UPRISE

019

Wren was getting worried about Noah, who had been gone for a while. So, he turns to Jasmine. "Have you seen Noah in a while?"

She stands up and spins around. Her harsh, jagged movements catch Corbin's eye. He comes up to her, looking her down. The panic in her face keeps him from recoiling from her, even though he wants nothing more than to run. "What's wrong?"

"Noah's missing," Jasmine tells him.

"I saw him go through the trees that way," Harper points out, pulling away from Rinn. Though she stopped hyperventilating a few minutes ago, he hasn't been able to leave her side. Her breaths are still harsh. She needs a hospital that they don't have.

Wren moves over to Rinn and Reagan. Rinn is surprised when he offers Reagan a hand rather than her. Still, she stands on her own.

Reagan's shaking fingers grab Wren. His head is pounding, the blood still rushing through him. He reminds himself that the panic is proof of life in his body. As he stands, he can't help but rest his head on Wren's shoulder. The material of Wren's jacket is scratchy, but Reagan doesn't mind.

Though Wren swallows and stiffens, he definitely doesn't mind either.

Rinn stands up too, looking around. The crew doesn't know where to go. Instead, they look to Pluto and Viola on the ground.

While she doesn't particularly want to leave, Pluto stands. Viola follows a step further, moving into the trees towards where she last saw Noah. Perhaps the others want to establish a plan, but her headache is back and so she is moving through the trees once more.

"This way," Viola turns behind her.

Even though Viola looks ghoulish, and Harper is convinced he stands before a banshee and not a girl, he follows her. After all, if anyone is going to find a dead body, he'd rather it be him.

The group follows after her.

As they walk, Harper thinks back on all the things he sacrificed to be a good father. Not just the alcohol, which was difficult to leave but would be impossible to return to. Instead, he thinks about the late nights patrolling residence halls so that he can pay for his family. About the girl who cried in his arms about the hands of another boy. Harper has let himself take beatings for his family, and he is prepared to do so now.

Finally, they spot him. Since Viola leads the pack, she steps up next to him first. Without turning his eyes away from in front of him, Noah puts a finger to his lips.

Wren exhales when he sees Noah, even though his hand stays snaked around Reagan's waist. He can't tell if Reagan has feelings for him, or if all of the Reagan has been drained out of the boy on his arm.

There are three Reagan's now. One who is confident, with starlight in his skin, and one who is nervous. This is the final one. The hollow boy.

As the rest arrive, their eyes follow Noah's into the clearing before them. Rinn's gasp gives them away.

"Well, hello," a boy waves at them, his gold bracelet reflecting off the water of a deep cavern in the centre of the clearing. His eyes are obscured by the shade coming from his brown hair. He looks over at the two boys with them.

One is Edison Darby.

He sees them. First, he sees Noah, so he runs a hand through his hair to fix it. Then, he realizes that the whole crew is with Noah, and his chest deflates. Edison tucks his notebook into the inside of his jacket pocket and casts a glance at the young men and women hidden in the trees.