I stumble out of the hovercraft shortly after it lands in the Motherwealth. My legs wobble like jelly beneath me. The solid ground feels foreign after hours of flying. The craft's relentless rocking and jolting made my body feel uneasy. My stomach churning as if still caught in the turbulent air.

A light breeze hit my face, but instead of refreshing, it only intensified the nausea. I cling unto Ezra, my knuckles white, trying to steady myself.

Someone bumps into me and vomits beside me.

I want too as well. But I hold it.

"Walter..." Ezra says in shock, causing me to look around at Regal with more attention.

Destruction. Rubble. There are no more shining buildings. No more straight roads with busy cars. Smoke wafts into the air. Buildings in rubble. Steets with craters as large as cars. This is not the Regal I know. This isn't anything I know at all.

I take a deep breath, the smell of burning things fill my nose, my lungs, my body.

Death is in the air and Kol is in this.

A distant cry of a young child catches my attention, but no one moves. Everyone have the same look of shock that I have. Whatever war is being fought looks like it is over. In this state, how can anyone help? This is beyond help.

The capital is gone. It is destroyed. Nothing is left. And I am sure the rest of the Motherwealth looks the same way.

Ezra shakes lose my grip and stifles out a cry. The weight finally hits him. He sinks to his knees and covers his mouth with a shaky hand.

"Alright. All drafted, follow me!" a man says as he get out of a large blue tent.

People pass us, not bothering to stop and see what is wrong with Ezra. Not even I know what to do. The capital is not my home. There is nothing that emotionally ties me to Regal. At the end of the day, there isn't anything I can say to Ezra to make this better. There are no words of wisdom I can provide. How could I when I care less about this place? Any words will be stiff and forced. He needs something sincere, which I cannot provide. Better if I say nothing at all.

However, what I do care about is Kol. If the capital is in this state, what condition is my brother in? I shake my head, clearing it. I don't want to think about it.

Leaving Ezra, I wave to the man, running up to him.

"Are you not drafted?"

I shake my head. "No. I'm in the talent program."

He mouths an 'oh'.

"I'm looking for someone."

He pulls out a round holographic machine from his pocket. "What's the name?"

"Kol Edman," I say as confidently as I can muster. My heart pounds in my chest and my hands grow sweaty.

He moves his hands in the air, changing the screen that appears in front of us.

It is the longest few seconds of my life. I am dead quiet. I can hear someone yelling orders a little away from me. A siren rings in the distance. A dog barks.

"This is him, yes?" he asks, showing a photo of my brother.

"Yes," I squeak, unable to force the words out of my mouth any louder.

"He was last seen in the talent campus this morning. Bet he's still there."

I nearly gasp. He is still here and last seen just a few hours ago. In my old training grounds. There is hope to find him quickly. "Thank you!"

He nods then turns around to talk to someone else.

My eyes scan the area, trying to find Ezra. I need to tell him what I found out.

It doesn't take me long to spot him sitting on a bench with his head in his hands. He sit there, alone, unmoving as a group of people wearing green, walk past, talking loudly.

He doesn't look in any state to move on. As much as I need him as a guide, I know he will not be helpful. He's too distracted. Too hurt. There is too much on his mind. I am not going to ask him to continue. But he at least deserves the right to know where I am going.

I walk over to him and sit down. For a few moments, I wait for him to say something, or at least acknowledge my presents.

"I went to grade school there," he says finally as he points to a pile of white rubble ahead of us. "You wouldn't know it was a school now." He gives a humorless laugh.

I frown. What could I say to something like that? I never experienced lose like this. Never has there been fear of war or a fight like this in Hell.

"I never imagined a war would cause so much damage so quickly," he says as we hear gun fire in the distance. People scream. I try not to pay attention. I look Ezra directly in the eyes.

My stomach drops. Something feels so wrong about leaving him behind. But I cannot waste any more time. Kol is waiting for me. My family. "I have to go to campus," I say to him softly. "They said my brother was in that area just this morning."

He nods as he looks back at the ground.

I wait for him to say something. Anything. I am not sure if I am waiting for an approval or an acknowledgement, but I stand still, waiting.

He sits there, unmoving in silence. His eyes hide from view, not allowing me to read them.

I let out a sigh as minutes pass. An explosion shakes the ground, causing me to jump up from my seat. I shouldn't be mad at him. But I am. He is slowing me down. "You don't have to follow if you don't want to... but I have to go. I can't stay here."

"I'll come." He stands up then rubs his hands on his pants. He sniffles then stretches. "There isn't much use in staying here, is there? My parents are gone by now, I'm sure of it. Probably fled to a safehouse without me. I couldn't get to them even if I tried."

An uneasy feeling takes my stomach. He is alone, just like myself. And he is alone because he helped me. I feel guilty for pushing him into this chaos. I cannot leave him. I place my hand on his shoulder to steady both of us.

He shakes loose of my grip. "I don't need any sympathy, Telvi. This is very on par with them. They are very good at looking out for themselves. I'm sure they tried finding me but since I wasn't around, they fled." He shakes his head in disgust. "To be expected from a man who took the skills of teens."

I give a nod. If he doesn't need support, I will not give it to him.

"Campus is that way. Just a few blocks away." He points straight ahead where the roads look more damaged.

We walk down the road in silence as we pass dented buildings, piles of trash, and rubble. I have walked these streets before, but nothing looks recognizable anymore. Not a single building was untouched by the damage. The destruction is vast.

I occasionally glance at Ezra, making sure he is alright. He continues forward but his lower lip quivers.

I open my mouth a few times, trying to say something, but nothing comes to mind that is worth sharing so I shut it. What could I say to someone who's home is no more? All he knew is gone and his parents are in the wind. Sorry doesn't seem appropriate. Nothing does.

What feels right is grabbing his hand and giving it a squeeze before letting it go. At least that is something. Right? I try to tell myself that it will help. It feels pitiful as soon as I let go of his hand.

He meets my eyes and gives a sad smile which I return. I don't expect him to say anything. But I am here for him if he does want to speak.

Finally, we come across the metal gates that separate the talent campus from the rest of Regal. Once standing tall, trapping us inside stands mangled and curled to the side. Like it is a small toy that some child ripped open.

On the other side, it isn't much better. The manicured walking path is riddled with holes, large and small. The brick buildings are mounds of rubble. Not even the talent program was protected.

A frown comes to my lips, unable to tear my eyes from the mounds rubble. Finally, my heart aches. This was my home for a time, as much as I hated it and Regal. It grew familiar, but it is anything but that now.

"Let's go find him," Ezra says as he walks through the gates.

I follow behind him.

In the distance more explosions rock the ground. I try to remain calm, but I fear they were coming closer.

I want to find Kol as soon as possible so we can run far away together. Back to Hell. Where it is safe.

My dorm came into view, or what is left of it. I recognize the red brick and the iridescent glass in a pile. The metal ice rink which stood beside it still stands, but now with a gaping hole on the side.

"What are you doing here, Telvi?" I hear a familiar voice ring out.

I turn to face Irena. Her normal sleek look is replaced with jeans and a t-shirt that looks a size too big for her. She pushes a pair of large bulky glasses up the bridge of her nose. Glasses are something I had never seen her wear before.

"I am looking for my brother. He was drafted into the war."

She gives a sympatric look which causes bile to rise in my throat. There is no way I am late. Please say he's still here.

"He was just sighted here earlier today," I add, as if that will help. With shaky hands, I pull out a worn photo from my pocket, thankful that I took it from home. The edges frayed from the years, but you can still see Kol clearly in the image. "Have you seen him?"

She takes the photo and gives it a good look. "You look like him," she finally says.

"I know."

"But, no, I haven't seen him." She looks behind us. "I think a group of them are over there, working on cleaning up..." She gestures around. "This scene."

I squint towards the group in jeans and black t-shirts moving rubble to a pile. Maybe he was there. I can hope.

"Where's all the talent?" Ezra asks.

"We cut what we could before the attacks came. Some ran off, some volunteered to fight in the war. Others just fled, staying within the city, hoping for the war to blow over soon." She gives a heavy sigh as she shakes her head.

"What are you going to do?"

She shrugs. "I don't know. I have nowhere to go. My Commonwealth is not worth going back to."

"Where are you from?" Ezra asks.

She smiles, making eye contact with me. "Hell."

Up until this point, I was not invested in the conversation, but now I am. My head snaps up. I had trained with her for months. We shared many conversations, but her home town was never mentioned. This is key information to me. Did she not think it important?

"You are from my hometown?"

She nods. "But it's been decades since I've been there. I'm afraid I don't know anything about the city anymore."

"I doubt it's changed."

She gives a dry chuckle. "You're probably right. They don't take well to change up there. No, the capital suites me better. I think it suites you too." With that, she walks towards the gates to get out of campus.

I frown. What she says really gets under my skin. I shiver. I don't want this place to 'suit' me. The Motherwealth is terrible. The talent program is terrible. The only reason I joined was because it would help Kol. This is not a place I want to belong.

"I don't think the talent program will continue after this." He looks around at the destruction. "They were using the talent program to protect themselves from war and look where that got them."

That is comforting. Maybe it shouldn't have been. But I don't want the talent program to continue. No matter what the cost is. No one should be cut again.

"Where are you going?" Ezra asks, huffing to keep up with me.

I don't realize I was walking at such a quick pace. My side is not hurting anymore and I feel like I can walk fast. "I think my brother is over there," I say, pointing to a group of people clearing out large bricks from a side of a building. It is a long shot but it is the only thing I have.

"Kol?!" I shout. I am running towards them. Sprinting. "Kol!"

A few stop to look at me but say nothing.

"Kol!" I shout again, closing the gap between us. There is something within me that says he is there. In that group. If only I could shout loud enough for him to hear.

"Telvi?" I hear a voice call out from the group.

My lip quivers as I sprint closer. "KOL!"

From the crowd Kol emerges. My heart pounds in my chest.

He stands still amidst the crowd as it parts, giving way for us. His eyes meet mine. It has been months since I saw him last. He has changed. He looks older with more forehead wrinkles and his blond hair is longer, but there is no mistaking the familiar curve of his jaw, the same intense gaze that I remember. My breath catches in my throat.

For a moment, time seems to stand still. Recognition flickers in his eyes, followed by a look of disbelief. He takes a hesitant step forward, and then another, until he is standing right in front of me.

"Telvi?" he whispers, his voice thick with emotion.

I nod, tears streaming down my face. "It's me."

In an instant, he pulls me into a tight embrace, and the months of separation melt away. The noise around us fades into the background as we hold onto each other. It is just the two of us, reunited at last.

"When I got here and saw this...I thought I'd lost you forever," he murmurs into my hair.

I shake my head, burying my head into his shoulder. Tears soak his shoulder, but I cannot stop them from leaking out of my eyes. I take a deep breath in, breathing him in. He still smells like salt and timber.

"I'm here and I'm safe," I reply.

We stand there for what feels like an eternity, holding on to each other as if letting go will mean losing each other all over again.

Finally, he lets go and look at me from head to toe. "Are you ok?"

I nod as I make sure he is alright. He looks a little thinner then when I last saw him.

A small crowed has gathered around, eager to listen in to our conversation. I feel their eyes on me. This isn't the place to have deep conversations. "Can we talk in a private place?"

"I know a place. Follow me."