"What do you mean, 'dead?!'" Ethan's roar makes me shrink where I sit, trapped between him and the concrete picnic table as Dani attempts to check out my increasingly swollen ankle. 

"I'm sorry," I try, "there-"

"Sorry?! You're sorry?!" I flinch again, my head light from the sudden adrenaline as Ethan advances. "What the hell happened out there?!" 

Dani all but leaps to her feet, standing between us as she glares daggers at Ethan. "There was a Banshee that ambushed us as we were rounding up the Ferals," Dani growls, stepping into Ethan's space and forcing him to back away. "We barely got out of there alive ourselves; what happened to Jones was an accident." 

Ethan and Dani have an intense stare-down as all I can do is watch, the eyes of most of Cottonwood on the three of us. For all he can, Sparrow stands next to me, a hand on my shoulder in an attempt to provide support, opting to stay out of the argument after Ethan had chewed him out for defending me when Ethan first started yelling. We've only just met up with most of the campers at the rendezvous point, but it didn't take long for Ethan to deduce that Jones wasn't with us anymore. I hadn't even had time to properly greet my family before Ethan started ripping into me in front of the Cottonwood survivors, pointing an accusatory finger in my face with every word he spat. Even though I know it wasn't my fault, the immense guilt I feel over the death of Jones still refuses to lift from my shoulders. 

Ethan finally backs down, shouting, "God, damn it!" as he wrenches off his gloves and pitches them into the dirt, storming off through the crowd of onlookers, loudly swearing as he goes. 

Sparrow's grip on my shoulder slackens as he deflates, staring after Ethan. "I'll go talk to him," Sparrow says. "See if I can help him cool down a bit..." He offers a sincere smile before wandering away. 

Dani sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose as my siblings quickly approach through the disbursing crowd of survivors. 

"How is she?" Octavia asks, sitting next to me as Dani crouches once more to look over my ankle. 

"I think it might be broken," Dani declares, gently flexing my foot. I gasp, hissing in pain as I hold my leg, watching Dani as she pokes and prods the swollen mass, attempting to find where it broke. "I'm not feeling any separation, though. Here, do you feel this?" 

Dani puts a little pressure on just the wrong spot, and I have to fight my instinct to punch her in the face. "Fucking hell, yeah, I feel it!"

"Sorry," Dani breathes. "From how you landed and what I can feel, I think it's just a fracture." 

"I'll take your word for it..." I hiss in pain as Dani calls to one of the campers to bring Doc and his heavy-duty kit, my sister sitting anxiously as though she plopped in a pile of ants, and Felix standing with a guilty look on his face. Something about how they act makes me want to wait until we're alone to ask why they're acting like they got caught with their hand in the cookie jar, and I'm not sure if I have the energy to handle whatever it is they got into. 

After what feels like an eternity with Doc and Dani fussing over my injuries - and subsequently, Doc and I fuss over Dani's injuries in turn - my ankle is wrapped nearly to my knee with splints in place and a makeshift pair of crutches at my side, and Dani gets proper care for the gash in her head. Doc suggests that it would be best for me to keep any and all weight off of it for at least three weeks, the news only troubling me further as I get more antsy to leave for Atlanta. Dani offers to help me to one of the RVs the campers used to escape to get rest and change out of the body armor, but I decline, finally giving in to see what trouble Felix and Octavia have gotten us into this time. 

"Alright," I sigh once Dani is out of earshot, and I can finally talk to my siblings privately. "Spill it; what happened?" 

Octavia freezes, and Felix takes a deep breath, rubbing the back of his neck. 

"So, uh," Octavia says slowly. "Don't get mad." 

I blink, my face falling. "What. Did you do?" 

"I'll tell you, but you have to promise not to get mad at me." 

"I won't get mad. What did you do?" 

"You have to promise!" 

"Tavia." 

"Leonfoundoutaboutthelocket!"

I blink as her words spill from her mouth, my brain refusing to process her confession. "What." 

Felix steps in, looking sympathetic. "It was an accident, Cassy-"

"What do you mean, 'he found out about the locket,' Tavia?" 

Octavia stands stiffly, biting her lip like she always does when she knows she did something wrong. "We were in a hurry when you left, and the locket fell out of my pocket as we were getting on the bus, and Leon happened to see it - but I didn't know - and he asked me about it, and I tried to tell him it was just something from our mother, but he wouldn't give it back, and he said he'll only give it back when you come back, but-"

"What," I interrupt, trying to keep my voice even, though my body quakes with anger and newfound stress, "did you tell him about it?"

"I told him it was an heirloom from Mom and that it was important that I hold on to it because you gave it to me to hold on to, but he took it and wouldn't give it back," Octavia's long-winded response does little to quell the overwhelming frustration that continues building in my chest. 

"It hasn't even been a full day," I growl, trying to keep my voice steady as I squeeze my eyes close; I fear if I look at her guilty face, I might just have to hit her. "You haven't even had it for a full day - no, not even for half a day - and already not only does Leon know about it, but he took it from you."

"You said you weren't going to be mad-"

"Oh, I am well beyond 'mad,' Octavia," I snap, my eyes flying open as I glare at my sister. "I gave you one job to do, just one, and somehow you managed to screw that up in record time." 

'I knew I should have left them here and just went to deliver the damn thing alone; I shouldn't have entrusted her such a big responsibility considering how much she refuses to do this,' the thought persists in my mind as I pinch the bridge of my nose and take a deep breath, tuning out my sister's apology. 'No, I shouldn't be so hard on her. It was my fault for giving it to her in the first place; I should have just held on to it and tried harder. Now I'll have to try and convince Leon to hand it over without giving anything away...' 

"Cassy," Felix tries, resting a hand on my shoulder and snapping me out of my anger-induced inner thoughts. "It really was an accident. It fell out of her pocket as we boarded the RV, and Leon picked it up before we knew it was gone. If I'm being honest, it probably would have been left at camp had Leon not noticed it." 

I sigh, shaking my head. "It's okay, guys. I'll figure something out and get it back. In the meantime, don't say anything about the locket, got it?" I point to both of them, hoping my serious expression conveys the gravity of the situation. "That goes for both of you." 

Felix nods, and Octavia stares at the ground, shoving her hands in her pockets. 

"Cass," Octavia tries, her voice soft. "I really am sorry..." 

I glance at my sister and sigh, rubbing my face, too tired to offer comfort. "I'm sure you are," I breathe, grabbing my crutches and hauling myself to my feet. "I'm going to track down Leon and get the locket back." 

"I'll go with you," Felix offers, helping me stabilize as I readjust the height of the crutches. 

"What about me?" Octavia asks, her voice hesitant. 

"I don't know, Octavia, just stay out of trouble," I snap back, and my sister flinches, staring at the ground once more with a guilty look. I don't feel as bad as I should for getting onto her, but this screw-up could cost us everything if I'm not careful with how I handle Leon.