EVELYN

After they stashed the jeep away in a residential garage for the night and barricaded themselves in the car, Evelyn offered to keep first watch. Beside her, Liz snored away in the reclined driver's seat. As the years of worry seemed to melt off her features, making her appear younger, she looked peaceful. Evelyn knew she was supposed to wake her soon to trade off, but she decided against it. Liz had been through a lot today. They all had.

Evelyn glanced out the foggy, condensation-covered window and, without thinking, raised her finger to gently trace her initials on the glass. She'd done it so many times before on lottery tickets left scattered throughout the city when she'd been searching for her family. It felt surreal that they were here now.

She snuck a glance at the backseat and then leaned over to readjust the blanket Elliot had dropped onto the floor. He was lying across the back seats the way he used to sprawl out when he would pretend to be asleep so Baba would carry him back into the house instead of making him walk. He was taller now, so he needed to bend his knees to fit.

Next to her, Liz stirred, then yawned and stretched in her seat.

"You were supposed to wake me," she mumbled groggily, rubbing her eyes.

Evelyn shook her head. "No, it's okay. I don't think I could sleep anyway."

Liz offered her a meaningful look. "I understand."

Evelyn twisted in her chair so she could face her sister. It was funny, people had always said that Liz took after their father, not only in their shared love of science but in appearance as well. She'd never really seen the resemblance until now. In the darkness, Liz looked so much like their father, it made her heart ache.

"What made you change your mind?" Evelyn asked, breaking the silence between them. "About escaping, I mean."

Liz sighed and wrung her hands. "After we talked, they brought me in to... observe him. I guess I just had this realization that he wouldn't survive it—the procedure— and then I kept thinking, once he was gone, what would stop Jaycee from using you or Elliot to get me to keep doing what she wanted? Because I know I would do it. For the two of you..." She trailed off, her eyes flicking to the backseat at Elliot's slumbering form. "For the two of you, I'd do anything."

Evelyn nodded, feeling the weight of her sister's words. "So what made you change your mind about... him?"

"Jonathan?" Liz shifted, deep sadness filling her brown eyes and Evelyn realized her eyes were rimmed with tears.

"I couldn't be a part of it. Not again. Not after Dayna..." She paused, her voice cracking. "I've watched so many people die. But to have been the one to stop her heart? To be responsible for draining the life out of her and then failing to bring her back?"

Liz shuddered at the memory. "Evie, it almost broke me. In some ways, I think it did."

"I think..." Evelyn whispered, reaching out to give her sister's arm a squeeze. "We're all a little bit broken..."

Liz shook her head, "I'm still kicking myself for falling for their company line. I wanted to believe so badly that NeuroGen— or whatever was left of them— wanted to fix things, that they could make things right. But I know now I just did it because it was easier I guess..."

"Easier than what?" Evelyn asked.

"Easier than leading..."

Evelyn looked at her sister, the shadows seem to cast Liz in a new light. One that Evelyn had only just begun to see. It was the version of Liz that was not the sure-footed older sister that she'd always looked up to but instead someone more human, someone who had fears and made mistakes.

Liz twisted a strand of black hair around her finger, "Evie, after we were on our own, I was calling the shots for so long and I didn't know if I was making the right decisions but without Ma or Ba around... I don't know..."

Evelyn sighed, thinking about how many times she'd questioned her own judgements and then about all the mistakes she'd made, "I know what you mean."

As Evelyn looked into her sister's eyes, her thoughts flashed back to the details she had left out when she'd filled her siblings in on what had happened to her before reuniting with them. Now, the information came spilling out: Adam, Jonathan's broadcast—everything.

When she was finished, Liz fell silent for a moment, reflecting on the conversation. Then, she reached behind her and began rummaging through the backpack that Elliot had carried out of the NeuroGen facility. After a moment, she pulled her hand back and, with a quiet sigh, withdrew Jonathan's Walkman.

"I managed to keep this for you," Liz said, her voice heavy as she handed it to Evelyn. "Evie. I'm so sorry."

Evelyn stared down at the device, her fingers tracing the buttons and the smooth plastic surface absentmindedly. It had been one of his most precious possessions and now, it was all that was left of him.

After a beat, she quickly wiped the mist from her eyes and looked up at Liz, voicing the question she knew was on both of their minds, "So, now what?"

Liz shrugged. "I guess, I thought if we got this far, we'd somehow start searching for a way to get to the island. There's a colony in Victoria that's supposed to be Soulless-free."

"Where Kevin and Aunt Leena went?"

Liz nodded, "and Sara and Jasper and their parents too. It's not connected to NeuroGen or the military, it's an independent colony. They come around every once in a while to get supplies... Jaycee had some kind of deal with them, we'd trade—give them medicines or whatever— and occasionally some of our people would be allowed to go with them. I think she did that to keep us motivated and it also removed distractions..."

Evelyn nodded. It made sense that that would be their next move, try to find somewhere safer and reunite with whatever pieces of their family remained. Still, something nagged at the corner of her mind.

"There's somewhere I have to go first," Evelyn said softly, the idea occurring to her only as she spoke the words.

Liz raised a brow quizzically, and Evelyn held up the Walkman. "If—if he escaped. I know where he'd go." She explained, "I have to check if he made it."

Liz shook her head and offered her sister another weighted look. "Evie," she said gently, "he's not in his right mind. I know it's hard for you to hear, but he's gone."

Evelyn shook her head, holding the device close to her chest.

A small part of her wanted to argue that he'd heard her, when she'd spoken to him and told him to fight it, but the logical part of her brain reminded her that it was likely impossible.

"It doesn't matter. Even if he's just following some Soulless routine loop, I have to know if he made it. He—he told me that if he turned, he knew where he would want to spend the rest of eternity. I—I have to make sure he got there."

Liz was still looking at her like she, too, had lost her mind, but the idea had already taken root in Evelyn's heart. She knew she'd regret it forever if she didn't at least try.

"It's risky, Evie." Liz warned, "We don't even know if he's there. He could be out wandering some godforsaken street somewhere—" Liz stopped short when she saw Evelyn's fragile expression.

"I understand the risk, Liz, but I have to," Evelyn said, with as much conviction as she could muster. "I have to do this for him."

The weight of Evelyn's resolve hung in the cold air between them as Liz turned her face toward the window. Evelyn sat still for a moment, her eyes tracing the soft, misted lines of the fogged-up window behind her sister. She knew how stupid her request sounded. The Walkman in her hands felt heavier than it had any right to be and the silence in the car pressed against her like a physical weight. She thought of Jonathan—what had been Jonathan—There was no way to know if going to Sunrise Records would bring her peace or break her even more, but she couldn't let go of the idea. She had to know.

Slivers of moonlight filtered through the small windows in the garage door, casting a pale glow on the fogged-up windshield, reminding Evelyn that despite everything they had been through, the world still turned, still carried on.

Liz let out a long breath, and Evelyn, knowing her sister was still processing her request, wanted to fill the silence with something—anything—of comfort. Instead, she let the quiet linger. Unsure of what to say.

Finally, Liz spoke again, her tone gentler. "I know, Evie. I know how much he meant to you."

Evelyn closed her eyes, nodding. She hadn't been able to say it aloud yet—not to Liz, not to anyone—but Liz understood. Her big sister always did.

"Tomorrow," Liz continued, her voice soft, "we'll check on your... mission first thing. But then, we go to the island. After that, we figure out the rest. We take it one day at a time. Alright?"

Evelyn nodded again, her fingers tightening around the Walkman. It was strange, how much she wanted to believe in the possibility of hope now, in a way that felt almost naive. But she had to.

"Alright," she said softly. "Thanks, Liz."

Liz didn't respond right away. Instead, she leaned back in her seat, closing her eyes, her face briefly relaxed before she turned away. Evelyn couldn't help but notice that Liz had seemed smaller in the dark—smaller, and a little more vulnerable. She wasn't the older sister who always had the answers anymore. In this new world, there were no right answers. Only decisions.

Evelyn's gaze shifted again to the backseat, where Elliot still slept, curled up under the blanket. Even in his slumber, he looked somehow different from the boy she'd once known. Stronger, maybe. More weathered, certainly. She had no idea what he had seen during those years apart, but she knew there were pieces of him that would never quite fit together the same way again.

She thought of all of them, the people they had been before and the versions of themselves they were becoming now. There were no easy roads ahead, no simple solutions, but Evelyn couldn't help but feel—somehow—that they had a chance.

They had to.

She held on to that flicker of hope. The tiny flame of who she had been, the idealistic girl who'd set off from the bunker.

Liz's breathing deepened beside her, her snoring once again filling the small space with an odd sense of normalcy.

Evelyn let herself sink back into her seat and closed her eyes for a moment. She had her reasons for wanting to do this, for needing to find him, no matter what it took. Maybe it wasn't rational, maybe it wasn't wise. But it was something she couldn't ignore. It was the one piece of closure she hadn't been able to let go of.

And maybe, just maybe, it was a piece of her she had to reclaim.

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The next morning, the fog had lifted slightly, but it still clung to the earth like a thick, wet blanket. Evelyn shifted in the passenger seat, running her fingers through her hair as the garage door opened, her thoughts consumed by what awaited her.

Liz had already started the engine, her face grim but resigned, eyes locked on the road ahead. They hadn't talked much that morning, the quiet between them thick and unspoken as they scavenged through the house, picking up any materials they could find; masks, weapons and the like. But Evelyn knew what this was for Liz, too—another decision, another step toward a future they couldn't yet define.

Elliot had woken, groggy and distant, but when Evelyn caught his eye in the rearview mirror, he nodded, a silent acknowledgment of the plan.

They were all together again, but in a way, none of them were whole.

"So, where are we going?" Liz asked, her voice cutting through the silence.

Evelyn took a breath, her heart beating in a steady rhythm against her ribs. "There's a mall," she said, her voice barely above a whisper, as though the words themselves might be enough to give shape to what she was feeling. "I think... I think Jonathan would've gone there."

Liz didn't say anything for a long time. But Evelyn could feel her sister's understanding without the need for words. After a while, Liz merely nodded and turned the wheel, guiding the jeep into a quiet street that would take them toward their first stop on this uncertain path.

Evelyn kept the Walkman close. Whatever happened next, she knew one thing for sure: she couldn't leave without at least trying this. And maybe—just maybe—she'd find a piece of Jonathan still clinging to the world.