Author's Note

I'd like to apologize for the large gap between updates. I've been working on my own original novel, which hopefully you'll all get to read and enjoy :)

Astrid awoke later that afternoon feeling stiff. She rolled onto her side, watching Sam sleep. He looked so innocent. Peaceful. Young. It was easy to forget that he'd killed people.

Sam wasn't a bad person because of the things he'd done during the FAYZ. He'd been trying to keep people alive. He'd been keeping her and Petey alive. Sam was a hero, and killing didn't change that, she knew.

Astrid herself had killed.

"But I'm a monster." She whispered to herself, closing her eyes against the dreaded words.

"What was that?" Sam mumbled, squinting his eyes against the invading light.

"Nothing, I'm sorry that I woke you up." Astrid bit her lip.

Pulling her closer against him, Sam pressed a soft kiss to Astrid's forehead. "There's no need to be sorry. I love you."

"I love you." She murmured back, pressing her cool forehead against his warm one, closing her eyes.

But Sam had already fallen back asleep.

The silence between the two girls as they sat in the living room ate at Diana, begging her to end it. But she didn't know what to say. Lana hadn't been able to tell her how Caine was alive or where he was, just that she saw him.

"I'm not insane!" Lana had insisted when Diana had looked at her skeptically. "I really did see him."

"How do you know it was him for sure? It could've been anyone."

"Regular people don't lift things without touching them."

Diana now laughed, finally filling the silence. Everyone lost their powers when the FAYZ ended, and that was how she knew Lana was crazy. It wasn't possible for him to be alive-was it?

"No," Diana said to herself.

"What?" Lana furrowed her eyebrows, reaching into her pocket for a cigarette.

Diana shrugged, watching Lana put the cigarette between her lips, lighting it with ease. "Can I have one of those?" She asked hesitantly.

"No." Lana said coldly, exhaling a cloud of smoke as she did. "They'll kill you."

The irony of the statement brought a small smile to Diana's lips. She desperately wanted to die, but was being denied something that would kill her.

"You smoke." Diana pointed out. "It can't be that bad, and one cigarette wouldn't hurt."

Shrugging, Lana replaced the package of cigarettes in her pocket, stuffing her lighter in the other. She continued inhaling the poison, letting it fill her lungs. Each time she took a puff, Lana sighed from the relief of satisfying her addiction.

"Why did you start smoking, if you knew it was bad for you?" Diana inquired.

Lana snorted, a sound that was unpleasant to listen to. "Everyone was going to die in the FAYZ. I figured I wouldn't live long enough for the cancer to set in." What she didn't tell Diana, was that even then she liked the idea of having something that she couldn't heal, if she actually did develop cancer.

"Makes sense." Diana nodded.

Lana moved her focus to her cigarette, not wanting to look at Diana. She became disgusted with herself every time she thought about her addiction, how it dug it's claws deeper into her with every hit she took. Lana wanted to break free. When the FAYZ had ended, she'd tried to quit. Countless times. But each time she failed, and she cursed herself for being so weak.

One thought haunted Lana more than any other. If she could break free from the gaiaphage, why couldn't she break free from this? Nicotine couldn't possibly be stronger than the will of the gaiaphage. It had consumed her thoughts completely until she could think of nothing but adhering to its will, yet somehow it was easier to destroy the gaiaphage than her smoking habit.

"It was easier to survive in the FAYZ." Lana muttered to herself. She dropped the cigarette onto the hardwood floor of the living room, crushing it under the heel of her combat boot.

Diana's head jerked toward Lana, her eyes narrowing slightly. "What do you know about surviving?" She spat. "The only person who could ever love you didn't die in there, did he? Because Caine died."

"I told you Caine isn't dead." Lana replied with a lowered voice, the tension in it undeniable.

Diana jumped off the chair she was sitting in, her feet hitting the floor with a loud thump. "And I told you I don't believe you!" She blurted in response before storming out of the room, Lana's words echoing in her head.

Caine isn't dead.