They made their home in a "fortress" under the trees. Optimal coverage from incoming angel meteors, shelters could blend into the scenery, people could develop their own tunnels in and out, and they had the area warded as much as possible.

It was one of their most heavily fortified "towns," and Kevin and Bobby were one of maybe seven soldiers. The town held 84 people total.

Everybody knew what to do, but very few had ever done it before. Most of these people had survived off luck and running. There were some from Roadhouse that made there way here, and some that just wandered in and out. Nobody else from Roadhouse saw the same figure Jo did, though.

Either that or they just weren't talking about it.

So Kevin just had to hope that Kai found his note before any angels did.

He didn't have to wait long, though. Only a week and a half.

He was awoken in the middle of the night by a hand over his mouth. His eyes opened automatically, and he saw…

Her. In that same cloak that Jo had described. It was grey, like the rest of the landscape around them. And it was definitely warded on the inside.

She stared at him, her face like stone. She shook her head once, firmly, lifting a finger to her lips. The message was clear. Silence. Kevin nodded in agreement, and Kai moved her hand.

"Follow." She ordered quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. She moved off of him without a noise. Kevin sat up slowly in turn, looking around the room. Bobby shared this space with him, and was cuddling his favorite gun. The man was still snoring, though. He was still asleep.

She moved silently out of the room. Kevin offered Bobby one last glance before following her. She wove her way through the town, reaching its outskirts quickly. She didn't say another word until the town was far behind them.

What she did say, though, shocked Kevin.

She whirled around like a storm, anger seething through her. "You left words." She hissed, her hands fidgeting as she spoke.

"Yeah." Kevin agreed. There was no way around that. He'd left words. He'd left a note.

"Angels could have found it first."

"I know."

"You are a foolish prophet." She determined, staring at him angrily. Kevin couldn't help it at that point, though. He smiled.

Kai didn't really receive the smile well. She shoved him, her anger mounting. "Why?!" She asked, her voice a shouting whisper. "Why does this bring you happiness?!" The fidgeting in her hands had extended into her arms, becoming more pronounced as she grew angrier.

"Because you came back." He replied, still smiling. It had worked. It had actually worked. "You came back for us." She took a few steps back, looking stubborn.

"Duty." She stated.

"Duty?"

"I…" Her fingers twitched. "I came back for duty." Her voice was quieter, but tightly wound. It was as controlled as the rest of her was now.

"You were at Roadhouse." Kevin stated. She nodded.

"Angels." She explained. "I had to… too… protect people. I had to make the angels exit. Retreat. Disappear. Leave." Kevin nodded in understanding.

"You saved them." He summed up. She shook her head.

"Not enough." She argued. "I… I brought them."

"What do you mean?"

"I was making lies." She tried. "About you. Angels know I'm looking for prophets. The didn't know you weren't there. They didn't know I found you."

Kevin took a moment to try and piece together her words. "You were protecting us." He summed up first. She nodded. "You were lying to the angels." Another nod. "You made them think I was at Roadhouse." Another nod, sadder.

"I did not know they would hurt it." She admitted. "Roadhouse was strong. I thought it would be good."

"And then you saved the people there." Kevin summed up. She looked down.

"Not enough." She repeated. She sat down, and after a few moments Kevin sat next to her.

"Why are you here?" Kevin finally asked. "You could've left. You could've run."

"I did run."

"I meant away from here." Kevin clarified. "You could've left me here. You could've not come." She looked down a little. Kevin watched her stare at her hands, and saw a distinctive movement. Her right hand came up to her chin, jerking away suddenly before landing hard in front of her left shoulder. Her thumb and index finger were extended, but the rest of her hand was in a tight fist.

"Guilty." She muttered, looking back up at him. When she saw his gaze on her hands, she jerked it down quickly. "I was guilty. Angels hate me. Angels want me to… leave. Disappear. Gone forever." She said. "Angels want me. Angels saw you because of that. I… I am guilty."

"The angels are chasing you." Kevin tried. She nodded. "They want to kill you. You think you led them to me and Bobby."

"I know." She interrupted. Kevin sat on that for a while, letting the information sift through his brain. There was one more question he still had.

"Why are you telling me all of this?" He asked. The last time he'd asked her questions, she hadn't wanted to answer. This time, she answered without hesitation; she willingly was offering information as best as she could.

She thought hard for a few moments, trying to find the right words. Her hands made sideways peace signs, and she moved them in parallel circles around each other. "Care." She said, lowering her hands. "I care."

Before she could say anymore, a confident voice crowed out from behind them. "I knew it!" They both turned, Kai standing automatically in between the person and Kevin. He could see her blades out and prepared.

He could also see the person they were looking at.

"Wait!" Kevin said quickly, putting a hand on her arm. She flinched away automatically. "Kai, this is Jo Harvelle." As Kevin said her name, Jo took a few slow steps forwards. She hadn't expected blades to be pointed at her.

"Jo Harvelle." Kai repeated. Jo nodded.

"You saved my life back at Roadhouse." Jo told her. "I saw you. I knew you were real."

"Roadhouse. Jo Harvelle." Kai thought for a few moments before lowering her blades. "Not an angel."

"Not an angel." Jo nodded in confirmation. Kai put her blades away, stashing them back under her sleeves.

"You followed." Kai said. Jo shook her head.

"No, I was just wandering around. I couldn't sleep." She said. "I heard you guys talking and followed the sound. What are you doing out here?"

"Talking." Kai stated. The word sounded obvious from her.

"She had information to tell us." Kevin explained. "It's alright, Jo. We'll start heading back in a little bit. You go on ahead, and we'll meet you."

"No." Both women said at the same time. Kevin looked at the both of them in surprise. Jo just looked confused at Kai.

"No?" Jo asked. Kai nodded.

"Kai, it's alright. You don't have to be alone." Kevin told her. "You're safe here. You know a lot. You can tell the others, we can do something to protect people better." Kai just shook her head again.

"No." She repeated.

"Why not?"

"I need to return." Kai said. "I came for a… two reasons." Kevin's mind was spinning. Guilt was the first reason. What was the second? Caring?

"Look, just stay with us for a day." Jo offered. "You're thin. You've been travelling a lot. Just rest, then you can leave." Kai shook her head again.

"No." She repeated, looking at Jo. "You were at Roadhouse?" She asked. Jo nodded one more time. Kevin could see something change in Kai's stance.

"I am sorry." Kai promised. "Tell no one."

"What do you mean?" Jo asked, advancing towards them quickly. Kai reached back, gripping Kevin's arm tightly.

"Kai?" Kevin asked. He could see her other arm moving towards her neck.

"No!" Jo shouted, jumping for them. Her hands met Kai's arm at the same time as they… they…

Kevin felt like the world warped around them for a moment, bending and twisting until in an instant it had reshaped. The three of them fell backwards, landing hard on solid stone.

Solid stone?

Kevin scrambled up and away quickly, looking around. The forest was gone. Instead they were in… Hell, he didn't even know. He knew he it wasn't well lit. He knew that he couldn't see the sky, or any trees. He knew it looked like rock or stone.

"What the hell?" Jo asked, her voice echoing in the area. Kai jumped at the noise, pressing a hand to both Kevin and Jo's mouths.

"Shhhhhh." She whispered. Jo moved her hand away.

"Where in the hell did yo-" she didn't finish her sentence. Kai clapped a hand on her mouth again, and another behind her head.

"Shhhh." She repeated, looking angrily at Jo. "Silence." She didn't move her hands until Jo nodded. After that, Kai looked over at Kevin. He nodded once. He knew the drill.

Kai walked away from the both of them, towards a… was that a drum? Yeah, it was a drum. Kai picked up a stick next to it, and hit the drum in a pattern. Ten whacks in total. She set the stick back down gently after that.

Kevin and Jo shared a glance. Neither of them understood what was going on. They just knew they would have to wait.

They didn't have to wait long though until another figure appeared. It was a man. He wasn't really that tall, and had a grey and white curly beard that matched his grey and white curly hair. He also wore a grey cloak, similar to Kai's.

He stopped when he saw Kevin and Jo, looking from them to Kai. She made some motions that they couldn't see, but whatever they were they made sense to the other man.

He looked back at Kevin and Jo, a concerned look in his eyes. "Ah crap." He said.