Grace went through the next day completely distracted. She barely said two words to anyone, and even Hari and the rest of the dinner crew's best efforts couldn't snap her out of her thoughts. Grace did her job on autopilot and bailed on dinner as soon as she finished eating.

And yet, she couldn't bring herself to go home. Grace's legs carried her to the bar and into the dim light. She took a seat on a barstool even though no one stood behind the counter—Tallulah was still at dinner. But Grace didn't even want to drink, not right now. She just wanted to think.

It could have been five minutes or five hours later when Tallulah walked in. "Thought you would have gone home by now," she said.

"Yeah..." Grace replied, distant.

Tallulah gave her an inquiring look. "Is this about that job?" she asked.

That shook Grace out of her daze. "Why would you ask that?" she asked sharply.

"Because it's the only thing out of the ordinary that's happened," Tallulah reasoned. "Nothing else has happened in this village in the past 24 hours that could shake you up like this."
"I'm not shaken up," Grace muttered, slightly insulted.

But Tallulah just rolled her eyes and got straight to the point. "What did he ask for?"

"His sister."

Tallulah's expression grew grim. She pulled out a glass and filled it with a generous serving of atkey, pushing it toward Grace. "What did you tell him?"

Grace took a large gulp of alcohol and grimaced. "What do you think I told him?" she asked. "No, of course, no."

Tallulah nodded slowly and poured a glass for herself. "Did you, did you ever consider that maybe you should try it?" she asked tentatively.

Grace, who had been halfway through a sip from her glass, froze, and then slowly lowered the glass back down to the counter. "Are you crazy?" she asked. "You know why I don't look for people. Not anymore."

"I do know that," Tallulah reassured her. "But, well, do you think maybe you should think about trying again? You used to be good at it."

"Used to," Grace repeated. "Used to. Not anymore."

Tallulah sighed. "I just think you could do more with your talents. You can find anything, so why can't that be people? Who knows what this girl is going through right now. You could help her."

"Why is that my responsibility?"

"It's not," Tallulah said, simply. "But I don't think I'm the only one between the two of us who thinks that you could be doing more to help people than finding pink ribbon for ten-year-old girls."

Grace swirled the remaining liquid around the bottom of her glass, staring intently at it to avoid Tallulah's eyes. She didn't want to admit it, but Tallulah was right. "He told me that he came down south first, and that she was supposed to come later." Grace repeated Hunter's story. "But then she never did."

Tallulah nodded, but let Grace think without interruption.

"How am I even supposed to start?" Grace said. "She could be anywhere."

"Maybe you wouldn't be able to find her," Tallulah said. "But if anyone can, it's you."

Grace pushed her unfinished glass away from her. "Whatever. I don't find people. That's not going to change for Hunter DiAngelo." Grace got up. "I'm going to get some sleep; I'll see you tomorrow."

Tallulah didn't say anything as Grace turned around and left the bar, heading home for what would likely be a sleepless night.

                                                                                           ***

Grace woke up before the sun came up the next morning. She had spent most of the night tossing and turning, moving in and out of sleep so frequently that she woke up almost as tired as when she went to bed. Still, Grace couldn't bear to lie in her room any longer, so she slipped on her shoes and made her way out of the sleeping house.

Outside, she could just make out the sun rising to the east, but the ocean remained a silent, dark field, extending as far as the eye could see. Grace stretched out her limbs for a few minutes before taking off at a run.

Grace had done her full five-mile run almost every morning since Angie had given her permission, but today she practically took off at a sprint, and didn't slow down.

Tallulah's words ate at her. Grace knew she was lying to herself by saying that she didn't want to do more good with her skills at tracking things down, but she was also adamant about keeping the promise she had made to herself.

The last time Grace had tracked a person down, well, it didn't end well. For anyone.

Grace was about halfway through her run when the sun finally came over the mountains and flooded the coast line with light. She was running through a field of squash when she suddenly brought herself to a halt. She stood there, panting, in the morning silence, and stared at the long stretch of field.

Voices put her back into movement, but only walking this time. When Grace reached the edge of the field, she sat down on an old tree stump and faced the small collection of houses where the people who tended this field lived.

It was mostly adults who approached, carrying tools and water containers out with them into the field, preparing for a long day. But from behind a little girl came running toward them, her arms swinging and pigtails bouncing from either side of her head. The adult at the back of the group turned around and said something to her, but Grace was too far away to make out the words. Then, when the girl finally reached the man, he scooped her up in his arms.

A boy, probably a few years older than the girl, came running up just after her. He took the man's hand, and together, the three of them turned back around and started heading out into the field.

Grace couldn't help but smile to herself. She lightly rubbed her forearm, the smile sliding off of her face as she looked down at the three connected circles of her tattoo.

It had been a long time since Grace had felt so carefree around other people. Even before the bombs, Grace never really felt comfortable around a lot of people. She confided in her family, and that was it. But now, even though she had found a different family in Tallulah and Angie and the population of Seaside, it wasn't the same.

Grace closed her eyes and for a moment allowed herself to remember how carefree she had been when spending time with her brothers. But then she forced her eyelids back open. They were gone. And remembering wouldn't bring them back to her.

With one last glace down at her tattoo, Grace got up from the stump. The sun was rising higher in the sky, and soon the heat of the day would come. Grace loved running, but she hated running when it was hot.

Grace gave the field workers a last look, and then took off at her sprint again, heading back to the village.

Once she got back to her house, Grace had made her decision, even if she hadn't admitted it to herself. She went to go get breakfast, and then to find Tallulah.

"You look more yourself," Tallulah commented as Grace entered the bar.

"Exhausted and sweaty? Thanks," Grace grumbled.

Tallulah laughed. "Ah, and your back to being sardonic, that is a good sign."

"So, you would let me go?"

Tallulah paused. "Go where?"

"On this job." Grace sat down at a table and took a bite out of her breakfast apple. "For Hunter DiAngelo."

"I thought you weren't going to take it."

"But what if I did? You'd let me do it?"

Tallulah sank into the chair across from Grace. "I don't think I have the power to let you do anything. We both know that."

"Yeah, but if you asked me not to go, given that you know my history, I probably wouldn't."

Tallulah sighed. "Grace, if you're looking for an out, I can't give you one."

Grace leaned back in her chair. She had been looking for an out, she just hadn't realized it.

"Look, Grace, if you decide to help this guy, I know that it's because you think that it's the right thing to do," Tallulah continued. "And I know you haven't come to the decision lightly. So, no, I wouldn't ask you to not go. I'll worry about you, like I always do, but I won't ask you to not do it." With that, Tallulah got up from the table and left Grace sitting alone.

Grace munched on her apple. "Damn it," she whispered to herself. She pushed her chair back and stood up. "Hey, Tallulah?" she called across the room.

Tallulah turned around.

"Do you know if he's still in town?"

"From what I've heard, he's been staying with the fishermen. But I don't think he's planning on staying for very long."

"Thanks."

Grace forced herself to walk toward the cliffs and the same path she had walked down the day Angie released her from the hospital. And yet, when she got to the start of the trail, she couldn't bring herself to walk down it.

"Damn it," Grace muttered again to herself.

She spent the rest of the day pacing the length of the town, trying to get herself to go down to the fishermen's living quarters, but not being able to. The beginning of the dinner shift came with a sense of relief—at least now she had an excuse not to go.

But with Tallulah shooting her curious stares throughout the meal, Grace couldn't shake the feeling that she needed to talk to Hunter DiAngelo again. And no matter how hard she tried to fight it, Grace knew that the feeling would eat at her until she finally did something about it.

That night passed even worse than the last. Grace couldn't even bring herself to go for her run, and it was too dangerous to walk down the cliff paths while it was still dark. Grace continued to roll over again and again until finally light shone through her window.

Grace shot up and hurried out of the house, marching toward the cliff path and not even allowing herself to think about it as she headed down toward the beach. She walked toward the fishermen's houses, trying to figure out how she could find Hunter DiAngelo without waking up the entire crew.

Grace ignored the crews heading out for the early morning and didn't take anytime to appreciate the beauty of the early morning sun reflecting off the water. She was afraid that if she stopped, she would never start again.

Finally, she reached the living spaces, which, with the exception of a few early birds, remained quiet. The morning crews had already left, and no one else had to be up this early. Grace was just beginning to wonder if she should have come at a later time when she caught sight of a figure sitting out on the rocks, staring out at the water.

There was only one person who it could be.

"You know, you really shouldn't sit out on these rocks. Waves can come out of nowhere and drag you out to sea in the blink of an eye."

Hunter DiAngelo shot to his feet, startled by Grace's sudden appearance. A range of emotions flashed through his face before settling on curiosity.

"I figured you'd be the only person who wouldn't know not to come and sit out here," Grace said.

"What are you doing here?"

Grace stared at him square in the eye. "Tell me everything you know about what happened to your sister," she said. "And I might be able to help you, Hunter DiAngelo."