Dew-laden grass bent under Bo's boots as she walked toward the gate for the rose garden. A cool breeze skimmed across her face, buffeting her shirt and catching her hair. She smiled as she pulled open the gate and walked through. Her fingers traced the petals of the flowers, delighting in the velvet softness. She plucked a rose and drew it slowly across her cheek, not remembering when she'd ever felt something as gentle and soft. She brought it to a stop over her lips, wanting to smell the bloom. Yet, when she tried to breathe in she found that her lungs simply wouldn't work. She frowned, suddenly struggling for air.

Her hands tightened around the rose, the thorns pricking through her skin, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't find its scent. She devolved into hacking fits of coughs, though for some reason she couldn't hear herself.

The rose dropped to the ground, forgotten, as she stumbled backward, clutching at her throat. Breathe! she screamed in her head.

As she staggered back through the gate, she had the sudden feeling that she wasn't alone. Somehow, she knew it was Adam. He was standing right behind her, just out of view. He'd know what was wrong with her. She spun on her heel, his name on her lips...

Nothing was behind her. Nothing but a vast orange cloud of dust and grit. She screamed, this time audible. She couldn't be back in the dust! Green, blue, fresh air and Adam! That's what her heart ached for. But the dust cloud billowed toward her, cutting the light from the world.

--

Bo woke in a cold sweat, gasping for breath. Her eyes immediately swiveled toward the source of a hot and harsh wind, seeing a glimpse of the camp beyond the open tent flap. Dust swirled around her, choking her, and she raised one heavy arm to filter her nose and mouth. Her lungs protested the tainted air, but she was helpless to stop the dust storm from leaking into the tent. Her legs wouldn't move and she felt as heavy as an airship.

A second later someone walked through the tent flap and pulled it closed, shutting the dust out and clearing the air. Bo didn't have the energy to turn her head and see who it was, so she stared at the ceiling instead.

She felt disgusting. Her skin prickled with sweat and grime, and she felt oddly sticky. After a moment of rest, she trailed her hand across her stomach, coming to a rest on a thick swath of fabric. She tilted her head down to see a new shirt, unbuttoned up to her top ribs, revealing a bandage stained through with blood and something yellow and pale. She grimaced at the sight, flopping her head back and closing her eyes. Now that she remembered the gunshot wound, the pain returned with it. Even her legs burned.

It was behind her close eyelids that she saw a flash of a face. Blue, sad... Adam. Her eyes snapped back open, her heart pumping so hard that she felt it against her ribs.

Panic coursed through her veins, giving her strength where she shouldn't have had any. She pushed herself to her elbows, her legs flopping over the edge, though they still wouldn't take her weight. She growled in frustration, snatching at anything that she might be able to pull herself along with. A bowl filled with pink-tinged water upset as she grabbed the flimsy table it sat on, and it clattered to the floor with the other items it sat next to. Water splashed over Bo's feet, though she felt little more than a vague haze of cold against the side of her right foot. She cursed anyway, her arms shaking with the effort of holding herself upright.

"Bo, what are you doing?"

Felicia's bark. Bo groaned, trying one last time to get some momentum going before...

Her sister grabbed her arm and hauled her backward, toward the bed. Bo hissed another curse. Felicia ignored her, shoving her chest until Bo consented to lay down. Sharp pains racked through her middle, but Bo bit back the cries of pain while Felicia frowned at her.

"You are so stupid sometimes."

"Where's Adam?" Bo demanded, not rising to any bait of Felicia's that would delay her knowing where he was being kept.

Felicia raised an eyebrow, confused.

Bo sighed. "The Beast. The... alien."

"Oh."

"Tell me where he is."

Felicia kept silent, a strange occurrence. It drew Bo's attention, and she noticed for the first time that her sister's eyes were bloodshot and red rimmed. She'd been crying.

"You nearly had Aston killed, and you're asking after an alien instead of him?" Felicia's voice rose with each word. Bo winced, her wound throbbing.

"What do you mean? He shot me," she said. Felicia didn't even let her finish talking before plowing on.

"He's gone, you know. For good. He walked out of here and he's never coming back, and now we're all going to die because he was the only one who could make the decisions that needed to be made. You've doomed us all and you've just thrown away one of the only members of our family that we still have."

"Aston tried to kill me," Bo growled. "What kind of family member would do that?"

"One who knows that you've gone insane, running after an alien instead of protecting those that you're supposed to be looking after!" Felicia's eyes went wide, her hand jabbing at Bo's chest. Bo struggled against her, but the first burst of energy was already waning and she felt the strain of even raising her voice.

Thankfully, Dad walked in and Felicia abruptly shut up.

"What's going on in here?" he asked, though Bo could tell from his expression that he knew exactly what was happening. His gaze swept over the upset table and bowl of water, and then the sheets bunched up underneath Bo's legs. Finally, he landed on Felicia with a stern line across his forehead. "Why is Bo getting all upset and hurting herself more? I thought I left you in charge of keeping her comfortable?"

Felicia scoffed with tears in her eyes.

Dad's lips pursed and he drew in a deep breath before speaking. "Just keep quiet for now, Felicia."

Felicia fumed, but miraculously obeyed. She sat with a huff on a nearby chair and stared at the wall as if in protest.

"How are you feeling?" Dad asked Bo, sitting on the edge of her bed. He looked worn and pale, and Bo could tell he wasn't yet over the sickness that nearly claimed his life. A wave of guilt ran over her as she realized Felicia was partly right. Without Aston, it meant that her father had to take over the running of the camp again. Even though his skin was muddled and gray, and his hands were still a bit warm from fever, he was out there ordering people around and making sure no one died. Bo hated herself for doing that to him.

"I shouldn't have gotten Aston all riled up," she said. "Getting myself shot-"

"I don't want to talk about it. What's done is done," Dad said, his eyes going far away. Bo swallowed. Aston had been a son before he'd destroyed everything.

Dad smiled, brushing her cheek with the backs of his knuckles. "I'm so glad you're okay, darling. You had me worried."

"I didn't mean for any of this to happen."

Dad nodded, and then they lapsed into silence.

Bo waited for as long as she could, but after a long minute she couldn't hold it in anymore. "Where's Adam— the Beast? I'm not sure he's been out in the dust before, so I hope you guys didn't give him a bad tent."

Dad frowned. "Bo, I don't know why you've grown so attached to this alien, but I do want to remind you that he took me captive and then bartered away your freedom."

Bo sighed. "It's too long to explain now, but just believe me when I say that it isn't exactly what it seems. Sure, I'm never going to stop holding it over his head that he kept me away from my family, but there's more to him than just an alien." She adjusted, gripping her dad's hand in hers, hoping somehow that she'd get the urgency through. "I just really need to talk to him."

Dad's gaze cut to Felicia, and for a moment Bo thought he'd say something. But then Felicia turned to them with a wicked grin on her face, and their dad cut his gaze away to the floor.

The tent filled with crushing silence.

"No." Bo shook her head.

Dad still didn't answer.

"Please, no." Her chest heaved as a million sobs caught in her throat. "Please."

Finally, Dad's gaze returned to her. She saw sympathy in his eyes, but there was also hardness-- a piece of him that would never understand why she'd ever trust their enemy.

His gaze fell once more on Felicia who watched everything with a satisfied frenzy in her eyes. Without looking at Bo, he stood and answered her.

"It's dead."