I felt horrible for leaving Cassie behind, but I had to find Megan. Nugget cared so much about her and it killed him that she was gone. It killed me to see him so hurt. I wanted to find her for Nugget's sake, even if she was dangerous. I kept looking behind me, hoping Cassie would dart out from behind some trees to beg me to come back to camp. But Cassie was asleep, and I didn't know if I'd ever see her again. What was I doing? I had come out here looking for Ringer, a girl I thought I was falling for, but the girl I really was in love with was back at camp. And there I was looking for a human bomb named Megan? Should I turn around and go back to camp? No, I couldn't let Nugget down. If Cassie went missing then I'd do everything in my power to find her, and I had to do that for Nugget, too.

"Megan? Megan where are you?" I quietly called out. I kept walking, barely trudging along. I was trying to be quiet, but the leaves crunched loudly below my feet. The sound was so loud, I felt as if it could wake a slumbering giant. Crunch crunch crunch. I walked on, until the smell hit me. I cursed under my breath, I knew that smell all too well. I had smelled it back at the hotel, at Wright Patterson, in my home town. It was death. I felt like it followed me. Then, I saw her body. Megan. I jogged over to her and saw a single gun shot wound in her stomach. "God, Megan!" I gasped, the smell making me gag. I covered my nose. A single tear ran down my cheek and I shook my head in shock. "Who would do this to you?" I wondered aloud.

"I would," said a familiar voice from behind me. I pulled out my gun and whipped around. Vosch laughed at me. "I'm not going to hurt you, boy. Just wanted to deliver a message that I think you'd like to hear," he said coolly..

"And why should I believe you?" I countered.

"You shouldn't. But, I am telling the truth, Ben. Listen if you want," he said.

"What do you want? What could you possibly say that would interest me?" I demanded.

He smiled coldly. "Sweet Cassie Sullivan. An absolutely horrendous girl who you seem to have an interest in. Do you know where she is at the moment, Ben?" he asked.

"She's safe at camp," I replied in a shaky voice, not completely sure of myself. Was she still at camp? What did he know that I didn't? I tensed when he said her name. What had he done to her?

Vosch laughed and shook his head. "That's where you're wrong, Benjamin. Cassie went looking for you. And you know who she came across? Ringer! Except, Ringer isn't Ringer anymore. She's..." he hesitated and looked off in the distance, like the word he was looking for was on the tip of his tongue, "Other-Ringer. That's right, Ben, my boy. We made Ringer like us. Sure, she's still Ringer, but she's also Other. And you know what is the main desire of all Others? To kill all of the survivors. So no matter how hard she tries to fight it, Ringer has the instinct to kill survivors. That includes you, the big-eared doctor, the little boy, and, oh yeah! Cassie. So right now, Cassie and Ringer are together in the woods. Alone. Who knows how long Ringer can resist the instinct to murder that blonde brat." He smirked.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Cassie's strong. So is Ringer. She would never hurt any of us. She's strong enough to fight whatever you did to her," I growled.

Vosch walked over to me and got in my face. "We'll see about that," he spat, and then he disappeared into the woods.