A/N: This fic contains season 7 spoilers.

The dark night was too quiet.

Alone.

Hope was alone. And she knew calling for her mom or her Auntie O would do nothing. She'd hid, she'd stayed quiet.

She wished she hadn't.

Hope stood at the shore, the darkened sky alight with the stars and the rings. But the Anomaly was hopelessly gone. She felt frozen, even as her mind urged her to take a step forward. Step forward, into the lake. Just dive, dive... And she'd find them. One more step and maybe it'd be far enough. Maybe they'd come back.

The water lapped at the shores, the sound slamming up against the emptiness getting carved up inside of her.

She managed to move, too shocked to cry, till the water gently washed against her boots. She stared up at the stars, wondering where they were, wishing she could be there with them.

Hope sat down on in the gravel and mud and pulled her knees to her chest. She began rocking back and forth.

Her family, her family, her family!

Her family was gone!

What would her mom tell her to do?

What would Auntie O tell her to do?

Her mind answered, but didn't bring it to the forefront, denying it, denying this. Denying, denying, denying...

This wasn't her life. It couldn't be.

But it was.

And her family would tell her to survive.