They traveled northwest through the sprawling woods, putting a few miles distance between them and the body farm. Mel would have liked to move further out, but pale light on what horizon they could see through the trees meant little time left, and they still needed to dig a proper grave. She stopped them deep in a pine grove.

Kit and Carter made short work of the first three feet, then took turns tearing through the packed earth deeper down. Mel kept lookout, walking a ten foot perimeter around the gravesite, and did her best to memorize the surrounding area while she was at it. She wanted to be sure she could find it again.

Movement to her left halted Mel. She snapped, alerting Kit and Carter, who were by her side in the blink of an eye. 

Kit’s ears perked. He raised his head high, wagged his tail, and let out a yip of greeting. A voice came through the trees in response:

“Hello! I didn’t mean to sneak up on you!” Rosa stepped into view. She’d changed into warmer clothes, boots, and a hiking backpack. “I forgot to tell you the necklace can be used for tracking, too. I mean, I told you through the necklace, after I remembered, but you seem like you’ve been… busy.” She indicated Carter, who looked to Mel for instruction.

“He’s friendly,” Mel assured Rosa quickly. “This is Carter. He helped us escape the hunters. Carter, this is Rosa, one of my best friends. She was Gus’s friend, too.”

“Nice to meet you,” Rosa said with wonder.

Carter bowed.

Rosa slid her backpack off. “I brought some clothes for when the sun rises, but I didn’t think there would be two of you. Honestly, I wasn’t sure any of you would still be alive. It’s really good to see you, Mel.”

Mel wrapped Rosa in a bear hug, lifting her off the ground slightly in her exuberance. “It’s good to see you, too. But where are your wives? Shouldn’t you all be in hiding or something?”

“We’re laying low for right now. There haven’t been any reports about us yet. They’re just saying that a werewolf destroyed a potion shop. We’ll see how it plays out. A lot depends on what Arthur decides to do.”

“I don’t think he’s going to be a problem anymore. There’s so much to tell you. But first, have you heard anything about a couple of scientists seeking refuge? Suresh and Masha?”

“Well, we weren’t really supposed to be using names,” Rosa laughed.

“Shit. I’m so bad at this.”

“But they came in with their families about half an hour ago, I’m told.”

“Thank the gods.” Mel smiled at Carter, whose joy spilled over into her.

A look of worry and regret came over Rosa as she peered beyond Mel to the open grave, her hand on her chest. “Is that Arthur?”

“Oh! No, no, Arthur isn’t— he’s alive. He’s not here. It’s a long story. It took me too long, but I listened to you, Rosa. We didn’t hurt him.” Mel took Rosa's hand and squeezed. “We found Gus’s body. I just wanted to give him a proper burial.”

Rosa gasped, staring at Mel with tears in her eyes. “How?”

“Carter helped us with that, too. He can probably tell you himself soon. We must be less than a few minutes away by now.”

Wiping her eyes, Rosa said, “Yes, you’re right. Here,” she told Kit and Carter. “I brought some clothes for you. I think there’s enough to at least get you both covered up, if not warm. We’ll let you transform in privacy. Mel, would you come with me to see Gus?”

“Of course.” Mel first went to Kit, scratching his ears, nuzzling his head, and hugging him around the neck. “Thank you for everything. And you too, Carter. I’ll see you both soon.”

She took her leave, leading Rosa to the makeshift gravesite. Kit and Carter had gotten the hole deep enough for their purposes. Laid out among a tangle of old roots, Gus awaited burial.

“I’ve heard about this,” Rosa whispered, “but seeing it is... He looks like he could wake up at any moment. You must have gotten him from the farm, didn’t you?”

“We did. You know pretty much everything, huh?”

Rosa gave a sad smile. “There’s been talk of recovering bodies from there before. Didn’t want to put our sources in a bad spot, though. I never thought we’d be able to use werewolves for the job. Oh, Mel. I’ve wanted to bring you in on all this for ages. I knew you would be a great asset. There was worry that Arthur could have been a bad influence on you.”

“He definitely was. I think I let him be. But that’s why you were asking me about Gus being a good person, right? Why you wore the necklace. You were testing me? With Jenny and Vera listening in.”

“I’m sorry for tricking you like that. I already knew you were good. I had to prove my case, is all.”

“It’s my own fault. I was always so focused on just getting through the day, I couldn’t see anything else happening around me. If I’d been paying more attention… None of this had to happen, you know? Maybe I could have-”

“Don’t do that to yourself,” Rosa cut her off.

“Well, how about this. I won’t if you won’t.”

Rosa huffed. “That’s just not playing fair. Listen, though. I’m serious. There’s a lot of good we can still do.”

“I hope so.” Mel heard rustling and voices in the trees behind them. “I think the funeral is starting soon. Would you like a minute with Gus?”

“I would.”

Finding a relatively dry root to sit on, Mel took the opportunity to assess herself. Her back and especially her shoulder ached. She had the beginnings of a sleep deprived headache, and when she made the mistake of wondering, she found herself to be starving. A hot breakfast, a healing potion, and a soft bed would do wonders.

“…The most remarkable thing,” Carter was saying as he and Kit approached. “Unheard of. I remember everything with perfect clarity. You do, too?”

“Everything after seeing Mel in the lab,” Kit confirmed. “Never happened like that before. Not once in seven years of this. Oh.” He smiled at her with embarrassment. “This motherfucker.”

Carter and Kit had split the clothes up between them. Kit wore a jacket, boxers, and boots, while Carter had an ill-fitting t-shirt, sweatpants, and socks.

“You really remember everything?” Mel asked.

“All of it. Like it was me. It was me. Mel, I can’t thank you enough for stopping me when I wanted to attack Arthur. I never would have forgiven myself for that. And what you did back there, with the healing potion… that was the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen.”

“Potions aren’t my field,” Carter added, “but I have to agree.”

“I wasn’t just talking about the potion.”

“There’s been enough death,” Mel said. “More than enough of that.” She stood up and hugged Kit tight.

Rosa snuck up and threw herself into the hug, laughing mischievously. “Kit! I was so worried about you! I should have kept an eye on you at the lab. I knew you were angry with Arthur, but I didn’t think you’d try something like that.”

“It was an accident, I swear.” Kit pulled away. “I was in the basement and I remembered seeing Gus’s phone in the basket. I just knew Arthur would throw it away. It’s the only thing we had left. I went up to get it, but I didn’t know Mel had grabbed it, and I went looking through the trash, and then Mel must have heard me and she came up front and I had to hide. I went looking for the phone again, but before you know it, Arthur’s there and I’m hiding again. I was going to get myself back to the basement… I must have caught moonlight through the window. That’s the last I remember before I saw Mel in the lab. Thank the gods I didn’t hurt any of you. You must have been terrified. I’m so—“

“Don’t you dare.” Rosa gently hit him on the arm. “I signed up for this. All of this. Do not apologize.”

“All right,” Mel said, clapping. “No one apologize and no one blame themselves. Those are the rules.”

A round of soft, polite laughter rippled through them, followed by awkward silence. At length, Rosa asked, “Should we let Gus rest?”

“Good idea,” Mel said, leading the way.

Rosa took a pack of cookies from her jacket and slid it into the pocket of the jacket Arthur had given Gus. Then she, Mel, and Kit worked together gently lowering Gus into the ground as Carter looked on respectfully. They each took a handful of earth and said their final goodbyes before sprinkling it over his body. When it came time to fill in the grave, Carter joined them to make the work lighter.

Kit found a short log carpeted in lichen and turkey tail mushrooms. He laid it across the top of Gus’s grave as a kind of temporary headstone. The bark would return to earth long before Gus’s body. Everyone promised to visit and to bring him a real grave marker soon.

The work that lay ahead of each of them— the research, reporting, rebuilding; the tedium of looking for a new job and the intrigue of hiding from state actors; the long grief into which they had hardly taken the first few steps— it all waited patiently beyond the sunlight-tinged pine boughs sheltering Gus’s final resting place.