so only Jace could hear her. "They don't last. They're too weak, too loud. Just being around one is putting us in danger."

Jace scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Well, if that's the case, I sure am glad you'll be there to protect me."

At that, he turned his back on her and began to walk towards his tent. She stared openmouthed at his retreating form until rage took hold of her.

"I didn't say yes!" She called out to him stubbornly. He paused, looking back at her with a smug grin in place. "Clary, I've seen you survive falling into a pit of hungry lame brains. I find it hard to believe that someone who is so good at surviving wouldn't be able to get out of a little rope. Trust me, you decided."

She paused, letting his words sink in before clenching her jaw. Jace, watching her reaction with amusement, continued, "Besides, you just can't resist the chance at spending more time with me."

She let out a snort. "In your dreams."

He gave her a once over, looking her up and down infuriatingly slowly. "Oh trust me," he spoke with a smirk. "You will be."

Before Clary could scream in protest, he added, "My offer from before still stands. My tent is always open if you want to join me."

"Goodnight asshole," she bit out, refusing to give him the satisfaction of a retort.

"Sleep well," he returned, still grinning.

"We'll probably be dead by morning," they both finished.


After he disappeared behind the flap of his tent Clary remained. She clutched her knees to her chest and stared at the dying glow of the fire as her mind flipped through various scenarios of fight or flight, before eventually venturing into her own tent.

Only, she wasn't alone.

Her grip on Mr. Pointy tightened in her hand as she stared at the huddled mass in the corner before raising her stake, flipping over the body, and—

"What the hell, Max!" She shouted in a whisper at the young boy who had wandered into her tent. He stared up her with wide, vulnerable brown eyes. With a huff, Clary dropped the stake and ran a hand through her hair.

"What are you doing in here?" She questioned, looking down at the small boy expectantly.

"I had a nightmare and Isabelle is impossible to wake up. I was wondering if you could help me get to sleep," he explained innocently.

Clary frowned at the request. The boy was young, no older than ten with scrawny arms and wide, trusting eyes that didn't seem to fit into the new world they lived in. He looked fast and he was small, so he would be harder to catch, but with his lack of strength and broken glasses knocked askew, he would likely probably only last—

Clary stopped herself. No, she wouldn't calculate his survival rate. Not this time. This time…

Clary hesitated, looking down at the boy.

"Why me? I thought Jace was the nice one."

He wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"I've heard the comments he's made to you about his tent. Personally, I'd rather not be in there at night." Max shuddered, looking thoroughly grossed out, before once again looking up at Clary. "Doesn't he know you have cooties? Or worse, what if he already caught them? I can't take the risk!"

Clary let out a laugh for the first time in…well, she didn't really know how long. With a small smile on her face, she lowered herself to the soft earth and grinned at the boy.

"You're a smart kid," she remarked. He beamed proudly at her.

"Can you tell me a story?" He asked.

She frowned, pursing her lips. "What, like Cinderella?"

He stuck his tongue out, making fake gagging noises. She rolled her eyes.

"Clary, come on. Seriously. That's a girl's story. I'm a boy," he spoke, as if it should have been totally obvious.

Well then.

"Fine," she held her hands up in surrender, looking back at him as an idea formed in her head. "How…how would you like to hear a story about the time my brother, Jonathan, and I ended up convincing our entire school that he was a french exchange student named Sebastian?"

A wide, toothy grin appeared on the boy's face as he nodded quickly. Clary smiled, ruffling the Max's messy brown hair.

"Once upon a time, there was an idiot brother…"


When Clary walked out of her tent the next morning all eyes were on her.

"You stayed," Isabelle breathed, a knowing smirk upon her face. Clary shrugged, finding herself uncomfortable under the stares of the group.

"Yeah, well, it's only temporary. Just until we get supplies, then I'm out."

Jace, whose gaze hadn't left hers, shot her a smug grin.

"We'll see."


Yay, a less depressing chapter! So, at least at the present moment we've finally got our dearest Clary within a group and the next chapter we'll get to see them picking up again in plot development and action. And also, lots of Jace and Clary banter because that is just so fun to write. There are a lot of great Clace scenes in the next chapter actually. And a lot of you guys have been reviewing wanting to know more about Jace's backstory. All I can say is, soon. It won't be like Clary where we get it all immediately in flashbacks, but it'll definitely be worth the wait.

And, that being said, I'm almost finished with Chapter 13 of about 16 chapters, so be sure to review to get them as soon as possible and tell me what you think! Thanks for reading!

-Anika