Nugget Pov 

I sat, crouched beside Canary's sleeping body. After Zombie had come back with Ringer, he'd propped her up against the wall and draped his hoodie over her shoulders. 

"Nugget, I need you over here," he'd said. 

I had lumbered over, happy enough to be needed. "What is it Sergeant?" I'd asked. 

"Look after her for me, will you?" he asked, his gaze trained on Canary the whole time. "Until she wakes up." 

I'd looked at Canary for a second before nodding. "Sure." 

There, he'd left me to go talk with Cassie and Ringer, who were standing in the next room over. 

I was still confused as to why Ringer was still here, after she tried killing Zombie and Evan and all. It made no sense to me. 

I looked over at Canary. 

She looked like a mess. There were leaves in her hair and dirt smudged on her face and in her fingernails. It was no doubt from their trip to find Ringer. 

Then suddenly, it dawned on me. Only Canary and Zombie had come back. 

Where was Dumbo? 

No. Not another soldier down. I shook my head quickly. No, a good soldier did not have time to mourn over those lost. The only thing I could do now was to move on. 

I took a deep breath, straightening my back against the wall. I looked over at Canary again. Before she'd left, I'd been jealous of her. She didn't need to do much for Zombie to think she was a worthy soldier. Whatever she did, he saw her as perfect, incapable of doing anything wrong. Even though I could tell that was still true, I realized I didn't need Zombie's approval to know I was a good solider. I killed the Other today. I saved myself. That was good enough for me. 

I sighed contently. Although I was surrounded by the rubble of Grace's house, I sure felt like a champion. 

I sat there for a little while, glancing over at Canary every now and then to check if she was still unconscious. Even more so than Canary, I checked the door where Zombie had disappeared. 

I wanted to know what was going on. After everything, I deserved to know what was going on. 

After what felt like ages, Zombie trekked back into the room, if it could even be called a room at this point. 

He ran a hand through his hair, distressed, before saying, "Nugget, listen I've got some important things to tell you." 

 I jumped up from my spot, eager and excited to finally be trusted. "Yes! What is it?" 

Zombie shook his head once. "You're going to want to sit down for this." 

"Okay," I said, sitting back down on the ground. 

Then, Zombie told me what had happened in Urbana with Dumbo. And then he told me what he'd just been discussing with Cassie and Ringer. He told me the plan to take down the Others. 

~*~*~*~

Canary Pov

I let out a small moan as I came to. My vision gradually cleared and I forced my eyes open, leaning my head against the wall I'd been propped up against. 

"Canary! Wake the hell up!" Nugget said, jabbing my shoulder with his tiny finger. 

"Huh?" I mumbled. 

I felt something heavy lying across my shoulders and looked down to see Zombie's jacket. 

"Wait, where's Zombie?" I asked Nugget. 

"Talking with Ringer and Cassie again. I've got a lot of things to tell you that Zombie told me to tell you when you woke up," Nugget said, his words coming out in a jumbled mess. He was clearly excited. 

I nodded, somewhat annoyed that Zombie couldn't even bother being here himself to tell me. Whatever, I wasn't surprised. I mean, we had just been bombed by a helicopter sent by Vosch. I was disappointed, but I did realize that there were more important things to talk about than catching me up on what I'd missed. 

"Are you listening?" Nugget asked, snapping his fingers in front of my face. 

I blinked twice, pushing Zombie out of my thoughts for now. 

"Yes, tell me," I said. 

"Okay, So the helicopter sent by Vosch had soldiers from Ringer's squad that she was in while she away from us," Nugget started. 

"Wait-so she spent time at another base when we were at the hotel?" I asked. 

Nugget nodded, before waving his hand for me to be quiet. "So she has a plan to defeat the Others. I mean, we literally have less than 24 hours before the Others destroy the earth, so time is a-ticking," he said. 

I nodded, agreeing. 

I hadn't realized exactly how much...or how little time we had left to find the Others and destroy them in their entirety. As much as I hated Ringer, I was relieved she had a plan because, more than anything, we needed one. 

"We're going to wait until another 'copter comes to pick up the dead soldiers-" 

"What dead soldiers?" I interrupted. 

"From when Evan and Ringer killed them. Evan was then captured and taken by the helicopter," he paused for a moment, "the helicopter that bombed us." 

I nodded, understanding. "Okay, so we wait for the helicopter to come, and then what?" I asked, getting a little impatient now. 

"We're going to hijack the helicopter and take it back to the base where Vosch is at. Ringer knows where it is and says that the mothership is docked there. I don't know how exactly, but she's going to 'destroy them from the inside'...whatever that means," Nugget said, shaking his head. 

"Okay, and do we have any idea how long this new helicopter is going to take to get back here?" I asked. 

Nugget thought for a moment, leaning his head of curls back against the wall in contemplation. "Maybe an hour or two." he said. 

My eyes widened ever so slightly. We had an hour  until they came back? How were we supposed to hijack the helicopter when we had no weapons and no Evan?

"Oh and Ringer was enhanced by Vosch while at the base," Nugget said nonchalantly. 

"What does that mean?" I asked. 

I crossed my arms, annoyed. I loved Nugget but I could tell he was enjoying this, purposely taking his time to get under my skin. 

"She has the same abilities as Evan but isn't an Other, obviously," he said. "And also...Ringer's pregnant." 

"I'm sorry, what?" I asked, certain that I had heard him wrong. 

"Ringer is p-r-e-g-n-a-n-t," he repeated, "Pregnant." 

I opened my mouth, ready for a thousand questions to spill out. Who had she had sex with? And when? Where was this boy now? And why did she think now was the perfect time to mention it?

"Zombie didn't tell me the details," Nugget said, expecting my questions. "He just said she was pregnant. That's all." 

I pursed my lips. "Where's Zombie now?" I asked suddenly. 

I needed to talk to him. I needed him to fill in what he hadn't told Nugget...about the plan and about everything Ringer had told him. 

I'd been slammed against a wall but I was still ready and able to pull my weight. If they were going to take down the Others, I wanted to be fully aware of exactly what the plan was and how everything was going to go down. 

"I told you - with Ringer and Cassie," he said, nodding to the other room. 

"Thanks Nugget," I said, before bringing myself to my feet. I scanned the room, my eyes finally resting on a shaking Megan, who was clutching Bear. 

"Nugget?" I asked, turning around to face him. "Would you mind doing me a favor and sitting next to Megan? She looks awfully scared...I think she needs a soldier to watch over her." 

Nugget's eyes lit up and he nodded defiantly. "Yes, of course," he said, saluting me, before heading up to settle down next to her. 

I then stumbled over the rubble from the top half of the house that had been thrown into the bottom of the basement. I looked up to where the ceiling of the basement was supposed to be, which was now nonexistent, replaced by the sky. All that was left of Grace's house was the small, two room basement, which, lucky for us, had been built beneath the ground. 

I threw open the door to the next room, revealing Zombie, Ringer, and Cassie, who were all three seated on the ground, looking at something drawn on the floor in the middle of them. Zombie's back was to the door and Ringer was sitting back on her heels, pointing to the lines and shapes that had been drawn. 

"And then we'll go through hear," Ringer said, taking a shard of cement to draw an arrow on the diagram. 

Cassie looked up and saw me at the door. "Lucy! You're awake." 

I nodded. "Mm yeah," I said dully. "Can I have a word with you, Zombie?" I asked, my gaze shifting from Cassie to Zombie's back. 

He was wearing a short-sleeved black t-shirt and I instantly felt guilty. 

Zombie got up from the ground and limped over to me. 

I looked down at his leg, where he'd been shot. "Ringer pulled the bullet out," he said, "You don't need to worry. I'm going to be fine," he reassured. 

I nodded stiffly. "Fine," I said, deciding not to say anything else until we were away from Ringer and Cassie. I led him from the basement to the wreckage outside. 

I took his jacket from my shoulders and held it out to him. "Here," I said, "thanks." I then sat down on a cinderblock, waiting for him to follow my lead. 

Without a word, Zombie sat down next to me, shrugging his jacket on. 

"I'm sorry to uh pull you away from discussing the plan or whatever," I said, rubbing the inside of my palm uncomfortably. 

"Canary-" he interrupted. "Before we talking about the plan-and I will tell you everything- we need to talk about us..." 

I bit my lip, heat rising to my cheeks. I wanted to cry, still embarrassed I'd told him I loved him. I mean, I didn't tell him that exactly, but I said it indirectly. Regardless, I wanted nothing to do with that moment in time. 

"The helicopter is coming in less than an hour maybe-" 

"I know, but this is important," Zombie said. 

I didn't know if it was the look in his eyes or the way his jaw clenched in agony, but I realized that this was something he needed to say. And if he needed to say it, I'd listen. 

I nodded. "Okay," I said, turning so my body was angled toward him. 

"I'm sorry," he said, running his hand through his hair. "I know I say that a lot and I know that it might not be enough...but I am. I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking when you talked to me...about wanting to spend time together...to focus on us while we had time left. I've been so so focused on this Other shit for such a long time and I'm just frustrated I haven't been able to fix this," he said, gesturing to the rubble and the bodies of the dead soldiers. "But I don't want that to come first anymore because nothing should come before you. I can't imagine my life without you...I'm not sure I would've made it this far... I'm in love with you and I need to start treating you like I do because you don't deserve-"

I smiled. He was in love with me and that was all I needed to hear. 

I leaned forward and pressed my lips against his. He kissed me back, taking my face in his hands. I pulled myself closer to him, wanting nothing more than to hold onto him and never let go. 

I loved him and he loved me. And nothing that happened with the Others could change that. 

I finally pulled back, just enough so I could look up into his eyes. "I forgive you," I murmured, "And I love you and I'm wouldn't have made it if it weren't for you," I said. "You saved me." 

Zombie smiled, giving me one of those coveted old-fashioned Ben smiles I loved so much. "We saved each other," he said. 

<><><>

Merry Christmas Eve! I hope everyone is having a great day and they're excited for tomorrow!

On a side note, I almost cried while writing this because I love Canary and Zombie so much. 

As always, thank you so much for all of your kind words on the last chapter and for continuing to support "Perish"! 

Also, check out the new cover! Big thanks to @ aneonsky