She walked for almost an hour, taking care to leave marks in trees so she might find her way back, a Hansel and Gretel trail of initials that would be unmistakable.
The smell of the ocean grew stronger as the muddy ground softened into golden sand under her feet. Jane peered cautiously around a tree as sand dunes rose before her. Seeing nothing, she dropped to her stomach and crawled slowly, silently to the top of the nearest dune.
The sight took her breath away. A full moon reflected in the ocean as gentle waves caressed the golden sand like a lover. Littered over the sand were bodies, large, small, male and female.

”Oh god.” she whispered into the sand. ”Why?”

Using the long grass of the dunes for some cover, Jane inched her way closer. The giant stains around the bodies told her there was nothing she could do. ”Cassie!” she cried into the ocean breeze, her body betraying her as she rose and raced forwards.

That sweet young girl lay in the sand, her head a mangled mess from a single gunshot. Jane fell in the dune, still metres away from the small girl. Tears racked her body as she recalled the girls arms around her neck, the warm tears that spilled into her clothes. Cassie’s body lay with her mother, of that Jane was thankful. She hadn’t had to die alone, that she had to die at all made Jane queasy.
To her left, Jane saw the obvious form of Lana, her knee blown out and numerous gunshot wounds were clear, even in the eerie light. There was nothing she could do here. To stay would be almost certain death and she had a good two hour trek back to the cave. If she was fast, she could make it in time, before the sunrise.

-/-

”It’s me.”

The timid voice proceeded the hulking shape of John Ford as he entered the cave to questioning expressions.

”Where’s Jane?” Maura demanded as he crawled towards the fire slowly.

”I don’t know.” his reply was small, weak, the life having been drained from him with the news of Elaine’s death.

”She didn’t find you?” Tag demanded, overriding whatever Maura was about to say.

John shook his head, staring into the flames.