This chapter is Reader PoV

'Good morning sis'! How is it going in the hideout? Found a common ground?'

I snort at her last sentence. I don't even need to look up to know how things are going. The hubbub tells me everything.

'Guess what? They all agreed on a solution but still fight about it. It looks like Christmas at your ex's household. Everybody's on the same political side but frictions remain in the discussion.'

I send the message and put my phone back in my pocket, watching them having the same stupid argument for more than an hour now. I tried to appease them but nothing worked, so I decided to step back and hope they'll finally realize they're on the same page.

After a bit of discussion, we commonly decided that the Harvesters needed to be stopped, by every means necessary. Even my dad and I, who believe in peaceful conflict resolution, chose that we couldn't afford to be pacifists against them. From there, things should have progressed to establishing a plan of action to put the gang down.
But instead, Revenant, Loba, Jamie, Sid, and Roy are all arguing about 'how roughly the Harvesters needed to be punished'. It all started with Caleb, saying that he'll torture their leader to make him pay for his suffering. Then Sid interrupted him, trying to temper his words, saying that not all the Harvesters meant to hunt him down and they're still humans with friends and families. Then, everybody came up with their own point of view. Even one of the mercenaries stepped in and sided with Revenant, getting a death glare from my father.

My phone vibrates in my pocket, telling me that Myriam has answered.

'For real? What are they? Kids? Why aren't you stopping them? Things will never get better if they keep acting like this!'

She is right.

'Already tried. Failed. I'm in a corner of the room now. All of this is a bit too... overwhelming for me. I can't do much more. Sad you couldn't come by.'

I send the message and keep my phone in my hands this time. I know she will reply soon. I watch them again. They've all forgotten that I exist. Good. I wasn't feeling so well being in the eye of the storm.

"The Demonio is right! They are not deserving to be spared! We should make them slowly bleed out for threatening us as they did !"

'The Demonio is right'? Might be the first time I hear Loba agreeing with her nemesis. Common enemies can do miracles in fixing bad relationships, I guess. She is even standing next to him, trying to support his arguments. And him...
As I look at my lover, I notice how uneasy he moves. Something is bothering him grandly. Is that Loba's presence? The fact that people are against his revenge wish? Or something else? I should ask him how he feels afterward.

My phone vibrates again, but instead of a message, Myriam is trying to make a face call. Wasn't she at work? I answer promptly and see her very annoyed face with the outside walls of her company behind her. Before I could say anything, she grumbles with her cigarette in her mouth:

"I can't believe you're making me do that. Sis', put the volume to the max."

I do as she says and make the screen face everyone. Then, she pulls up a airhorn. Understanding what is going to happen, I try my best to cover my ears with the only free hand I have.
The sound pierces my drums and I get a residual whistling for a few seconds.

"Now that I got your attention, you better not interrupt me. I left my work for this so you better not waste my time."

I know her well and this is another part of her personality, the one Sid and I call 'Sergeant Mym'. As funny as it sounds, you don't want to face Sergeant Mym.

"What are you fighting over? She told me you find a solution so why aren't you all working on it? Do you think that discussing and daydreaming will prevent them from finding you? Stop acting like edgy pre-teens and move on before THEY move to you !"

Everyone stays silent, looking at each other, trying to see if anyone will speak up. But nothing happens and Myriam continues:

"My sister will text me every so often, keeping me informed on how things are evolving. I swear if she tells me ONCE that you're fighting again for stupid details, I'm leaving my office to kick your asses. Clear?"

No one answer. Not even a nod. They probably would like to resume their little guerilla but don't want to hear her yell anymore, so they remain quiet. Myriam hangs up without a goodbye and everyone starts moving again.

Dad sighs heavily before saying:

"She was right on one thing, the Harvesters won't wait for us to sort out our dispute. We need to make our plan now. We'll talk about the 'torture and punishment' once we have something to work with. I propose that we analyze everything we have about them to find the best approach. Loba, you were in direct contact with them and even entered their base twice. Tell us everything."

All eyes turn to the lone wolf while she recalls all her memories.

"The first time I got to their base, I was blindfolded and transported there by my contact, so I couldn't locate the place. The second time, he didn't put the blindfold but I was so stressed out by the latest events that I didn't pay attention to the route."

Revenant scoffs:

"From you, that ain't a surprise."

I come by his side and take his hand, trying to be supportive but also to keep him calm. Loba gives him an angry glare but doesn't say anything once she sees me approaching.

"Whatever. I know where I got picked up and I know how the front door looks. You should use my phone to retrieve all pieces of information I got from my contacts. The one that made me enter or the one that helped me hunt down Revenant."

The two nerds step in, Jamie talks first:

"Good idea. Soan and the other one may not have well-protected cellphones as they are not one of the Harvesters' hackers. Maybe we could use Loba's phone to identify their devices and crack them up. What do you think, Sid?"

My brother joins him on that idea:

"Indeed. And if we manage to enter their phone data, we could try to find a way up the gang's system. Of course, we will not attack them and risk to be find out but we could, at least, scan their databases and find one or two useful files."

Dad nods at them:

"Great. You two work on that. I will recon with my team around every known location used by the H's and question the other gangs. Maybe we can grab some nice info about the Harvester's address or defenses. Meanwhile, the three of you will start thinking of a plan to get in and reach their boss."

By 'the three of you' he meant Revenant, Loba, and me. This means that I will have to babysit them and make sure they do their homework instead of fighting each other. I am not comfortable with this idea, but I can't let them alone. I can't let him alone.

And Roy has made his choice, so I'm stuck anyway.

Everyone bustles on with their tasks. Dad and his friends put on their casual clothing to blend in the street and hide all their weapons in secret pockets, just in case. Jamie and Sid took Loba's phone and plugged it into Jamie's computer to merge her information with his.

I turn around to see that Loba and Revenant are already sitting on the sofa but they are not looking at each other. They are not talking either. And they are sitting on the very edges of the furniture, taking as much distance as they can from the other's presence. They are trying their best but things won't be easy.

I walk to the sofa too and sit in between them, taking my role of conciliator very seriously. They both give me a quick glance before looking at the ceiling again. The only difference between them is that Rev' grabbed my hand firmly and fidgets with my fingers. He is highly agitated and it's starting to worry me. I put my other hand on his to catch his attention:

His hand clutches as I ask him:

"Do you want to have a break before we start?"

One of his legs is lightly shaking and he struggles to keep eye contact with me.

"No, I'm fine. Let's just get this done."

His answer gets me even more concerned but I can't force him to talk if he is not feeling like it. I just hope it isn't too serious.
I lay back on the couch but keep my hand in his, caressing the back of it gently in hope that it will appease him. Loba, on the other side, seems to have relaxed and she is now looking at him. She seems as troubled as me about his state.

Staring at him won't make us progress, we need to get started.

"So, I heard you were both for punishing the Harvesters severely. At least, we won't have to argue about that. Our goal is to find ideas to get inside and reach their leader before things turn horrible. And we will have to make that plan flexible so it can adapt to any new information we get about their HQ. Any idea?"

Loba, after a bit of reflection, speaks up:

"I may not remember the path to their hideout but I know how it looks inside."

"That's a great start. Please, tell more."

"Oh, darling, the place is one of the worst mazes I've ever entered. I remember some turns and stairs we must take but the odds that I get lost mid-way are high."

My expectations suddenly dropped and I feel like we're back at zero but the latina wasn't done yet:

"However, I've kept in mind all the weak spots and important rooms I've seen while walking to his office. For example, I've noticed two emergency exits and there may be more. Which means we got other potential entrances that we can use and that are closer to our objective."

This is promising. I take note of every detail on my phone. The exits. A cracked wall that may lead to the street. The vents and even a sky window on the top floor. All of those could be great entrances for the mercenaries or a perfect escape point in case of danger.

"Ok. Those are great but you didn't talk about the leader's room. How is it?"

"Kindda basic. Big desk in the center with a huge chair. Some fancy knick-knacks on the shelves and a lot of weapons displayed a bit everywhere. A balcony. Four guards, two trained dogs..."

"Wait, you said a balcony?"

"Yeah, their HQ is big and they even got the luxury of having a courtyard in the center. That's where the balcony is."

"That could be a great landing spot for the crew! Do you know if there are turrets or snipers on the roof?"

"I'm not sure. Every time I visited him, it was already dark outside. But I do believe that they have some defenses up there."

I'm sending a message to my father, telling him to do a quick fly over the H's base as soon as they find it. Taking pictures of their roof could be a real game changer for us.

"Ok. But how do we enter? And how do we leave safely?"

Caleb, who was oddly silent during the whole conversation, faintly replies:

"There are only two ways to do it. Either we try to sneak up inside, or we explode their walls and make our way into their blood. Choose how you want to do it."

"Forcing our way in, ISN'T an option here. We got to play it smart. Guess that's too much for your little bot brain."

Here we go again. They held it longer than expected but they had to fight at some point. I intervene before he can reply:

"Loba, please, don't be rude. He was just saying that there are not a lot of options to choose from. You're right, we can't simply open their door and start shooting. But I don't think we will be able to sneak in all along the way without getting spotted. We need to find a trick. A shortcut. A disguise. Anything to either go faster or to stay under the radars."

She huffs out her frustration, takes a deep breath, and replies:

"Disguising sounds good. We could steal someone's identity and pretend to be them."

"Easy for you, impossible for me." Croons Revenant.

"Right... we need to find a solution for you. What about you go stealth, we disguise and we meet in front of their boss' room? You're supposed to be good at that."

"I prefer that idea. But we don't have any clue about what the interior looks like and how many conduits, shortcuts, and hiding spots I could use. You told it earlier, the place is a maze."

The three of us continue discussing the way we could enter, mixing discretion and violence a lot and unable to find a balance. Worst of all, every time we find a workable plan, the boys or my father give us new pieces of information that break everything we've built yet, scraping it to zero.

The hardest point is to find a plan that could get Revenant in without raising suspicion. We all know that he is one of the best when it comes to sneaking up and killing but our enemies aren't any lambda people and their place isn't any regular facility. We're talking about the Harvesters. They know people are searching for them all the time. They are organized, and they have all sorts of equipment meant for simulacrum hunting. Revenant can't creep up on them without perfect knowledge of their HQ. And we definitely don't know enough.

Everyone turns quiet when Loba's phone starts ringing. On the screen, four letters spell a name she didn't want to hear about: SOAN. The woman tells us to stay silent while she answers and finally picks up the call and turns on the speakers for everyone to listen.

"Greetings, Miss Andrade. I've received your last message, saying that you've almost got caught by our targets. I'm glad to know you've escaped but there is no reason to ignore me."

She does a quick check on her device and notices that she's missed three messages from him. He probably sent them while the boys were working on the phone.

"Phone ran out of battery shortly after I messaged you. I just discovered you've tried to contact me. Sorry if you got worried."

"Worried? No, no, no. You are worried. WE are getting impatient, Loba. We gave you money, tools, and protection so you could find him in no time. Instead, you've been avoiding us while having some good time with your girlfriend."

Loba restrains a gasp but her eyes are stained with anxiety:

"My gir... wait, were you following me?"

"That was a very expensive restaurant, isn't it? I hope you didn't use the cash we provided you because that will be added up to your debt. For that woman you were dining with..."

"No, please! Leave her alone! I... She... She was helping me! We met at that restaurant because she had information about Revenant!"

Her voice, almost screaming, sounded desperate. I would too if those threats were about Caleb.

"We had enough of your lies, Miss Andrade. Her death will be our last warning before we get to you."

"I'm not lying! She was helping me! It's thanks to her that I found him back! I failed to catch him this time but I swear, I'm about to bring him to you! Please, don't do anything to her! I'll bring you that damn sim very soon! I promise !"

Everything goes quiet again, only interrupted by the young woman's sobs. Soan is not answering but we can hear some muffled voices. He must be consulting his superiors. After a few very long seconds; the sim hunter replies:

"You have until six in the evening of Friday to bring him to us. Once past the deadline, if none of us sees you with the bot..."

He hangs up, letting us only imagine the end of that threat. Loba falls on her knees in tears, unable to hold her stress anymore. I sign everyone else to keep it silent while I bring her phone back to the hackers and rush back to her side, trying to comfort her in a hug.
I give a quick glance to my love, hoping he is not jealous for me to take care of someone else, but I don't see him on the sofa. I turn my head and catch him in a corner of the room, bumping his head against the wall.

Something ain't right. He can't pretend he's fine anymore.

Sid comes by and hands me the phone:

"It's clear. No GPS tracker or shady program got installed during the call."

What a relief. Jamie quickly rejoins his friend, and takes over the role of emotional support, leaving me free to check on Rev'. As I approach him, I sign my brother to stay close in case I need help.

"Caleb?"

He doesn't answer.

"Caleb, honey?"

No answer. Sid must have noticed something I didn't because he's preparing his EMP device. I don't like this.

"Caleb. You are not doing well. Please, let us help."

I am now a couple centimeters away from him. His fans are going crazy and I can hear his processor struggling. I can't see his face but the wall is now slightly cracking up where his skull hits. How long has he been doing this?

Since he is not responding to my voice, I try to make contact with him by grabbing his shoulder.

Something hits me just above my temple and throws me away, making my head knock harshly on the floor. As I lose consciousness, my ears catch a highly distorted scream followed by a buzzing noise.

Then, everything goes dark.

I wake up on the only bed of the hideout, and open my eyes to the blinding white of the ceiling light and close them back, then slowly open them again to adjust my vision. My body feels numb but my head hurts. I put my finger on my forehead and feel a soft tissue that wasn't there before. Is that a bandage? What happened?

"Roy, she woke up."

Suddenly, four silhouettes appear above me. I recognize my father, my brother, and my sister... and there is that man who is one of the mercenaries. He is wearing medical gloves and a face mask.

"How are you feeling, sweetheart?"

"Same as when Myriam sent me her soccer ball in the face."

They all laugh at the old memory but they quickly lose their smiles as I ask:

"What happened? Where is Caleb?"

I try to sit up but the medic pushes me back on the bed, saying that he needs to change my bandage. I watch my relatives sharing anxious looks as they try to decide who's gonna break the news.

"Sid, you were with me. What happened?"

He pinches his lips together and finally gives me an answer:

"Do you remember when you approached Revenant from behind?"

"Yes. He wasn't feeling well and we were trying to talk to him. What happened next?"

"Well... he... punched you in the face and pushed you away. You've got some bad injuries to the head and you can thank that man for saving you from a head trauma."

I look at the medic and give a grateful smile, then turn back to my brother:

"Next?"

"I used my EMP to neutralize him and we were trying to figure out what goes into his mind with Jamie before you woke up."

What goes into his... wait.

"Are you saying that you've introduced yourself in his head?"

"Weird way to say it but yeah."

I'm feeling pissed about it but I can't blame them. From what he said, Rev' was going into a frenzy and he could have done so much worse if nobody had stopped him.

"Found anything yet? Do you think he got hacked?"

Jamie steps in:

"No, there are no signs of hacks or corruption. But we found out that Hammond built him with a whole pack of programs."

"I mean, of course he has programs installed. His source code isn't enough to support the life simulation functions."

"We're talking about other programs. Some that are meant to control his behavior or change his perception. Programs meant to make him the killing machine they wanted."

I freeze. I've already talked about this possibility with Sid because he was scared for me. I told him not to worry but deep down, I knew he wasn't wrong.

"So... he attacked us because one of his programs told him to?"

Sid, who must have felt my trouble, takes my hand and smiles as he says:

"Don't worry sis'. It wasn't him and you know it. We found one program that was more active than the others and we think it might be the culprit. You saw it yourself, he wasn't doing well when he first met up with Loba and it got worse and worse over time. I think he was fighting his system to not injure any of us, and for this I'm grateful to him because it gave me time to react and avoid more damage."

His words reassure me but I feel guilty for not calling out earlier. Maybe all of this could have been averted if I had pushed Caleb to talk instead of keeping my doubts to myself.
The medic is done with my bandages and asks me to sit up. I follow his instructions and am soon authorized to stand up and move freely.

Once my feet touch the floor, I scan the room with my eyes and finally find him. Unconscious, flabbily sitting on a chair, skull open in its back and wires plugged in, linking his mind to the boys' laptops. I join them and sit next to him, holding his hand. I don't even know if he can feel me or not, I just want to hold his hand.
I glance at Jamie's screen and see that he is typing code.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm working on a code to lockdown this program while your brother is checking his signal, making sure that we're not hurting him AND that he is not waking up, ready to slaughter before we're done."

"... Thank you..."

My voice was way lower than I wanted. The Blue fox smiles at me:

"Thanks me once he wakes up. I'm halfway done with the lock and got rid of the toughest parts. I may need one more hour before being done. Get some rest..."

"No time to rest, we still need to work on a plan... and fast."

Loba, who was sitting on the sofa all along, suddenly jumped off the couch and walks at toward me. My family tries to convince her to let me rest but I stop them:

"She's right. We have until Friday evening, which is a bit more than two days, to find a plan of action. I'm fine. I just need some painkiller and I'll be up to work."

The woman nods and waits for me on the sofa again. I promptly get to her and before I can say a word, she puts her fingers on my mouth and says:

"You know it right? You know it's not ONLY the program's fault. You know he is like that, a bloodthirsty monster that is meant to kill and only kill."

"Come on Loba, you know he's not only that..."

"Stop it. He was a hitman before. One of the best. He always had been meant to kill. He is a sociopath and staying with him will only put you in danger."

I'm not sure if she's saying all of this because she's genuinely scared for me or if she's trying to make me break up with Revenant only to make him sad.

"I don't care about who he was. I care about who he is. I know he is prone to violence. I've already seen those sparks of murder in his eyes, and heard his cruel words when he was seeking revenge. But never did he threat me. He always cared and tried to protect me. Even today, he was silently fighting against that nasty program because he didn't want to hurt us."

"And look what happened. He injured you and things could have been worse."

"The program injured me because it gained control over him. You've seen how much he'd changed and how hard he is working to make things work for all of us. He is not perfect, but who is? You can't change my mind, Loba. Neither you can change my heart. I've lived with him for months, discovering who he was truly and earning his trust, little by little. I think I know him better than you would ever do."

The woman shows a discontent grin for a split second, then she sighs deeply as she slouches onto the couch, too tired to argue with me:

"You do what you want. I warned you. Just try to stay safe, ok?"

I give her a warm smile and gently touch her arm:

"Thank you for caring, but everything will be fine, I promise. And we will save your girl and destroy the Harvesters once and for all. Just stay positive."

During the whole discussion, never I felt anger or distrust from her. She was authentic and I feel like we've created a bond together. On many things, we disagree but there is one where we understand each other and it's love. Her girlfriend, Jamie, my family, or Caleb, we love them and we know how devastated we would be if anything had to happen to them. And I'm glad to add her to my friends.

We pass the next hour working on our plan when the two nerds call us:

"We're done locking his program. We're about to wake him up."

As they say this, Roy's putting handcuffs on Revenant's wrists to prevent any attack in case the code doesn't work. Loba gives a pat on my back before I sit next to my loved one. Sid asks if everyone is ready and presses a key on his laptop.

All of a sudden, Revenant's body jolts. His optics turn on, blinking a little before stabilizing and his head drops behind, then on the side to finally get straight up as the man regains control of his muscles. His voicebox sounds glitchy at first but promptly clears up letting us hear a chaotic breathing accompanied by a few grunts.
He tries to move his hands but soon realizes that he's tied to his chair and starts looking around. His eyes first meet my father's ones, then Sid's, then Jamie's... and finally mine. His glare is traveling from my eyes to my bandage just above.

"What did I do to you..."

The lock is working and the mercenary, who was holding Rev's chair in place, opens the handcuffs and frees his hands.

I open my arms, welcoming his embrace, and caress his back as he repeats:

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry..."

Jamie unplugs their computer from him, closes his skull, and leaves us alone with the rest of the group. We take some time to check and comfort each other, him watching the stained piece of cloth around my head with bitterness and me feeling terrible for letting all of this happen when I could have said something. In the end, we both feel guilty for something we couldn't do much about.

"I'm sorry for hurting you. I should have told you about this bloodthirst program earlier. I knew it would have been problematic in the long run but still kept it for me."

"Don't blame yourself too hard. I'm also responsible for this situation. I saw something wasn't right but let you alone with your struggles."

"So we're both stupid. Let's learn from our errors. I try to open up more and communicate about my problems and you quit keeping your doubts and questions for yourself. How is that?"

I gently push him, giggling a little and already feeling better.

"Sounds good. I'd like to ask more questions right now but we're in a hurry. Remember what happened with Loba?"

"I was coping with that damn program when she got a call and couldn't focus. What happened?"

I briefly summarize the situation from when Loba's girlfriend was threatened to the moment he regained consciousness. Jamie quickly steps in to give some precisions about the lock:

"We were in a rush so the lock we've made isn't optimal, which means it can break if your bloodthirst program becomes overstimulated. You will have to be careful until we make a stabilized version of the lock."

Revenant scoffs:

"Don't worry about it. This program gets agitated when I am not killing for a while, which means that our little visit to the Harvesters' HQ should calm it down. You'll have plenty of time to make a better version after my slaughter."

Loba steps in:

"Talking about that, we found a plan."

Rev invites her to sit with us. His attitude is relaxed again, telling me that this program must have been an important source of stress those last days. I'm sincerely happy to see him appeased.

The wolf takes a new chair and joins us:

"You already know that our biggest issue was to find a way in for you. Your girlfriend told you why they were calling me. All they want is you and I promised I'd bring you to them in two days. I think you can guess where I'm going with this."

Caleb pinches the bridge of his nose as he lets a very annoyed grunt leave his mouth:

"You want to pretend that you've got me and drag me to their boss, am I right?"

"Well, at least I don't have to explain much. Maybe you are not that much of an idiot bot."

Her tone wasn't aggressive. It sounded more like an apology disguised as a joke. Rev doesn't seem bothered by her remark. They are making progress.

"Are you sure there is no other way? I'd do anything to be spared from that humiliation."

I stick with Loba's speech and add:

"We've already thought of this for a while and weren't able to find a proper plan other than this one. And we're lacking time to change it now. Sorry honey, but we gotta roll with this."

Another grunt from him:

"Okay, so you pretend you've captured me and bring me to their place. Then what? We walk to their boss' room and attack? Or we wait for Roy's team to act up?"

"We wait for the mercenaries to engage the fight. Loba and you will give them the signal when you're both ready to attack and they will drop on the balcony. We've got the information that the roof is poorly watched on. Just a couple of dudes patrolling that could be easily killed without making a noise. You'll be attached with fake handcuffs and should be able to break them easily once the battle starts."

"What about you or the two nerds?"

"The boys will stay here, attacking their system while you enter. Being attacked both physically and virtually will spread confusion in their organization, especially if we can access anything related to their defense system. Meanwhile, Myriam and I will wait outside with cars to pick everyone up at the end of the fight or if you need a quick escape."

"I don't like the idea of you being near the danger, especially with a head injury."

"I know, but we need two vehicles and there is no one else to do it."

Seeing that he is not satisfied with my safety, I add:

"Don't worry, we won't park in front of the main entrance but one block away from it. We will all be linked with intercoms and both you and Loba will be equipped with hidden cameras. If anything goes wrong, I'll call for you."

He seems unhappy with my explanations but knows he can't ask more and simply agrees with the plan.

We pass the next two days organizing the attack on the gang's HQ. Renting a ship to carry the mercenaries, cleaning the weapons, scouting around, and programming malware.

We're now half an hour left before heading to their facility. Everything is ready but I'm completely stressed out. Revenant and Loba are rehearsing their scene, Caleb being handcuffed and held at gunpoint. I know it's all fake but a part of me is afraid.

Afraid that something will go wrong.

Afraid that the Harvesters may be one step ahead of us.

Afraid that SHE may betray everyone despite her promise.

I shake my head, chasing off my negative thoughts. I have to stay optimistic and trust the process. Everything will go fine. Trust the process. It's all good. Deep breath, girl. Deep breath.

"You shouldn't worry like this. They all know how to fight and they'll kick their ass
off."

Myriam tries her best to reassure me but she isn't as calm as she would like to be. Sid and us are going to be relatively safe. But dad... Caleb... they're on front line and may get captured, held hostage, and tortured and we would not be able to save them.

If anything goes wrong, we lose everything.

Revenant and Loba put the handcuffs away and talk to the crew, which means they are ready to go. I take one more deep breath, holding my sister's hand as we support each other against anxiety, and meet my lover's eyes while he gets closer.

"Roy's said we're off in ten minutes. How do you feel?"

"Extremely nervous, but we can't drop now. Please, don't get caught."

"And you, promise me that you'll stay safe out of their sight."

I agree with him. Neither I nor my siblings are trained to fight so joining them in the battle will just put everyone in danger. I wrap my arms around his waist and lay my head against his chest; snuggling into a hug, enjoying those little minutes together, hoping they won't be the last. I feel his hands delicately caressing my back and playing with my hair.

It lasts until my father asks everyone to group up next to him, checking everyone before we go. I hold his hand until we get separated into different vehicles.

Today, the Harvesters will die. There can't be any other outcome.