As I walk into school the next day, as break is officially over, I can't help but feel as though my very essence is happiness. Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration, but I feel so many things; the main things are relief and happiness. Autumn is alive, she's okay. That thought alone feels like enough to get me through anything, and it feels like nothing can wipe the smile off my face today. Not only is Autumn okay, but she confirmed Teresa's suspicions of Leane and is working to stop it while the rest of us work on stopping my father.

I walk up to my locker and unlock it. Then, I pack what I need into my plain bag, a smile still on my lips. A small part of me worries for Autumn, of course. I just learned she's alive, and I don't want anything to happen to her. Yet, I have faith in her. She's strong, she's smart, and now she is able to fight. In my eyes, Autumn is a hero, and I'm not going to tell her how to keep on being one. Well, besides not dying. All of us would do anything to make sure she doesn't die- again. Because, she did technically die. She must have. She was only alive because of Leane's selfish motive to use her to test those new Chips. Yet, if none of this had happened, if everything had gone back to normal, then Autumn would most likely be dead.

I slam my locker shut, falling into step with my cousin.

"Someone's happy," he muses as Eva links her arm with his. If only this was who we were; normal teenagers happily strolling through the halls of highschool. But, we're not. But we're okay with that. At least, I am. Because, if everything hadn't happened, then we wouldn't all be friends, now would we?

Glancing over at Eva, I realize she's also grinning. The girl has an extra bounce in her step, and her eyes seem brighter. Even Jared seems happier, although he doesn't show emotion much very well. Even if he is as stubborn as he is, and even if he was basically set on the idea that Autumn was dead, I know he's glad she's okay. I know Autumn was an important friend to him. Well, is. It's not like he has a lot of them. It's basically just the five of us, including Teresa, now. At school it's just three, and hopefully Autumn will be joining us soon, when this is all over.

We step into homeroom, which is filled with teenagers loudly conversing. No one stops and stares at us, but we do receive a few glances. The bell rings just as the door shuts behind us, and the couple besides me goes to sit wherever. I, on the other hand, would rather be alone. Why? First of all, I need to plan out what we're going to do about my father. I need to find a way to collect as much information about him as possible. Second of all, there's something else I plan on writing.

Scanning the room of teenagers, I spot an open seat in the back and head towards it. Something in me wants to shout to these people that Autumn's alive, but I can't. I want everyone to know it's not over, everyone to know what we're doing. However, it's better if they don't. It's better if they live in an illusion of safety for a while because, hopefully, it won't be an illusion for much longer.

I plop into my seat and toss my bag to the side. I reach into my bag and pull out Autumn's journal and plop it onto my desk. A pen makes it's way to my hand as I flip open the journal to the next fresh page. For a few minutes, I can have a break from worrying about the threat of my dad. He's not my dad anymore, I have to remind myself. He's my father. Big difference.

I play with the pen, twirling it around my fingers. Then, I put ink to paper. Which isn't as painful as the last time I did, after I thought Autumn could've been gone forever. But, this is the last message I will write before I give it back to her. When, I'm not sure, but I will, and maybe she'll read my poems and either think they're sweet or I'm out of my mind. Maybe it was a bit of both at the time I wrote them.

Hey, Autumn. So, you're alive. Obviously. I wrote those poems before, when I thought you could've been gone for good. So, read them if you want, but I thought I'd return what belongs to you. I found your poem book in Teresa's house by the way. I might have read through them. They're amazing, and you're pretty good at expressing your feelings, even if it is on paper. Maybe you'll write me a poem one day. Maybe, one day you'll write about all that's happened, about this crazy adventure we've been on together, together including Teresa, Jared, and Eva. I hope you no longer feel as much pain as you did writing those poems, but things have been pretty crazy. We'll all get through this. Together. You're a hero, Autumn. Remember that.

-The idiot who kinda pulled you into all of this, but is kind of glad he did. Cody.

I smile slightly, chuckling to myself. Then, I tuck the pen, which also belongs to Autumn, into the journal to bookmark my message. An idea pops into my head and I open the journal, scribble arrows to the right side of the page, where I just wrote. I then replace the pen and shove the journal back into my bag. Releasing a sigh, I place a hand against my chin, my elbow resting on my cool surface of my desk. I begin to think, letting the gears in my mind begin to spin. I'm too scared to write anything on paper, to risk anyone finding what I've written. Instead, I use my mind, reprocessing everything I learned from Autumn last night and everything I know so far.

My father is alive. Leane- well, Autumn's handling that. My father. He's alive. My uncle is helping him, yet he also helped us. My father took my mom's invention all those years ago, the Chips, and turned them into our personal I.D's. Only, he took it a step too far when he started turning our perfectionist society even more perfectionist. At least, that's what Mom told me. How is he alive and why is he even doing this? Why does this mean so much to him? Mom said he wanted to be at the top, in charge. She said he was scared of not being in control. I feel like there's more to all of this than we think. Or originally thought, at least.

From what Autumn said, Leane wants power. Maybe her and my father aren't so different. What happened to The Others? I know Kaylee, Autumn's old friend turned enemy, is with Leane's group now. But, what about the rest of The Others? Are they plotting as well, or could they have disbanded? In the end, their leader held someone at gunpoint, as Eva and Jared told me. But, he sounds like the lesser of two evils.

As my brain tries to wrap around everything, the bell rings. Now, it's time to get to my actual class. I just hope we figure this all out soon and that Autumn can handle Leane and her rebels. She has allies, right? It should be okay. I hope.

___
I feel like this chapter needed to end there, and be short. It's, in a way, a filler, and a recap. However, I still think it's important. So, here's an update everyone! Thank you for all the support on this book! Also, for Removed, the estimated publication date is March 3, 2018! Stay tuned!

What do you guys think? I don't think this is my best chapter, but oh well. It's necessary, especially after last chapter.

-Sarah