I gazed about the apartment, taking in the dilapidated walls, the small, disheveled bed, and the cushioned recliner in one corner. My heart broke as I swept across empty bottles of alcohol scattered across the floor. "Oh, Alec."

Kendall flicked a light on a nearby lamp, casting heavy shadows on the walls. Several roaches scurried away as the beams of light touched them. Molly went over and plopped down into the recliner and pulled a small doll out from her back pocket, playing with it.

"Not much here," Kendall muttered, looking about.

A dark shape sitting atop a mini fridge on the nearby countertop caught my eye. I stepped over and picked it up lightly. Tears welled in my eyes as I drank in the scene before me. A group of people, smiling and laughing, illuminated by firelight.

"Kendall. Look." I offered it to him and as he took it, I saw his eyes begin to glisten as well.

"I remember this picture. This was right after you guys got to the cabin." He handed it back to me, and I noted small, round impressions on the otherwise dirty glass—tears long since dried.

A clean streak was right above my face; the glass was etched lightly with scratch marks. I traced it with my thumb, realizing it was exactly what he had done. He had run his thumb across the image of my face again and again.

"He didn't give up on us, Kendall. He thinks we gave up on him."

I sank onto the bed and, turning onto my side, pressed my face into the sheets, his scent coming back to me in waves, threatening to overwhelm me. I dug my fingers into the fabric and struggled not to sob.

"He's here, Kendall."

Kendall picked up the picture again, looking at it strangely. "How did he get this?"

"What?"

"How... How did he get this?"

"What do you mean?"

"I brought this picture with us. It was in my things. I mean, it's possible he had one too, but no, that doesn't track; he was butt naked in that last video we saw of him."

I sat up. "When's the last time you saw it?"

"Honestly... Like right after we left. Within the first week. I figured it had fallen out, I had left a bag behind, or that Whiskey had taken the wrong bag when she left. We all lost something that first week trying to get our shit together, remember?"

"Yeah, we did..." I said, standing and looking around. A scrap of fabric under the pillow at the head of the bed caught my eye, and I snagged it. A choked sob escaped my throat as the familiar fabric came unwound from the bed. "Like this. My scarf."

Kendall took it from me lightly, running his hands across it.

Kendall studied the scarf, running the soft fabric through his fingers. "Alec must have snuck into our camp the night Whiskey left us."

I nodded slowly. "He's come so close to us, so many times." My gaze drifted back to the battered recliner where Molly sat, obliviously playing with her doll. "Do you think he's kept an eye on us all this time...?"

A metallic clang made us both jump. Molly had knocked over an empty bottle. Her small face smushed in frustration as she stared at it.

A muffled thump came from the adjacent room, like something heavy hitting the floor. Kendall's head whipped towards the noise, eyes narrowing. Slowly, he moved to the doorway, motioning for me to stay back with Molly.

The door banged open. A dark figure stood in the doorway, their features distorted by the flickering lamplight.

Kendall started toward the figure, hope on his features. "Alec?"

"Sorry, no," Nolan stepped forward. He froze, seeing the tears on our faces.

"Not him?" he asked, his expression turning crestfallen. "I'm sorry guys, I was really..."

"No," I said, sniffling. "It's him."

"Oh! That's amazing news! I'm sorry he's not home."

"It's okay," Kendall said, handing the scarf back to me. I held it to my cheek. "What do you need?"

Nolan looked around, taking in the apartment. "Man, he's kind of a slob."

"Always was," Kendall said. "That's why he married a neat freak."

"Fuck you," I replied. "But yeah, what do you need? Kind of having a moment here."

"Ah, yeah," he cleared his throat. "There's someone else here asking about Alec. I guess they had an appointment, and Alec missed it. He keeps bangin' on about it. You should come to meet them. He's an interesting guy."

"Who?"

"Raider Dave."

"RAIDER DAVE!" Kendall shouted in a nasal tone and threw his arms straight up. Nolan repeated the phrase, tone, and gesture.

"What the fuck was that?" I asked, bewildered.

"Raider Dave!" Kendall said.

"From American Dad?" Nolan looked at me incredulously. "You know, the alien Roger?"

"I never... Watched that show... You two are fuckin' weird."

"Bah." Kendall waved me away. "Okay, so who is this Dave then?"

"Well, he was a raider captain. Remember when I said Alec went out and went toe to toe with a bunch of Raiders, and then that Stalker thing showed up? This guy was the leader of those Raiders. He went toe to toe with the Stalker and actually almost killed it, so he's kind of a badass."

I blinked. Alec and the Stalker were one and the same. There's no way this guy almost killed Alec in a one-on-one when he was in Stalker mode. "Eugh. Might need to rethink that phrase; makes him sound like a pervert. Ragger calls him the Destroyer... So maybe Destroyer mode?" I shook my head.

"This guy almost killed that thing?" Kendall said incredulously. "No, no way. I've seen that thing in action. Heard a story once about it ripping apart a tank."

"To be fair, it had just fought like... forty dudes and then faced off with Dave. And Dave fought it with a sword."

Okay, maybe Dave was kind of a badass.

"Alright," I nodded, "what have he and Alec been up to? You said he had "an appointment" with Alec? Do you have any idea what that's about?"

"Well," Nolan scratched his head. "No. Alec is the head of the scouts. My best guess is he's been trying to get info on the remaining raiders, where their camp is, and things like that."

That didn't add up. Dave would not be looking to hold his audience with Alec if Alec were trying to get information out of him. Alec had spared this guy on the battlefield for a reason and was talking to him regularly for... something.

I looked at Kendall, who met my gaze and held it. I could tell he was thinking the same thing.

"Yeah," Kendall said abruptly, turning back to Nolan. "Yeah, we can meet with him. Maybe if he's already told Alec where the camp is, maybe he's out scouting right now, might be able to catch him in the field. Just uh, give us a few minutes, huh? Where can we meet you?"

"Directly after you go out the front door, take a right and then keep walking until you can't walk anymore. The building there is our city hall slash cafeteria slash prison. I'm feeling a little munchy anyway, so I can meet you inside."

"Thank you, Nolan," I said.

"Um, well, of course. Anything for Alec, really. He's saved us all more than once. And he'd be awful upset with me if he knew I didn't help his family."

I smiled, bittersweet emotions flooding over me. "Well. Yeah. That's how we know he's ours."