"Are you sure you know where my siblings went?" Harper asked as she sat next to Logan in the middle of a 15 passenger van, petting Baxter's back as he slept.

"We have a good idea," Holiday replied from her spot in shotgun, "And even if we're wrong, your dog can find them."

Harper looked down at the golden puppy on her lap. "Maybe..."

Logan wrapped an arm around her shoulder, "Don't worry, Harper. We'll find them."

Harper turned her gaze out the window, "Two of them are nine years old. They shouldn't have gotten this far."

Gloria reached over the back of Harper's seat and gripped her free shoulder, "We can always turn around. Besides, this is faster than walking, isn't it?"

Harper reluctantly nodded, but kept her eyes on the scene out the window. They've got to be nearby, she thought, Just... where?

"What if they're hiding from you?" She asked, looking forward again.

Holiday turned and looked back at her, "Why would they be hiding?"

" Because I'm not around. I was the person who protected them, so if I'm not there, they might think hiding is the safe option. "

Holiday thought for a moment before turning to the driver, "We need to stop."

The car pulled over and screeched to a halt. Quickly, Harper scooped up Baxter, stepped over Logan and opened the door, hopping into the grass below. Setting the now awake puppy on the ground, she pulled out a flashlight and ran down the side of the road, calling her siblings' names. Every time she heard a bush rustle, or a stick snap, she'd hurry towards the sound, which always turned out to be nothing.

Dylan and Jacob managed to catch up with her after she'd accidentally stepped in a hole and tripped. As she wiped the sort off her clothes, Baxter started barking before dashing into a small group of sense trees. Grinning, Harper followed him, with her two comrades close behind. Pushing aside branches, she kept her eyes on the puppy.

Pushing a branch out of the way, she found her three siblings sitting in a small clearing. Thomas was hugging Baxter, who was rapidly licking his face in greeting, and Hayden and Bailey were sitting against a fairly large boulder. When they saw her, they immediately shot up and ran over to her, wrapping her in one of the greatest group hugs she'd ever been part of.

"Are you all okay?" Harper asked her siblings.

"A few scrapes, but nothing too bad." Bailey replied.

Jacob and Dylan suddenly burst through the trees, causing Harper's siblings to stumble backwards. "Guys, don't worry!" Harper reassured them, "They won't hurt you. They're..." She pointed at Jacob, " Friend, " she moved her hand towards Dylan, "And nuisance."

" Hey! " Dylan protested as Jacob snickered, "I knew you before they did!"

" Yes. And you pestered me until I taught you how to punch a bag. Then you basically ignored me unless you wanted help with homework or wanted me to approve your conspiracy theories. And you wonder why your owning that title. "

Dylan rolled his eyes, "Well, my theories were almost right."

Harper froze, "I... I guess. But... still not quite." She turned towards him, " And I recommend not sharing it to anyone. "

Dylan opened his mouth to reply when Holiday burst through the trees. "You are way faster than I remembered," she panted .

Harper smiled, "This is Holiday. You can trust her."

Holiday smiled, "Hello! There are few more of us back at the van. "

" Van? " the twins asked in sync.

"Yeah. We know a place you guys can live where you'll be safe. It'll take a little bit before we get there, but no one will hunt you there. "

Bailey smiled, "Well, it'll be nice to not have to walk everywhere."

Jacob smiled as gesture for them to follow him, "Well come on then! "

Sharing a comforting glance, the four siblings followed Harper's friends back to the van.

_______

Harper woke up when the van came to a stop and lifted her head off Logan's shoulder, looking around. It was still dark, and Hayden was sleeping with his head in her lap, cuddling Baxter, who was awake, but didn't look like he wanted to move. Turning around she saw Jacob sleeping with his head against the window and Gloria on her phone. Behind them, Thomas and Bailey slept with their heads leaning against each other. In the front, Dylan was laying across an entire row of seats, rubbing his eyes and Holiday had kicked her feet up on the dashboard. 

 "Hey, Kat, you awake? " Holiday asked leaning around her seat.

"Yeah. Why?" Harper replied

" Can you wake everyone up? "

Harper nodded and gently shook Hayden awake, much to Baxter's dismay, before waking up Logan. Getting out of her seat, she walked around to the back, gently waking her other two siblings. Gloria motioned covering her ears before blasting the chorus of "We Are Young" on her phone, startling Jacob awake, which caused everyone to laugh.

 "Wha? " Jacob asked, rubbing his eyes, "What was that for?!"

" We're here, Jacob! " Gloria gasped between laughs.

"Where is 'here', anyway?" Bailey asked

Holiday smiled, "You probably  wouldn't recognize the name, but we're in a small town north of Lake Superior. Considering we've been driving for a less than half a day, that's not bad."

"And you're sure it's safe here?" Harper questioned.

Holiday nodded, "It's a not very well known city. People don't visit unless they have family here."

 Thomas leaned over Gloria's seat, "Where are we going to stay?"

Gloria grinned, "Let's find out, shall we?" She hopped out of her seat and opened the door,  waiting for the twins to come out before taking each of their hands and walking towards the tiny town. Harper and Bailey grinned at each other before Harper pulled Logan out the door. Walking towards the town, she marveled at the comfort she felt walking on the gravel streets.

 "This is amazing!" She exclaimed as Bailey joined her on the other side.

"Yeah." Bailey agreed, "No strict mother keeping from walking around outside. "

"No doors with weird DNA panels..." Harper added, receiving a weird look from Logan.

The three of them followed Gloria and the twins into a small building. Walking up a few flights of stairs, they arrived in a small room with a microwave and bathroom behind it. There wasn't enough room for two beds, but that was okay. Harper walked into the room, feeling the same way she had when she'd stepped into her bedroom at her father's house about half a year ago, but it felt so much more real here. 

"Sorry, it's not much, but you can stay here for a while." Gloria said.

"How'd you get us this room?" Bailey asked.

" My uncle owns the building. He offered to take care of you, if you'd like. "

Harper looked around, "This is more than enough. He doesn't need to do anything else!"

Gloria smiled, "He wants to. You can live here by yourself, but he wants to make sure you're taken care of until you can support yourselves."

Harper smiled and wrapped her arms around Gloria in a hug. "You didn't have to help us."

Gloria was grinning when they pulled apart, "Well, isn't that what friends do? Help each other?"

Bailey smiled, "If you ever come to visit your uncle..."

" I'll definitely come say hi." Gloria promised.

Harper turned and hugged Jacob and Holiday, "Thank you."

Jacob laughed, " Well, this sure feels different than when I first met you. "

Holiday grinned before pulling away and putting her hands on Harper's shoulders. Her smile fell as she spoke, "Listen. I want to give you my number. If I ever visit without giving you a heads up about it, be careful."

Harper swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded. Logan suddenly grabbed her from behind, and she laughed as she pushed him away. "I'm gonna miss you too, Logan." She said as she hugged him.

 "Well, I'll keep in touch. Maybe I can convince Gloria to let me come with her. "

Harper smiled before moving over to Dylan. She held out her hand, "Are we good?" 

Dylan stared at her hand for a moment before shaking it, "Yeah, we're good. "

"And no more alien theories?"

Dylan laughed, " No more alien theories. "

Harper backed up so she could see all her friends, "Thank you. " she said, "You know, for the first friends I've ever had, you guys seem way nicer than I would've imagined. I'll miss you all."

They smiled as Holiday checked her watch. Her smile fell slightly as she saw the time, " Guys, I'm really sorry, but we need to leave. " she looked around, "Do you have a piece of paper and a pen?"

Bailey reached into her bag and pulled out a notebook. Quickly, Holiday scribbled something down. "Everyone, write your numbers on here, along with your name." She instructed.

Harper's grin grew even more, " That way we can all keep in touch. "

Once everyone had written down their numbers they said a final goodbye and the group left. Hayden pulled on Harper's arm, to get her attention. "What do you need, Hayden? " she asked.

"We want to show you something!" He exclaimed, pulling her towards the bathroom, "Come on!"

" Um, what's in the bathroom that you want to show me? "

Hayden grinned at her, "A ladder."

Harper was a little confused, but she let him drag her into the bathroom anyway. Opening a cupboard, Hayden pushed on the back wall to reveal a small ladder leading up and out of the room. "How'd you find this?" Harper gasped.

" We were trying to see in Thomas could fit inside, and when he fell back, he pushed the panel away. " Hayden explained, as if it was logical and common.

"Where does it lead?"

" you'll see. "

Harper sighed, but smiled as she followed her younger brother up the old ladder, Bailey following close behind. When he reached the top, he pushed open a trap door, causing a wave of cool air to flow down the chute. When they reached the top, Harper gasped as she realized it lead to the roof. The final stars were fading away with the sunrise, causing red and orange pastel streaks to be drawn across the horizon. "I don't believe it!" She said in awe.

Thomas, who had been waiting for them on the roof with Baxter, grinned, " Now you have a place to watch the stars from! "

Harper grinned."Thank you, boys, " she told them before messing up their hair , "This... This is amazing!" She sat down on the roof, and her siblings all joined her. "You guys are the best."

Hayden smiled at her for a moment before frowning and looking down at the street. " Harper, are you going to leave again?  

Harper wrapped her arms around Hayden's shoulders, "No! Why would I? Everyone I truly love is with me, right now. What's the point in leaving? "

It was Thomas ' turn to ask a question, "Um, Harper, while we were riding here, you mentioned being somewhere that lets you go places in dreams. You called it the Rift, right?"

" Where are you going with this? " Harper asked with a small laugh.

"I was just wondering... how do you get there?"

Harper smiled at him, " There's a lot I need to tell you, and that's one of the longer stories. Let's save it for another time. "

Thomas nodded and the four of them say on the roof, enjoying their first relaxing sunrise together in a long time.

Story word count: 1946

And....that's the end! Hopefully that didn't seem to rushed, but I didn't want to make this chapter overly long. I hope you enjoyed the story, and if you'd like another story with these characters, please tell me. So, for the last time in this story, farewell, readers!