"Really." Almon joked. "I thought a head shake meant yes."

Astra smacked her head. "Seriously, why do I even know you guys."

Nicote just sighed. Probably as a "because they walk into our lives" way of saying it without saying it.lio shrugged.

Cole jsut geinned.

The next morning, Victoria's head was full of the horrors she'd seen during the blood watch, but due to an endless series of nightmares afterward, she wasn't sure which of the images were real and which imagined. The wheezers with their dirty coats and filthy needles and gas masks sewn into their faces seemed like something only possible in a twisted dream, but the memory of them was so sharp that she knew they'd really been out there.

With a painful churning in her gut, she suddenly remembered the kid that had been taken, strung up and stabbed with that filthy syringe. Where was he now? What were they doing to him?

A couple of sirens later and most drifted down to the yard. She had never seen so many dark, tired eyes and drawn faces, so many nervous twitches and tear-stained cheeks. That morning, for once, everybody in Furnace looked their age. All the hard stares and swaggers had been replaced by frightened expressions and anxious shuffles as the children huddled in groups for comfort.

Jack wasn't talking to Vic, so she just stopped asking questions.

The duty roster materialized on-screen, putting all your characters back in the kitchen.

As usual, Rhia is going to skip. And, as usual, she offers for Vic to skip with her.

This time, she hesitates. Because if Jack is being a grade-A jerk and isn't going to talk to her might as well go with someone who will, right?

If she hides out with Rhia, she won't have to work.

Right. Plus, she won't have to deal with Jack ignoring her. And being completely embarrassed if she saw Zaire.

Staying with Rhia definitely sounds safer. And more pleasant.

So, after extensive debating, not that it was much of a choice, she decided to go with Rhia this time

Rhia is quite happy about that and leads Vic to the storage space.