“c’mon, baby, we’re fine, it’s fine,” hayoon cooed quietly, keeping the little girl calm and quiet as she picked her way around a corner. of course this was hayoon’s luck. she had been on her own for a couple weeks now, and shit had really hit the fan. the streets were getting more dangerous every day. she tried to stay inside as much as possible, but the toddler at her waist was hungry, and it’s not like she could leave her. she hadn’t signed up for this when she agreed to babysit this girl, but now that they were here, hayoon knew she had to keep her safe. they were looking for food, now – not trying to find any other people, though hayoon would have given anything to see her friends again. but running into another person was not what she had expected out of this. her knife was held in front of them in one hand, the other keeping the baby steady at her waist. “please tell me you have food,” she says immediately when she recognizes the other as a real person, raising her free hand in a nonviolent gesture. “please, not even for me. just for her.”

“this seat is not taken, in case you were wondering.” veronica said to the other person as she sat up from the beach chair. she looked down at her phone and squinted at her camera roll. she had arrived at the hotel only a few days ago and she already spotted all the nice places to update her instagram. the fact she called this work made her smile to herself. “do you mind telling me if this photo looks good?” 

“what are you doing here?” ava asked steely, her voice betraying a raw panic that she cursed herself for, even if it was small enough to be only noticeable to her own ears. she hadn’t expected to ever see this person again and the shock is enough to make her forget to hide her feelings behind her usual masks. this person who knew far too much about her for her to breathe easily, and held entirely too much power over her in their hands -- or at least, they used to. “you said you never wanted to see me again.”

“i’m leaving as soon as it gets light outside,” mae said suddenly, her voice level. their little base was quiet and well-protected, but mae couldn’t shake the thought that she couldn’t stay. when everything had gone to shit, it had been too fast. she had stopped and settled down to ride it out, but the time kept going and things kept getting worse. she hadn’t seen any other people in weeks – other than the other, who had stuck with her in the beginning and hadn’t made any move to leave or kick her out. they had a pretty good setup, but mae wouldn’t be able to forgive herself if the people she cared about were still out there and she let them die while she hid in a protected base. “you can come if you want or not, but i’m taking everything that’s mine. i need to find my sister.”