"I thought you were here so I was first on the scene," Kol said as he shook his head. "There was so much rubble and bodies. I thought I lost you." 

Behind a building, without prying eyes, Kol let his emotions get the better of him. His eyes welled with tears as he looked at me. He didn't seem to mind that Ezra was near.

I wrapped my arm around him and held him. "I left the capital before it got bad. I went home but you weren't there. Mr. Green said you came to the capital to fight this war of the Motherwealth."

"I just wanted to get to you." 

I smiled as I let go of him. "And I thought the same." 

He let out a tired breath. "It's been a heavy few days." 

I could only imagine. Kol shouldn't have ever come. Maybe I should have never come to begin with. Hell was where I belonged. "Let's go back home." 

He bit his lip as if debating about leaving. 

My eyes widened. He hated the Motherwealth more than I did. Why was he even thinking about it? "This isn't our fight, Kol. We don't owe the Motherwealth anything."

"You don't understand. I learned Mom and Dad were from the Motherwealth. This was their land."

My mouth fell open. He was mistaken. He had to be. "No, they were from Hell."

He shook his head. "They were from the capital. I found Mom's housing records. Her family still lives a few miles down the road." He pointed towards the gates. "I wanted to talk to them. Understand why they left."

"I doubt they are still around. I imagine most have run for the country for protection," Ezra spoke up for the first time since finding Kol.

"I have to at least try, Telvi, come with me." 

And I had to. Deep down I knew we didn't fit in at Hell. I didn't understand why. I thought it was because Mom lost her mind and burnt bridges. But maybe that was wrong. We were hated for the same reason Mr. Green was hated. We were not from there. 

"What's the street name?" Ezra asked. 

"Wall street. 1340 is the house number." 

He nodded knowingly. "It's not far from here. I'll get you there." 

I peered around the building and saw the group continuing to work. "What about them?"

"I think I can sneak out. They don't keep a good eye on us. A few have already run off." Kol started to walk the opposite way without making any more of a plan. It made my stomach churn. What if we were caught?  

"Shouldn't we hide until it gets dark?" I ask, trailing after him. 

He shook his head. "It'll be fine. I promise. The people here need the money. They stay because of the money. I don't need it. I can leave." 

"But there is a draft back home. They need people."

He scoffed as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. "They don't act like it here. Rumor has it that they will be surrendering soon anyhow." 

Ezra quickened his pace and took lead. "It's just a short walk from here."

I huffed behind him, elongating my stride. I never realized he walked this fast. 

I didn't know what I would find out once we made it to our family's house. A part of me didn't want to know. If they went to Hell, there had to be a reason for that. What if old bones just lay in peace? 

"I have a list of questions I'm hoping to ask them," Kol said as he trailed behind Ezra. "I just hope they haven't fled."

It was as if I wasn't important anymore. The excitement of finding me was worn off. Kol was onto the next thing on his mind. Now that I was found, he could find the so-called family we had. 

We hadn't seen each other in months. I thought he would want to know everything about the talent program. At least ask more questions than he did. What made this hunt for our family so much better than me? Was there something Kol knew that I didn't? 

______

My stomach was in knots by time we made it to the door of 1340. I felt uneasy about all of this, and I don't think the distant bombs going off was adding to the uncertainty.  

Kol was buzzing with excitement. He hadn't stopped talking about how he found this information about our family. 

Kol pulled on his shirt then cleared his throat. He looked at me with a smile which I had no choice but to smile back at him. I had no questions for them. If my parents left the capital, it was for a reason. I had been here long enough to know that the capital wasn't for everyone. But Kol was going to get a crash course on it. 

With a firm pound, he knocked on the door. 

We waited a few seconds until we heard a voice from the other side. "Coming!" 

Kol's smile only grew. "They are coming." 

Finally, the door opened to reveal an older lady with gray frizzy hair. She wore a floral shirt that I remembered seeing in a store display a few weeks ago. "Can I help you?" she asked. 

"Is this the Rodger residence?" Kol asked. 

I didn't even know that was mom's last name. Did Kol know this all along and he choice not to share? How did Kol find out all this information all of a sudden. It seemed like he was an expert. Maybe he didn't hate the capital as much as I thought he did. 

She nodded as she smoothed out her frizzy hair with her hands. "It is."

"We are the son and daughter of Sarah Rodger."

Her eyes widened. "And you two are Kol and Telvi? We have been waiting too long for your return." She opened the door wider and moved out of the way, allowing me to see a grand entrance with painting hung on the wall. "Please come in."

Kol nodded as we three walked into her house. 

I did not expect her to know our names. Had we met her before? I closed my eyes for a second as I tried to remember anything about this place. A fuzzy memory came into my mind of me running through a hall like this, laughing at something. Velvet clothing hung around my frame. A cat with a black tail hissed as I passed it. It all felt like a dream or a life that was not mine.  

"After your parents ran off to the Commonwealth, communication stopped. We thought you all died. Tell me, how are your parents? Are they here too?" 

"I'm afraid not."

"They're dead," I bluntly state. 

She mouthed an 'oh' silently. She hesitantly raised her hand, as if wanting to touch one of us for comfort, but stopped herself and instead, crossed her arms over her chest. 

"I have a few questions about our parents..." 

"Of course, come in, let me make some tea." She walked deeper into the house. "Make yourself comfortable."

I noticed the couch in a room adjacent to us. Silently I wander over and sit down. It's so plush that I sink nearly an inch into the cushions. Ezra sits beside me, reminding me that he was still around. He had been nearly as quiet as me on this trip to Wall Street. Kol asked him a few questions here and there which he responded but did not provide any lengthy details. Kol probably could tell that Ezra didn't want to talk and eventually the questions stopped. 

Kol found a seat in a chair and looked around the room. His eyes sparkled as if seeing something magical for the first time. 

There had been very few times I saw Kol excited about something. What made this so exciting to him? We had all we needed in Hell. There was no need to reconnect with a family member that thought we were dead in a city that we would probably never go to again.

"Looks like the water has been shut off. There will be no tea. I'm sorry," she said as she emerged into the room with a tin of cookies in her hands. 

"Don't worry about it. Really, it's fine," Kol said to her. 

She nodded but looked sad as she sat down in a chair across from where we sat. She looked at each one of us in silence, probably waiting for anyone to speak. 

"So," Kol began.

"So..." she encouraged him to pry. 

"You're our grandmother then?"

She smiled. It was warm and kind. It made me nerves melt just a little as I watched her lean back in her chair. "I haven't heard that word in too long. I missed it just like I have missed you two." 

"The most important question on my mind is why did they leave?"

She shrugged. "Beats me. I've had over a decade to think about this question, but it doesn't make sense to me. Your mother was a beauty. Your father was all brains. They had it all. The house, the job, the dream. It was what I wanted for them. But one day they came to me and said they were leaving. They packed their things, and I never saw them again." There was pain in her voice as if the wound hasn't healed. "I was her mother, and she left me."

She looked at me, making me shift in my seat. "You look like her. Big doe eyes, long straight hair. Nearly an exact copy." 

But the thing was, I didn't think I looked anything like my mother. She was beautiful at one point but when she lost her mind, her looks fell behind. That was how I knew her. Bloodshot eyes, Untamed black hair, slumped shoulders, muttering to herself. That was how I knew her.

"But they did they leave?" Kol asked, breaking our connection. He leaned in closer.

She cleared her throat then took a cookie from the tin. "Please help yourself. I can't eat these all on my own." 

Ezra didn't waste a second, reaching into the tin and taking a cookie for his own. 

"Your father was a scientist for the talent program. I had a guess that your mother was involved somehow. I think something went wrong in the lab. Your father was always so nervous. I suspected that he was doing something he shouldn't, but I couldn't prove anything."

"Wait, they were involved in the talent program?" I asked, suddenly invested in the conversation. 

She nodded. "He was one of the pioneers for transferring knowledge. People say he really protected the art of it. At one point, I thought he even tested the new technology on Sarah, although she never admitted to that. But that was before you came along." She pointed to me.  

I held onto the arm of the couch as her words sank in.  The world spun. Mom was talented at skating because it was taken from someone else. 

"What makes you believe that?" Ezra asked. 

"She got really sick for a few weeks. I didn't see her at all. When I asked if she was pregnant, she told me no. I begged her to go to the doctor which she refused. You see, no one in the capital gets sick for weeks on end." 

I struggled to take a breath in. My skills weren't even my own. My skating. My speed, my jumps. They weren't my own. They were taken and passed down. I felt sick to my stomach. 

"After they left, people came to the door. They asked if I knew where they went. I told them I didn't know even though I did. They went to Hell. They asked if I would come with them. Sarah begged me. But I couldn't leave this city. I was from the capital. I knew I couldn't survive outside it. So I stayed."

Kol nodded as he looked at me with a frown. There was concern in his eyes, but he remained silent. I don't think he understood what was going on in my mind. 

"Now I have a question for you." She pointed her finger at Kol. "Why have you returned?" 

"For the war and Telvi, she was part of the talent program." 

"You poor souls." She shook her head, causing her frizzy hair to poof out even more. "Is that what you were forced to do without you parents?" 

I swallowed the lump in my throat. I couldn't force any words out of my mouth. 

A bang echoed through the house then it started to shake. We all hung onto the pieces of furniture we sat on.

"Son of a twister. This war should in soon. I know we can fight those Walter neighbors," she muttered. "Why are you standing, dear?"

I looked at my feet and realized I stood up from my seat. I had heard enough. I couldn't bare hearing any more. I couldn't. "I need to get back."

"To where?"

"Hell."

She chuckled. "You sound just like your parents. Girl, the capital can offer so much more."

"It can't offer safety," I blurt out. 

"This war is so small. It will be over soon and we will be back to being safe." 

I shook my head. "I can't risk that." 

"Telvi," Kol warned. 

My gaze switched to him. "If you have more questions to ask, so be it. But I need to go back. I have spent too much time here already." 

"If you want to go, go. No one is forcing you to stay. Go like your parents. go suffer in the commonwealth." She shooed me with her hands and that was enough for me. 

I turned on my heals and walked out the door.