Hajo and Nathan carried Christopher to the healing lodge, where doctors began surgery to remove the bullet. 

Finn stayed behind. He noticed the blood-drenched snow beneath his shoulder but was unable to tell where it was coming from. 

With great effort, Arrakis pushed his body up and stood on one leg to gradually limp away from the scene.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" said Finn, aiming the pistol while suffering on the ground.

"Leaving," Arrakis answered without halting, "before they come back to arrest me."

"You can't just leave!"

"Watch me."

A trail of blood left a trail behind him for every hop he made. Finn could not watch Arrakis get away after everything he had done, but shooting him came just as difficult.

"Coward!" said Finn; a successful attempt to stroll Arrakis until Nathan would return. Arrakis stopped but kept staring into the distance straight ahead.

"I finally get what she sees in you; your mouth is just as big as hers."

Finn ignored the retort. "You think you're so tough, but when you are unarmed you are just a small, spoiled weakling."

"Unarmed you say?" While heavily breathing, Arrakis leaned against the tree bark. "I may not have a gun to shoot your head, or a knife to cut out your heart, heck, I don't even have a foot to shatter your skull, but my hands——my hands are all I need to choke your throat and twist your neck."

"No," Finn disagreed with courage. "I think you are too scared to do any of that. In fact, I think you're too scared to even look at me."

Provoked and tempted, Arrakis tilted his head to crack his neck. He looked at Finn on the ground. "Like a helpless worm," he narrated, "ready to be spiked by the fisher's hook. Pathetic. If you weren't armed, you wouldn't dare to say a word. Let's see how brave you really are."

Dragging the iron of his left leg, Arrakis hobbled back toward Finn, who was hoping that at any second someone would come for reinforcement. But no one was there when Arrakis' gory fist used Finn's stomach as a punching bag. Finn crumbled to the floor and tried to breathe, but it was as if two hands clamped tightly onto his lungs. Instead of shooting, Finn hit Arrakis with the pistol.

"Can't even pull the trigger, can you?" Arrakis boxed Finn's ribs and felt satisfied and ready to leave.

In vain, Finn coughed and said, "How ironic would it be if I shot you with your own gun?"

Distant voices moved closer and the white light of a flashlight touched the southern side of the trees. Arrakis leaned forward and whispered the advice to Finn's ear not to underrestimate him. Arrakis rose on his right leg, spat down on Finn, and made his way deeper into the woods. 

Finn aimed after him, but could not bring himself to take someone's life. Ashamed, his head dropped back into the snow as his body stung and burned.

Nathan jogged at the boy lacking enough air to cough any more. "Where is the other one?"

"He went that way!" gasped Finn, fearing they might lose Arrakis.

Nathan rolled Finn over on his side and studied his wound.

"What are you doing? You have to go after Arrakis!"

"Finn, you're hurt," Nathan put Finn's arm around his shoulder. "We need to get you a doctor."

"No, you have to stop Arrakis! You don't know what he's capable of."

"Finn, I promised your dad to keep you safe."

"How is he? Is he—did he—"

"He's in surgery."

"He'll be fine, right? Why would he make you promise that?"

"I made that promise a long time ago. If you two are ever parted by fate, I shall keep you safe."

Finn withdrew his arm and pushed Nathan aside. "Fate has not parted us yet. I'm going after Arrakis."

"You can barely stand. Even if you find him, you can't fight. Be reasonable."

"Arrakis shot my father! And you're telling me to just ignore that?"

"If you ever just listened to anyone but yourself, we wouldn't be in this mess! If Chris dies, it's on you."

Finn was wordless with rage, anger flooded his head. "Do as you must, but I'm going after Arrakis, and if you want to keep me safe, then watch my back."

Nathan exhaled and peered at Finn. Having given it some thought, he turned his back at the village to be Finn's protective backup on the hunt.

"Finn!" called a woman.

They had not reached the nearest tree when Andy came running at them both. Before Finn could wonder about her coming tears, she held him tightly in her arms.

"You're alive! We were all so worried!" She hugged him tighter, consequently, Finn made a low inarticulate sound conveying pain. "You're hit!" she apprehended, investigating his shoulder. "You need a doctor."

"He's refusing," said Nathan, fault-finding, and his upper lip raised.

"Finn," said Andy hurried, "you have to come with me. It's about that girl."

Concern was written on Finn's face when he nodded at Andy and silently crowned Lena's well-being the priority superior to Arrakis' capture. Before leaving the forest, he waited for a moment while Nathan and Andy walked ahead. 

He gave a vacant look at the misty black space between and beyond the tree branches. Garments of snow covered even the frailest branch with the sprinkled glitter of sparse moonlight. As he exhaled, he could see his breath. His left hand holding on to his right shoulder, he whispered determined, "I will find you."

Upon their entrance to the healing lodge, Finn was questioned by Andy about his reasoning and objective, and the girl with whom he had fled. Which question he esteemed the least had no importance to him, for he disregarded them all. She accepted Finn's mute atmosphere, for twenty seconds.

"You've lost a lot of blood. Did that criminal shoot you?"

Andy waited for some kind of reaction, even just a simple nod, or a shake of the head, but Finn did not seem to be listening at all. She wanted to understand him, to go easy on him, and be there for him, but she couldn't help it and reluctantly asked, "What were you thinking?"

"How did you find us?" he asked, instead of answering any of her questions. Bias towards his own feelings, he was undecided whether he should feel furious, hurt, or relieved about their coming.

"Every space vehicle has a tracker," she explained, "and after two unpermitted ships left Pluviam, we thought it might be you."

"Then where were you three weeks ago, when we nearly suffocated in a ruptured ship? Or a week later when Arrakis kidnapped Lena and tortured her in a basement? Where were you when we both nearly drowned in the ocean? You're asking me what I was thinking? I was thinking; why would my father leave me on a planet where I'm chased by blood-thirsty killers. And with that choice made, why would he finally come after me? Why today?"

"Aren't you glad? For all we know, you'd be dead right now if we hadn't come."

"If you hadn't come, at least Lena would still be alive!"

"She is alive."

Like water washes away the dust, those three words swept the rage off Finn's mind. "She is?"

Happy to see Finn calming, Andy smiled at him.

"How is that possible? Arrakis had the antitoxin."

"You'd have to ask Day," Andy ceased their walk. "We're here."

Finn walked into a well-lit room, where Lena lay awake on the bed, above the sheets. She was all alone until she spotted Finn and Andy. The bed, the desk, the doors, and the floors were all made of chestnut-colored wood. Lena had not looked at them directly, as she saw their reflection in the colossal windows that spread along with the circular building. Sliding glass doors provided access to the outdoor deck. Finn noticed none of all that, for his eyes were fixed on Lena. 

After lacking response, Andy informed Finn that Lena, too, refused to talk to anyone, even the doctors.

"Would you give us a minute?"

"Of course."

As soon as Andy had left the room, Lena evolved looking less like a corpse. She turned to look at Finn, with wan skin and cold hands.

"How are you still alive?" Finn asked, concerned, though relieved more than anything.

"Arrakis lied about the venom. I don't understand the medical terms, but apparently it was easily cured."

"I can't be mad. I'm so happy to see you're well," said Finn, now sitting by her side.

"You too."

"Really? You don't look happy."

"Finn—" she whispered, knowing Andy remained standing behind the door. "We have to talk. I was passed out when they carried me in, but I could hear them talking—"

"What is it?" he asked after her voice had broken apart in the whisper.

With hardship and an extended sigh, Lena focused on her folded hands and said, "They want to take me back to Pluviam."

"What? That must have been a dream."

"I didn't imagine it. I heard them."

"They wouldn't do that. They know what would happen to you."

With regret, she shook her head slowly. "It's done. I can't get away this time."

Shocked by the facts, Finn rejected that to be her end. "Why not? If we go right now—"

"Finn, no. It's already bad as it is, but if we try to escape again, you'd only get yourself into deeper trouble."

"I won't give up on you. That's just not happening."

"You were willing to die for me."

"And if I were to choose again, I'd choose the same," Finn said honestly.

"That's just the thing. I can't let you die for me."

"I think it's been established that we both have made the decision to die for one another."

"So let's leave it at that. Say we're even."

"You can't be serious. I can't do this without you."

"Do what without me? Finn, they are not going to let you out of their sight. Andy is definitely waiting on the other side of the door. Your mission is over."

"I wasn't talking about the mission. What matters is that you are safe."

"When I said that I wouldn't take the antidote, I wasn't bluffing. Do you know why I said it?"

Finn's eyes had been longing hers ever since she started looking down, away from him. Blessed by their beauty, he finally got to see them when she rested her voice to steal one glimpse of his. "I wouldn't want to live in a world without you."

He did not notice he was holding his breath until he felt his heart sinking to his stomach.

"We hide," he suggested, after having sorted his thoughts.

"And when they find us?"

"Then we run."

"They'll catch us."

"Then we fight."

On a hunt for words, Lena went silent.

"Say the words, and we'll go," said Finn, recognizing her pressure of making a harrowing decision.

"I don't know, Finn."

"Don't you want to catch Arrakis?"

"He's still out there?" she asked, extremely bothered by the fact. She was struggling to limit her anger to whispers as she felt the pressing urge to shout. "Fine. We'll go after him. Under one condition."

"You name it."

"You have to agree not to die for me when you're given the choice."

"You see, I'd totally say yes to that, but there is one problem."

"And that's what?"

"I promised to never lie to you."

She wanted to roll her eyes at him, force him to consent, but she could not shed one small piece of indignation.

Andy opened the door and peeked her head in. "Let's go get you fixed. Day will check on her later."

"Just a second," Finn said, whereon Andy left just a crack in the door to give the impression of privacy, while not actually providing it.

"You're wounded?" asked Lena as quietly as possible, only now noticing his shoulder.

Finn dismissed his injuries with a shake of the head. "If we want to do this, we have to go now."

Lena stood up, grabbed the handle of the glass door, and slid it open. Finn followed her to the deck, which was built like a ring around the entire second floor. She looked down over the railing.

"It's not much of a jump. The snow will dampen our fall. So who jumps first this time?" Finn said to Lena.

She took his hand and said, "We jump together."

She had climbed over the railing, prepared to push herself forward, off the edge, when Finn suddenly sank to the floor.

"What's happening?" she asked Finn, seeing Andy reentering the empty room inside.

"I have a bullet in my shoulder," he revealed.