The audio of the video recording became a repetitive echo through the garage as it was played over and over for anyone that wanted to watch it. Some of the more curious Avoiders watched it more than once, murmuring conspiracy theories amongst themselves about what the Achilles must have been hiding by killing everyone.

There was one thing the video showed, at least; it proved a way the Achilles gained their power before the world even really ended. They killed anyone that got in their way.

So they were assholes to begin with. I guess that's not surprising, Alex thought. She sat on the hood of the Glider, her feet dangling off the edge.

Her fingers drummed on the metal beneath her in boredom as she watched Cicero pace uneasily along the railing that overlooked the street.

Cicero ran a thumb along the bridge of his nose, deep in thought. It was like he was looking for danger to jump out at him.

To her right, Rollo and Ace were sprawled out in the seats of their own Glider, the latter deep in sleep. Rollo was at least peering out from one eye, her arm tucked behind her head. She looked like she was moments away from falling asleep herself.

Alex continued to draw her gaze around until she landed on Nyx. Unbothered and uninterested in anything going on around her, the woman was reclined back on the hood of the car across from Alex. She was sharpening a knife on a small whetstone crudely propped up on her thigh. Her leg was bent just enough at an angle that the whetstone was pressed between her thigh and her knife, the tension from her sharpening the blade keeping the tool in place. Any slip or hesitation, and the knife would cut into her leg.

On Nyx's left, Vida and Edric were huddled between two cars. They were still talking in fervent, hushed whispers. If it was about their current situation, Alex wasn't so sure. Edric had Vida's hands clasped in his like he was confessing his love to her.

The two of them laughed like school kids, Vida more loudly than she must have intended, as her high-pitched giggling muffled when her hand snaked from Edric's to slap over her mouth. Alex could tell she was smiling through her fingers. Her eyes were narrowed and crinkling, peering up from under her baseball cap in amusement at Edric.

Alex clasped her hands around her knees and looked away, feeling like she was watching a moment too intimate for her own eyes.

"They're hot and cold, aren't they?" Ace asked.

"Weren't you just asleep?" Alex had already been turning her head back in the direction of the Glider beside her. She could see the red in Ace's eyes, but he just grinned up at her.

"No."

"Right," Alex said. She nodded slowly, daring a peek back over at Edric and Vida. "Besides, didn't you learn your lesson the last time you meddled in their relationship?"

"Meddle?"

Rollo sniggered from the driver's seat. "I think both of you should stay out of that."

"Out of what?" Ace asked, regarding his Keeper with the same dumbfounded look Alex had.

Does Rollo know something we don't?

"You're gossiping," Rollo explained. "Explicitly or not, trying to figure out someone's relationship is gossip."

"Oh, right." Ace leaned back, but he didn't elaborate any further.

Alex leaned down. She looked between the two of them like she'd been accused of treason. "I was trying to tell you to stay out of it, you know."

He waved her off dismissively.

***

Hours passed before the water receded enough for them to drive through the streets again. The afternoon sun dipped to the horizon and welcomed a slightly cooler breeze to fight the humid air.

Alex stood up from the hood of the car and stretched. She wasn't the first to stand, but she didn't exactly focus on who had been the first person to start moving. The sounds of shuffling feet pulled her from her daze.

They had no way of taking the recording with them, so Ace covered the Cruiser and hid the key in a place only he and Alex knew. Maybe there would come a time when they could go back and use it, but it was hopeful thinking to believe they would even go back to the city.

Alex climbed into the Glider and shut the door. She hadn't had the chance to talk to Cicero during the wait for the roads to dry out. He'd been too busy keeping watch, surveying at the different levels with the Avoiders, and talking with Vida and Edric. It had been the first moment she'd gotten to be with him, alone.

I'm sure he's going to love another bombardment of questions.

"Are we really going to leave everyone at the bunker behind?" Alex asked.

"We'll find them. We just need to think about ourselves right now," Cicero replied.

"And what about our mission to reach a Center. We're abandoning that too, aren't we?" she pushed. It wasn't like she wanted to get to one, but Edric had been training them for a while on how important it was.

"There's more going on. Like I said, we have to worry about ourselves. Surviving and keeping you alive are my only priorities. We need to take one problem at a time." Cicero put the Glider in drive and followed the other cars down to the first level.

It was hard to tell what the point of everything really was. Surely it couldn't all be about just survival. There had to be a point to it, or everything up until then was for nothing.

Alex shook away the thoughts clouding her mind. Cicero was right—one thing at a time.

The cars sloshed through the water still pooled in the road. Small waves spread out around them, splashing against other vehicles in the road.

"Keep close everyone, we don't know what's out there," Vida's voice crackled over the radio.

They moved further into the city. The only drivable road cut directly through the belly of it. Outside, sand had claimed the roads. There was no other choice but to keep going forward.

Vegetation grew rampant the closer they got to the city's center. Thick growth reclaimed buildings and vehicles. Bright green and vibrant, the vines stood out in stark contrast against the dull grays and browns of the structures.

Birds flocked to their roosts overhead; exotic animals of bright blues and reds.

"It's funny, isn't it?" Cicero asked.

"What?" Alex cast him a sideways glance.

"How life always finds a way despite everything." He, too, had been watching the animals flying overhead. A look of child-like amusement crossed his face.

Alex looked over at him thoughtfully. She'd never pegged him as one to enjoy the little things. He had always been so serious and intent on just keeping her alive and safe.

The Wildlands were changing Cicero, too. While it was hardening her, it was making Cicero softer. More human.

Tall, brown animals grazed near the road. Some, but curiously not all, of them had horns growing from their heads. They lifted their heads up as the vehicles approached. Small, white tails flickered quizzically.

Deers, Alex recounted with certainty.

All at once, the deer darted off.

"Why couldn't we have all these animals where we lived?" Alex asked. Her forehead imprinted a smudge on the glass as she watched them bound away.

"There wasn't enough food for them there. Your ancestors did a real number on the environment, huh?" Cicero sounded smug with his response.

Alex laughed, cutting her eyes at him. "Always pulling that card. Well, you wouldn't be here without them, either. Remember that?"

Cicero shrugged his shoulders and carefully maneuvered the Glider around a bus flipped over on its side. Vines wrapped around the vehicle like fingers, grasping at it and holding it in place. Through the leaves, a sign flashed on the back of the bus. 'NOT IN SERVICE'.

The sun was setting, and the lights from the advertisements were even more visible. High above, signs flickered on top of buildings and from windows. Holographic images danced around the high rises like they were alive. Some were sputtering out, their points of origin most likely decaying or partly obscured by something else.

An image of a giant whale materialized somewhere down the street they were driving down. It lazily rolled overhead about twenty feet above them, moving as if it were swimming in water. The image danced a blue light over them like a shimmering ocean.

Alex leaned forward and watched it pass overhead. Gray skin flexed with each movement as if muscles were helping it move. The whale disappeared behind them, only to reappear in front once more.

"The world must have looked amazing before," Alex said.

The whale passed overhead again. There was a yearning within her, a wish to experience what the world was like. The glimpses at the past were tantalizing. What they had was so beautiful, but it was also a downfall for them.

All that technology, and they couldn't help but fight over it. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to wish for what contributed to the end of the world.

The Glider rocked. Alex remembered the last time the Glider moved, and it wasn't a pleasant memory. Her heart fluttered in her chest and she braced herself against the door.

"What was that?" she questioned frantically.

The still healing wound throbbed on her head. Alex touched her skull and sucked in a deep breath, trying to steady her wheeling mind.

Don't panic.

The cars in front stopped, and so did the Glider.

Cicero looked around. It was clear he could hear something, but trying to pinpoint the source was proving to be difficult. The creases on his forehead deepened.

Cicero reached over and pulled Alex down further toward the center console, bracing an arm over her head. Within moments, the Glider rocked again.