"Missing?" 

My dad, frozen in shock is unable to comprehend what the guy just said, and neither is me, Mom, or Alex. We are all up off of our beds. How did this happen? Why? They're two of my friends that I grew up around. Eva had taught me combat skills, and Moira looked out for me when Nina wasn't around in Windenburg. They just have to come back! 

"How did you let this happen? Already? What actually happened?" Dad questions the man, with a furious tone of voice. I want to tell him to stop, but he probably won't listen to me. Or to anyone.

"Clark took them out for a supply mission along with a few of our men just a few minutes ago. But they came back without them. I'm sorry, but we'll try to get them back here as soon as we can." 

Mom looks confused and terrified. 

"We don't even know where they are! They could literally be anywhere." So the man sighs. "Yeah, but, um, we can at least try."

Then Dad takes a seat on my cot, and it seems like he's about to say something to me. 

"Marcus, honey, I think me and your mom should go and look for our friends. Okay?"

He did say that in a calm manner, and I'm surprised the man didn't have to get him to go. 

"I should go too, Marcus," Mom tells me sweetly. Alex nods, and the next thought travels into my brain. 

"Is Alex coming too?" I ask Dad.

"No," he responds. "I think it's best if Alex stays with you, Marcus. We'll be back soon."

Well, what should I do when they're gone? Find the others? Make new friends? Actually, maybe. But I can't take my mind off of how Eva and Moira are seriously missing. I don't even know if they're okay, or still alive. And I have no control over finding them, because I'm not going with my parents.

"All right. Let's go, Bella, and... Mortimer." 

The man, Mom, and Dad, hurry out the creaky door. Leaving me and Alex alone. I sit myself down on his bed, because I want to talk. 

"I hope they're okay, Alex," I tell him, but then something unexpected happens. I feel teardrops in my eyes, because I'm so nervous. Oh, God. 

"They'll come back, Marcus. All of them. I'm sure they couldn't have gone too far."

Alex, always the optimistic one. I know well enough that one or both of them could be dead. And what he just said makes me angrier than ever. 

"You don't know that, Alex!" I storm off, regretting my words, because they came off harsher than I had meant. When I am outside, there are a few fire-colored trees, and a long, wide road with small houses on both sides. They all look the same, and have brown walls with beige doors on the exterior.

I see lots of people of all ages walking on the road I'm standing on. Most of them have some sort of protective clothing on in order for them to be sheltered from the fall breeze. The only stranger I spot in the crowd is Alice, wearing a brown shirt. She recognizes me and walks in my direction. 

"Marcus, hey. What are you doing outside?" I don't know what to say.

"Um, I'm looking for my other group members. You know, the ones that came with me," I spit out, glancing at the walkie-talkie in her hand.

"Oh, I think I know where they are," she says after a brief pause. 

"Sergio, Lucas, that girl Sofia, right? And Luna and... Hugo. Their houses are near each other. Come on, I'll take you there." So Alice leads me on a trek right through the road, and I look around at the beautiful trees and shrubberies. After a couple of turns, I arrive at the front steps of Sergio's house. Sofia comes up to me, leaving her home. 

"Hi, Marcus. I know your parents just left. Want some company?" she asks me.

While you guys are at it, Clark, just watch out for the rotters. They're probably going to come... in a herd any second now.

I'm able to hear Alice whispering on her walkie, and what she just says concerns me. Are growlers actually going to come? In herds rather than strays? That is bad. But Alice doesn't look stressed out at all. 

"I'm gonna go, guys, okay? Stay safe." With that she leaves me and Sofia. 

"Sure, I guess. Fine," I tell her, to answer her question. "Okay," she says. "Where do you want to go?"

There's an abundance of people in this area, too, which signals to me that there are hundreds, probably thousands of people part of The Settlers. In the crowd, I take a peek at a girl with blonde hair about my age, sitting solemnly by herself, drawing in a notebook. I want to go over and introduce myself, and so that's what I do, and Sofia follows me. 

"Hi," I tell her when I arrive at the tree she's sitting by. "I'm Marcus. What's your name?"

She's weird, because she looks up at me as defensive as a guard, and heads right back to sketching. Just then, Sergio, Alex, Lucas, Hugo, and Luna approach Sofia and I. 

"Hi there," Sergio greets us, but not with a smile.

"Hey, Marcus," Lucas makes eye contact with me. 

"Hi, guys," I say, smiling.

"Marcus," Alex tries to scold me. "How come you just ran off and left our house? That was pretty... not cool."

Now I am even angrier. Livid even. But I keep it inside. 

"I'm sorry, Alex. I won't do it ever again," I apologize. Hopefully I'll be able to get over it. Suddenly, Alice runs over to us and this time, she's worried. 

"So, guys, the good news is that we found Moira and Eva. But there's a woman here, with about ten men, and she's gunning people down left and right! She says she's looking for your dad, Marcus!"

I can't even think. No, no, no!