Victor led the group through the forest, lighting up the way with his lantern. He didn't talk much and only prompted them to hurry up. According to him, they weren't far from their destination.

Surely enough, it didn't take very long before the light first dropped onto silhouettes that appeared to be small buildings, similar to the cabins that Layne had only seen in camping sites before.

As they got closer, however, the houses didn't look so appealing anymore. Made out of old timber, they seemed like they'd fall apart upon a stronger gust of wind. As having worked in construction sites before, Layne could only bite his lips seeing so many faults in the way the cabins were built.

It looked as if Victor could guess what he was thinking. "Don't worry, I know it looks unstable but nothing bad has ever happened before."

"Nothing bad ever happens until it does," muttered Layne.

The stranger chuckled. "Until then, it keeps us safe. They're stronger than they look, by the way. Held well for decades already and we have seen some pretty bad storms."

He stopped in front of one of the cabins and knocked at the door. A soft voice responded, "come in."

"We don't have free cabins but this one can hold exactly six more people," commented Victor before opening the door. "You'll love Iker and Zander. They are both such sweet boys. Let's just hope you won't corrupt them." He gave the group a smile and motioned them inside.

One after another, Rejects walked into the cabin. Layne was pleasantly surprised by how warm it was. The flames crackling in a brick furnace explained it. Not only did they emit warmth, they were also the only source of light. Another quick glance around revealed the cabin consisting of one room only and having no windows. Two young looking guys sat on pallets covered in rough-looking material. In total, eight of them were arranged along the back wall.

As soon as everyone were inside, Victor followed in and closed the door behind him. Surrounded by proper light, he looked older than Layne would have expected from his proud but perky posture. Now it became apparent that his hair, longer than that of Layne's and freely dropping down his shoulders, were silver coloured, the same as the full beard, which partly covered up the wrinkles on his face.

"Iker, Zander," he addressed the boys, "these are the new Rejects. They'll be your roommates."

Iker and Zander looked at all six of them separately, then each other. Both looked uncomfortable, one of their lower lips were shaking. Layne couldn't have been more surprised by how similar they looked – both petite in size with equally black hair, even same round facial features. They had to be related. Even Layne and Levi didn't look quite that alike.

"I'm sure you'll get along," said Victor and turned to the group. "You must be so confused. The darn Carriers never explain anything."

They nodded. The elder gestured at the pallets and everyone picked one to sit on. Troy took the furthest one by the wall. Without thinking much, Layne sat on the one beside him. After Remy, Coden and Malia picked all the ones closer to Iker and Zander, Alana dropped herself next to Layne with a sour expression.

Victor pulled out a stool from under the table. One of its legs were crooked and it made a squeaky noise when the man sat on it.

"You must have heard of the Land of Rejected. It was a popular 'scary story', back when I was still in Eumain."

"Figures," Layne gave Alana a smile.

She frowned and turned away from him. "So you're gonna tell us that the 'scary story' is somehow true, huh?"

"As far as I've been explained, every rumour has a source." Victor leaned forwards. "Apparently, this one came from someone who used to be a Carrier. She made a mistake, released a Reject because she felt sorry for him. Of course, she knew how that'd end, so, before going down, she did her best to make it public. What the RCI did, I mean."

"Of course the RCI would try to make it sound made up," said Layne, rubbing his chin. "They've always been so secretive about that whole shitty process. So, this is a little bit like Australia." He looked around to see everyone staring at him. "Nevermind."

"Do you know why are they doing this, tho?" Malia asked Victor.

"No, not exactly. I've heard stories before that it all started as a social experiment of a sort. After it ended, the RCI still saw it as an easy and 'merciful' way to get rid of their Rejects. That's, of course, a rumour. Though, some rumours have proven themselves to be true."

For a few moments, only the crackling of the flames broke the silence. The elder gave the group some time to contain their thoughts before continuing, "it's not that bad here, tho. Of course we have to fend for ourselves, the resources are sparse, but at least we don't have to live in fear anymore."

"With all sorts of murderers around," said Coden, disgust radiating from his voice. That alone made Layne's heart sink a little.

"All of us here are imperfect." Victor laughed before setting a serious expression again. Only a slight smile remained. "But it's our second chance, so don't waste it. We generally don't delve into the past, it doesn't matter why we came here. We're starting fresh."

"I like that." Malia grinned.

"Well, of course. It's a great thing. Although I gotta warn you – we are a community and we have to work like one. Whatever it is you did, if you want to stay here, you have to leave it behind. We don't harm each other. If you do... Well we have other things to worry about, so, you'd just have to leave."

"Rejected from the Rejects," commented Layne.

"You do talk a lot, don't you?"

"All the time, basically."

Even Remy's face brightened. Victor shook his head with an obviously fake disappointment, his smile widened. "Eh, we'll get along. One more thing, though. It's really important."

The six of them leaned forward.

"When the sun sets, stay inside. There is a reason this place is only fit for us, Rejects."

"What is that supposed to mean?" asked Alana.

"We have a little bit of a wild animals' problem here. Don't know what those are, our guess is that's a gene modification project gone wrong, or maybe really right, depending on what they planned. Anyway, they are extremely aggressive and I haven't heard of anyone surviving an attack. Nothing to worry about, tho. Completely nocturnal, relatively easy to avoid."

"Wild animals? Really?" Troy frowned. "You can't deal with that?"

"Easier said than done. We don't have the equipment and don't even know how they look like."

"How come?"

"As I said, no one survives an attack. Seeing them always ends in an attack." Victor stood and pushed the stool back under the table. "Anyway, you should all try to sleep, I bet you're tired."

He gave them one more smile and strolled towards the door. "Good night, we'll talk in daytime."

Victor left. It was weird being alone with these people again. Layne realised they never did get to know each other, not that it was time for that.

"Victor is sorta weird, isn't he?" asked either Iker or Zander, Layne still didn't know which one was which. "He's actually really nice. Helped us a lot since we first got here."

"Which was only a few weeks ago," added the second one. "We had a pretty rough start, but he's right. It's not that bad here."

"I'm Zander, he's Iker."

"You're related?" Layne threw out the question he had ever since he saw them.

"We're brothers," said Zander.

The rest of the Rejects introduced themselves one after another. The siblings nodded at them with polite smiles. Still, both of them looked tense, almost as if they were afraid to move.

"I think I'm talking for everyone when I say that we're tired as all hell," announced Alana. "Sweet dreams, everyone."

Layne was in a verge of shooting something back just for the sake of it. He hated it when someone spoke for him.

She was right, tho. As much as he hated the idea of going to sleep so soon after reaching this new, undiscovered place, Layne wanted nothing more than to close his eyes. He took off his shoes and moved around his toes. He hasn't even realised how sore his feet were after the day. Especially the wounded one.

The adventures could wait for tomorrow.

Layne settled down on his pallet. It was hard and the sheets were even rougher than he would have expected. At least there weren't any squeaky mattresses or buzzing lights. Only the fire, slowly dying out in the furnace.

"It's weird. I think I almost like it here." Layne turned to Troy. "It kinda sucks but Eumain sucked for someone like me, too."

"Sleep, Layne."

Layne bit his lip. He was used to people not wanting to talk to him, still, it didn't mean he was ok with it.

"I mean, we'll talk in the morning," Troy reassured after a moment. "Lots happened today. I'm tired."

"Goodnight."

"Sure. To you, too."

Layne wished he wouldn't have noticed the reluctant wave in the giant's voice. He was never the one to care about pleasing people or making friends. Hell, he used to be the first one to voice his opinions that were likely to turn into an argument.

Now, however, an annoying thought buzzed through his mind. As soon as he was first placed in this Land, every single person he knew was lost to him. For the first time in his life, he didn't even have his big brother to fall back on. Then, he almost envied Iker and Zander. At least they were never really alone in this.

Maybe, every single time he rambled about not needing people in his life, he hasn't been completely honest with himself. Or he just didn't consider that one day he'd be exiled to a foreign land with a bunch of strangers.

Layne closed his eyes shut. Keeping them this way turned out to be a difficult task. He turned on the other side, tried out a few different sleeping positions of which none has proven itself comfortable enough for sleeping.

He shoved his hand under the pillow which appeared to be just an old case of one, filled with straw. It wasn't perfect, yet he knew he'd have to get used to it.

"How could I?" someone whispered. It took a bit to realise it was Remy's voice. "Now we appear to be exiled somewhere with some wild animals waiting to have a feast with my blood instead of red wine."

It was weird hearing Remy say something like that. Especially since he barely ever even opened his mouth.

"That's just how I feel," answered Coden. "Just don't forget to breathe."

"Oh don't remind me that."

"I'm exhausted but I can't sleep. Advice?"

"Count the sheep? Now give me the same advice."

"Count the Carriers you'd rather sent here instead of yourself."

"All of them? Sounds like hard work. Well, alright, I guess that could help. Goodnight, Coden."

"Sweet nightmares."

Layne decided that the Carriers advice hasn't been so bad. At least, worth trying. The last number he remembered before falling asleep was somewhere closing in to three hundred.