"How is your side doing?" Ezra asked the next morning as we continued to walk through a field. 

I lifted up my shirt to show the bandaged was lightly red. "It's alright," I replied trying to downplay my pain. I wouldn't mention how I tossed and turned on the hard ground all night, trying to find a comfortable position, or how the pain wasn't improving. 

Ezra frowned. "We probably should change those bandages." 

I nodded as I took a seat on a tree stump, welcoming the chance to sit down. We hadn't walked far, but with my side throbbing and blisters on my feet, already I felt like I needed a break. 

Ezra kneeled down beside me and pulled out white bandages from his coat pocket. He gently took the bandages off my side and bit his lip silently. 

I could see the concern in his eyes before he even said anything. 

My eyes drifted off to my wound to see it oozing a cream-colored puss. I turned my heard away, unable to look at it for long.

"It looks like it's getting infected."

I sighed as I tried to remain calm. Out here, there wasn't a chance to get any medical attention. We didn't have the luxury to stop at the nearest hospital. We just had to continue. We had no choice. "Well, let's get to Hell quickly so I can get this treated." 

Ezra nodded as he carefully placed a new bandage over the wound. He offered his hand to help me up and I took it.

"Do you know how much longer we have?" I asked.

Ezra shook his head. "I was hoping you knew the answer to that. Does anything look familiar to you?"

I hadn't seen anything that looked familiar to me. But then again, I never left the city boarders so my space or recognition would be small. "No, nothing looks familiar yet."

He sighed as he looked around, but I still managed to get a glimpse of disappointment in his eyes. He probably thought we would be in Hell by now. Honestly, I thought we would too.

"Ok, well, let's continue on. If you need to stop, let me know." 

I nodded, although I knew there wasn't much luxury in stopping now. We were on a one-way path for home, help, and civilization. 

_______________

"The sun is strong today," Ezra said as he looked up at the burning mass in the sky. 

Hours have passed and the sun was high in the sky now. Hell was still no where to be seen and at this point I wondered if we were going in the right direction. Ezra made it sound like the walk would be only a few hours, but we were now going on a day and a half of walking and maybe he was as lost as I was. 

My side was burning, and I longed for a break, but what good would a break do? It would just slow us down even more. 

"Do you see that?" Ezra asked as he pointed to a small house in the distance. 

I rubbed my eyes, fearing that I was imagining things. Nope. It was a house. I saw the small structure, had to be no larger than a few rooms. But it was a house. First house we had seen since leaving the hovercraft. 

This could mean so many things. Maybe we were close to something. Maybe Hell was just over the horizon. I couldn't get my hopes up, but my heart did beat a little faster.

Ezra held his hand over his eyes and squinted. "There is a man, maybe he would know." He pointed to a small speck moving by a log cabin down the path. 

I shook my head. "We can't ask for help."

"Why?" 

"Because we Commonwealth people can never town hop. Asking for directions will scream that we don't belong here. He could report us." 

He looked confused. "If we can't town hop, how are we going to get to Hell?"

I frowned. I hadn't thought about it. I just assumed we were already within the boarders. I knew Hell's boarders were wide, I just wasn't sure how wide they were. Surely Ezra knew this information before he broke me out of the hospital.  But maybe his plan was a crudely smacked together idea that he decided to run with.

"Well, I'm going to ask him. We need to," Ezra said.

Before I had a chance to protest, he was already running ahead. 

I stumbled after him as my stomach wormed its way into my throat. He was going to get us caught. We would be deported right back to the capital. We would be thrown into prison. "Ezra!" I squeaked out, hoping to stop him. 

He didn't look back as he pushed forward. 

He was now waving at the man. "Excuse me!" he shouted. 

He was going to get us killed. 

I felt sick. 

I gagged. 

"Sir!" 

Ezra wasn't going to give up and I had to follow. He didn't know the first thing about Commonwealths. I on the other hand did. He couldn't be left on his own. 

"Hello!" Ezra said with a smile.

The man stopped hitting a rug with a broom to look at Ezra in silence.

"Excuse me sir, do you know how far we are from Hell?" Ezra asked. He hunched over with his hands on his knees as he caught his breath. 

We were dead.

As I approached the two of them, I saw the man scratch his head. "Boy, you must be very lost. You are in Hell, just the outskirts. See that road..." he said, pointing to a gravel road on a hill. "You just walk that road maybe an hour more. You'll get into the center of town." 

The corners of my mouth turned upwards. I never had been so excited to be in Hell before. As I looked around, I realized I knew that road and the old man with his tiny house. This was familiar to me. This was home. 

I gingerly rubbed my side to ease the pain. With a deep breath I turned my attention to the road. I could do this. It was close now.

Ezra looked at me proudly, as if to say he was right for asking then smiled at the man. "Thank you so much." 

"Of course. But you aren't from Hell, are you.  Don't let the Motherwealth know you are hopping cities. You know they aren't kind in their punishments."

Ezra shook his head but before he had time to respond, I stepped in front of him. 

"We are just from another part of Hell. We just were looking for a moment of privacy This didn't look too familiar to us. I think we were all turned around." 

His eyes widened in realization. "Oh... well, the trees are a good place to get away. Not many people go there. It'll give you a chance to be a little more intimate. " 

I didn't bother correcting him. He could believe what he wanted. I just wanted to get back home at this point. "Thank you for your tip," I say to him.

He nodded. "You look familiar but him, where did you find him?" 

"He's from town. Just doesn't get out much," I said as I started walking towards the road.

There was enough said between us. The more I said, the more could get us in trouble. Ezra didn't know how desperate some of these people could be. 

"Thank you so much for your time. Have a good evening," Ezra said quickly before catching up to me. "So, this is the road to your town?" 

I nodded as we reached the road. "This is it." 

In just a small walk, we would be in the place that I knew with the people that raised me. I could imagine him sitting on a chair, drinking something hot as I walk through the door. He would drop the drink on the floor and rush to embrace me. I could image him wrapping his arms around me in a warm bear hug. That was what I was most excited about. He would help me tend to my side. I will finally be able to relax. Just a little longer. 

I could do it. 

With my head held high, I pushed forward. 

"As soon as we get into Hell, we need to get your side treated."

"My brother will help. My home is closer than the center. Maybe another 30 minutes more now."

He nodded and was silent for a moment. 

I didn't have enough energy to talk and walk at the fast pace I was trekking at. My mind was swimming with things I could saw to Kol. I hoped he forgave me for leaving. I hope he knew it was the best thing for him. It was only way to keep him out the of mines. 

"What are you most excited about when we get there?" Ezra asked after a few minutes. 

"Just being in a place that is familiar to me. It's home. I'm excited about everything." 

"I can see it in your eyes. I don't think I have ever seen your eyes sparkle as much as they do now." 

I nodded with a smile. My attention turned forward again. Ahead I saw a small road jetting out on the side. My heart raced faster. That was my street. We were almost home now. 

"Telvi! Where are you going?" 

I looked behind me and noticed I was running. No, sprinting. Ezra was failing to keep up. 

"That's my street!" I shouted to him as I pointed towards the road. 

I pushed forward with more speed. My lungs burnt with every breath I took. 

My eyes caught sight of the house that had blue paint on the walls. That was Mr. Green's house. If I just pushed a little further, I would see mine.

Within seconds, the house with green paint appeared. I bit back tears as I tried to keep myself calm. That was it. It hadn't changed since I left.

My legs took longer strides as I tried to close the distance between the house and myself.

I stumbled to a stop as my feet touched the front lawn. It was long and unkept, but I wasn't surprised by this. Without me to push Kol to manage it, it would only grow wild. 

I wiped a tear from my cheek, unable to hold the tears back. They wetted my cheeks as I imagined Kol just on the other side of the door.

"This is it?" Ezra huffed as he stopped beside me.

I nodded as I stared at the structure in front of me. For a second, I forgot he was here. My attention turned to him as he looked at me, seeing what I would do next.

"Well, are you going to go in?" He asked.

I nodded as I sniffled. Enough waiting. It was time to go in. I promised I would be back. I kept my promise. I took a step forward with a smile. I was home.