Volume I – Episode 140 Where: Melbourne, Australia When: 1 month after E-Day, 8:13 am Kim prepared herself for an attack. Hayley was still sprinting towards her, one foot loping after the other in a strange, limping stride. It looked as if it was causing her excruciating pain to move so quickly. Why the hell does she want to attack me? Kim wondered, placing one foot behind the other in a bracing position. If I can just manage to knock her off her feet, I might be able to... But wait... The sprinting figure was only a few metres away now, close enough to be able to make out some of her features. Kim saw the long, lean body, covered in scars and bruises. She saw the swollen mass of a recently-shattered hip bone, and the once-lovely-but-now-disfigured legs that stretched out beneath it. She saw the clothes. Clothes that Kim herself had helped to buy. And then she saw the face, still recognisable beneath the twisted mess of scars and bruises. Still recognisable. And still beautiful. Kim's heart skipped a beat. It wasn't Hayley at all. Oh my God. Kim dropped the axe. Two strong arms wrapped around her neck, not in an attack, but in a desperate, loving embrace. Those arms! That smell! A chill crawled down Kim's spine. She felt winded, incredibly light-headed and dizzy. It took a long time for her to be able to find her voice, and when she did it was choked with tears. "But...you died!" she said. "I know, baby," Jessica replied. "But I'm better now." Notes: This marks the end of The Brink, Volume 1.