Bernie Kosar must see the disappointment on my face because he asks if I want to go for a walk with him. Alone.

Nine hears him and says, ‘Go for it. You’re all BK talks about anyway. Whenever he wasn’t patrolling the perimeter, he was in the bedroom looking after you.’

I keep petting his head. ‘That was you, huh?’

Bernie Kosar licks my hand.

‘My other best friend,’ I say. ‘I’d die for you, too, BK .’

Nine groans at the display of emotion. I know we’re supposed to have each other’s back in this massive intergalactic war, but sometimes I wish it were just BK and me. And Sam. And Sarah. And Six. And Henri. Really, I’d take anyone but Nine.

‘I’m going to find whatever it was I killed out there, make sure we have some food for tonight,’ Nine says as he walks away. ‘You guys go have your special walk. When you get back, we need to talk about finding the rest of the Garde. Now that you’re functioning.’

‘And how exactly are we going to find them? The address Six gave us for a meeting point was in Sam’s pocket. For all we know, the Mogs have it and are waiting for Six to show up. That sounds like even more reason to find Sam, if you ask me,’ I say pointedly.

Bernie Kosar agrees. It sounds like he wants to look for Sam almost as much as I do.

‘We’ll talk about it over dinner. I’m thinking possum, maybe a muskrat,’ he says, already heading into the woods to find his prey.

Bernie Kosar tells me to follow him and he leads me through the trees and down a tall grassy hill. The land levels out for a few feet before rising again. We move quickly and the exercise feels amazing now that my strength is returning. Two huge trees lean into each other up ahead. I focus and push them apart with my mind. As soon as there’s a space between them, BK jumps through and I chase after him, remembering our early-morning runs to school back in Paradise. Life was so much easier then, when my days were spent training with Henri and my free time was spent with Sarah. It was exciting, finding out what I was capable of, how my powers would help me do what needed to be done. Even when I was frustrated or scared, there was so much possibility and I could just focus on that. I had no idea how good I had it.

My back is sticky with sweat by the time we reach a small peak. I’m better, but still not one hundred percent. The view is spectacular, a panoramic scene of the Appalachian Mountains wrapped in fir trees, bathed in the late afternoon light. I can see for miles.