Please do a character analysis- as in depth as possible: Liam's hair, laden with splinters of ice and snow, stuck out from his low-slung cap. His words framed the brittle air as he spoke, the chill unrelenting, 'I never meant to return here. I know I--I promised I'd never look back. That I'd leave you as you were , and yet I ended up back here anyway. I don't listen to anyone , huh?.'" He dug his stiffened hands into his jeans, his boot striking a rock as his own murmur haunted him. 'Can't stay long, but I still remember what real sunsets looked like, the way the colors just stretched for miles. I hope you haven't seen this magenta sky. I hope you never know it. World's not the same , hasn't looked like it did in so many damned years. I guess-well-" His acuity, melting into the atmosphere, left him with no other thoughts. "You rest well, ' cause while I'm standing here talking to you like you're still here, I know you probably can't hear a word - but I kinda like to pretend maybe you can. ' He laughed in spite of his raw sense of sorrow and turned away from the plot, dusting his knuckles across the slot of cremated ashes in a lingering fist bump. 'Again, sometime, brother." Leaves swirled around the hem of his jeans , glazed with ice as he folded his arms across his chest . 'But before I go, there's something I know you've heard me singing in my sleep. Can't get the song out of my head. I can't remember where it came from but-it's the only one that stuck." he said in a low tone , exhaustion passing over his stature. "I came here to leave it with you, along with something of yours I' been carrying around. Keeping you close, but--if I lost it, well-." An entire moment passed before Liam fumbled a thin, metal guitar fret from his pocket, a perfect fit between his index finger and thumb. He then unrolled a small piece of paper with a scrawled transcription and wrapped it around the fret. In a swift gesture, he drove it deep into a crack between two bricks in the wall. "The ninth fret was always a part of every song- I think only you would appreciate it but , that's kinda the whole point. " Liam's faint smile rested on the glimmer of the fret , visible in the crevice beside Mason's ashes, along with his notes. "I... still... I. Just. You can't imagine the things... or the times I've wanted to say. Mace could have played you that one while I ruined the lyrics. Still have the rest of your rosewood, too, with all of your fingerprints intact. Which isn't easy keeping hidden in my childhood bedroom. Haven't been home in too long. Damned if I had known you'd find me where you did--or when, and yet I wasn't there to--but hell, you'd never let me take it all on my own shoulders. And I won't-- It's never gonna be... all right, but--I'll try to keep your songs around. You found me when I was so close to -yet I'm still alive huh? Some things ain't fair, brother ." Without raising his eyes from his fist, his memories hid between his fingers, slipping away as he flexed his palm. "I only hope you can't see me now, with all this all this hell in my eyes, with the shadows. I still remember the light in yours, don't worry . 'Cause I keep my promises, and you're still my oldest friend. First, and the last. Just... don't ever forget that." As Liam turned away, trudging along the icy path that wound through the cemetery, it could have been hours. Days. Months. Or just a few seconds. And it could have been anywhere. Grief only changed shape as he confronted the infused December sky, its witness the only one in sight. As Liam slid down onto the curb, only a few miles from where he'd last seen Ethan, he glanced up at the approaching figure. "Hey, Lara, I haven't seen Eth since... maybe three hours ago." She dropped to his side, grasping his freezing hand in her own. "Liam, it's cold out here; you're like ice... wait, did you visit Mas--" Her eyes, filled with a silent understanding, flitted to his and back to his hand as she placed it in his lap. "We've both been looking for you, Ethan and I--but I'll tell him you're alright, okay?" Liam, his eyes reddened but dried out from the temperature, nodded. "Yeah, I-it's... Well, you know how long it's been," he said, his gaze finding solace somewhere in Lara's dark hair, averting her gaze. "Yeah, too long. Ethan was worried you'd freeze, so you'd better get back to civilization soon..." she said, offering a smile and a hand on his jacketed shoulder. "Thanks, you've both been feeding me way too long as it is--and I'm not the most stable guest." She laughed as she let her hand slide from his shoulder. "Ethan could out-eat us all, so don't worry about that. Just take care out here." And as she walked away, he rested his head against the flesh of his palm, the solitude granting him a moment of clarity--one that he could never share. A melody in the corner of his mind, one that he couldn't muster the strength to hum . "Yeah, Mason, you're everywhere, and nowhere, buddy. Guess I've learnt to live with that. " -- Ok how's this : Liam glared into the darkness, the dust in his eyes unforgiving. The melody sank in a haunting tune through the night. "Cause there's a place deep inside of me where my dreams have a hold of me...and soon my soul will start to bleed..." Liam's voice broke off as he raked a tremor through his hair. "I still miss him," Liam said, uncertain if Ryan could hear his musings. "Hey, Ry...how long have we been lying in this hell hole?" He asked, the silence torn by Ryan's answer, "Too long. And yeah, I heard you saying something about 'if you play Wonderwall, you'll look like a total tool' in your sleep, presumably to someone who could play music." Ryan smiled, but it never reached his eyes as he added, "He really was a brother to you, huh? And don't lie because I'll know...and then I'll feel bad about giving ya this." As Liam dismissed a tear at the corner of his eye, he reached over to where Ryan lay, holding a piece of paper. "Music? You wrote music. What is this, Ry? You never told me you could--" Liam said, his eyes adjusting to the dark with a vulnerability that settled between them. Ryan, smiling with a broadness that reached his eyes, glanced at the paper with a nod. "Ah, I might have written down that song you insist on humming in your damned sleep. I knew it had some meaning, although I don't know what...least I could do for you, Li'." As his irises shone with another sheen of tears, Liam said quietly, "Mason could have played this--while I ruined the lyrics." Looking up from his boots, Ryan held a somber smile. "If I'd have known you way back then, I'm damned sure I'd have held you both to that." As Liam returned the nod, he folded the paper and tucked it into his duffel bag, magenta particles stirring in the air. "I know...He really was a huge chunk of my adolescence just...gone like...well, anyway, the music, when we get our hands on a guitar..." Ryan shook his head, angling his jaw in his hand. "Nah, we're in the middle of nowhere, and it'll never happen. But you got me, brother." Liam, smiling faintly, replied, "I know. We've seen so much that , well , does it make me an asshole for being happy that Mason died young, unaffected by the trauma that has screwed us up?. I mean he could've lived a different life from us -and maybe I'm wrong to hope he's in a better -" As Ryan leaned back against the filth-stained wall , his voice contemplated the environment . "It's not wrong to want him to have a peace we may never find. It's human. " As Liam gazed back, conflict in his eyes as he said "Y'know , there's something I had back home. And it's likely I'll never see it again, I was carrying a part of it with me for years , but just knowing I kept it safe...I chose to leave it with him and--". Words eluded Liam in the darkness, as Ryan's features , found by the moonlight, left him unable to deflect his gaze . "I feel as though, he wasn't a friend-he wasn't a comrade-he was a sibling, blood was all we didn't share . And even then when he needed a transfusion... I was the first to roll up my damned sleeve. And I wasnt the Ab neg he was-" In a hushed tone Ryan asked , "You think not being compatible was somehow a fault -but Li' , have you heard-well yourself? He could play better than Van Halen I'm guessing', and you could've ruined more than just his lyrics with those pipes . Don't make me say it again." Liam fell silent, and Ryan flopped backwards onto his makeshift bed. "It's alright Li'. Just get some sleep, and don't--" It was almost automatic as Liam replied, "Yeah, yeah, don't 'thank you.' I know, I'm welcome, huh? Yeah, goodnight, Ry." As Ryan's muttering hit the wall, Liam's mind sifted through the catalog of melodies Mason had played. And, amongst the static, a distinct composition of chords found their way back to him. "And if I fall beneath the cracks, if I find you in the darkness, brother, will you still have the heart to see? When I close my eyes and my memories start to fade, when the filter falls away, will you find the strength to stay?" Liam's breath , an unsteady exhale in the dark, dragged against his throat. The bonfire had long died , embers floating around his ankles as the dying flames lighted his eyes. Everyone had downed as much alcohol as imaginable, and staggered home with their rowdy goodbyes, while Liam had slipped off into the night, with a broken bottle of goose in his shaking hand. As his jacket rippled in the wind, lashing against his chest as he zipped it up, he was alone. The cliff , with its eeirie view of the fires remains, a place of revelries and warmth, was now extinguished and cold. "Yeah, no one noticed you never really left, huh?" As he glanced into the void beneath him, his bloodshot eyes seeking solace in the promise of erasure, he staggered unevenly to the edge. "Ah , to hell with it-" . As Liam muttered drunkenly into the silence , pilfered only by the crackle of the dying flames, he traced his neck with the bottles gleaming edge. locating his jugular, its pulsating warmth a cruel reminder of how futile his own bloodstream had become against his skin. Liam pressed the glass against his heartbeat, the sky mocking as the stars shone an icy clarity over his features. As he gazed in torn distress at the void beneath him, he heard a faint voice on the breeze. "I'll never get it right. Ah damnit. If I could nail it -Mason you sad idiot, no one even listens to your garbage anyway." As Liam ground his shoes into the dirt, a rock skidded under his stance , and he cursed into air. "Hey , is someone still up there... I thought everybody left-" Mason yelled into the illuminated of his torch, nestled upright in the mouth of a beer can. "Hey, you assholes can trash my guitar playing somewhere else , I just wanna be alone- this is rubbish ." Mason's angered tone sliced through Liam's helpless grip on the jagged glass as he dropped it over the edge of the cliff, watching it spiral away, cursing again. "Bro, don't get your panties tied up, it's just me-I wasn't listening anyways , and trust me , my opinion is the last one that matters-" . As Liam established equilibrium in a low crouch , a few steps back from the edge he found himself drawing a new sense of warmth from the voice as it hurled back at him . "Wait-then what are you doing up there , party's over , man. You hang out on cliffs for fun....oh shit." . before Liam had shifted his throbbing temple from his hand , as it clung to his head , a figure appeared at his shoulder , holding a guitar and revealing of alcohol. "Ah, well , it doesn't matter why I'm up here. Who the hell cares. But at least , you can play that thing. If my open onion meant anything, I'd say you might as well start busking on campus till a record label signs you, you talented prick-" Liam almost snarled his words , as they eroded under his pain, a tear threatening to escape him. Mason , laying the guitar a few metres away and returning to Liam's side, scoffed into the dark as he said "Nah, you claim you heard nothin' anyway. So what do you know. All that worries me right now is what the hell you're doing so close to the edge of this damn cliff-" As Mason slumped down , a veil of intimacy forming as his absent special awareness centred him inches away from Liam. "You look like hell, but I bet you feel worse right. You're up here , think in' I don't care what you understand about music but see, the thing is , I was one note away from the riff that would have made my version of Comfortably Numb a masterpiece or something like that. But like you say, you weren't listening . So don't call me a prick. My fingers are bleeding and I'm far from comfortable or numb." . Mason said, his voice roughened with impending sobriety as his mouth played with a smirk. Despite the rawness of his nerves , Liam found a smile tugging at his lopsided grin, as he stabbed at the air above Mason's sternum. "Yeah well, maybe I heard it all , and you were in fact playing some made up crap that I bet you could fill a stadium with. You don't know how great you are but-" As Liam hummed off key, he was promptly shoved in the elbow as Mason asked, taken aback "You can -sing? And not only that, he's up here singing my trash , and - you were about to throw those pipes off a cliff ? " There was an almost redeeming pause as Mason offered his hand to Liam , leaning closer in the darkness. "Mason, call me Mace- " Liam ceased his humming as he reciprocated , "Liam-you won't have noticed me around-" As Liam planted a palm either side of his legs , Mason smirked, the light of his torch contouring his cheekbones with a harsh glare. "Oh because no one would , huh? I've heard you , 'round campus , singing to yourself like no one will notice or care , but someone did and now what huh , Liam? Now what happens when I heard it and I need to know what you think you're doing throwing that off a ..." Mason's voice trailed into silence as he sent a rock sailing into gravity's clutches , his eyes following its descent. Liam grasped Mason's hand and shaking it as he muttered, shielded his reddened eyes from the torchlight. "Look, I'm glad you wandered up here to -tell me to stop listening . Cause to be honest I was- well I wouldn't call it stupid....no , Mason, it wasn't stupid , it was... the only action I might rely on . I think of how, if everything collapsed and I were drowning, I'll be alright because -" Liam rested a fatigued hand against his screaming eyes as he resisted the inebriated tears that hedged on the rims of his eyes. Mason, pulling Liam's hand into a grip against his shoulder, lowered his khaki green eyes into view . "Well, seeing as I'm here , and you still look as terrible as you did before-hit me . Tell me one thing that you believe I'll rip you apart for . It's not as if your opinion matters right-so I shouldn't be that affected . I should walk away laughing, right? It can't hurt to try it on me." As his posture slackened, Mason's words hit the air with a casual drawl, as if time was hanging around in the interim. Liam's shock was unlike a slap across his jaw as he clenched his teeth , his eyes breaking away at the lack of phase , yet the very invitation itself. . "Yeah, alright. You have a point there, I guess. But there's no one thing-" he said, as a shrug passed over his shoulders.""I don't know why you'd ask me , but-" Mason's fingers were already tracing a circle across the surface his jeans as he said, blunt yet with a restraint . "I asked, so come on , you give me your best, off the top of the head reason why I should leave you here , and make it count. I need to hear this. Got all night." It was a fatality in his breath that enveloped Liam's raw nerves as he answered, "Well , you have an audience now ... yet you're giving me the stage huh? I don't quite know what you're expecting. Some grandiose confession. "Oh Mason, I just can't carry on in a world so cruel, so I came up to this ledge to embrace the almighty void and plunge forth-" . Mason's eyes , dark and solid, waited under his rising eyebrow. "Who cares what I was expecting , or what I get. I don't think this is about me , as much as you might wanna listen to the sound of your own voice . Or does it scare you hearing it ? Out loud , for the first time in ? " The darkness , awaiting Liam's stare as he turned away, absorbed the volume in his voice, stripping it of its presence. "I haven't been home in three weeks. Folks told me never to set foot on their lawn again. And I don't blame them.... " Mason's eyes, trailing back to his guitar, carried a provoking concern. "Let me get this straight, they threw your ass out...for what? Let's hear it. After all, I don't care , do I . it's just conversation in the night. So explain what got you sitting on the curb on night..." Liam , breaking into a hollow smile , offset his bite , his teeth realigning. "It was, God I was stupid . I got so rotten one afternoon. I left my six year old cousin in the playground , by her school, till her parents found her at seven o'clock that night. I was supposed to have picked her up, but I headed to a-a frat party." As Mason was enveloped in silence, his eyes fixated on Liam's features, his gaze potent. "I -well-she could've -well-that's not what kills me. And now is the part where I tell you that , it's the way the kid -hugged me when I went to see her the next day. She said she loved me , and handed me a flower. And all I thought was -you bastard, Liam. You-" Mason's eyes , with an empathy strewn amongst an understanding, flickered with his torchlight. "So, she forgave you , huh? But you-" Liam's face , still angled toward his lap, finished Mason's assumption. "Nah, I didn't , because there's no one thing here. " Mason's heavy sigh , lingering in his lungs as he leaned forward, hung in the space between them. "It's a complicated network you have up there. A neighbourhood of short circuiting wires . But from what I can make out, there's no way in hell I'm leaving you up here. " Liam , biting back a thickness in his throat , shook his head. "Why not, what difference is it to you , Mason. You have one shot and you'd better make yours hit me harder ." As Mason's torch flicked off in his hands , he answered . "I can't justify leaving a man who , one , hates himself . And no one can hate you the way you can. And second, a man who hates himself for valid reasons , pointing to his own moral compass and yet, thinks a cliff is a fitting place to spend the night. Call me whatever , but I figure , if I can buy you one more day, consider it done. Still ain't got nowhere to be." Liam reached, almost absent of mind, for an unnoticed shard of glass , remaining from his earlier mishap as he twirled it through knuckles. "I-I didn't intend on seeing another. And I still don't know why you're so invested in a total stranger-" Liam swung his blue gaze at Mason, its bloodshot interrogation filled with a hopeful gleam of unshed tears . "Tell me Mason, the real reason you were out here, playing that guitar with a beer can in your lap, balancing a torch , when you have a dorm room to -" The pause offered reprieve to the tension in the air as Mason shifted his stare to the glass in Liam's hands. "Well, you're not gonna like this, but-even if I had the talent, or the skill , to fill one lousy stadium-I won't have the time-I-well-I know the isolation seems extreme . But sometimes I realise , I ain't gonna be around-people shouldn't get to attached to-ah it doesn't matter . It's a conversation for another dawn. Let's just focus on making it to this one. However far away it is. A few hours maybe. An hey, what's a few more hours right?" Liam, noticing the light fade from Mason's eyes , placed a hand on his shoulder . "It's a conversation for right now, if I stay here till sunrise, you're sure as hell gonna leave me with a reason to have kept my sorry ass from -" Mason's answer stayed in his throat before coming in an even tone. "I'm a ghost , Liam , I mean , I might live another year, sure . But I won't -you really don't need the details. I know you're capable of giving a shit , and you're a decent person. And I can't be getting all sentimental on you because-you're not the asshole you think . " As silence engulfed Mason, swallowing him whole, Liam sighed into his palm. "Oh it's like that huh? You think I didn't notice your arm. Unless you're injecting methadone , that's a hell of a lot of blood tests -" Mason's eyes , deep-set in their sockets, said more than his frail grin , as he whispered "It's not that I want to be alone, Liam, it's that I believe it's the right thing-" Liam's rogue tear finally escaped him , and a blanket of wordless atmosphere inched closer. "It's not-good thing you came up here to prove me huh? Coz I'll be damned if you spend anymore nights playing that guitar to the trees -" Mason's khaki stare was dragged away from the glass as it fell from Liam's hands, splinters flying across the cliffs edge . "Maybe we both needed to be alone tonight, and maybe it was dangerous to need the isolation-" Mason countered, as Liam nodded , fatigue chasing his voice. "Yeah , but neither of us found that peace , huh? Party died down, we both ended up drunk and -yeah that bonfire is long died, huh? " Mason, reaching out a fist, dragged his knuckles along Liam's shoulder . "No longer relevant. Now we're stuck here , together , and I'll deal with it. " They both shared a smirk , Liam's dimple upholding his right cheek as his lopsided smile crept across his face. "Damn straight , brother."

Now do one for Mason

Ok but now here's a part from later in the narrative, tell me who Liam is now, and who Ryan is : 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" No this is the continuation I had in mind : As she voice broke away to her tears , Liam rearranged a stray strand of her hair as he said "And Kai will always be your best friend , no matter what, we don't know where he is but we know he's alive. It's gonna be ok, there's a lot of kids out there who got left behind but they have people looking for them , just like we were looking for you-" Liam said, his voice rough with his own dehydration, as he balanced his fatigue on the runs of his eyes . Ryan lowered his voice as he said "it seems they just leave the children, all part of the calling card bull-I mean , I'd be betting a winning horse that Kai is stranded but deliberately unharmed , I'd feel sick if my stomach lining wasn't tearing itself out-" Liam placed his index finger over Lily's chest as he said , "You can sleep, it's alright, Uncle Ry used to have a friend like Kai , his name was-well let's call him Jack, he used to play guitar and well-he wrote a song. You wanna hear it? now I can't sing very well but ah you'll just have to go easy on uncle Liam tonight huh? . Lily's laughter peppered the clarity in the air as she said "Daddy always says he can't sing but-that means he knows all the words" she clung to the opening of Liam's jacket, the rigid denim sitting heavy around the frame of her face, offering her a semblance of structure as she said "I'm listening, Uncle Li'" . As thoughts of his long deceased friend Mason flooded through his mind , he hummed the melody in the back of his throat, the words caught with no articulation. "She laughed as she said "it doesn't matter if you forgot the words , its just like mommy's songs-she forgets the words too but it doesn't matter. I just hope her and daddy wait for me - do you think they will ?" Liam's eyes flickered with the discolouration of imploring deception as he said "They will, I just know it" . Ryan's voice, a lulled whisper from behind , pulled him out of forging promises . "Don't go there , Li-" . There was an impregnated silence as she answered , her eyes hollow with an imperceptible emotion. "But , the...man that made Daddy say-goodbye-he-" as the words departed her tiny body , she shivered, and pulled Liam's jacket against her ears "No -I don't remember anymore-" she said, and was consumed in a silence that inhabited Liam's concave lap. As he started down at her, the moonlight caught in her shining eyes , as he sighed into the encroaching midnight. "When you do remember Lily, you can tell us, no matter how tweeting what you saw might have been, we have seen worse things. We won't be afraid. But for now sleep huh? No more scary thoughts till the morning." The next moment , just as Ryan shook his head, she said the words already edging in his brain. "The other heaven....Daddy said it wasn't hell, cause that's a bad place and it was the other heaven . But -where is the other heaven? Have you been there?" Grappling with the question , Liam gazed at Ryan's lament as he answered without hesitation . "I'm pretty sure I have, and if that's where your father is , I'm as sure as I've been he's coming back , soon , kiddo. Now you get some rest huh? Tomorrow will be a long day" His eyes burnt with the heat radiating through his vision , as he was forced into the crotch of his jeans , his screams escaping his clenched teeth. Next, his shirt was yanked over his shoulders and he screams pierced his skull . "Sienna , no , don't follow me , please" he yelled, his voice entwined with flames of pleading as his captors dragged him across the glass, his skin slashed and erupting with his warm blood . A hand held his jaw close as an arm formed a noose as his body dragged across shards of debris , and the screams of his wife ran down his spine, No Carter , we have to stay together . Lily , hold on to my hand , don't move , sweetheart -I love you baby girl" , she said through tears as her own fate was executed with brutal force. "We have ... intentions for you Sienna , but say goodbye to Carter , he's never coming back from hell" . Sienna, still holding her daughter's hand , broke down , her palms splaying in the shattered windows , their house now blown to smithereens and her husband being removed from the remains of their life. "She's a witness , and she keeps on watching, if she doesn't serve as a vessel she has some pretty eyes . Landon can deal with her...fate." Lily's hand was dropped into the air as Carter screamed at his child , the terror insurmountable. "Don't move Lily , stay by my boots, just don't you leave them , alright? " In an instant, faster than any fire could spread , Siena was gagged and a hessian sack enveloped her screaming body as Carter cursed into the air . "Don't touch her,-Sienna , it'll be alright-" he whispered , his voice strained with agony. The voice was calm, devoid of emotion as it promised . "We won't -touch her-oh you'd only wish that we had the time , or the care , for such pleasures -but, Landon is a busy man. Business is-business." Lily's silence haunted the skies as their magenta hues fell in rays around her stance, shaking by her father's boots and clutching the only possession she had left. "Why are you taking Daddy to hell? " her voice hit the open air, and Carter choked out in response to her pleading question , "it's not hell , Lily , it's the other heaven , and I'll be alright, you hear me?" Another voice pierced into his skull as he felt Siena's unmoving body fall atop his back as he was flipped over, as his face slammed the unforgiving pane of a door. "Say goodbye Carter, you're going to die after all , you'll be in heaven , or perhaps hell , rotting forever, now won't you? Because men like you don't belong in heaven now do they , Carter..." a twisted smile crept across Carters face as he said , coldly, "I'm not dying anytime soon". As he wrestled his head upwards , leaning in his forearms, he established eye contact with Lily one final time. "I'll be in the other heaven , Lily and it's not Goodbye alright? I love you, you never forget that" he said, a feigned calmness in his voice as her amber irises held the matching flames of hazel and gold of his own as he stared at his four year old daughter . Sliding down by his boots , she buried her face in her hands , and cried, as his screams rang out into the noon sunlight, and he was gone . ////::::: " Morning , Lily , you must be wondering where Daddy went, or where Mommy is hiding ... and you must be sad that they both left you here huh? And I guess uncle Liam ... and uncle Ryan didn't want you anymore either, now you're alone in the other heaven, and Daddy lied didn't he. He's not here. Isn't that sad that no body cares about you at all. Even your bear is ...gone . did you lose him? Why would you let go of him? " The voice, suctioning around a tooth as it deposited saliva at her face , was cold and devoid of care.