Teresa, Ava, Declan, and a group of rubble sweepers leave to scout out places where we can hide the Immortal without disturbing the Hellhole community. "We will figure it out," Jacob said, even after Teresa reminded him of all the things that could go wrong with our plan. "Anything for family."

While the others are gone to do the work we came to do, Jacob shows me and Mom his hive domicile. His is one of the holes on the ground level in case he is needed in an emergency, so we don't need to climb the ladders propped up along every vertical row of domiciles. The entrances are tall enough for someone a few inches shorter than me to stand perfectly straight, but because both Mom and Jacob are taller than me, we all hunch over to walk inside.

There is a wall blocking the toilet from view, a couple of makeshift beds, and tables made of stacked books. It's small, and I start to feel a little claustrophobic inside, like I'm back in the belly of a Prowler, but Jacob's smile has a calming effect. He is so much like Ben.

Once we are inside, Mom and I take a seat on the padded floor bed, and Jacob reaches beneath the padding to retrieve something. A light blue baby blanket, which I wouldn't recognize as mine if my initials weren't sewn into the corner in pink thread.

"Is that my baby blanket?" I ask to be sure.

Jacob smiles and hands it to me. "I was never sure whose it was. Once we were settled here, I asked a couple of our best sweepers to go back to the house in Pennsylvania. They only came back with this. They said the house was clear, but that it seemed like you had left recently. I always hoped maybe this blanket meant that Ben and Eleanor had a baby, but I see it was you, Beatrice."

"Ben and Eleanor did have a baby," I say. "They had a baby boy named Daniel."

He swallows hard. "I'm scared to ask what happened to them."

Mom rings her hands. "Eleanor and Daniel are safe. They're up there in the Immortal."

Jacob takes a huge breath. "And Ben?"

My mom shakes her head. "He never made it out of the lion's den."

I'm not entirely sure what that means, though I assume it has to do with the story in the Bible, the one Daniel is named after. It must have meant something to all of them when they were my age and still together.

"But you have to know," Mom continues teary eyed, "that Ben and Todd went looking for you every year since you left. They hiked down to DC and back looking for you and Todd's family. Why didn't you go to DC?"

"Have you seen it?" he asks. "There is nothing there. When we got there, it was clear it was a dead end. Half of the group we traveled with continued south, but the other half, myself included, came here. We met some people in our travels who heard rumors of a large group of survivors who were cleaning the earth, so we left westward with them. I wanted to see if there was hope for us somewhere else with a bigger group, and when I got here, I found there was. I sent out the travelers to check on you all, but when they only came back with a baby blanket. I feared the same thing had happened to one of you that happened to the Smiths."

"The Smiths?" I ask.

"A couple we knew," Mom tries to explain it away.

"Mrs. Smith died during childbirth," Jacob says. "Your mom and I were the only ones awake and around when it happened."

There is so much pain Mom has never shared with me. She bites her lip to keep from crying. "Isla Rebecca Blume," she says. "The baby was stillborn, but Mr. Smith still named her. Rebecca. I gave you her name as a tribute. Because she couldn't live her life, I would make sure that you lived yours, fully and happily."

My name suddenly sounds foreign to me. I don't know how to respond.

Jacob stops my thoughts with his story, "After that, I dedicated myself to Hellhole. We built up these caves, and I used my passion and knowledge of scripture to become the people's pastor. Teresa came from Indiana, and we fell in love. A few years ago, I was appointed the new leader after our previous one passed on. By then, I had resigned myself to the idea that you all had passed on or were lost, and I finally allowed myself to make this my home. I never knew anything about your group. What is it called? The Deathless? That's sort of morbid, isn't it?"

Mom smirks. "Not any more than Hellhole." She dabs the moisture from the corners of her eyes, and smiles, regaining her composure. "I can't believe you've been down here all this time. What about Todd's family? Did they come here or—"

"—Todd's mother went south, and his father passed away during that winter of traveling," he says. A dark thought creeps into my brain, this time coming from only me: What if my grandma's group was the one that killed Terran and left Nina alone? It would make sense. They traveled south, toward where Nina was from, and they would have known and used the term "nomad" like my family did. I feel sick.

"Is Todd still alive?" Jacob asks. "And Drew? What about your parents and Eleanor's father?"

"Todd is still alive," Mom says with a smile, but then it fades. "My parents and Mr. Timmons all passed away. Radiation led to cancer. Even I got it."

"Cancer? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. The Deathless doctors found it early, and I'm being treated. I'm in remission now."

"Thank God."

"Drew, though... Have you seen machines above ground? The giant transformer-looking things without heads?"

"Yes, we have. We lost one of our own to a machine once," Jacob says.

"Drew and his family were also taken by them. Collector droids, they're called. Drew and Harriet, his wife, both died inside, but their son Ian survived. His whereabouts are unknown at this point."

Jacob shakes his head. "So much tragedy. I wish I had tried harder to find you. We could all still be alive here. Reunited again, one big family."

"Yeah," Mom says.

"You know what this place reminded me of when we first arrived?" Jacob asks her. She shakes her head. "Your family's safe room. I will never forget the kindness and generosity you and your family showed me and Ben. When we began developing the Hellhole community, I decided that generosity would be a community value. Anyone is welcome as long as they abide by the rules. Your parents were good people. I'm sorry to hear they're gone."

"Thanks," she replies.

Jacob shifts nervously. "I'd like to meet my nephew and see Eleanor."

"Of course," Mom says. "But there's something you should know. Eleanor is pregnant. It's not Ben's, it's... well, it's complicated," she says, glancing over at me. "Eleanor was basically a surrogate for the government. It's all a long story. We'll fill you in, but please don't mention it. She's just now starting to feel okay being pregnant without Ben."

I didn't know that either, I think. There is so much my parents hide from me. All their pain, all their sadness, all their worries.

"I won't draw attention to it," Jacob agrees.

***

Once back above ground, Mom uses her walkie to alert General Kazemi that it is safe to disembark the Immortal as Jacob makes his rounds to greet the rubble sweepers who accompanied us here.

"Copy that," the General replies over the radio.

Within a few minutes, the Deathless, the Originals, the St. Louis rubble sweepers, and my army are in the woods around Hellhole's opening. The General leads everyone to stand around us, but as soon as Dad and Eleanor see Jacob, they break from the pack.

"Jacob!" Eleanor nearly screams. She does her best to sprint into his arms without waddling, and nearly tackles him with a hug. Dad approaches much more slowly, and shakes his hand once Eleanor is done gripping Jacob's face to make sure he's real. Her face is streaked with tears, and though I'm sure she's happy to see him, she looks sadder than anything. Ben was supposed to be here. Ben was supposed to find his brother.

Daniel comes cautiously to the front of the crowd with MacArthur. He eyes the stranger his mom is hugging with suspicion, and MacArthur growls at the new scents in front of him.

Daniel's eyes meet mine, and I smile, my baby blanket in hand. Now Daniel's brows give away an even deeper confusion and suspicion.

"Deathless," Mom starts, "this man is Jacob Crowley. He is the leader of Hellhole."

Daniel's jaw clenches and his nostrils flare as he holds back his emotions.

"Executive Kunkle and Ava Ward are meeting with some of his people now to find a place in the cave system where we can hide the Immortal. He is willing to help us, and for that, we must show him and his people our utmost respect and gratitude. For those of you who recognize his name: Yes, this is our own Daniel Crowley's uncle and Eleanor Crowley's brother-in-law. We have been looking for him for seventeen years, and we are happy to have finally found him. Please allow Eleanor and Daniel some space as they reunite with their family."

I watch the crowd as some nod their heads in agreement, some shiver in the cold, and some, those who are in my army, salute Jacob with the sign for respect. Jacob bows his head in acknowledgment.

"I see many of you are cold. Please feel free to return to your tank, if you need to," Jacob says. "However, if you are in need of animal pelts, warmth, water, food, or places to sleep, please feel free to join my people in Hellhole as we prepare to fight beside you. I was once given shelter from the cold, and I now extend that generosity to you."

"As you were," General Kazemi barks, and the crowd begins to disperse. Daniel tightens his grip on MacArthur's leash, and slowly approaches Jacob with anger in his eyes. The darkness is returning.

Once Daniel is in front of him, Jacob stands a little taller. "You must be Daniel," he says. "I'm your uncle." Jacob's eyes glisten. "You have a lot of Ben in you."

MacArthur sniffs Jacob wildly, so Daniel pulls him back by the scruff. "Where have you been?" Daniel asks. "We've been looking for you."

"I've been here. I'm so sorry. Beatrice told me about what you all did to find me. I'm sorry I couldn't see Ben before he passed. But I'm here now, and I'd like to be part of your life."

Daniel scowls at him. "Why didn't you try to find us as much as we tried to find you?"

Jacob opens his mouth, speechless. Eleanor chimes in, "Daniel, that's behind us now. We are together, be thankful for that."

"It just seems like it would have been easy to find us. We stayed in the same place for years, but you are nowhere near where you said you'd be," Daniel says.

"We thought you had gone—"

"So you keep looking. You didn't find our dead bodies, so you knew we had to be out there somewhere. When you are away from the people you love, you do whatever you can to find them."

"Daniel, that's enough," Eleanor scolds him.

"He's been having a really hard time with Ben's absence," Dad tries to explain, but Jacob doesn't seem offended, only sad.

"We have all done everything we could to hold ourselves together, and all you needed to do was go to our houses," Daniel says. "Maybe if you had, my dad would still be here. Did you ever think about that? That if you had it so good here underground, that maybe your brother was out there—"

"—Jacob, I'm so sorry—," Eleanor says over Daniel, whose voice is now raised in anger.

"—struggling? Suffering? Dying?"

"Isla, please take Daniel for a walk to cool off," Eleanor asks, though it's more of an order.

I swipe the leash from Daniel's hand and hook my elbow around his arm, leading both Daniel and MacArthur away from Jacob, into the woods. I feel Daniel hesitate, so I yank him forward. "C'mon," I say.

Once we are a safe distance away from Hellhole, I unhook my arm from Daniel's and wrap MacArthur's leash around a tree, tying it in a knot so he can't run away while I talk to his human counterpart.

"Alright, now... what was that about?" I ask once I know the knot is secure.

Daniel takes a seat on a fallen tree and holds his face in his hands. "I don't know," he says, his voice muffled behind his palms. Then his shoulders begin to shake as he cries. "I don't want an uncle, I want a dad. Why couldn't we have found my dad? Ava is miraculously alive, now Jacob is too. Why not my dad?"

I bite my lip, trying not to cry at the desperation in his voice. "Because sometimes life isn't fair," I say. "Aren't you happy that at least we get those two back?"

He drags his hands from his face, brushing away the moisture from his cheeks. "Of course. I just... I miss my dad so much. Can you believe what Jacob said?"

"About what?"

"That I have so much of my dad in me."

"Yeah?" I have no idea what Daniel means, so I say, "I think he was trying to be kind, Daniel."

"Yeah, well, it was a stupid thing to say. He hasn't seen my dad in seventeen years, how does he know anything about him?"

"Because they're brothers," I say. "Why would that make you angry?"

"Because my dad was so torn up about not knowing where Jacob was. Meanwhile, Jacob was hanging out in Hellhole, starting a family, leading a bunch of strangers. Some people shouldn't be allowed to be anyone's family members if they can't understand how much their family loves and worries about them."

I take a seat next to Daniel, and wrap my arm around him. I shiver from the cold, so Daniel takes my hand. "I get it," I say. "But just because Jacob wasn't looking for us like your dad was looking for him doesn't mean he doesn't love him or you or your mom any less. He held on to my baby blanket all these years, hoping that it belonged to his brother's child. That means something."

"That doesn't mean anything."

"At least give him a chance, okay?"

"I don't need any more family members. I already have enough."

I sigh. I've got to change the subject. "What can this be? Our first family fight?"

With my forehead pressed against Daniel's cheek, I feel it move with a smile. "Not really an exciting first."

"It is if you consider how few people even have families anymore. Celia's, Ava's, Declan's... all gone."

Daniel squeezes my hand. "Yeah, that's true."

MacArthur starts barking at something off in the bushes, so Daniel and I stand to see what he sees. A small brown rabbit hops away from us and into a burrow a few yards into the woods. My skin raises with goosebumps, and I can't tell if it's from the chill or the memory of the rabbit. But then I remember something else: the stained glass window behind Gunther's desk in his office at the estate. It was a scene of sheep in a meadow unknowingly grazing while a wolf stalked them.

"Did you ever notice the stained glass behind Gunther's desk?" I ask Daniel.

"The sheep and the wolf?"

"Yeah. Doesn't that bother you that MacArthur's a wolf?"

Daniel laughs. "No, I like wolves. Why?"

"I don't know... I feel like I will always sort of associate them with Gunther."

We sit back down on the log, and Daniel hunches over to think. "Every single animal on this planet, human beings included, make choices based on needs," he says. "What needs are most important to the animal depends on their environment. A wolf, for example, may feel it necessary to try to kill when they are starving in an environment without food, like MacArthur did when we first saw him. He was emaciated and had resorted to cannibalism to stay alive. That doesn't make him evil. Gunther, on the other hand, is a different kind of animal all together. He's more like the beasts we read about in stories, the wolves who chase little girls into forests to eat them and their grandmas. Those kind of animals seek out killing, and it's not for any reason except to feel the thrill, to know that they are powerful and they are at the very top of the food chain. They usually come from environments where they need to know they're the best or that they're seen. I don't know how Gunther was raised, so I don't know why he's obsessed with world domination, but I know that he's making a choice to be a villain. None of us are born bad or good. We make choices that define us. MacArthur is choosing to let me in and train him. Gunther chose to ignore everyone's pleas for him to back down. No two wolves are the same, and no two people are the same. We are all made up of our choices."

I wrap my arms around his waist. "What do my choices say about me?"

"They say that you are kind but stubborn, loyal, fierce, intelligent."

"And what do your choices say about you?"

He sighs. "That I'm mostly just stubborn. And angry."

I look up at him. "So make a different choice."

He kisses the tip of my nose. "Fine," he says, and after a long period of silence, he really gives in. "Let's go back."

He unties MacArthur and the three of us walk back to Hellhole. Jacob and our parents are still there, catching up and waiting for us.

"I'm sorry about earlier," Daniel says, wiping any evidence of tears from his face. "I was upset. Losing my dad is still something that weighs on me."

"So is the way I left things with him," Jacob replies. "You were right to be angry with me. I should have tried harder to find him. I hope you can forgive me."

"Yeah," Daniel says, nodding. "I think I can."

Jacob, Eleanor, and Daniel walk away for some privacy to catch up, so my parents and I go back to the Immortal. If Jacob keeps his promise, we will be sending this tank into the earth soon, and it needs to be ready.

Only 9 more days until Roberts' crew lands, and who knows how many days before the fighting starts.

I will be posting the last five updates as part of my 12 Days of Deathless Christmas reading celebration starting on Monday, December 14th.

So I'll be switching up my updates for the beginning of the week instead of Fridays. :-)