5.

Lynn’s the one who first realizes that something is really wrong with the guy.

She’d been too preoccupied to notice it before, when the adrenaline was flying high and she was running back to the van with the guy thrown over her shoulder. Now that Seb has whisked them far away from the exploding Reach military compound, though, she finally has the time to think and check out the newcomer.

The guy is slumped against the side of the van. He looked dead, if not for the slight rise and fall of his chest. He still looks pretty beat up despite Trent healing the worst of it . A thin strip of dried blood originates from somewhere in his dark bird’s nest of hair, snaking down his temple and curling around his chin. There’s a bruise forming on his cheekbone. An odd white mark peeks out from underneath a dirty bandage on his wrist. His dark clothes no doubt hide countless other injuries, so he’s in bad enough shape that Lynn should still be able to feel his pain regardless of his unconsciousness. Why, then, is she getting zero emotional feedback?

Her powers reach out, actively trying to sense something from him now. She imagines tendrils poking at his aura and waiting for a response. The sheer absence of any sort of feelings from him is like a black hole, and more and more of her reaches out in a desperate attempt to find something, anything¸ that tells her he’s a normal human being with human emotions.

Her awareness of her friends’ emotional signatures soars in her attempts, going from a manageable acknowledgement to a suffocating HAPPY-TIRED-VICTORY-REST. Alright, time to back off. Their collective emotions return to a pleasant but mild burn in her ribcage. From her target, though, there is only... an overwhelming nothing. An icy combination of horror and empathy coils around her lungs.

What has the Reach done to him?

She wants to figure out this mystery, but fatigue threatens to drag her to sleep before she can. The others have long fallen from their post-victory highs. The warm cascade of Trent and Cora’s elation has dulled and shrunk into a candle of content, and the monotonous buzz of near-sleep is emanating off them in waves. Seb is quietly humming a slow melody as he drives, likely an old video game soundtrack. His tranquililty is like balm on her frayed nerves.

Lynn lets her shoulders slump. She is pretty tired. It’s not like the guy’s going anywhere except back to the Den. She lies down and uses Cora’s thigh as a pillow, smiling when one of her friend’s huge wings shifts and drapes over her.

This can be tomorrow’s problem.

4.

“Hey, you guys, I found him,” Seb says into the walkie-talkie when he sees the seated figure on the rooftop. “Stand down, though. I’m gonna talk to him.”

He turns off the handset in the middle of his friends’ protests. Lynn’s irritation wafts up from the floor below him, a pulsing but otherwise minor jab in his side. She’s getting better at projecting, he muses, but this isn’t something that she needs to be here for. He ignores her and picks his way through the mess of random furniture on the rooftop. His footsteps are intentionally loud to warn of his approach.

The new guy is hugging his knees in the shadow of an old couch, away from the sun’s relentless heat. He was rubbing harshly at his bandaged wrist as Seb walked over, but pulls his sleeve down when Seb sits a short distance across from him. Weird. Seb doesn’t sit too close; he still doesn’t quite know how the guy’s powers work yet, and he doesn’t want to take any chances.

How should Seb start this? Maybe he should have asked Lynn to handle this. Even though she mentioned not being able to get an emotional read on the new guy, she’s always been better at handling delicate situations. Amidst the panic, she and the others hadn’t thought about what they would do when they found their runaway.

If Cora were here, she’d probably tell him to skip the small talk and haul the dude back to the infirmary where they can keep an eye on him. That doesn’t sit right with Seb. Sure, they need to be cautious about the stranger with them now. At the same time, though, it doesn’t seem like treating this guy like an enemy is necessary.

“Sorry we spooked ya, man,” Seb says softly, after a moment of sitting in silence. “We all just wanted to be there when you woke up. You were pretty beat up when we found you.”

Nothing. Seb chews on his lip. This is awkward. He’s always been tactile, and he’s itching to reach out and hug the guy or pat him on the leg or something. Trent’s last lecture on boundaries is the only thing keeping him from doing anything.

“I’m Sebastian,” he tries again. “Everyone calls me Seb, though. What’s your name?”

Still no response, but Seb is nothing if not persistent.

“That what your power does? Freeze people? I think it’s pretty cool how we all still couldn’t move for a little bit even after you left.”

By “left,” of course, Seb means “ran out of the infirmary in a panicked escape attempt.” He’s not gonna say that, though.

He’s awarded with a slow head shake as the guy’s gaze flickers up to meet his. Progress! Jeez, the poor dude looks scared out of his mind.

“Look, man, I… we’re not gonna hurt you. I promise. I dunno what kinda hell the Reach put you through, but obviously you did something to piss ‘em off since you were in their max security vault. Enemy of my enemy, and all that.”

The guy’s eyes flicker away again, but Seb stubbornly leans down to make eye contact again. “You’re on our side now.”

More silence as they just stare at each other. Then, a quiet mumble.

“What?”

“…why aren’t you afraid of me?” His voice is hoarse, like he hasn’t spoken in decades.

Seb chuckles, trying for humor. “Please. I’ve had worse nightmares about AP Physics.”

The little resulting huff can totally be counted as a laugh in Seb’s opinion. They fall into silence again, though this time it doesn’t feel so awkward. Seb knows the rest of his friends are probably wondering what the heck is going on. They can wait a little longer.

“Rowan,” says the next hoarse whisper. Seb only just manages to hear it.

“Rowan?” Seb confirms. “That’s your name?”

He nods and shifts his legs down so more of his face is visible. Seb smiles disarmingly and fingers the walkie-talkie at his side, indecisive. Then, he holds out an inviting hand.

“Would you like to meet the others, Rowan?”