Peyton had wanted to stay. That had been her plan, to stay with those in quarantine for as long as they were forced to be there, offering help however she was able. Moral support, nurse, whatever it would have taken, just to stay there with them, but that had not been what happened. Once everyone had crawled out of the belly of the beast and been scanned, they had packed up and prepared to move out. The Moon hunters to their base, and the rest back to the island. It hadn't been a choice, and no matter how much Peyton had argued with the woman in charge, it had not made a difference. She'd been ordered back to Deus, but she had not gone quietly.

It had been like leaving little pieces of herself behind. Not Just Noah, though her heart ached at the look on his face when she'd been herded through the portal. It was Hanna, and Cami, and Nora. All newbies, all fresh faced and unsullied. They had still been shiny, like new pennies, and this would tarnish them. It would leave a mark that would never go away. If she could have saved them from it, she would have, but it was a right of passage, wasn't it? Hadn't they all gone through hell within the first few months since waking? Jack was no stranger to suffering, neither was Jordan, or Evan. All people she cared about, though she was shocked to find one or two names on that list, and had no idea when they had made it there.

Back on the island she felt numb, which was better then the alternative, she supposed, but at some point that numbness would wear off and she was terrified of what came next. Spider zombies, krakens, fights to the death; she'd been through so much, but this was what had come closest to breaking her. She was supposed to be a soldier, but she had snapped in the pit, covered in gore. Clung to Noah while her skin had tried to peel itself clear of her body.

She needed a shower...

It was there the blessed numbness wore away. As the blood and bile had rinsed from her hair to swirl in pink lines down the drain that false calm had shattered, and she'd ended up sitting on the tile beneath the scalding spray of the water with thin arms wrapped around her legs. Holding as tight as she could, trying by force of will to keep herself still, and failing as her whole body fell into twitching tremors.

She sat there until numbness returned to her. Not of the mind this time, but of the body. Skin pink from the heat of the water.

Clean clothing; a pale knit jumper and simple black leggings. Wet hair in a loose braid, fell over one shoulder. She was clean, and as comfortable as she was going to get, physically, but her nerves still felt raw. Worry was eating at her, worst for her own active imagination. Bad enough that she had gone looking for answers and eventually ended up at the hospital. She waited there for hours, curled up in a chair, phone in her hands. Twitter was open, but she wasn't really seeing it.

When the quarantined hunters were finally brought home she'd damn near raised a fit at the state of them. She'd expected sunburns, but not the raw ruin from second and third degree burns. They had been cook, burned alive, Peyton hurt just looking at them, skin aching, and she was grateful that they weren't conscious. Let them stay asleep, she prayed for it as she was finally allowed to check on them herself. First The girls, Nora, Hanna, Cami. Wrapped in bandages, still unconscious, The dainty Sun didn't dare touch, too afraid one time brush would wake them, and there would be nothing but agony.

Next the boys, Jordan, and Evan. They were tough, they would heal from this, she worried, but they would be alright, she knew they would. Jack too, he wasn't soft. She wasn't entirely sure why she cared as much as she did. Be it the memory of feelings from that other reality, or simply softening to him in this one. Whatever the reason, she had checked on him as well.

Her last stop was Noah's room, because she had no intention of leaving his side for as long as he was stuck there. She'd pulled up a chair beside his bed, close enough to touch, but his burns were frightful things. The curl of her pinky finger around his, that was as much as she allowed herself. That tiny bit of contact. It wasn't enough, not hardly, but she didn't dare try for more.

She sat there, watching him, until the lights dimmed, and the soft and steady beat of the monitor lulled her into a restless sleep.