USER: Snatching it up with a gleam in his eye, he reached out and caught her slim elbow in his hand. "Not so fast, punch it in here and I'll call you later." Victor offered up his phone, pressing it against her chest, as she caught it with a perfect smile . "Ah, I like a man who knows exactly what he just might get". Victor watched her walk away, calling out after her . "Oh is that so, huh?" There was no answer as she disappeared into the haze of twilight that shimmered across the field . Or this one : Leaning forward, she pressed an open palm against his shoulder, leaving a slip of paper fluttering into his lap as she walked away. "Hey , to you too" he called out , in disorientation, fishing the scrap of paper from his lap.

USER: Which has a more mature charm : Victor glanced out across the field, the sizzling heat blanching the concrete under the bleachers. Another afternoon of training was wrapping up around him, with random teammates clapping him over the shoulder as they jogged past. His tendons ached with fatigue, and he attempted to ease the strain in his neck by stretching it wearily to the side. "So tired of all this," he muttered, despite the sense of fulfillment pulsing through his veins. It never quite seemed enough. Removing the residual sweat from his face with the hem of his jersey, he wrenched at the corner and dragged it across his brow. As he craned his neck, his taut abs caught the afternoon sunshine, and he was assaulted by a barrage of wolf whistles. "Yo, Vic, you been benching, eh?" one male voice called out to him from across the field. "She ain't gonna call you back, but I will!" another jibed in good humour. "As if I'd have the time for that, my life is so stressful I could just about--" Victor lamented, his attention suddenly swallowed by a passing silhouette, a female figure with a perfect, core-of-an apple shape. His stare glassed over as Lara sent him a smile from behind her dark bangs, her olive complexion glowing in the orange light as she came into view . Her light green eyes lingered just a moment too long and his stomach shot him a jolt of wonderment as he smiled back. "Yeah, that's what we don't have time for , Vic " he mumbled under his breath, well out of her earsho...

USER: SnatchingHas the author achieved something challenging? Victor glanced out across the field, the sizzling heat blanching the concrete under the bleachers. Another afternoon of training was wrapping up around him, with random teammates clapping him over the shoulder as they jogged past. His tendons ached with fatigue, and he attempted to ease the strain in his neck by stretching it up with a gleam in his eye, he reachedwearily to the side. "So tired of all this," he muttered, despite the sense of fulfillment pulsing through his veins. It never quite seemed enough. Removing the residual sweat from his face with the hem of his jersey, he wrenched at the corner and dragged it across his brow. As he craned his neck, his taut abs caught the afternoon sunshine, and he was assaulted by a barrage of wolf whistles. "Yo, Vic, you been benching, eh?" one male voice called out and caught her slim elbow in his hand. "Not so fast, punch it in here and I'llto him from across the field. "She ain't gonna call you later."back, but I will!" another jibed in good humour. "As if I'd have the time for that, my life is so stressful I could just about--" Victor offered up his phone, pressing itlamented, his attention suddenly swallowed by a passing silhouette, a female figure with a perfect, core-of-an apple shape. His stare glassed over as Lara sent him a smile from behind her dark bangs, her olive complexion glowing in the orange light as she came into view . Her light green eyes lingered just a moment too long and his stomach shot him a jolt of wonderment as he smiled back. "Yeah, that's what we don't have time for , Vic " he mumbled under his breath, well out of her earshot as she elapsed him like a polarising eclipse as he ran his tongue along the inside of his teeth, shaking his head. Her pristine white teeth, full lips and the echoes of her laughter interweaved through the blaring whistle of his coach. His legs screamed with lactic acid from running drills , and he found relief in the cooling breeze that brushed against her chest, as she caught it with a perfect smilehis perspiration. In the quiet reprieve of the emptying arena, his thoughts flashed to his profoundly emptier shoe-box apartment. His hand, running along a faded imprint across his back, sent him chills . "Ah, I like a man who knows exactly what he just might get". Victor watched her walk away, calling out after herIt was when his time was idle , his fingers would explore all the old wounds and he stopped himself; steeling his grip on his forearm. The impending evening promised him a decent meal , a sound night of sleep and insurmountable volumes of pay-per-view. Yet he felt exhausted as his mind flirted with the prospect of abandon. A night of rampant corruption, of revelry, and flames of his inexhaustible youth. That's when he felt a presence at his shoulder , and he lift his gaze. "Lara? How long have you been standing there?" he asked, broken from his distraction. "Not long, you look stressed out, is everything okay?" Her soft lilt fell on his ears , rendering him speechless . "Oh yeah. Just , life of a quarterback, y'know how hard it is that so, huh?" Therebeing in demand right?" "Cheerleading coach and head cheerleader in an institution like this, yeah I think I might have a slight idea." Her laugh washed over him as his mind was no answer as she disappeared into the haze of twilight that shimmered across the field . Or this one :soothed by its smoothness. "I have to get back out there , but I just wanted to say hey." Leaning forward, she pressed an open palm against his shoulder, leaving a slip of paper fluttering into his lap as she walked away. "Hey , to you too" he called out , in disorientation, fishing the scrap of paper from his lap. His fingers toyed with edge of the paper, and he slipped it into his pocket with resignation There was no answer as she disappeared into the haze of twilight that shimmered across the field . "What have we got ourselves into , huh?" . He grinned ruefully at the setting sun , with her number under his fingers as they returned to the crumpled paper and traced the digits with temptation . He sighed into the unfolding night as he rose from the bleachers and made his way toward the parking lot.

USER: HasDoes the author achievedachieve something challenging?challenging within writing this piece : Victor glanced out across the field, the sizzling heat blanching the concrete under the bleachers. Another afternoon of training was wrapping up around him, with random teammates clapping him over the shoulder as they jogged past. His tendons ached with fatigue, and he attempted to ease the strain in his neck by stretching it wearily to the side. "So tired of all this," he muttered, despite the sense of fulfillment pulsing through his veins. It never quite seemed enough. Removing the residual sweat from his face with the hem of his jersey, he wrenched at the corner and dragged it across his brow. As he craned his neck, his taut abs caught the afternoon sunshine, and he was assaulted by a barrage of wolf whistles. "Yo, Vic, youyou've been benching, eh?" one male voice called out to him from across the field. "She ain't gonna call you back, but I will!" another jibed in good humour. "As if I'd have the time for that, my life is so stressful I could just about--" Victor lamented, his attention suddenly swallowed by a passing silhouette, a female figure with a perfect, core-of-an apple shape. His stare glassed over as Lara sent him a smile from behind her dark bangs, her olive complexion glowing in the orange light as she came into view . Her light green eyes lingered just a moment too long and his stomach shot him a jolt of wonderment as he smiled back. "Yeah, that's what we don't have time for , Vic " he mumbled under his breath, well out of her earshot as she elapsed him like a polarising eclipse as he ran his tongue along the inside of his teeth, shaking his head. Her pristine white teeth, full lips and the echoes of her laughter interweaved through the blaring whistle of his coach. His legs screamed with lactic acid from running drills , and he found relief in the cooling breeze that brushed against his perspiration. In the quiet reprieve of the emptying arena, his thoughts flashed to his profoundly emptier shoe-box apartment. His hand, running along a faded imprint across his back, sent him chills . It was when his time was idle , his fingers would explore all the old wounds and he stopped himself; steeling his grip on his forearm. The impending evening promised him a decent meal , a sound night of sleep and insurmountable volumes of pay-per-view. Yet he felt exhausted as his mind flirted with the prospect of abandon. A night of rampant corruption, of revelry, and flames of his inexhaustible youth. That's when he felt a presence at his shoulder , and he lift his gaze. "Lara? How long have you been standing there?" he asked, broken from his distraction. "Not long, you look stressed out, is everything okay?" Her soft lilt fell on his ears , rendering him speechless . "Oh yeah. Just , life of a quarterback, y'know how hard it is being in demand right?" "Cheerleading coach and head cheerleader in an institution like this, yeah I think I might have a slight idea." Her laugh washed over him as his mind was soothed by its smoothness. "I have to get back out there , but I just wanted to say hey." Leaning forward, she pressed an open palm against his shoulder, leaving a slip of paper fluttering into his lap as she walked away. "Hey , to you too" he called out , in disorientation, fishing the scrap of paper from his lap. His fingers toyed with edge of the paper, and he slipped it into his pocket with resignation There was no answer as she disappeared into the haze of twilight that shimmered across the field . "What have we got ourselves into , huh?" . He grinned ruefully at the setting sun , with her number under his fingers as they returned to the crumpled paper and traced the digits with temptation . He sighed into the unfolding night as he rose from the bleachers and made his way toward the parking lot. After a long few hours spent in traffic , Victor curtailed the escalating effect of gridlock on his nerves by fiddling with the radio. Song after song, he surfed the channels , sifting through droning ballads and unrelated classics that remanded him vaguely of childhood. Unresolved, he switched the station off entirely, strumming a fabricated tune on his jeans , and humming in agitation. "C'mon" he willed the stagnant vehicles with an offset jaw, scratching at his shoulder blade and realigning his neck . His mind was transported to an afternoon , one he never recalled often , and its vivid presence made him flinch. The sun had been a waning backdrop as he'd stood crying on a green lawn, plastic spade in hand. A sandpit laid under his bare feet, and a familiar voice thundered through him, grinding him to a halt . Tears streamed down his face , each one a grave mistake. "You have until the count of three to stop crying-" Looming above him, his fate was closing in. " One...I'm not playing Victor ...Two-" . Suddenly the blare of a horn sent sobering reality coursing through him as his eyes flew open and he slammed the accelerator, his memory entrenching itself in the dark corners of his subconscious as he drove in silence.The shadows of the highway painted themselves across his features in a haunting reflection of his solitude.

USER: Does the author achieve something challenging within writingAs Ryan pushed his thighs through the rubble, honing in on the sound of human tears, he stopped. As his eyes froze on the figure, her outline framed with the fading daylight, his heart slowed its beat: "Liam , it's - a kid. Poor thing was spared-I hope " Liam , catching up to Ryan in the haze of loose bricks and clay, combed a hand over his vision . "oh God , I've been through enough hell-but look at her-she can't be older than ...five? . Ry-I -ah shit. And we know her father's fate at least. Captured for muling. Her mother-I don't think I'm strong enough this" he said , gazing at the girl who , noticing their presence , curiously approached. Ryan braced a hand over Liam's chest, as he said "It's ok Li' ... I've got this" as her face became clear in the heavy dust, Ryan met here in the middle of the deteriorated pile of debris . " Hey, where's your mom and dad , huh? " Ryan asked, the girl's tiny amber irises , with her large pupils , that of a four year olds trauma , gazed into his. "I -I don't know. I miss them. Why did they go so far away? " Ryan dropped to his knees , her face peering up into his unwavering gaze as he said evenly . "We're gonna find them , ok, but you'll be safe with me and uncle Liam. What's your name ? You can call me Ry'" Clitching the remains of a stuffed bear, albeit its left eye handing by a thread , she offered a stammered name "I-m I'm Lily" . She then brandished four fingers in Ryan's smiling face as she announced , " I'm four years old...how old are you?" . Liam's laugh came from somewhere behind Ryan's head as he answered her. "He's a big number , hold up both hands Ry, " Ryan's smile broadened as he laughed , offering his hand to the child as she entrusted her hand to his grasp. "Uncle Ry' is twenty-ah it doesn't matter. You're gorgeous ain't ya?" She blushed with a crystalline laugh, as her eyes darted and she wound her shoe into the dust. "That's what Daddy always says-" she said, her eyes glistening with tears. "But I don't know why Daddy is gone?" The magenta skies bled behind her fragile silhouette , as Liam bent down beside her. "We think we know , and we are gonna find mommy too huh?" Her face lit up , the pink hues melting into her glassy stare as she said "Yeah, I wanna see mommy , too ." Liam , smiling despite the uncertain twist of agony in his chest, gestured towards the dilapidated toy in her hand. "Who's this piece : Victor, huh, I bet he's pretty special? We have to make sure that no matter what, we don't lose him. " As he winked , she held up the dust infested bear as it were an earned prize . "He's Sam, he's smaller now... but I still love him ." Liam leaned behind Ryan's head as he said, in a low tone. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" . As Liam's eyes landed on a pair of boots , placed eerily close together , perfect and stripped of their laces , Ryan's gaze followed. "Yeah Li' , I'm guessin' those are the father's . It's a calling card if I ever saw it. Sick bast-" The sky echoed the sentiment of despair infused with a faint hope as her hand fluted Ryan's thumb and forefinger. "Uncky Ry-I-I-I don't know where I am....i got lost... it's cause I let go of mommy's hand . I'm I'm sorry-" Liam , deftly grasping her shaking wrist pulled her into the crux of his elbow. "No , Lily, it's not you fault. You keep Sam safe , so he's lucky you were hanging on tight to him huh?" The light flew back to her eyes as she nodded. "Yeah-but Uncky...um" she said , already disoriented by the encounter. "You can call me Li- you've made two new friends today huh? How about that?"Her eyes faltered a moment, then she gazed directly into Liam's blue stare, as she lowered her voice to a whisper . "Unky Li" , don't tell anybody , but I have a secret. I -it's -um-" She leaned closer, whispering into Liam's ear as she said "I found this and I wanted to give it daddy but-it's the same color as your eyes". As she produced a wilted morning glory from her pocket , she perched it on Liam's grease laden hair, behind his earlobe. "Oh , you're too -" he said , the gesture unbalancing his compose as he encircled his arm around her waist . "I bet you're tired huh, if you can't walk , do you think you can fit up here?" Liam, patting his shoulders , watched as she nodded , dust falling in her light hair. Hoisting her up , her knees falling either side of his jaw , he guided her hands to his hair. "Hold on tight , I got you. And up we go". Liam rose to his feet , with the aid of Ryan's firm grip hauling him off the ground. Lily was quick to reach out Ryan's hand, grabbing his pinky and swaying it back and forth as he walked alongside Liam. "You're so high up there , is the sky pretty? " Through a yawn she said, "yeah, it's red, I like it...but I'm so tired...I can't sleep till mommy and daddy-umm -I'm scared now ..." Her fingers twisted against Liam's scalp and her chest shook with oncoming tears. He quickly halted , assuring her she could sleep. "You can take a nap up there , we will keep walking so even while you sleep we'll be getting closer to your parents, it's gonna be ok-" . Ryan , reaching up to stroke her hair said quietly "when you wake up we'll still be here , because that's what uncles are for right? And you are stuck with two of us so you're double safe ...but you'd better hug Sam tight so he doesn't fall huh?" . Lily stuffed the bear down her oversized shirt, and rested her chin in Liam's unkept bed of hair. "He's safe now..." she said , her voice travelling over Liam's head as her eyes slid closed. Ryan glanced out across the field, the sizzling heat blanching the concrete under the bleachers. Another afternoon of training was wrapping up around him, with random teammates clapping him over the shoulder as they jogged past. His tendons ached with fatigue, and he attempted to ease the strain in his neck by stretching it wearily to the side. "So tired of all this," he muttered, despite the sense of fulfillment pulsing through his veins. It never quite seemed enough. Removing the residual sweat from his face with the hem of his jersey, he wrenched at the corner and dragged it across his brow. As he craned his neck, his taut abs caught the afternoon sunshine, and he was assaulted by a barrage of wolf whistles. "Yo, Vic, you'vehorizon, the sun slipping lower, and he nudged Liam. "I'm guessin' that it's been benching, eh?" one male voice called out to him from across the field. "She ain't gonna call you back, but I will!" another jibed in good humour. "As if I'd have the time for that, my life is so stressful I could just about--" Victor lamented, his attention suddenly swallowed by a passing silhouette, a female figure with a perfect, core-of-an apple shape. His stare glassed over as Lara sent him a smile from behind her dark bangs, her olive complexion glowing in the orange light as she came into view . Her light green eyes lingered just a moment too long and his stomach shot him a jolt of wonderment as he smiled back. "Yeah, that's whatabout two miles , and we still don't have timean iota of a clue where to start lookin' , and you know the pattern up to this point has been , traffic with the men...torture and kill the women for , Vic " he mumbled under his breath, well out of her earshot as she elapsed him like a polarising eclipse as he ran his tongue along the inside of his teeth, shaking his head. Her pristine white teeth, full lips and the echoes of her laughter interweaved through the blaring whistle of his coach. His legs screamedpure sadistic pleasure. Maybe he even trafficked a few of them two... but I don't know how we tell this kid she might not see either of her folks again-" . As his expression flickered with lactic acid from running drills , and he found relief in the cooling breeze that brushedworry and a foreboding guilt, Liam sighed , pulling the small of Lily's back closer to his neck, her stomach flush against his perspiration. In the quiet reprieve of the emptying arena, his thoughts flashed to his profoundly emptier shoe-box apartment. His hand, running along a faded imprint across his back, sent him chills . It was when his time was idle , his fingers would explore all the old wounds and he stopped himself; steeling his grip on his forearm. The impending evening promised him a decent meal , a sound night of sleep and insurmountable volumes of pay-per-view. Yet he felt exhausted as his mind flirted with the prospect of abandon. A night of rampant corruption, of revelry, and flames of his inexhaustible youth. That's when he felt a presence at his shoulder , and he lift his gaze. "Lara? How long have you been standing there?" he asked, broken from his distraction. "Not long, you look stressed out, is everything okay?" Her soft lilt fell on his ears , rendering him speechless . "Oh yeah. Just , life of a quarterback, y'know how hard it is being in demand right?" "Cheerleading coach and head cheerleader in an institution like this, yeah Iskin. "I don't think Iwe do- I think she's gonna put two and two together -kids just know this shit right? And we might have a slight idea."to ask ourselves something worse, for instance, how do we deal with her total sense of abandonment, the survivors guilt, she's us in a smaller , vulnerable body-" . Ryan slowed his gait, the wear in his voice as he said "Well, not in the sense that she can understand it. We might find them alive yet, and I suspect that the boots mean they want us to find these people. Lily herself is a calling card. I know better than to assume they were disposed of so fast." Liam's eyes were dark with the notion , as the concrete pavement wound its way into an unpromising nowhere. As the night carried a soothing breeze , taking the searing edge from the heat out of the arid air, Lily began to stir. "Daddy-it's cold-I don't wanna sleep yet, I wanna play with Kai-no, I -" . Her laugh washed over him as his mindshoes kicked against Liam's collarbones as her fists coiled in his strands of textured hair. "Daddy? " Her voice was soothedmet by its smoothness. "I have to get back out there , but I just wanted to say hey." Leaning forward, she pressed an openthe silence of Ryan's downcast stare as he placed a palm against his shoulder, leaving a slip of paper fluttering into his lap as she walked away. "Hey , tothe back of Lily's head. "You remember me? Uncle Ry' . We found you too" he calledand Sam, because you got lost , yeah? But you're safe now-" he said, her hair gritty against his skin. Liam , adjusting his neck as she twisted around in his hands yawning , loosened his protective grip. As Lily registered the flower behind his ear, she plucked it out ,with sleep in disorientation, fishing the scrap of paper from his lap. His fingers toyed with edge of the paper, and he slipped it into his pocket with resignation There was no answer as she disappeared into the haze of twilight that shimmered across the field . "What have we got ourselves into , huh?" . He grinned ruefullyher voice. "Oh , I gave this to you, Uncle Li' , I'm gonna pick another one for Daddy coz his eyes are ...orange -like mine-" Ryan , as he smiled at the setting sun , with her number under his fingers as they returned to the crumpled paper and traced the digits with temptation . He sighed into the unfolding night as he rose from the bleachers and made his way toward the parking lot. After a long few hours spent in traffic , Victor curtailed the escalating effect of gridlock on his nerves by fiddling with the radio. Song after song, he surfed the channels , sifting through droning ballads and unrelated classics that remanded him vaguely of childhood. Unresolved, he switched the station off entirely, strumming a fabricated tune on his jeans , and humming in agitation. "C'mon" he willed the stagnant vehicles with an offset jaw, scratching at his shoulder blade and realigning his neck . His mind was transported to an afternoon , one he never recalled often , and its vivid presence made him flinch. The sun had been a waning backdrop as he'd stood crying on a green lawn, plastic spade in hand. A sandpit laid under his bare feet, and a familiar voice thundered through him, grinding him to a halt . Tears streamed down his face , each one a grave mistake. "You have until the count of three to stop crying-" Looming above him, his fate was closing in. " One...I'm not playing Victor ...Two-" . Suddenly the blare of a horn sent sobering reality coursing through him as his eyes flew open and he slammed the accelerator, his memory entrenching itself in the dark corners of his subconscious as he drove in silence.The shadows of the highway painted themselves across his features in a haunting reflection of his solitude.her profile muttered to himself , noting the detail of her fathers appearance.

USER: As Ryan pushed his thighs through the rubble, honing in on the sound of human tears, he stopped. As his eyes froze on the figure, her outline framed with the fading daylight, his heart slowed its beat: "Liam , it's - a kid. Poor thing was spared-I hope " Liam , catching up to Ryan in the haze of loose bricks and clay, combed a hand over his vision . "oh God , I've been through enough hell-but look at her-she can't be older than ...five? . Ry-I -ah shit. And we know her father's fate at least. Captured for muling. Her mother-I don't think I'm strong enough this" he said , gazing at the girl who , noticing their presence , curiously approached. Ryan braced a hand over Liam's chest, as he said "It's ok Li' ... I've got this" as her face became clear in the heavy dust, Ryan met here in the middle of the deteriorated pile of debris . " Hey, where's your mom and dad , huh? " Ryan asked, the girl's tiny amber irises , with her large pupils , that of a four year olds trauma , gazed into his. "I -I don't know. I miss them. Why did they go so far away? " Ryan dropped to his knees , her face peering up into his unwavering gaze as he said evenly . "We're gonna find them , ok, but you'll be safe with me and uncle Liam. What's your name ? You can call me Ry'" Clitching the remains of a stuffed bear, albeit its left eye handing by a thread , she offered a stammered name "I-m I'm Lily" . She then brandished four fingers in Ryan's smiling face as she announced , " I'm four years old...how old...

USER: Is my narrative cheesy or is it gritty

USER: Ryan hauled his torso through the splinters of glass, blood saturating his shirt as he crawled on his elbows, his bound legs dragging behind. Finally , as his ankle was freed by the sharp jag of a split window pane beneath him , he kicked away the rope from his feet. As Ryan pushed his thighshe scanned the horizon, his eyes raw and throbbing with his pulse , the distinct sound haunted him. It rained through the rubble, honing in on the sound of human tears, he stopped.air from a thousand directions , its distress weaving through his clenching jaw. Willing the noise to anchor itself , he grabbed at his searing temple , its faint persistence causing his head to ache. An unrelenting glare marred his vision, striking his eyes with scintillating hues of green and white as he rested his gaze behind his hand. "Liam, I can't see , I don't know how long we've been out here or why I can't pinpoint the crying-" . .Then , as the deep magenta particles cleared, his heartbeat screamed to a halt. As his eyes froze on the distant figure, her outline framed with the fading daylight, his heart slowed its beat:disgust burned across his tongue as cursed into his forearm . "Liam , it's - a kid. Poor thing was spared-I hope "... I thought I'd seen my share of hell but ...those bastards don't-the things I'm guessing' she's seen-" Liam , catching up to Ryan in the haze of loose bricks and clay, combeddesolation, ran a hand over his vision . "oh God , I've been through enough hell-but look at her-sheeyes , his weathered stare haunted as she stood crying into blackened hands. "God , I don't know what I expected , but she can't be older than ...five? . Ry-I -ah shit.say, five? Assuming she had parents , the father , A, Dead, or B, pleading for the status through his teeth. And we know her father's fate at least. Captured for muling. Herthe mother-I don't think I'm strong enough this" he said , gazing at the girl who , noticing their presence , curiously approached.can't even visit that twisted scenario-And in front of her- is there nothing those bastards won't pervert- " he said, the anger seeping through his teeth as his curse trailed into the heat of the arid air. "We need to move fast, if she moves-" Liam said, his hand finding its way to his nape as he balanced his stiffened neck, unable to find a space uncovered by shattered windows to rest his chin. Ryan braced a hand over Liam's chest, as he said "It's ok Li' ... I've got this" asthis." As her face became clear inemerged from the heavy clouds of dust, Ryan met here in the middle of the deteriorated pile of debris .pulled himself to feet and approached her , his bloodied elbows behind his back as he winced in the dusk, as her crying ceased and she lifted her eyes. " Hey, where's your mom and dad , huh? " Ryan asked, the girl's tiny amber irises , with her large pupils , that of a four year olds-loaded with trauma , gazed into his.his... "I -I don't know. I miss them. WhyBut why did they-why-why they go so far away?m-make Daddy take off his shoes . He-says you-get-cut without your shoes. And then they told him to s-say Good-by-goodbye? " Ryan dropped to his knees , her face peering up into his unwavering gaze as he said evenly . "We're gonna find themhim , ok, but you'll be safe with me and uncle Liam.Liam for now. What's your name ? You can call me Ry'" ClitchingClutching the remains of a stuffed bear, albeit its left eye handing by a thread , she offered a stammered namereply "I-m I'm Lily" . She then brandished four fingers in Ryan's smiling face as she announced , " I'm four years old...how old are you?" . Liam's laugh came from somewhere behind Ryan's head as he answered her. "He's a big number , hold up both hands Ry, " Ryan's smile broadened for the first time in days as he laughed , offering his hand to the child as she entrusted her hand to his grasp. "Uncle Ry' is twenty-ah-ah it doesn't matter. You're gorgeous ain't ya?" She blushed with a crystalline laugh, as her eyes darted and she wound her shoe into the dust. "That's what Daddy always says-"says-but he told not to move no matter what-" she said, her eyes glistening with tears. "But I don't know why Daddy is gone?"gone , to the -um -other heaven?" The magenta skies bled behind her fragile silhouette , as Liam bent down beside her. "We think we knowknow-about this other heaven , and we are gonna find mommy too huh?" Her face lit up , the pink hues melting into her glassy stare as she said "Yeah, I wanna see mommy , too ." Liam , smiling despite the uncertain twist of agony in his chest, gestured towards the dilapidated toy in her hand. "Who's this , huh, I bet he's pretty special? We have to make sure that no matter what, we don't lose him. " As he winked , she held up the dust infested bear as it were an earned prize . "He's Sam, he's smaller now... but I still love him ." Liam leaned behind Ryan's head as he said, in a low tone. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" . As Liam's eyes landed on a pair of boots , placed eerily close together , perfect and stripped of their laces , Ryan's gaze followed. "Yeah Li' , I'm guessin' those are the father's . It's a calling card if I ever saw it. Sick bast-"I don't know what she means by this other heaven but, yeah I'm not liking anything about this picture..." The sky echoed the sentiment of despair infused with a faint hope as herLily's hand fluted Ryan's thumb and forefinger. "Unckyforefinger with a shaking inquisition. "Uncle Ry-I-I-I don't know where I am....i got lost...left behind ... it's cause I let go of mommy's hand . I'm I'm-I'm sorry-" Liam , deftly grasping her shaking wrist , pulled her into the crux of his elbow. "No , Lily, it's not you fault. You keep Sam safe , so he's lucky you were hanging on tight to him huh?" The light flew back to her eyes as she nodded. "Yeah-but Uncky...um"Uncle...um" she said , already disoriented by the encounter.encounter., and the dust streaked faces of two men kneeling in the remains of suburbia. "You can call me Li-Uncle Li'- you've made two new friends today huh? How about that?"Her eyes faltered a moment, then she gazed directly into Liam's blue stare, as she lowered her voice to a whisper . "Unky"Uncle Li" , don't tell anybody , but I have a secret. I -it's -um-" She leaned closer, whispering into Liam's ear as she said "I found this and I wanted to give it daddyto Daddy but-it's the same color as your eyes". As she produced a wilted morning glory from her pocket , she perched it on Liam's grease laden hair, behind his earlobe. "Oh , you're too -" he said , the gesture unbalancing his compose as he encircled his arm around her waist . "I bet you're tired huh, if you can't walk , do you think you can fit up here?" Liam, patting his shoulders , watched as she nodded , dust falling in her light hair. Hoisting her up , her knees falling either side of his jaw , he guided her hands to his hair. "Hold on tight , I got you. And up we go". Liam rose to his feet , with the aid of Ryan's firm grip hauling him off the ground. Lily was quick to reach out Ryan's hand, grabbing his pinky and swaying it back and forth as he walked alongside Liam. "You're so high up there , is the sky pretty? ""He asked, as their footsteps fell in line with the jagged lashings of debris. Through a yawn she said, "yeah, it's red, I like it...but I'm so tired...I can't sleep till mommy and daddy-umm -I'm scared now ..." Her fingers twisted against Liam's scalp and her chest shook with oncoming tears. He quickly halted , assuring her she could sleep. "You can take a nap up there , we will keep walking so even while you sleep we'll be getting closer to your parents, it's gonna be ok-" . Ryan , reaching up to stroke her hair said quietly "when you wake up we'll still be here , because that's what uncles are for right? And you are stuck with two of us so you're double safe ...but you'd better hug Sam tight so he doesn't fall huh?" . Lily stuffed the bear down her oversized shirt, and rested her chin in Liam's unkept bed of hair. "He's safe now..." she said , her voice travelling over Liam's head as her eyes slid closed. Ryan glanced out at the horizon, the sun slipping lower, and he nudged Liam. "I'm guessin' that it's been about two miles , and we still don't have an iota of a clue where to start lookin' , and you know the pattern up to this point has been , traffic with the men...torture and kill the women for pure sadistic pleasure. Maybe he even trafficked a few of them two... but I don't know how we tell this kid she might not see either of her folks again-" . As his expression flickered with worry and a foreboding guilt, Liam sighed , pulling the small of Lily's back closer to his neck, her stomach flush against his skin. "I don't think we do- I think she's gonna put two and two together -kids just know this shit right? And we might have to ask ourselves something worse, for instance, how do we deal with her total sense of abandonment, the survivors guilt, she's us in a smaller , vulnerable body-" . Ryan slowed his gait, the wear in his voice as he said "Well, not in the sense that she can understand it. We might find them alive yet, and I suspect that the boots mean they want us to find these people. Lily herself is a calling card. I know better than to assume they were disposed of so fast." Liam's eyes were dark with the notion , as the concrete pavement wound its way into an unpromising nowhere. As the night carried a soothing breeze , taking the searing edge from the heat out of the arid air, Lily began to stir. "Daddy-it's cold-I don't wanna sleep yet, I wanna play with Kai-no, I -" . Her shoes kicked against Liam's collarbones as her fists coiled in his strands of textured hair. "Daddy? " Her voice was met by the silence of Ryan's downcast stare as he placed a palm against the back of Lily's head. "You remember me? Uncle Ry' . We found you and Sam, because you got lost , yeah? But you're safe now-" he said, her hair gritty against his skin. Liam , adjusting his neck as she twisted around in his hands yawning , loosened his protective grip. As Lily registered the flower behind his ear, she plucked it out with sleep in her voice. "Oh , I gave this to you, Uncle Li' , I'm gonna pick another one for Daddy coz his eyes are ...orange -like mine-" Ryan , as he smiled at her profile muttered to himself , noting the detail of her fathers appearance. "Hazel eyes...y'know, this doesn't sit right with me because, that mechanism I had when I was seven or eight, where my bladder would drop and-The worst fear I had wasn't crying , it was having to sit in my own urine while it went cold . That was degradation. " Ryan said, as Liam manoeuvred himself over a crack in the pavement, missing the point in his concentration on the labyrinth of annihilation. "Where you going with this Ry'? " As Ryan wrapped his index finger around Lily's neck as she leaned in his hand, her eyes sliding closed again , he gazed out into the horizon. "What Im saying is , the things we can control, that we don't even consider, like pissin' ourselves, when you're her age , they are your worst enemy, they give you away. And when we figure out what she's afraid to do in front of us and does it anyway, that's when all hell will -" Liam's jaw, its bite realigning, bore the realisation as he removed the flower from behind his ear . As he twisted it in his fingers he said , "Yeah, but that's not what scares me, somehow it's giving me this, thinking she'll see another flower out here , kids got some immense disappointment coming and I'm still processing my own -" . Ryan muttered a few words out of ear shot, his faded voice lost in the impending nightfall. "Well , I hate to say Liam , but we're still no closer to finding this guy. I'm sure he would've been around our age-and in reasonable psychical condition, and I can't sleep thinking about how close he is likely to be, but we gotta give Lily a proper eight hours sleep. If she's tired , that will exacerbate our problem real quick . " With a groan , Liam came to a stop and eased Lily down from his shoulders , and collapsed onto the concrete footpath beside her as she awoke from a micro -slumber. "I -I -Uncle Liam? I remembered you. And Uncle Ry' . She said , , pride in her eyes and recognition in her smile. "You didn't leave me? I fell asleep.. I'm sorry..." As Liam seated her on his thigh , and Ryan clamoured down beside them, he slid the morning glory into her hair . "We told you that's what Uncles are for right ? And you have to let Sam get some rest huh? We've been walking so long it's dark now-" Ryan was already coercing some flattened jerky from his pocket as he said "are you hungry , Lily , it's salty but it will help your body keep the water in so you don't get thirsty. But I need you to drink some water for me okay? " . Liam slid his duffel bag off his shoulder and uncapped a metal flask , "well not zero hydration, I forgot about this - here ya go , drink up now and you'll feel better. All that crying you did earlier means you must be thirsty huh?" . bewildered , she grasped the only water she'd consumed that day, drinking without question. "Thanks , Uncle Liam. Daddy always made me and mommy dinner-" as she stared into the sleeve of his jacket, her eyes were haunted and confused. "There's no dinner anymore , and no bedtime -and no more stories -" As Ryan handed her the jerky , he said , a calmness in his voice. "Ah, I'm sure your Dad.. and your Mom.. are missing you too right now. I bet they'd wish they could have made you dinner , so you better eat all of this huh? So they don't have to worry about you being hungry -" . As she reached for the strip of low grade nutrition, Ryan's stomach protested as it bound with his own starvation. "Aren't you hungry Uncle Rt' you sound hungry..." she said, her laugh returning with its octave of youth contrasting in the night. "Adults can be hungry longer than kids , it's like when you scrape your knee , it heals up fast right, and the more times it happens the less it hurts , so me and uncle Liam are better at being hungry." While she finished the jerky, she nodded , seeming to understand as she placed a hand on Ryan's bloodstained elbow. "It doesn't hurt anymore?" She asked , her pupils widening as the dried blood flaked into Ryan's lap and he grinned . "Nah , but I'm a big number, you're only four so don't worry, we won't let you get any scrapes. We're gonna keep you super protected , yeah? "

USER: Ryan hauled his torso through the splinters of glass, blood saturating his shirt as he crawled on his elbows, his bound legs dragging behind. Finally , as his ankle was freed by the sharp jag of a split window pane beneath him , he kicked away the rope from his feet. As he scanned the horizon, his eyes raw and throbbing with his pulse , the distinct sound haunted him. It rained through the air from a thousand directions , its distress weaving through his clenching jaw. Willing the noise to anchor itself , he grabbed at his searing temple , its faint persistence causing his head to ache. An unrelenting glare marred his vision, striking his eyes with scintillating hues of green and white as he rested his gaze behind his hand. "Liam, I can't see , I don't know how long we've been out here or why I can't pinpoint the crying-" . .Then , as the deep magenta particles cleared, his heartbeat screamed to a halt. As his eyes froze on the distant figure, her outline framed with the fading daylight, his disgust burned across his tongue as cursed into his forearm . "Liam ... I thought I'd seen my share of hell but ...those bastards don't-the things I'm guessing' she's seen-" Liam , catching up to Ryan in the haze of desolation, ran a hand over his eyes , his weathered stare haunted as she stood crying into blackened hands. "God , I don't know what I expected , but she can't be older than say, five? Assuming she had parents , the father , A, Dead, or B, pleading for the status through his teeth. And the mother-I can't even visit that twisted scenario-And in front of her- is there nothing those bastards won't pervert- " he said, the anger seeping through his teeth as his curse trailed into the heat of the arid air. "We need to move fast, if she moves-" Liam said, his hand finding its way to his nape as he balanced his stiffened neck, unable to find a space uncovered by shattered windows to rest his chin. Ryan braced a hand over Liam's chest, as he said "It's ok Li' ... I've got this." As her face emerged from the heavy clouds of dust, Ryan pulled himself to feet and approached her , his bloodied elbows behind his back as he winced in the dusk, as her crying ceased and she lifted her eyes. " Hey, where's your mom and dad , huh? " Ryan asked, the girl's tiny amber irises , with her large pupils -loaded with trauma , gazed into his... "I -I don't know. I miss them. But why did they-why-why they m-make Daddy take off his shoes . He-says you-get-cut without your shoes. And then they told him to s-say Good-by-goodbye? " Ryan dropped to his knees , her face peering up into his unwavering gaze as he said evenly . "We're gonna find him , ok, but you'll be safe with me and uncle Liam for now. What's your name ? You can call me Ry'" Clutching the remains of a stuffed bear, albeit its left eye handing by a thread , she offered a stammered reply "I-m I'm Lily" . She then brandished four fingers in Ryan's smiling face as she announced , " I'm four years old...how old are you?" . Liam's laugh came from somewhere behind Ryan's head as he answered her. "He's a big number , hold up both hands Ry, " Ryan's smile broadened for the first time in days as he laughed , offering his hand to the child as she entrusted her hand to his grasp. "Uncle Ry' is -ah it doesn't matter. You're gorgeous ain't ya?" She blushed with a crystalline laugh, as her eyes darted and she wound her shoe into the dust. "That's what Daddy always says-but he told not to move no matter what-" she said, her eyes glistening with tears. "But I don't know why Daddy is gone , to the -um -other heaven?" The magenta skies bled behind her fragile silhouette , as Liam bent down beside her. "We think we know-about this other heaven , and we are gonna find mommy too huh?" Her face lit up , the pink hues melting into her glassy stare as she said "Yeah, I wanna see mommy , too ." Liam , smiling despite the uncertain twist of agony in his chest, gestured towards the dilapidated toy in her hand. "Who's this , huh, I bet he's pretty special? We have to make sure that no matter what, we don't lose him. " As he winked , she held up the dust infested bear as it were an earned prize . "He's Sam, he's smaller now... but I still love him ." Liam leaned behind Ryan's head as he said, in a low tone. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" . As Liam's eyes landed on a pair of boots , placed eerily close together , perfect and stripped of their laces , Ryan's gaze followed. "Yeah Li' , I'm guessin' those are the father's . It's a calling card if I ever saw it. I don't know what she means by this other heaven but, yeah I'm not liking anything about this picture..." The sky echoed the sentiment of despair infused with a faint hope as Lily's hand fluted Ryan's thumb and forefinger with a shaking inquisition. "Uncle Ry-I-I-I don't know where I am....i got left behind ... it's cause I let go of mommy's hand . I'm -I'm sorry-" Liam , deftly grasping her wrist , pulled her into the crux of his elbow. "No , Lily, it's not you fault. You keep Sam safe , so he's lucky you were hanging on tight to him huh?" The light flew back to her eyes as she nodded. "Yeah-but Uncle...um" she said , already disoriented by the encounter., and the dust streaked faces of two men kneeling in the remains of suburbia. "You can call me Uncle Li'- you've made two new friends today huh? How about that?"Her eyes faltered a moment, then she gazed directly into Liam's blue stare, as she lowered her voice to a whisper . "Uncle Li" , don't tell anybody , but I have a secret. I -it's -um-" She leaned closer, whispering into Liam's ear as she said "I found this and I wanted to give it to Daddy but-it's the same color as your eyes". As she produced a wilted morning glory from her pocket , she perched it on Liam's grease laden hair, behind his earlobe. "Oh , you're too -" he said , the gesture unbalancing his compose as he encircled his arm around her waist . "I bet you're tired huh, if you can't walk , do you think you can fit up here?" Liam, patting his shoulders , watched as she nodded , dust falling in her light hair. Hoisting her up , her knees falling either side of his jaw , he guided her hands to his hair. "Hold on tight , I got you. And up we go". Liam rose to his feet , with the aid of Ryan's firm grip hauling him off the ground. Lily was quick to reach out Ryan's hand, grabbing his pinky and swaying it back and forth as he walked alongside Liam. "You're so high up there , is the sky pretty? "He asked, as their footsteps fell in line with the jagged lashings of debris. Through a yawn she said, "yeah, it's red, I like it...but I'm so tired...I can't sleep till mommy and daddy-umm -I'm scared now ..." Her fingers twisted against Liam's scalp and her chest shook with oncoming tears. He quickly halted , assuring her she could sleep. "You can take a nap up there , we will keep walking so even while you sleep we'll be getting closer to your parents, it's gonna be ok-" . Ryan , reaching up to stroke her hair said quietly "when you wake up we'll still be here , because that's what uncles are for right? And you are stuck with two of us so you're double safe ...but you'd better hug Sam tight so he doesn't fall huh?" . Lily stuffed the bear down her oversized shirt, and rested her chin in Liam's unkept bed of hair. "He's safe now..." she said , her voice travelling over Liam's head as her eyes slid closed. Ryan glanced out at the horizon, the sun slipping lower, and he nudged Liam. "I'm guessin' that it's been about two miles , and we still don't have an iota of a clue where to start lookin' , and you know the pattern up to this point has been , traffic with the men...torture and kill the women for pure sadistic pleasure. Maybe he even trafficked a few of them two... but I don't know how we tell this kid she might not see either of her folks again-" . As his expression flickered with worry and a foreboding guilt, Liam sighed , pulling the small of Lily's back closer to his neck, her stomach flush against his skin. "I don't think we do- I think she's gonna put two and two together -kids just know this shit right? And we might have to ask ourselves something worse, for instance, how do we deal with her total sense of abandonment, the survivors guilt, she's us in a smaller , vulnerable body-" . Ryan slowed his gait, the wear in his voice as he said "Well, not in the sense that she can understand it. We might find them alive yet, and I suspect that the boots mean they want us to find these people. Lily herself is a calling card. I know better than to assume they were disposed of so fast." Liam's eyes were dark with the notion , as the concrete pavement wound its way into an unpromising nowhere. As the night carried a soothing breeze , taking the searing edge from the heat out of the arid air, Lily began to stir. "Daddy-it's cold-I don't wanna sleep yet, I wanna play with Kai-no, I -" . Her shoes kicked against Liam's collarbones as her fists coiled in his strands of textured hair. "Daddy? " Her voice was met by the silence of Ryan's downcast stare as he placed a palm against the back of Lily's head. "You remember me? Uncle Ry' . We found you and Sam, because you got lost , yeah? But you're safe now-" he said, her hair gritty against his skin. Liam , adjusting his neck as she twisted around in his hands yawning , loosened his protective grip. As Lily registered the flower behind his ear, she plucked it out with sleep in her voice. "Oh , I gave this to you, Uncle Li' , I'm gonna pick another one for Daddy coz his eyes are ...orange -like mine-" Ryan , as he smiled at her profile muttered to himself , noting the detail of her fathers appearance. "Hazel eyes...y'know, this doesn't sit right with me because, that mechanism I had when I was seven or eight, where my bladder would drop and-The worst fear I had wasn't crying , it was having to sit in my own urine while it went cold . That was degradation. " Ryan said, as Liam manoeuvred himself over a crack in the pavement, missing the point in his concentration on the labyrinth of annihilation. "Where you going with this Ry'? " As Ryan wrapped his index finger around Lily's neck as she leaned in his hand, her eyes sliding closed again , he gazed out into the horizon. "What Im saying is , the things we can control, that we don't even consider, like pissin' ourselves, when you're her age , they are your worst enemy, they give you away. And when we figure out what she's afraid to do in front of us and does it anyway, that's when all hell will -" Liam's jaw, its bite realigning, bore the realisation as he removed the flower from behind his ear . As he twisted it in his fingers he said , "Yeah, but that's not what scares me, somehow it's giving me this, thinking she'll see another flower out here , kids got some immense disappointment coming and I'm still processing my own -" . Ryan muttered a few words out of ear shot, his faded voice lost in the impending nightfall. "Well , I hate to say Liam , but we're still no closer to finding this guy. I'm sure he would've been around our age-and in reasonable psychical condition, and I can't sleep thinking about how close he is likely to be, but we gotta give Lily a proper eight hours sleep. If she's tired , that will exacerbate our problem real quick . " With a groan , Liam came to a stop and eased Lily down from his shoulders , and collapsed onto the concrete footpath beside her as she awoke from a micro -slumber. "I -I -Uncle Liam? I remembered you. And Uncle Ry' . She said , , pride in her eyes and recognition in her smile. "You didn't leave me? I fell asleep.. I'm sorry..." As Liam seated her on his thigh , and Ryan clamoured down beside them, he slid the morning glory into her hair . "We told you that's what Uncles are for right ? And you have to let Sam get some rest huh? We've been walking so long it's dark now-" Ryan was already coercing some flattened jerky from his pocket as he said "are you hungry , Lily , it's salty but it will help your body keep the water in so you don't get thirsty. But I need you to drink some water for me okay? " . Liam slid his duffel bag off his shoulder and uncapped a metal flask , "well not zero hydration, I forgot about this - here ya go , drink up now and you'll feel better. All that crying you did earlier means you must be thirsty huh?" . bewildered , she grasped the only water she'd consumed that day, drinking without question. "Thanks , Uncle Liam. Daddy always made me and mommy dinner-" as she stared into the sleeve of his jacket, her eyes were haunted and confused. "There's no dinner anymore , and no bedtime -and no more stories -" As Ryan handed her the jerky , he said , a calmness in his voice. "Ah, I'm sure your Dad.. and your Mom.. are missing you too right now. I bet they'd wish they could have made you dinner , so you better eat all of this huh? So they don't have to worry about you being hungry -" . As she reached for the strip of low grade nutrition, Ryan's stomach protested as it bound with his own starvation. "Aren't you hungry Uncle Rt' you sound hungry..." she said, her laugh returning with its octave of youth contrasting in the night. "Adults can be hungry longer than kids , it's like when you scrape your knee , it heals up fast right, and the more times it happens the less it hurts , so me and uncle Liam are better at being hungry." While she finished the jerky, she nodded , seeming to understand as she placed a hand on Ryan's bloodstained elbow. "It doesn't hurt anymore?" She asked , her pupils widening as the dried blood flaked into Ryan's lap and he grinned . "Nah , but I'm a big number, you're only four so don't worry, we won't let you get any scrapes. We're gonna keep you super protected , yeah? " As Lily leaned her head against Liam's abdomen, his jacket enveloping sides of her head, he smirked. "But does Uncle Ryan ever get tired of talking in the third person, or does he always do that when he's driving and the poor guy in front ain't indicating.." . Ryan's snort punctured the air as he answered, "Uncke Liam need to find his cork, and cram it back -" They both laughed as Lily watched them both , a lack of comprehension bringing a smile to her face. "You are both so silly. But don't worry, I won't tell anybody-" she said, before tears welled in her eyes. "I -I -didn't say goodbye to Kai .. he .. was my best-maybe he's lost too -and and"

USER: Ryan hauled his torso through the splinters of glass, blood saturating his shirt as he crawled on his elbows, his bound legs dragging behind. Finally , as his ankle was freed by the sharp jag of a split window pane beneath him , he kicked away the rope from his feet. As he scanned the horizon, his eyes raw and throbbing with his pulse , the distinct sound haunted him. It rained through the air from a thousand directions , its distress weaving through his clenching jaw. Willing the noise to anchor itself , he grabbed at his searing temple , its faint persistence causing his head to ache. An unrelenting glare marred his vision, striking his eyes with scintillating hues of green and white as he rested his gaze behind his hand. "Liam, I can't see , I don't know how long we've been out here or why I can't pinpoint the crying-" . .Then , as the deep magenta particles cleared, his heartbeat screamed to a halt. As his eyes froze on the distant figure, her outline framed with the fading daylight, his disgust burned across his tongue as cursed into his forearm . "Liam ... I thought I'd seen my share of hell but ...those bastards don't-the things I'm guessing' she's seen-" Liam , catching up to Ryan in the haze of desolation, ran a hand over his eyes , his weathered stare haunted as she stood crying into blackened hands. "God , I don't know what I expected , but she can't be older than say, five? Assuming she had parents , the father , A, Dead, or B, pleading for the status through his ...

USER: Here Valen taunts Liam with the possibility of having blinded Ryan hauled his torso through the splinters of glass, blood saturating his shirt.. isn't that intelligent? Please break it down : " I will be back , when he proves his universal feelings , his love for my exhibition. Take a moment to embrace the tangibly of his senses". Valen was absent in a dying moment, as he crawled on his elbows, his bound legs dragging behind. Finally , as his ankle was freed by the sharp jag of a split window pane beneath him , he kicked away the rope from his feet. As he scanned the horizon, his eyes raw and throbbingLiam heard Ryan's distressed groan. "Ah , Ryan, the wall , in which shadows reflect themselves , it gleams with his pulse , the distinct sound haunted him. It rained through the air from a thousand directions , its distress weaving through his clenching jaw. Willing the noise to anchor itself , he grabbed at his searing temple , its faint persistence causing his head to ache. An unrelenting glare marred his vision, striking his eyes with scintillating hues of green and white as he rested his gaze behind his hand. "Liam, I can't see , I don't know how long we've been out here or why I can't pinpoint the crying-" . .Then , as the deep magenta particles cleared, his heartbeat screamed to a halt. As his eyes froze on the distant figure, her outline framed with the fading daylight, his disgust burned across his tongue as cursed into his forearm . "Liam ... I thought I'd seen my share of hell but ...those bastards don't-the things I'm guessing' she's seen-" Liam , catching up to Ryan in the haze of desolation, ran a hand over his eyes , his weathered stare haunted as she stood crying into blackened hands. "God , I don't know what I expected , but she can't be older than say, five? Assuming she had parents , the father , A, Dead, or B, pleading for the status through his teeth. And the mother-I can't even visit that twisted scenario-And in front of her- is there nothing those bastards won't pervert- " he said, the anger seeping through his teeth as his curse trailed into the heat of the arid air. "We need to move fast, if she moves-" Liam said, his hand finding its way to his nape as he balanced his stiffened neck, unable to find a space uncovered by shattered windows to rest his chin. Ryan braced a hand over Liam's chest, as he said "It's ok Li' ... I've got this." As her face emerged from the heavy clouds of dust, Ryan pulled himself to feet and approached her , his bloodied elbows behind his back as he winced in the dusk, as her crying ceased and she lifted her eyes. " Hey, where's your mom and dad , huh? " Ryan asked, the girl's tiny amber irises , with her large pupils -loaded with trauma , gazed into his... "I -I don't know. I miss them. But why did they-why-whya rise so delicate. Your corneas, do they m-make Daddy take off his shoes . He-says you-get-cutwelcome my presence, can I touch the wall without your shoes. And then they told him to s-say Good-by-goodbye?sweet hazel irises tracing my arrival". Liam's heart collapsed against the velocity of its pulse , as Ryan's shadow revolted, and his scream echoed chilling and with ambiguity. "Now , what of that, your games may lead you those dark corners. But, Well , he can see ... sweet Ry' can see it all . Or can he ? Now that I have touched upon his lying eyes , I may have done some damage on my out. How can one tell . I am the master of a drug operation, not a gauger of eyeballs. My caress is ... gentle . Subtle . A professional never resorts to gratuitous measures . Your insanity is too...precious. But maybe now.. our Ryan is blind . Or he isn't. He can't tell you , Liam, if my bluff was worth calling, after all . For maybe he is blind and imagining your demise , or maybe he'll be forced to watch, to see it all. . " Ryan dropped to his knees , her face peering up into his unwavering gaze as he said evenly . "We're gonna find him , ok, but you'll be safe with me and uncle Liam for now. What's your name ? You can call me Ry'" Clutching the remains of a stuffed bear, albeit its left eye handing by a thread , she offered a stammered reply "I-m I'm Lily" . She then brandished four fingers in Ryan's smiling face as she announced , " I'm four years old...how old are you?" . Liam's laugh came from somewhere behind Ryan's head as he answered her. "He's a big number , hold up both hands Ry, " Ryan's smile broadened for the first time in days as he laughed , offering his hand to the child as she entrusted her hand to his grasp. "Uncle Ry' is -ah it doesn't matter. You're gorgeous ain't ya?" She blushed with a crystalline laugh, as her eyes darted and she wound her shoe into the dust. "That's what Daddy always says-but he told not to move no matter what-" she said, her eyes glistening with tears. "But I don't know why Daddy is gone , to the -um -other heaven?" The magenta skies bled behind her fragile silhouette , as Liam bent down beside her. "We think we know-about this other heaven , and we are gonna find mommy too huh?" Her face lit up , the pink hues melting into her glassy stare as she said "Yeah, I wanna see mommy , too ." Liam , smiling despite the uncertain twist of agony in his chest, gestured towards the dilapidated toy in her hand. "Who's this , huh, I bet he's pretty special? We have to make sure that no matter what, we don't lose him. " As he winked , she held up the dust infested bear as it were an earned prize . "He's Sam, he's smaller now... but I still love him ." Liam leaned behind Ryan's head as he said, in a low tone. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" . As Liam's eyes landed on a pair of boots , placed eerily close together , perfect and stripped of their laces , Ryan's gaze followed. "Yeah Li' , I'm guessin' those are the father's . It's a calling card if I ever saw it. I don't know what she means by this other heaven but, yeah I'm not liking anything about this picture..." The sky echoed the sentiment of despair infused with a faint hope as Lily's hand fluted Ryan's thumb and forefinger with a shaking inquisition. "Uncle Ry-I-I-I don't know where I am....i got left behind ... it's cause I let go of mommy's hand . I'm -I'm sorry-" Liam , deftly grasping her wrist , pulled her into the crux of his elbow. "No , Lily, it's not you fault. You keep Sam safe , so he's lucky you were hanging on tight to him huh?" The light flew back to her eyes as she nodded. "Yeah-but Uncle...um" she said , already disoriented by the encounter., and the dust streaked faces of two men kneeling in the remains of suburbia. "You can call me Uncle Li'- you've made two new friends today huh? How about that?"Her eyes faltered a moment, then she gazed directly into Liam's blue stare, as she lowered her voice to a whisper . "Uncle Li" , don't tell anybody , but I have a secret. I -it's -um-" She leaned closer, whispering into Liam's ear as she said "I found this and I wanted to give it to Daddy but-it's the same color as your eyes". As she produced a wilted morning glory from her pocket , she perched it on Liam's grease laden hair, behind his earlobe. "Oh , you're too -" he said , the gesture unbalancing his compose as he encircled his arm around her waist . "I bet you're tired huh, if you can't walk , do you think you can fit up here?" Liam, patting his shoulders , watched as she nodded , dust falling in her light hair. Hoisting her up , her knees falling either side of his jaw , he guided her hands to his hair. "Hold on tight , I got you. And up we go". Liam rose to his feet , with the aid of Ryan's firm grip hauling him off the ground. Lily was quick to reach out Ryan's hand, grabbing his pinky and swaying it back and forth as he walked alongside Liam. "You're so high up there , is the sky pretty? "He asked, as their footsteps fell in line with the jagged lashings of debris. Through a yawn she said, "yeah, it's red, I like it...but I'm so tired...I can't sleep till mommy and daddy-umm -I'm scared now ..." Her fingers twisted against Liam's scalp and her chest shook with oncoming tears. He quickly halted , assuring her she could sleep. "You can take a nap up there , we will keep walking so even while you sleep we'll be getting closer to your parents, it's gonna be ok-" . Ryan , reaching up to stroke her hair said quietly "when you wake up we'll still be here , because that's what uncles are for right? And you are stuck with two of us so you're double safe ...but you'd better hug Sam tight so he doesn't fall huh?" . Lily stuffed the bear down her oversized shirt, and rested her chin in Liam's unkept bed of hair. "He's safe now..." she said , her voice travelling over Liam's head as her eyes slid closed. Ryan glanced out at the horizon, the sun slipping lower, and he nudged Liam. "I'm guessin' that it's been about two miles , and we still don't have an iota of a clue where to start lookin' , and you know the pattern up to this point has been , traffic with the men...torture and kill the women for pure sadistic pleasure. Maybe he even trafficked a few of them two... but I don't know how we tell this kid she might not see either of her folks again-" . As his expression flickered with worry and a foreboding guilt, Liam sighed , pulling the small of Lily's back closer to his neck, her stomach flush against his skin. "I don't think we do- I think she's gonna put two and two together -kids just know this shit right? And we might have to ask ourselves something worse, for instance, how do we deal with her total sense of abandonment, the survivors guilt, she's us in a smaller , vulnerable body-" . Ryan slowed his gait, the wear in his voice as he said "Well, not in the sense that she can understand it. We might find them alive yet, and I suspect that the boots mean they want us to find these people. Lily herself is a calling card. I know better than to assume they were disposed of so fast." Liam's eyes were dark with the notion , as the concrete pavement wound its way into an unpromising nowhere. As the night carried a soothing breeze , taking the searing edge from the heat out of the arid air, Lily began to stir. "Daddy-it's cold-I don't wanna sleep yet, I wanna play with Kai-no, I -" . Her shoes kicked against Liam's collarbones as her fists coiled in his strands of textured hair. "Daddy? " Her voice was met by the silence of Ryan's downcast stare as he placed a palm against the back of Lily's head. "You remember me? Uncle Ry' . We found you and Sam, because you got lost , yeah? But you're safe now-" he said, her hair gritty against his skin. Liam , adjusting his neck as she twisted around in his hands yawning , loosened his protective grip. As Lily registered the flower behind his ear, she plucked it out with sleep in her voice. "Oh , I gave this to you, Uncle Li' , I'm gonna pick another one for Daddy coz his eyes are ...orange -like mine-" Ryan , as he smiled at her profile muttered to himself , noting the detail of her fathers appearance. "Hazel eyes...y'know, this doesn't sit right with me because, that mechanism I had when I was seven or eight, where my bladder would drop and-The worst fear I had wasn't crying , it was having to sit in my own urine while it went cold . That was degradation. " Ryan said, as Liam manoeuvred himself over a crack in the pavement, missing the point in his concentration on the labyrinth of annihilation. "Where you going with this Ry'? " As Ryan wrapped his index finger around Lily's neck as she leaned in his hand, her eyes sliding closed again , he gazed out into the horizon. "What Im saying is , the things we can control, that we don't even consider, like pissin' ourselves, when you're her age , they are your worst enemy, they give you away. And when we figure out what she's afraid to do in front of us and does it anyway, that's when all hell will -" Liam's jaw, its bite realigning, bore the realisation as he removed the flower from behind his ear . As he twisted it in his fingers he said , "Yeah, but that's not what scares me, somehow it's giving me this, thinking she'll see another flower out here , kids got some immense disappointment coming and I'm still processing my own -" . Ryan muttered a few words out of ear shot, his faded voice lost in the impending nightfall. "Well , I hate to say Liam , but we're still no closer to finding this guy. I'm sure he would've been around our age-and in reasonable psychical condition, and I can't sleep thinking about how close he is likely to be, but we gotta give Lily a proper eight hours sleep. If she's tired , that will exacerbate our problem real quick . " With a groan , Liam came to a stop and eased Lily down from his shoulders , and collapsed onto the concrete footpath beside her as she awoke from a micro -slumber. "I -I -Uncle Liam? I remembered you. And Uncle Ry' . She said , , pride in her eyes and recognition in her smile. "You didn't leave me? I fell asleep.. I'm sorry..." As Liam seated her on his thigh , and Ryan clamoured down beside them, he slid the morning glory into her hair . "We told you that's what Uncles are for right ? And you have to let Sam get some rest huh? We've been walking so long it's dark now-" Ryan was already coercing some flattened jerky from his pocket as he said "are you hungry , Lily , it's salty but it will help your body keep the water in so you don't get thirsty. But I need you to drink some water for me okay? " . Liam slid his duffel bag off his shoulder and uncapped a metal flask , "well not zero hydration, I forgot about this - here ya go , drink up now and you'll feel better. All that crying you did earlier means you must be thirsty huh?" . bewildered , she grasped the only water she'd consumed that day, drinking without question. "Thanks , Uncle Liam. Daddy always made me and mommy dinner-" as she stared into the sleeve of his jacket, her eyes were haunted and confused. "There's no dinner anymore , and no bedtime -and no more stories -" As Ryan handed her the jerky , he said , a calmness in his voice. "Ah, I'm sure your Dad.. and your Mom.. are missing you too right now. I bet they'd wish they could have made you dinner , so you better eat all of this huh? So they don't have to worry about you being hungry -" . As she reached for the strip of low grade nutrition, Ryan's stomach protested as it bound with his own starvation. "Aren't you hungry Uncle Rt' you sound hungry..." she said, her laugh returning with its octave of youth contrasting in the night. "Adults can be hungry longer than kids , it's like when you scrape your knee , it heals up fast right, and the more times it happens the less it hurts , so me and uncle Liam are better at being hungry." While she finished the jerky, she nodded , seeming to understand as she placed a hand on Ryan's bloodstained elbow. "It doesn't hurt anymore?" She asked , her pupils widening as the dried blood flaked into Ryan's lap and he grinned . "Nah , but I'm a big number, you're only four so don't worry, we won't let you get any scrapes. We're gonna keep you super protected , yeah? " As Lily leaned her head against Liam's abdomen, his jacket enveloping sides of her head, he smirked. "But does Uncle Ryan ever get tired of talking in the third person, or does he always do that when he's driving and the poor guy in front ain't indicating.." . Ryan's snort punctured the air as he answered, "Uncke Liam need to find his cork, and cram it back -" They both laughed as Lily watched them both , a lack of comprehension bringing a smile to her face. "You are both so silly. But don't worry, I won't tell anybody-" she said, before tears welled in her eyes. "I -I -didn't say goodbye to Kai .. he .. was my best-maybe he's lost too -and and"