Author's Note: Listen to the linked video above to sing along with the characters! All original lyrics and production. Enjoy!

Kendall's voice soared through the night, a beacon of humanity in the eerie silence of the woods. His fingers danced over the guitar strings, each note a defiant spark against the encroaching darkness. The firelight cast flickering shadows across his face, highlighting the determination he always held so stoically.

"Neon skies, bleed alien light,

Shattered moons, hang in the night,

Where once, we gazed at stars, in awe,

Now twisted angels, scratch, and claw,"

I closed my eyes, letting the familiar melody wash over me. My lips moved silently, mouthing the words I'd heard a thousand times before. But tonight, something was different. The woods we'd just escaped still clung to us, the adrenaline of our narrow survival pulsing through our veins.

Kendall had always been there, a constant presence at my side. Alec's brother, my fellow soldier in this war against the heavens. But now, as I watched him sing, his face bathed in the warm glow of the fire, I felt a shift deep within me. A new awareness, sharp and electric, that made my skin tingle and my heart race.

Was this just the after effect of our latest brush with death? A momentary connection born of shared danger and relief? Or had something fundamental changed between us, revealing a depth of feeling I'd never acknowledged before? Was this new fire in my belly here to stay, or would it fade back to my normal cool indifference towards him?

I opened my eyes, studying Kendall's profile as he played. The set of his jaw, the furrow of his brow, the way his eyes seemed to look beyond our small clearing to some distant horizon. How had I never truly seen him before this moment?

"In this broken world of ours,

Where cosmic gods flex darkened powers,

I'll stand defiant, fists raised high,

Against this tainted, starlit skyyyyyyy..."

Kendall's voice cracked and soared on the final note, raw emotion spilling from his lips as he tilted his head back, eyes closed. The firelight danced across his face, casting shadows that accentuated the sharp lines of his jaw, the short shadow of his beard. I found myself transfixed, my gaze tracing the contours of his throat, the broad expanse of his shoulders.

A lump formed in my throat as memories of Alec flooded my mind. My husband, now more than likely gone forever. If not dead, then forever changed, the man I had known and fallen so deeply in love with, gone. The grief gnawed at me, a constant ache in my chest. But as I watched Kendall, something stirred within me – a warmth I thought had died with Alec.

I leaned forward, resting my elbow on my knee, my hand unconsciously reaching out before I caught myself. The crackling fire and Kendall's lingering notes filled the small clearing, a moment of beauty in our bleak, war-torn world.

Could I ever find solace in another's arms? The very thought felt like a betrayal, yet my heart raced traitorously. What if the person who could piece me back together was sitting right in front of me, his fingers still ghosting over guitar strings?

I sighed heavily, dragging my hand across my face and squeezing my eyes shut. The situation was so utterly messed up. He was Alec's brother, for god's sake. I couldn't – shouldn't – even consider it. But deep down, in a place I was terrified to acknowledge, I knew I desperately wanted to.

"I'll scale the walls of false heaven...

Tear down its gates of gleaming bone...

If hell's our last bastion of hope...

Then into its depths, I'll gladly roam..."

I glanced at Amanda sitting next to him, the firelight dancing over her caramel features as she gazed at Kendall with an intensity that mirrored my own inner turmoil. My heart constricted, torn between loyalty and longing. Amanda had been my best friend since the day we met, a constant in this chaotic world. How could I possibly betray that bond?

Kendall's words echoed in my mind: "She wants to have a kid." The weight of that statement hung heavy in the air. You don't offer to bear someone's child in the midst of an apocalypse unless your love runs deep and true.

I too had once dreamed of motherhood, with Alec. My arms curled around my midsection, cradling the emptiness within as our last conversation replayed in my thoughts. His bitter words had marked the potential end of his relationship with Amanda, but they'd also awakened a dormant ache in me. "How cool would it be to be a dad?" Kendall's question resonated, stirring up long-buried desires. I had always yearned to be a mother, more than anything. Though I'd accepted that circumstances had rendered me as barren as genetics could, a flicker of hope stubbornly persisted.

My gaze drifted back to Amanda, guilt churning in my gut. Was I willing to sacrifice our friendship for my own selfish desires? As our eyes met across the firelight, I noticed tears glistening in hers. For a moment, I feared she'd sensed my inner conflict, but then I realized – it was Kendall's song that had moved her so deeply.

His earlier words about their relationship haunted me: "The usual, fighting... Neither of us are budging... I guess you could say we're tense..." How tense, Kendall? Tense enough to shatter what they had?

His voice rose, passion filtering through to our small gathering:

"Iridescent blood stains city streets,

Where human and inhuman meet,

With every breath, with every fight,

We push back the alien might,

Though corrupted angels circle overhead,

We'll paint these new skies human red!"

I swept my eyes across our makeshift family. Marlene had Jim cradled like a child on her lap, his face a picture of awe as he gazed up at her. Their bond seemed to have only strengthened since discovering Marlene's alien heritage and newfound strength. Nearby, Nolan and Sarah leaned against one another, swaying softly to the rhythm of Kendall's voice, finding comfort in each other's presence.

My heart ached anew, arms tightening around myself as if I could hold the pieces together. In this clearing, surrounded by firelight and the echoes of Kendall's song, I felt more alone than ever. The absence of Alec, the uncertainty of his fate, pressed down on me like a physical weight. Love abounded throughout our little family, in every corner except mine. What had I done to deserve this loneliness, other than to love a man plagued by fate?

"I'll scale the walls of false heaven,

Tear down its gates of gleaming bone,

If hell's our last bastion of hope,

Then into its depths, I'll gladly roam,"

As Kendall's voice rose into the night air, my heart pulsed under the grip of newfound emotions. His melody wove through the darkness like a lifeline, tethering my scattered thoughts to this moment. Affection I had never considered churned within me as his gaze locked onto mine across the fire's glowing embers. An unspoken understanding flared between us—a recognition of desires simmering below the surface for too long.

Amanda sat close beside him, her hand gently resting on his knee in an act of quiet affection that seemed worlds apart from my own turbulent feelings. Jealousy flared hotly within me; I turned my attention to the dancing flames, their heat a welcome distraction from the storm inside.

What madness was this? My conscience screamed against it—this attraction felt like treason against Alec's memory. Yet here I was, entangled in longing for another man's embrace. And of all people—Alec's brother! My mind tumbled through our recent conversations, words exchanged around dwindling supplies and fading hopes as Kendall repeated the chorus once more, his cadence changing ever so slightly

Sarah cleared her throat nearby; her cough reminded me harshly of my earlier judgment against her choices when truthfully, I wrestled with desires no less scandalous or desperate. I was coming undone by lust as insistent as it was unwelcome. That's it, that's all this was, I told myself. I was just horny. It had been almost two and half years since I'd been touched. I just needed to fuck someone, anyone. Well, maybe not Dave.

Kendall's voice shifted lower now—notes drawing tears that stung at my eyes as they echoed sentiments buried deep within me about finding Alec again. Just beyond reach—but real enough to make my heart ache with want.

"In the ruins of our yesterdays,

Where memories blur and fade,

I'll forge a path through cosmic dust,

To find you, come, what, may,"

Let eldritch horrors bar my way,

Let star-born nightmares rise,

I'll harness all of human hell,

To pierce these alien skies,"

The chorus echoed around me like hammer strikes pounding into my chest.

"I'll scale the walls of false heaven," Kendall sang, his voice pulling at something raw inside me. Could that be my life—a pursuit of an illusion? A future always seeming just out of reach?

"Tear down its gates of gleaming bone." Why did I choose this life? While others hid and waited out the storm, why did I charge into battle? Was some core part of me driven by reckless hope or just pure stubbornness?

"If hell's our last bastion of hope." Here in hellish reality was where I found myself—torn between loyalty to Alec's memory and burgeoning feelings for Kendall. Rage clashed with desire within me as I sat by the fire.

"Then into its depths I'll gladly roam." With each note Kendall played, my willpower splintered further. My legs trembled beneath me as I rose abruptly from my seat by the fire and mumbled about needing air, avoiding everyone's eyes before stumbling away into darkness.

The cool night air hit my flushed skin as I pushed through the undergrowth. Branches scratched at my arms, leaving thin red lines in their wake. I didn't care. I needed to put distance between myself and the others, between myself and these unwelcome feelings.

My foot caught on a hidden root, sending me sprawling onto the forest floor. I lay there, face pressed against the damp earth, inhaling the scent of decaying leaves and soil. Tears pricked at my eyes, a sob building in my chest.

Kendall's voice still carried to me in the woods, and on some level, part of my mind wondered about the wisdom of putting on a concert in the middle of the woods where we had just been attacked. Another part of my mind hoped a Silencer would come up behind me and end my life, right now, go out while listening to the most beautiful song I had ever heard.

"For you, my brother, lost but not forgotten," Kendall's raw emotion filled the air, his words carving into my soul.

"I'll wage a war on altered space,

Unite the dregs of men,

To save our fallen, broken race."

His voice fell low and slow on the final words of the outro, promising vengeance in a poignant display of rebellion and determination.

"Let eldritch horrors bar my way,

Let star-born nightmares rise,

I'll come back, with wrath of hell,

And shatter these god damned skies."

As Kendall's final note faded into the night, his words lingered, heavy with promise and grief. I curled onto my side, drawing my knees to my chest. Pain blossomed within me, sharp and intense, as if a blade had pierced my heart. The campfire crackled, hurling sparks skyward—brief flashes of light against the oppressive darkness.

The forest floor pressed against my cheek, damp and cool. Leaves whispered in the breeze, carrying the scent of pine and woodsmoke. My fingers clawed into the earth, seeking purchase as my thoughts whirled.

Alec's face materialized behind my closed eyelids. My husband, lost in the vastness of this altered reality. The memory of his touch, his smile, hovered tantalizingly close yet impossibly far. The scratch of his stubble against my palm. The rumble of his laughter. The crinkles at the corners of his eyes when he grinned.

And here was Kendall, Alec's brother. His voice, so similar yet distinct—a constant reminder of what I'd lost and what I now shamefully craved. The firelight had played across his features as he sang, illuminating the familiar planes of his face. But where Alec's eyes sparkled with mischief, Kendall's burned with determination.

My chest constricted. This feeling—it betrayed everything. Alec, Amanda, myself. Yet the pull persisted, inescapable as gravity.

Exhaustion claimed me, and I drifted into fitful sleep. Dreams twisted—a kaleidoscope of impossible scenarios: Alec and Kendall side by side; their faces merging; Amanda's tears; a child with my eyes and Kendall's smile. I reached for them, but they dissolved like smoke through my fingers.

"Hey, you okay?"

Kendall's voice cut through the haze. I froze, willing myself to disappear into the forest floor. Footsteps approached—leaves crunching, twigs snapping—and a hand touched my shoulder, warm through the fabric of my shirt.

"Don't," I choked out, face pressed to the ground.

The hand withdrew. Kendall loomed over me; concern etched his features in the aurora light filtering through the canopy.

"What's wrong?" he asked gently.

I pushed myself up to sit back on my heels as Kendall crouched beside me—worry shadowed his familiar face.

"Everything," I whispered brokenly—the weight crashing down upon me: loss; longing; an impossible tangle of emotions that threatened to drown me whole.

"Alec," I continued haltingly; "Amanda... you... I can't—"

Kendall's brow furrowed deeply as if trying to decipher some hidden message beneath my words.

"What about me?" he pressed softly.

"I can't," I sobbed again before pushing him away and running deeper into the woods.