I stumbled out of the hovercraft shortly after it landed in the capital. My legs wobbling like jelly beneath me. The solid ground felt foreign after hours of flying. The craft's relentless rocking and jolting made my body feel uneasy. Each step into the fresh air sent a wave of nausea crashing over me, 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 queasiness. I clutched unto Ezra, my knuckles white, trying to steady myself. 

Someone bumped into me and vomited. 

At least I wasn't the only one. 

"Walter..." Ezra said in shock, causing me to look around at the capital with more attention. 

Smoke wafted into the air. Building in rubble. Steets with craters. This was not the capital I knew. I took a deep breath, the smell of burnt things filled my nose, my lungs, my body. 

A distant cry of a young child caught my attention, but no one moved. Everyone had the same look of shock that I had.

Whatever war was being fought looked like it was over.

The capital was gone. It was destroyed. 

Ezra shook loose of my grip and stifled out a cry. He sank to his knees and covered his mouth with a shaky hand. 

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

There wasn't anything I could say to Ezra. The capital was not my home. I could care less about the state it was in. Better if I said nothing at all. But what did I care about was Kol. If the capital was in this state, what condition was my brother in? 

I waved to the man as I run up to him. "I'm looking for someone." 

"Are you not drafted?" 

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

He mouthed an 'oh' then pulled out a round holographic machine from his pocket. "What's the name?"

"Kol Edman," I said as confidently as I could manage. My heart pounded in my chest and my hands grew sweaty. 

He moved his hands in the air, changing the screen that appeared in front of us. "This is him, yes?" he asked, showing a photo of my brother. 

"Yes," I squeaked, 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." 

"Thank you!"

He nodded then turned around to talk to someone else.

My eyes scanned the area, trying to find Ezra. I needed to tell him what I found out. He should know. 

It didn't take me long to spot him sitting on a bench with his head in his hands. He sat there, unmoving as a group of people walked past, talking loudly. His eyes focused on the ground. 

He didn't look in any state to move on. I wasn't going to ask him to continue. But he at least deserved the right to know where I was going.

I walked over to him and sat down silently. For a few moments, I waited for him to say something, or at least acknowledge my precents. 

"I went to grade school there," he said finally as he pointed to a pile of rubble. "You wouldn't know it was a school now." He gave a humorless laugh. 

I frowned. What could I say to something like that? I never experienced something like this. Never has there been fear or war or a fight like this. 

"I never imagined a war would cause so much damage so quickly," he said as we heard gun fire in the distance. 

My stomach dropped. Something felt so wrong about leaving. But I couldn't waste any more time. "I have to go to campus," I said to him softly. "They said my brother was in that area just this morning." 

He nodded as he looked back at the ground. 

I waited for him to say something. Anything. I wasn't sure if I was waiting for an approval or an acknowledgement, but I stood still, waiting for something. He sat there, unmoving in silence. His eyes hidden from view, not allowing me to read them. I let out a sigh as an explosion shook the ground. "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 stood up then rubbed his hands on his pants. He sniffled then stretched. "There isn't much use in staying here, is there?"

"What about your parents? Don't you want to go to them?" 

He shook his head. "They are gone. Fled to a safehouse without me. I couldn't get to them even if I tried." 

An uneasy feeling took my stomach. He was alone, just like myself. I placed my hand on his shoulder to steady both of us. 

He shook loose of my grip. "I don't need any sympathy, Telvi. This is very on par with them. I'm sure they tried finding me but since I wasn't around, they looked out for themselves." He shook his head in discuss. "To be expected from a man who held secrets." 

I gave a nod. If he didn't need the support, I wouldn't give it to him. 

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

___________

We walked in silence as we passed building piles of trash and rubble. I had walked these streets before, but nothing looked recognizable anymore. The destruction was vast. But this place wasn't my home, so my concern wasn't anything great. 

I occasionally glanced at Ezra, making sure he was alright. He continued forward but his lower lip quivered.

I opened my mouth a few times, trying to say something, but nothing came to mind that was worth sharing so I shut my mouth. What could I say to someone who's home was no more, and parents were in the wind? Sorry didn't seem appropriate.

Instead of saying something, I grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze before letting it go. At least that was something.

Finally, we came across the metal gates that separated the talent campus from the capital. There wasn't much standing on the other side, much like what we had seen on the walk. 

A frown came to my lips as I looked at the rubble. It had only been a few days since I was last here, but it was already in ruin. 

"Let's go find him," Ezra said as he walked through the gates. 

I followed behind him. 

My dorm came into view, or what was left of it. It was a pile of bricks and the ice rink beside it stood with a large hole in the side. 

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

I turned to face Irena. Her normal sleek look was replaced with jeans and a t-shirt that looked a size too big for her. She pushed a pair of large bulky glasses up the bridge of her nose. 

I don't think I had ever seen her wear glasses before.

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

She gave a sympatric look which caused bile to rise in my throat. There was no way I could have been late. I couldn't be late. 

"He was just sighted here earlier today," I added, as if that would help. With shaky hands, I pulled out a worn photo from my pocket, the edges frayed from the years, but you could still see Kol clearing in the image. "Have you seen him?" 

She took the photo and gave it a good look. "You look like him," she finally said. 

"I know." 

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

A sliver of hope rose within me as I looked at a group moving rubble to a pile. Maybe he was there. 

"Where's all the talent?" Ezra asked 

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

"What are you going to do?"

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

"Where are you from?" Ezra asked. 

She smiled. "Hell." 

Up until this point, I had not been invested in the conversation, but now I was. I had trained with her for months and she never told me this key information. Did she not think it was important? 

"You are from my hometown?"

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

"I doubt it's changed."

She gave a dry chuckle. "I won't be surprised. I felt like no one changed in that town. The capital suites me better. I think it suites you too." With that, she walked towards the gates to get out of campus. 

I frowned. What she said really got under my skin causing me to shiver. I didn't want this place to 'suit' me. The Motherwealth was terrible. The talent program was terrible. The only reason I joined was because it would help Kol. The Motherwealth had caused so much damage. This was not a place I wanted to belong.

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

At least that gave me comfort. After learning what this program was for, one of the things I wanted to do was to bring it down. But if the neighbor country did it already, maybe it wasn't my fight any longer. 

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

I didn't realize I was walking at such a quick pace. "I think my brother is over there," I said, pointing to a group of people clearing out large bricks from a side of a building. 

"Oh," he said as he started walking faster. 

"Kol?!" I shouted. I was running towards them. "Kol!" 

A few stopped to look at me but said nothing. 

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

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

My lip quivered as I sprinted. "KOL!" 

From the crowd Kol emerged. My heart pounded in my chest. 

He stood still amidst the crowd as it parted, giving way for us. His eyes met mine. It had been months since I saw him last. He had changed. He looked older, but there was no mistaking the familiar curve of his jaw, the same intense gaze that I remembered. My breath caught in my throat.

"Kol?" I called out, my voice trembling.

For a moment, time seemed to stand still. Recognition flickered in his eyes, followed by a look of disbelief. He took a hesitant step forward, and then another, until he was standing right in front of me.

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

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

In an instant, he pulled me into a tight embrace, and I felt the months of separation melt away. The noise around us faded into the background as we held each other. It was just the two of us, reunited at last.

"I thought I'd lost you forever," he murmured into my hair.

I shook my head as I buried my head into his shoulder. My tears soaked his shoulder, but I couldn't stop them from leaking from my eyes. I took a deep breath in, breathing him in. He still smelled the same as I remembered. "I'm here," I replied, my voice choked with tears. 

We stood there for what felt like an eternity, holding on to each other as if letting go would mean losing each other all over again. 

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

I nodded as I made sure he was alright. He looked a little thinner then when I last saw him. 

"When I saw this place, I thought..." he shook his head with a frown, unable to finish. 

"I'm here," I said as I place my hand on his shoulder. I looked around at the people staring at us. This wasn't the place to have deep conversations. "Can we talk in a private place?"

He nodded. "I know a place. Follow me."