"Watch out!"

My eyes go wide, and I just about dive out of the way of a ball flying towards my head. It hits the ground with a soft thud, rolling away a bit as the owner of the voice jogs over to me. Lucy, one of the people we rescued from Blackmoore valley a few days ago, gives me a sheepish grin.

"Sorry, Five. We're still learning how to control the ball."

My eyes shift from her to the group of people behind her, separated into two groups by an empty clothesline. I cock my head to the side.

"Uh, Callista's fine. And what are you doing?"

"Oh! Sorry. Uh, well, after we saw you and that one guy playing yesterday, we thought we could just copy what you did, except with a clothesline as the net."

"That one guy? You mean Tom?"

She blinks once, twice. "Sure."

I huff, although I can't really blame her or any of the people from Blackmoore for not knowing who we are. They've only been in Abel a few days, and most of that has been settling in. They're nice people, but they're rather introverted. You have to make the effort to talk to them. The only reason they talk to me is because I helped them stay alive.

"Well, uh," I walk over to the soccer ball, since we still have yet to get a decent volleyball, and pick it up. I hand to her, "here. Have fun."

I start to turn to leave, but I stop when Lucy calls out to me again. It's a struggle to hide my steadily growing irritation. Forcing a neutral look and praying my impatience isn't showing through my eyes, I turn to her.

"Yeah?"

"Uh, well, since you actually seem to know about the sport and there's enough of us to make two teams, would you mind teaching us how to play?" She tucks a strand of brown hair behind her ear, smiling hopefully. I peek back at the others behind her and see that they're wearing expectant and interested looks.

Normally I'd jump at the chance to get to teach someone volleyball. It's only been recently since I started teaching Tom that I've really gotten to play again. That's why I internally ask why today and why this time, because as fun as I'm sure it would be, I have something else to do.

It'll be short, most likely, but I cannot miss it. And in my book it is far more important than this.

"Maybe later," I reply, and I cringe at the disappointed look on everyone's face. I hate having to be the one to do this, especially since I know they're doing this because one: I helped save them in Blackmoore, and two: they quickly learned that I was one of the few people here in Abel that are around the same age as them.

Honestly, the look on their faces when I told a group of the girls that my best friend was seven years older than me while I was showing them around Abel was priceless.

I think they just want to be friendly and show me what it's like to be friends with people my age. That is, people my age who weren't forced to grow up quickly. I mean, they lived through the same apocalypse I have, but they've been in Blackmoore valley through all of it, isolated and relatively safe until the V-Types swept in to ruin everything.

They and the Last Riders are alike in that aspect.

Guilt hits me like a truck at their reaction to my rejection. I glance around, trying to find a way to make things better without having to explain why I can't stay.

As luck would have it, someone who also knows how to play volleyball and is close to these guys in age is walking through the town.

"Just one second," I say to Lucy, before racing off. "Nicole!"

She stops, looking up at me, brow raised and nose scrunching in confusion.

"Hey, are you doing anything right now?"

"No," She answers slowly, unsurely. "Why?"

"I need you to teach Lucy and her friends how to play volleyball." I jab a thumb to the group, some of which are watching intently and others who have just gone back to talk to each other.

Nicole laughs lightly. "You're joking, right?"

I give a closed-lipped smile and shake my head. "Nope."

Her smile drops. "Why do you need me to do it?"

"Because I can't. I have stuff to do today, remember?"

She nods after a second of silence. "Ah, yeah. That is happening today, isn't it? Good luck."

"I probably need it, which is why I need you to go over there and teach them how to play."

She smiles sarcastically. "Oh, I'd love to, really, but you seem to have forgotten that I can't use my right hand."

"So? Just don't set and hit with your left hand. We had a girl with a broken arm as a passer on the team one year, so I'm sure you'll be fine."

Nicole grits her teeth, obviously not happy that I won't let her weasel her way out of this. Unlike me, who have found the new residents endearing and interesting, Nicole finds them annoying and irritating, mostly because she is convinced she doesn't need them as friends. Plus, the people she was around that were near her age before were all A.M.T.B. (and some Torrencer) agents, so seeing teenagers and young adults who actually act like teenagers and young adults... It's weird for her, even after being in Abel and seeing regular adults having hobbies and such.

"Fine, but on one condition," She says, and something about how she says it makes a knot form in my throat.

"Okay?" The hesitation in my voice is evident.

"A few weeks ago you said there were certain things you were keeping secret to protect the people you care about or whatever." She rolls her eyes. "Tell me what they are and I'll do it."

I scoff in disbelief. "You can't be serious."

"Why not?"

"Because-because this is just teaching some friends to play volleyball. My secrets are important."

"All the more reason to tell me."

"They're important to me."

"And if you didn't think they'd be important to me, you wouldn't be making it into such a big deal."

Now it's my turn to grit my teeth, and Nicole seems to hold a triumphant smirk, already believing she's won.

"I'll think about it, and if I do tell you anything, it won't be everything." She frowns at that, but I don't give her a chance to say anything. "Now go over there and let me leave. I only have a few minutes."

I sprint off, knowing I'll either have to think up a lie later or tell her some fragment of the truth. I don't know. I've talked to a few others before in ramblings about how I was confused how I met a doppelganger and it's known that I have four in total. Maybe I can just tell Nicole I've heard bits and pieces of that and have found some snippets about something that might be connected to it.

I don't know. It doesn't matter right now, not when I'm in front of the gate, waiting patiently. A minute ticks by, then another, then another. I bite my lip, grabbing at my invisible backpack strap, trying to keep from looking too anxious. How I wish I had my headset so I could see just where he is. I wish I had been smart enough to think about grabbing it before now.

But up until this moment everything today has gone by in a blur, colors muted and sound the same, conversations reaching my ears only to die before my mind can even process what was said.

My heartbeat quickens, and an eager but nervous smile appears on my face when I hear the alarm of the gates go off. I watch impatiently as the gates go up, and Milo runs inside.

After four and half months, almost a month longer than our agreement, he's finally home.

I couldn't look more pleased, and Milo couldn't look more upset.

"Welcome back," I greet, and he looks at me, eyes simmering with anger.

He reaches up and clicks his headset off, dropping off his bag to one of the people standing by, then heads for the medical tent. My next question gives him pause, if just for a moment.

"Do you not have anything else to bring with you?"

"I have stuff at New Canton, yeah, but Nadia told me how you urged her to get me back home as quick as possible, so I didn't have much time to pack."

I scoff, mostly because I gave him a month and he almost doubled that time by refusing to come home. If that's how he's going to be, fine. He can pout all he wants, but he's not going back. That is for certain.

He heads inside the medical tent, and I wait patiently for him to come out bite-free. I tap my foot a few times, switching from that and rocking back and forth on my heels. He may not be happy to be back, but I've taken the necessary steps to make this day coming back to Abel a good one.

I called in a few favors from the kitchen so he would have his favorite soup when dinner comes around. I think he'll like the sandwiches we'll have for lunch too. I found a new bread recipe in a cookbook that we finally have the ingredients to make. I also made sure he wouldn't be dormed with any of the new residents since he doesn't know them and I don't want to make him uncomfortable.

And now that some of the residents are playing volleyball, I can ask him to join. Most of the people from Blackmoore are my age, but there are a few who are younger and closer to Milo's age. Plus Milo isn't that much younger than me anyway. He could make friends with them, and they could be good friends who are positive influences, unlike how things were with Polly and Zack.

I hear the flaps of the tent move, and when I look up, I see Milo wearing the same face as before.

"Hey," I say.

"Hey."

There's a beat of uncomfortable silence.

"So, what would you like to do first? Lunch won't be for another hour or so, so if you want, I can show you were your new bed is. We had to give someone else your old bed since we weren't sure when you'd be back and we've gotten some new residents lately."

"Yeah. Nadia told me about that. Seems like we're overflowing with new people."

I shrug. "Well, we're building out our fences to make the township larger, and we plan on building new dorms, another shower quarters and water filter. And we're not even close to reaching 1,000 people yet, so we'll be fine."

He hums. "Yeah, but if you haven't done that yet, you're still crowded. So why did you insist on adding one more person to the mix?"

I scowl. "Because we had an agreement before we started taking in more people. Now, I can either show you to your dorm room or, if you'd like, there's a group of people playing volleyball. Nicole is teaching them. They asked me but I wanted to meet you first. If you want, you can go play with them and I can introduce you to them. They'd like to meet someone new. They're still getting over with what happened to them a few days ago, so a new friend and a game would do them all some good. What do you say?"

I'm disappointed but not surprised when Milo shakes his head.

"I don't exactly feel in a cheerful enough mood to play games," He replies. "I'm just going to go take a shower. I'll find you afterwards and you can show me where my new room is."

I sigh heavily. "Milo-"

"What?" He snaps. "What do you want me to say? You know I don't want this. I don't want to be here. I don't want to be reminded of her."

I cross my arms. "Well, you can't run away from your problems."

His jaw clenches. "You did."

"And look where that got me. Each time I tried to run away I got hurt." I run my hand through my hair. "You can be angry at me, but I'm not letting you leave just because Abel reminds you of Veronica. You need to remember that Abel was your home first, and... things are getting scarier when it comes to V-Types and I can't know you're safe if you're in New Canton."

My chest feels like it might cave in when he doesn't say anything.

"Look, I'm going to go back and teach those the new residents how to play volleyball. You can either join us or not, but it'll be fun and you'll be missing out if you don't. A lot of them are nice and you'd probably like them."

He still doesn't say anything, and with the lingering silence and tension hanging in the air, I turn and leave. When I reach the makeshift volleyball court, I wait to see if he'll join us.

He doesn't.

•

"You're a lot more chipper than I thought you'd be today."

I pause midbite, a homemade potato chip, or crisp or whatever the British like to call them, resting between my fingers. "What do you mean?"

Sam almost looks amused, a brow quirked in curiosity. "Can you not feel the glare Milo's burning into the back of your head?"

I turn around, eyes searching for the dark-haired boy in the mess hall. When my eyes finally reach his, he ducks his head down. The angered look on his face stays.

I huff. "He's just pouting because he didn't get his way. He'll get over it in a few days."

"Um, not trying to co-parent or anything, but are you sure it was a good to force him to come back?"

"Well, seeing that he agreed when he first left that his time in New Canton or Fort Canton or whatever would only be temporary, yes. And he overstayed how long he was supposed to be there anyway by three or four weeks." I look around again, my shoulders tense at the loud, indecipherable chatter that echoes around the wall.

I don't want to be in here any longer than necessary. We have two kitchens, but only one mess hall, but pretty soon we'll have to build another one because of how many people are here. Even though the temperature has dropped as the month of September breezed by, we've had to force some people to sit outside in order get everyone their food and not be packed into here like a tin of sardines.

And even then it's still crowded.

"Hmm, well, if you think that's best," He mutters, and I frown.

"What? Do you think it's not?"

"Well, I mean, I know you want him to get over Veronica, but look how long it took you to get over Wesley."

I scoff. "I stopped loving Wesley long before I came to Abel. What I carried with me was the guilt of shooting him in the shoulder, which caused an infection that made him beg me to shoot him in the head because he was slowing me down and he was afraid zombies would eventually catch up and kill us both. Veronica's choice was her own, and she's technically still here as an AI, however that works."

"Yeah, but he's going to need time."

"He's had time. He still has time, just here. With what we keep learning about the V-Types, I can't risk him beings somewhere where I can't protect him."

Sam sends me a sympathetic look before his eyes dart down to look at his food. "I get that, because he's still your kid, but you have to remember he's really only like, three years younger than you so he might be having a hard time understanding it all."

I purse my lips. "Can we not talk about this right now? You starting to kill the chipper mood you were so surprised to see me in."

"Yeah, uh, sorry," He says, rubbing the back of his neck while I pop my chip into my mouth and lick the salt from my fingers. "Why were you in a good mood anyway?"

"Well, after Milo arrived and went over to throw himself a little pity party, I taught some of the folks from Blackmoore how to play volleyball. It was fun, even though they weren't really good at it. It'll take some practice."

He perks up at that. "Oh, yeah. Some of them came by yesterday to ask about how I run the coms shack and what it's like being an operator. Since communications there were always terrible, they never were around much tech besides that AI system, so I showed 'em around. They're really nice."

"Yeah." I rest my hand on my chin. "Did they happen to say anything about me? Like ask questions?"

"Uh," Sam's eyebrows furrow as he tries to remember, "I think your name came up once or twice. Why?"

"Well, some of the girls who played volleyball with me today went to talk to me afterwards and said they wanted to tell me something about you."

He straightens. "Oh?"

"They said I really needed to talk to you."

He fidgets at the tone of my voice. "Now I'm getting nervous. Did they say I said something bad about you or something?"

"No, no, they just say I needed to ask you something, really."

"Well, don't just keep me in suspense!" He says expectantly, and I laugh.

"Alright, alright. Sheesh, so impatient," I tease, causing him to glare at me as he takes a bite of sandwich. " Anyway, I just wanted to ask if you wanted to go out sometime."

It's extremely hard not to smile at the confusion on his face.

He swallows. "What?"

"Would you like to go out with me?"

"Like on a date?"

"Yeah."

The befuddled look on his face only grows, and I have to bite my cheek to keep from giggling. "I mean, usually we plan date nights a little different, but alright."

"Great." I twist a bit to eye the table where Lucy and some of the other girls sit. They're casually talking to each other, but also sneaking glances to see what's happening. When they notice me looking at them, I give them a thumbs up, and they all grin happily. I turn back to Sam, who looks at me to them and back to me again.

"What's going on?"

I laugh, drumming my fingers onto the table. "Oh, well, after playing volleyball, Lucy asked me if I liked you. I was wearing my ring, but it was the pink one I wear on runs, so I think they just didn't know. Anyway, I said yes, obviously. Then they said I should, and I quote, 'Shoot my shot' and ask you out, since it was very clear that you liked me."

He snorts, covering his mouth to muffle the sound. "Oh, really? And how exactly did they figure that out in the three days they've been in Abel?"

"They said when you finally came back in range on the way home from Blackmoore, you were not-so-subtly flirting with me, and they said there's a certain way you look at me and no one else, and you seem extremely touchy with me, not to mention we both sleep in the coms shack... I think they thought I was just oblivious to your crush on me."

"Go literally two years back and they'd be correct," He says with a teasing grin.

"Oh, as if you weren't just as oblivious." I playfully swat him on the arm, and he snickers. "And if I remember correctly, I confessed to you first."

"Only because I forced you to explain why you kissed me."

"I still said it first," I say in a sing-song voice, and he rolls his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. So when are you going to tell them that we're married?"

"I don't know. I might have to tell them I have to get a divorce first since everyone still thinks I'm married to Phil."

"He still hasn't come out and said it was a joke?" Sam says, eyes wide, and I shake my head.

"I think he thinks we're too far in to really go back. I mean, we've been 'engaged' since I was sixteen, and after that people just assumed we got married without really saying anything, so now we just need to get a divorce to bring this to a close. Maybe I can call him on the radio today and tell him to talk about that the next time him and Zoey record."

"Yeah, you should, but you should probably tell them just that we're married, since they could ask literally anyone and be told the truth. And did you realize in two days we'll have been married six months?"

"Yep," I say with a nod and a grin. "At the end of every month I realize how long it's been. That might also be a reason as to why I'm feeling so happy today." I freeze when I notice a pair of eyes on me from across the room. "And the feeling's gone."

"What?" Sam cranes his neck to look back, his face also falling when he sees Nicole silently watching. Her expression almost appears to be one of disinterest, but Sam seems to know better given the way his lips curl up into a sneer. "What's her problem?"

"She's waiting."

"For what?"

"When I asked her to teach volleyball to the Blackmoore residents so I could go meet Milo, she said she'd only do so if I told her whatever it was I'd been keeping a secret. I said I'd think about it just to get her off my ass because I wanted to be at the gates before Milo arrived."

"Well, you're not actually going to tell her anything, are you?" He asks, and I send him a knowing look.

"Are you crazy? 'Course not. I mean, if I wanted to keep her off my tail, I could tell her about the doppelgangers, tell her I have a theory about them and how they might be connected to me. I mean, I've talked about it a little bit to some others, not enough for them to guess or remember..." I trail off when I notice she's not where she was a moment ago. "What the... where did she-"

"So that's what this is about? Doppelgangers?"

Both Sam and I flinch so hard the table moves, the legs scraping across the floor. Sam's knee comes up and slams into the underside of the table and he lets out a hiss in pain before shooting a glare at the younger girl standing in front of us.

"What the hell?" He asks.

"You didn't answer my question." Nicole looks annoyed, and while I would ask her how the hell she managed to walk all the way over here without neither of us noticing, I know now's not the time. I'm just glad 'doppelgangers' is all she heard.

"Yes, it is," I say instead.

"Are you kidding me? That's what you've been freaking out about?" Her laugh teeters on cruel, already well into the point of mockery. "Do you not see how stupid that sounds?"

"Yeah, well once you meet someone who looks exactly like you besides eye color, let me know," I reply, and again she scoffs.

"Before the apocalypse it was a proven fact that there are seven other people in the world who look like you."

"Yeah, similar," I reply. "But not exact. I know there are four more girls who look... looked like me, the only difference was the eye color. All of our names started with C, and our last names started with G, and we were all born in November, although we were born years apart."

"Uh-huh," She says, still not looking convinced, although for a moment I think I see something else flash before her eyes. "You sound like a conspiracy theorist, Singer."

"Well, it doesn't sound that crazy when you think about the other things we've seen," Sam says, crossing his arms. "Zombie apocalypse, a mad scientist who infected people with zombie virus to keep them working for him, a hippie that tried to mind control the entire world so they'd be happy forever, and our Prime Minister used babies to make a vaccine for the zombie plague. Babies! I mean, hell, we have an immortal right across the room playing checkers with Runner Four."

He subtly gestures over to Peter, who is looking rather annoyed that Jody is winning.

"Well, if you're thinking about something to do with cloning or something, then you're stupid. Mom did show us pictures of when she was pregnant with you, remember?"

"Yes, but-" I start.

"But what? You're grasping at straws here, Singer."

I bite my tongue, deciding it's best to look like an idiot than tell the truth. "Yeah. Sorry."

She tsks. "Yeah, well, you should be. I actually was beginning to worry about you. Turns out all this stuff's just turned you into a lunatic."

I don't know if she means that as a joke or not, but I still tense, and Sam notices. He grabs my hand from under the table, and I hope the look I give conveys my gratefulness.

"And what if on the odd chance this does equate to something?" He asks, gaining her attention. "What if this does mean something? What if this makes Callista special or something?"

"Seeing how she's been tested on by a madman and survived, had the crazy hippie implant her consciousness into her brain then somehow manage to convince said hippie to take a chill pill, and took down the person who started the apocalypse, I'd say I'm not sure how much more special she can get. But if she had something to do with it..." She shrugs. "I don't know what I'd do. I don't see how she could be a part of 'it' considering, as I said before, our mother actually gave birth to her. Again, you're both grasping at straws."

"Right," He says, dragging out the word. "Well, if that's all you needed to hear, then you can be on your way."

She shakes her head, grinning slightly. "No. If I remember correctly, there were two things my dear sister was hiding from me."

"But she didn't promise to tell you both, now did she?"

"I don't see why she'd have a problem with it if it's anything like what she just told me."

"If it was, why would you want to hear it? Don't want to waste more of your precious time."

She grins wickedly, almost looking impressed. "You know, Sam, the longer I'm around you, the more I see that you've got a bit more bite in you than I thought."

He doesn't reply, and she huffs when I say silent as well.

"Fine. Don't tell me. I'll hear about it eventually. As good as you are, Singer, all of your secrets end up coming out eventually."

I narrow my eyes at her. "Is that a threat?"

"More of a statement based on evaluated evidence." She starts to turn away, but then stops, looking at me over her shoulder. "Oh, and Singer, don't do this again. Don't give vague hints and make me worried about stupid theories that have no backbone. We have enough to worry about. Don't make up more."

She walks off.

"God, I hate her sometimes," Sam seethes, and I sigh in relief.

"Well, at least we won't have to worry about her for a while. And she didn't believe it, meaning she won't be upset about us technically not being sisters."

"Yeah." He drags the word out, his narrowed eyes still following Nicole as she leaves the mess hall. He stands, only speaking when he sees my confused look. "I've lost my appetite."

"Yeah," I reply, my eyes downcast. "Me too. Wanna go back to the coms shack?"

"It'd probably be best. We can cuddle and watch a movie or something."

"I like the sound of that," I reply, and his eyes seem to light up at my agreement.

"And we'll lock the doors to make sure Nicole doesn't ninja her way inside or something." He chuckles slightly at his own joke while I stand. We throw our foods away and head out, making snarky comments and jokes to help rid the air of the lingering tension.

"Let's triple lock the doors, and possibly glue the drawers shut," I snicker, my voice becoming a bit more hushed as we leave the crowed mess hall and into the quiet, empty streets. "Can't have her finding that file of Pro. Feive, right?"

"Right."

I pause mid-step, a frown on my face as a chill runs down my spine. I look around, but see no one.

"What's wrong?" Sam asks, grabbing my hand.

"Nothing," I say quickly. "Let's just get back to the shack for now."

My steps are brisk as I hold Sam's hand and lead him to the coms shack, praying that this feeling of being watched, being heard is false.

A/N: Here you go, guys! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please be sure to vote and comment! Thank you and have a blessed day!