While it grows stronger, they grow weaker.

"We can't," Hubert pants.

Clara's hands are on his bare chest, her fingers deep in his hair. She cocks her head to the side, a cascade of hair rippling around her. Then, she pulls at his collar to bring him in close enough to breathe him in. "We can."

"We could have a baby," he says (somehow forgetting that he and his wife had tried many times).

Clara shakes her head. "I'm barren."

With that information, he can help himself no longer. They are already down to the barest of clothing, the only thing separating them are Clara's corset and their other undergarments. White and pure, despite their smell from weeks of wear with little washing.

Almost nothing could bring them closer, except Hubert's pulling fists and Clara's desperate breaths. Hubert moans, and Clara has never felt more alive. She kisses him again, hoping that it will last forever.

There is a knock at the door. They barely hear it, except for that it knocks again, the force shaking the door.

Hubert pulls himself off as the knocks grow louder and louder. He pulls on a shirt and pants, his hands racing to button them both.

"Who is that?" Clara asks, her hands over her chest.

"Someone who will think you're a whore," Hubert fumbles with his clothes, and chucks Clara hers. "Go put these on in my room."

She does as she is told, scampering away.

Hubert makes it to the doorway, without fixing his messy hair.

His bedhead betrays him to Maverick, who stands on the other side.

Maverick tackles him. He reaches a fist back to swing at Hubert, but Maverick tries to pull back at the last second. He isn't sure why he is fighting Hubert, and he imagines himself as a grade-school bully once more.

The second is all Hubert needs. He flips Maverick over.

"Clara, grab rope!" Hubert manages. "It'll be under the bed."

Clara decides not to question why Hubert has rope under his bed. She struggles to pull on her clothes, listening to the commotion.

"How dare you?" Maverick shouts in French, as Hubert tries to pin his arms with his legs. Maverick is unaware of what he is saying, only knowing that it makes him intensely angry. "I'd kill you, but you'd like it."

Hubert shoves a hand down on Maverick's mouth, and Maverick bites back until he tastes blood. Hubert cries out in pain. He grabs Maverick by the head, and slams him down on to the ground.

In that second, Maverick's vision darkens. He tries to pull at Hubert, but he can't move.

Clara runs into the room with the rope, and passes it to Hubert before she even notices that Maverick is beneath him. She watches as Hubert ties up Maverick like a hog. For the most part, Maverick stays still, but he contorts his face like he is fighting.

(Maverick is in fact pushing. He has realized something is wrong, and is fighting back against it, like he did with Beverly. It is just him this time, and it is difficult).

"What do we do?" Clara asks. "Why is he attacking you?"

"I don't know!" Hubert grunts.

Maverick tries to bite back the voice, but it explodes inside him. "You filthy bastard. You know what you've done."

"We need to gag him before he wakes all of Alaque," Hubert says.

Clara goes into the kitchen and grabs a handkerchief. They shove it in Maverick's mouth.

Hubert moves outside and attaches the trolley to the horse that he usually uses to deliver food. He and Clara together grab Maverick and drag him into the trolley. From there, they begin to deliver him home.

~~~

"Shouldn't Maverick be back by now?" Beverly asks.

Alvaro rolls his eyes. He pulls the covers up against him, trying to hide his pink face. It is mid-day and they have yet to see Maverick return. Surely, a trip to the graveyard doesn't take this long.

"Unless he somehow managed to get himself kidnapped, I think we are fine," Alvaro grumbles.

"He was the one who didn't want anyone to go out alone, though," Adwin says. "Why would he wander away?"

Quite obviously to Alvaro, Maverick has left to avoid their conversation. Alvaro doesn't dare admit that though, not to the others. Instead, he stews in silence, hoping that Maverick is okay.

"What if the coureur de bois got him?" Adwin asks, looking up from Flo. He hasn't been able to leave her side yet.

"Enough!" Alvaro sits up in bed. It has been nearly 36 hours since he has had any sleep, and he certainly isn't one to hold back when exhaustion takes over. "He's gone. Maybe he's gone back in time, maybe he's dead. I'm done wasting energy caring about him, when all he does is leave."

Flo struggles in her slumber. She inches closer to where Adwin once was. He is in his own bed now. She reaches a hand out in his direction. Their beds are too far apart for him to take it, so instead he just longs for her.

"But-"

"Bev," Flo manages.

Beverly turns her head, her voice stolen from her. She looks over at Flo and almost lets herself cross the room to her. Instead, she stays put. "Sorry."

The Grip isn't far enough along that it has robbed her of her ability to speak, but Flo remains silent. Instead, she stares up at the ceiling above them.

On the edge of his bed, ignorant to the conversation around him, Mickey sticks his hands underneath his legs to prevent himself from shaking. Like Maverick, Clara has yet to return, but no one seems to be talking about that. For all they know, she could be gone forever.

Then, the door opens, and there she is.

Mickey stands and looks at her. There are tears in his eyes, but he tightens his face to hide any weakness.

Her hands instinctively fly up to her head. She realizes that her hair is still down. Her cheeks are red, flushed from the wind and from looking at Hubert.

She has never looked more beautiful in Mickey's eyes. And yet, that beauty doesn't belong to him. It doesn't even belong to her. It's Hubert's for the taking.

"We've got a problem outside," Hubert pops in the doorway. "I need at least one man's help."

The three men look at each other. None of them wants to move. In the end it is Mickey who brushes past Clara and walks outside.

His icy glare kills her. Drowns her in her own sorrow. She stumbles forward, holding her stomach like she expects a gash in her side from where Mickey stabbed her (or from where she stabbed herself? It is difficult to tell).

Outside, Mickey sees Maverick tied in the back of the trolley.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Mickey races over to untie Maverick.

Hubert darts in front of him. "It's not safe."

Their shouting leads to the others darting outside, except for Flo who lies in bed, and Clara, who puddles on the floor.

Outside, Alvaro sees the commotion and darts back inside. He grabs a knife from the counter, and briskly walks back out. He holds it up at Hubert, and gestures for him to move out of the way. When Hubert obeys Alvaro, Alvaro proceeds to cut up the rope and ungag Maverick.

Just as he is freed, Maverick stands up. Having had time to calm down, he keeps his mouth shut. It occurs to him that he doesn't know a word of English.

"Clara!" Mickey yells.

She pulls herself off the ground, wipes her eyes dry, and exits the cabin.

"What's going on?" Adwin asks. "Why did you have Maverick tied up?"

"He..." her shoulders are still shaking. Mickey wants to hug her, but he knows better. "He attacked Mr. Tremblay. Without prompt. Then he began speaking in French."

The others turn to Maverick, waiting for his response. English is caught in his throat (if it weren't, he might be too confused to speak, for he isn't sure why he tackled Hubert, but he seems to believe he deserved it). The thing inside him knows better than to call out to the others, so he finds himself nearly choking on all the words jumbled inside him.

In the silence, Beverly pulls out her canteen and throws the contents at Maverick. Drops of salt water land on his face in a diagonal stripe from his right eye to the left corner of his lips. He drops to the ground and writhes in pain, a screech pouring out of his mouth that causes all of the others to press their hands against their ears.

A ball of light bursts out of Maverick's face through the erupting red blisters (not unlike the ones on Tim's ankles). The light flies through the air, passing through Mickey who gets the numbness once more, one he hasn't felt in nearly months. It escapes into the forest.

Maverick collapses on to the ground. Alvaro runs to him, cradling his face, checking his neck for a pulse, doing all the things that he has done a thousand times but never with this much fear.

"What was that?" Adwin asks. "What did you do?"

"The figure doesn't like the ocean's water," Beverly says, shrugging her shoulders. She stares at Maverick's face, hoping the injuries aren't permanent.

Hubert looks at Clara expectantly, and Mickey won't look at her at all. She walks away from them both, into the cabin.

"We cannot separate, ever again," Adwin decides.

Flo nods in agreement. After yesterday, she never wants to be alone.

The others seem to agree, but no one speaks.

"Maverick's alive," Alvaro manages, their foreheads still touching. He finally pulls back and swallows, wiping a tear from his cheek. "Let's get him inside, before another shitty thing happens."

~~~~~

Welp. Uh oh spaghettio. There are only nine chapters left in this book, can you believe it! We are in the home stretch now. I just want to thank all of you that have supported me this entire time. You're unwavering aid is all that I need.

Thanks, and I will see you soon.