The next few hours were a blur.

Through some peculiar perception, I didn't even feel like I was really there: once I'd let go of Jace's hand and moved aside to let Nova and Thomas do their work, I was overcome by an out-of-body sensation that made me feel like I was looking down on the scene from above. I could see myself there, kneeling on the side lines, pain carved into my expression as I refused to take my eyes off Jace.

Now armed with a fully stocked medi kit, Thomas was able to patch up the wound on Jace's leg with proper bandages, which – unsurprisingly – were a whole lot better at stemming blood flow than my ripped shirt. Once they were fastened, it took our combined effort to haul him onto the stretcher, which Thomas and I then carried back through the woods.

Nova led the way, while I took the end of stretcher by Jace's head. Every so often, he'd lift it so our eyes would lock – and each time, I gave him a mildly scolding look. He knew full well he was supposed to be resting, not straining his neck to make eyes with me. But I couldn't help myself. After just a second's glimpse of his expression, of that glimmer of hope and contentment and almost mischief in his eyes, I couldn't stop the smile curling the corner of my lip.

It was a single moment, just for us, undetected amidst the chaos of everything else.

And somehow, it was everything we needed.

When Nova glanced over her shoulder, checking we were still following close behind, I wiped any trace of the smile from my face sharpish – but that didn't erase what it had meant in the first place.

Art met us about half of the way back; we heard his pounding footsteps long before he emerged between the trees ahead, skidding to an urgent halt. From the way he struggled to catch his breath, it was obvious that he'd come as fast as he could, and the flash of panic in his mismatching eyes definitely didn't go unnoticed.

"What happened?" he asked. "Is everything okay?"

"It's alright," Nova told him, raising a hand. "It's under control."

"You guys need any help?" When I looked up, I noticed Art's gaze was directed at me, and the grip I had on the handles of the stretcher. "Astrid? You want me to take that?"

For a moment, I considered it. The stretcher was heavy, even with Thomas taking half the weight, and a dull ache had set into the muscles in my arms. However, as my eyes trailed downward, landing on Jace's dirt- and blood-stained face, I shook my head.

"Thanks," I told him, "but I've got it."

We carried Jace all the way back to the university lab, where there was a room that doubled up as a sick bay whenever needed. Among a group of modified people, that wasn't often, but it was safer to have it on standby. Supercharged immune systems might've been able to ward off the nastiest of bugs, plus heal injuries more quickly – but even we weren't immune to the initial trauma of a gunshot wound.

Thomas wasn't a qualified doctor, but he was the best we had, and some level of basic training had given him a level head and a foundation of knowledge stable enough to stack everything else on. We were ushered out of the sick bay once Jace was settled in, to reduce the amount of people standing there peering over him, but there was no doubt that he'd been left in the safest pair of hands.

However, with Jace at the start of his road to recovery, our minds naturally turned elsewhere. Though any urgent concerns about his welfare may have subsided, the leftover space didn't stay empty for long: after all, we still had the obvious to consider.

That was the reason for the silence.

Five of us were crowded into the room in which we'd found Nova earlier: the small, dark space surrounded by screens and centred around a large metal table. I'd taken a seat in one of the office chairs, alongside Thomas and Art. Erica perched on the edge of the tabletop, legs swinging below her, while Nova stood with her arms folded at the opposite end of the room. Perhaps it was the tension in the air, but she seemed unable to stay still; the long minutes in here so far had all been spent watching her pace and up and down the length of the room.

I didn't dare be the first to speak, and it seemed the rest were thinking along the same lines. Thankfully, Erica had the courage to take one for the team.

"Well," she said, shattering the silence with all the grace of someone putting their fist through a pane of glass. "Anybody got an idea what this was all about?"

Nova looked at her. "No. None at all."

"We should've been better prepared," Art said. "But we weren't, and who could blame us? Never in a million years did we think something like this could happen."

"A lunatic with a gun, running around out there in the woods?" Nova stood up a little straighter, shaking her head. "No, we certainly didn't predict that. In fact, I still can't quite get my head around it, despite the fact that Jace is lying in the next room with a bullet hole in his leg."

For the second time, the room fell quiet. For me, especially, the mental image brought everything a little too close to home; I was already having trouble pushing the sight of all that blood from my mind. I hardly needed another reminder.

"I don't understand," Art said. "Who would even do something like this?"

Erica rolled her eyes. "Oh, I've got a few ideas."

"We may have ideas, but none of those people are even supposed to know we're here," Nova pointed out. "We were guaranteed full protection. You know half those idiots in the capital think they're the only people in this country – they believe all the crap they're fed about the other cities being obliterated, that they're nothing but dust. They lap up all that New London propaganda, because they love the idea of being special, one of the chosen ones. If someone knows we're here, and knows we're worth shooting at... then they must be somebody worth worrying about."

"Do you think it's BioNeutral?" I asked.

Part of me wondered whether Nova would even answer. It was entirely possible that she'd retreat into her own line of thought, assuming she knew best – but she looked right at me.

"They're certainly the first people that come to mind," she said, "but I don't understand how they could know we're here. Art and I were sneaked out of jail under the highest security BioPlus are capable of, and those guys seriously don't mess around. They know we escaped, but there's no way they could've tracked our movements all the way here. Once we were out of the capital, we were basically in the clear."

"Not to mention," Erica chipped in, "if it was BioNeutral, don't you think it seems a little amateur? Send some random hitman into the woods with a pistol, with the instruction to shoot the first person they come across? It hardly seems in their interest to shoot Jace. He's their poster boy."

"Was their poster boy," Thomas pointed out. "And if they're concerned we're going to start using him as a weapon, maybe they thought it'd be the most efficient way of disposing of the problem."

"But would Max Snowdon really want to kill his son?" Erica asked. "I mean, I know the guy's an evil bastard, but would he really go that far?"

"I wouldn't put it past him." Nova stopped pacing, her feet now planted firmly at the head of the room. "Still, let's consider the obvious: the gunman was hardly accurate. There was no way of knowing it was Jace who would be out there, and let's face it, if he was shooting to kill, he didn't do a very good job. It could just as easily be a scare tactic. A warning that he knows we're here and up to no good."

At that moment, the question hit me. The obvious one, that probably shouldn't have even needed to be asked, and yet I realised I didn't know the answer to. Voicing it aloud may have made me sound stupid, but the words escaped me before I could stop them.

"Are we up to no good?"

With just six words, I found myself under the same kind of attention that Nova commanded. Four faces stared back at me intently, all unreadable, but I forced my focus to remain on my sister. She was studying me closest of all, her freckled face frozen in the moment, a wisp of fiery hair that had broken free from her braid resting against her cheek. These days, she looked determined, unstoppable. And I realised it suited her.

"Well," she said eventually, "we're not lying around here doing nothing, if that's what you mean."

I pushed further. "So we're doing enough to make us a target?"

"When it comes to BioNeutral, that hardly means much," Nova said. "But... yes. We're here on the outside, taking orders from BioPlus, doing what we can to help them. It's usually an advantage to have an outsider's perspective... but without the safety that comes with it, I'm starting to wonder whether it's a good idea."

"Yeah, what's going on with that?" Erica asked. "I thought they were supposed to have our backs out here. Seems a little slack of them to let their off-site base get picked off by some maniac with a gun."

"Which is exactly why I've spent all afternoon trying to get in contact with them," Nova said. Irritation had seeped in behind the words, and I could tell her temper was flaring. "But do you think they're making it easy for me? Full protection, guaranteed, was what they told us. Nobody knew we were here, and it was supposed to stay that way. Hardly looks like they've stuck to their word, does it?"

Art glanced over at her. "Maybe the gunman took them by surprise, too."

For the space of a few seconds, she considered it, before shaking her head vehemently. "I refuse to believe it. And even if that is the case, it's hardly reassuring, is it? However golden their intentions may have been, one of us still got shot, and only luck stopped it from being a whole lot worse. No, I'm not having it. I want them on the line, now."

She turned her back, diverting her attention to the screen mounted on the back wall, complete with a touchpad on the desk below. Nova's fingers moved rapidly across the pad, the loud taps echoing through the rest of the silent room. With her anger radiating in the air, filling our lungs with every breath, none of us dared to make another sound.

When the tapping stopped, it was replaced after a couple of seconds by what sounded like a dial tone. She was trying to make a call, but it didn't sound like she was having much luck: after thirty seconds of ringing, still nothing happened.

"Goddammit, they're supposed to pick up." Nova slammed her hand down on the desk; judging by the sound, it must've hurt, but she didn't even flinch. "This is an emergency number. What use are they if we can't get in contact with them when we need it?"

The lack of response only spurred on Nova's anger, and it wasn't long before she was pacing up and down once more. Watching each length only heightened my frustration; though I tried to look down at the floor to stay calm, I could still see her moving out of the corner of my eye. In the background, the blank dial tone continued, taunting us.

We were all ready to give up. The silence was deafening, and if Nova had been trying all afternoon, it looked like we were on our own. I was starting to wonder if we should just accept it – but then the dial tone suddenly cut off, and there was a voice on the other end.

"Hello?"

Like an instinctive reflex, Nova sprang into action at once, lurching for the screen. "Hello? Who's there?"

There was no immediate response: just a pause long enough to make us wonder whether we'd imagined the voice in the first place. We all waited with bated breath as Nova leaned in closer. "This is Oxford reporting from Birmingham. Do you hear me?"

A loud crackle of static filled the room. Then, suddenly audible: "Smith-Glover reporting from BioPlus. I can hear you."

The sound wasn't perfect, but I recognised the voice from somewhere. All of a sudden, I was transported back to a moment that was weeks, perhaps even months ago now: in the office at BioPlus HQ, just after everything had kicked off in New London. The conversation that had marked a turning point, when I'd first been introduced to experimental drug Dysintax. Though it was completely illogical, somehow, I knew this conversation was about to have similar impact.

Perhaps it was because I knew of Smith-Glover's status, because I could visualise his top-of-the-range office, with its glass desk and floor-to-ceiling windows and the way everything was completely pristine. For some reason, I expected Nova's tone to change, to hear her show an extra level of respect to someone so senior.

But her anger wouldn't allow it.

"We've been trying to get hold of you all afternoon," she said, making no effort to hide the impatience in her voice. "Nobody's been picking up. Fancy telling me why?"

There was a long, drawn-out pause. The obvious tension swelled in the room, and as I dared to sneak a glance at Art, who was sitting closest to me, we exchanged apprehensive looks. I wasn't sure of our exact professional relationship with BioPlus, but I wasn't willing to stake much on Nova's attitude going down well. And, judging by a single look, it seemed Art was of a similar opinion.

But then Smith-Glover spoke.

"There have been some... issues on our end," he said cryptically. "It's been a bit of a headache, if I'm honest. But no matter: I have full confidence everything will be resolved soon. How is everything up there?"

"How is everything?" she echoed incredulously. "How is everything? Do you think I'd have spent all afternoon trying to get you on the line if everything was a-okay? One of our group is currently lying in the sick bay recovering from a gunshot wound, if that answers your question well enough."

Silence.

Then, after what must've been at least ten seconds, "Who?"

"Jace," she said. "Took a nasty shot to the leg this afternoon, because somebody was lurking around the perimeter with a pistol. I don't suppose you happen to know anything about that?"

There was rustling on the line, combined with hazy static, obscuring what sounded like murmuring voices. "There was an intruder?" he asked. I wasn't sure whether I could trust the genuine surprise in his voice, or whether he was an exceptionally good actor. "Did you manage to catch him?"

"Of course we didn't," Nova snapped. "I wouldn't have neglected to mention it if we had the guy tied up in a back closet. We didn't even get a look at him. By the time we found Jace, he'd already scarpered."

More rustling, and what sounded like another hushed conversation. By now, Nova's patience was wearing thin.

"You said no one knew we were here," she said. "You told us we were safe. So I want a damn good explanation for what happened today, otherwise you'll understand when I stop believing that's the case."

"Oxford," he said. "We haven't disclosed your location to anybody. Our priorities haven't changed. You know keeping your base hidden is still at the top of our list."

"Then who's in the woods gunning us down?"

"We don't know."

"I thought you were keeping tabs on BioNeutral. You're supposed to know what they're up to."

"And we thought we did," Smith-Glover countered, "but in all our digging, we haven't found anything that pointed to this. Believe me, it's taken us by as much surprise as it has you."

With this, I could tell Nova sensed she was making little progress, that she wasn't about to get a grovelling apology from the other end of the line. It didn't seem like he was going to offer up a single suggestion, let alone a plan of action, for our next move. So she had to take it into her own hands, steering the conversation herself.

"We want better security here," she said. Her tone left no room for manoeuvre: it was an unmistakable demand. "You guaranteed full protection outside the capital, and it's obvious our current arrangement isn't enough. I want you to provide better. I want proper security, a closed perimeter, and round-the-clock surveillance. Otherwise we could start getting picked off one by one."

More silence, which seemed to be Smith-Glover's signature response to any difficult question. It wasn't hard to see why Nova was losing her temper.

And when he finally did speak, it was far from what we wanted to hear.

"I can't do that."

Nova froze. "What?"

"I can't do that," he repeated. "I'm sorry, Oxford, but it's not possible."

"What do you mean, it's not possible?" she demanded. "That's exactly the type of help you're supposed to be providing. This was always a mutual agreement."

"I know, and I wish I could offer you more." With his level tone, carefully balanced as to avoid revealing anything more than necessary, it was impossible to tell whether this was sincere. "We don't have the resources right now. Things are difficult here in the capital, and BioNeutral is more aggressive than ever... with the government on their side, passing new regulations that make it easier every day for them to infiltrate us, we're at full capacity just trying to keep them at bay. We don't have the security to spare."

"Then get some more," Nova said. "Or transfer the people you already have outside the capital to Birmingham. Whatever they're doing right now can't be more important than this."

"It's not possible."

"Do you even care?" Nova was leaning closer to the computer than ever, her face inches away from pressing up against the screen, like she was hoping this would amplify her voice into intimidation. "Is this even a concern to you? We're supposed to be working together, and we're your main link outside New London. We've done everything you asked so far. We've set up base here, we've done all the manual work of sifting through what's left of the city, and we've taken every order. In return, we were guaranteed safety. Why can't you hold up your end of the bargain?"

"Oxford."

"No. I want to know why. If you can't deliver on your promises, this is clearly an awful arrangement from our side. It's completely unfair."

"I wish I could do more, I really do..."

"What are we supposed to do now?" she asked. "Fend for ourselves? A tiny group of people against God knows how many now know we're out here, who also happen to be armed too? That sounds like it'll last."

"I can't..."

Then, from Nova, came the loudest outburst of all: "You promised we'd be safe here!"

Once again, the noise on the other end of the line trailed off. Smith-Glover had been silenced, and it wouldn't be easy for him to counter Nova's emotional reaction. He couldn't argue back with cold facts. The biggest truth of all was that he'd backed down on his promise, leaving us all in potential danger.

"I can't help," he said eventually, in a low voice that seemed to tread carefully for fear of being shouted down. "At least not now. But we're on the line if you need us, and you'll be the first to know if anything changes."

There wasn't time to say anything more. Seconds later, there was more crackling on the line, which was soon cut off and replaced by the dial tone. The conversation was over.

The atmosphere in the room had returned to glass. Even the slightest movement seemed capable of causing everything to shatter, with the resulting razor-sharp shards capable of slicing through skin cleaner than a bullet. My breath caught in my throat as my eyes froze on Nova's back, hunched over the desk. It was too tense to say anything, but the obvious hung in the air: our connection with BioPlus had been severed, perhaps in more ways than one.

Then, slowly, she moved. As her back straightened and she turned to face us, I felt my heartbeat quicken inside my chest. Her face was contorted with anger, and my insides lurched as I saw her clench her fists.

Part of me wondered if she would lose control. The conversation, after all, was the perfect storm: a gut-wrenching combination of anger, despair and the feeling of safety being torn from our grasp. We no longer had control of what happened here: the gunshot had made sure of that. It was hardly unthinkable that this could lead to us no longer having control of ourselves.

But just as the panic within me started to rise, I saw Nova's fists uncurl, and the fall of her chest indicated a deep exhale. With a slow, calculated movement, she turned to Art.

"There's no other option," she said evenly. "Get the keys to storage unit A."

It made no sense to me; instinctively, I glanced around the room, trying to gauge the reaction of the others in order to work out my own. This, however, was useless: most of their faces remained frozen, refusing to give anything away.

As Art rose slowly from his seat, and nothing else came by way of an explanation, my heart thudded louder. What was going on? What had she asked him to do – and what did it mean for us?

"What's storage unit A?" I found myself asking.

Nova's gaze caught mine, locking somewhere across the room, and her stony face looked more solemn than I'd ever seen. At this point, she really wasn't messing around.

"It's where we keep the weapons."

The words sent an icy chill slithering down my spine, and it took all I had not to shiver. There was no mistaking it now: this was serious. Whatever we'd been doing before suddenly seemed like child's play, nothing even close to preparation for a real battlefield. And yet we had no choice. Nova had made a decision, and what happened in the woods had set everything in stone – running away was no longer an option.

We just had to face it.

Nova lifted her head, chin angled upward as a determined confidence began to seep back in. "If BioPlus aren't going to protect us," she said, "then we're going to have to take matters into our own hands."

----------------------

Hi, guys! Slightly delayed update here, I know, but the good news is: I COMPLETED CAMP NANOWRIMO! It was pretty painful, and kind of made me want to curl up into a ball sometimes, but it does mean I now have 40,000 extra words in the bag for this story. I was kinda hoping to complete it within the month, but I got about 1-2 chapters away from the end, and that's good enough to me. So.... regular updates until the end of this book! YAAAY!

What's been going on with you guys? We've just had a 3-day weekend with the most BEAUTIFUL weather, which is a stroke of luck that almost never happens in the UK. Usually any hot spells fall in the week and I absolutely bake because the office is like a greenhouse...

SO... thoughts?! I know some of you guys were asking about the gunman in the previous chapter, but Astrid was so preoccupied with making sure Jace wasn't about to die that there wasn't much consideration for that. I hope this chapter answered some of your questions (or perhaps it just gave you more of them.) As always, feedback is very very very welcome (and also strongly encouraged!! Let's have a chat in the comments!!) <3

Until next time!

- Leigh