"Melissa --" he started.

"I'll go," she replied before he could even finish. She kissed Mary's bloodied but eerily compassionate face and then got in the passenger side of the car. She had an excuse ready that she shouldn't be separated from her creator, but Grom didn't even ask. No one wanted Sadie to feel alone.

The car-ride was a unnerving experience for Mel, as she watched the fire behind Sadie's eyes flicker and almost extinguish. She looked like she wanted to cry but had almost forgotten how. And she kept looking out the window and up to the sky. She wanted to be that free again, soaring amongst the...