"My guiding principle is this: Guilt is never to be doubted."

- Franz Kafka

SOMETHING WAS wrong.

Fire. There was too much of it. The smoke was beginning to engulf her; with every breath she took it drove further and further into her body. They hadn't meant for it to get this bad, but now it was too late to stop it.

"We need to get out of here, Rev." Davis. He had one hand on Rex's back, who was coughing in the centre of the room, his eyes wide and afraid. Beads of sweat were trickling down their necks, the heat unbearable.

How had this happened? How had she put them all in such danger?

"We can't leave without Charlie." She replied. Her voice cracked as she attempted speaking through the smoke. "He said he'd come back soon."

Charlie was finishing up as she'd asked him to. Just a white sheet; one white sheet. He'd be hanging it from the building, tying it out of a window two floors up. He said he knew what he was doing – it was all planned to perfection.

But Charlie was late. He was supposed to be back with them already.

She'd imagined him running through the double doors, red faced but grinning, "Did it. Sorry, took a while – the wind is pretty bad out."

He never came.

"Rev, we need to go." Leon was staring at the fire inching towards them. There was a free door, a chance to escape. In a few moments that chance would be gone. "We can't wait for him. He must have gone out another way."

Iris was holding her hands on her forehead, gritting her teeth. Where the fuck are you, Charlie?

"Revenant." Leon tugged her arm like a toddler, desperately shuffling towards the open door. His eyes were squinting through the smoke, reminding her of the stinging sensation in her own.

Wrenching her arm free, she grabbed Leon's shirt, putting her forehead against his. She was furious, but mostly she was furious at herself. It was her fault they were in this mess, that something had gone wrong along the way, that Charlie was alone instead of having help from one of the others. She could have taken the blame and apologised, but instead she spat and yelled at Leon, pushing him away. "We don't fucking leave people behind here. Got it?"

He nodded, cowering away. The pulsating orange of the fire reflected in his eyes.

There was a shout, and they turned to see Davis holding Scab in his arms. Scab was limp; he must have passed out. His face slackened, almost lifeless, eyes closed and mouth open. He could have been dead.

Davis, who was already coughing in fits from the smoke, seemed to have little strength in him left to carry Scab's body. "We need to fucking leave. It's too late. At this rate it's gonna be leaving Charlie behind or leaving all of us behind."

The building groaned, pieces of debris showering over the other side of the room. The fire was only worsening by the second.

For a minute Iris thought of Charlie, running around anxiously, trying to save himself. She thought of his family, waiting for his return. He had a younger brother who looked up to him; loving parents who tried desperately to earn enough to put money on the table, a job, some friends. Charlie had built a life for himself.

But then she looked at her gang, the way their faces were painted with fear. They were never scared. Not with fists, not with knives, not with guns. Something about the ruthless, vicious war of the fire had changed them into young, terrified boys, faced with the possibility of death. It was staring at them in the face, raw and fresh.

Admittedly Charlie had a chance to escape. He could be waiting for them already in the clean, outside air.

"Revenant?" Davis asked frantically. "What do we do?"

Iris sat upright, her heart beating hard in her chest.

The light had pried her eyes open immediately, shining pervasively into their room. She was in Georgia. Safe. Next to Levi. She leant back in relief, hearing nothing but the sound of her own sharp breaths. The duvet had been flung off her, so she grabbed the end of it and covered her body, glad for the warmth and protection of it.

She hadn't had that nightmare in a long time. Not since the start of Camp Juvy, at least. For some reason it had come back, and she was imagining it all over again, the memories of it so real it was difficult to orientate herself with reality.

The hardest part of having to live it over again used to be the fire. The way it burned and roared, brutally closing in on her. Now it was seeing Davis again.

Sighing loudly, she rubbed her eyes, attempting to rid the pain away.

Levi was fast asleep next to her, one arm loosely over her waist, his face mashed against the pillow in an unattractive yet adorable way. As gorgeous as he was, Levi was extremely irritating to sleep with. For the first few hours of the night after they were finally too tired to talk, he had been snoring so loudly that she debated whacking him on the head with her fist. She didn't of course, but maybe she would in the future.

"Wakey wakey." She said softly, brushing some of his hair out of his forehead. "We need to start heading off soon."

Levi's eyes fluttered open, squinting at the light. He let out a low groan, focussing on her slowly as if trying to comprehend why she was next to him. After a few seconds, his lips tugged into a smile, and he pulled her to his chest. "Hi."

His body was rock hard, but he was surprisingly comfy; his warmth surrounding her as his lips found hers. They moved softly to form a long kiss, before he broke free and nuzzled into her neck, his hands on the bare skin of her hips.

"As much as I love this," She whispered, laughing softly when he squeezed her tighter, "we really need to get up."

Levi made a noise, before breaking free and sitting up. His face was all puffy from sleep, and his hair was so dishevelled that she couldn't help but chuckle to herself. Luckily he was too half-awake to notice.

Instead of attempting further to get him fully out of bed, she stood up and reached for her towel, aching for a shower after their swim in the lake last night. This shower could be their last, potentially, as from now on they wouldn't be staying in houses or hotels. It was going to be tents in any empty spaces they could find.

Once she had fully washed herself and changed into some comfy but decent clothes, she stepped back into the room, her hands on her hips as her eyes landed on Levi, who had managed to fall straight back asleep again.

"Levi!" She barked.

With a sudden bolt (she was certain it was him jumping from fright, though he would never admit that) he sat back up again and grinned lazily at her. "I'm up. I'm up. I was just lying down."

She rolled her eyes, watching him stand, his already fitted shirt riding up slightly. Boy was it hard not to look at that.

As if noticing her attention drawn to him, he smirked in amusement, leaning down to kiss her. "I can't believe I can do this whenever I like." He mumbled against her lips.

Iris, noticing that he was distracting her from making quick progress, pushed away slowly and raised her eyebrows. "Oh, you think you can, can you?"

Levi pouted. "Why can't I?"

"Because like it or not," She said, making the bed so that it wasn't the mess he had left it in. "I'm an independent woman who can choose not to kiss you at all. Maybe I'll never let you kiss me again."

"Yeah, well, for some reason I don't think that's going to happen." Levi chuckled, walking into the bathroom. His head peered out of the door, a mischievous grin on his face. "You like me too much."

She crossed her arms, her mouth already opening in reply, before she was cut off immediately by him pulling off his shirt in one, clean motion.

Levi already knew her eyes were gazing at his chest; that her body had frozen, her cheeks blushing immensely. He already knew, because he made a point of walking back into the room, grabbing some boxers and brushing his body against hers, his deep voice rumbling in her ear with a tone of smugness: "Whoops. Would you look at that. I forgot my clothes."

She mentally cursed him, too stunned to reply. He was right; she really did like him too much.

♥♥♥

The sun had only just risen, so the grass outside was still wet with condensation as they left the house. Fred and Daphne had been nice enough to let them use their car – they had two, anyway, so they could still take the boys to school and travel to work – although Iris guessed they felt awful about not being able to help them more.

"We could come and meet you, if you'd like," Daphne was saying as they helped unload bags into the boot. As a tendril of ginger hair hung sprang free, her hand reached to tuck it back, trembling slightly. "I'm worried that this isn't very safe."

"No, that's okay. You've done everything and more to help." Levi told her, shaking his head adamantly. "The boys need you."

Daphne looked unconvinced as she stared at her nephew. Nodding solidly, she turned away, distancing herself from the group. Iris had noticed her eyes were glistening slightly, her lips turned down at the corners as if embracing her tears. Daphne wasn't related to Levi by blood, as it was Fred's brother who fathered Levi and Hunter, but she seemed to hold a large space for them in her heart, and letting go of Levi in such a frightening situation was proving to be too much.

"She's just worried, that's all." Fred spoke quietly. His voice was calmer than usual, helping to make the situation even more upsetting. Normally Fred was a ball of life, jumping and bouncing around. Now he stood tall and rigid, one hand placed on Levi's back as he stared at his wife sadly. "You need any more money, and you tell me, alright?"

Levi nodded, turning to him so that they could hug briefly. "Thanks for everything. It means a lot."

"You don't need to thank me. I wish I could've taken you boys in under my wing those years ago, but you know what Matt is like – always finding some way around it. How is he? You been in contact with him at all?"

"Nah." Levi broke away at the mention of his dad. "I don't really want to talk to him again, to be honest."

"Sure, I get that." Fred pursed his lips, shutting the boot and handing over his keys to Wrench, who was driving for the first part of the journey. "Right – well then. I think you kids best be off."

As the four piled into the car, Daphne turned back around, wiping her eyes and letting Fred kiss her head lovingly. They both watched as Wrench reversed out of the driveway. Iris felt glad, for Levi's sake, that Daphne and Fred were in his life. Having been through so much, Levi needed people that truly cared for him. Family.

And now that Hunter had disappeared, they were even more vital than usual.

Levi waved to them from the passenger seat, a big goofy grin on his face. Then, slowly, as Wrench drove away, the house and its occupants began to fade, until Fred and Daphne were no more than two figures standing side by side in the distance.

♥♥♥

"This damn Satnav is giving me a headache." Wrench moaned. He had been driving for three hours, and by that time most of the others had already been to sleep and were back awake again. All except Levi, who had been resting his chin on his hand and staring out of the window distantly, listening to nothing but the odd grunt of Wrench and the low hum of the car.

Ember yawned. "We can swap if you want. I'll drive the rest."

"Ok, next gas stop we'll change over." He replied. His body fingers tapped the beat to the Tame Impala song on the radio as several cars overtook them – although they were extremely grateful to have a car, it wasn't the fastest. Fred had used it since his early twenties, and he was now nearly fifty. They could only pray it wouldn't break down along the way.

Iris' legs were beginning to ache and become stiff. Her sleep was enough to catch up on what she had missed by Levi snoring, but she always hated long car journeys. They reminded her of holidays with her parents, although they were normally sitting with her, and it would be in a swish car with a hired driver instead. This meant ample time for arguments and ample time for immense discomfort. 

"Hey Wrench," she said, loud enough for him to hear over the music, "why did you join the Mongrels and not the Sangue?"

Wrench shrugged. "I lived closer to the Mongrels base, so I knew a guy that got me into it. Well, actually, I lived closer to the base of the Mutts, but obviously that burnt down."

Iris' stomach tensed as if it had been hit. She was the reason that building burnt down – not that she'd ever admit it. The accident had been written off as an electrical fire by the police, and seeing as it was abandoned anyway, nobody had looked into it. So, swearing to never speak of it again, the Sangue never revealed the truth of what really happened that night.

"Besides," Wrench continued, "I never liked the Sangue. You spend too much time talking and not fighting."

Iris let out a noise of complaint. "Excuse me, the Mongrels are a bunch of brain-dead idiots who drink Mountain Dew and Lucozade all day. It's pathetic."

"Okay that one wasn't me. Kyle was addicted to the stuff and got everyone else into it. Tastes like sick." He shivered, switching lanes. Beside him, Levi stifled a laugh.

"Well, at least you weren't part of Driz's gang." Iris thought of the group that tried to steal some of their weapons and failed miserably. Driz had payed for that one. "That was stupid."

Wrench smiled. "Shit! Yeah, I remember that! He managed to get a few ten-year olds into it – which is fucked up as it is, because nobody that young should be in with gang shit."

"I know, right?" Iris agreed, shaking her head. "I only allowed age sixteen and up. If the gang leader can be sixteen, then the rest of them should. Even still, that's probably quite young too."

"Yeah. I say sixteen. Though I have a cousin who is sixteen, and I wouldn't want him fighting." The car came off the motorway as a sign mentioning a gas station flashed at them. "If I'm honest, the whole gang thing is stupid. Sure, you get money through shit, and it's a way of distracting you from your already fucked up life, but it's too much. I get bored of stabbing people all the time."

Iris gasped. "No way. Wrench actually gets bored of stabbing people? Jesus. Can you say that again?"

"Even I'm shocked at that." Ember added, after having stayed surprisingly silent throughout the whole journey. "I thought you loved the gang stuff. I mean, that was your life."

"It was." Wrench stared out into the road, one of his legs jiggling up and down with energy. His demeanour had changed, less cold and rigid as he used to be. Iris wondered why. "But it made my mum super sad. And scared too. So, I dunno. Maybe it's because I've been distant from it all, but I feel good knowing she's not worried about me, you know?"

The car drove on in silence as everyone took in his words. 

"Want us to call you Louis?" Ember asked.

He shook his head. "Fuck no. Wrench sounds badass."

♥♥♥

The gas station had supplied them with enough food to last them a few days. Albeit it was junk food, virtually nothing healthy apart from some tinned peaches that Ember was craving, but the sheer amount of sugar and calories would power them with all the energy they needed to get through everything.

"So this address," Iris said, munching on some Cheetos, "does it come up with anything on the satnav?"

Ember shook her head. She was a better driver than Wrench, so the journey was going a lot smoother, but her road rage was considerably worse. The three passengers silently hoped the rest of the cars would stay away and not annoy her any more. "Nope. It's coming up with some place in the middle of nowhere."

"I just don't understand why they'd need Hunter." Levi said. He was sat next to Iris in the back, after having swapped seats with Ember and Wrench. He had been considerably more quiet than usual, and this comment was the first in a while. Perhaps it was because they were getting closer to finding out more. Well, they hoped, at least. "Why him?"

Just as Iris was about to reply, they were cut off by Hunter's phone ringing in Levi's lap. For a second, everyone went silent, all eyes darting to it frantically as if it were the missing boy himself. But that excitement faded as Iris recognised the number – it was Sniper, and she had been expecting his call anyway. Picking up the phone, she answered it with a short, "Hey."

Sniper's familiar voice sang through it. "We've sorted more money for you. Are you okay?"

"I'm good." She was glad that her gang had been looking out for her – as soon as she called them through Hunter's phone, they had been insisting that they help her; giving money, even trying to fly out themselves. "What's the situation with Camp Juvy?"

"I'm gonna be honest, it's not great." He sighed. "They're putting stuff up online about it. Obviously it's not a huge news story at the moment, but as soon as the police get involved it might be. You should stay low. And I mean it. No CCTV, no nothing."

She pursed her lips, sharing a look with Levi who could hear Sniper's voice from the phone. "Thanks. And seriously, all your help – I really appreciate it."

"It's what we do." Sniper replied. She could hear the grin in his voice. He loved helping her out. "Where are you now? Please tell me you're not driving somewhere unarmed."

Iris laughed. "It's okay, we're nearly at the address from the text on Hunter's phone. We have a gun that Levi's uncle gave us, and some knives of Wrench's. Don't worry."

"Some random address? Revenant, you need to stay safe." Sniper's voice dripped with fear. He always was the one that cared the most. "What if it's a trap?"

"It's not. At least, I hope it isn't." She swallowed. "You know me. I can handle anything."

There was a pause as he exhaled shakily. "Yeah, but maybe not this. Rex is so worried he keeps eating sweetcorn."

She laughed, but it didn't seem to run through her like normal. Deep down, she was just as terrified as he was. "Okay, how about this: I'll text all of you the address, and if you call me and I don't pick up second time, you can come. Not that hopping on a plane to America will get you here fast enough, but if it makes you feel better."

"It does." He seemed to relax a little. "But still. Just, after Davis, and everything-"

"I know. Seriously, it's gonna be fine." She breathed in through her nose slowly, feeling sick to her stomach. 

As she hung up, she began to doubt her words. Would it really be fine? What if her gang travelled to America, only to find her body dead in a ditch somewhere?

As if noticing her distress, Levi's fingers threaded with hers, warm and soft. Resting her head on his shoulder, she let his warmth surround her, soothing her fear.

And that's when Ember cleared her throat. "Guys. I think we're here."

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

AUTHORS NOTE: Hello. Another update. Heehee. 

It's nearly finishheeeeddd! AHHHHHHHH!!!!! I actually don't know how many chapters there are going to be, but it will be finished soon...I think lol

What did you think of this chapter? 

What about Wrench? Is he in your good or bad books?

Let me know!!!!!

Anyway, more updates soon. 

Very, very very soon. 

In fact, right now. 

I can't WAIT until all is revealed. 

HUGE HUGE HUUUGE AMOUNTS OF LOVE,