A/N: I know Chapter 23 was technically the final chapter. But I couldn't resist adding an Epilogue. :D

Two teenage boys brought their skateboards to a halt behind the corner of the ruins of a building. They peered behind the corner of the wall examining a pile of fallen concrete, steel slabs, glass, pipes and other signs of construction. The area was blocked off by yellow tape, with people dressed in blue zipping up various bodies in black bags. In other areas there were people dressed in yellow, hosing down the still smoldering wreckage.

One of the teenagers slipped off his backpack and pulled out a pair of binoculars. He brought them to his brown eyes and surveyed the area. He looked left, paused, then looked right. After a moment, he brought the binoculars down.

"All I can see from here are a bunch of broken building pieces, and people stuffed in body bags. But they're all zipped up and I can't see who's in what." He turned to his companion. The corners of his mouth were turned down, and the pupils of his eyes had shrunk. "You don't think…can Danny be in one of those bags, do you Chucho?"

Chucho unclipped the strap of his helmet and lifted it off, his spiked bleach hair exposed for all to see. He looked back at the fallen building. Honestly, he did not know how to answer such a question. It had been days since he and Chucho last spoke with Danny, and close to three weeks since they last saw each other in person. He knew he should've called before-make sure she was alright. Even if he couldn't do anything to rescue her from her poor excuse of a family, or save her from the "life" she was dragged into, there would have at least been some sense of comfort.

But like an idiot, he ignored his instincts and avoided contacting her, or just biting the bullet and visiting her in person. He couldn't bare to see her again after what happened that fateful night-when they were chased away. They were supposed to look after each other, and he failed to do that. And she suffered from unknown horrors because of his moment of cowardice. And to make it worse, she kept assuring him she was alright. But he knew better. He was just too much of a coward to say-or do-anything.

Before he left for school, he briefly heard about the explosion at the factory as his mother was watching the news. When he arrived at school and Danny was not there, the fear that was gnawing at him grew. It didn't take much to convince Andre to skip school to look at the damage. He had to make sure that she wasn't there-BOTH of them had to make sure she wasn't there. After all, it wasn't like the teachers or other people who worked there would care if they were in class or not, or if they were even alright. And it's not like their parents gave anymore of a crap than the schools did.

Seeing the damage…it only made his fears worse. True he couldn't see her body anywhere with all the rubble. And he dared not approach the body bags-too many people still surveying the damage and body count. The last thing he wanted was for the police to drag him and Andre to the police station for questioning. Or worse-inform their parents that they were skipping school. Again (even if they were only pretending to care for image purposes).

Still, he couldn't let his fear get the better of him, lest Andre do the same. And no news was good news-maybe Danny wasn't there when the warehouse collapsed, or managed to escape before its destruction. If so, maybe it meant she was finally free. And if she was free, maybe he and Andre could escape their own prison.

"I doubt it. Danny's a lot of things-mouthy, a dreamer, weird as all hell, and stubborn; too stubborn for her own good." He paused. "But she's also a fighter. And tougher than people give her credit for." He looked back at Andre. "We have to believe she's alive. For all our sakes."

"Yeah…you're right. She's gotta be alive. I'm not gonna give up hope that's she out there…somewhere." He paused. "But what can we do? Reporting her missing to the police won't work-they don't give a damn about people like us."

"Then we'll just have to take matters into our own hands," Chucho answered matter-of-factly. "Not like anyone else in this city can help us…or will." He snorted. "It's how it's always been for us: we look out for our own."

"You mean…search for her ourselves? But where would we know where to look? If she's alive, then she'd want to keep a low profile. Which means avoiding our usual hangouts."

"Then we think outside the box," Chucho answered. "First let's try…that place."

"You don't mean…his place, do you?" Andre went pale. "Look, that Keith guy may be dead. But going to his old place…that place brings back really bad memories. And besides, there might be cops all over."

"Andre, half the police force is already here." He gestured to the wreckage behind him. "What cop is gonna be at the apartment of a dead gangbanger?" He shook his head. "It's the best idea I got at the moment. Maybe we can find something-an idea where to search for her."

"I guess something's better than nothing." Andre paused once more. "But yeah…we'd better get out of here before some cops find us."

Andre set his skateboard back on the concrete before using his feet to push himself forward. Chucho reclipped his helmet strap back on, and set his own board down to follow. As he did, he looked back at the damage once more.

"Yeah…none of us can give up hope."

Chucho pulled out a photograph from inside his sweatshirt. He looked at it, running his finger along the faded image of himself, Andre, and Danny. A faded image of themselves from years ago at Chicago Peer. Each of them smiling while holding ice cream cones, with more of the ice cream on their faces than the actual cones. Just enjoying being young for a few moments. Pretending all was right with the world. Back when they could believe that they had their whole lives ahead of them, and they could enjoy being young. When things were more simple innocent.

He traced his index finger along Danny's image. He circled around her face and eyes as he stared intensely at the photograph.

I know you're out there somewhere, Danny. We'll find ya…and we'll escape this hell hole of a city and start a new life. All three of us.

Chucho slid the photograph back into his sweatshirt, then followed Andre away from the scene.

He failed to protect her once already-he was not going to do it again.

A/N: So while Chuco and Andre only made brief appearances in the beginning-and only had mentions later on-I felt it was important to address them. More will be covered in future fanfics. So please stay tuned!