I hover by the treaty line for just a moment before I take a deep breath. Unzipping my jacket, I let it fall to the ground, followed by the scarf protecting my nose and mouth from the elements. I reach up for my eye patch and remove it, sliding it into my pocket, then pull my shirt over my head.

They’ll have to see every scar on my body to know who I am. They’ll have to see my face as it was made and not what I try to masquerade it as. They have to see me, not just another villager that got too close to the line.

Forgive me, Lils, I think uneasily as I run a hand back through my hair, then take the step that so many have either been tricked or fooled into.

Without hesitation, the rabble of monsters rush toward me, but I don’t back down or show any signs of fear. I stop walking and turn my face toward the ground and wonder what toxicity I’ll be taking back to my home today after I leave here. A small part of the treaty was to keep these illnesses away—on their side where it belongs—and yet I don’t feel any of it.

What I feel is completely different. Almost … normal. What the world should feel like, and what it probably did before the old leaders blew us halfway to Hell.

The screeches, screams, and growls turn into low rumbles. They don’t know why I’m not afraid or what I’m doing in their territory, and that’s when I raise my face. I glance around at each of the ones closest to me with a stern look in my eye and a determination they seem to have been familiar with in a different life.

One of the smallest ones of the pack slowly makes its way around the Others, moving forward, sniffing at the air around me, before finally stopping just short of reaching me, then drops back onto its haunches and looks into my face.

A low growl escapes it as I reach forward carefully, hesitating for just a moment, before I finally lay a hand as gently as I can on its head. It doesn’t jerk back like I expect it to, instead leaning into the gesture, then turning its face up and licking the palm of my hand with a coarse and elongated thin tongue.

I chuckle quietly.

I don’t want it to think that I’m laughing at it when I’m merely relieved, if anything else, that it doesn’t see me as a threat anymore. Had any of them felt that way, I’d go back to Lils with more scars on my body and no sort of excuse that she would believe.

Glancing around at the curious things watching us closely, I turn my attention back to the small one, then reach down with both hands and gently pick it up off the ground, cradling it against my body.

I start to walk as I hold it closely, careful not to press it too tightly against me since this one seems fragile. Just ahead of us, there’s a clearing that seems to be shadowed with an archway of meticulously constructed, low-hanging branches. I guess the sun can hurt them too if they’re out in it for too long.

Settling down on a ravaged old tree stump, I glance up at the archway above us. It’s clear to me now that they still have some kind of humanity left in them, if they’re able to do something as magnificent as this. But then again, when fighting for survival, it’s commonplace to do what’s needed to endure.

“I’m Colby,” I tell the little monster in my arms as I glance back down at it. “I know you can understand me, that you used to be just like me once. Well, more like the Others, but I want you to know my name and remember it, because one day, you’ll be okay again. It’s what I’ve been put here to do.”

A timid gurgle escapes it as it reaches a battered hand up toward my face, then gently scratches my cheek. I smile because I assume that’s a form of either acceptance or affection with them and lean down to kiss its forehead.

Now they know why I’m here.

Now I have to keep my promise.

It’s not just Lillian and Beverly I’d be letting down if I fail.

It would be all of us.

* * *

As the sun sets overhead, I look down at the sleeping little monster in my arms. It took almost no time to trust me, and even less time to find comfort in my embrace. Ironically enough, my thoughts float to Bevie, wondering if she’ll be as easy to sway as this tiny creature.

“They’ve feared you for so long,” I tell it quietly as I run a hand softly over its coarse hair. Maybe I can use that to my advantage.

Getting to my feet, I glance at the largest of the creatures that’s clearly the leader of this feral pack and begin to chew the inside of my mouth thoughtfully.

If they understand me as well as I know they do, then I can use them against Pollyx—and the Four Regencies.