"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Tobias asked, a concerned look on his face as he gazed at (Y/n) lacing up her shoes. "You were pretty shaken up when-"

"I'm fine." (Y/n) cut him off, putting on a smile that didn't serve to hide the slight tremble in her hands.

Monday had finally rolled around and, as planned, (Y/n) and Tobias were getting ready to go to the Uninfected Shelter again. This time to try and get a hold of the registration documents. Hopefully, Grey's name would be somewhere in there along with the name of whoever had taken her in. And hopefully this would put an end to (Y/n)'s stay in the city.

A shudder of dread rolled down her spine as images of a bloody knife repeatedly sinking into warm flesh flashed through her mind.

Gosh, this would probably haunt her for the rest of her days.

(Y/n) didn't know what scared her more though, the fact someone had been killed right in front of her or the idea that next time, she could very well be the one on the receiving end. For this was how this society worked, no one was safe from the gruesome effects of the infection. The next time someone got harmed, it could be her, and this simply because an Infected had judged her to be a threat to their relationship or one sided obsession.

She had to get out of here before such a thing happened. With Grey. For there was no way in hell (Y/n) was leaving her sister behind in such a dangerous and fucked up environment.

In the meantime, (Y/n) would just have to power through and pretend everything was normal. Pretend that she wasn't shit scared of stepping outside and possibly looking death right in the face again. But hell, did she want to cower away and hide.

Unfortunately for her though, this was not an option.

"Okay." Tobias said with a sigh, crossing his arms over his chest, knowing better than to argue with (Y/n). He could feel it though, the fear thrumming through her veins. "If you say so."

(Y/n) stood up with the same fabricated smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, the sight enough for Tobias's chest to cave in with guilt. And the visible dark circles around her eyes only made it worse.

She probably hadn't been sleeping well the past two nights, because of nightmares or simply the memory of what had happened on their last outing keeping her awake. And it was all his fault. He shouldn't have invited her to come with him. Not when he knew the risks.

Tobias wouldn't be this careless again.

The trip to the Uninfected Shelter was silent, none of them uttering a word. Tobias too busy keeping tabs on their surroundings to ensure no other gruesome murder took place in front of (Y/n) to traumatize her further, and (Y/n) too caught up in her own thoughts. She really, really hoped Grey's name would be in these damned files. As if it was not, she dreaded the thought of staying in the city any longer. Because she knew that in spite of her nauseating fear, her loyalty towards her sister would prevail and keep her chained here.

Grey would do the same for me. She reminded herself, and she knew it was true. Grey wouldn't give up until she had found her. Because she loved her. So the least (Y/n) could do was to do the same for her older sister.

"Okay," Tobias said as the two of them stopped in front of the Uninfected Shelter's entrance, "I distract the woman at the reception desk and as soon as she leaves, you search through her desk for what you're looking for."

(Y/n) nodded, exhaling a trembling sigh as she looked towards said woman. She didn't know how Tobias intended on distracting her or driving her away from her spot, but (Y/n) knew she'd have to be quick. The very last thing she needed was to get caught red handed snooping through confidential documents.

"You've got this." Tobias reassured with a parting smile before making his way towards the reception desk.

(Y/n) remained a few feet away, hidden in a corner and waiting for the woman to finally stand up and leave. And at first she was quite reluctant to listen to Tobias or comply with whatever he was demanding. But soon enough she heaved what (Y/n) could only assume was an exasperated sigh before standing up and leading Tobias down one of the corridors.

This was (Y/n)'s clue, and she lost no time in rushing over to the reception desk and browsing through its many drawers.

She didn't know how much time Tobias's diversion would grant her, but every passing second had her blood rushing in her ears and her heart thumping wildly against her chest. Browsing through all the important paperwork stored in the drawers was made even more complicated due to the shaking of her hands and the adrenaline obscuring her vision.

Fuck, where is it?!

(Y/n) didn't know how much time had passed before the voice of Tobias greeted her ears, far enough for her to know they couldn't see her yet but close enough for her heart to press up against her throat.

She couldn't give up now, not when she was so close to finally getting her hands on the information that would lead her to Grey.

"Actually, would you mind searching the other wing with me? I'm sure she must be somewhere." Tobias said.

"Mr. Parker, I already told you, we have no trace of her here. Now if you don't mind, I need to get back to work." The reception lady said in an exasperated tone, and (Y/n) could almost picture the way her eyes rolled to the back of her head in annoyance.

But Tobias wasn't done yet, and whatever he had said to keep the woman away, he had succeeded in granting (Y/n) more time. Just enough time for (Y/n)'s fingers to finally brush over the one file she had been searching for.

Bingo!

The registration information was organized by dates of arrival and departure, which greatly narrowed down (Y/n)'s search as if Grey had been here, it would have been for about two or three days. Long enough for her to be admitted to the Shelter and be taken in by an Infected, but not long enough for her to still be there by the time (Y/n) had made it here.

Hope swelled in (Y/n)'s chest as she skimmed through the lines and flipped through the pages. But no matter how many pages she turned, no mention of Grey was made.

In fact, it didn't look like Grey had ever been in the Uninfected Shelter in the first place, as no entry mentioned her arrival.

(Y/n)'s breath caught in her throat as she anxiously flipped through the file, desperately searching for the slightest mention of her sister. But there was no mistaking it. Grey had never been there. And all along, (Y/n) had been searching the wrong place.

No. No, no, no. This can't be. She has to be in there. She has to-

"Thank you again for your help." Tobias's voice sounded from a distance, along with his and the lady's footsteps. "I really appreciate it."

Hot tears burned at (Y/n)'s eyes, but she knew she had no time for self pity with the approaching pair. She needed to stuff these documents right where she had found them and steer clear of the desk right this moment if she didn't want getting caught.

So in spite of the bubbling despair inside of her, (Y/n) did just that, and managed to step away from the desk just in time for Tobias to come back with the receptionist.

His green eyes immediately found her in the corner of the room, her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes bright with unshed tears. Tobias was far from a genius, but it didn't take an outstanding IQ for him to know that (Y/n)'s search hadn't bore its fruits. The last chance (Y/n) had at finding some information about her sister's whereabouts had led to nothing.

Tobias's heart squeezed uncomfortably in his chest at the sight of (Y/n) biting on the inside of her cheek to hold back her tears. He hated seeing her like this, somehow more than he usually did.

Admittedly, seeing people sad or miserable wasn't something Tobias enjoyed, on the contrary. But when it came to (Y/n)... the tightness in his chest easily overpowered any kind of empathy he had ever felt before for anyone else. More than this, Tobias ached to find a way to make things better and wipe these tears off her face.

Something about the sight of (Y/n) so sad and in pain just didn't sit right with him. Not at all.

You're just worried about her because she's Uninfected. She's not a part of this society, she's especially vulnerable. A voice reasoned in Tobias's head. But as the two of them walked back home and Tobias's eyes lingered on (Y/n)'s sniffling form, he couldn't tell whether this was really all there was to it anymore.

She'll be back home soon now anyways. Tobias thought to himself, in order to brush off the foreign feelings tugging at his chest. But unlike the other times this thought had crossed his mind, no ounce of relief came from the idea of (Y/n) going back to the Uninfected Community.

Still, Tobias swallowed back the bitter taste in his mouth and kept on walking closely beside (Y/n).









































Jasper's lips curved in an elated grin as he climbed out of the car and walked over towards the house he believed to be the Parker's family's. Robert had kindly driven him here without asking any questions as to what his master's business would be in such a remote part of the city and had agreed to park a bit further away to grant Jasper his privacy.

He could barely contain the excitement running through his veins as he stepped over to the small house, his heart pounding against his chest at the prospect of seeing his darling again.

At first Jasper's plan had been to knock on the front door and introduce himself to (Y/n)'s grandfather and see whether she was home or not, to try and talk to her. Or not, honestly just seeing her would have already been a dopamine shot for Jasper.

Realistically speaking though, if the two of them were to engage in a conversation he didn't even know what he would have talked to her about, Jasper had never been the most skilled of conversationalists. But to hear (Y/n)'s voice again... Jasper was more than happy to talk about whatever she wanted.

But today, it seemed like Jasper would get neither the pleasure of seeing (Y/n) nor of hearing her sweet voice. And he immediately deflated when he knocked on the front door and no one answered. The house was empty.

Jasper didn't know what to do. He had come all the way here in the hopes of seeing the love of his life but she was nowhere to be seen. His bright afternoon had taken a depressing turn and he couldn't leave on such a sour note.

No, whatever it was, Jasper needed a piece of (Y/n).

Jasper mindlessly let his legs carry him around the house, blue eyes gazing at the home's interior through the windows. Until he finally stopped in front of one particular window decorated with light linen curtains that had been drawn back to let in the gentle daylight.

Butterflies fluttered in his chest as he took in the simple bedroom.

This is her room. Jasper didn't know how he knew it, as there wasn't anything especially girly nor special about this bedroom. But somehow, he just knew this was where his darling spent her nights. Call it an Obsessive intuition.

Jasper just knew.

His hand, as if possessing a mind of its own, seized the window's handle, a disappointed pout befalling Jasper's features as he found it locked.

Oh how he would have loved to open this window and get a whiff of his sweet darling's scent... To let himself in and roam around her room, searching for pieces of her and bathing in the overwhelming happiness that her existence brought to him.

But unfortunately, this didn't seem to be Jasper's lucky day, so he settled for standing in front of the window, gazing at his love's bedroom from outside. This would have to do for now, after all, Jasper didn't want to break his love's window. That wouldn't be very romantic nor gentlemanly of him.

Still, Jasper knew that standing outside of (Y/n)'s house would only keep him satisfied for so long.