Carmen attempted over and over to scream loud enough for her friends to find her, but it was no use. The gag in her mouth would soon start to choke her if she didn't stop, and it muffled her voice significantly. Her throat felt raw from exertion and over usage, and tears burned her eyes. She felt ready to give up.

What was the point of resistance anyway?

Her father was dead.

Apparently murdered by Shadowsan- the man she had started to see as a father himself.

Carmen coughed, silently cursing both the cloth in her mouth and herself for crying. She knew Zack and Ivy would come to check on her eventually, but she hated -despised, really- the burn of rope around her hands and feet. It kept her from freedom.

It was an awful feeling.

One last shout, and then I'll try to get out myself or wait for them. "Zack! Ivy!" The words were garbled but a bit louder, striking hope back into her chest. Two minutes passed, slowly.

No one came.

Carmen screwed her eyes shut, trying to ignore the claustrophobia that was clawing over her. If she could just move her hands correctly...

She twisted and jerked them, but nothing got the rope to budge. Panic flared, and she found herself bending in half on the floor to cough again and again as tears darkened the gag and the world spun. What was happening to her?

Carmen finally gave in and stopped struggling, going limp and beginning to sob. Her dad was dead, Shadowsan had lied to her, Ivy and Zack weren't coming-

The door of the train cabin suddenly flew open.

"Carm!"

She blinked up at her friends, who both knelt and propped her up. Ivy whisked the gag from her mouth, and Carmen sucked in a heaving breath.

Zack worked on the knotted rope, and Ivy help her as she cried. "Shh... it's alright, Carm. I got you. Everything's gonna be OK."

Carmen couldn't find the strength to correct her.

Ivy watched Carmen sadly as she tried to sleep. The red head had curled in on herself soon after they found her bound and gagged on the floor, looking defeated. Carmen wouldn't talk, only letting them know that Brunt had showed up but not taken her captive, and that she wasn't badly hurt.

Her silence was almost as scary as when they had heard her sobbing alone through the door.

Zack met her eyes over his food and jerked his head to where Carmen lay, her back to them. "What should we do?" He whispered tersely.

"I can hear you." Carmen shifted slightly. "And I'm fine. Stop worrying."

Ivy blanched at the thief's cold tone.

Carmen seemed to hear it too, because she sat up and looked at them, eyes sad. "Sorry- I'm sorry. That was unnecessary of me. Thank you... for caring."

She swung her legs to the floor, looking at her feet. She was silent for a bit, then sucked in a breath. "My father's dead."

Ivy and Zack's eyebrows shot up. What?

Carmen bit her lip as tears lined her eyes. "I mean, I guess I always knew my parents might be dead, since I was told my entire life that they abandoned me;but hearing it from the person who raised me? Knowing for sure that I'll never get to meet my dad? It- that's just..." She couldn't continue.

There was silence, until...

"I'm not going to say that I competently understand what you're going through, Carm, but me and Zack have been where you are right now." Ivy looked at her brother and then moved to sit by Carmen. "We're the only family we had, before you."

Carmen raised her head.

Ivy tucked Carmen to her. "I am so, so sorry about your dad, Carm," she whispered. "I know you must be feeling a million different things right now, but Zack and I will be here for you always. Family sticks together, right? And you are our family.

Zack smiled sadly and joined the hug.

Carmen held them and cried softly.

Despite Ivy's words, Carmen's sleep was riddled with nightmares. The third time that she woke up gasping and drenched in cold sweat, still unable to remember the horror-filled dreams that had forced her awake, she gave up on trying to rest. Throwing off the suffocating blankets, Carmen padded softly past Ivy and Zack to the cabin window. The stark, moon-lit scenery rushed by in a blur of shadow as the train continued on its course, and she sat to stare out of the glass.

"To steal my daddy's life," she whispered. That's what Coach Brunt had said.

It sounded even worse coming out of her own mouth.

Looking out at the darkness, Carmen could've sworn that she saw a menacing figure with a long, gleaming sword running with the train. She took a sharp breath and stumbled back in surprise, crashing into the wall.

She sank to the floor, shaking. Was she seeing things?

"Carm? Carmen, are you OK?"

Carmen looked up, startled. Ivy was standing a few feet away, looking tired and wearing a worried expression. The thief stood quickly, reaching up to rub the back of her head, which ached from its collision with the wall. "I-I'm fine. I just thought I saw something..." She glanced at the glass, almost expecting it to shatter at that moment. Nothing.

"Or maybe I'm just going crazy," Carmen whispered, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Why are you awake?" Ivy strode over and offered a hand, sounding troubled.

"Nightmares." Carmen took it and allowed Ivy to lead her back to her bead. "I-I kept waking up, shaking. But I couldn't remember anything." She sat. "Maybe I'll feel better in the morning."

Ivy smiled sadly and hugged her. "Things will get better."

But Carmen knew that that wasn't how things worked for her.

That's never how things worked for a thief.