No Officials stop us as we walk away. They're all too busy running in the direction of the main square to help or find loved ones. Panic fills the air; the once calm ordered atmosphere has disappeared. Even the evening sky is awash with a deep red as though the blood of the dead has seeped upwards in remembrance of lost loved ones.

Me and Max walk in silence side by side for over an hour until we get back to his home. Although, I'm not sure how it will feel like home anymore with half of his family gone.

Faryl is hunched over the television, images of the destruction fill the large screen. He spins around, jumps up and embraces Max. Max mumbles against Faryl's chest and loud sobs follow as their bodies shake in unison.

I retreat, feeling like an intruder. I'm not part of this family. I've never been a welcomed guest in their eyes.

Standing in the kitchen, I stare at the two cups of tea I've made, unsure whether to take them into the other room. I don't know how to comfort people. I can't exactly say 'I know you're family is dead but here are two cups of sugary tea, you'll get over it soon enough.' They won't and as Grey once said, we shouldn't have too. No one should have to accept and move on from an unfair loss of life.

The images of Pru's and Dorothea's lifeless bodies reappear along with Grey's body. My throat is clogged with tears and my eyes sting as my body aches with loss.

"Thank you, Cady, for saving Max." Faryl stands in the doorway, his eyes are red and swollen.

"I didn't do anything," I croak.

"You brought him back." Faryl shudders.

We stand in silence until Faryl straightens himself and says, "I'm going to the main square. I want to help and look for..." His hoarse voice tapers off and he coughs, clearing his throat. "Will you stay here and look after Max? He's in a bad way."

"Of course." I want to tell him not to go. He doesn't need their corpses to be the last memories he has of them. I don't say anything. I understand his motive and I doubt anything I say will change his mind. No one could change mine when I was determined to see Grey.

I walk into the living room with the hot tea in one hand and a selection of boxes, I found in the medicine cabinet, in the other. Max is perched on the edge of the sofa, fixated on the television. Cameras sweep over what's left of the main square, zooming in on parts of bodies and the destroyed Reflection centre. Max takes the drink but protests when I turn the television off.

"Max, we were there. We already know the damage," I say gently, sitting next to him on the sofa. I stare at the selection of boxes filled with pills in the hand. "I thought one of these may help."

Max frowns as he takes one of the boxes. "This is a laxative. I don't think I can simply excrete the lost my mum and sister then flush it down the toilet."

"I didn't know what the labels say so I just grabbed a load," I sigh, feeling even more useless.

Max searches through the other boxes, lifting a light blue box he turns it in his hand. "Why do we have sedatives?"

I stare at the box wondering if those are the ones Jas intended for me to take but Dorothea refused to give me without my consent. The lump in my throat grows. Max puts two in his mouth and swallows them down with a gulp of tea. We sit on the couch, staring out the window at the darkening sky.

"How long were you with my mum?" Max says quietly.

I arch an eyebrow at his question. "What do you mean?"

"I saw how you two were with each other. How long were you having an affair?" Max spits.

"We weren't." I shake my head in disbelief. Is that where all his rage has come from? Fuelled by the false idea of me and his mum having an affair.

"Don't lie. She was determined to have you here no matter what my father said and you two had secrets. You'd stop mid-conversation when I entered the room, she was always hugging you." Max clenches the cup in his hand.

"Your mum was looking out for me. I promise, we weren't having an affair."

"Even now you can't be honest. Tell me the truth was she..." Max inhales deeply. "Was she gay?"

"No. Not that I know of. As far as I knew, she was happily married to your father."

Max's shoulders sag and he gulps down the tea. "All this time, I thought you two...It was why I was so-"

"Annoying? Rude? An asshole?" I interrupt.

"Angry," Max says flatly. "I was angry at both of you because... well, it's not right is it. I mean, don't you think it's not right."

"I think we shouldn't judge people based on the gender they are attracted to. If you fancied men, women or both, what relevance does it have to me? I decide whether I like someone based on how they act towards others not who they have sex with." I sigh.

"This doesn't mean I like you now." Max slumps backwards, sinking into the soft fluffy cushions of the couch.

"Don't worry, I'm well aware of how much you hate me." I take the cup from his hand as I watch the familiar look of nothingness start to descend across his face.

"I hate the rebels. They're the reason mum and Pru are dead."

"We don't know who-"

"It was on the television. The rebels are responsible. The State have evidence. They want to ruin our way of life." Max slurs in a low voice.

I don't respond. I'm not arguing with him, not when he's just lost half of his family and in reality, what can I say? I don't think they did it or I hope they didn't because I'm part of them. I don't want to believe they are capable of such atrocities but based on past actions, have they showed themselves to be above cruelty? Not really. Maybe, this is their next step, killing one innocent individual to whole crowds of them.

Max's heavy lids slowly close. His face is dirty, his hair matted and smalls scratches cover his skin. It makes me sad to think how much this will affect him. Only one more day and he's not my problem. The thought doesn't make me feel better.