The room felt emptier than it was. The small nest where Ashley and Reid had slept was long cold and there was barely a trace she'd been there. Some shoes, a sweater. He could remember the feel of her still, almost smell her. Gathering his pack and shoved what few things of Ashley's were left into it.

“There's another pack,” Shannon shouted from the stairs. “And a gun in the next room over. Don't ask.”

Sure enough, Reid found Ashley’s old pack, rips and tears and all, with a rifle and hatchet sticking out the side. More chance to run than even I knew, he thought with a smile. Reid remembered the first time he really noticed the pack. In the tree by the parkway, she scrounged hidden food for him and the kids. There had never been a moment’s hesitation as she'd tossed pieces of jerky around.

Picking up her pack Reid headed down to the first floor.

“I'm not coming with you,” Lancaster announced. By the exit, the others sorted through the supplies as Eric and Shannon mapped out a route from memory on scraps of paper. None of them looked up or seemed all too interested in what the doctor said.

“I'm not exactly built or trained for confrontation, as you can imagine.” Lancaster fidgeted with the hem of his shirt and glanced frantically between the guns. “Miss Black and I will stay here while you mount your daring rescue.”

“Not a chance,” Reid said as Tish loaded the weapons ahead of time.

Even Eric seemed to agree. “We need you there, Helena. No one’s better at triage.”

Helena frowned and looked between Lancaster and Eric. A sliver of fear slipped into her eyes and her hands crossed over her chest. Reid couldn’t put his finger on why she’d hesitate, not when minutes before she’d espoused how vital recovering Ashley was for her mission to save them all. But after a moment, it didn’t matter.

“Of course,” she said shaking her head. “We'll get her back, Lancaster.” She smiled at the doctor. He looked ready to protest but Helena tenderly touched his arm, more so than Reid had ever seen. Lancaster closed his mouth.

“Then you can finish your research,” she assured him.

“Into what?” Shannon asked with a laugh as he handed another loaded weapon to Eric.

“A cure, of course,” he said rather plainly. “Or something close enough to one. Miss Cazalla is the key.”

Reid frowned. A lab rat there, a lab rat here. But at least here at the estate, he could be with her, even if only for a little while. In his heart, Reid couldn’t deny that it seemed like a nice idea to stay at Casa Loma. Even with the strange scientist lurking around corners. Would be better than the cell or locked room for her waiting at the college or wherever the Outreach planned to keep her.

“I could care less about your plans, Doc,” Tish said as she swung a pack over her shoulder. “I'm more interested in having a chat with Monte.”

“Fuckin’ right,” Shannon echoed. Even Eric looked ready for blood as they made for the exit.

“Can you contact-” Helena started to ask and Lancaster was a step ahead of her.

“Evelyn, yes. She'll be most displeased with the way things have unfolded, but I'll be sure to relay your plans and my findings.”

“Alright then.” Helena took a deep breath. “Let’s go.”

As they started out into the open air Reid felt a strange sense of dread settle around them. The morning sun had started to rise, but clouds loomed low and threatened to rain. He could feel the tension in the air, that cool sharp breeze of fall whispering of a cold day. Rain would be a problem for them on the roads. The last thing they needed was more delays.

“I filled the bus with all the gas I could find,” Shannon said quietly as he led them through the parking lot. “But the others cleaned out the cars pretty good. We might not have enough to get back.”

Reid stepped up to the Wheel-Trans vehicle. It had seen better days; missing a bumper, cracked windshield, dented sides, but the tires weren’t flat and even a half-full tank was a godsend. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d driven a car, and as Eric swung his pack on the driver’s seat Reid was a little relieved.

They stored the guns, safety’s on, towards the middle. Where the space for a wheelchair waited, they stacked their packs. The plastic seat covers were cracked but thankfully the foam beneath wasn’t soggy.

Shannon took up a spot beside Eric as Helena and Tish got themselves comfortable. Reid couldn’t help but think what were they even coming back to? It wasn’t likely the Outreach would just let Ashley, the real living one, slip through their fingers. Taking her back might mean screwing themselves out of a rescue. And they couldn’t go back to the college, he was certain of that. They’d gone against the council alienating that last bit of civilization they had out here. Exile would be a light punishment. A bullet, while he slept, was what he expected.

That was if they made it back alive.

Reid swallowed hard and looked at the road ahead. If.

[MAD Wendigo - Prologue Narration]

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