Cyrus V. Sinclair. The V stands for vengeance, and I was going to get it in full. For the misery the Brotherhood had caused, for the deaths of my friends, for everything.

Beau took us through the deserted factory until we reached an office area. The ceiling was lower here, with old tiles missing or falling out. Desks and filing cabinets were pushed to the outer edges of the room, creating an open space in the center for a fire pit. A body impaled by a long pole rested over a fire, with the meat picked clean from it. Dying flames were the only light in the room.

Two men took cover behind a wooden table flipped on its side. The second we entered the room, they fired on us. Blaze dove behind a stack of filing cabinets, while Beau and I took cover behind a desk.

I leaned around the desk to fire, but a rattle of bullets sent shards of concrete flying at me.

"They've got us pinned," I said. "We need-where's Blaze?"

Chapter 32.

Blaze loved her brother, but with the promise of Gabe's death so close, she couldn't risk letting her escape. When she saw her slip through that door, she branched off to pursue. She trailed her into a giant empty room. Gabe was almost to the double doors leading out of the factory when Blaze fired a warning shot beside her.

Gabe stilled.

"Turn around," Blaze said. "Slow."

She did, with her hands raised. The self-righteous little brat didn't even have a gun. Too used to having her minions do all the work for her. It didn't surprise Blaze. Even when she found out Gabe was still alive, that she led the Brotherhood, it didn't surprise her. Blaze admitted to herself she'd underestimated the girl-after all, being a leader of a cult was still a feat-but she had always been right about Gabe. The girl would do anything for her own benefit.

"Did you know he was my brother?"

Gabe's brow furrowed. "What?"

"Buford. Did you know he was my brother?" Blaze walked closer to Gabe, gun pointed at her head.

Gabe seemed genuinely confused. "No. Is that how you escaped?"

"Partly," Blaze said. "Get on your knees."

"No, you psychotic bitch."

Blaze flipped her gun around and smacked Gabe's head with the butt of her rifle. The girl hadn't expected it, and she wobbled to the side. Blaze took advantage of this and struck her again, bringing Gabe to her knees.

Moaning, she clutched her head. Blaze patted Gabe's body down, double checking for weapons, but she had none. Blaze removed the mag from her rifle and set it in her pocket, after clearing the round in the chamber. She set her gun on the ground and kicked it away.

She grabbed the girl's hair and pulled her up. "You know, for a while I regretted what I did to you. I was mad at the world, at the weakness of people. That's what the prison did to me. Really, Gabe, you were in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Blaze released Gabe, letting her fall forward before kicking her in the back of the knee, which brought her down to the ground again. Gabe lurched forward then spun, getting to her feet and landing a severe blow to Blaze's cheek. As she came in for another strike, Blaze blocked and right hooked her.

They danced back and forth, blocking and hitting. Blaze was impressed with how far Gabe had come, but it wasn't good enough. Blaze had years on her, and despite being in the cage for a while, she was the better fighter. In a minute, she had Gabe back on the ground.

"When all this happened, I changed my mind." Blaze motioned around the room and laughed. She tasted blood in her mouth and spit it on the ground. "Fuck, I wish I'd killed you then."

She went to Gabe's side, kicking her stomach with everything she had. Gabe grunted and tried to curl into a ball.

"Where's the fight in you? Huh? Where's the big bad cannibal queen now?"

Blaze flipped Gabe over then pinned her with her knees. She brought her fists down, ignoring the pain in her knuckles as she wailed on her face. Blood oozed from Gabe's nose and mouth. Her eyes swelled.

"Where's the big bad girl who has people eat babies and rape everything that fucking moves?"

She gripped the front of Gabe's shirt, bringing her up then smashing her back onto the cement. Blaze stood and took her time walking to the stage, where chains were bolted to the floor. She unhooked one and dragged it over to Gabe, who tried to crawl to the doors.

Blaze looped the chain around Gabe's neck and pulled. She pulled harder, setting her boot in the middle of her back for better leverage. Gabe yanked futilely at the chain.

Harder. She couldn't breathe.

Harder. Her bones cracked.

Harder. Her head snapped back.

Blaze released the chain and Gabe's body fell to the ground. She retrieved her gun, loaded the mag, and returned to the body. Blaze waited until Gabe was undead before emptying the mag into her, letting the last round go right between her eyes.

She stared at the body. Calm settled over her.

It was over.

Chapter 33.

The last two members of the Brotherhood weren't as smart as Gabe claimed. While they fired round after round, we used the darkness to navigate around and come up behind them. They wore riot gear, but enough well placed shots brought them down. During the fight, a blinding flash of daylight cut into the room as someone opened a door on the other side.

When the fight was over, Beau and I searched the base for Blaze. We found her in the main hall, her face neutral, but her whole body shook. Based on the level of abuse inflected on Gabe's body, I knew what transpired between the two.

Though we were running on fumes, we released the remaining prisoners. None of us knew what to do. There weren't enough vehicles to transport them to town. Many of them were probably going to die soon anyway from exhaustion and malnourishment. Some of them had formed groups while in captivity and, after thanking us, walked off into the forest. The rest looked to us for guidance.

Well, not Beau. They knew him to be one of the Brotherhood, so we kept him away when we set the prisoners free.

I told them about the towns and where to find them. I didn't know what supplies the factory had, but I assumed they weren't surviving solely on human meat. Blaze and I encouraged them to raid the place.

The three of us carried Lasko's body to the forest where we buried her. Neither of us asked Blaze what went down with her and Gabe. I could figure it out for myself.

It took four days to hike down the mountain and make our way back to Valtown. We stopped for a night with Dr. Kalman, who stitched us up and thanked us for everything we did. I didn't feel like a hero. Not with the death of Ghost and Lasko still fresh in my mind.

Beau was the only one who really spoke during our trek back. For him, this was a miracle. He thought we were both dead. He asked us how we knew each other, how we survived all this time, and how we managed to defeat all of the Brotherhood. It's a small world, he kept saying.

I didn't bother with lies. I was done lying. So I told him everything-how I used him, how I left him, how we knew Gabe. After I finished my story, all he said was, "That's wild."

Blaze told him he didn't need to explain anything to us, but he wanted to tell his story. After we were separated in different meat trucks, they took him to Burlington, but like Dr. Kalman they found use for him and didn't kill him. Beau didn't say anything specific about what he did to appease the crazies and join their ranks, but he did say he fought hard to keep his sanity every day. The Brotherhood was good at brainwashing, and he'd seen even the strongest individuals fall to their insanity. Beau had been planning to escape the day we arrived. If we arrived a day later, he would've been gone.

As it turned out, Generator Town was a real place. Beau, the rest of the eight, and Gabe went on an excursion to Eastern Washington to find more followers when they found it. An entire city built near a field of wind turbines. It glowed with electricity at night and appeared to be a slice of Before.

Gabe made them swear to never tell anyone about it. Beau knew it would be the perfect place to escape to. The thought of it, and maybe someday finding his sister-how sweet-was what helped him wake up every day.

When we got back to Valtown, the people were in good spirits. With no further attacks from the Brotherhood, they had cleaned up inside and outside the town and were getting back on track. Arbuckle demanded details of what transpired, and, after politely telling him to let me get some fucking sleep first, I gave him a report.

His nonchalant attitude towards Lasko and Ghost's death sickened me, reminding me why 'society' was a curse word and always would be.

Beau was impressed with the city. He brimmed with happiness over no longer being the Brotherhood's captive.

After two days, she started speaking again, laughing even.

If something seems too good to be true, it is. I was holding my breath every day, incapable of believing nothing bad would happen again.

I was right.

Chapter 34.

"We're leaving, Cyrus."

Beau was somewhere in town. I sat alone at the dining room table in our apartment when she came in. Blaze planted herself in the chair closest to me. I held the ferret token she'd given me, tapping it lightly against the table. I'd become fond of the thing, calling it Little Pickle.

She looked good, dammit. Like she was alive for the first time in years. Blaze was a different person. One I didn't recognize. She was still the tough as nails, no nonsense, fuck you very much woman I met in that prison, but the edges had softened. I didn't like it.

I'd seen it coming, though I hadn't quite figured out what it would be. Blaze promised she'd kill me after she found Beau, but after everything we'd been through I knew she wouldn't.

"Where?"

"Generator Town." She shrugged, leaning back in her chair and lacing her hands over her stomach. "Beau wants to be with real people after dealing with the Brotherhood for so long. The city looked normal and probably has a lot to offer."

It sounded rehearsed. Blaze repeated Beau's reasons verbatim.

"Is that what you want?"

"I could go without seeing a town for the rest of my life and be fine. But being with him and seeing him happy? Taking care of my little brother? I'll be happy."

My smile held sorrow. "And me?"

What I didn't expect was the tear that cascaded down her cheek. Its progress slowed as it followed the curve of her scar. "You can come with us."

My inclination was to say, yes of course I'll go with you, but something in me clicked. A piece that had been stuck since the apocalypse started finally dislodged and fell into place.

"No."

She tilted her head, then used the back of her sleeve to wipe the tear away. "Beau isn't like me. He doesn't hold grudges. I promise you, he doesn't resent you for not coming to look for him. Or anything else."

"Blaze, I can't be around real people."

"What? We've been surviving together for almost seven years."

"The only person I can trust is myself. The only person who doesn't bring out the worst in me is myself." I looked around the apartment. It reminded me so much of Seattle it hurt. "You have Beau to anchor you, to keep that desolate, black part of you from taking over your whole being. Wanting to find him kept you together."

She stiffened. "What kept you together then?"

"I don't even fucking know. Confusion and delusion mostly. Going from zero to sixty, never interacting with other people then being surrounded by them constantly, trying to find my place in it all, make sense of it. That's what kept me going. I thought I loved you, but I loved the parts of you I saw myself in. I thought I was turning into a different person, but really I was just trying to survive."

As I spoke, my thoughts solidified. The muddled feeling I'd had for so long cleared. "Gabe was the catalyst for every move I've made. Now that she's dead, I feel free. I don't want to be part of this any more. I don't want to be a part of anything any more."

Blaze reached into her vest pocket and withdrew her cigarette case. She took the last neatly rolled cigarette and lit it with a match, inhaling deeply. Tilting her head up, she exhaled the smoke slowly.

"Well, fuck. I guess you aren't the bleeding heart pansy I thought you were."

I grinned. This one sat comfortable and familiar on my lips. "Nope."

She tilted her head. "Maybe here and there."

"Hm." I tapped my fingers against the table. "Maybe once or twice."

Another drag on the cigarette. Her mood sobered. "This is it then?"

I nodded, reaching out for the cigarette, plucking it from her fingers. She watched in amusement as I tried to inhale, coughed, and handed it back. "This is it."

She stood and looked at me, smiled. "Stay frosty, Sinclair."

"Wilco, Wright."

Blaze left. I knew wherever she went, she'd make it. Just like I would, because no matter what, survivors keep on surviving.

My name is Cyrus V. Sinclair. The V? It stands for whatever I fucking want it to.

Acknowledgements.