Joy waited outside the council building for Devyn. After these meetings, the two walked home together. Joy liked to provide a comical retelling of the proceedings while Devyn verbally tried to reassure herself she did a good job and hadn't let Jim down.

As dusk settled in, the temperature slowly dropped, causing the women to huddle into their light jackets.

"I really do think Ivory got her cheeks done," Joy muttered after turning onto the main road. "What do you think they found? Filler? Collagen?"

Devyn smirked. "Who knows. Do you think it is even good? What if she went into shock?"

Joy glanced at Devyn with widened eyes. "Oh my gosh. If she went into a coma? Turmoil would erupt. How would y'all vote?"

"Political chaos!" Devyn mock screamed while flailing her arms around.

"It could be!" Joy laughed. "What do you think about the crew going into the forest?"

Devyn shrugged. "It is a good idea. We need people we can trust in the group."

"Like me?" Joy asked, glancing at Devyn.

Devyn turned sharply to look at Joy with pleading eyes. "But, not you?"

Joy shook her head in amusement and then glanced over her shoulder. She noticed two unfamiliar men trailing about a block behind them. A small alarm buzzed through her veins, readying her muscles for action.

Joy bumped into Devyn. "There are two guys behind us," she hissed into her friend's ear. "Don't look."

"Did they say they would be sending people tonight?" Devyn asked.

Joy shook her head. She knew they referred to the Red Eyed Battalion. The R.E.B. usually let them know if security detail followed them, but sometimes it was a surprise that sparked a deep paranoia she didn't know existed.

The two walked on in a pleasant silence as they passed the old Catholic church. Jim's townhomes had become their base now that neither felt comfortable being alone.

"Should I call R.E.B?" Devyn hissed, glancing back over her shoulder as they waited at a crosswalk.

Joy shrugged. "Maybe if we look at them enough times, they will realize we know they are there."

"Or, what if they just live in a townhome community a few streets over?" Devyn shrugged.

Joy nodded. "Could be."

The light transitioned to a green walking man, and the two crossed the street. They walked past some of the old bars, and then Joy motioned for them to turn down a side street. It was a few streets too early, but it was the "in case we are followed" route they had agreed upon a few weeks ago after the third death threat letter.

The two stop at the end of the first crosswalk and look both ways for oncoming cars or bikes. Devyn glanced over her shoulder before they ran across.

"They didn't follow," she muttered.

Joy sighed, "thank goodness."

Devyn linked her arms with Joy as they turned right. Sure, this wasn't the best defensive pose if one of the Protectors of the Living decided that they would attack them. But, she just wanted to enjoy this moment with her friend. They might not have many of them left.

Fallen leaves blew across the street. Joy's orange-tipped hair flew across her face and hit Devyn's cheek. The two shook their heads to rid themselves of the hair almost simultaneously.

"Ugh," Joy groaned. "I think it is time to shave my head."

"Shave it?" Devyn gasped.

"Yeah, I'm kinda sick of it right now. Plus, I think all the hair dye is damaging it," Joy muttered, fingering a few of the orange strands. "Touch it. Doesn't it feel dry?"

Devyn passed Joy's hair between her fingers a few times. "Yeah, you need a deep moisturizing session. Want to have a spa night?"

Joy jumped in the air and clapped. "Oh my gosh, yes!"

"House D?"

Joy nodded as Devyn detangled their arms to press in the code. "Yeah, I will just need to grab a few things and then meet you there."

"Awesome," Devyn smiled as the two friends parted ways.

Joy walked towards House D, where she currently stayed, and Devyn walked into House D. The house wouldn't have been her initial choice. The walls were bare, but Jim had hidden so many things here that it felt like home. So, for now, this would do.

Devyn unlocked the front door and flicked the light switch. Nothing. She flicked it two more times and cursed.

"Joy, the lights are out again!" Devyn yelled across the townhomes, turning to step out of the house. "Jo–"

A hand clamped down on Devyn's mouth and pulled her backward into the darkness. Devyn struggled against the arm around her waist and then bit into the hand. The hand immediately retreated as a deep male voice cursed in the shadows. She stepped on his foot and stuck her elbow into his side, freeing herself from his hold. Devyn's feet turned, ready to attack him if needed, while her hand went to retrieve her knife. The moonlight streaming through the back windows outlined the figure of a tall body.

"You stupid–"

Devyn kicked at the tall outline where she hoped his stomach would be. His groan let her know she had good aim. She repeated the action, but he blocked her this time. The two began a battle of blocks and jabs. Devyn relished in every hiss she extracted from his lips when her knife met his skin.

A scream momentarily stopped the two. Devyn's heart clenched at the thought of Joy dying at the hands of some coward in the dark. Her attacker took advantage of the moment and hit her across the head with a chair. She fell to the ground with her knife clattering as it bounced on the vinyl floor.

The man spat on the ground.  He bent down to verify she was unconscious before picking up her hands. He dragged her towards the stairs and stopped for a second. His eyes transitioned between the stairs and Devyn a few times.

"They can't expect me to carry her up there," he muttered.

A heavy sigh escaped his lips as the man bent down. He had her halfway into his arms when a sharp pain started at his shoulder. The man looked down to see blood soaking through his shirt. He looked across the room to see a man standing at the backdoor. Devyn dropped to the ground as the man moved to walk forward, but a series of sparks, smoke, and, finally, the kill shot to his heart ended whatever his plan had been.

The man beside the door rushed to Devyn and checked her pulse before going into the garage. A few moments later, the lights flickered on inside the house. Joy ran through the backdoor. Red stains covered part of her jeans and the sweatshirt she had on.

"Shit," Joy muttered as she shakingly moved towards Devyn's body.

The door to the garage opened again, making Joy jump and raise her gun immediately towards the sound. Jim stopped in the doorway with his hands up.

"Don't shoot," he smirked.

Joy pressed her lips together and let a long breath of air out of her nose. "I thought maybe—" she stopped talking when Devyn groaned at her feet.

"Fuck," Devyn muttered, touching the side of her head. She sighed on seeing the red blood staining her fingers. "This is what I get for letting my guard down."

Jim shook his head. "It wasn't either one of you. We should have been more prepared."

Devyn looked over to Jim and sent him a weak smile. "Glad to see you. I wish it would have been under better circumstances."

Jim laughed and shook his head as he walked to his sister. He knelt beside her to look at the wound. "Do you have anything in the freezer we can put on that?" Devyn nodded and moved to get up, but Jim placed pressure on her shoulders to keep her down. "No, stay there. We don't know if you have a concussion."

Joy watched Jim walk to the kitchen, biting her lip. "I don't think these guys were the ones who followed us."

"No, these guys have been here a little while," Jim agreed, walking back to his sister with some frozen tater tots. "I saw some cigarette butts on the back porch. They looked fresh."

"Wonderful," Joy muttered. "This is the stuff that makes me feel safe when I close my eyes."

Devyn snorted and then winced when the sound hurt her head. "What happened to our security?"

Jim sighed, placing the tater tots on his sister's head. "Two were taken after the meeting. We are still trying to locate them.  I'm guessing they wanted to increase their chances of meeting the two of you alone. You've pissed off a lot of people in my absence."

"Apparently," Devyn sighed, moved her brother's hand away to hold the probably expired food to her head, herself. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"Paige couldn't make it," Jim sighed. "She got detained by some other things going on."

Devyn nodded. "But, is it safe?"

Jim shrugged. "It is what it is."

His sister considered him for a moment. What could be so important that Paige couldn't come? Devyn wondered. She knew better than to press her brother about that right now. "I'm glad to see you," Devyn whispered.

"You too, sis."

The two shared a smile before Devyn broke the moment. "So, is it safe to stay? Should we be moving?"

Jim shook his head while standing up. "I don't think that will be necessary. We need to change how we secure this property. I still think it is one of the best locations for y'all. And, to move everything we have hidden in these houses would be too much of a risk."

Joy shifted on her feet before speaking, "I think I should go into the forest with the observation group." The siblings stopped talking and turned their full attention to Joy. "You will both need people you can trust in that group. Plus, I get to observe people and write about it! I'm going to contribute to written history while also being able to contribute to saving lives."

Devyn blinked back some tears. "You just want to go into the forest," she replied accusingly.

"Well, duh!" Joy smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I promise that I will come back."

Devyn nodded and moved to hug her friend but winced.

"We need to get your injuries checked out," Jim sighed. "Don't give me that look. We will set up 24hr surveillance on you and the house. That way, we don't have anything like this happen again."

Devyn placed the tater tots down on the ground and shook her head. "That seems like a waste. We will need people making sure that nothing happens to this group that goes into the forest and—"

Joy lowered herself to Devyn's level. "Nothing that we discover in the forest will matter if you are dead. We don't know if someone as sympathetic to undead and partially undead rights will get on the council. You have to stay safe."

"I also need to get those PoL assholes shut down," Devyn muttered, lying down.

"Do not go to sleep!" Jim prodded his sister's side with his finger. "Let me find the number of a guy I know at Central to come out here to investigate this scene. He might be able to light a fire under some PoL asses."

Devyn tried to move from the offensive finger while batting it away. "I won't. I'm just lying down to think. You and joy will both be gone. I need to figure out what I will do to stay sane."

"Get a cat?" Joy shrugged.

***

Devyn walked into a room where Jim sat on the couch. She dropped beside him on the sofa, leaving her bag at their feet.

"What you doing?" She asked.

Jim glanced at his sister before motioning to a book in front of him. "Reading."

Devyn nodded. She considered him for a moment and then slid a pad of paper and pencil from her bag. "So," she drawled, making Jim watch her warily. "Do the words look any different than before? A tint of red or pink?"

Jim narrowed his eyes at her before getting up. "I am not one of your guinea pigs."

"What?" Devyn called after him. "Come on, Jim! Paige threatened me with physical harm when I asked!"

He slammed the back door behind him.

***

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