They were having a civilized discussion before the world disappeared in light and an explosion. One moment he was looking at two girls, and the next he was blind. Having two of his senses deadened made chaos out of the last moments of DeMarcus's life.

His finger squeezed the trigger twice, the ...

The smaller girl was visibly scared, and DeMarcus liked that. Gave him a little bit of that jolt that he had had back on the top of the mountain, or at the infirmary. The bigger girl didn't give him the same pleasure. All she had for him was a submachine gun and an attitude, and he resented her for ...

Heroing DeMarcus Miller for Evie McKown.

((DeMarcus Miller continued from Where We Go One))

He supposed it was fitting that he'd end up at a graveyard.

Someone had put down Fred after he had gone off on his own anyway. DeMarcus hadn't been surprised when his name came up on the announcements, but he had been dismayed. Just like that, the ...

Fred didn't have any further input. Which was fine, for now. They could figure it out. They could figure it all out.

He went to sleep and DeMarcus watched him for a long time. Watched him as if he would disappear the moment he lost sight out of the other boy. When he was finally seemingly ...

"Yeah," DeMarcus said. His eyes were going blank, as if he was disappearing into the field of his own thoughts. He was looking out over the lake now, letting it be some sort of visible stimulus for background as he went over his thoughts.

"Maybe into town like that prick on the mountain had said ...

DeMarcus stared down at Fred's offending leg and as the other boy gave his explanation and he nodded grimly. His eyes drifted toward his hand and his weapon and, after a moment, he gave it another nod as if it had decided something.

"Well, then we'll settle here for." He shifted so that he took ...

DeMarcus leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees,

"Must have. That's what you got going for you, for sure. Luck." He said, and gave a small laugh on the heels of that.

DeMarcus made a show of looking around at the environment and the surroundings at Fred's question. Other than each other ...

DeMarcus jumped at the sound, eyes wide as he scanned around for the source and full of panic. His weapon hand came up but when his gaze came to rest on Fred, it relaxed. Fred came across the lake, still limping, still intact. Still there.

If there was relief in his voice, DeMarcus did his level ...

((DeMarcus Miller continued from Megaphone))

A thousand plans came and went in DeMarcus's mind, from the time he had left the top of the mountain onward. Go to the town, find that safehouse, and ransack it. Hide in the woods somewhere. Go back to the infirmary and reclaim it as his kingdom. These ...

The other boy moved, a bull charging an enticing matador. DeMarcus didn't have the wherewithal to see the damage he had done, nor the time to really look. There was only the body hurtling toward him. He didn't fire another shot, startled instead into raising the gun hand above his head so that he ...

The gun was a talisman. It was reaffirming. It was what allowed DeMarcus to manage the island, to impose his will on it before it did the same to him. To have some little prick think he was going to rob DeMarcus of that, to transfer the control? it was insulting. It was profane.

Of course, DeMarcus ...

Dani asked her question. Fred answered. DeMarcus nodded and looked over to the girl with wide eyes, eyebrows raised as if to say, "See?"

"Copacetic. Everything's cool. We out here tryna to stay alive too."

As if to provide further concession, he took his arm from Fred's neck and took another step ...

Resistance. Irritating resistance. It didn't need to be this way. All that needed to happen was for them to tell him about a goddamn safe house and him and Fred could have been on their way. And the e-girl was telling him to move out. Something in her tone grated on him. Maybe she thought she could ...