《Pandora》


 Chapter 1

    The night was quiet, except for the distant humming of the fences.


    This far out from the settlement, most wouldn¡¯t have been able to hear the fences. Even the others in her unit, but only because they weren¡¯t listening for the fences like she was. She liked the humming.


    After all, time had done a great deal to teach all of the things that could go wrong with the world tended to go wrong when everything was quiet.


    Overhead, the sky had little light. There were no stars she could make out¡ªand there hadn¡¯t been for quite some time. The moon was there though, crescent shaped and casting an ethereal, pearlescent glow onto the earth. Under the light of the moon, shadows danced and stretched, moving with the trees that flanked the narrow, earth-patched road.


    A little while later, the night was lit up in gold. Chloe, groaning, raised a hand to shield her eyes from the intense glare of the headlights just up ahead.


    She alighted from the truck at once, slinging her rifle across her shoulder before going on to place herself on the road. She waved once, then twice, then once again at the incoming vehicle. A signal to ascertain whether or not it was one of theirs. The headlights flashed at her¡ªone flash, then two, then one.


    She stepped aside, and the truck came closer and closer, until it was right beside her. The driver¡¯s side window lowered, and a man with middle-parted rough brown hair poked his head out the window, the gentle night breeze ruffling his overgrown beard somewhat.


    ¡°Chloe,¡± Evan greeted her, vocal chords sounding as though they¡¯d had to contend with several bottles of whisky. ¡°Anyone in before us?¡±


    ¡°Just Ryan,¡± she answered, tone even. ¡°Any right behind you?¡±


    ¡°None that I saw my way here. Had to split after the haul, too dangerous moving together, too much sound, it¡¯d draw the bastards right out,¡± Evan responded, shaking his head grimly. ¡°Not an easy haul today neither. They¡¯re all over First and Wheatley now, took quite a bit navigating that bloody mess. All that for a trunkful of canned tuna and tomatoes.¡±


    ¡°Well, best to keep it moving.¡± Chloe scanned the trees on either side of the road, one eyebrow arching over the other, her ears twitching slightly as though they¡¯d picked up on something. She cast her glance down the road for a moment, then looked back to Evan. ¡°Your engine¡¯s loud,¡± she said. ¡°Keep going, or you¡¯ll draw them here.¡±


    ¡°Right, right.¡± Evan nodded. ¡°Alright then, see you back at Rora.¡±


    Evan made a slight saluting gesture, before steering his truck on, the sound of gravel and dirt crunching beneath his tires causing Chloe to flinch a little. She kept her eyes on his truck until, after a few seconds, his taillights vanished from view, at which point she let out a gentle sigh.


    Small talk. A remnant of the past, that the present could not accommodate.


    ¡°You should relax,¡± came a voice through the piece in her left ear, accompanied by a startling crackle that caused her hand to fly to her ear. ¡°See?¡± The man on the other end of the line chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re way too uptight about this, you made poor Evan a little scared.¡±


    ¡°Lucas.¡± Chloe looked around, determined to find the position from which she was being observed.


    ¡°Have you ever thought about going brunette?¡± Lucas asked. ¡°I think you¡¯d look stunning with dark hair. Even more stunning, I mean.¡±


    She spun then, face jerking in the direction she thought she¡¯d heard his voice come from. ¡°Stay off the comms,¡± she hissed.


    ¡°Aw, come on. We¡¯ve been on duty hours, the silence is killing me!¡± Lucas whined.


    This time, she saw his silhouette move between the trees to the left of the road, saw the silhouette slink around a tree, saw quick movement up the tree and then saw what looked a lot like a solid shadow sitting upon one of the tree¡¯s branches.


    ¡°Chloe¡¯s right,¡± a different voice spoke over the comms, deeper and sterner than Lucas¡¯s by a great deal. ¡°Stay off the comms. No distractions.¡±


    ¡°Aye aye captain,¡± came Lucas¡¯s exasperated response and though she couldn¡¯t see him all that well, Chloe knew he¡¯d rolled his eyes.


    The comms went back to quiet, and Chloe returned to the truck she¡¯d been sat in, unholstering the rifle once more. She sat in front, the driver¡¯s seat, with her feet kicked up on the dashboard, the tips of her boots just inches away from the already-cracked windshield.


    The interior of the truck was pretty beat up. The leather seats had grown worn with time, and stress, and had started to peel off in pretty significant patches. The compartment on the passenger¡¯s side no longer shut completely. The rearview mirror was permanently lopsided, and dangling literally only by a thread. On the floor, empty wrappers of cheese puffs and chocolate wraps and protein bars, all of which she¡¯d only just had in the past hour.


    She had a bit of an appetite. One that food did little to quell, and when she did get particularly ravenous and with no bags in sight, she found that junk aided somewhat. Not in a satiating manner, no, but the taste of it triggered such deep revolt within her that she¡¯d end up losing her appetite for quite some time.


    An effective workaround.


    Someone started to whistle over the comms then, and mixed in with the whistling were loud crunching sounds.


    ¡°Lucas!¡± everyone spoke in unison.


    ¡°Oh, my bad, sorry,¡± came Lucas¡¯s muffled response. ¡°Squirrel was irresistible.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve got another incoming,¡± came Jon¡¯s deep and stern voice yet again, his tone permanently brooding. ¡°Two this time,¡± he added after a moment. ¡°Two minutes apart, I¡¯d say.¡± ¡°Signs of trouble?¡± Chloe asked, getting out of the truck again and stretching her hands before


    marching onto the road.


    ¡°Can¡¯t tell.¡± Jon went quiet for a moment. ¡°Busted headlight on one of them. Scratches too.


    Could be trouble.¡±


    ¡°Finally.¡± Lucas suddenly sounded rather alive and excited.


    ¡°Hold on that,¡± Chloe said quickly, wary of just how eager the boy could get. ¡°Stick to protocol. No moves until we have visual confirmation of the bastards.¡±


    ¡°Ugh,¡± Lucas groaned. ¡°Sure, whatever.¡±


    The first vehicle arrived a minute and a half later, its headlights not nearly as brilliant as the ones that¡¯d been on Evan¡¯s truck, and Chloe had little reason to shield her eyes this time. Again, she signaled the truck, just as she had Evan¡¯s. The truck¡¯s headlights flashed, signaling right back to her.


    She relaxed somewhat, and waited till the truck was just beside her. The windows on this were already down.


    There were four inside the truck, a violation of typical protocols¡ªit was only ever three to a vehicle, except of course, in instances where the vehicles were much larger or when it was a significant emergency.


    At the wheel was a woman Chloe recognized as Leah. Her brown hair was down now, strands all in her face, some of it stuck with sweat and dirt. Leah was clad in a bloodstained tank top that looked like it¡¯d snagged on something, and her bulging arms were stained in dirt and blood.


    Accompanying Leah in the vehicle, Tobias and Haden, her sons. Then there was Crank, half- unconscious in the back, sat right next to Haden, his head slumped against the edge of his seat. He had one hand over his chest, and Chloe could make out something wet and dark oozing between his fingers.


    She sniffed at the air, and her mouth watered instantly at the metallic scent she perceived.


    Blood.


    Clean blood.


    ¡°What happened to him?¡± she asked, frowning at Crank.


    ¡°Haul was interrupted by the bastards,¡± Leah answered, voice shaky and filled with rage. ¡°Had to get out and fast. He tried slowing them down, got in the line of fire. One hit. Clean, passed straight through. Given it a look and I think he¡¯ll be fine, but gotta get him help quick, runt already had little blood in him as it was, I¡¯d rather he not turn the back of my truck to his coffin.¡±


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    ¡°Any on your tail?¡± Chloe asked, although she already knew the answer. Blood was a deeply powerful scent, to her and to them. And if it¡¯d made her mouth water like this, then it must have done a lot more to them. They¡¯d no doubt be on the trail.


    ¡°Possibly.¡± Leah nodded, sounding a little fearful. ¡°But it¡¯s Mac and his boys just behind us though. Any trouble inbound is probably a little ways behind them.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Chloe said. ¡°Go on, get to Rora, get Crank some help.¡±


    ¡°You be careful,¡± Leah said, giving Chloe another nod before steering her truck on. Chloe watched again till the taillights had vanished, then turned around and concentrated her sights on the road ahead, awaiting Mac¡¯s truck.


    Five minutes passed, with no sight whatsoever of the truck. Chloe bit her lips hard. ¡°Jon. What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°Dunno. Lost sight of it. Went dark,¡± came Jon¡¯s response, grim and anxious. ¡°We wait.¡± ¡°Wait?¡± Lucas repeated. ¡°The truck was supposed to be two minutes out. It¡¯s been twice that


    long. We need to see what¡¯s going on.¡±


    Chloe drew a deep breath then. A scent came to her on the air, metallic, but impure. She craned her neck somewhat, listening. She picked up on the slowing rattle of an engine. Then a groan, weak.


    ¡°We can¡¯t leave our positions,¡± Jon was saying over the comms. ¡°There¡¯ll be more on the way soon, important that we run the checks. Can¡¯t let any who aren¡¯t ours past this point, or any who¡¯ve been bitten.¡±


    ¡°Lucas, hold my position,¡± Chloe said, tugging at her rifle strap to fasten it around herself even more. ¡°I¡¯ll go check out Mac¡¯s truck. I¡¯ve got a lock on something, a smell. Blood, but it doesn¡¯t smell clean.¡±


    ¡°Chloe, what the hell are you doing?¡± Jon demanded. ¡°We can¡¯t¡ª,¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t take long,¡± Chloe said, already marching away from her position. She took a few steps, then heard a whooshing sound behind her. She glanced back to find Lucas standing where she¡¯d been just a moment earlier, his white-blond hair looking almost angelic under the moonlight. In Lucas¡¯s hand, a mangled squirrel, one he held over his mouth then and squeezed some blood from.


    He gulped the blood down, then looked in her direction and winked.


    She sighed, then turned on her heels and broke into a sprint.


    The air rushed past her as she went, trees blurring past. She took a turn off the road and into the woods, ducking hastily to avoid a low-hanging branch before leaping high, sailing over a felled tree.


    She came to a stop a moment later, at a smoking car flipped upside down, its windshield half removed. She narrowed her eyes, and the dark seemed to light up, the heat signatures of those within the vehicle visible to her. The two in the back had fairly normal heat signatures. The third, the driver, had a fading signature and it was also from him that the scent of impure blood seemed to be emanating.


    She blinked, and her vision returned to normal at once.


    ¡°Found them,¡± she said, moving toward the rear of the vehicle, and ripping one of the doors clean off with incredible ease, before hurling it some distance away.


    She grabbed Tanner, one of the boys in the back, and pulled him out of the car. He groaned as she moved him, his eyes fluttering weakly.


    ¡°Dad,¡± the boy groaned, his hands twitching.


    Chloe dragged him some distance from the car, and set him down against a tree. Then she returned to the car, and got Brian out. Brian woke up while she moved him, groaning, and raising one hand to the left side of his head, touching some of the blood trickling down his face there.


    ¡°The hell?¡± His words were slurry. ¡°Dad. He¡¯s hurt.¡± ¡°Lucas,¡± Chloe said.


    ¡°Uh-huh.¡±


    ¡°Evac.¡± Chloe started toward the car again, moving gingerly toward the driver¡¯s side now, aware what she would find.


    Over the comms, Jon cursed. ¡°Chloe, we can¡¯t pull from our positions. We need to be on the road, keep things clear.¡±


    ¡°Brian and Tanner are concussed,¡± Chloe said. ¡°Car went off the road.¡± ¡°And Mac?¡±


    ¡°About to confirm.¡± Chloe crouched by the driver side, grabbed the door and ripped it off. She placed it aside gently, then knelt to examine Mac. His brown hair was blood stained, matted to his face. His plaid shirt was dirty, and reeked of sweat now. Chloe moved closer to him, placed one hand over his temple. He was getting cold¡­and fast.


    Mac responded to her touch, groaned slightly and then turned his face to hers. He cracked open his eyes, his bloodshot eyes. He attempted to speak, but blood simply gushed from his mouth¡ªdark and foul smelling.


    Chloe winced. She reached for his seatbelt, unhooked it, freeing Mac from his seat. He dropped, groaned again.


    ¡°My boys,¡± he choked out, his voice rather strained.


    ¡°They¡¯re fine.¡± Chloe was examining him closely, searching for the infection point even though it already looked far too late for his condition to be remedied. ¡°What happened?¡± she asked.


    ¡°What¡¯s it look like?¡± Mac managed a weak laugh, then ran a hand through his bloodied brown hair. He spat more blood from his mouth. ¡°Haul went south, had to deal with the fuckers, one of them managed to get a good bite at the ankle. Would have cut it right off, but hard to drive a car without your feet, ain¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Dad?¡± Brian¡¯s voice came from behind them. Chloe turned to see the fifteen-year-old groggily getting to his feet, staggering toward them. He blinked once, hard, then blinked again. ¡°What the hell are you doing to him?¡±


    ¡°Lucas,¡± Chloe called again. ¡°I need them out of here.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s fine!¡± Brian yelled. ¡°He only got scratched! Let him go!¡±


    ¡°Brian, buddy, think we both know this here¡¯s more than a scratch,¡± Mac said weakly, managing another laugh before coughing up some more blood. His body spasmed then, suddenly and violently, his eyes lolling to the back, but only for a moment.


    ¡°Infection¡¯s taken root.¡± Chloe¡¯s words had some finality to them. ¡°Mac.¡± ¡°I know, I know.¡± Mac nodded, coughing again. ¡°Do what you gotta.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Brian yelled. From behind Chloe, a clicking sound. ¡°Let him go,¡± Brian¡¯s voice came again, shaky. ¡°Don¡¯t make me do this.¡±


    Chloe turned her neck only just slightly, not fully looking at Brian. ¡°Kid,¡± she said, ¡°Put the gun down before you get hurt.¡±


    ¡°I know how to use one. Get away from my dad, you animal. You¡¯re just as bad as the rest of them!¡±


    She could tell he was sobbing now, just off how shaky his voice had gotten, and from the sound of his breathing. She also knew that he seriously would pull the trigger if she attempted to do what needed to be done.


    ¡°Brian, put the gun down,¡± Mac groaned, before spasming again. This time, the spasm lasted a few seconds, and while Brian¡¯s attention shifted momentarily to his father, Chloe moved.


    Her movement was a blur. In a single motion, she¡¯d disarmed Brian, and had knocked him out cold, grabbing onto him before he could hit the ground.


    ¡°Lucas!¡± she called again. ¡°Where the hell are you?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not coming,¡± Jonathan said then, not over the comms but from just behind her. She turned to see him emerge from between the trees, thin like a shadow, with greasy black hair that fell down his face. ¡°I¡¯ll take them.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯re you doing?¡± Chloe queried. ¡°Lucas¡ª,¡±


    ¡°Is slower than I am,¡± Jonathan said, as he took Brian from Chloe¡¯s grasp, and slung the boy over his shoulder as though he were a sack. ¡°I can get them to Rora, and come back in better time than Lucas can.¡±


    He made his way toward Tanner, picked the boy up with ease, and then he vanished into the shadows, boys in tow.


    Chloe waited a few seconds, attempting to find the required resolve for what she needed to do now. Behind her, she heard twigs snap. She turned in the direction of the sound, to find Mac hunched oddly by a tree, still spasming away. He was making odd choking sounds now too.


    She started toward him, but had only moved a few steps when his body suddenly went completely still.


    The choking halted then too and in its stead was a low, guttural growl.


    Mac spun around and took a few staggered steps toward her, his eyes permanently lolled back now, mouth hanging open, jaw having gone slack. As he moved toward her, a mixture of blood and drool dribbled from his mouth onto the earth. Twigs snapped beneath his approach.


    And then he went into a fervor, lunging at her with speed, snarling loudly as he did.


    Chloe¡¯s face remained expressionless as she sidestepped Mac¡¯s charge, stepping aside again to avoid his follow up, before easily ducking beneath his swatting and slashing. Mac lunged again, this time leaping at her like a predator pouncing on prey.


    She moved quickly, striking at his back with the blunt of her palm as he sailed through the air, the force of the blow knocking him to the ground. Mac hit the ground and snarled loudly and, in a moment, was back on his feet and about to pounce again, driven mindless and bloodthirsty by the rot that had set in his blood.


    Mac leaped at her again. This time, she met him with her rifle. Not by taking aim and firing, but by swinging it through the air with all of her strength. With that kind of force and speed behind the swing, Mac stood no chance.


    His head went flying, blood gushing from the stump in its place, spraying onto Chloe. Mac¡¯s head fell some distance away from her, at the base of a tree, while the rest of his body dropped right at her feet, the stump continuing to gush out blood, a puddle of his tainted blood quickly gathering at her feet.


    She remained there for a moment, rooted to the spot, Mac¡¯s infected blood all over her. In her moment of pause, her breath grew shaky, and it was when she noticed this that she drew a deep, practiced breath. She drew another, then nodded to herself and proceeded to wipe Mac¡¯s blood off her face with her sleeves.


    She holstered her rifle, then grabbed Mac¡¯s torso, dragging it back to the smoking car, one she knew would be ablaze before long. She set the body by the car, then went and retrieved his head, placing it perfectly balanced atop the stump of his neck such that his body looked whole again. Then she backed away.


    The comms crackled. ¡°Uh, Chloe? Jon, you guys copy?¡± ¡°Lucas,¡± Chloe answered, voice low. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Got another inbound,¡± Lucas said. ¡°This one¡¯s got company.¡± ¡°Servants?¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh. A whole fucking swarm of them.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Chloe wiped her palm off with her shirt. ¡°I¡¯m on my way.¡±

 Chapter 2

    The car wasn¡¯t one of theirs.


    Whoever was at the wheel was a moron, and one who had no idea what the signal was, and instead just honked away like a lunatic. In daytime, that amount of noise was borderline suicidal. At night? It was a death sentence. And it wasn¡¯t just the honking too¡ªwhoever was in the car was yelling frantically, and constantly poking out the window to take fire blindly with a pistol.


    And behind the car, appearing to number into the dozens, were pursuing Servants, identifiable even in the dark of night by their lopsided sprinting, their snarling, and the putrid stench of their rotten or still-rotting flesh.


    ¡°What do we do here?¡± Lucas queried, no longer occupied now by his squirrel.


    ¡°Stick to protocol.¡± Chloe watched the car as it approached, scanning again for heat signatures. There was only one person in the vehicle. ¡°That car doesn¡¯t make it to Rora, not even to the fences. Take out its tires, ground it.¡±


    ¡°And leave whoever¡¯s inside to the Servants?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll take care of the Servants,¡± Chloe said, stepping forward. ¡°Just stop the car.¡±


    ¡°Alright then.¡± Lucas unholstered his rifle and held it up, squeezing one eye shut as he took aim for the car. He pulled the trigger.


    The first shot bounced harmlessly off of the car¡¯s hood. A moment later, the boy at the wheel poked his head out the window, looking in their direction.


    ¡°WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!¡± The boy cried out. ¡°Stop!¡± ¡°Lucas. Again. Don¡¯t miss.¡±


    Lucas said nothing. A moment later, he pulled the trigger again. This time, he took out one tire. The tire hissed as air leaked out of it, before making flapping sounds as the rubber grinded awkwardly against the ground. The car itself, swerved dangerously from left to right, the boy at the wheel doing whatever he could to steady the vehicle. The driver poked his head out once more, his pistol trained at them this time. Without warning, he let off multiple shots.


    Time slowed to a crawl for Chloe then, enough that she could make out all of the bullets headed their way. Five of them to be precise.


    The boy wasn¡¯t a very good shot, most of the bullets were greatly off the mark. Only one was likely to hit a target, one that looked on course to find Chloe in the head.


    She sidestepped as the bullet neared, letting it sail harmlessly past, just like the other bullets. Lucas fired again. Another tire went out.


    That was enough for the boy to lose control of the wheel, the car swerving dangerously to the left, and on course for the woods. Chloe, however, was quick, arriving in front of the car in just a moment, digging her feet deep into the ground as she let it drive right into her extended hands.


    She pushed back against the vehicle, feet sliding against the ground as she did, digging up some of it. She gritted her teeth under the effort of what she was doing, throwing all of her strength into attempting to halt the car.


    She managed to bring the car to a stop, just at the edge of the road, and she glanced up at the windshield to find the boy with his pistol trained at her, a frightened expression on his face like he wasn¡¯t sure exactly what was going on. The boy¡¯s trembling finger pulled down on the trigger, and a bullet blasted through the windshield.


    But Chloe wasn¡¯t there anymore.


    She pulled the driver¡¯s door open, seized the boy by his collar and yanked him out of the car, despite his struggling.


    The boy took a swing at her as soon as she¡¯d gotten him out, but she was quick, ducking beneath his blow before planting a fist into his stomach, soliciting a groan and loud wheezing as the boy bent over, eyes wide in pain.


    ¡°If you want to live, stay right there,¡± Chloe warned. ¡°Don¡¯t move, don¡¯t try to run. There¡¯s too many of them around now, even in the woods, thanks to your little ruckus. Just stay right here by the car.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± The boy nodded, still wheezing as he responded.


    Chloe hoped she hadn¡¯t hit him hard enough to rupture anything or cause any internal bleeding. She¡¯d been holding back on that punch, or at least, had tried to do just that. She walked away from the boy, rejoining Lucas and staring ahead at the incoming horde of Servants.


    ¡°That¡¯s a pretty big swarm,¡± Lucas said, although he sounded more excited than anything else. ¡°None of them seem particularly quick either,¡± he added, dropping his rifle to the ground and swinging one arm around as if to loosen it. ¡°This ought to be a breeze.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t get reckless,¡± Chloe warned.


    ¡°When am I ever?¡± Lucas grinned at her, and winked before surging forward in a blur of movement.


    Chloe charged too, right into the midst of the incoming horde. Despite the numerical disparity, Chloe and Lucas had an advantage over the Servants in that they were much faster than the rotten things were, much more coordinated, and capable of thought and improvisation. The Servants were stupid, slow, driven solely by their insatiable desire for human flesh and blood.


    Chloe struck with the rifle again, swinging at one of the Servants with it. The Servant¡¯s head exploded upon impact, chunks of it raining down everywhere.


    She went at Servant after Servant, each attack of hers delivered with the sort of precision and lethality that came only from experience and repetition. Her movements were almost rehearsed, almost instinctive. She knew exactly how much strength to apply if she wished to separate their limbs from their bodies, how much strength to apply if she wanted to punch right through them, how hard to swing if she wanted to make their heads explode.


    In only a matter of seconds, she¡¯d dropped more than ten Servants, and was soaked head-to- toe now in their blood. The stench of it would not fade easy, but that was not something she cared about a great deal at the moment.


    Alongside her, Lucas was reveling in the carnage. He was blurring between Servants, literally tearing them apart with ease. With one, he punched straight through the Servant¡¯s gaping mouth with one fist, before shoving his other hand inside and pulling the Servant¡¯s head apart entirely. He ripped an arm off the headless Servant before its torso dropped to the ground, and used the arm as a weapon, swinging with it at the others, cackling like a lunatic as he did so, his eyes shining past the blood that had stained his face, lips pulled apart into a crazed, unwavering smile.


    A Servant lunged at Chloe, attempting to sink its teeth into her. Chloe twisted away from the Servant¡¯s reach, spun around it, then shoved her rifle into its head from behind before ripping it straight off, and then launching the head through the air like a projectile, sending it shooting through the chests of other Servants, putrid blood curtaining the gaping holes it left in them.


    A loud, unearthly screech filled the air then, seeming to come from somewhere in the distance. As soon as the screech came, both Chloe and Lucas halted in their tracks. Lucas¡¯s crazed smile vanished at once, replaced with an expression of terror. Chloe¡¯s face simply darkened.


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    At once, and without any instruction needing to be provided to the both of them, they both retreated from the Servants, leaping backward and putting great distance between themselves and the mindless creatures.


    ¡°Did you hear that?¡± Lucas queried, as if wanting to confirm that his mind wasn¡¯t playing tricks on him.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Chloe responded, quietly, her eyes gazing into the distance now, in the direction the screech had come from. There was only one thing out there that could have made a sound like that, and it wasn¡¯t something either her or Lucas would stand much of a chance against.


    Even the Servants now had stopped moving, turning their heads around stupidly, as if waiting for something.


    ¡°We need to go,¡± Chloe said at once, voice grim. ¡°I think it¡¯s headed here.¡±


    ¡°What about the rest of the Servants?¡± Lucas questioned, looking a little displeased at the possibility that he might not get to kill all of the creatures standing before him.


    ¡°Not enough time for that.¡± Chloe was already walking toward the boy from earlier, sat now by his car, head slumped. He¡¯d passed out.


    She bent by him, lifted him off the ground and slung him over her shoulders. She returned to her truck, throwing the boy into the back before climbing into the driver¡¯s seat, Lucas hastily getting into the front passenger¡¯s seat.


    As she ignited the engine, Lucas stuck his head out into the window, peering into the distance. ¡°Hang on, I think I can see something. Holy shit, it¡¯s massive.¡±


    Chloe said nothing, simply put the truck in reverse and slammed down on the pedal. She swerved the wheel sharply, turning the truck around, before switching into drive and barreling in the direction of Rora.


    As she drove, her comms crackled. ¡°Chloe! Lucas! Are you still out there?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re coming in now.¡± It was Lucas who responded to Jonathan. ¡°Got a stray with us. You can thank him for luring the bastards here¡­and probably the angry one too.¡±


    ¡°Is it on your tail?¡± Jon¡¯s voice sounded frantic, like he was in a hurry. ¡°I¡¯m with Spike and Aiden now, we¡¯re on our way to¡ª,¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Chloe interrupted immediately. ¡°Don¡¯t come back out. We¡¯re coming. We¡¯ll be fine, got enough time. It¡¯s not close to us yet.¡±


    ¡°Uhm, Chlo?¡± Lucas was looking out the window again. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be too sure about that.¡± Chloe¡¯s gaze shifted toward the rearview mirror. Through it, she noticed a dark mass some distance behind them. Large and towering, with multiple spindly legs carrying it forward. It was


    gaining on them, and quick.


    The entire truck rattled then. ¡°Shit,¡± she cursed.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got this,¡± Lucas said, grabbing his rifle and preparing to take aim.


    ¡°What the hell are you doing?!¡± Chloe demanded, swerving the car roughly then to throw Lucas off balance. The consequence was that his rifle fell out of his grip, landed on the road. The truck rapidly left it behind.


    ¡°I was going to take it out!¡± Lucas said. ¡°What the hell did you do that for?¡±


    ¡°Jesus, Lucas, you know damn well what that is. Bloody rifle wouldn¡¯t have done anything but make it angrier¡­and possibly, faster.¡±


    ¡°You think one of those needs help getting angrier?¡± Lucas blurted, eyes frantic. ¡°Shit, it¡¯s getting closer.¡±


    Chloe peered through the rearview mirror again. Lucas wasn¡¯t wrong. They wouldn¡¯t be able to outrace the angry god, not in this truck. She bit down on her lips as she considered all of the options.


    If she had explosives on her, she might have been content allowing it to catch up with her. Though it¡¯d never been tested, Chloe had spent a great deal of time pondering on how best to kill one of those things, especially since no one else had figured it out. Through the rearview mirror, she could see the thing up close now, its shadowy form, the scales across its skin¡­and that single crimson eye glowing at them.


    The angry god let loose a guttural sound, one that caused the entire truck to vibrate and rattle again.


    ¡°Chloe, I have to do something!¡± Lucas yelled wildly. ¡°Give me your gun?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Chloe held on to her gun firmly. ¡°Take the wheel,¡± she instructed. ¡°Don¡¯t stop driving.¡± ¡°What?¡±


    Chloe didn¡¯t take any time to explain. She opened up her door at once, leaped right out of the car. She fell to the ground, rolled and hastily returned to her feet. She took aim at the angry god at once, right at its singular eye, and fired.


    A loud wail filled the air, and the monster thrashed its spindly limbs about, kicking up anything in its path. The car from earlier with its tires shot out went flipping through the air, prompting Chloe to duck. The car missed her, barely, crashing to the ground just behind her.


    The angry god continued its advance, but this time its single eye was focused intently on her. Chloe fired another shot at the monster, while making her way off the road and into the woods. As she¡¯d expected, it followed.


    ¡°Chloe!¡± Lucas yelled over the comms. ¡°Are you good? Did it get you?!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s on my tail.¡± Chloe ducked beneath a branch, glancing over her shoulder to see multiple trees be uprooted in a single instant. ¡°And it¡¯s closing in fast. Just get back to Rora, doesn¡¯t matter what happens out here.¡±


    ¡°Like hell it doesn¡¯t,¡± Jon growled over the comms. ¡°We¡¯re on our way.¡± ¡°Jonathan, no. I don¡¯t need your¡ª,¡±


    There was an odd crackle, an indicator he¡¯d disconnected from the comms. Chloe hissed under her breath, glanced over her shoulder again to see a tree flying at her. Her eyes went wide and she attempted to duck. She avoided much of it, but a thick branch still caught her, slamming into her back and sending her hurtling forward.


    She crossed her hands in front of herself, shielding her face and bracing for the fall. She hit the ground hard, and pushed herself right off at once with her hand, sending herself high into the air. From this height, she made out the monster, still advancing through the forest. It saw her too, and sent another tree in her direction.


    Still airborne, she twisted, spinning around and finding the tree with her feet instead. She ran across the full length of the tree as it sailed through the air, her rifle held firmly in one hand. She leaped off the tree just as one of the angry god¡¯s limbs shot toward her. At the same time, she hurled forth her rifle, launching it through the air like a spear. The air whipped around the rifle as it shot forward, rapid as a projectile, before it found its mark and struck the angry god right in the eye.


    Again, the angry god let out another wail, a powerful one, accompanied by a gust of wind that caused the trees in the forest to sway and creak. At the same time, one of its limbs found her, piercing her thighs.


    She gritted her teeth hard, just as the angry god yanked at her, pulling her in close. She seized onto its spindly limb, attempted to yank it out, but it didn¡¯t budge. A moment later, it hurled her through the air.


    She struck a tree with her back, snapped it in half upon impact before hitting the ground. A pained groan escaped her as a metallic taste filled her mouth, the edges of her vision blurring out of focus. She attempted to move, but a sharp pain shot through her lower body that immediately discouraged the notion.


    Instead she remained there, on the ground, helpless while the monster continued to approach, more trees falling as it got closer and closer.


    The monster came into view again, or rather, one of its legs did. It came down on her, straight for her face. She shifted her head out of the way just in time, and the leg struck the earth just beside her face instead.


    Another leg came down, and this time she had to part her legs to avoid it. A third leg had been about to come down on her stomach when suddenly, the sky lit up in crimson as flares went off somewhere east of them. The angry god halted at once, and it produced a sound she assumed was its version of a confused grunt.


    It stopped moving then, as if listening. Chloe squeezed her eyes shut at once and held her breath, not wanting to see exactly what it was that would come next.


    For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then she heard it start to move again. She kept her eyes shut and listened, listened as it got farther and farther away. Soon, she couldn¡¯t hear it anymore.


    She cracked open her eyes then and drew a deep breath, letting the cool air flood her lungs again. From somewhere in the woods, she heard rustling sounds, accompanied closely by the snap of twigs. Loud thuds, powerful ones, quick too.


    A moment later, Jonathan emerged from behind a tree, accompanied by Lucas.


    Jonathan and Lucas raced to her side at once, grabbing on to either arm of hers and pulling her to her feet. She winced at the pain that shot through her wounded thigh as they helped her up, but bit down hard on her tongue to prevent herself from screaming out.


    ¡°Come on,¡± Jon said, his voice steely now, a little angry-sounding. ¡°Let¡¯s get you out of here before it comes back.¡±

 Chapter 3

    Jon was hovering over her when she came to.


    She cracked open her eyes to the dull, fluorescent glow of the light strips that ran along the ceiling and walls of the infirmary, her nose being overwhelmed almost at once by the overpowering scent of antiseptic, and blood. The walls of the room were gray, as was the floor, and hers was the only occupied bed in there. Pinned to the wall to the left of her bed, a rack on which her jacket had been hung, still bloodstained from the encounter with the Servants, dirty from being tossed around a forest by an angry god.


    To the right of the bed, on the cold floor, a rusted iron bucket in which had been thrown blood-stained bandages and gauze. On the bedside table, a single blood bag had been placed. At the sight of it, she felt her mouth water somewhat.


    She diverted her gaze from the bag to her legs. Her pants had been ripped in the area where the angry god had stabbed with its limb, and the wound was wrapped now and firmly so in bandages. Beneath the bandages, she felt a dull throb. The pain from earlier was gone, not that it was surprising. In fact, it was more surprising that she hadn¡¯t already regenerated from the wound entirely.


    ¡°How long have I been out?¡± she asked, returning her gaze to Jon who stood over her bed with his arms crossed and face the same, eyes narrowed and stern.


    ¡°Four hours, forty-seven minutes, sixteen seconds,¡± Jon answered, shooting a glance at his wristwatch. ¡°Sun¡¯s up now,¡± he added, before moving toward the shut window blinds in the room. He opened them up, and let rays of sunlight filter in, suddenly making the room feel more alive and much less sterile.


    ¡°Should have healed in four hours,¡± Chloe commented, staring at her wrapped wound again.


    ¡°Eat,¡± Jon instructed, gesturing to the blood bag on the bedside table. ¡°It¡¯ll speed things up a lot more. I¡¯ll be waiting outside, find me when you¡¯re done. We have to talk.¡±


    Without saying any more, he turned and left the room, shutting the dark steel door gently behind him. Chloe released a sigh then, and sat up in the bed, wincing slightly as her thigh stung. With the pain came flashes of memory, flashes of the angry god, of her encounter with it. What it¡¯d looked like.


    A towering monster, shadowy almost, with six limbs, the points of which had been sharp as blades. And that singular red eye of its.


    She squeezed her eyes shut, shook the image out of her head and drew a deep breath before cracking her eyes open again. She reached for the blood bag then and helped herself to it, raising its point to her mouth and piercing it with a bite. One squeeze filled her mouth with blood, and its accompanying metallic taste, one that her condition had caused her to find savory.


    She tried not to think about what she was doing, about what she was drinking. In her head, she pictured the days before all of it, and what she¡¯d liked to eat back then. Blueberry pancakes, syrup, sausages, scrambled eggs. Or even tacos. She¡¯d quite liked tacos, back when she still had an appetite for it and cooked meat didn¡¯t sour her insides.


    It was the same for Jon, and she knew that was why he¡¯d excused himself from the room, in addition to his being angry at her for almost getting killed, of course. Jon was like she was, a Pandoran¡ªan abomination of science, a last resort to help in the fight against the monsters that had spread their infection across the earth. When they¡¯d agreed to become what they were, it¡¯d been out of a combination of desperation and anger, a desire to make the monsters pay for what they¡¯d taken. And if the entire thing had failed then well, they¡¯d have been put out of their collective misery regardless.


    But it¡¯d worked. It¡¯d turned them to this, given them power in exchange for a piece of themselves.


    And Jon hated to remember what he¡¯d lost, what they¡¯d lost. Always tended to leave the room when she had to feed, tended to head someplace he couldn¡¯t be seen when he himself needed to feed.


    The blood bag was empty now, and already she could feel some strength returning to her, could feel the pain in her thighs dull rather significantly. She wiped drops of blood off her lips with the back of her hand, tossed the empty bag into the bucket, then rose to her feet.


    She moved around the room first, to be sure the thigh wouldn¡¯t be a problem and once she¡¯d decided she was fine, she seized her jacket from the rack and made her way outside.


    Jon was standing there, just outside the room, leaning against the wall with one foot to it, his arms still crossed. He glanced at her as she emerged. ¡°Come on,¡± he said, moving away from the wall. ¡°Hardy wants to see us?¡±


    ¡°What for?¡±


    ¡°What do you think?¡± Jon started to walk, and Chloe followed him. ¡°An angry god just turned up dangerously close to the district, and you brought in a Stray who may or may not have been luring the angry god here. Hardy¡¯s got questions, and he expects that one of us has the answers he wants.¡±


    ¡°You haven¡¯t gone in to see him yet?¡±


    ¡°Told him it¡¯d have to wait till you were awake.¡± Jon didn¡¯t look at her when he answered. ¡°Speaking of¡­what the hell were you thinking back there? Throwing yourself out of the truck like that, getting into a fight with one of them? Were you trying to get yourself killed?¡±


    ¡°I was trying to make sure Lucas got back to Rora with mom¡¯s old truck,¡± Chloe answered. ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to let that thing rip it apart.¡±


    Jon halted then. He turned to her, disbelief etched onto his face now. ¡°You are joking, right? You went after an angry one to protect a truck?¡±


    ¡°Not just the truck. The boy too. He¡¯s not like us, and it¡¯s protocol to protect civilians from the Servants and the angry. I followed protocol.¡±


    ¡°The boy was a Stray, not of any of Aurora¡¯s districts. Some wanderer who brought with him a swarm of Servants. He was not our problem or your responsibility, and if you hadn¡¯t woken up, I¡¯d have ripped his throat out myself.¡±


    Silence followed, and lasted a few seconds until Jon spoke again.


    ¡°Don¡¯t do that ever again.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Chloe shrugged.


    Jon gave her a lingering look, indicative that he didn¡¯t know whether or not to believe her. Finally, he shrugged and continued ahead, moving through the hallway with his typical long, urgent strides while Chloe followed.


    They emerged from the infirmary and into the open streets of Aurora, District 7 a minute later. The sun wasn¡¯t yet out in its full glory but already, there were people moving about, shuffling between tents or moving from building to building and there certainly were a lot of buildings, all sandwiched together, and revolving around a long hall that was right in the center of the District¡ªthe Chancellor¡¯s Hall.


    Narrow roads made either of gravel or interlocked stone bricks wove through most of the district, although there were the occasional patches of dirt and earth interjecting the roads. The only structure not sandwiched with everything else in District 7 was the Barn, which was further east and away from everything else, and it was in there that most of the vehicles were stowed.


    As Jon and Chloe moved in the direction of the Chancellor¡¯s Hall, eyes followed them, as did a combination of both wary and awestruck whispering. News of what had happened had traveled quick, no doubt thanks to Lucas.


    ¡°I hear there was an angry one¡­¡±


    ¡°Lucky to still be alive, their unit.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all hokum. No way they survived an angry one.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t think she¡¯d wake up.¡±


    ¡°What do you reckon an angry one looks like?¡±


    They spotted Evan hauling a box filled with canned tuna and tomatoes in the direction of a small brick shack, one of several kitchens in the district. Their paths crossed, and when he saw them, his eyes went a little wide with surprise at the sight of Chloe.


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    ¡°Shit, you¡¯re alive.¡± Evan¡¯s mouth dropped a little open. ¡°I heard¡­how did¡­what the hell happened out there?¡±


    ¡°You seen Mac¡¯s boys?¡± Chloe asked. ¡°Brian and Tanner.¡±


    ¡°Over at mine,¡± Evan said, his face falling suddenly then. ¡°Got the gist of what happened with Mac out there¡­fucking sucks, I¡¯ll tell ya, best drinking bud man like me could have hoped for. And best bloody cook we had, he¡¯d know how to turn the canned rubbish I¡¯ve got here into something truly glorious.¡±


    ¡°But they¡¯re fine?¡± Chloe asked, not wanting to speak about Mac.


    ¡°They¡¯re young, but they know how it is.¡± Evan shrugged. ¡°Bite¡¯s a death sentence if it ain¡¯t rectified quick. Only ever one way it could have gone with Mac. Might take ¡®em some time to fully come to terms with it, but they know there wasn¡¯t any other way out of the situation. If he¡¯d made it back in here, would¡¯ve been hell and them boys might have gotten turned too.¡±


    ¡°Great,¡± Jon said. ¡°Look, we¡¯re off to see Hardy now, tell him exactly what went down so uhh, guess we¡¯ll leave you be.¡±


    ¡°Right, right.¡± Evan nodded. ¡°See you around.¡±


    Jon and Chloe continued on their way, but hadn¡¯t gone very far when someone ran past them from behind, brushing Chloe aside as they did. Chloe caught a glimpse of black hair, dirt-stained clothes and what had looked a lot like a tattoo on the person¡¯s revealed arm before whoever it was had vanished behind one of the buildings. Behind them, they heard exclaiming, and turned to see an angry-looking Evan complaining about having some tomatoes nicked from him.


    ¡°Who the hell was that?¡± Jon queried, looking in the direction the crook had vanished.


    ¡°Dunno.¡± Chloe shrugged, although her expression was dark. There¡¯d been something odd, a scent that she¡¯d picked up just for a moment when the thief had brushed past her, one she could no longer now detect.


    ¡°Come on.¡± Jon continued in the direction of the Chancellor¡¯s Hall, deciding that the thief wasn¡¯t close to being worthy of priority.


    At the Hall, they were stopped by the guards at the entrance and patted down before being allowed into the building. Once inside, Jon scoffed. ¡°As if we¡¯d need weapons if we wanted to kill anyone in here.¡±


    ¡°Protocol,¡± Chloe replied, and shrugged.


    Hardy was waiting for them in his office¡ªa spacious room with walls lined with mostly bare bookshelves, bathed in the sterile glow of fluorescent bulbs. Hardy¡¯s desk was positioned by a window that¡¯d been boarded up and he was currently sat there, eyes locked onto a computer screen on which live security footage of most of the District was often displayed.


    The Chancellor himself was a tall and broad middle-aged man with extensive military experience that made itself known in the roughness of his skin, and the callouses on his palms. His hair was black, but already graying at the roots, as was his beard. His eyes were a stern gray, his eyebrows bushy and arched such that he looked like he was always scowling and at the moment, he was clad all in black, which made him look more intimidating, particularly in the gloom of his office.


    ¡°Chancellor Hardy,¡± Jon greeted as they walked in, before stiffening from head to toe and performing a salute.


    Chloe, doing her best not to roll her eyes or laugh, attempted the same salute, albeit with much less enthusiasm.


    The Chancellor eyed them both, before gesturing to the seats across from him, beckoning for them to sit. The two of them obliged, planting their asses in the cushioned seats available to them, both of them clearing their throats as they sat.


    Hardy regarded them both and when he first spoke, he was addressing Jon: ¡°Tell me what happened. Leave nothing out.¡±


    Jon exchanged looks with Chloe. He drew a deep breath, and then he went into details on what had happened, everything from how they¡¯d just kept watch on the haulers, to when Mac had arrived and up until he¡¯d brought Brian and Tanner back to the district. From there, he went on to how he¡¯d had Spike and Aiden lure the angry god away with flares, so he could rescue Chloe from the forest.


    When he was done, Hardy simply nodded then turned to Chloe. ¡°Now your turn.¡±


    Chloe shrugged. ¡°I think he¡¯s said all that needs to be said,¡± she answered. ¡°Things went smoothly, then they didn¡¯t. I got hurt, he saved me, life continued. Simple enough.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Hardy said, ¡°Except of course for the fact that there¡¯s a Stray in our district now, one more mouth for us to feed when we¡¯re already past capacity and rapidly thinning what resources we have left. Whose genius idea was it to have the stray brought in?¡±


    ¡°Mine,¡± Chloe answered before Jon could say anything. ¡°And it wasn¡¯t an idea to have him brought in, it was a rectification of a mistake. His car was halted, and he was concussed. If I¡¯d left him, the angry god would have torn him apart. I entrusted him to Lucas so I could divert the threat of the creature away from our district. It was a high-pressure situation, and not nearly enough time to think of every protocol in the book, I acted only as instinct dictated and no offence, but I think the only people who can scrutinize my choices are the ones who know what it¡¯s like to be up against the kind of things out there.¡±


    At this, Jon¡¯s face paled. Next to her, he gulped, but said nothing.


    Hardy¡¯s eyes narrowed even more. ¡°Twenty-two years,¡± the Chancellor said, as he slowly rose to his feet. ¡°That¡¯s how long I served for. You think I don¡¯t know what a high-pressure situation is? Let me tell you what a high pressure looks like to me. A settlement of survivors running on dwindling resources, and morale at an all-time low, now burdened with one more mouth to feed.¡±


    ¡°Mac¡¯s gone,¡± Chloe said then. ¡°The number of mouths we feed remain the same. Besides, why are we even talking about this? If you don¡¯t want the Stray, send him out¡­or send him to district 5 to participate in Pandora. If he survives it, you have one more soldier. If he dies, good for you, right? Isn¡¯t that how it works around here?¡±


    ¡°Did you know he wasn¡¯t alone?¡± Hardy queried then, crossing his arms and focusing his gaze on her. ¡°This boy you saved, his name¡¯s Mason by the way¡­he had someone else in the car with him.¡±


    ¡°No, he didn¡¯t.¡± Chloe¡¯s tone was fierce. ¡°I detected only one heat signature in the car. His. If there¡¯d been someone else, I¡¯d have seen them or smelt them.¡±


    ¡°Well, he seems pretty insistent that he was carrying live cargo,¡± Hardy went on. ¡°Smuggling live cargo, to be exact. A damsel who happened upon him, and specifically asked to be brought to one of the districts. Described her as rough looking, and scary sounding, says he didn¡¯t have much of a choice.¡±


    ¡°And you believe him?¡± Jon asked, raising one eyebrow over the other. ¡°Not that I¡¯m trying to say anything here but, Chloe¡¯s right. If there¡¯d been anyone else in that car with him, she¡¯d have noticed them. Or Lucas would have. That¡¯s why we do what we do, it¡¯s impossible to sneak anything past us.¡±


    ¡°Is there anything that might not have popped up for you?¡± Hardy asked, some calm in his voice now. He sat at his desk once more, intertwined his hands beneath his chin. ¡°Something you might have missed. Heat signatures are fairly easy to tamper with. If his cargo was in the trunk and surrounded by ice, for example, you¡¯d have missed that. But smell¡­smell¡¯s harder to disguise, especially for your kind. Is there something you wouldn¡¯t have smelled?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Chloe and Jon answered in unison. ¡°If there¡¯s blood flowing through them, if they¡¯re capable of sweating, of producing saliva, we¡¯d smell them,¡± Chloe added. ¡°If there was nothing at all, then there was no one. The boy¡¯s lying.¡±


    Hardy paused for a moment. He leaned back slightly in his seat, started to tap his fingers against the surface of his desk, while keeping his gaze fixed on the both of them. ¡°So just a desperate attempt to buy enough time to avoid Pandora then?¡±


    Jon and Chloe exchanged looks. The both of them shrugged.


    ¡°Would it be too much of an ask to ask you to head back out there?¡± Hardy raised one eyebrow over the other. ¡°Find the totaled car, search, see if there¡¯s anything that might point to someone else having been in there with him. Search the surrounding woods too. I¡¯ll organize a search of the district, a census to make sure we don¡¯t number more than we should.¡±


    ¡°Sir, there were a lot of Servants around,¡± Jon said. ¡°An angry god too. For all we know, coast isn¡¯t quite clear yet.¡±


    ¡°Is that a problem?¡± Hardy queried, his gaze narrowing once more.


    Jon bit his lips. After a moment, he shook his head. ¡°No, sir.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Hardy smiled. ¡°And before I dismiss you, one more thing¡­take the boy with you. See what you can get out of him and why he was trying to smuggle someone in here. He might be a lot more forthcoming with answers if he senses his life is in some very real danger.¡±


    ¡°And if there aren¡¯t any answers?¡± Chloe frowned.


    Hardy shrugged. ¡°Do what you want. Leave him, I couldn¡¯t care less. Just head out there and make sure there¡¯s nothing going on here that we might be missing.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡¯


    ¡°Dismissed.¡±


    A minute later, Chloe and Jon were back outside. Jon stopped her at once, turning to face her, his expression serious.


    ¡°What do you really think?¡± He asked.


    ¡°I think that we¡¯ve never been able to smell angry gods or sense them coming,¡± Chloe said at once. ¡°And we¡¯ve never been able to pick up their signatures like with the Servants.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve seen what those things look like.¡± Jon shook his head. ¡°No way one of them was hitching a ride in a trunk. And even if it was one of them, why would they have wanted to get into the district? They can¡¯t even talk, can they?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Chloe admitted. ¡°But¡ª,¡±


    ¡°Why was there an angry god here last night? So close by?¡± Jon pondered his own question for a few seconds, appearing rather hard in thought. Finally, he shook his head, let out a sigh. ¡°Let¡¯s go search like Hardy asked.¡±


    ¡°And if the one from last night¡¯s still there?¡±


    ¡°We try not to let it finish what it started.¡±

 Chapter 4

    The air trembled when he walked along the darkness-shrouded hallway.


    Red lines pulsed along the obsidian-shade walls like veins, as if in response to his presence. His feet thundered against the ground and behind him, his guards remained perfectly quiet, their gazes diverted away from him as though they worried looking upon him might be all too costly.


    At the end of the door, a circular door, one that rotated to permit him entry as he neared. There was significantly more light in this room, light that stemmed from pulsing crimson orbs that appeared implanted in the walls and in the ceiling. And to the right of the room, a large window, a field made primarily of energy. At the window stood the doctor, pad in hand, frightened expression on his face.


    On the other side of the window, suspended inside of a tube, long spindly limbs being pulled apart by mechanical hands, one of the little pet projects.


    ¡°What happened to it?¡± he demanded, stopping beside the doctor and peering through the window at the creature. Blood was oozing from its singular eye, one it could barely keep open now.


    ¡°Far as I can tell, it was wounded,¡± the doctor responded in his slightly raised, high-pitched tone, affecting an accent that made him sound much more important than he really was. ¡°I¡¯ve been able to get some information out of it. It was damaged by one of their experiments, but it inflicted its own pain too.¡±


    ¡°Is it alive?¡±


    In response to this query, one of the creature¡¯s limbs twitched.


    ¡°Yes,¡± answered the doctor. ¡°Barely capable as the human experiments might be, they have yet neither the means nor ability to kill one of ours.¡±


    ¡°And my daughter?¡± The man¡¯s voice was steely and sharp then, and there was a noticeable hesitation on the part of the doctor before he provided a response.


    ¡°No sights on her,¡± the doctor responded, slowly and with a hint of worry in his voice. ¡°I believe she may have slipped away during the chaos, unnoticed both by the specimen, and the human experiments.¡±


    Silence followed. It lasted a half minute, human-standard.


    ¡°Ravan. Did you not provide your word, your unwavering guarantee that this specimen of yours was more than equipped to retrieve my daughter?¡± The anger in the man¡¯s voice was unmistakable now, and when he turned to fix his crimson gaze upon the thin doctor, the doctor retreated slightly.


    ¡°Y-y-yes, of course, I did, my Lord.¡± Ravan gulped. ¡°B-but there were unexpected¡­err, variables¡­and the specimen¡¯s attention was easily diverted, but that, I assure you is fixable. I will try again, and I will retrieve your daughter.¡±


    ¡°You assure me?¡± the man advanced on the doctor, and once more did the air seem to tremble. ¡°Am I to put any more stock in your assurances, Ravan? My daughter is out there now, driven by her petulance and naivety and whatever delusions her mother managed to put in her head before I could rectify the matter¡­and there is no telling what she might do to my plans if she tells the meatbags what she knows. I am usually a patient man, Ravan¡­but the time for patience is past now.¡±


    ¡°I-I-I know.¡± Ravan gulped again. ¡°But believe me, there will be no mistakes this time. I offer my life, my head, my breath¡­as guarantee. Should I fail you again, they are yours to do with as you wish.¡±


    ¡°Is that not already the case now?¡±


    The man moved in a blur then and in an instant, he was holding the doctor high in the air, the struggling man¡¯s feet dangling seven feet above the ground. Ravan made a series of choking sounds, but he made absolutely no attempt to pry himself free of his Lord¡¯s grasp, for such would have been a request for death.


    ¡°Please,¡± Ravan choked out, veins very quickly bulging along his forehead and the sides of his face. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    The man grunted. He released the doctor. The doctor landed on his knees with a loud thud. A deep gasp for breath followed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t fail me again, Ravan,¡± spoke the man, his back already turned to the doctor now as he made his way out of the room. ¡°Do what you must with the resources available to you, I do not care much what you do or how you do it¡­I care only that you retrieve my daughter from wherever she has gone to hide. And obliterate the human pests while you¡¯re at it.¡±


    ¡°Y-yes, my Lord.¡±


    The man left the room, and Ravan rose to his feet, rubbing his throat sorely as he did. After allowing himself a moment to recover his wits and composure, he returned his attention to the specimen on the other side of the window.


    ¡°Failure,¡± he spat angrily, before clenching his fists firmly and taking a deep breath to calm himself. ¡°But no matter,¡± he said. ¡°We will try again. We will retrieve the princess. And then, we proceed with the plan.¡±


    ***


    Jin stuck to the shadows, the hood of a newly acquired hoodie drawn over her head. From the alley in which she stood, half empty can of tuna in her hand, tuna bits smeared across her mouth, she could see them. The boy and the girl from earlier. She saw them emerge from the long hall, saw them speak to one another. She heard them too.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go search like Hardy asked,¡± the boy said.


    ¡°And if the one from last night¡¯s still there?¡± The girl queried, voice flat and almost emotionless sounding.


    ¡°We try not to let it finish what it started.¡±


    They started to move then, walking away from the long hall. Behind them, another man emerged, tall and broad, bearded and with graying hair atop his head. She watched the man signal the guards at the hall, heard him utter instructions to them. A census.


    She diverted her attention from the man, back to the boy and girl from earlier. They walked very quickly, Jin noticed, and she knew from what she¡¯d seen of them in the night that they could run much, much faster than that. The girl could fight too, or at least, she¡¯d been able to hold her own against one of them.


    That made her interesting to Jin. Potentially useful.


    Jin slunk back into the shadows as Chloe and Jon neared, watched them go past, talking now about getting Lucas and the others to go commence the search Hardy had instructed.


    ¡°I think we let Lucas sit this one out,¡± Jon said. ¡°He¡¯s too much trouble, wants to slam his fists into everything. After last night, I think I¡¯d prefer if things were a little calmer this morning, and not complete chaos.¡±


    ¡°What if we need an extra set of fists?¡± Chloe queried. ¡°He¡¯s reckless, but he¡¯s strong. If the angry god¡¯s still out there, we might need all hands on deck.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then we call for backup,¡± Jon replied. ¡°He¡¯ll be more than happy to be the cavalry who gets to gloat in our faces about how we were pretty stupid leaving him out of the action. But until then, let¡¯s try do this with just Spike and Aiden, alright? Cool heads, not hot fists.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, sure, whatever. What about the boy?¡± Chloe asked. ¡°Mason? Hardy wants him out there with us.¡±


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    ¡°He¡¯s in a tent over there.¡± Jon gestured in the appropriate direction with a nod. Jin tracked his gesture, identified the tent he¡¯d pointed out. Jon told Chloe he was going to get Spike and Lee, and instructed her to meet up with them at the barn, once she¡¯d fetched Mason.


    Jin watched from the shadows as they separated, thinking that there must have been something between the two of them. There was something formal about how they interacted for the most part¡ªlike the relationship between captain and subordinate. But beneath that, there was a layer of personal attachment, a closer bond.


    Siblings, Jin deduced. In some way or form.


    She let the brother out of her sight, and moved between buildings and quickly, tracking Chloe¡¯s movement, keeping her within her line of sight as she got closer and closer to the tent. She watched as Chloe came to a stop outside the tent, then craned her neck oddly as if she¡¯d sensed something.


    Jin¡¯s breath caught in her chest then. She clasped a hand over her mouth, retreated further into the dark, pressing her back against a wall to obscure herself from view. At the same time, Chloe turned around, looking in her approximate direction with her eyes narrowed, and glowing softly. She was scanning for heat signatures.


    A moment later, Chloe turned back around and ducked her head to go into the tent, drawing the flaps behind her.


    Jin let herself breathe again. ¡°That was close,¡± she whispered to herself. She shut her eyes gently and concentrated on her hearing, curious to know what was being said within the tent and what, if anything, the boy would say.


    ¡°Shit, you¡¯re the freak from last night,¡± Mason said as soon as Chloe walked into the tent. ¡°You¡¯re alive.¡±


    ¡°This morning, not last night,¡± Chloe responded. ¡°Technically speaking, that is. You shot at my teammate and I, at about two or three in the morning.¡±


    Mason gulped. ¡°Erm, you¡¯re not mad about that, are you?¡±


    ¡°What did you do?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡±


    ¡°You had all of those Servants on your tail.¡± Chloe sounded darkly serious. ¡°And an angry god close behind. What did you do? Are you one of the freedom fighter radicals? The ones who take the fight to the nests?¡±


    ¡°Does it matter?¡±


    ¡°I almost died last night.¡±


    ¡°I thought you said it was morning?¡±


    ¡°Tell me, do I sound to you like the kind of person with a humorous side?¡±


    Another gulp from Mason. ¡°Look, I¡¯m not a freedom fighter or anything, alright? I¡¯m what the others here have called me. A Stray. I¡¯ve gotten by on my own the entire time, moving from safe zone to safe zone. And I was only here last n¡ªthis morning, because there was¡ª,¡±


    ¡°A girl who wanted you to bring her here?¡± Chloe queried.


    ¡°Yes! Do you believe me?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m telling the truth, alright! There was a girl! Short and dark-haired and rough looking, like she¡¯d just been through a fight or something. Wounded, maybe, I don¡¯t know. And she was confusing for the most part, but she wanted to get here. To Aurora.¡±


    ¡°And you brought her here?¡±


    ¡°Well, no!¡± Mason answered. ¡°You shot out my goddamn fucking tires, remember? Totaled my car? And then those things attacked? Bloody monster sent my car flying. Chances are she¡¯s long dead, alright? I¡¯m only telling you this so you don¡¯t think I¡¯m here on some other agenda. I had someone who looked hurt and needed help, and I offered to help.¡±


    ¡°Why was she in your trunk and not the back of your car? Or even up front with you?¡±


    ¡°Because she didn¡¯t want to be seen, for some reason.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡±


    ¡°Look, honest, I swear I¡¯m not lying right now.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter anyways.¡± Jin heard the shuffling of feet. ¡°We¡¯ve been sent to go back out, give your car and a few other things a look, just to be confirm a few things. And you¡¯re supposed to come with us?¡±


    ¡°What, you¡¯re joking, right?¡± Mason asked, his voice fearful. ¡°Are you out of your mind? There were hundreds of those fucking things out there this morning, you think I¡¯m going to follow you out there? You think I want to deal with that monster? Hell no, I¡¯m staying here. I¡¯d much rather become one of you freaks than become breakfast out there.¡±


    ¡°One of us freaks?¡± Chloe repeated.


    ¡°That¡¯s what the guy who spoke to me earlier said. It¡¯s what you do to Strays, isn¡¯t it? Shoot them up with something that makes them all fast and strong and all? Kind of like you? I think I¡¯ll take my chances with that.¡±


    ¡°Those are incredibly slim chances you¡¯d be taking. Most don¡¯t survive it,¡± Chloe responded. ¡°And regardless of what you¡¯d rather do, I have instructions to take you out there with us, and so you¡¯re coming. Only thing you have a say in is whether or not you come willingly, or painfully. I¡¯ll give you five seconds to decide.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Five.¡±


    ¡°Are you serious right now?¡±


    ¡°Four.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to hurt me.¡±


    ¡°Three.¡±


    ¡°Jesus Christ, okay, okay! I¡¯ll come with you! But if anything happens to me out there, I swear I¡¯ll make sure you¡¯re the first person I bite.¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t do much good. We don¡¯t react to the bite like everyone else. Now get up, and get moving.¡±


    Jin watched as a few seconds later, Mason emerged from the tent, a scowl on his face. Behind him, Chloe, who kept her eyes trained on him, alert, ready to stop him if he tried anything. As it would turn out, after taking only five steps away from the tent, Mason attempted a run for it.


    In a mere blink, he was on the ground, one arm pinned behind his back by Chloe who was atop him.


    ¡°Alright, alright!¡± Mason yelled, slamming his free hand against the ground. ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I just thought I¡¯d give it a shot!¡±


    Chloe returned to her feet, pulled Mason off, then menacingly nodded in the direction of the barn, gesturing to him where to go. Dusting himself off and with an expression of disappointment on his face, Mason started in the direction of the barn, Chloe close behind him. Jin watched them walk in silence until after a couple of minutes, they¡¯d vanished entirely from view.


    Jin emerged from the alley then, onto the street, scooped some more tuna into her mouth. It tasted pretty nothing in comparison to what she¡¯d grown accustomed to, but she knew there was a pretty huge chance that she¡¯d get in some sort of trouble if she headed to the kitchen for some actual food. Not to mention, she wasn¡¯t sure anything being cooked here would be suitable to her palette anyways.


    She walked down the street, digging into her can of tuna as she went. She ducked behind cover again when she saw Jon moving in the direction of the barn, accompanied by a woman and a guy she assumed were Spike and Aiden respectively. Once they too had vanished from view, Jin emerged again.


    The timing this time, however, was inopportune, since she emerged from hiding just to come face-to-face with the bloke she¡¯d gotten the canned tuna from earlier. She was certain his name was Evan or at least, the others here certainly had formed a habit of referring to him like that.


    Upon seeing her, Evan hadn¡¯t reacted. His face had been blank. It was only when he spotted the canned tuna in her possession that his face contorted with rage, and he pointed a thick finger at her.


    ¡°You!¡± he addressed her in a tone of accusation. ¡°You thieving scoundrel! What do you think you¡¯re doing with that?! And what are you wearing?! Did you steal that too?¡±


    Evan huffed and puffed toward her, but before he could get too close, she turned and broke into a sprint. From the heavy breathing and loud thuds that followed behind her, she knew he was chasing after her.


    She was quicker than he was¡ªa lot quicker than she was willing to show at the moment. She ran into a gap between two buildings, ducking to avoid the clothes hanging from the lines there, glanced back over her shoulder to find that Evan still in pursuit, a fiercely determined expression on his face.


    She continued to go in and out of the gap between buildings, sprinting into alleys, leaping over dumpsters or piles of bricks that had been left around. Evan, quick as he might have been, wasn¡¯t as agile, and it wasn¡¯t long till he fell some distance behind her.


    After a while, she emerged back onto the street, looked around desperately for some place to hide, aware it wouldn¡¯t be long till Hardy had her in his sights again. With nowhere to go, and sensing his footsteps close on her trail, she ducked into the nearest tent, and crouched right by its entrance, peering through the crack.


    A moment later, Hardy emerged onto the street, within her field of view. He glanced from left to right, searching for her, and then after a few seconds, ran in a different direction.


    Once he¡¯d vanished from view, she straightened to her feet, dusted her hands off and had been about to leave when she heard someone clear their throat behind her.


    ¡°Well, well, well¡­what do we have here?¡±

 Chapter 5

    The Servant¡¯s head hit the ground with a sickening, wet sound.


    Chloe shoved its torso aside, then turned and stared at the six other Servants limping toward her, gruesome mouths agape, blood and drool trickling out as their hollow eyes lolled around in their heads. She wiped some of the blood she¡¯d gotten on her face off, then went at the Servants.


    It took only a few seconds for her to get rid of them, going the most effective route of separating their heads from their bodies. They after all, were technically already dead and numb to most pain so the only way to permanently stop them was a beheading. Burning worked too, but she wasn¡¯t a huge fan of fire.


    Aiden, on the other hand, was a pretty huge fan of scorching them, unleashing jets of flames from the miniaturized flamethrowers attached to the sleeves of his gear, eyes twinkling with excitement as he watched Servants go ablaze, their screeching and groaning sounds filling the air.


    In under five minutes, they¡¯d taken care of the Servants. Aiden had reduced his to a smoking pile of charred remains, while Chloe had left behind a trail of severed heads and headless torsos. Jonathan and Spike were more intent on dotting their Is and crossing their Ts however, and had dealt with the Servants by tearing them apart entirely, from limb to limb, ensuring there wasn¡¯t even a single glimmer of a chance that they might still be capable of moving or spreading their infection.


    Once the Servants were gone, the four of them converged again, right in the center of the carnage, standing around a trembling Mason, stained head-to-toe in blood and Servant bits.


    ¡°There¡¯s a few stragglers in the woods,¡± Spike said, removing Servant bits from her bloodstained brown hair, her face expressionless as she did so. She flicked the bits aside, then looked to Jon. ¡°Should I take care of them?¡± she asked, voice cold and blue eyes even colder.


    ¡°Go.¡± Jon nodded at her.


    Spike nodded back at him, turned on her heels and then she was gone. A moment later, they heard loud grunting sounds coming from the woods, accompanied by the sickening sounds of flesh being torn apart.


    ¡°There¡¯s the car,¡± Chloe said, gesturing just down the road, to Mason¡¯s upturned vehicle, its hood having taken a pretty huge dent from earlier.


    Mason made a choking sound at the sight of his destroyed car. ¡°Gemma,¡± he croaked.


    Aiden raised one eyebrow over the other. ¡°Gemma?¡± he repeated, amusement reflecting in his chestnut-colored eyes. ¡°You named your car?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not mine.¡± Mason sighed and shook his head. ¡°Belonged to my dad. Not that it matters anymore. Can we just get this over with? I¡¯m worried I might pick up something from all of the rotten blood around.¡±


    ¡°Infection doesn¡¯t spread that way,¡± Jon responded, starting in the direction of the upturned vehicle. ¡°It¡¯s the saliva you need to watch out for.¡±


    Mason looked to the ground then, clearly a little scared, taking ginger steps around the puddles of blood and saliva that had been left behind. Each step they took produced a wet, splash-like sound, the soles of all of their shoes and boots soaked now.


    They stopped when they arrived at the car and Jon crouched by it. He reached for something dark and metallic, picked it by its handle and held it up, letting it dangle slightly. Mason¡¯s pistol from earlier.


    ¡°Hey, that¡¯s mine,¡± Mason said, stepping forward to retrieve it. As he got close to Jon, Jon¡¯s face darkened, his gaze narrowing very quickly at the boy. Mason halted in his tracks at once. He gulped. ¡°Uhm, could I please have my gun back?¡±


    ¡°You shot at my sister with this.¡± Jon¡¯s voice was eerily soft when he spoke. ¡°Tried to kill her.¡±


    ¡°Did I?¡± Mason blinked, a look of terror on his face. He raised a hand to his head, scratching the back of it awkwardly. ¡°Uhm, you know what, it was pretty dark earlier, and there was so much going on, loads of confusion¡­I don¡¯t really remember who I shot at or anything, and I can¡¯t remember trying to kill anyone.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh.¡± Jon tossed the pistol aside, a great distance away from the car. Mason headed for it immediately. The rest of them let him¡ªit wasn¡¯t as though he could do much to any one of them with a pistol.


    Jon moved toward the rear of the car and they followed. His face turned grim then, as did the rest of theirs, because there was a large, fairly human-sized hole in the trunk, jagged and rough, as if something very strong and very frantic had punched itself out.


    All three of them crouched by the hole, peering into the empty trunk, which was completely empty except of course for a spare tire and a car jack.


    Mason joined them at the car, still wiping blood off his pistol. As soon as he was done, he tucked the weapon behind him, then looked to the car. As soon as he saw the trunk, his eyes went wide and his mouth dropped wide open. ¡°Holy shit. What the fuck is that?¡±


    Chloe, Jon and Spike all turned then, staring straight up at him. Mason paled quickly, and took a sensible step backward, holding up shaky hands as if to calm them.


    ¡°Look, I don¡¯t know anything, alright?¡± His voice was shaky. ¡°I told you already. There was a girl, who wanted to get here, seemed on the run. I offered her help, but at the time, I swear I didn¡¯t think she was a super strong freak or anything.¡±


    ¡°Was she bitten?¡± Jon demanded.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°The girl, damnit!¡± Jon hissed angrily, his eyes flaring. ¡°When she came to you, did you notice any marks on her? Teeth marks? Any thing that could have been a sign she was infected, turning into a Servant?¡±


    ¡°N-n-no,¡± Mason stammered. Then after a pause: ¡°I-I d-d-on¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Fuck.¡± Jon straightened to his feet.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± Chloe asked, straightening to her feet as well, taking a menacing step toward Mason. ¡°A random girl came up to you, asking to be smuggled, and you didn¡¯t check to see if she might have been trouble?¡±


    ¡°She didn¡¯t look infected,¡± Mason said. ¡°She wasn¡¯t pale or twitchy or anything, you know? And she wasn¡¯t bleeding from her nose or coughing up blood.¡±


    ¡°But you said she looked rough.¡± Chloe narrowed her eyes.


    ¡°Jesus, look around, we all look rough!¡± Mason exclaimed. ¡°She just looked, you know, a little rougher¡­like she¡¯d been running, like she hadn¡¯t gotten enough sleep. That kind of rough. Not the brink of death type of rough. Besides, are Servants even strong enough to do that?¡± He gestured to his trunk as he asked the question.


    ¡°Most aren¡¯t, no.¡± Jon shook his head. ¡°But there are special cases. Servants who end up a little stronger, faster¡­maybe even smarter. Hell, even in the middle of their turn, if they go into a frenzy, their strength is heightened for a moment. If she was infected, it¡¯s plausible that she might have been able to punch or kick her way out while the change was occurring.¡±


    ¡°But she can¡¯t possibly be in the district,¡± Spike said then. When they all looked at her, she gestured to the pile of Servant corpses around them. ¡°There¡¯s a reason why these things were still out here. The fences keep them away, discourages them. If she did turn or if she was turning, then I think we¡¯ve less to worry about, she couldn¡¯t possibly have gotten past the fences like that.¡±


    ¡°What if she¡¯s like us?¡± Chloe asked, pondering the thought. ¡°If she¡¯s Pandoran¡­it¡¯d explain how she was able to get out of the trunk. It would also mean that the fence wouldn¡¯t do much to keep her away.¡±


    ¡°But why try to be smuggled in?¡± Jon queried. ¡°If she were Pandoran, she could have turned up whenever and walked right in, and no one would have tried to stop her. But she didn¡¯t want to be seen. And she had an angry god on her tail. There¡¯s gotta be a reason for that.¡±


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯re done being nice.¡± Chloe was in front of Mason in an instant, and had a firm grip on the back of his neck. ¡°Seeing as you¡¯re the only one with even an inkling of what this girl looks like, you¡¯re on ID duty.¡±


    ¡°ID duty?¡±


    Chloe tightened her grip around Mason¡¯s neck, and the boy winced. ¡°You¡¯re going to go around, and you¡¯re going to identify all of the corpses here.¡±


    ¡°Are you out of your mind?¡± Mason demanded. He looked to Jon and Spike. ¡°What the hell are you two doing just standing here? Tell the crazy lady to stand down!¡±


    Jon and Spike exchanged looks of amusement. They shrugged at one another and simultaneously took steps backward, Jon slipping his hands into his pockets.


    ¡°Think we¡¯ll let her handle this one,¡± Jon said. ¡°Best do what she says.¡±


    Chloe¡¯s grip got even tighter. ¡°Eventually, I¡¯ll end up squeezing so hard that I crush your neck and separate your head from the rest of your body. In fact, I¡¯d say I might end up doing that in about five more squeezes. Do not attempt to test whether or not I¡¯m bluffing.¡±


    One of Mason¡¯s hands shot behind his back, reaching for his pistol. Chloe was quicker than him. She caught his hand and without any sort of warning, she dislocated his index finger with a satisfying snap.


    Mason cried out in agony, knees almost buckling, but Chloe¡¯s grip on his neck kept him on his feet.


    ¡°What did you think would happen?¡± Chloe demanded.


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    ¡°Jesus Christ, you¡¯re crazy!¡± Mason shrieked. ¡°I¡¯m not going to ID corpses for you.¡±


    ¡°Finger or neck?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Which do you want broken?¡±


    Mason gulped. ¡°Fine! Just stop, Jesus!¡±


    Chloe released him. He spun around at once to face her, still attempting to grab his pistol. He drew the pistol, aimed it right at her head and pulled the trigger immediately.


    Click.


    Mason¡¯s face contorted into a confused frown. He stared at the gun, then at her. Growling, he pulled the trigger again.


    Click.


    Chloe chuckled, and held out one hand for him to see. In her palm, the remainder of the bullets that had been in the pistol, bullets that she let rain to the floor. ¡°Get to identifying the bodies,¡± she said in a flat tone, more a warning than a request.


    ¡°And maybe I don¡¯t get mad that you aimed a gun at my sister again,¡± Jon chimed in.


    Mason shook his head, no doubt cursing them silently, which Chloe took to mean that he was a quick learner. If he¡¯d said whatever he was thinking out loud, even just muttered it, they¡¯d have heard him.


    ¡°Where do I start?¡± he grumbled. ¡°And do I even really have to look at their faces?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s how IDing works, genius.¡± Spike snorted. ¡°You¡¯re really not the brightest bulb around, are you?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant.¡± Mason grumbled again, stepping carefully to avoid stepping on Servant remains, an expression of irritation on his face as he moved. ¡°Can I just look at their hands?¡± he asked. ¡°The girl had a tattoo, I just need to see which one of them has a matching tattoo.¡±


    Chloe shifted suddenly then, and uncomfortably enough that Jon noticed, his gaze darting toward her at once.


    ¡°Chlo?¡± He raised an eyebrow. ¡°What is it?¡±


    Chloe moved toward Mason then. The boy retreated quickly, stumbling and almost falling to the floor, but she caught him before he could. ¡°The tattoo,¡± she began. ¡°What was it? What did it look like?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Mason shrugged. ¡°Some fucking bird or something. An eagle or a crow or something.¡±


    Chloe¡¯s face hardened at once. She let go of Mason immediately, took a staggered step backward. ¡°Shit,¡± she cursed under her breath. ¡°We¡¯re wasting our time here. She¡¯s not out here.¡±


    ¡°Chlo, what the hell are you talking about?¡± Jon looked concerned.


    ¡°She¡¯s in the district,¡± Chloe declared. ¡°We saw her earlier.¡±


    Jon appeared puzzled. He paused, folding his arms and thinking hard. After a few seconds, his eyes widened. ¡°Shit,¡± he said. ¡°The girl who stole from Evan.¡±


    ¡°Today¡¯s your lucky day, pal,¡± Chloe said to Mason. ¡°Let¡¯s go find your little stowaway.¡±


    ***


    The boy had whitish blond hair, and in the gloom of his tent, and the warm, ambient glows of the lamps he¡¯d placed on desks and drawers and makeshift tables, he looked almost angelic. His eyes were dark, mischievous, and he was currently reclined in a lounge chair, blood bag in one hand and a worn copy of Pride and Prejudice in the other. He lowered the book so he could meet her eyes.


    Smiling curiously, he shifted in the chair, sitting up and placing book and blood bag on the table within reach. ¡°Hey,¡± he greeted warmly, eyes twinkling. ¡°What are you doing here? And not to be rude or anything, but do you think you could throw the canned tuna out? It¡¯s got a pretty strong smell, and I feel like I might puke, which would also give my tent a pretty strong smell and you know¡­I¡¯d like to avoid that.¡±


    Jin looked from the boy, to the can in her hand. She raised it to her mouth, emptied the rest of it into her mouth, gulped it down, then stashed the can into her hoodie pocket.


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t help very much but I suppose I¡¯ll take it.¡± The boy relaxed once more in the chair, throwing his feet up on the table. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve seen you around before,¡± he said. ¡°Are you here from another district?¡±


    Jin pursed her lips, narrowed her eyes at him. There was something decidedly clever about him, despite his demeanor.


    And she knew very little of what he was saying.


    She shook her head.


    ¡°So you¡¯re from here?¡±


    She took a step backward, noticed his eyes dance dangerously. She sensed he was like Chloe and her brother¡­and if he was, then this had to be the one they¡¯d called Lucas. The most reckless of them.


    She took that to mean he was the most dangerous.


    ¡°Jin,¡± she spoke, her voice deliberately tender and shaky.


    In the chair, Lucas frowned. ¡°Jeans?¡± he repeated, then stared at the pair of denims he currently had on. ¡°Are you saying you like my jeans?¡±


    She did all she could to refrain from rolling her eyes. Instead, she pressed a finger against her own chest, and said again: ¡°Jin.¡±


    ¡°Your name¡¯s Jean?¡±


    ¡°Jin!¡± she said, louder this time.


    ¡°Alright, Jin, okay.¡± Lucas held his hands up as if to calm her. ¡°Well, Jin, I¡¯m Lucas. I suppose you could call me Luke or Caz, can¡¯t say I care much which you decide to go with¡­not that it matters. There¡¯s still, of course, the matter of you and what you¡¯re doing in my tent.¡±


    She pulled the can from her pocket, then gestured behind her, past the tent. ¡°Angry man. Chase.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s probably because you stole from him.¡± Lucas¡¯s eyes didn¡¯t waver off of her. And when he noticed the way she seemed to stiffen under the accusation, he simply laughed. ¡°Sorry, forgot to mention¡­I¡¯m kind of awesome? I can hear things going on without even really trying to. And I can hear Evan still out there, huffing and puffing, looking for you¡­poor guy, really putting a bit of a strain on his heart right now.¡±


    Jin giggled.


    Lucas smiled, as if pleased about that. ¡°So, Jin, why did you steal from Evan?¡±


    ¡°Hungry.¡±


    ¡°Most people are, kid.¡± Lucas leaned all the way back in the chair, fingers tap-dancing along the chair¡¯s arms. ¡°But most people aren¡¯t going around stealing, because we¡¯ve got pretty strict rules on things like that. And when we break those rules, the punishments are pretty fucking severe.¡±


    ¡°Sorry?¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re not from here, and not from one of the other districts.¡± Lucas seemed to be considering whether or not to hand her in. She was considering whether or not to kill him if he attempted that. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you snuck in here with the haulers this morning? Oh, Hardy¡¯s going to have Chloe¡¯s head when he finds out she missed you.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Jin said quickly then, taking a sudden step toward Lucas. As soon as she moved, Lucas was no longer in the chair. The next time he spoke, his voice came from right behind her.


    ¡°No?¡± He asked. ¡°No, what?¡±


    Jin swirled around, eyes wide and wild, surprised by how quickly he¡¯d moved. Instinctively, she threw a fist at him.


    Lucas¡¯s hand shot out, caught her punch. ¡°Come on, you really thought that was going to work?¡±


    ¡°Family dead,¡± Jin said. ¡°Nowhere to go. Tell Hardy, me out. Alone. Alone, die.¡±


    ¡°Oops, bummer.¡± Lucas crossed his arms. ¡°Hate to break it to you, but that¡¯s not going to win you any points, princess¡ªJin startled slightly as he uttered the word¡ªlook around, most of the people here are missing families. Time for pity parties are past. Give me one good reason why I shouldn¡¯t drag you out of here right now and let Hardy do whatever he wants with you.¡±


    Jin stared at Lucas for a while, lips quivering, eyes slowly watering. Lucas, on the other hand, appeared completely unfazed.


    When she spoke again, her voice was cracked. ¡°Dad kill mom. I go back out, he kill me. Nowhere to go. No family. Scared. Alone. Please, help me.¡±


    Just then, there was the crunch of footsteps just beyond Lucas¡¯s tent. Lucas swirled around at once, placing himself in front of Jin, wide enough to mask her entirely from view, and just as the tent¡¯s flaps were drawn aside and two guards poked their heads in.


    ¡°Yes?¡± Lucas raised one eyebrow over the other.


    ¡°Err, sorry, ain¡¯t mean to bother you,¡± said one of the guards, the tag on his uniform reading: BRADLEY. ¡°Hardy¡¯s asked for a census, making sure we don¡¯t have any more heads in here than there should be. Seems to think there mighta been a stowaway.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh.¡±


    ¡°You seen anything weird?¡± asked the other guard, Lincoln. ¡°Feel anything weird?¡±


    ¡°I beg your pardon?¡± Lucas did his best not to move from the spot.


    ¡°You know, you and the others can feel stuff, can¡¯t you?¡± Lincoln said. ¡°Smell anything or anyone out of place? Would make our job easier if ya did.¡±


    ¡°I do feel something actually.¡± Lucas smiled in a threatening manner. ¡°Right now? I feel pretty famished. And blood bag over there¡­I¡¯m not sure how long that¡¯s going to sustain me. You do know how me and the others get when we¡¯re hungry, don¡¯t you? Especially when we¡¯re hungry and annoyed?¡±


    Both guards exchanged looks then gulped. ¡°Right, sorry,¡± Bradley said quickly. ¡°Just thought to ask. We¡¯ll be leaving now, more counting to do.¡±


    ¡°Hmph.¡±


    The guards left at once, and only a few seconds after they had, Lucas turned around to find Jin still standing there, looking slightly surprised.


    She frowned at him. ¡°Why?¡±


    Lucas sighed and started toward his chair. ¡°I don¡¯t know, man. I guess I just like trouble sometimes, and if Hardy does ever find out about this, it would be hilarious seeing him blow his top off.¡± He dropped into the chair, grabbed the blood bag and his copy of Pride and Prejudice. ¡°I just hope you¡¯re not irked by this though,¡± he said, waving the blood bag.


    ¡°No,¡± she said softly, shaking her head. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I guess.¡±


    ¡°Sweet.¡± Lucas grinned, and after a moment: ¡°Well, don¡¯t just stand there. Take the inflatable mattress or something.¡±


    Jin nodded at him, and trudged in the direction of what she assumed was the mattress he¡¯d referred too. It was a confusing thing though, and she had no idea what she was supposed to do with it.


    Lucas, observing her while she struggled with the mattress, smiled to himself then rose to his feet and walked toward her. He crouched next to her, helped straighten the mattress, and started to pump it. Once he was done, he straightened to his feet, and gestured to the mattress with a hand. ¡°There,¡± he said. ¡°I haven¡¯t got a blanket or anything because¡­well, I don¡¯t get cold, but I suppose I could find one later. But you ought be cozy enough in that hoodie¡­oh, and FYI, I¡¯m pretty sure that hoodie belongs to Spike, so maybe don¡¯t get seen in it.¡±


    Jin smiled at him, nodded, and got onto the mattress, surprised at how floaty it felt beneath her.


    Lucas returned to his chair, plopped down onto it again.


    For a few minutes, there was silence in the tent, silence while he slurped on his blood bag and flipped through the pages of his book and while Jin continued to turn in the odd mattress, attempting to get comfortable.


    Lucas interrupted the silence, just as she¡¯d finally managed to get herself to tolerate the mattress.


    ¡°And Jin?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Sorry about your dad and mom.¡±

 Chapter 6

    The week went by quickly.


    ¡°Look, all I¡¯m saying is if we had a stowaway in the district, don¡¯t you think we would have noticed by now?¡± Lucas asked, as made their way out of the Mess Hall, blood bags in hand instead of plates of food, all four of them attempting to get away from the overpowering odor of cooked meat inside of the hall. ¡°It¡¯s been a week. I don¡¯t think anyone could hide from us that long. And look, the world hasn¡¯t ended yet so what¡¯s the big deal anyways?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t believe I¡¯m saying this, but Lucas is right.¡± Spike sighed, as the four of them found a table at the Grove, one of the outdoor sitting spaces and sat around it. Illuminating the table and much of the Grove this late in the day, were electric lights placed around, hanging from poles and casting sufficient ambient glows on everything. ¡°It¡¯s been a week. Assuming there even was someone who snuck in here, despite how fucking impossible that is, I think it¡¯s pretty clear by now that they must have also snuck right back out. And all of our systems are running as they should, so clearly whoever she was and whatever she wanted, sabotage wasn¡¯t on her list of priorities.¡±


    ¡°There been any word from District 5 yet?¡± Chloe asked, looking to Jon. She was referring to Mason who Hardy had, as they¡¯d all expected, instructed Evan and Aiden to escort to 5, where he was supposed to undergo Pandora. A week was usually the right amount of time by which point they¡¯d know whether or not Pandora had been successful.


    Jon shook his head in response and Chloe simply sighed. No word back in a week only meant he mustn¡¯t have survived it.


    ¡°Pity.¡± Lucas slurped on his blood bag loudly, then burped. ¡°I quite liked that guy. Had a certain¡­craze to him. Certainly takes a good amount of that to pull a gun on people like us multiple times.¡±


    ¡°That what you were like before Pandora?¡± Jon asked. ¡°Annoying?¡±


    ¡°Please.¡± Lucas snorted. ¡°I¡¯m the same now as I was before. Charming and drop-dead gorgeous. Only thing changed¡¯s my appetite. Did you always have a stick up your ass?¡±


    They all chuckled then, including Jon, whose eyes twinkled almost playfully¡ªa rare sight, and a fleeting one since he very quickly turned serious again and cleared his throat, alerting the others to Hardy who¡¯d emerged from the Mess Hall and was now marching toward them.


    ¡°Wonder what he¡¯s grumpy about this time.¡± Lucas grumbled.


    Hardy came to a stop at their table. ¡°Another missing ration,¡± he grunted, sounding most displeased with it.


    ¡°Well, we didn¡¯t take it,¡± Lucas replied, holding up his blood bag for the Chancellor to see. ¡°Dietary restrictions, remember?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s been multiple ration thefts over the course of the week now,¡± Hardy growled. ¡°Need I remind you what your duties are?¡±


    ¡°Uhm, to keep the crazies outside from getting in and slaughtering everyone in here or turning them into mindless fleshmongers?¡± Spike frowned. ¡°Did I get it right?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re also supposed to preserve order in here. You¡¯re supposed to patrol, ensure that nothing¡¯s out of place or done any differently than it should be. When things like vanishing rations become a frequent occurrence, that falls to you.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Lucas frowned. ¡°Us? Not the morons who man the kitchen, or your hunky guards?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a thief in the district.¡± Hardy placed his hands on their table, bringing it down hard enough to rattle the entire table. ¡°Find them.¡±


    ¡°And this can¡¯t wait till after dinner?¡± Lucas slurped on his blood bag again, grinning in a manner that made clear his intention was very obviously to aggravate the Chancellor further.


    Jon cleared his throat, and kicked at Lucas beneath the table before rising to his feet and saying in his usual manner of seriousness: ¡°Fine. We¡¯ll go take a look at¡ª,¡±


    He was cut off by the loud wailing of the district¡¯s alarm systems, a wail that was accompanied almost immediately by the lights over them flickering. A number of the lights went out, the others dimmed.


    Hardy¡¯s expression shifted, from one of frustration and mild annoyance to one of grave concern. He looked upward, his eyes grim.


    Chloe picked up on an odd warbling sound, and just after that, she heard groaning and snarling. Screeching. She looked to Jon and the others and could tell from how their postures had stiffened and faces had darkened that they¡¯d heard it too.


    ¡°They¡¯re at the fence,¡± Chloe said, hurrying to her feet, as did Lucas and Spike. Lucas no longer had on his mischievous grin, and looked now just as concerned as the rest of them were.


    ¡°Keep everyone inside the Mess Hall,¡± Jon said to Hardy, and without saying anything more, he broke into a sprint. Chloe and the others required no instruction¡ªthey ran after him.


    They made quick stops at their respective tents, grabbing whatever weapons they might need. Chloe wasted no time, grabbing a rifle from her tent and continuing on her way, not even bothering to check whether or not it was loaded. She had little need for bullets anyways.


    Lucas ducked into his tent, saw Jin sat there, a plate of food in her hand, bits of it on her mouth.


    ¡°Noise,¡± she said. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Trouble,¡± Lucas answered, very quickly grabbing his weapons from the box he kept them in. ¡°You need to find some way to sneak into the Mess Hall and stay with the others. Bloody Servants shouldn¡¯t be able to get past the fences, but on the off chance that they somehow manage something, things might get rough in here.¡±


    He didn¡¯t get a response from her or even wait for one before dashing right back out of the tent, and sprinting in the direction his ears told him the trouble was coming from.


    As they went, there were others who emerged from buildings and tents, confused and frightened about the loud wailing and blaring of the alarms, and all of them had questions that all stemmed from a confusion about what was happening.


    ¡°Get to the Mess Hall!¡± Jon roared, waving frantically in the direction of the hall. ¡°Go! Now! Run!¡±


    They arrived at the source of the disturbance only a minute later, having sprinted the entire distance and they all came to abrupt halts as soon as they saw the Servants, swarms of them, all at the boundaries of the electromagnetic fences that kept the District safe.


    ¡°What the fuck?¡± Lucas looked deeply concerned, and Chloe couldn¡¯t blame him. It was most unusual for the Servants to ever get as far as the fences¡ªthey¡¯d always seemed to sense the danger of the fence. Now however, they were almost stampeding over one another, and attempting to break through, even with dozens of them dropping dead or disintegrating upon coming into contact with the energy field. Each time there was some impact, the energy field would pulse, glowing brilliantly for a moment.


    ¡°Can the fence take that?¡± Spike queried.


    ¡°We stop them before we learn the answer to that.¡± Jon continued forward, in the direction of the Servant swarms. The rest of them followed him.


    ***


    The Servants were much more frenzied and violent than usual.


    ¡°Are they fighting back?¡± Lucas¡¯s query came over the comms, just as Chloe caught a Servant that had lunged her, wincing as the undead creature slashed at her ferociously with cracked, bloodied fingernails, snarling and drooling all over.


    She tore the Servant in half but just as she¡¯d done this, four more came at her, charging from separate directions. They were just as clumsy and stupid as usual, but there was something odd about their aggression, something much more animalistic and targeted about their bloodlust than usual.


    She was able to blur out of the way, avoiding the Servants that had come at her, before grabbing her rifle, flipping it like a baseball bat and taking it to the Servants, swinging at Servant after Servant, blood and bits exploding into the air and raining down after every hit. In the midst of all the chaos, and the ridiculous number of Servants around, she¡¯d lost sight of Jon and the others but she could still hear their grunts over the comms as they took down Servant after Servant.


    Overhead, the night had turned even darker, and the air around had taken on a foreboding chill, even more chilling because of the odor of rot it carried.


    Sickening thump followed sickening thump as they tore through Servant after Servant, the fence behind them still holding up, under much less strain now that they¡¯d drawn to themselves the aggression of the creatures. Still, there were still dozens of Servants who got past them, threw themselves at the fences, snarling loudly and angrily, like relentless predators in pursuit of prey that had long eluded them.


    Chloe tried hard not to distract herself with thoughts about the odd behavior of the creatures, but the more frenzied and motivated the Servants became, the harder it was to not think about it. The distraction proved costly when she felt a sudden piercing, burning sensation on her left ankle, and gazed downward to find a Servant at her feet, its teeth sunk into her ankle.


    Searing pain flashed through her, causing her eyes to water. Angrily, she kicked at the air, sent the Servant flying straight at the fence. The monster went limp the moment it hit the fence, and hit the ground with a wet thud a moment later.


    More Servants came at Chloe. This time, she was the one who retreated, slinking back, and past the district¡¯s fence barrier where they wouldn¡¯t be able to reach her. She crouched at once, pulling her pant leg up just enough to see where the thing had bitten her. The jagged teeth marks were there, blood slowly trickling out of the wound.


    She felt her heart sink a little, knew exactly what the bite meant, knew what poison was already in her bloodstream, knew also that even if it didn¡¯t kick as quickly as it would have for others, that it would still take its toll eventually.


    Beyond the fence, the Servants continued to snarl, continued to throw themselves at it. The others were getting overwhelmed. She needed to get back out there.


    She pulled her pant leg back down and straightened to her feet prepared to head back into the fight, when suddenly, she felt rather unsettled, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end, her skin crawling slightly. A dark frown creased her face, and she swirled around with her eyes wide, an attempt to find whichever eyes were currently watching her.


    She saw no one in view, sensed no heat signatures nearby. But there was no mistaking what she¡¯d felt. Someone had been watching her.


    Quick footsteps came from just behind and she spun around, startled and ready to strike. But it was Jon, who was coming toward her with one hand clutching a bleeding arm, an expression of concern on his face. But the concern wasn¡¯t for himself.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± he demanded, before throwing a searching glance around. ¡°What are you looking at?¡±


    ¡°Nothing.¡± Chloe shook her head. ¡°I¡­I just thought there was someone watching.¡± She moved toward him, and pulled his hand away from the wounded arm. There was a deep gash on his arm. Something had sliced at him, but it wasn¡¯t a bite. She breathed a sigh of relief, then patted him. ¡°That¡¯ll heal. Come on, let¡¯s get back out there.¡±


    Jon nodded at her, and together, the two returned to the carnage. As soon as they emerged past the barrier, one of the Servants that had leaped at it, dropped onto Jon from above, sending him to the ground. This Servant wasn¡¯t dead, and it immediately started to claw at Jon, snarling and snapping teeth at him hungrily.


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Chloe moved quickly, slamming a foot into the Servant¡¯s head with enough force that the head got torn from the body, hurtling through the air like a football. Jon squeezed as his eyes shut as the torsos¡¯s headless stump gushed blood onto him, and a moment later, he rose to his feet, assisted by Chloe, sputtering as he did.


    He wiped the blood off his face, then spun to face a Servant that had been running at him. The Servant leaped at Jon. Jon caught the monster by its head, and with all of his strength, slammed the Servant¡¯s head into the fence. The Servant¡¯s head exploded at once, the rest of its body twitching for a moment before falling sideways to the ground.


    Jon spat angrily, kicked the Servant¡¯s torso aside, then fixed his gaze upon the others. There were far too many of them left to do a headcount but Chloe estimated there had to have been about sixty left, give or take a dozen.


    ¡°Fun¡¯s over.¡± Jon addressed all of them over the comms. ¡°This has gone on too long. End it now.¡±


    ¡°Ugh,¡± Lucas groaned. ¡°What a killjoy. Fine, have it your way then.¡±


    Jon turned to Chloe, reached behind himself, grabbed three grenades and tossed to her. She caught them perfectly. He gave her a nod, before turning and blurring off into action, trail of flying Servant heads immediately following him.


    Ignoring the uncomfortable burning in her ankle, Chloe went at the Servants too. She pulled the pin from one of the grenades she¡¯d been handed, shoved it into a Servant¡¯s mouth with enough force that there was no chance it could get out, then she hurled the Servant at six more that¡¯d been close to the fence.


    The monster crashed into them, and almost as soon as it had, it went up in a fiery explosion, taking the others out with it, Servant chunks flying through the air.


    She took out sixteen more Servants similarly, using the grenades, before going on a solo blitz where she took out six more, punching through them without care and with unbridled ferocity, eyes glinting as she moved.


    When at last she stopped, there were only a handful of them left, a handful fairly quickly dispatched by the others. The Servant swarms had been taken care of for the most part. There were a few on the ground, legs mangled or torn off but still alive, who still tried desperately to crawl toward the fence. Jon went around stomping on their heads, ensuring that not even a single one of them would be left.


    Then it was over.


    Chloe wiped blood off her face, winced slightly at the burning in her ankle, which was accompanied now by a weird throbbing sensation, but did her best not to make her pain obvious to the others.


    Lucas and the others converged, staring at the mess around.


    ¡°You guys think maybe there¡¯s a chance Servants like to get wild and get all hopped up on drugs when they aren¡¯t being all kinky and biting fellas?¡± Lucas asked. ¡°Cocaine, a little weed, anything? Because I don¡¯t know about you guys, but there¡¯s no way these were sober swarms.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s gotta be something making them act like that,¡± Chloe said. ¡°What makes predators act crazy?¡±


    ¡°Dunno.¡± Lucas shrugged. ¡°An apex predator?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but the Servants are¡ª,¡±


    Chloe didn¡¯t get to finish, because a dark, bounding shape sprang forth from the woods then with eyes dark as night, and tore across the distance between them in a blur. The others hadn¡¯t seen it coming, and had all instinctively moved out of harm¡¯s way when they sensed the thing¡¯s presence. Chloe attempted the same, but the flash of pain in her ankle slowed her down, and she saw the glint of claws just before the tearing pain that followed as the claws sank into her chest, a great weight throwing her to the ground and pinning her there.


    There was a loud snarl from the creature above her, accompanied by a guttural-sounding bark, the creature¡¯s mouth lined with razor-sharp teeth and a forked tongue that drooled onto her. The animal clicked its teeth at her, came dangerously close to biting at her face, and sank its claws even deeper into her.


    Chloe cried out in pain, and shoved a fist into the animal¡¯s stomach. It went rolling off of her with a canine-like yelp, before hastily scrambling to its feet.


    Chloe, pushing past the pain now shooting through every inch of her, hurried to her feet and staggered in the direction of the others, Jon quick to get to her, examining her newest wounds with great concern.


    The animal that had attacked her growled loudly and angrily, and moved back and forth, its soulless obsidian eyes locked onto them, as if measuring them, attempting to decide when to pounce and who to attack next. Its eyes seemed to constantly move toward Chloe, as though sensing she was the easiest prey at the moment.


    Chloe heard rustling sounds then, and echoed growls. Her eyes darted from left to right as more of the animals emerged from the woods, emerging slowly and with a frightening coordination, eyes locked menacingly onto the five of them.


    They started to circle.


    ¡°Are those dogs?¡± Lucas sounded cautious.


    Jon extended one hand in front of Chloe, stepping forward just a little. The hounds snarled in response.


    Chloe thought they might have been dogs. They sounded like dogs, and seemed as intelligent. But she knew what dogs looked like, and she hadn¡¯t ever come across dogs with such scaly skin, soulless eyes or forked tongues, or even teeth like that. And she knew for a fact that dogs couldn¡¯t move nearly as quickly as the one that had attacked her, and they wouldn¡¯t have been able to get up so quickly after taking a punch to the gut like that, from someone like her.


    ¡°Jon,¡± she said. ¡°We need to fall back.¡±


    ¡°Slowly,¡± Jon said, agreeing with her. He took a slow, subtle step backward. The others all did the same.


    The hounds snarled again, and advanced on them. Chloe noticed the way their muscles rippled, the way the animals tensed, ready to pounce.


    ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t think they¡¯re going to let us retreat,¡± Spike said.


    ¡°Do you still have any grenades?¡± Chloe asked.


    ¡°No.¡± Jon shook his head.


    ¡°Well, only one way out of this then.¡± Lucas sighed. He slipped his hands into his pockets, and pulled out brass knuckles. He equipped them at once, the hounds snarling and advancing as soon as he did.


    ¡°Lucas, I think you just annoyed them.¡± Aiden took a backward step.


    One of the hounds charged then, with blistering speed, going right for Aiden. The hound leaped for Aiden. Lucas twisted on his feet, spinning to the right and throwing a powerful fist out. His fist crashed into the hound¡¯s head midair, a loud crack filling the air as soon as he made impact.


    Blood sprayed out of the side of the hound¡¯s head as it dropped to the ground, blood that smelled just as putrid as what flowed through the Servants. The hound hit the ground with a whimper, twitched for a moment, then rose to its feet again, retreating from Lucas in a limp.


    It¡¯d been wounded, horribly, but it¡¯d survived a blow that powerful. This gave all of them reason for pause, even Lucas, who looked a little astonished that the hound was still moving.


    The rest of the hounds pounced simultaneously, snarls and growls filling the air. Jon, holding Chloe, twisted out of the way as two hounds leaped in their direction, then pulled a pistol and fired at one of them. The hound blurred out of the way, and the bullet bounced off of the floor.


    Jon fired again, repeatedly, at both of the hounds that continued to advance on himself and Chloe. The hounds avoided every shut, and as soon as Jon¡¯s pistol clicked uselessly, indicating it needed to be reloaded, the hounds charged again.


    This time, Chloe dashed forward, getting in front of Jon.


    ¡°Chloe, no!¡±


    She punched at one of the hounds, sending it some distance away. The second pounced onto her back, sank teeth into her shoulder and gnawed away more angrily than hungrily, its claws raking into her.


    She forced herself to move through the pain, spun to get the hound off her, threw a fist as it charged again. Her fist went right into its mouth, and the hound snapped its mouth shut around it, teeth sinking into her hand.


    Her vision flashed in agony, but she continued going. She pulled the hound toward her, wrapped her free hand around its neck, content to let it gnaw away at the one in its mouth. She squeezed firmly, choking the hound. Its legs started to kick and thrash futilely, but she didn¡¯t relent.


    Behind her, the second hound was preparing to attack again, but Jon was there, stepping forward then and standing back to back with her, focusing his attention on the other hound.


    The second hound charged, and so too did Jon. Chloe¡¯s hound continued to twist and squirm in her grip, but she didn¡¯t release it. Eventually, the hound released her hand from its mouth and as soon as it did, she snapped its neck, yelling loudly as she did.


    The hound¡¯s body dropped, she caught it before it hit the ground, hurled the body right at one that had pinned Aiden to the ground.


    Chloe drew a shaky breath then, blinked hard as the edges of her vision blurred and darkened, her head spinning. She heard a dripping sound, and looked to the hand the hound had bitten to find blood dripping from it dangerously. Her top felt wet against her back too. She was losing a lot of blood.


    She staggered, despite her best efforts to steady herself. She shook her head, attempting to regain focus, but this only seemed to worsen it.


    She dropped to one knee, a numb sensation spreading up her left leg, up her back, her hand burning intensely. An awful taste filled her mouth, and she bent her head slightly to spit. The blood she spat was darker than normal.


    The events that followed made little to no sense to her.


    She tried to get back on her feet, but then she was sailing through the air, biting pain in her back. Someone was screaming her name, no doubt Jon.


    She landed hard on the ground, at the edge of the woods, groaned as she turned over. Teeth sank into her legs, dragging her. Then Jon was there, stomping furiously on one of the hounds, sending blood everywhere, looking like a demon in the night.


    He lifted Chloe to her feet, and said something to her that she couldn¡¯t quite hear, his words sounding distorted to her, dulled out. But he looked panicked, and it didn¡¯t take her long to see why.


    She turned her head, saw Aiden dropping to the ground, one hand clutching his neck, blood gurgling from it. Spike was in the air, and there was something holding her there. Something tall and horrific, with long, spindly limbs. Spike went flying, and she hit the ground hard, landing oddly.


    She didn¡¯t get back up. The angry god had killed her.


    Lucas darted across the chaos, picking Spike and Aiden up, before sprinting in their direction, his eyes wild, face frantic. He yelled something at them and though Chloe couldn¡¯t hear him, she knew what he was saying.


    RUN!


    Jon was holding her up, and he was racing back in the direction of the district. Behind them, the angry god followed, crimson gaze glowing down on them, its limbs shooting through the air, missing them by mere inches and striking earth instead.


    They got closer and closer to safety, closer and closer to the fence. And then they were in, back within the confines of the fence¡¯s protection. Lucas made it through just after them, face half covered in his own blood, eyes looking as though it was taking all of his strength to keep them open.


    He dropped Spike and Aiden to the ground, said something Chloe didn¡¯t hear but whatever it was caused an argument between him and Jon. Jon let go of her, flailing his arms around wildly, yelling something at Lucas.


    Chloe felt a nauseating sensation, spun slowly, dropped to her knees. She vomited blood, darker too like what she¡¯d spat earlier.


    Her entire body went numb then and she dropped to her side, vision nearly completely blurred out of focus.


    She could still see Jon and Lucas arguing about something, saw Spike¡¯s wide open, lifeless eyes peering directly at her, saw a pale, twitching Aiden holding on to life. She saw what was left of the hounds advancing toward them, getting closer and closer to the fence. The angry god was behind them, not halting its advance.


    The hounds arrived at the fence¡¯s barrier. They snarled, and threw themselves at it, clawing ferociously.


    They didn¡¯t crumple like most of the Servants did upon touching the fence. They simply bounced back, circled, and went at the fence again. Each attack on the fence caused it to pulse, and Jon soon halted his argument with Lucas, looking toward the fence and the hounds, the realization of a frightening possibility dawning on him.


    Then the angry god arrived at the fence. One limb struck the fence¡¯s barrier. And the blue energy field flashed red.


    No one moved for a while¡ªnot Jon, not Lucas, not the hounds, not even the angry god. It was as though time had slowed to a crawl for just that moment.


    And then, menacingly, the hounds continued forward, past the fence, and right into District 7. The angry god marched in behind them.


    Jon scrambled toward Chloe, attempted to lift her to her feet. The angry god attacked, and Jon went flying. Chloe attempted to scream, but her throat burned and stung, and she had no more control over her body. She couldn¡¯t run to his aid.


    The angry god swatted Lucas out of the way in the same way it had Jon. Lucas went crashing into a building.


    The angry god continued its advance into the district, and Chloe saw sparks fly from wires, saw the creature¡¯s limbs tear through buildings, rip poles from the ground and send them flying. And then came the agony.


    A loud ringing, wailing sound filled her ears, causing her body to jerk suddenly, vision blurring completely out of focus. She twisted and writhed on the ground, hands clutching her ears hard, tears quickly filling her eyes, trickling down the side of her face.


    She saw a shape that looked like Jon go down to the ground, similarly clutching his ears. She saw the hounds all drop, saw the angry god lose its balance, saw it topple to one side, collapsing into some brick buildings.


    The angry god¡¯s crimson eyes went dark, and then the world went black.

 Chapter 7

    The Chancellor was doing everything he could to refrain from putting a bullet in her.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got one dead soldier, two in critical condition, and a goddamn freak dead in the middle of the district.¡± Hardy kept the barrel of his pistol aimed at Jin, his eyes cold and unwavering. ¡°All this because you snuck in here. I¡¯m going to ask you one more time who the hell you are, or what you¡¯re doing here and if you answer wrong or not at all, you get three to the goddamn fucking head.¡±


    Jin had two guards on either side of her, seizing her by her arms, other guards on either end of the hallway in the infirmary, ready to stop her if she somehow attempted to make a run for it. Hardy stood just in front of her, right outside the door where Lucas, Chloe and Aiden were. Next to Hardy stood Jon, face sunken and horribly bruised, one arm in a sling.


    ¡°I saved your life,¡± Jin said, slowly and coldly. ¡°I killed the invaders.¡±


    ¡°And almost killed my sister,¡± Jon spoke, his voice hoarse. There was an unforgiving look in his eyes.


    ¡°Your sister was dying.¡± Jin cast her glance to him. ¡°She still is. Her body continues to fight the infection because of what you guys are, but she¡¯s in far too critical condition to fight it off much longer. She will turn.¡±


    ¡°Shut up.¡± Jon took a threatening step toward Jin.


    Jin didn¡¯t flinch. ¡°I can save her,¡± she declared. ¡°I can save them.¡±


    ¡°Do I look stupid to you?¡± Hardy demanded, his finger inching ever close to the trigger of his pistol, the soulless look in his eyes an indicator that he had absolutely no intention of rethinking things. Either he got what she wanted, or she ended up dead.


    Of course, the pistol wouldn¡¯t kill her. The bullets wouldn¡¯t even touch her. But the Chancellor didn¡¯t know that, nor did the boy standing next to him.


    ¡°Do you want your sister to live or not?¡± Jin looked to Jon, ignoring Hardy entirely. ¡°I can waste my time and hers, telling you exactly what you want to know, after which you probably would still try to kill me. Or I can go in there right now, save her life, and earn some of your trust, since apparently, killing the invaders wasn¡¯t enough.¡±


    Behind Hardy, the door opened, and something sped out of the room. In a blur, Jin was pinned to the wall by a firm grip, her feet dangling a couple feet off the ground. Lucas¡¯s eyes, swollen as they were, still looked frightening, filled with rage.


    ¡°Should have talked when they asked.¡± Lucas growled.


    ¡°Please,¡± Jin choked out.


    ¡°That won¡¯t work again,¡± Lucas said. He tightened his grip around her throat. ¡°Spike¡¯s dead, because those things came. And they¡¯re here for you, aren¡¯t they? You¡¯re not who you said you were. You certainly seem to be better with your words right now.¡±


    ¡°Lucas,¡± Jon called tenderly, stepping forward. ¡°Let her go.¡±


    ¡°My fault she¡¯s here.¡± Lucas kept his eyes locked onto hers. ¡°My fault Spike¡¯s dead. That Chloe¡¯s dying. Why shouldn¡¯t I kill her right now?!¡± His voice quivered, his hand trembling around Jin¡¯s throat.


    Jin¡¯s expression shifted then, from pleading to one of seriousness. She reached for the hand wrapped around her throat, and pried it off with ease. Her feet found the ground again, and she looked into Lucas¡¯s stunned eyes.


    ¡°You can¡¯t kill me.¡± Her voice was soft when she spoke. ¡°And I will tell you what you want to know,¡± she said, looking to Hardy and Jon. ¡°But we¡¯re running out of time. Let me save her now.¡±


    ¡°How?¡± Jon asked, eyeing Jin with distrust.


    Jin moved quickly then, grabbing a knife from one of the guards next to her, startling everyone. Hardy looked prepared to shoot, but Jon¡¯s hand shot toward Hardy¡¯s pistol, and he gave the Chancellor a calm look that meant: Not yet.


    Jin held the knife up for everyone to see and then, with all of her strength, she shoved the tip of it right into her palm. The knife only barely pierced her, the blade shattering right after. Jon¡¯s eyes shifted with a mixture of surprise and curiosity, and then they darkened with something else. Hunger, induced by the sight of the blood already trickling out of the miniscule wound on her palm.


    ¡°I hoped your weapons would be more advanced than that.¡± Jin sounded disappointed. ¡°But I suppose this will have to do.¡±


    She made to head into the room but Hardy blocked her off, growling at her.


    Jin looked up at his face, met his eyes. ¡°Chancellor. I don¡¯t have very long until this wound heals. Might you step out of my way?¡±


    ¡°Why should we trust you? We don¡¯t know what you are, or what your blood will do to her,¡± Hardy responded.


    ¡°I need her alive as much as her brother does,¡± Jin said. ¡°I need all of them alive.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Hardy demanded.


    ¡°Because I need soldiers too.¡± Jin narrowed her eyes. ¡°Step out of my way now, please. I will not ask again.¡±


    Hardy growled again, but after a moment of consideration and after a nod from Jon, he stepped aside. Jin gave him a nod, then continued into the room, the others following behind her.


    Aiden looked fairly stabilized now, a bandage wrapped firmly around his throat, and blood bag tapped in a way that the contents were trickling into his mouth. In enough time, he would heal.


    Chloe, however, looked much worse. She was writhing in the bed, eyes squeezed shut, face drenched in sweat, clothes clinging to her skin. Next to her bed, a small bucket filled with darkened blood. Some of it had gotten onto the floor too. Like with Aiden, a blood bag had been tapped to feed her, to speed up her regeneration.


    Jin shook her head. ¡°Bitten by the hounds and the Servants. Human blood won¡¯t be enough to aid her regeneration. Especially not human blood so substandard.¡±


    ¡°Uhm, that¡¯s my blood,¡± said one of the guards behind her.


    Jin looked to the guard and scoffed. ¡°You should have more fruits.¡±


    Jin moved toward Chloe then, got rid of the blood bag she was drinking from. As soon as she did, Chloe groaned, and Jon took a sharp, instinctive step forward but halted when Jin held a hand out to him.


    ¡°Relax.¡±


    Jin held her cut palm over Chloe¡¯s mouth, and squeezed hard with her other hand. Droplets of her blood fell from her palm, trickling into Chloe¡¯s just barely open mouth. Jin watched as Chloe¡¯s face shifted slightly at the taste of the blood, noted the way she clutched the sheets of her bed with her hand. Her legs jerked awkwardly.


    ¡°I swear to God, if she dies¡ª¡± Jon began.


    ¡°She won¡¯t,¡± Jin reassured.


    A minute later, she stopped feeding Chloe her blood and moved toward Chloe¡¯s legs. She pulled up her pant leg, to examine the spot on her ankle where she¡¯d been bitten. Jon, Lucas, and Hardy moved forward, all three of them watching as slowly, the bite closed up, foaming at the edges as it did, before healing entirely.


    Chloe¡¯s other wounds did the same, starting to close up, although the healing was slower on the wounds from the hounds than it¡¯d been with the Servant bite.


    ¡°She should be awake in thirty of your minutes,¡± Jin said to the others. ¡°And I take it I will have your trust when that happens?¡±


    ¡°Not a chance,¡± Hardy growled. ¡°You fed her your blood, she¡¯s healing. Now¡¯s the part where you tell us what the hell¡¯s going on.¡±


    ¡°When she wakes,¡± Jin said, gesturing toward Chloe. ¡°I have no intention of repeating myself, and when I tell the truth, I¡¯d like for there to at least be someone who won¡¯t want to kill me.¡±


    ¡°And you think she won¡¯t kill you?¡±


    ¡°I trust she won¡¯t,¡± Jin said, looking at Chloe. ¡°I¡¯ve watched her. Watched all of you. Her, I know I can trust.¡±


    Jon folded his arms. ¡°Fine,¡± he said. ¡°We wait. But if there¡¯s anything wrong with her when she wakes, everything even remotely different¡ª¡±


    ¡°I promised she¡¯d survive.¡± Jin narrowed her gaze at Jon. ¡°I delivered on that. I promise nothing else.¡±


    ***


    When Chloe came to, she was confused for a moment.


    Jon was sat in a chair placed by her bed, head resting on one hand. He was asleep too, but he slept less noisily than Aiden, nodding off slightly, cute spit bubbles at the left corner of his lip.


    She wasn¡¯t in any pain when she woke. There was no ache, no dull throb, no sting, no sharp, biting sensations, none of what she¡¯d felt before. Her eyes didn¡¯t even need to adjust to the sunlight. In fact, she felt the exact opposite of pain. She felt oddly strong, renewed, and felt a tingling within her, something akin to adrenaline but not quite. It didn¡¯t feel as though any of what she remembered had happened, didn¡¯t feel as though she¡¯d been bitted by a Servant or like there¡¯d been crazed dog-like creatures that had torn into her, or even an angry god that had sent her flying.


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    In fact, the only things that made it believable all of those things had indeed happen were Aiden asleep in the bed next to hers, badly bruised; and Jon, in the chair, with one arm in a sling.


    There was something about the sight of Jon like that, asleep and with the little spit bubbling at a corner of his mouth that made her feel an odd, bittersweet tug within her, made her feel an odd tightening around her heart and brought a slight sting to her eyes. She¡¯d always known, of course, how much time and circumstances had changed him, how much it¡¯d changed them both.


    But it was in the moments like these, fleeting as they¡¯d been recently, when he looked to be even just slightly at peace, that she saw the shadow of what he¡¯d once been. In that moment and for just a fraction of a second, she glimpsed past the uptight superhuman soldier, and saw the freckled, curly-haired, mischievous and overly playful teenager who¡¯d constantly poked fun at her for being whiny, and who stuck his tongue out at her whenever he had something swing his way.


    She saw the dark-eyed boy who¡¯d beaten someone for putting a dead snake in her locker at school, and had seemed without remorse even when he¡¯d been suspended for doing so. She saw her brother, as he¡¯d been before disease and angry gods and Servants had taken everything from them, before the need to survive had driven them into altering themselves forever.


    She realized with a start that her mouth had gone dry, and there was a single tear rolling out of her left eye and down her cheek. She cleared her throat, wiped the tear, and sat upright in the bed.


    As soon as she did, Jon¡¯s eyes opened. They widened at the sight of her awake, and he quickly sat up in the chair, brushing the back of his hand across his mouth, eliminating the spit bubble.


    ¡°Chlo.¡± He sounded relieved. ¡°It worked.¡±


    ¡°Why do you look rougher than I do?¡± Chloe asked, her voice steady, calm.


    ¡°Forget how I look,¡± Jon said, reaching out and taking her hand in his. ¡°How do you feel?¡±


    Chloe shrugged. ¡°Dunno,¡± she said. ¡°Great, I think. No, I do feel great. Which is weird, right? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve felt like this in like¡­ever.¡±


    ¡°But no pain?¡± Jon raised one eyebrow over the other. ¡°Nothing feels off at all?¡±


    ¡°Should something?¡± Chloe eyed him curiously. ¡°What happened here? How did you save me?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡± Jon shook his head and sighed. ¡°Can you walk?¡±


    ¡°I feel like I could fly.¡±


    To this, Jon chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s great. Come on then, there¡¯s someon¡­I don¡¯t know, maybe something¡­that you need to see.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Chloe frowned as she rose to her feet, Jon watching her with concern as she did. She caught the look of concern on his face and sighed. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Really.¡± Once the two of them were out of the room, and out of the infirmary, she saw yet another confirmation that everything really had happened as she remembered.


    Not too far away from them, collapsed between brick buildings that had almost themselves collapsed entirely, the corpse of an angry god, around which most had gathered and now stood gawking, ignoring the barked orders from guards attempting to establish a perimeter around the corpse.


    ¡°Holy shit.¡± Her mouth dropped open. ¡°Did we do that?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Jon shook his head. ¡°You¡¯ll see soon enough.¡±


    Jon led her to the Chancellor¡¯s Hall. Outside, sat on the steps, holding in his hand a hoodie Chloe was pretty sure belonged to Spike was Lucas. As soon as they arrived, he looked up from the hoodie at them. His eyes looked bloodshot with rage.


    ¡°You¡¯re here,¡± he said. His voice was cold, lifeless almost. ¡°Good. She can get whatever she wants to say out of the way, and then I can kill her.¡±


    Lucas rose to his feet and without saying anything else to them, started walking in the direction of the Hall¡¯s entrance.


    ¡°Who¡¯s he talking about?¡± Chloe queried.


    Jon didn¡¯t answer, simply gestured for her to follow them and so she did. Inside the Chancellor¡¯s Hall, they didn¡¯t head toward Hardy¡¯s office. Instead, they moved through the wide hallway, to a small door at the rear of the Hall, a door that opened onto a dimly lit stairwell that led straight down.


    They followed the stairs down onto the hall¡¯s lower level, emerged onto a narrow hallway illuminated by flickering fluorescent strips. There were windows down there, or glass doors rather that led into cells. Most of the cells were empty, of course, since there were very few things left these days to get thrown into prison for. There were some however, occupied by people who¡¯d stolen or killed or deserted.


    At the end of the hall, standing outside one of the cells with his arms crossed was Hardy. They joined him outside the cell, and Chloe¡¯s face shifted when she saw who was in it.


    A girl, clad in a sleeveless white top and ill-fitting dark gray pants, completely barefoot. On one hand, she sported a tattoo¡ªa crow.


    ¡°You.¡± Chloe¡¯s voice was cold. ¡°You¡¯re the stowaway.¡±


    ¡°My name is Jin,¡± the girl introduced herself to Chloe alone, a hint that the others had already gotten familiar with her.


    Chloe looked to the others, a little confused, clearly out of the loop. ¡°What is this?¡±


    ¡°She saved your life,¡± Jon answered. ¡°Fed you her blood, and it healed you almost immediately. Brought you back from the brink of death.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible,¡± Chloe said. She turned to the girl. ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what we¡¯d all like to know,¡± Hardy said gruffly. ¡°How, why, whole lot of questions we¡¯ve got for her. But she refused to speak until you were here.¡±


    ¡°Buying herself time.¡± Lucas¡¯s voice remained lifeless, but the rage in his eyes seemed much more fiery now that he had Jin within his sights. He had one fist clenched, the veins on it bulging intensely. Chloe thought she could almost hear the blood rushing within him.


    ¡°I am not buying myself time.¡± Jin walked right up to the glass then. ¡°I have no need to buy myself time. My life is in no danger. It is you, and the rest of the humans who are in danger and you who need all the time in the world. Unfortunately, you do not have it.¡±


    Lucas scoffed, inched slightly closer to the glass.


    ¡°Humans?¡± Chloe repeated, frowning at the girl. ¡°What do you mean by that? Are you not human?¡±


    Jin smiled, and said nothing.


    ¡°You can¡¯t be serious.¡± Hardy rolled his eyes. ¡°You really expect us to believe that you¡¯re an alien.¡±


    ¡°I come from a race known as the Neren,¡± Jin said. ¡°The closest translation in your English language is Other. And it is my people who have visited this plague and ruin upon your world, and who currently engineer methods to claim it entirely for themselves. The diseased, and the frail specimens you¡¯ve laughably called angry gods, all a part of their machinations.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± Lucas growled. ¡°You think we¡¯re going to believe this rubbish? Aliens?¡±


    ¡°Are there alternatives easier for you to believe, Lucas?¡± Jin asked, her voice softening while she spoke to him. ¡°Would all of this be more believable for you if I said it was all an act of divine intervention? An act of your God?¡±


    Lucas said nothing.


    ¡°Tell me what you noticed today,¡± Jin said. ¡°Out there. With the Servants and the angry god.¡± She said angry god as though she was doing everything she could to not burst into laughter.


    ¡°They were hungrier than usual,¡± Jon said. ¡°More aggressive, more ferocious. More¡ª¡±


    ¡°Determined,¡± Chloe said. ¡°Coordinated. Like¡ª,¡±


    ¡°Soldiers?¡± Jin raised one eyebrow over the other.


    ¡°And what about the dogs?¡±


    ¡°Nighthounds,¡± Jin corrected. ¡°Personal pets of Ravan, one of the many lunatics in my father¡¯s employ. No doubt the specimen I killed was another of his machinations, sent to sniff me out and retrieve me.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the reason they were here,¡± Chloe murmured. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Are we actually doing this?¡± Lucas demanded. ¡°We¡¯re buying this? We have no evidence of what she¡¯s saying. Aliens? Do any of you remember seeing spaceships arrive on here? Was there some report we all missed?¡±


    ¡°The evidence you need lies within the dead specimen,¡± Jin said. ¡°You call them gods, we call them failures of Neren bio-robotics. They¡¯re programmed for specific purposes, mostly to keep you all afraid, to keep you in your little districts, to keep you busy. The one here, was programmed for something else. When we¡¯re done here, I can cut it open and show you evidence. And if that¡¯s not enough, then I suppose I¡¯ll have to leave you to your fates and seek out others who might be more motivated to protect their world. But you would be wise to listen¡ªas it stands, this district is marked for death. My father will suspect that you know too much, and he will not take any risks or leave any loose ends.¡±


    Hardy took a step back from the cell, an expression on his face that indicated this was all too much for him to process.


    ¡°Fine.¡± Jon moved closer to the cell. ¡°Say we believe you, say you¡¯re an alien¡­you still haven¡¯t told us why you came here, still haven¡¯t told us why we have no time left. Who¡¯s your father?¡±


    ¡°Tarran.¡± Jin shuddered as she said his name, and Chloe noticed a flash of fear in her eyes. ¡°He¡¯s Commander of the Neren fleet that came to this world, and his orchestrations have led to much of your sorrow thus far.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re an alien,¡± Lucas said, ¡°And your dad¡¯s the big bad who pretty much ended human civilization, and left a bunch of bloodthirsty monsters running around¡­he¡¯s the one who destroyed all of our families, our homes¡­and the reason why I need to feed on blood to survive. And you knew that the whole time, right? Knew what was going on, what he was doing? Why the change of heart now? Why are you here?¡±


    ¡°I sympathize with your plight.¡± Jin looked at Lucas and sounded as though she meant it. ¡°The Neren expedition was here to collect information on your species, on your habitat, your world. The ways through which we achieve that are never¡­painless. But it has long been our way. And we have also often helped with rebuilding.¡±


    ¡°How fucking generous,¡± Lucas snarled.


    ¡°But my father has no intention of rebuilding this world,¡± Jin continued. ¡°He wishes to claim it entirely and has spent a great deal of time building the weapons that will aid him in that goal. His plan, was to colonize this world, break away from the rest of the Neren empire, and eventually go after them. He thinks them failures, thinks himself a Messiah. My mother found out what he wished to do and in trying to stop him, met her end.¡± Jin¡¯s voice quivered. ¡°When I found out what had happened, what he¡¯d done¡­I ran.¡±


    Lucas went quiet then, but the anger in his eyes did not wane.


    ¡°So that¡¯s what this is?¡± Hardy asked, turning to face Jin again. ¡°He just wants his daughter back? We hand you over to him and he leaves us alone?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that easy.¡± Jin shook her head.


    Jon sighed. ¡°Never is.¡±


    ¡°When I ran, I did so with something he needed for his weapons. A power source. Without it, he cannot complete his plans.¡±


    Hardy¡¯s expression shifted then. ¡°So that¡¯s it? And where¡¯s this core now?¡±


    Jin pointed to her stomach, tapping against it gently. Chloe¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°Fuck.¡± Hardy shook his head.


    ¡°So he gets you, kills you to get his power source, and then the rest of us are dead?¡± Chloe asked.


    ¡°Pretty much, yes,¡± Jin said. ¡°He will continue to send more after me until he gets what he wants. Eventually, he will come himself. And when he does, none of you will survive. Not even your ashes will remain.¡±

 Chapter 8

    Chloe felt her skin crawl when she approached the angry god.


    After much barking, and threateningly waving his gun at the faces of those who¡¯d been glued to the sight of the dead monster by a combination of awe and shock, Hardy managed to establish a proper perimeter around the corpse, and his guards got started, thrusting little metal rods into the ground, rods that would generate an electromagnetic field sufficient enough to contain the angry god if it turned out it wasn¡¯t quite as dead as they thought.


    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary,¡± Jin had said.


    ¡°Do not think even for a moment that you still being alive means you call the shots now,¡± Hardy had snarled at her in response. ¡°Do what you need to do with the body, prove to us that what you¡¯ve said is true.¡± To Jon, Hardy said: ¡°Go find Cole and Glenn, find out how long it¡¯ll take to get the fences around the district up and running again, try to speed things up a little. Lucas, go with him.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Lucas shook his head. ¡°I stay here. I want to see this.¡±


    Hardy looked from Lucas to Jon, as if hoping Jon might try to drag Lucas along. Jon simply shrugged at Hardy. Hardy sighed, gave Jon a nod. Jon nodded back, then turned to leave. Before leaving, he halted beside Chloe, turned his face to her and spoke in a low voice.


    ¡°Do you trust her?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Chloe shook her head. ¡°But she saved my life, and I know she wasn¡¯t lying back there. She might be leaving some stuff out but she was telling the truth about her father and mother. I want to see where this goes.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Jon said, sounding not particularly convinced or in agreement. ¡°But if she tries anything even¡ª,¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll kill her myself.¡± Chloe responded without taking her eyes off of Jin, who was crouched now at one of the angry god¡¯s limbs, limbs that now looked limp and rather rope-like.


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to hope Lucas doesn¡¯t beat you to it,¡± Jon said, and then he left. As he did, she noticed he was walking with a slight limp. He hadn¡¯t yet fully recovered from everything that¡¯d gone down and yet, there he was, moving about, calling the shots¡­being protective.


    Her lips pursed, she looked toward Jin and spoke loudly enough that the girl could hear her. ¡°I know you think I¡¯m the one who¡¯ll keep them from killing you,¡± she began, ¡°But if you¡¯re playing some sort of game here, if my brother gets hurt¡ª,¡±


    ¡°No game,¡± Jin said back. ¡°Just the truth. Nothing more, nothing less.¡±


    Lucas scoffed. The swelling on his eyes had reduced greatly, but the burning rage remained within them.


    Chloe had seen Lucas angry before, once when they¡¯d witnessed a group of desperate humans offer children up as bait to Servants in a bid to save their own skins. Two of the six children had been killed by the Servants, turned into monsters, monsters that Lucas himself had had to put down. And he¡¯d gone into a rage afterward, tracking down the despicable humans by scent and despite Jon¡¯s attempts to calm him, Lucas had handled things most gruesomely. When he¡¯d finished, standing in a room that had human bits and entrails strewn all over, all he¡¯d done was laugh.


    So for as much as they knew how playful and reckless he could get, both Chloe and Jon knew also what the darker edge to him was. Pandora had changed them all differently, stripped a piece of their humanity somehow. For the rest of them, the effects had been related to dulled emotions in some way or form. With Lucas, it seemed to Chloe like it¡¯d been the opposite. Some of his emotions had been heightened. Guilt, remorse, rage. Pandora had made him unforgiving, and brutal.


    It was for that reason that she knew he was waiting, that as soon as Jin outlived her presumed usefulness, he¡¯d be the first to her and he wouldn¡¯t hesitate to rip her heart out. And if it turned out that he couldn¡¯t, she knew he¡¯d find some satisfaction in knowing that he¡¯d tried to avenge Spike.


    Without saying anything, she walked up to him, stood just beside him and took his hand in hers. She squeezed hard and Lucas turned to her, his face softening slightly. She met his eyes and smiled.


    He squeezed back at her hand, and didn¡¯t let go.


    Together, with Hardy, they watched as Jin nimbly navigated her way to the top of the angry god¡¯s corpse, its scaly and, now that Chloe was close and could make more out about the monster, slightly hairy head. Jin held up one hand, all of her fingers pressed together firmly. With a rather concentrated expression on her face, she brought her hand down on the creature¡¯s head with great force, striking with the points of her fingers.


    She pierced through it easily, as though her hands were razor sharp. Chloe¡¯s gaze darkened at that.


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    She was strong. Incredibly strong. Stronger than the Pandorans were, that was for sure. Chloe¡¯d gone up against the monster, and all she¡¯d manage to do was impale its eye. To rip through its flesh like that¡­


    Lucas seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Chloe, since there was a stir in his expression after Jin struck straight through the monster¡¯s head, and his grip on Chloe¡¯s hand got even firmer.


    Hardy on the other hand merely whistled. In his eyes, however, concern was etched. He knew Jin was a threat, perhaps even a greater one than they¡¯d thought the angry gods to be.


    Jin shoved her second hand into the tear she¡¯d created and proceeded to pull apart, tearing a larger hole into the creature¡¯s head, while the others watched. Once Jin had created a large opening in the corpse¡¯s head, she stepped straight into it, vanishing from view.


    Lucas let out a growl and took a step forward. Chloe held him back.


    ¡°Wait,¡± she said, some curiosity in her eyes.


    ¡°How do we know¡ª,¡±


    ¡°Just wait.¡±


    Lucas looked displeased with it, but he didn¡¯t go any further, pausing and giving the angry god¡¯s corpse a look. A moment later, they noticed a slight bulge in it, some movement, a wormlike squirming beneath the skin of the creature that made Chloe feel almost sick to her stomach.


    This went for a good ten minutes before, finally, a fist punched straight through the corpse¡¯s dimmed eye. Jin¡¯s head emerged a moment later and after a slight struggle, she emerged fully from the angry god¡¯s corpse, and then slid down one of its limbs to the floor, drenched in wet slime that was still rolling down her skin.


    Jin got to her feet, wiped some of the slime off her face, and started toward them, more of the slime rolling off of her as she approached. Hardy retreated, appearing revolted by Jin¡¯s appearance.


    Jin stopped in front of them and extended her hands, revealing what looked a lot like metallic bits and strings, things that would have been most unnatural within an organic being. Then she held up a particular orb, one that was blinking slightly, flashing a red light every three seconds. Chloe frowned at the orb and stepped forward to take it from Jin.


    It was warm to the touch, and didn¡¯t feel at all organic. It was hard in her hand, and as she turned it over, she could feel lines that felt carved into it. Curious, she held it up to her face, taking a closer look at it. That was when she saw the crow, one identical to the exact tattoo Jin had on her hand. At the sight of the crow, Chloe¡¯s eyes widened slightly, her face darkening somewhat.


    ¡°Transmitter,¡± Jin explained, to the confused look on Hardy¡¯s face.


    ¡°And the mark on it?¡±


    ¡°My father¡¯s mark.¡± Jin took the orb back from Chloe, and stared at the crow etched onto it. ¡°Marks all those under his command, and those of his bloodline. It¡¯s like how your kind tend to take the names of their fathers, mothers¡­back in your earlier history, of course, all of which we familiarized ourselves with upon arriving on this world. Your people like symbols¡ªflags, names, all of that stuff. My father thought it fitting to adopt the crow.¡±


    ¡°Fuck.¡± Hardy¡¯s face slacked, and he took a staggered step backward, cutting the image of a man who¡¯d just had all of his beliefs completely rattled and disproved. ¡°Fuck,¡± he repeated, growing even more distraught. ¡°It¡¯s been an invasion all along?¡±


    Jin nodded.


    ¡°Your father,¡± Lucas began, ¡°Do you know where he is right now?¡±


    ¡°It would be suicide to march toward him.¡± Jin knew exactly what¡¯d been going through his head. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t get within one mile of him before being obliterated. There will be a battle eventually, but your people will need to be prepared for it. Your current technologies, your weapons, your experiments¡­they¡¯re not enough.¡±


    ¡°How the hell are we supposed to fight then?¡± Hardy demanded.


    ¡°When we first came, when your people had more of their weapons available, their missiles of carnage, you were able to kill a good number of the specimens, what you call angry gods,¡± Jin answered. ¡°In what you thought their blood, you found an important weapon and created the Pandorans with it. There is more in them that can be harvested, used for weaponry. And if you need blood for more of your experiments, you have mine and believe me, it is of greater value than whatever flows through these puppets. Ask her,¡± she nodded toward Chloe.


    Lucas and Hardy looked toward Chloe, frowning. Chloe frowned too. ¡°What the hell are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°Power,¡± Jin said. ¡°Have you ever felt so strong as you do right now, after a taste of my blood?¡±


    Chloe opened her mouth to speak, but paused.


    Jin smiled. ¡°My blood will make the Pandorans strong enough to deal with the rest of the specimens when they arrive,¡± she declared. ¡°In their corpses, you will find enough for new weaponry, weaponry that can be used against my father. It will not guarantee success, but it will be instrumental in avoiding crushing defeat.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Hardy¡¯s eyes flickered with fear. ¡°What do you mean when they arrive? There¡¯s more on the way?¡±


    ¡°Certainly.¡± Jin nodded. ¡°Ravan is an intelligent man and among my father¡¯s most prized assets. He knows more than most the importance of retrieving me¡­his life depends on it, just as much as your lives depend on my ability to elude my father. The hounds, the servants, the specimen¡­a mere advance party, meant to weaken your defenses. More will arrive, many more.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re just telling us this now?!¡± Lucas demanded angrily.


    ¡°How long do we have?¡± Chloe asked.


    ¡°Enough to prepare your people for what¡¯s to come,¡± Jin answered softly. ¡°Gather those who can fight, send away those who can¡¯t. Make your preparations. And I¡¯d begin now if I were you.¡±

 Chapter 9

    Jon got the fence up and running again.


    ¡°It won¡¯t hold much as before,¡± he said, once he arrived in Hardy¡¯s office, rejoining Chloe, Jin, Lucas and Aiden who was now awake thanks to a bit of blood from Jin. ¡°But it ought to buy us enough time to get most of the others out of here.¡± He looked to the Chancellor. ¡°Where are we evacuating to?¡±


    ¡°District 6¡¯s at capacity,¡± Hardy said, at his desk, examining figures on his computer screen. ¡°And they¡¯re not at all willing to budge. I¡¯ve placed calls out to 4 and 5, explained the situation and they¡¯re willing to help. I want every vehicle we have fueled up and ready to make the drive. Everything except the heavy lifters. Throw all the rules out the window, fit as many people as you can into a vehicle and have them head out.¡± Hardy looked at Jin. ¡°Is there any more information that could help us, anything else you¡¯re keeping us in the dark about?¡±


    ¡°Light,¡± Jin said. ¡°The specimens always displayed an extreme sensitivity to light. Almost disorienting for them.¡±


    ¡°Good to know.¡± Hardy nodded, unfolding a large roll of paper on his desk. He rose to his feet, grabbed a marker and got to work on a battle plan. ¡°Lucas, Aiden, head on out and coordinate the evacuation,¡± he said, while drawing out his plan.


    Both Lucas and Aiden nodded, and made to leave. Before they did however, Jin spoke.


    ¡°Lucas, wait,¡± she said.


    Lucas halted but growled as he did, shooting a glare at Jin out of the corner of his eyes. ¡°What?¡± he demanded.


    ¡°Here.¡± Jin tossed to him a vial, a small one, containing a bit of her blood. Lucas caught it instinctively, examined the vial then looked at her. His eyes darkened further.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need your filth,¡± he hissed, offering it back to her.


    ¡°Keep it,¡± Jin said. ¡°You will.¡±


    Lucas¡¯s gaze shifted from Jin back to the vial. He wrapped his palm around it, looking for a moment like he might shatter it. But he didn¡¯t, instead sliding the vial into his pocket then turning and making his way out of the room with Aiden.


    A little while after they¡¯d both left, Hardy straightened slightly at his desk but kept both his hands on it. ¡°So, here¡¯s the plan,¡± he began, ¡°And any of you feel free to chip in with suggestions if it sounds stupid.¡±


    Jon and the others moved closer to the desk, nodding as they did.


    ¡°Evacuation comes first, obviously,¡± Hardy began. ¡°We get everyone who can¡¯t fight clear of the district, make sure we¡¯re the only ones left here, and the guards too. Then we disable the fences.¡±


    To that, they all stirred.


    Jon frowned. ¡°We¡¯re disabling the fences?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll need Cole and Glenn to stay back, they know how to work that stuff better than anyone else.¡± Hardy wiped sweat off of his forehead, paused to take a breath and then continued. ¡°We disable the fences, let them in easily, bait them to the center of the district. And when they¡¯re right where we want them, I want those fences back up and running. Trap them inside the district, a proper cage fight.¡±


    ¡°Then what?¡± Chloe asked.


    ¡°District¡¯s empty at this point so I want all of the excess power diverted, everything to the lights. I want those goddamn fucking monsters blinded, disoriented, whatever. I want them in a world of hurt.¡±


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    ¡°The thing you did earlier,¡± Jon began, looking to Jin. ¡°With the sound. It hurt the angry god, the hounds too, killed them. Do you think you could do it again? Right now, we have the lights for whatever amount of angry gods turn up, but that only disorients them. We still have to do the hard bit of killing them ourselves. Even with your blood, I don¡¯t see how that¡¯ll be easy. But with whatever attack you used earlier¡ª,¡±


    ¡°It hurt you too,¡± Jin reminded. ¡°It was a last-ditch effort to remedy the situation. If I used it again, it¡¯d also take its toll on you. We¡¯ll have to do this the hard way.¡±


    Jon sighed, shaking his head in disappointment. ¡°Fine, we do it the hard way then.¡±


    ¡°I do have one question though,¡± Jin said, stepping forward and focusing her gaze on Hardy. ¡°Your plan involves baiting them into the center of the district. How do you plan to achieve that?¡±


    ¡°Well, they¡¯re here for something right?¡± Hardy asked, staring right at Jin, his eyes cold. ¡°And seeing as your presence here is the reason why we¡¯re in this goddamn mess to begin with, I think it¡¯s fair that all we¡¯re asking of you is to serve as bait.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve asked a great deal lot more than that of me.¡± Jin narrowed her gaze coldly. ¡°I will not be a pawn of yours. I will not risk capture.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re risking death here, lady.¡± Hardy straightened fully and beneath his shirt, his muscles rippled. ¡°We need to seal them all inside the district, and that only works if they have a reason to be deep within it. Once it¡¯s sealed, it¡¯s going to be a lot harder for them to make off with you anyways.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a huge gamble, Chancellor.¡± Jin pursed her lips tightly. Chloe noticed her hands curl into fists, saw the veins that bulged on the back of them and for the first time, she detected a scent on Jin. Something almost primal, dangerous. It sent a shiver down Chloe¡¯s spine and caused the hairs on the back of her neck to rise.


    Chloe tapped Jon¡¯s hand with her pinky and signaled with her eyes toward Jin. Jon simply nodded at her, and very slowly and subtly, he moved, going on to Jin¡¯s right side while Chloe remained on her left.


    Jin turned slightly, having noticed the movement behind her.


    ¡°Really?¡± she asked, snorting a little. ¡°You want to do this?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t want to do anything.¡± Chloe clenched her fists hard, her knuckles cracking under the pressure. ¡°But if you act aggressively or rashly, you¡¯ll leave us no choice. I know you¡¯re scared of your father and what he might¡ª,¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid of no one,¡± Jin hissed angrily and perhaps for the first time since she¡¯d first seen the girl, Chloe saw a flash of emotion on her face, emotion that seemed genuine, filling her eyes too albeit just for a moment. It was akin to what she¡¯d seen in Lucas.


    Pure rage. Hatred.


    ¡°You saved my life,¡± Chloe continued to speak but in a softer tone this time. ¡°I do not trust you, and I blame you for all of this but it doesn¡¯t change the fact that I¡¯m only still here right now because of your blood. And regardless of how I feel about you, it means I owe you one. Now, I will not promise to protect you or keep you alive but I can promise you that you will not be captured by your father or Ravan. On that, you have my word.¡±


    Jin softened slightly and Chloe saw her fist relax. A moment passed and Jin¡¯s shoulders dropped.


    ¡°Fine,¡± the girl said, taking a step backward. ¡°I will be your bait. I¡¯ll get them to the center.¡±


    Hardy nodded at her, and then went on to continue dictating his plan. ¡°Assuming, of course, things go our way and that we somehow miraculously survive the attack and emerge with all of our limbs intact, we take the transmitters out of the angry gods and then load as many of their corpses as we can onto the heavy lifters. We take them with us to District 5. Again, that¡¯s only if we survive. If we do happen to fall here then none of it will matter anyways. But I do trust I do not need to reiterate to you guys why it¡¯s absolutely crucial that we do not bungle things here. It¡¯s not just the District at stake. We¡¯re fighting for more than just ourselves.¡±


    Jon looked at Chloe then. Their eyes met. He gave her a small smile. She smiled back at him and gave him a gentle nod.


    ¡°Okay, so that¡¯s it,¡± Hardy said, rolling up the plan. ¡°Any of you got any ideas, suggestions?¡±


    They all exchanged looks before looking back to Hardy and shaking their heads simultaneously. ¡°Nope,¡± Jon said. ¡°Sounds good to me.¡±


    ¡°Alright then.¡± Hardy rubbed the back of his neck sorely. ¡°I suppose now¡¯s when we go save the bloody fucking world?¡±

 Chapter 10

    The District felt like a ghost town.


    The wreckage from the earlier attack coupled with the eerie silence that had settled on everything now that it¡¯d been evacuated gave it an unsettling, haunted feeling. It didn¡¯t help that Lucas was constantly blurring around the place like a shadow, keeping watch, checking to see if there was any danger inbound.


    ¡°Nothing yet,¡± he said, for what had to be the 100th time in the hour since the district had been evacuated before groaning and joining them at the table in the Grove. ¡°Are you sure there¡¯ll be more?¡± he asked, his gaze narrowed at Jin.


    It was evident he still hated her but had accepted now that she knew more about whatever was going on than any of them did.


    ¡°Certain.¡± Jin¡¯s eyes were pointing upward, at the clouds that had pooled overhead in the night. ¡°I do not know how soon. But they will come. We need only wait.¡±


    ¡°How long are we talking here?¡± Hardy asked, groaning as he lifted his head from the table. He was decked in full tactical gear now, two rifles strapped to his back, two pistols holstered on either side of his waist, a small utility pouch dangling from his belt contained a combination of flash grenades and frags. ¡°A few hours? A day? A week?¡±


    ¡°Soon.¡± Jin did not take her gaze off the sky.


    ¡°Great,¡± Hardy muttered and lowered his head to the table again.


    Aiden arrived in the Grove a few minutes later, his hands and gear stained with dirt. ¡°I just buried Spike,¡± he announced, voice flat and empty, devoid of feeling. ¡°Didn¡¯t want the bastards getting any more of their filth on her.¡±


    He sat between Lucas and Jon, directly across from Jin, who was sat next to Hardy. Aiden¡¯s gaze flickered toward her for a moment and the edges of his lips curled into something ferocious, but then the expression quickly vanished and he shook his head, as though he¡¯d just had some sort of silent debate with himself.


    Another hour passed where nothing happened, except of course for a now asleep Hardy snoring loudly at the table. At the other tables in the Grove, a number of the guards who sat there had started to nod off too and some of them slept much louder than Hardy did. Chloe didn¡¯t mind though. The sound of their collective snoring did a great deal to make things feel less gloom and doom. If these would be their final moments, she was a little glad she¡¯d gotten to see what a sleeping Hardy looked like before the arrival of the end.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Jon asked Jin another half hour later, finally done trying to pretend like her focus on the clouds wasn¡¯t uncanny and a little disconcerting. He glanced upward then back at her. ¡°The attack¡¯s not coming from above, is it?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Jin shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m just waiting for the shift.¡±


    ¡°The shift?¡± Chloe repeated.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Jin nodded. She provided no further explanation.


    Jon and Chloe exchanged looks and shrugged, decided against pressing the matter any further. A full hour later, the two of them got tired of sitting and rose to their feet, taking a walk through the deserted district.


    ¡°You know, it¡¯s funny that I¡¯d kind of always hoped for this, but not like this,¡± Jon said, when they were some distance away from the Grove.


    ¡°For a bunch of angry gods to come knocking?¡±


    Jon laughed. ¡°No, not that. For the district to be empty. Quiet. No ruckus, no crowds, no bustling. It¡¯s just peaceful. It feels kind of like relief, you know, like most of the weight of expectation is gone. No one around looking to me, to us, expecting the most of us, trusting their lives to us. And I know, it¡¯s ironic considering this is the one moment where the expectation¡¯s highest, where everyone¡¯s lives is sort of in our hands¡­and somehow, for the first time in a long time, I don¡¯t feel burdened.¡±


    ¡°I think that might just be Jin¡¯s blood talking.¡±


    Jon laughed again. ¡°Yeah, sure, could be.¡± They walked a little further in silence before Jon spoke again. ¡°What¡¯s Jin¡¯s blood make you want to say?¡±


    Chloe looked at him and raised one eyebrow over the other. ¡°What makes you think there¡¯s something?¡±


    ¡°Dunno.¡± He shrugged. ¡°Isn¡¯t there?¡±


    Chloe shook her head. ¡°Nah, it¡¯s stupid.¡±


    ¡°We might not make it through the day, Chlo. Something tells me if there¡¯s ever been a time to be stupid, it¡¯s right now. So go on, spill¡­I won¡¯t stop nagging you about it, mind you.¡±


    Chloe let out a loud and hearty laugh then, a little surprised by how much like his old self Jon had sounded just then. When at last she stopped laughing, his eyes were still locked onto her. He really wasn¡¯t going to let it go.


    ¡°Fine,¡± she said, rolling her eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I guess I¡¯ve just been thinking, you know¡­assuming all of this isn¡¯t bullshit and she¡¯s not playing some game with us, which she probably is, say we do win here and we do figure things out and take back the world and whatever. Good ending and all of that. What then?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I mean what next? I mean we¡¯re different now, altered and as far as I can tell, I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be possible to reverse that. I don¡¯t know if there¡¯ll be a place for us in the world if things do ever get back to normal, and I don¡¯t even know that they could. But even if things weren¡¯t totally weird afterward, there¡¯d still be the question of what we do next. What do killing machines do when there¡¯s nothing left to kill?¡±


    She saw Jon¡¯s shoulders sag a little and knew at once that some of the weight he¡¯d just spoken about no longer feeling had just returned to him. His brows furrowed as he thought about what she¡¯d asked. He shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I guess for starters, we¡¯d have to rebuild stuff, put things back like they should be¡­maybe a little differently than before, of course.¡±


    ¡°Sure, sure. And then what?¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯d really like to go back to my life,¡± Jon answered truthfully. ¡°I¡¯d like to enrol in college, join a frat, attend the stupid parties and make the stupid decisions, skip on some classes, flunk a few¡­just everything that my life would have been if the end of the world hadn¡¯t taken it away. Just be Jonathan Taylor again. Chloe Taylor¡¯s annoying older brother.¡±


    Chloe¡¯s eyes went wide and she felt them water just a little. ¡°Really?¡± she asked. ¡°You¡¯ve never said that before.¡±


    ¡°It never seemed possible before.¡± Jon threw his glance to her again. ¡°But as you said, if Jin isn¡¯t playing some twisted game with us then maybe, you know, it is possible, right? And you could also go back to being some nerd, go to college, join chess club, all of that weird stuff.¡±


    Chloe shoved him in the shoulder then, playfully and laughed a little. He laughed too and threw one arm around her.


    ¡°But let¡¯s not get ahead of ourselves, alright?¡± He said. ¡°Let¡¯s save the world first.¡±


    They returned to the Grove twenty minutes later and found that Hardy was wide awake now, and was pacing the Grove, on the comms with Cole and Glenn, checking that they had everything rigged as they ought to be, and that the fences were ready to come back up as soon as the monsters had been lured in.


    They sat at the table and only a minute after they¡¯d taken their seats, Jin rose suddenly, her gaze leaving the sky for the first time in hours and fixing itself upon them. Her face was grim, as was her tone when she spoke.


    ¡°They¡¯re here.¡±


    ***


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    The Servants charged in first, around a hundred of them, give or take a dozen more, growling and snarling and chittering as they ran. This was the fastest Chloe had seen them go. They retained their usual clumsiness, tripping and stumbling as they ran and limping, but they moved like they were driven by glorious purpose, charging right for the center of district where Jin currently stood unarmed, placing her faith in Chloe and the others.


    The Nighthounds appeared next, blurring in and surging straight past the Servants, overtaking them with ease. The hounds seemed much more aggressive than the ones Chloe and the others had encountered, and they seemed larger too as if they were made entirely of muscle. Jin twitched slightly in the center when she heard the nighthounds but she didn¡¯t move from the spot.


    And then, just as the hounds and Servants were closing in on Jin, there appeared the angry gods.


    It looked like there was only one first, crimson eye glowing in the distance. Then more eyes appeared, three more, from every cardinal direction of the district. The plan had been to close them in, to attack from all directions.


    Chloe, who was perched atop the rooftop of one of the taller buildings in the district alongside Jon saw the angry gods when they appeared and felt a shiver run down her spine, felt her skin crawl. She watched and waited, as did Jon, until the angry gods had crossed the boundaries of the district and as soon as they had, Jon reached for his earpiece.


    ¡°Cole. Glenn. Now.¡±


    At once, the light-blue shade of the field flickered into being around the district as the electromagnetic fences fired into function again. The angry gods wailed in response to this but they did not bother with the fences. They continued toward the center, toward Jin who was now only mere moments away from being at the mercy of the nighthounds and still, she hadn¡¯t yet moved an inch.


    ¡°Now,¡± Jon said.


    At once, guards emerged from buildings around the district and from the Chancellor¡¯s Hall, roaring at the top of their lungs, weapons firing from the go. As soon as the battle started, Jin turned on her heel and vanished in a blur. She was taking no risks by herself participating in the fight. Not until the numbers had changed and the chance of capture was a slimmer one.


    The nighthounds, frustrated by their prey¡¯s sudden disappearance went into a frenzy and ran at tents, snapping away at them, clawing straight through with all ferocity. When the district guards fired at the nighthounds, the creatures turned their attention to them. The nighthounds attacked at once, moving a lot quicker than any of the guards could possibly handle.


    Chloe and Jon joined the fight, as did Lucas and Aiden, the four of them landing on the battlefield from the rooftops they¡¯d been perched on. As soon as they landed, they wasted no time. They surged forward, tearing through Servant after Servant, each blow delivered with the intent to obliterate the Servants, maximum lethal efficiency being the goal. The hounds and the angry gods were the more pressing concerns, they couldn¡¯t let the Servants take up too much time and with Jin¡¯s blood supercharging them, the Servants were significantly easier than before to breeze through.


    The angry gods, however, were a problem. They thrashed about with their limbs, striking at anything below them, foe or ally, slicing buildings in half with easy movements and sending concrete and bricks raining down to the ground. Chloe saw one of the angry gods swing a limb at her.


    Rather than dodge, she grabbed onto it and let it move her through the air. As the limb swung again, she timed it, letting go and using the momentum to launch herself toward one of the nighthounds, one that had been running straight for Hardy. She slammed into the nighthound just as it leaped at Hardy and tackled it to the ground. The hound snarled beneath her and attempted to break free but found it difficult to do so. Chloe slammed an elbow into the hound¡¯s head and heard a satisfying crack. A whimper followed, and the hound¡¯s body went completely still a few seconds later, a pool of blood quickly forming beneath its head.


    Four nighthounds came at her then. Before, the hounds had seemed too fast, harder to deal with. Now, she saw them coming well enough. She spun on her feet and slammed a fist right into the neck of one, snapping it in a single blow. Quickly, she spun around and swatted at two that had leaped at her, knocking them to the ground. A fourth went for her feet.


    ¡°Not again,¡± she snarled, avoiding the nighthound¡¯s bite before bringing a foot down on it and hard. She crushed the hound¡¯s spine beneath her foot, put it out of its misery by stomping on its head.


    The two hellhounds she¡¯d knocked to the ground came at her again. She snarled and went at them, both of her hands shooting out and wrapping around their necks. Angrily, she brought their heads together, slamming them against one another and doing so repeatedly until the hounds had gone limp in her grasp.


    Breathing heavily, she let the hounds drop. Four nighthounds taken care of and she didn¡¯t even feel tired yet. In fact, it felt like she¡¯d gotten more fuel in the tank. Adrenaline and something else was coursing through her now, egging her on. She was unstoppable. Invincible. She could take on the monsters singlehandedly.


    Snarling, and more animalistically than she knew, she surged into battle again. She grabbed a nighthound that had taken down a guard and was now separating flesh from bone, lifted it up, snapped its neck then hurled its body right an an angry god. The dead hound hit the angry god in the eye and staggered it. A flash grenade from Hardy staggered the angry god further and it hit the side of a building, very evidently disoriented.


    Opportunity presented itself to Chloe. She moved quickly, grabbing a rifle from the ground that had belonged to a now dead guard, then sprinted in the direction of the dazed angry god. Between her and the creature was Jon, who was tearing through the hounds like they were nothing.


    Jon saw her coming, looked to the angry god and immediately understood.


    ¡°Lift!¡± Chloe yelled.


    Jon kicked away one of the hounds closest to him, then lowered himself at once, intertwining his hands and holding them out. Chloe built up speed and leaped right at him, landing atop his hand. As soon as she did, he heaved with all of his might, throwing her higher up.


    In the air, she hurled the rifle at the angry god with all the strength she had and this time, she did more than just pierce it. The rifle shot straight through its eye entirely and the monster seemed to convulse, its entire body twitching violently, limbs going limp as it dropped completely.


    She landed on the ground, some distance away from the angry god and continued her sprint toward it. Quickly, she scaled to the top of the creature¡¯s head. She could feel it still twitching, vibrating almost. She held one hand up, pressing her fingers together in the same way she¡¯d seen Jin do it. And then she thrust against the top of the creature¡¯s head, striking with the points of her fingers.


    She didn¡¯t pierce all the way through like Jin had managed, but her hand did dig through somewhat and the angry god twitched more violently beneath her. She repeated the move four more times before the angry god stopped twitching, before its eye dimmed entirely. At this point, she now had its disgusting head slime all over her. But she didn¡¯t care. In fact, she reveled in it. There was something thoroughly pleasing about it, something almost sensual.


    She slid off of the dead angry god and started to walk back toward the battle. Her breathing was heavier and she could feel fatigue starting to creep in, could feel the effects of the dose of Jin¡¯s blood starting to wane. But there was still enough left in her, enough left to cause some more carnage.


    As she advanced toward the battlefield, Hardy watched her and he seemed at first impressed, then a little frightened, concerned. She paid him no regard.


    There were hellhounds ahead of her that seemed to retreat as she approached. They were scared, scared after they¡¯d seen her bring down the angry god, scared at how much more primal than them she currently seemed.


    She saw another angry god fall, this time to the combined efforts of Lucas and Aiden who¡¯d disoriented the creature with multiple flash grenades before very quickly putting it out of its misery, if at all it felt anything like that.


    Chloe moved in a blur and tore one hellhound¡¯s head from its body. One charged at her, she punched hard enough that her fist shot straight through its stomach, protruded from its back. She yanked her fist free of the hound in time to catch another that came charging, and bash its head against the ground with enough force to flatten it completely, nighthound brain going splat all over.


    The remaining nighthounds seemed scared now, spooked and even more so when Jin finally appeared, joining the fight. In the blink of an eye, she¡¯d separated six nighthounds from their heads, limbs and hearts, all without getting herself needlessly dirty. The two angry gods left standing seemed to get rather eager as soon as Jin reappeared, suddenly sweeping across the battlefield with their limbs, sending guards and Servants flying.


    That was when the lights came on, every light in the district, coming on so suddenly and blindingly that Chloe winced and had to shield her eyes with her hands. The lights were so brilliant and overpowering that bulbs literally went boom, exploding and shattering, the district being plunged right back into darkness soon again.


    But the damage had been done. The two angry gods were distorted and in some agony. Jin and Jon took the last two, bringing them both down onto the Chancellor¡¯s Hall, the creatures¡¯ final screeches ringing long into the air before being silenced very suddenly.


    After that, the rest was easy. The Servants stood no chance, the hellhounds started to run but Lucas had absolutely no intention in allowing any of them to get away nor did Aiden. By the time the sun rose over the district, the fight was over, limbs and entrails and heads strewn all over the place, soaking in puddles of blood, rotten or otherwise.


    The strength had all but faded from Chloe at this point and she staggered to a pile of rubble and dropped onto it, drawing deep breaths as she did. Jon joined her a moment later and then so did Lucas, Aiden and finally Hardy. All of them were breathing heavily, had sweat on their faces mixing in with the blood that had already stained them, chests and backs heaving.


    None of them spoke for ten minutes. They all simply sat and attempted to catch their breaths. Lucas even chose to lay down for a bit.


    Chloe felt sore all over, felt her muscles ache and throb, felt her head pound. The crash from Jin¡¯s blood was not at all a pleasant feeling.


    But it¡¯d done its work. They¡¯d won this fight, finally earned what felt to her like a proper victory.


    But she knew, of course, that this wasn¡¯t enough. Sure, it was a start, but only that. There was no doubt that Tarran would be enraged by yet another failed attempt to retrieve his daughter, angered at being thwarted by them.


    When she looked up, she saw Jin¡¯s eyes locked on to her, and her gaze was not at all one of celebration or relief. She was thinking exactly what Chloe was.


    This was far from over.

 Chapter 11

    Petrichor mixed in with the scent of blood in the air.


    Icy droplets dropped from the sky, pattering against the ground. The water mixed in with the


    blood that had already soaked the earth, and spread the crimson puddles everywhere. After more


    than two hours and a half of the steady rain, the bodies strewn across the district were half-


    drowned in the puddles, floating about grimly. A few limbs here, a dozen severed heads there,


    human and inhuman.


    Blinding light flashed through the storm clouds overhead, and was accompanied by the fierce


    rumble of thunder.


    It was at the sound of the thunder that Chloe stirred. She cracked open one eye and squinted


    to bring her vision into focus. She was in a room lit by the dim, sterile glow of fluorescent bulbs,


    gloomy shadows clinging to the corners of the room¡¯s bare concrete floor. Her bed was placed


    against one of the shadowed corners, just beside a window that provided a sufficient enough view


    of the district beyond.


    She pulled the window¡¯s curtains apart, peered out onto the district. Lightning flashed through


    the sky again, illuminating for a moment the outlines and shapes of the bodies and limbs that


    floated around in puddles and pools of water and blood. She saw also the outlines of half-collapsed


    buildings and entirely collapsed ones, the outlines of massive shapes, creatures with multiple


    spindly limbs. Dead, of course, but chilling still to behold this time of day. It was the stuff of


    nightmares, the sort of stuff she¡¯d seen in crappy horror films when she¡¯d been growing up.


    There was someone out in the rain, someone who wasn¡¯t half a torso or a floating head.


    Someone whole and alive, sat at the edge of the rooftop of a dangerously lopsided building that


    was missing a good chunk of its walls.


    Chloe shut the curtain again, then climbed out of bed. She¡¯d gone to sleep in a baggy tank top,


    and pajamas pants, both of which she¡¯d helped herself to. The district had long been evacuated


    and most of what was left around, was anyone¡¯s to take. Beneath her bed, she¡¯d thrown her regular


    clothes in a pile. She changed from her pajamas pants into a well fitting pair of denims, then


    contemplated about whether or not to put on shoes.


    On one hand, she didn¡¯t want to get her boots wet. On the other hand, she wasn¡¯t sure she


    wanted to move across gruesome puddles of blood and water and flesh while entirely barefoot.


    Eventually, she threw on her boots and fastened them firmly.


    Then she slipped out of her room and onto the long, narrow hallways that ran through the


    Chancellor¡¯s Hall, hallways just as sterilely lit as her bedroom.No one else seemed to be awake. She heard no movement coming from within the hall as she


    went, heard nothing at all, except of course for loud snoring when she moved past Chancellor


    Hardy¡¯s room, the door to which had been left slightly open.


    A peer through the crack in the door revealed the Chancellor bare-chested and in a pair of


    briefs, spread rather comically on his little mattress, one hand and foot dangling toward the ground.


    His back and chest heaved rhythmically as his snoring filled his room, doing its best to compete


    with the sound of rain and thunder beyond the walls.


    She oddly found a weird pleasure in seeing the Chancellor like that. He was, after all, the man


    who¡¯d been long since tasked with ensuring their district¡¯s stability and continuity and most of the


    time, he¡¯d done so by being strict and intimidating. He¡¯d given her and her unit orders and had


    been pretty no-nonsense in doing so. And then great trouble had come to the district and there¡¯d


    been a great battle, and the district had been all but lost.


    That¡¯d been the first time when she¡¯d seen him like this. Just as stressed as the rest of them,


    just as plain. She almost considered him just as human, then reminded herself that she wasn¡¯t


    human to begin with. Other than the Chancellor, none of them were.


    She left his door behind then, and a minute later, she¡¯d slipped out of the Chancellor¡¯s Hall


    and into the rain outside, cold droplets pelting against her skin and very quickly soaking her. Her


    tank top clung to her skin and felt a little heavier on her. Her blond hair dripped rain water, strands


    of it matting to the front of her face, some of it getting in her eyes. She brushed the wet strands


    out of her face, and made for the lopsided building.


    The lopsided building was a four-minute brisk walk from the Hall, and it took her another


    thirty seconds to scale up the side of the lopsided building and arrive on the rooftop. When she


    did, she saw there the figure she¡¯d made out from her bedroom window.


    It was a boy, clad in a white T-shirt glued to his skin now such that she could make out and


    with great detail, the lines on his back, the perfect broadness of his shoulders and the defined


    bulges of his arms. The boy¡¯s hair was blond, a lighter shade than hers, almost white even and


    angelically so, even in the gloom of the night and the rain. The rain had flattened his hair, stuck


    strands to his face like with her, but the wind still sent other strands whipping about.


    Silently, Chloe walked up to the boy, the sound of rain masking her approach. When she


    reached him, she said nothing, simply dropped next to him, sitting too at the edge of the rooftop,


    her feet dangling over the side of it in a manner that would have been most frightening for a regular


    person, but that was just playful for her. After all, a fall from this height would do little more than


    just scrape and cut her a little.As soon as she¡¯d sat next to the boy, he shifted suddenly and in surprise, turned to her. Thunder


    rumbled again and lightning flashed overhead, illuminating for a moment Lucas¡¯s dark blue eyes,


    devoid now of much of the excitement and mischief Chloe had come to associate with them over


    the previous few years.


    ¡°Chlo,¡± Lucas murmured. ¡°What are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°Could ask you the same.¡± Chloe shrugged, her gaze focused below them, at the particularly


    harrowing sight of the remnants of decapitated monsters. ¡°It¡¯s not a particularly good view, is it?¡±


    Lucas snorted. ¡°I¡¯m not here for the view.¡±


    ¡°The ambience then?¡± Chloe asked.


    Lucas was quiet for a moment. Then he chuckled. After a while, he shook his head. ¡°No, just


    got tired of feeling cooped up inside the Hall.¡±


    ¡°Cooped up?¡± Chloe repeated. ¡°We were sleeping out of tents before this.¡±


    ¡°Tents felt like home, hall feels kind of like a lab, like prison,¡± Lucas answered. ¡°Hard to sleep


    in there, especially considering¡ª,¡±


    His voice trailed. He shook his head again. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter.¡± He turned to her and smiled a


    little, his eyes twinkling for a moment like they¡¯d used to. ¡°What are you doing up?¡±


    Chloe shrugged. ¡°Think my body¡¯s getting annoyed by the amount of sleep that¡¯s been forced


    onto it the past three weeks. Heard the thunder and woke up immediately, half-expecting that


    there¡¯d be some fight to charge into.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I get that.¡± Lucas nodded. ¡°What do you think about it?¡±


    ¡°About what?¡±


    ¡°This place¡¯s pretty much running on backup power now, not enough to keep the fences going.


    It¡¯s literally No Man¡¯s Land right about now and yet, there¡¯s been no Servants or nighthounds or


    angry gods in the past three weeks. Weird, isn¡¯t it? What¡¯s happened to them? Why aren¡¯t they


    coming after her anymore?¡±


    Chloe shuddered as she pondered it, although that might have been more to do with the chill


    of the rain. She stared at the Servant remnants floating about in the rain, remnants of the diseased,


    flesh-eating, zombiefied morons who¡¯d attacked the district three weeks ago, along with


    nighthounds and angry gods, fifteen-feet tall monsters.


    In the three weeks since the battle, there hadn¡¯t been a Servant sighting close to the district.


    Not even a nighthound or an angry god. Nothing. It was most odd because Chloe knew for certain


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    that there were still swarms of these monsters out there and so if they weren¡¯t coming within


    vicinity of the district, it was because they must have had orders not to do so from the alien


    invaders who¡¯d let them loose on the world.But why?


    What were The Others planning this time?


    ¡°Things go quiet this long, it¡¯s rarely ever a good sign,¡± Lucas said quietly. ¡°And why haven¡¯t


    we heard back from The Capital yet? We¡¯re supposed to standby and await redeployment orders.


    It¡¯s been three weeks. Where are the orders?¡±


    ¡°Capital¡¯s a bureaucracy.¡± Chloe shrugged. ¡°It takes them all the time in the world to arrive at


    even the simplest decisions. And there¡¯s nothing even remotely simple about what we¡¯ve told them.


    They¡¯re going to be thinking about what to do with us, with her.¡±


    Lucas stiffened at the mention of her. His eyes darkened and she saw his jaws clench. He said


    nothing at all and so she chose to say nothing, at least for another few minutes.


    Once five minutes had gone by, she cleared her throat. The rain had only gotten heavier,


    roaring loudly now as cold drops poured from the sky, the rumbling of thunder turned much more


    frequent. ¡°Rain¡¯s not letting up,¡± she said, rising to her feet. ¡°We should head back inside.¡±


    ¡°Why, scared we¡¯ll get a cold?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯re even capable of getting colds.¡± Chloe snorted. ¡°One of the extremely few


    benefits of what we are, I suppose. Just best to head back inside before Jon wakes and loses his


    shit thinking we¡¯ve been kidnapped.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I suppose,¡± Lucas said, rising to his feet then too, water dripping from him rather


    significantly. ¡°Although, it would be fun to see Jon go into a panic.¡±


    Lightning took out the power supply during the downpour. Chloe woke later in the morning,


    when sunlight was filtering into her room through the curtain over the window, to the sound of


    Hardy barking at Cole and Glenn about getting the power back up.


    ¡°It¡¯s completely fried,¡± Glenn was explaining to the Chancellor. Chloe could identify him by


    his thick Southern accent. ¡°I can try to work some magic, but I can¡¯t make any promises. It¡¯s going


    to be lights out for quite some time.¡±


    Hardy grunted. ¡°Go on then. Try the magic, and I¡¯ll try to reach out again to those blockheads


    over in Capital. Can¡¯t keep sitting ¡®round here, waiting till they try to kill us again.¡±


    The focus of her hearing shifted then from the slightly distant conversation between Hardy


    and the two, to the sound of footsteps, gentle and rhythmic. The footsteps grew louder and louder


    with each passing moment, getting closer and closer to Chloe¡¯s room and then¡­someone knocked


    on the door.


    ¡°Chlo?¡± came Jon¡¯s voice from the other side of the door. ¡°You up?¡±


    ¡°One sec!¡±Chloe was at her door in exactly a second, covering the distance between bed and door in a


    blur. While she unlocked it, she slipped on a blue denim jacket. She pulled it open later and looked


    up at her stepbrother¡¯s face.


    Jon¡¯s face didn¡¯t have the lines that typically creased it, the lines of worry and stress and burden.


    These past three weeks out of action had been somewhat of a much deserved vacation for him.


    He¡¯d cut his black hair short, and was sporting a buzz cut now. His eyebrows also looked like


    they¡¯d been shaped, appearing more angled now, sharper and darker, giving his face a different


    edge. His gray eyes, typically stormy or brooding, looked a little lighter now.


    He was pulling on a baggy white Tee when Chloe opened the door, his muscles flexing slightly


    as he did. He finished with the shirt, and started to slip on a brown leather jacket. As he did so, he


    glanced at her, frowned, then tipped his face forward just a little, past the threshold of the door.


    He sniffed at the air.


    on.


    ¡°You went out last night?¡± he asked, raising one eyebrow over the other, slipping the jacket


    ¡°Smells like rain in here.¡±


    She told him about Lucas while they made their way out of the Hall, and of the conversation


    they¡¯d had in the rain.


    ¡°A little worried about him,¡± Jon said as they emerged out of the hall. There were still puddles


    of water around but greatly reduced in depth now that the rain had subsided. The air, however,


    reeked greatly of Servant and hound remains, worse than it¡¯d been before the rain. Outside, there


    were men scooping Servant remains into wheelbarrows, and doing so with greatly disgusted


    expressions on their faces.


    ¡°But he¡¯s not wrong,¡± Jon continued as they started in the direction of the Grove. ¡°It¡¯s been


    too long without any signs of the Servants, without any movement from the Others. And Jin¡¯s


    been incredibly quiet these past few days, like even she doesn¡¯t know exactly what might come


    next. Like she¡¯s scared.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s got a million different reasons to be scared,¡± Chloe said. ¡°More than just the Others. If


    we do get called in to one of the other districts, they¡¯re not going to be particularly welcoming


    toward the princess of the alien civilization that¡¯s all but reduced our world to a rotting wasteland.¡±


    ¡°Hardy¡¯ll vouch for her.


    ¡± Jon sounded uncertain even as he said it. ¡°She should be fine.¡±


    ¡°Even you don¡¯t believe that.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t, no.¡± Jon shook his head. ¡°But let¡¯s face it. She¡¯s strong. Stronger than the Pandorans.


    Regardless of how hostile her welcome is, there¡¯s extremely little anyone else can do to hurt her.


    So again, she should be fine.¡±


    ¡°Should?¡±¡°District 1¡¯s a different story,


    ¡± Jon said.


    ¡°You think we¡¯ll be going there? To the Capital?¡±


    ¡°I think if we were going to be redeployed to any of the other districts, we would have been


    by now. We were all there when Hardy first filled in the Capital on everything that had happened,


    everything we¡¯d learned. They¡¯re not going to have just moving around with someone like Jin in


    tow. They¡¯ll want to see for themselves, want to assess the threat she poses. Something tells me


    that¡¯s why we haven¡¯t heard back from them yet. They¡¯re preparing.¡±


    ¡°For us?¡±


    ¡°For her,


    ¡± Jon said, lowering his voice as they came within view of the Grove, the small park


    in the district where they¡¯d taken to having all of their meals together recently. Already there were


    Lucas and Aiden, sat at one table, blood bags in front of them. At the other tables were what


    district guards that had survived the battle three weeks ago, all looking rather lean and miserable,


    steaming bowls of unimpressive-looking soup in front of them.


    And then, at a table all to herself was Jin, black hair falling loosely around her face. She was in


    a gray tank top, so the tattoo on her hand was visible. On her table, a plate of smoked meat


    although it looked more charred than smoked. Jin was examining the plate with a quizzical, almost


    puzzled expression.


    Chloe and Jon stopped at a cooler, fetched blood bags from it, then made their way to Jin¡¯s


    table, joining her there. Jin¡¯s expression shifted slightly as they sat, looking almost relieved for a


    moment before going right back to appearing baffled by the plate of food in front of her.


    ¡°What is this?¡± Jin asked, lifting the plate and craning her head slightly to examine it from a


    different angle.


    ¡°Meat,¡± Jon answered, in an almost revolted manner. Chloe thought she could hear his


    stomach stir, and not in the good way.


    Part of the downsides of what they were was an aversion to cooked meat. Cooked anything,


    generally. Anything that wasn¡¯t blood would, for them, trigger great nausea, leave them sick for a


    bit if they ate some. Chocolates and sweets were the only exception¡ªthey did still trigger some


    irritation, but not the sickening sort, more the sort that dulled their appetites and let them go a


    little longer not needing to feed on blood.


    ¡°What meat is this?¡± Jin queried. ¡°Nighthound?¡±


    ¡°No, should be lamb.


    ¡± Jon shrugged. ¡°Would you please eat that already?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s scorched,¡± Jin said, setting the plate back down and looking rather thoroughly displeased.


    She crossed her arms and pouted. ¡°Such a meal is beneath me, not fitting at all for someone of my


    royal station.¡±Jon blinked once, incredulously. ¡°Y-you¡¯re joking, right?¡±


    ¡°Would you eat this?¡± Jin asked, pushing the plate toward Jon. Jon recoiled, and was quick to


    shove the plate back in her direction.


    ¡°No,


    ¡± was his cold response. ¡°And you know why.¡±


    ¡°We all have our dietary restrictions,


    ¡± Jin said. ¡°You cannot eat meat, I cannot eat filth.¡± She


    rose to her feet then, taking the plate and moving toward one of the other tables, with the district


    guards.


    She spoke to people at the table for a while, and despite their clear discomfort at Jin¡¯s presence


    and her speaking to them, one of them still accepted her plate of food.


    That alone, was enough indication of how dire things had gotten.


    The evacuation before the battle meant all the cooks had moved, and so the meals that came


    out of the kitchen now were being prepared by Cole and Glenn, neither of whom knew their way


    around a kitchen all that well. Chloe tried to wonder just how awfully the soup must have tasted


    if someone was willing to accept charred lamb as an alternative to it, and from Jin no less.


    Jin returned to their table.


    ¡°Your people have shockingly low standards,¡± she said.


    ¡°Any word


    from your leaders yet? Any orders?¡±


    ¡°None yet.¡± Jon shook his head.


    ¡°Do you trust them?¡± Jin queried.


    Jon frowned. ¡°Sorry?¡±


    ¡°These leaders of yours in the Capital, the Council. Surely, you must know some of the people


    who sit on the Council? Do you trust them? Their judgement? Do you trust that they will do the


    right thing?¡±


    ¡°Are you asking if we think they¡¯ll try to kill you?¡± Chloe raised one eyebrow over the other.


    ¡°I have heard that the ones there like you, they¡¯re a lot stronger than you are,¡± Jin said, and for


    a moment she did look concerned. ¡°I do not trust that my fate will be as secure with them, as it is


    with you.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll do what they consider to be right,¡± Jon answered.


    ¡°And if that involves the forfeit of my life?¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t happen,¡± Chloe said. ¡°They¡¯re politicians. They¡¯ll listen to what we have to say. You


    have a lot more knowledge about what¡¯s going on than any of us do. That kind of knowledge¡¯s


    priceless. If they can see how useful you could be then they¡¯ll be a lot more willing to play nice.


    But they will want you monitored.


    ¡±


    ¡°I am not a child.


    ¡± Jin returned to pouting.After breakfast, Jon, Chloe, Lucas, Aiden and Jin set out on their usual patrols, scanning the


    immediate vicinity of the district for any signs of trouble. This included the road that led up to the


    district, and the woods that surrounded it. Other than a few starving stragglers here and there, and


    a couple deer in the woods that had been infected, there was nothing.


    ¡°Ravan will be dead by now,¡± Jin said after their patrol, speaking of the crazed alien scientist


    who¡¯d apparently been responsible for the angry gods and hellhounds that had given them great


    trouble before. ¡°No doubt my father would have been enraged by his failures. One failure, my


    father might forgive. A second, he would deem as incompetence, perhaps even disloyalty. Neither


    of those are things he would forgive.¡±


    ¡°So if the crazy scientist¡¯s dead, that¡¯s it?¡± Aiden asked.


    ¡°Not much left for us to worry about?¡±


    Jin snorted. ¡°Ravan is not the only man of brilliance in my father¡¯s employ. Others will have


    filled the hole of his absence, no doubt devising plans of their own as we speak. It is perhaps why


    trouble has not yet sought us out. I am not so sure that we should be wishing for it to do so. When


    my father attacks again, there is no doubt it will be with force more overwhelming than Ravan


    could conjure.¡±


    Back at the district, they split off to do their respective things. Jon went straight for the hall to


    speak with Hardy, find out if there¡¯d been anything at all from Capital. Lucas vanished, not telling


    anyone where he was headed but it was a fairly easy guess for Chloe. He was headed to Spike¡¯s


    grave, which he¡¯d visited all too frequently in the past three weeks.


    Aiden, Chloe, and Jin joined those involved in the district cleanup, although only Aiden and


    Chloe offered much help in the cleanup while Jin stood aside and berated them for doing things


    clumsily and inadvertently creating worse messes.


    ¡°I know this is supposed to be for the greater good,


    ¡± Aiden said, while lifting three hellhound


    corpses to a wheelbarrow, ¡°But I swear if she doesn¡¯t shut up, I¡¯ll haul her over to her father


    myself.¡±


    Chloe snorted, then glanced over her shoulder at Jin who was standing now atop a pile of


    rubble, arms folded, staring down at them all with her gaze narrowed. She was certain that Jin¡¯s


    intention was to look royal, or intimidating, or as though their rightful place was beneath her. But


    all she looked like to Chloe was lonely, and afraid.


    Cleanup went on uninterrupted for another two hours, and might have gone on even longer if


    Chloe, Aiden and Jin hadn¡¯t all heard it at the same time.


    As soon as Chloe picked up on the sound, her ears twitched and the hairs on her stood. She


    straightened at once, face darkening as she lowered the mud-and-blood-stained shovel in her hand


    slightly.She turned slightly and glanced straight into the horizon, eyes narrowed with focus. Jin leaped


    down from the pile of rubble, grabbed a shovel and snapped it, holding on to the more lethal end


    of it.


    The sound got louder and louder, got nearer and nearer to the district. There was the


    unmistakable hum and whine of an engine, the loud, sharp, mechanical but rhythmic thwop-thwop


    of rotor blades slicing through air.


    A few seconds later, dark shapes came into view in the horizon. Six of them to be exact. At


    the same time, Chloe picked up on more sounds, not from the choppers that had now appeared


    in the sky but from behind her. The sounds of tires crunching against earth.


    She spun around just in time to see armored trucks drive into the district, the letters N.A


    painted onto the sides and hoods of the truck in gold.


    The National Army.


    The trucks cordoned off the district entrance, a few more drove in their direction and


    surrounded them.


    Jin shifted uncomfortably, eyes narrow, darting from left to right while she gripped her


    makeshift spear hard, ready to let loose any moment.


    The choppers were directly above them now, and they watched as they started to drop in


    altitude, the sounds of their blades and engines incredibly loud now, enough that Chloe winced as


    she attempted to dull out some of the noise. The choppers touched down around them,


    surrounding them just as the trucks had.


    Men and women clad in camo and tactical gear complete with battle helmets emerged from


    the trucks immediately, all of them wielding dangerous-looking rifles that pulsed with light. More


    emerged from the choppers but amongst these were people who were clad in different tactical


    gear, clad in black instead of camo, people who hadn¡¯t bothered with helmets or with rifles.


    There were three of them, and all of them had dangerous-looking sharp eyes. On the sleeves


    of their gear, each one had been branded with an emblem, a badge of sorts, identifying them not


    with the Army, but with a sponsor.


    Chloe read House Lincoln off the emblem on one of them, a tall, thin freckled boy with


    middle-parted brown hair, a few strands of which fell down his forehead and got in his striking


    blue eyes. His jaw, chiseled and looking almost hand sculpted was clenched in an expression of


    seriousness, his lips pressed tightly together.


    He marched right in their direction and she caught a tattoo on the side of his neck, but was


    unable to make out exactly what it was. He stopped right in front of Chloe, staring into her eyes


    coldly and with some disregard. His lips parted, and the voice that came from him was cold.¡°Where¡¯s your Chancellor?¡±


    Hardy arrived then, with Jon, Aiden and Lucas who was shooting distrustful gazes at the


    soldiers who¡¯d surrounded them.


    Hardy stopped in front of the brown-haired Pandoran, and offered a handshake. ¡°Chancellor


    William James Hardy, Seventh District,¡± he greeted.


    The boy, despite appearing unimpressed and a little annoyed, accepted Hardy¡¯s handshake.


    ¡°Andre Nicholson,¡± he said. ¡°First District.¡± He cast a scanning glance around then, his eyes


    lingering on Jin a little too long and darkening as they did so.


    Chloe shifted a little, placing herself directly in front of Jin, a fire of defiance in her eyes as she


    did so.


    Andre¡¯s gaze moved to her. His expression shifted slightly, as if he¡¯d been amused by the


    gesture. Then he returned his attention to Hardy.


    ¡°We have orders to lead you to the Capital,¡± Andre said. ¡°You and anyone else who¡¯s left here,


    you ride with the ground convoy.


    ¡± He gestured toward the trucks. ¡°But her,¡± he added, pointing a finger past Chloe and straight at Jin. ¡°She comes with us in the choppers.¡°

 Chapter 12

    ¡°She¡¯s not going anywhere with you.¡±


    Chloe¡¯s voice was steely and unwavering, and her eyes were locked onto Andre in a manner of warning. Behind her, she could hear Jin¡¯s breathing pick up and sense her preparedness for battle.


    ¡°Chloe,¡± Jon called his tone one of warning.


    But Chloe didn¡¯t glance in his direction. She kept her eyes locked onto Andre, whose lips were curled now into an ugly smile, fists clenched at his sides.


    ¡°I was not making a request, soldier.¡± His voice was laced with threat, superiority. ¡°The alien comes with us. She can come willingly or painfully.¡±


    As he spoke, the two who stood on either side of his rear stepped forward. The one on the left was a towering man with brown skin and a shaved head that looked oily. He sported a thick beard. His eyes were brown, but not entirely¡ªthere was some crimson in them too.


    The second was a woman, taller than Chloe and broader too, with arms that bulged even in her tactical gear. Her hair was jet black and cut short, with a parting that stretched along either side. Her eyes were a dark, deep-set blue, and she had an even more defined jawline than Andre.


    ¡°Jin stays with us,¡± Chloe repeated, adamant and unthreatened by the Pandorans in front of her. ¡°We head for the Capital together or not at all.¡±


    Andre¡¯s eyes flashed with annoyance. ¡°Know your station, worm,¡± he snarled. ¡°The girl has been ordered to accompany us¡ªan order straight from the Capital. And I have my own orders too, should she or the rest of your people fail to comply. Stand aside now. Final warning.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Chloe said softly, not taking her eyes off Andre.


    Andre said nothing for a moment. Then he took a breath, stepped backward, and nodded slightly. The two Pandorans on either side of him marched forward.


    They had only taken a few steps when suddenly, Lucas and Jon were there, a long metal rod pressed against the towering brown man¡¯s neck.


    ¡°Please,¡± Jon said softly, ¡°threaten my sister again. I dare you.¡±


    Aiden joined Chloe, standing in front of Jin alongside her. ¡°You heard her,¡± he said, addressing Andre. ¡°The girl doesn¡¯t go anywhere with you. Not unless we¡¯re with her.¡±


    Andre narrowed his eyes, and Chloe thought she saw veins spread through them. He snarled, and she noticed then that his teeth weren¡¯t entirely normal. He had fangs¡ªfangs that he now bared menacingly as he prepared to attack.


    He took a step forward, but before he could pounce, another voice spoke.


    ¡°This is all very pointless,¡± the voice said, coming from behind Andre and from one of the choppers.


    Chloe¡¯s eyes widened as she heard the voice.


    She hadn¡¯t noticed anyone else left aboard the choppers, hadn¡¯t smelled anyone else. Even now, as the man spoke, her senses picked up on nothing.


    Her eyes darkened.


    ¡°Andre, one of them may accompany us,¡± the man in the chopper said. ¡°Better to compromise than resort to senseless bloodshed. I¡¯ve had a pretty annoying morning as it is.¡±


    Andre snarled again but retreated despite that, his shoulders relaxing somewhat. Chloe saw his fangs retreat, shrinking back into normal teeth.


    ¡°You,¡± Andre growled, gesturing directly at Chloe. ¡°You can follow the girl.¡±


    ¡°Wait, n¡ª¡± Jon began.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Chloe said.


    Jon looked at her, concern and distrust of Andre and whoever was in the chopper evident. Like her, he too sensed there was something off about the man in the chopper.


    The only other time they had come across someone their senses couldn¡¯t detect, that person had turned out to be an alien.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± she said again, nodding at Jon.


    Jon hesitated for a moment, but then his shoulders relaxed. He nodded back at her.


    Chloe returned her attention to Andre and nodded at him. The boy, despite scowling, stepped aside, holding out one hand and gesturing to the chopper immediately behind him. Jin led the way, and Chloe followed closely behind, climbing into the chopper just behind her.


    The man in the chopper looked old. Not very old¡ªmaybe around Chancellor Hardy¡¯s age. But he didn¡¯t look as fragile or weary as a man that age ought to have looked.


    He was broad and tall, his height evident even while he sat in the seat opposite theirs. His jet-black hair, graying at the roots, had been oiled and slicked back elegantly. Over his upper lip was a neatly groomed, graying mustache. His eyebrows were sharp, giving him an even more serious look, and his deep gray eyes resembled those of a man who had seen far too much.


    A deep gash¡ªan old wound that had healed poorly¡ªmarked his left cheek.


    Unlike the others, he wasn¡¯t clad in tactical gear. Instead, he wore a simple white T-shirt beneath a blue blazer, paired with white shorts and blue sandals. A locket draped over his T-shirt, and a golden wristwatch dangled from his left wrist.


    Andre climbed into the chopper after them, sitting next to the man. He signaled the pilot, and at once, the chopper¡¯s blades began to whir again.


    No words were exchanged between anyone in the chopper until they were about 15,000 feet high. At that point, Chloe and Jin were handed headphones to help with the noise. Andre and the strange man also put on theirs.


    Chloe examined her headphones cautiously before putting them on, making sure they weren¡¯t rigged with anything.


    The strange man saw this and roared with laughter.


    ¡°Relax, soldier!¡± he said, loudly enough to be heard over the chopper and the wind. ¡°If I wanted you dead, you¡¯d be dead already!¡±


    Warily, Chloe slid the headphones on.


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    She counted the seconds. Ten passed. Nothing happened.


    Next to her, Jin also put on her headphones.


    Chloe glanced out of the chopper window and looked down below, where fleck-like shapes moved in the same direction as them¡ªthe trucks.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your friends will get to the Capital safe,¡± the man said, his tone light and a little playful. ¡°I¡¯m Major Julius Erwin, by the way. And you are?¡±


    ¡°Chloe. Chloe Taylor.¡±


    ¡°Jin.¡±


    ¡°Just Jin?¡± Erwin raised an eyebrow. ¡°Do your people not take second names as ours do?¡±


    Jin raised a hand so Erwin could see the crow tattooed onto it. ¡°The mark of my father,¡± she said. ¡°A way to identify me with him always.¡±


    ¡°So, Crowman, then?¡± Erwin suggested. ¡°Jin Crowman.¡±


    ¡°What are you?¡± Chloe demanded, frowning at Erwin. ¡°You¡¯re not human. I can¡¯t¡ª¡±


    ¡°Perceive me?¡± Erwin asked, letting out another hearty laugh. ¡°That¡¯s very deliberate, my dear. I am, after all, a man who does not like to be perceived. And yes, I suppose you could say I¡¯m not human. Much like you, that was a part of me left behind long ago.¡±


    Chloe clenched her jaw. He was a Pandoran too.


    But much, much different than she was. Andre was different too¡ªhe had fangs, an identifiable scent, a heat signature.


    Erwin had nothing at all.


    ¡°Do not be afraid of me, Chloe,¡± Erwin spoke calmly. ¡°Based on everything I¡¯ve heard, it would appear that you and I are soldiers on the same side of the battle, committed against the same foe. You would only have reason to fear me if that were not the case.¡±


    As he said that, he shifted his gaze to Jin.


    ¡°As for you, Crowman¡­ there¡¯s much I¡¯d like to know. It¡¯s why I asked that you fly with me¡ªI simply had to meet you myself, to see exactly what it is that has everyone in the Capital in such a frenzy. I left important matters for this.¡±


    Jin said nothing.


    ¡°I know the basics. I¡¯ve been debriefed. Your father¡¯s a bad guy. His scientists are behind the pesky little giant monsters that pop up every now and then, and you¡¯ve apparently got the power source for a doomsday device inside you. Which, of course, makes me a little curious about your biology and physiology. A power source inside you¡ªwhat¡¯s that like?¡±


    ¡°Warm.¡±


    ¡°Not painful?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Alright then.¡± Erwin nodded. ¡°And your blood? It¡¯s said to have restorative properties?¡±


    ¡°For the Pandorans, yes. Toxic to regular humans,¡± Jin answered.


    ¡°More than just restorative, sir,¡± Andre added. ¡°Chancellor Hardy mentioned a performance boost as a result of consuming her blood. Strength, speed, reflexes, perceptions¡ªall heightened after a dosage of her blood.¡±


    ¡°Any side effects?¡± Erwin asked, directing the question to Chloe instead of Jin.


    Chloe thought about the battle three weeks ago, how much she had reveled in the carnage with Jin¡¯s blood coursing through her veins, how strong she had felt¡­ how badly she had hoped it wouldn¡¯t end. She had felt unstoppable, and she had wanted the monsters to see exactly what that looked like.


    ¡°It alters inhibitions,¡± she answered truthfully. ¡°More aggression, less control.¡±


    ¡°So potential dangers in sustained use, then.¡± Erwin looked as though he were taking mental notes.


    Andre, on the other hand, was taking physical ones, typing into a tablet as they spoke.


    Erwin continued questioning Jin for the rest of the chopper ride.


    Halfway through the journey¡ªafter about two hours of gliding overhead¡ªChloe figured out what he was doing. The questions, random as some of them seemed, allowed him to gauge Jin¡¯s behavior, her reactions, and, most importantly, whether she was still hiding information.


    A threat assessment.


    And he asked all the questions in such a light, conversational manner that she had almost assumed he was just talkative¡ªor possibly mad.


    But by the time the chopper touched down, there was a glint of satisfaction in his eyes.


    ¡°What do you think?¡± Andre asked, glancing at the Major.


    ¡°That she can¡¯t be trusted, of course,¡± Erwin answered, but with a smile on his face. ¡°Not that the Council needed me to confirm that. I think they only asked for my presence on this because they wanted me to neutralize her.¡±


    Chloe stiffened.


    ¡°And?¡± Andre raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Dishonest, but useful.¡± Erwin shrugged. ¡°Ms. Taylor and the rest of her team were right to keep her alive. And I will do the same.¡±


    ¡°So we¡¯re just supposed to let her be?¡±


    ¡°No, of course not.¡± Erwin shook his head.


    Around them, the other choppers were landing, and the trucks were pulling to a stop.


    ¡°She¡¯ll need to be under close observation most of the time,¡± Erwin said. ¡°Ms. Taylor, surely you wouldn¡¯t mind if I were to burden you with a small task?¡±


    It had been phrased like a question, but the look in Erwin¡¯s eyes told her it wasn¡¯t.


    And Chloe had no interest in seeing what the man was like when he got bored of putting up false smiles.


    ¡°No,¡± she answered, shaking her head.


    Erwin smiled. She had answered correctly.


    He gestured toward Jin. ¡°She¡¯s your responsibility now,¡± he said. ¡°She already was before, but now, I¡¯d like you to think of it more officially. Observe her, monitor her, and, most importantly, protect her. I have chosen to spare her, but I do not guarantee that the others here in the Capital will share my sentiments. I do not know what the Council has planned.¡±


    ¡°But should any danger to her arise, it is your responsibility to neutralize it.¡±


    ¡°And should the alien herself indicate in any manner or form that she is a danger to the continuity of our kind¡­ then you are to neutralize her.¡±


    ¡°Do you understand?¡±


    Chloe looked to Jin, who avoided meeting her gaze. She returned her focus to Erwin. ¡°Yes,¡± she answered.


    ¡°Sir,¡± Erwin corrected. ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    ¡°And you understand also that failure in these duties would be particularly¡­ aggravating for me? I know we¡¯ve known each other only briefly, but I sense you¡¯re a clever woman, and surely, you know how unfortunate it would be for all involved if I were to become¡­ aggravated.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Erwin smiled. ¡°Then I suppose my work here is done. Oh, wait a minute¡­ one more thing.¡± He leaned forward. ¡°Should you learn anything new about our¡­ enemies, anything even remotely useful, I would like to be informed first. Surely, that¡¯s no difficult matter?¡±


    ¡°No, sir.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Erwin said, nodding and leaning back in his seat. ¡°This is where I will leave you for now. As I said, I left important matters for this, and seeing as my work here is done, I must now return to said matters. I suspect it will be some time before you and I meet again, but should you wish to pass any information on recent developments along to me, do not hesitate to meet Nicholson here. He has my direct line.¡±


    Andre¡¯s face turned smug then. Chloe did all she could to refrain from rolling her eyes.


    Jin was the first to alight from the chopper, and Chloe followed her. Andre drew the chopper¡¯s door shut after her, and she turned back to see him and Erwin engaged in conversation. She couldn¡¯t hear a word of what they were saying.


    The chopper¡ªwhatever it had been made of¡ªdid a sufficient job of ensuring that nothing said within it spilled out. Which meant Erwin¡¯s request of her hadn¡¯t been heard by anyone else, other than Andre, Jin, and the pilot.


    Jon and the others alighted from the trucks they had arrived in. Jon¡¯s face was dark when he emerged, and he scanned the area before his eyes found her. As soon as he spotted her, a look of relief spread across his face, and he hurried in her direction, Lucas and Aiden behind him.


    Lucas shrugged off a soldier¡¯s hand from his shoulder before snarling menacingly.


    ¡°Chlo.¡± Jon exhaled in relief as he came to a stop in front of her. ¡°You¡¯re okay. Did anything¡ª¡±


    ¡°No.¡± She shook her head, then glanced back at the chopper.


    Erwin was still speaking to Andre, but his eyes were locked on her, and somehow, she got the feeling that while the chopper prevented her from listening in on him, it wasn¡¯t the same the other way around.


    She returned her gaze to Jon. ¡°He just wanted to ask a few questions,¡± she said.


    ¡°Who is he?¡± Jon demanded, staring toward the chopper. ¡°What is he?¡±


    ¡°Pandoran,¡± Chloe answered. ¡°But different.¡±


    ¡°So one of them, then,¡± Lucas said, folding his arms. He looked as though a guess of his had just been validated. ¡°Looks like they¡¯re real after all.¡±


    ¡°One of who?¡± Jin asked, frowning.


    Before any of them could answer, the chopper doors slid open again, and Andre leaped out, shutting the door behind him.


    Everyone steered well clear of the chopper as it fired up again and prepared for takeoff, hands clamping over their ears as the rotor blades kicked into full gear.


    A few minutes later, the chopper was gone. And so was Erwin.


    Andre turned to them immediately, the smug expression still on his face. His hair was rougher now, strands having been whipped loose by the wind as the chopper had taken off. He ran a hand through it, brushing the strands away and combing it back with his fingers.


    ¡°Alright,¡± he said, nodding. ¡°The easy part¡¯s out of the way. You¡¯re here, and you¡¯d all do best to be on your best behavior¡­ this isn¡¯t a slum like you might be used to. One step out of line, and you¡¯re dead. Understood?¡±


    No one said anything.


    ¡°Good.¡± Andre smiled. ¡°Now, come with me. The Council will see you now.¡±

 Chapter 13

    Chloe couldn¡¯t be mad at Andre for calling the Seventh District a slum.


    Even before the battle that had torn through the District and made it a stinking mess, it¡¯d still looked like a slum in comparison to what the Capital looked like. She¡¯d, of course, heard descriptions of the Capital before from Hardy, Evan, even Cole and Glenn who¡¯d grown up there and she¡¯d seen some images of it. But up close and in person? It looked much more stunning.


    District 7 had been like a town. The Capital was more akin to a city. Humanity¡¯s last city, and despite the circumstances, it managed to look glorious.


    The buildings here were tall wide, made from materials ranging from concrete to brick to marble to limestone and glass. They all had a geometric design aesthetic to them, in somewhat brutalist fashion, and there were cracks on them and fading paint that indicated they¡¯d had to weather just as much as the rest of the world. Here and there, there were wall-mounted turrets, spinning around and scanning for threats. At almost every corner, surveillance cameras were mounted to walls or light poles. Overhead, drones floated about, flying around buildings and in some cases, in and out of them, the PA system on the drones reading out announcements in a drab, monotone manner.


    Several stalls lined the roadsides and pavements, with nearly everything on display from fruits to clothes to shoes to medicine and even to extra rations of meals. Chloe watched people go from stall to stall, watched them exchange bronze coins in exchange for whatever it was they wanted. Currency was still alive here in the Capital.


    It hadn¡¯t been in District 7.


    People shuffled along the streets, and they could be seen moving inside of the towering structures too, particularly a spiral structure with half walls on the outside, allowing some view inside. A label on the building indicated it was a shelter, which made sense since Chloe could make out tents, and could see smoke rising into the air from the roof of the building.


    Capital Hall, where the Council met and where they were to see the Council wasn¡¯t at the center of the district like the Chancellor¡¯s Hall had been in District 7. It was detached from the rest of the District, poised atop a hill in the far west of the Capital, and the road that led up to it was fenced, heavily surveilled and heavily guarded.


    Soldiers clad in complete gear patrolled the road, and there were more turrets mounted along the fences than there¡¯d been in the rest of the capital. There were more drones overhead too, hovering in a stationary position, cameras mounted to them observing everything that went on below.


    The Hall was a large, gray building, wider than it was tall, and stretching into multiple wings. Its perimeter was fenced, both with concrete and with electromagnetic fields¡ªa separate field than the one that shielded the capital itself. Inside the compound, there were guards patrolling non-stop, more than two dozen of them, moving along every inch of earth.


    There was a concrete path that led to the hall¡¯s entrance, bordered by neatly-trimmed flowered hedges. The path also split off, heading in the direction of the separate wings of the Hall, while one fork led to a rather large fountain, circular in shape, with a concrete elephant statue at its center, water spouting from the statue¡¯s trunk.


    There was something oddly dark and glossy about the elephant statue¡¯s eyes that made Chloe think they were cameras. She also thought the fountain was oddly-positioned. It wasn¡¯t centered like most fountains she¡¯d seen, and considering the sheer amount of security measures the place boasted, she had a hunch it might have been a secret passageway, an entrance to a bunker or something of the sort. Or perhaps an emergency exit, if one was ever required. And considering the amount of security around the place, she couldn¡¯t imagine what could ever happen to necessitate an emergency exit.


    There were two guards stationed at what Chloe assumed were the primary entrances to the Hall, and they crossed their rifles when they arrived at the entrance, grunting as if to know why they were there.


    ¡°They¡¯re the ones from the seventh district,¡± Andre snarled, looking a little irritated to have been halted by the guards. ¡°Council¡¯s expecting them.¡±


    ¡°Identification?¡± one of the guards demanded, the helmet modifying his voice somewhat to make it sound as though he were speaking out of a radio.


    Andre scoffed, then turned slightly, revealing the badge on his shoulder to the guards, the one that read: House Lincoln.


    At the sight of the badge, the guards exchanged looks, and retreated. ¡°Apologies,¡± said Guard One, bowing his head very slightly. ¡°You may proceed.¡±


    Andre gave a curt nod to the guards then continued forward, gesturing to the others to follow. Chloe thought he was walking with a different bounce now, an almost pompous one. Smugness at having shown his importance.


    The first thing she noticed as soon as they walked in, was a sudden drop in temperature, a draft of cool air blowing into her face. The entire thing was air conditioned. Overhead, she saw the slits in the ceiling and in the corners of the wall, slits that must have been vents for the cooling system.


    The second thing was that the building was entirely quiet. Graveyard quiet. She knew there were air conditioners running, and yet, she couldn¡¯t hear their hum, couldn¡¯t hear the fans at work. She couldn¡¯t hear voices from within the building, couldn¡¯t hear footsteps or beating hearts, couldn¡¯t pick up on any signs that there were others in the building with them. But she knew for a fact that there had to had been.


    As she followed Andre like the others, she ran her fingers along the wall, noted to herself how they felt to the touch, how oddly strong they seemed they might be. This place felt as though it¡¯d been built to contain, like it¡¯d been built for the Pandorans.


    She couldn¡¯t hear anything, hadn¡¯t smelled anything, and couldn¡¯t pick up any heat signatures through the walls. In there, she was completely blind, her senses totally disrupted. Next to her, Jon fidgeted slightly, eyes dark as he scanned every inch of the Hall as they continued through it, looking as though he was already making mental preparations for battle and escape, just in case with was required.


    Chloe had several questions. About the capital, about how they had enough energy to power all of what she¡¯d seen thus far, including air conditioners for a building this large; she had questions about Andre and the badge on his shoulder and what it really meant; she had questions about Major Erwin, what he really was and what he really wanted with her. She knew exactly when people had motives and there was no doubt that Erwin was among such people, and it was the fact that his motives had seemed indecipherable to her that¡¯d scared her.


    Per his own word, he could have killed Jin if he wanted to. And from how she¡¯d felt around him, she had no doubt about her. So why then had he left her alive and placed her in Chloe¡¯s care? Was he friend or foe?


    The Hall had an elevator, one whose doors perfectly blended in with the concrete of the walls and only slid open when Andre pressed his palm to the wall.


    ¡°Recognized, Officer Nicholson, Code¡ªLN17,¡± spoke a computerized female voice, before the wall parted, revealing a steel cage lit up in blue.


    ¡°The Chancellor and the girl go in,¡± Andre declared. ¡°They¡¯re the ones the Council will meet with. Rest of us remain down here.¡±


    Chloe scoffed. ¡°Fat chance. I¡¯m not letting her out of my sight.¡±


    She made to step into the elevator but Andre was quick, one hand shooting out and seizing her by the arm, holding her back. He was strong. Incredibly so.


    Chloe turned to him, stared at the hand on her arm, then at his face. She clenched her jaw firmly and pursed her lips, clenching one fist and preparing to swing. ¡°Take your hand off me,¡± she demanded, in a tone of warning.


    Jon took a step toward Andre, his eyes cold and bloodthirsty now. He let out a low growl. ¡°You heard her.¡±


    ¡°I do not want to fight any of you,¡± Andre said slowly and softly, before letting go of Chloe¡¯s arm. ¡°And I can assure you that the Council will not harm either one of them. I just can¡¯t let you go with them. This, I¡¯m afraid, is not up for debate. I cannot ignore the orders of the Council.¡±


    ¡°You think we don¡¯t know what this is?¡± Aiden demanded. He gestured to the walls around them. ¡°How many pounds of concrete and steel you think went into each of these walls? What else is in the mix? Place was built to keep people like us in. She goes in that elevator, there¡¯s not a thing we can do if something goes wrong.¡±


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    ¡°Hopefully things work out that way,¡± Lucas muttered, stepping away from them.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t built to keep anyone in,¡± Andre replied, shaking his head. ¡°It was built to keep them out, genius. And sure, maybe we got off on the wrong foot, and I¡¯m not going to pretend like I like any one of you any more than I did when we first met¡­but I can give you my word, that the girl and your Chancellor will be fine. If you don¡¯t believe me, believe the Major.¡± He met Chloe¡¯s eyes as he said the last bit.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Hardy said then, nodding at them in a reassuring manner. ¡°I¡¯ve corresponded with the Council previously, and they don¡¯t seem like trouble. Politicians, sure, but nothing we can¡¯t handle.¡±


    ¡°I will take your word,¡± Jin said, looking to Aiden. ¡°But you should also take mine. Should your Council attempt anything I deem malicious or threatening to myself or anything else I might care about¡­I will not hesitate to paint your concrete walls red with their blood. Do you understand me?¡±


    Andre shrugged. ¡°Loud and clear.¡±


    Hardy stepped into the elevator. Jin followed him. As the elevator doors slid shut, Hardy nodded at them. ¡°See you in a bit,¡± he said, before the doors shut entirely, their heartbeats silenced at once behind the concrete and steel.


    ¡°Now we wait,¡± Andre said, sliding his hands into his pockets.


    ¡°How many people are up there?¡± Jon queried. ¡°The Council.¡±


    ¡°President¡¯s not there today or there¡¯d be a lot more security around so it¡¯s the seven members,¡± Andre answered. ¡°Three from the Democratic Party, those ones are headed by Rebecca Park, beautiful woman, pretty cold though. Then there¡¯s a further three from the Republican party, headed by Raymond Atwell. Smart guy, think he studied law or something back before the world went to shit. And then there¡¯s Hayley Donovan, she represents one of the independent parties on the council. Not as beautiful as Rebecca or as smart as Raymond, but she is pretty frightening¡­got all sorts of ins with benefactors and what have you. If anything¡¯s going to go wrong up there, it¡¯ll be because of her.¡±


    ¡°You said nothing would¡ª,¡± Chloe began.


    ¡°I know.¡± Andre nodded. ¡°And it won¡¯t. Erwin let the girl live. Might mean not a whole lot to you, but it¡¯ll be a big deal to them. They¡¯ll be afraid of crossing him. Even Donovan.¡±


    Andre led them away from the elevator then, into a small room that¡¯d been hidden behind a wall and had required Andre¡¯s biometric scan to be opened. The room was a cozy¡ªthe floor was made of fine, polished wood and there were draperies all over to give it the sort of life that was sorely missing in the rest of the Hall.


    The lights here were golden and warm, as opposed to fluorescent white and cold. Bookshelves lined one section of wall, and at the center of the room, four couches had been placed around a glass table that doubled as a mini-aquarium. It was currently empty.


    ¡°Why¡¯s a room like this hidden?¡± Jon asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s not hidden,¡± Andre answered. ¡°Just out of the way. Most of the rooms in the Hall are. You can identify where a room is by studying the lines in the wall. This one¡¯s just a lounge, in use whenever the Council¡¯s got visitors. Make yourselves comfortable.¡±


    Behind them, the opening in the wall slid shut. Chloe twitched slightly at that.


    ¡°You¡¯re not prisoners,¡± Andre reiterated. ¡°Sure, you haven¡¯t got a whole lot of fans here seeing as an entire district got destroyed under your watch, but we¡¯re not trying to keep you prisoner either¡ª,¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Jon interrupted.


    Andre frowned. ¡°What? Your district did get destroyed, didn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°And that¡¯s our fault?¡± Aiden asked.


    ¡°You¡¯re Pandorans, Lost Ones,¡± Andre said as he bent by a cabinet in the room, fetching a pack of chips from it. He tore the pack open, immediately stuffed his mouth with the chips, chewing away hungrily at them while the others watched, expressions ranging from confusion to bewilderment on their faces. ¡°The district was your responsibility,¡± he continued, voice muffled by chips now. ¡°By extension, that makes its destruction your fault.¡±


    Andre headed to a fridge, opened it up and grabbed a canned soda. He popped the can open and downed it in one go, before tossing the empty can across the room and finding the bin easily. He headed to one of the couches then, plopped onto it, and dug his hand into the bag of chips again. He looked up at them, noticed the expressions on their faces and frowned. ¡°What? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re mad about me calling things as they are.¡±


    ¡°How are you doing that?¡± Chloe asked, eyeing him oddly.


    ¡°Doing what?¡± Andre frowned. He glanced down at the bag of chips, then at them. His eyes widened as though the realization had just dawned on him. ¡°Oh, I forget some of the older ones had dietary restrictions. You guys can¡¯t process anything other than blood, can you? Saw this dude try to eat a piece of chocolate cake once and he hurled up a storm.¡±


    ¡°What are you?¡± Jon demanded, narrowing his gaze.


    ¡°Pandoran,¡± Andre answered, stuffing his mouth full with chips again. ¡°Like you,¡± he continued. ¡°Only slightly newer, more refined. I need the blood much as you do, of course¡­but I¡¯ve got a broader range of appetite.¡±


    ¡°And Erwin?¡± Chloe asked. ¡°He¡¯s like you?¡±


    Andre snorted. ¡°God no. Closer to you than he is to me. Erwin, he¡¯s what we call special rank here,¡± he said. ¡°Generation Zero. Among the very first set of Pandorans there were and that¡¯s no small thing either. The first Pandorans, they were¡ª,¡±


    ¡°Unstable,¡± Jon murmured. ¡°Driven by base animal instinct, fueled entirely by rage and bloodlust, devoid of human inhibition. They had to be killed off.¡±


    ¡°Most of them,¡± Andre corrected. ¡°There were a few¡­special ones, so greatly convicted and committed, whose minds had been laser focused on specific goals and motivations that kept them tethered to some humanity. They were able to tame those wilder instincts of theirs, were able to function in regular society. Of course, at the time, people frowned greatly upon the Pandora Project, especially after how much of generation zero had turned out so these success stories had to be hidden, their records expunged entirely.¡±


    ¡°And Erwin was one of them?¡± Jon asked.


    Andre nodded. ¡°The special ranks, they¡¯re much, much stronger than we are. Much faster, they¡¯ve got sharper senses, better everything. Then things got worse with time, and for how strong they were, they weren¡¯t just enough in numbers to handle how bad things were getting. Then came the newer generations. With each generation, more stability was the target. The samples drawn from the angry gods were constantly diluted, mixed with other stuff, re-engineered. If the files I¡¯ve seen on you guys are correct, you¡¯re all fourth generation.¡±


    ¡°And you are?¡±


    ¡°Sixth.¡± Andre held up six fingers. ¡°Fifth gen didn¡¯t go all that well either, so I suppose you could say I¡¯m part of the generation that came right after yours. Officially, that is.¡±


    ¡°How many more like Erwin are there?¡± Chloe asked.


    Andre shrugged. ¡°Dunno. Don¡¯t think the Council does either. Only one who¡¯d be privy to that sort of information¡¯s the President himself, Reginald Lincoln.¡±


    ¡°Lincoln,¡± Chloe said. ¡°Like your badge?¡±


    Andre looked at the badge on his sleeve, then at Chloe. Rather than provide a response, he simply smiled. And then he returned to his chips.


    ¡°I hate him,¡± Lucas growled a few minutes later as they all sat around in the silence of the lounge, a silence only interrupted by the crunching of chips in Andre¡¯s mouth and the satisfied grunts he kept producing.


    Andre glanced in Lucas¡¯s direction as he spoke, and simply winked at him. Lucas growled in response.


    ¡°Ignore him,¡± Chloe said, doing her best to shut out the crunching sounds and the nauseating smell of chips. Thankfully, she didn¡¯t need to do this very long since only after ten minutes, Andre shifted into an upright position, raised a hand to his left ear then got to his feet.


    ¡°Meeting¡¯s done,¡± he announced.


    He led them out of the lounge and back to the elevator, all of them arriving just as Hardy and Jin emerged, both of them unhurt. Jin, however, looked greatly annoyed.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Jon folded his arms. ¡°What do they want?¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m officially now a former Chancellor,¡± Hardy announced with a heavy sigh. ¡°Not that I didn¡¯t see that coming. They¡¯ll figure out what to do with me later but as of now, I am no longer a commanding officer to any of you.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re pinning what happened to the district on you?¡± Chloe asked.


    ¡°They have to pin it on someone,¡± Hardy said, shrugging. ¡°They¡¯re not much willing to make it public knowledge that what we¡¯re dealing with¡¯s an alien invasion. They need a cover story, and I¡¯m a pretty good one.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous!¡± Jon yelled angrily. ¡°They¡ª,¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the right thing to do,¡± Hardy continued, his tone calm, resigned. ¡°If they went public with it, there¡¯d be panic, maybe an uproar. And there¡¯s no telling how badly things might escalate, what matters people might try to take into their hands.¡±


    ¡°So they¡¯re just going to hide this?¡± Lucas asked. ¡°Going to try to hide what happened? What we learned? How Spike died? We¡¯re supposed to all pretend like that didn¡¯t happen? How do we explain her?¡± He gestured toward Jin.


    ¡°They¡¯ll register her in the databases as a product of Pandora. For official records, purposes that is. As of now and as far as anyone else is concerned, she¡¯s a member of your unit. She goes where you go, no exceptions. They also want to run tests on her, examine the power source, examine her blood, what it can do.¡±


    ¡°I am no lab rat,¡± Jin hissed then, and Chloe knew that¡¯d been why she¡¯d looked unpleased.


    ¡°So this is it?¡± Jon asked. ¡°That¡¯s just it?¡±


    ¡°For now, yes.¡± Hardy nodded. ¡°You¡¯ll receive orders soon enough, deploying you elsewhere, probably, soon as they¡¯re done with whatever tests they want to conduct. And uh, guess I get to enjoy retirement a little earlier than I¡¯d planned.¡±


    ¡°Hardy, I¡ª,¡± Jon began.


    ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± Hardy said softly. He smiled and his eyes gleamed somewhat. He placed a hand on Jon¡¯s shoulder and cleared his throat before speaking again. ¡°It¡¯s for the best,¡± he said. ¡°Take care of them, would you?¡± He gestured toward Chloe and the others.


    Jon nodded. ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°Good man,¡± Hardy said, patting Jon¡¯s shoulder before walking right past, making his way in the direction of the exit, vanishing from view after only a few seconds.


    A minute passed as they all stood in total silence, nothing but the sound of their heartbeats to listen to, their faces down, eyes trained at the ground. Then Jon cleared his throat.


    ¡°No point just standing around. Situation¡¯s changed, it¡¯s part of the job. We adapt and we keep going.¡± He looked at Andre. ¡°There a place for us to stay?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Andre nodded. ¡°Come on, I¡¯ll show you to your new home.¡±

 Chapter 14

    Her vision blurred out of focus as her head slammed into the ground.


    In an instant, there was a great weight atop her and her hands were pinned behind her back. One hand held her face to the ground, ensuring she couldn¡¯t move. She grunted, attempted with her free hand to scratch at her attacker¡¯s face but it was futile.


    ¡°Do you submit?¡±


    Chloe grunted again, swiping with her free hand. After several futile attempts, she let out a defeated groan then clapped her hand against the padded floor in submission. The hold on her was relinquished immediately, and she immediately flipped onto her back, drawing a deep breath.


    Over her stood a tall, muscular woman with buzz-cut brown hair, sharp eyebrows and darkly serious gray eyes. The woman¡¯s neck was covered entirely in tattoos, as were her arms which were visible in the earth green tank top she had on.


    Ari offered a hand to Chloe. Chloe accepted it, let the woman pull her to her feet.


    ¡°Do you see where you went wrong?¡± Ari queried, as soon as Chloe was back on her feet.


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t fast enough,¡± Chloe mumbled, wiping beads of sweat off her forehead. From all around her came heaves and grunts and groans, and the sound of rapidly exchanged fists and kicks.


    The Barracks was a large place, split into two compounds. Both compounds were in use by the National Army, except one was in use by the regular soldiers and had stuff like firing ranges, and entire small buildings filled to the brim with all sorts of artillery. The second compound, which they were in, was intended for Pandoran training.


    At the moment, they were inside a large building with a glass ceiling that let the sunlight in. The building was a single, very wide, very long room. At one end of the room were standard training equipment¡ªreinforced punching bags and weights normal people wouldn¡¯t have been able to lift even an inch off the ground, along with modified treadmills and whatnot. There were also rows of fridges filled with nothing but blood bags. Refreshments.


    But the equipment wasn¡¯t in use today. Today, they were sparring, and the entire thing was being supervised by Ari Greene who was a third-gen Pandoran, and one of the Commanders of the National Army Pandoran Division. Around the room, they¡¯d broken off in twos, and they were all clad the same. Earth green tank tops and dark gray compression pants.


    There were other Pandorans in there whose names Chloe either didn¡¯t know or could barely recall. Lucas had been paired off with a hulking, slightly ugly red-haired boy whose entire body rippled as he moved and despite his size, he moved pretty quickly. Jon had been paired against Riley, a short, scrawny, brown, curly-haired boy whose appearance had been rather greatly deceiving since he¡¯d sent Jon flying about thrice since they¡¯d started sparring. Aiden was up against Andre, and it¡¯d become obvious to Chloe why Andre had been so smug earlier¡ªhe was strong. Incredibly strong, and he fought with an air of nonchalance, his movements seeming languid yet precise, his attacks predictable yet unavoidable. Aiden had barely been able to get a solid blow in and that was frightening, since Chloe was pretty sure Andre was holding back.


    Jin, on the other hand, was up against three Pandorans. She¡¯d started out in a one on one like the rest of them, but she¡¯d asked for an increased challenge after only a few minutes. And despite the numerical disadvantage she had to deal with, she still seemed pretty in charge of her fight, weaving between blows with almost mocking ease, and countering with precise blows of her own.


    Ari cleared her throat then, drawing Chloe¡¯s attention back to her. ¡°I asked, do you see where you went wrong?¡±


    Chloe¡¯s gaze snapped back to the Commander. She shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I wasn¡¯t fast enough?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re plenty fast,¡± Ari said. ¡°Issue¡¯s not your speed or your strength. In that regard, there¡¯s not much separating you from anyone else here. Issue¡¯s up here.¡± Ari tapped a finger against her head. ¡°You¡¯re thinking too much about what to do and how best to do it, second-guessing yourself, spending too long looking for openings and making it clear exactly where you¡¯re going to strike.¡±


    Chloe frowned. ¡°What exactly is the point of this? We¡¯re out there fighting monsters stupider and slower than us. Is the training really necessary?¡±


    ¡°Believe me,¡± Ari said, her tone dark, ¡°There¡¯s some monsters you haven¡¯t fought yet. And you¡¯ll want to know what I know if you want to stand a chance at surviving against them when the time comes.¡±


    Chloe sighed, then wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her palm. ¡°Alright, alright,¡± she said, nodding, moving a few feet away from Ari and taking up a battle stance again, dropping one shoulder slightly. ¡°So I¡¯m thinking too much. What do you want me to do?¡±


    ¡°Concentrate,¡± Ari answered. ¡°Not on me. On everything else. Use your senses, let your instincts guide your movements. Give yourself in to that part of your brain that¡¯s wired exactly for things like this.¡±


    ¡°You mean the part that wants me to kill and devour everything in sight?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Ari yelled, and then pounced.


    She blurred forward, and Chloe had to shift onto her rear to avoid Ari¡¯s first swing. The Commander, however, was unrelenting. Six consecutive jabs followed.


    Chloe moved quickly from left to right, avoiding the strikes, feeling for the shifts in the air every time Ari moved, predicting exactly where each strike was going. Not wanting to get pinned into being on the defensive, she shifted back onto the front foot, going at Ari, throwing powerful, precise jabs. She didn¡¯t attempt to throw too many punches quickly, or to overwhelm Ari. She simply focused on putting as much force into each blow as she could.


    Ari dodged a few of them, and then attempted to deflect the last. As soon as the blow made contact, Ari¡¯s eyes widened and she staggered backward a little. Chloe surged forward without hesitation, charging right into an attempt to sweep Ari off her feet and knock her to the ground.


    Ari recovered in time. She avoided Chloe¡¯s sweeping leg and in a blur of movement, she¡¯d stunned Chloe with two blows. Chloe, staggered, shook her head in order to regain her focus and went again.


    She swung a few more times. Now, however, Ari knew to be careful. She avoided the blows by remaining quick on her feet, didn¡¯t even attempt to deflect any. And then she spun around one of Chloe¡¯s blows. The miss sent Chloe staggering off balance and the next instant, she felt a hand around her neck lift her clean up off her feet before slamming her to the ground.


    Almost instantly, she had a hand pinned behind her back, her face once again held to the ground.


    ¡°Some improvement,¡± Ari said. ¡°But not nearly enough.¡±


    Ari released her, then helped her to her feet again.


    Chloe dusted herself off. ¡°I almost had you.¡±


    ¡°You did,¡± Ari agreed with a nod. ¡°And then you let it slip. You became too eager. Control your emotions, or¡ª,¡±


    She was interrupted then by a loud howl followed by a thud. Everyone else stopped sparring then, and looked in the direction the howl had come from.


    Lucas was standing over his red-haired sparring partner, fists firmly clenched at his side. The red-haired boy was on the ground now, bent over on his knees, one hand over his nose. The boy looked at Lucas and glared, then pulled his hand from his nose to reveal dark blood spilling out of it.


    ¡°Bring up Spike again,¡± Lucas said softly, ¡°And it won¡¯t be your nose that breaks.¡±


    The boy looked at the blood in his hands, and at the blood that was dripping to the floor. His expression, initially one of shock, soon shifted into embarrassment and then, very quickly, into fury.


    Roaring loudly, the boy charged right at Lucas, slamming into him headfirst and tackling him to the ground.


    ¡°WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!¡± the boy bellowed. He raised a fist, and brought it down on Lucas.


    Lucas deflected the blow, and with one gesture, sent the boy rolling off of him, hastily returning to his feet. Chloe took a step toward the fight but Ari stretched a hand out in front of her, blocking her off.


    The red-haired boy returned to his feet too, spun in Lucas¡¯s direction and snarled furiously, baring fangs at Lucas.


    He charged again, and swung a powerful fist at Lucas. Lucas ducked beneath the blow, and sent a fist slamming into the boy¡¯s chest, staggering him back a few feet. The boy swung again, Lucas weaved out of reach, then threw another punch.


    The boy caught it this time, yanking at Lucas, pulling him close before slamming his head right into Lucas¡¯s face. There was a loud crack as Lucas¡¯s nose broke, and then a blow to the stomach sent him back a few steps and dropping to one knee.


    The boy advanced on Lucas, who remained on one knee, dazed from the blow. The boy seized Lucas by his hair, tilting his face upward. He raised a fist, ready to strike. And then, in a blur of movement, the boy went flying through the air, crashing right into a wall before dropping to the ground.


    Standing where the boy had been just moments earlier was Andre. Andre looked at Lucas, and his expression seemed a little annoyed but also somewhat sympathetic. ¡°You¡¯re a soldier,¡± Andre said softly. ¡°Start acting like one.¡±


    The red-haired boy, dazed from his collision with the wall, staggered to his feet. Andre blurred toward the boy and had him pinned to the wall in a moment.


    ¡°What the hell you think you¡¯re doing, Conrad?¡± Andre demanded. ¡°Strike another soldier while he¡¯s down?¡±


    ¡°He started it!¡± the boy, Conrad, bellowed.


    ¡°No.¡± Andre shook his head. ¡°You did. Step out of line again, you¡¯ll regret it.¡±


    Conrad snarled. ¡°What, you think I¡¯m scared of you, superstar?¡±


    Andre scoffed, the corners of his lips curling into an oddly cold smile. ¡°I don¡¯t know, Connie,¡± he said. ¡°You tell me.¡±


    A tense silence followed, with the two of them locking eyes, Andre¡¯s expressionless stare meeting Conrad¡¯s furious glare. Finally, Conrad simply snorted.


    ¡°Yeah, sure, whatever,¡± he muttered, shrugging Andre¡¯s hand off before sulking away.


    ¡°Conrad,¡± Ari called, halting the boy in his tracks. All eyes in the room fell on her, expressions both anticipating and a little wary. She walked toward him, her strides long and quick yet eerily quiet. She walked straight past him and in the direction of a door that led into out of the building. ¡°Follow,¡± she said and then, to Andre, ¡°Train with Chloe.¡±


    Andre grunted in response, and watched like the others did as Ari left the building, Conrad just behind her. As soon as the door had been shut behind them, whispers broke out.


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°He might be screwed this time,¡± one boy whispered. ¡°Third disciplinary issue in a month. Unlikely that the Commander lets it slide again.¡±


    ¡°Stupid of him to do that while she¡¯s watching.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t believe one of the newbies got Connie screwed.¡±


    ¡°You think¡ª,¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± Andre¡¯s voice silenced the whispers that had broke out, and all eyes focused toward him. Chloe noticed how the others stirred slightly, stances becoming a little more uptight as they watched Andre. ¡°Get back to work,¡± he instructed, before turning in Chloe¡¯s direction and marching toward her, strides almost robotic.


    When he reached her, he held both fists up. ¡°Ready?¡±


    Chloe studied him curiously for a moment and only just. Before, when they¡¯d first met, there¡¯d been an air of cockiness and smugness around him and now it was entirely gone. It was almost as though he was an entirely different person now. And Conrad had seemed scared of him. Even the others. The way they¡¯d looked at him, there¡¯d been some sort of¡­wariness. But also a degree of respect.


    She took a step toward him and threw up both fists. She gave him a nod. ¡°Ready.¡±


    They saw nothing of Hardy over the next week. The Capital was a lot larger than District 7 had been and there were a lot more faces around, so it wasn¡¯t at all difficult to lose track of someone in there. There wasn¡¯t a communal Mess Hall or anything of the sort either, so if you wanted to find someone in the Capital, you had to know exactly where they were.


    ¡°Tenth floor, Donner Rise,¡± Andre answered when Chloe asked of Hardy¡¯s whereabouts. They¡¯d just finished another of the sparring sessions with Ari, and were walking through the Capital, returning to Whitlow Park, a small cluster of apartment buildings where most of the National Army soldiers and Pandorans stayed.


    As Andre answered, he pointed out the skyrise he was referring to. It was a crooked thing, and degraded looking, paint peeled off everywhere. Sections of it were incomplete, construction there long ago abandoned and yet there were lights from inside the building that indicated it was in use. ¡°You¡¯ll find him there.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s his apartment?¡± Chloe asked.


    ¡°No, Dana¡¯s,¡± Andre said. When Chloe looked confused, he sighed. ¡°It¡¯s a bar. But yeah, I suppose you could call it his apartment, he¡¯s pretty much been living there. Been there every day this week.¡±


    ¡°And you didn¡¯t think to mention?¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t ask me before now.¡± Andre shrugged. ¡°Besides, I¡¯ve tried to get him out of there. He¡¯s not at all interested in the help, and if I weren¡¯t capable of regenerating in seconds, I¡¯d have a broken nose to show for it.¡±


    ¡°Why¡¯d you try to help him?¡±


    ¡°Because he was a Chancellor. A soldier. Shouldn¡¯t have to see him like that.¡± Whitlow Park came into view then. ¡°If you want to help him though then go for it, but I don¡¯t see much coming out of it.¡±


    Chloe told Jon of Hardy¡¯s whereabouts a little while later when he arrived at Whitlow, and he seemed not at all surprised when she did.


    ¡°I know,¡± he said, letting out a great sigh. ¡°Heard word of some grumpy drunk who¡¯d been stirring up fights over there. Didn¡¯t take long to figure out it was him. Went to see him, wasn¡¯t any good.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s it?¡± Chloe asked. ¡°We¡¯re supposed to just leave him like that?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯ll snap out of it,¡± Jon replied. ¡°Eventually. He just needs time to cool off, process things, reorient himself. Can¡¯t be easy to have the blame all dumped on him like that.¡±


    ¡°We shouldn¡¯t have let the Council¡ª,¡±


    ¡°Hey, he knew it was better this way,¡± Jon said. ¡°We don¡¯t want to stir up a widespread panic. You go around screaming alien invasion to everyone and things will get pretty blood, pretty fast. It¡¯s better like this, easier to think about what we¡¯re going to do to try and stop whatever the hell¡¯s going on.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± Chloe nodded. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right¡­it just sucks.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± Jon agreed. ¡°Always does.¡±


    Another week went by in the Capital, where they did nothing but train and go on the usual patrols. There were more Pandorans in the Capital, and so a lot more shifts for the patrols which meant a great deal of their time was actually spent completely unoccupied, seeing as they hadn¡¯t been assigned any special tasks either.


    During the second week, they also started to see less of Andre. He turned up to only one sparring session the entire week and Ari too went AWOL, the training sessions being supervised instead by one Regan Vaughn, a brooding Proterran who reminded Chloe an awful lot of Erwin, and not in a good way at all.


    Vaughn was a lot more unforgiving in his training than Ari was, and the sparring become more akin to actual bloodlust-driven bouts of combat than training sessions, ending often in people limping off with bleeding noses and swollen eyes.


    ¡°You¡¯ll heal,¡± Vaughn would growl. ¡°Walk it off.¡±


    After the final sparring session at the end of the week, one supervised by Vaughn and a returned Ari, Chloe and the others were asked to remain behind while the others flocked out.


    Chloe, Jon and Jin exchanged dark looks at once, and Chloe could see Jin visibly tense, already preparing herself for trouble.


    ¡°Come with us,¡± Vaughn growled, once it was just them.


    They all hesitated to move, but Ari gave them a gentle, slightly reassuring nod. Then Jon took the lead, stepping forward. Vaughn grunted in response then turned and made for the exit, Ari at his side. The rest of them followed.


    He led them to a different section of the Barracks, some sort of operation or command center. Indoors, it was dark, gloomy, most of the light stemming from the many dozen computer screens at desks in the room. A particularly large screen which hung from the ceiling showed data about the other Districts.


    On the screen, a map of each District, along with the name of their Chancellors and their status. The map of District 7 was highlighted in crimson, and was simply labeled: TERMINATED.


    The other District maps were highlighted in green, the only other exception being District 5, highlighted in an amber shade, its status described as: THREATENED.


    Vaughn led them to a raised glass enclosure within the room, where they found Andre already waiting. He was in a white T-shirt and ripped jeans. His hair was rough, and one of his eyes looked slightly bruised.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Jon asked, once they were in the glass enclosure.


    Vaughn and Ari faced them then, the strictest expressions on their faces. ¡°You¡¯ve been given your deployment orders,¡± Vaughn answered. ¡°From the Council.¡±


    Chloe¡¯s heart jumped slightly, and she tensed even more.


    Jon crossed his arms. ¡°Where are we going?¡±


    Vaughn glanced at Ari and nodded. Ari nodded back, picked a remote control from the desk in the room then turned, aimed it at the large screen. She pressed a button, and brought up a zoomed-up version of District 5¡¯s map. The map occupied a great deal of the screen, and right next to it was an image, beneath which a bunch of information was displayed. The image was of a man, and the information seemed to be data they had on him.


    The man had dark hair in the picture, short and straight, graying already. He had bushy eyebrows, deep set brown eyes, a thick gray-streaked beard on his wrinkling face. There was a sharp edge to his appearance, making him look stern, greatly intimidating.


    His name, Chancellor Stephen Bridge. Aged 56. Chancellor of District 5 for three years. No biological offspring. He¡¯d taught Chemistry and Biology in the past and had also served a brief stint in the army, as a military doctor. His clearance level was at level 3.


    Chloe knew there were seven clearance levels, so clearly he wasn¡¯t a particularly high-ranked or highly-trusted officer.


    Vaughn cleared his throat, drawing their attention back to him. ¡°Deployment¡¯s to Five,¡± he said. ¡°Your task is to investigate a series of recent troubling¡­activity within the district.¡±


    Jin shifted. ¡°What kind of troubling activity?¡± she asked, raising an eyebrow over the other. ¡°Has it anything to do with The Others? My father?¡±


    Vaughn shook his head. ¡°We don¡¯t know,¡± he answered truthfully. ¡°That¡¯s what makes it troubling. Over a few weeks now, perhaps even months, children in the District have been steadily vanishing and without a trace. There one night, gone by morning. The Pandoran division there had been tasked with investigation.¡±


    Ari pushed a button again and Chancellor Bridge¡¯s profile vanished, as did the map. On the screen now, six images, six different people.


    Liam Heller. Daniel Heller. Lucy Jameson. Estelle Park. Mason West. Yuri Voss.


    At the sight of the image on Mason West, Chloe¡¯s eyes went wide. He was averagely built, neither skinny nor broad. His face was thin and he had dark curly hair that was trimmed at the sides, just the way she remembered it looking. His eyes were a light brown, and a little mischievous. And even with his face looking stern in the image, he still somehow managed to look unserious.


    She¡¯d met him before. Back in District 7. He¡¯d arrived there in a car being pursued by Servants. He was an Outsider, someone who wasn¡¯t in any of Aurora¡¯s Districts and protocol with them was almost always to send them back wherever they¡¯d come from, or send them off for the Pandoran experiment. Mason had been sent off to Pandora, to be made a soldier.


    They¡¯d heard nothing about him since and had believed the procedure must have failed on him, and that he¡¯d died.


    But there he was now, his image on the screen along with five others. His image was highlighted in Red and his Status simply read: ???.


    The same was true of Liam Heller, Daniel Heller, Lucy Jameson and Estelle Park, none of whom Chloe had ever met. All highlighted in red, all with unknown statuses. The fifth image, Yuri Voss, was highlighted in green.


    She was captain of the unit.


    ¡°What the hell happened?¡± Jon murmured, taking a step forward, his gaze focused on the screen.


    ¡°Their unit got wiped out, we think,¡± Andre answered, wincing slightly as he did, raising one hand to his head. He rose to his feet and stepped forward, limping slightly. Chloe wondered what had happened to him. ¡°Children vanished, they investigated,¡± he continued to speak. ¡°The only one still accounted for, Captain Yuri¡­she¡¯s not got much idea what happened. It all happened too quickly, she said. They were attacked by things that were strong, fast, violent¡­hungry.¡±


    Chloe shuddered.


    ¡°She was the only one who made it out,¡± Andre said. ¡°When she went back in later, the others were gone. Missing. Left behind was a trail of blood that led to nothing. As of now, every other member of her unit is presumed dead.¡±


    ¡°How do you know this?¡± Chloe asked, raising one eyebrow over the other.


    ¡°Well, for starters, she called it in,¡± Andre replied. ¡°And I also just spent the week in District 5, investigating on behalf of the Council, looking for clues and answers of my own.¡±


    ¡°You went alone?¡± Jon asked.


    ¡°Went with her.¡± Andre gestured toward Ari. ¡°Council wanted a small op, it was just slight recon to find out exactly what had happened there, see if we could dig up anything major.¡±


    ¡°Did you?¡± Chloe frowned.


    Andre shook his head. ¡°Got attacked too while I was doing my digging. And Captain Yuri? When she said the things that attacked them were strong and fast? She wasn¡¯t lying. I barely stood a chance, whatever that thing was, it could have killed me. It should have killed me. If Commander Ari didn¡¯t get to me in time¡ª,¡±


    Andre trailed, his eyes going a little dead. Chloe thought she saw his lips quiver.


    ¡°So we¡¯re dealing with killers capable of taking down an entire Pandoran unit,¡± Jon murmured. ¡°It¡¯s gotta be other Pandorans, right?¡±


    ¡°Or something else my father¡¯s made.¡± Jin sounded frightened.


    ¡°And you want us to go in there,¡± Chloe said, addressing Vaughn and Ari now. ¡°You want us finding the answers you couldn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°I have other commitments,¡± Ari said. ¡°So does Vaughn. If I didn¡¯t, I¡¯d get to the bottom of this myself, tear apart whatever was responsible. But I need to be elsewhere, and much as your track record leaves a lot to be desired, truth is your unit has a valuable amount of battle experience, particularly given your recent ordeals. The resilience you displayed, your survival¡­the Council thinks¡ª,¡±


    ¡°Cut the crap.¡± Jon rolled his eyes. ¡°We¡¯re Pandorans. We know how it works. We¡¯re the expendable soldiers. If things go south and we die, Council¡¯s probably glad to have us out of the way.¡±


    Ari said nothing, nor did Vaughn.


    ¡°Children are vanishing,¡± Andre said. ¡°Whatever reason the Council has for sending us doesn¡¯t matter. We can¡¯t say no to this.¡±


    ¡°Wait, us?¡± Chloe repeated, frowning at Andre in confusion. ¡°You¡¯re coming with?¡±


    ¡°We need someone there for observation,¡± Ari answered. ¡°Andre will tag along with your unit. Jonathan¡¯s still your captain, he calls the shots and Andre¡¯s under orders to comply. But he¡¯s got a direct line to us and is expected to report on everything that happens, ensures maximum transparency.¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s a monster hunt then,¡± Lucas said. ¡°Works for me.¡±


    ¡°More than just that.¡± Vaughn shook his head. ¡°Bridge, the Chancellor¡­he won¡¯t like that Capital¡¯s intervening like this there, so you¡¯ll need to get on his good side first, get his approval for what we¡¯re about to do. Don¡¯t want him feeling emasculated.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± Jon nodded. ¡°And then the missing children. Where do we start our investigation on that?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a man there,¡± Andre said. ¡°Pastor Miguel. I met him. Sees a good enough chap, runs an orphanage and he¡¯s willing to let us stay there while we¡¯re in the District. We can conduct some of our investigations there, see if we find out anything about the missing kids, or if we can pick up a trail that¡¯ll lead us to them.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re not being chosen for this because you¡¯re expendable,¡± Ari said. ¡°We¡¯re all on the same side here. If what you learn¡¯s far too worrying, if you find yourselves in over your heads or in some sort of danger you can¡¯t handle, send communication back to us. We¡¯ll try to send more help.¡±


    ¡°When do we leave?¡± Jon asked.


    ¡°Immediately.¡± Both Ari and Vaughn answered in unison. ¡°We¡¯ve got two choppers ready to get you there. You¡¯ll land outside the District and make your way in through the regular entrance, go through all of the regular procedures. We want to avoid stepping on any toes here.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Jon nodded. ¡°Is there anything else at all we need to know? Anything you might have left out of this briefing, conveniently or inconveniently?¡±


    Ari exchanged looks with Vaughn. ¡°Yes,¡± she said, nodding. ¡°Just one more thing.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Chloe asked.


    ¡°Be careful.¡±

 Chapter 15

    It was pouring when they arrived in District 5.


    The rain stormed from the skies to the earth with blinding intensity, hazing everything such that they needed to shield their eyes and squint somewhat to see properly. The choppers touched down just beyond the boundary of the district, and they all alighted at once, clad in simple clothes rather than tactical gear, duffel bags with them that contained their gear and other clothes.


    They were soaked, along with their bags, by the time they¡¯d covered the distance between the landing point and the district¡¯s primary entrance. Thunder rumbled overhead and lightning flashed through the skies and through all of that, they could still hear the humming of the electromagnetic fences that shielded the district.


    At the primary entrance, they were halted by helmeted guards. Human, not Pandoran, and clad in gear.


    ¡°What is this?¡± one of the guards demanded as he saw them, one hand already inching toward his holstered pistol. ¡°State your business.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re with Capital,¡± Andre answered, presenting a gold badge that bore House Lincoln on it. At the sight of the badge, the guard¡¯s stance shifted slightly, a noticeable discomfort spreading across his face. He walked to the other guard, said something to him that was lost under the roar of the rain, then he raised his shoulder slightly and spoke into the walkie talkie pinned there.


    A few seconds passed before he returned to them. ¡°Come with me,¡± he said and led them through the primary entrance to a closeby shed where three trucks had been parked. He had them place their bags in the back of one of the trucks, then climbed into the driver¡¯s seat while the others stuffed themselves in. The front passenger¡¯s seat could take two so Chloe and Jon went in there while Jin, Lucas, Aiden, and Andre stuffed themselves in the back.


    ¡°Bit late,¡± the guard said as he steered the truck out of the shed, hastily rolling up the windows so the rain wouldn¡¯t get in. ¡°Chancellor won¡¯t be able to see you till dawn comes. You can stay with the boys up in the Quarters, ¡®less of course yeh¡¯ve got a place of your own to stay in here.¡±


    ¡°Miguel¡¯s Home,¡± Andre said.


    The guard frowned at Andre through the rearview mirror. ¡°The orphanage?¡± He sounded slightly confused. ¡°Well, alright then.¡±


    District 5 was circinate.


    The buildings, mostly of brick or concrete were laid out in circles, and there were multiple layers. The outer layer mostly had crooked brick buildings and shacks, granite path going round it. Then there were taller brick buildings in the next layer, some of which were wide too. On and on it went, multiple circular layers of buildings and tents and whatnot, with the innermost layer having a suburban sort of feel to it, appearing like it¡¯d been ripped right out of TV dramas about cheating housewives and whatnot.


    The district had a nightclub, one that looked rather old, its neon signs barely functional, flickering every few seconds. Outside the nightclub had been peopled on sleeping bags, or even just sprawled on the porch, bottles and empty wrappers littered around them. The windows were cracked in places, and broken entirely in others. Inside the nightclub, there were lights, but no music or anything of the sort.


    Chloe deduced it mustn¡¯t have been a club in a long, long time.


    At the center of the district, a mansion supported by Greek-style columns. Every balcony of the mansion had turrets mounted, as well as a stationed guard armed with a sniper rifle.


    ¡°Bridge¡¯s mansion,¡± said the guard driving them when the mansion came into view. ¡°Heavily guarded recently, no doubt because of the recent shit been going on.¡±


    ¡°You mean the missing kids?¡± Jon asked.


    ¡°Uh-huh.¡± The guard grunted. ¡°And an entire unit of Pandorans wiped out, a few other soldiers parted gruesomely from their limbs and heads. Got everyone here spooked, on high alert. Used to be that there¡¯d be stragglers and Outsiders desperately trying to get in the districts, seeking shelter, food.¡±


    ¡°And that¡¯s not the case anymore?¡± Chloe looked at the guard.


    He snorted. ¡°Far from it as can get at the moment,¡± he answered. ¡°Now we¡¯ve got to deal with small riots multiple times a day, people trying to flock out of the district, try their luck someplace else, maybe even head for one of the others. But other districts are at capacity or so they say¡­you ask me, I think they just don¡¯t want any part in the shit going on here.¡±


    ¡°Christ,¡± Jon murmured.


    ¡°Christ¡¯s about right.¡± The guard snorted again.


    A few minutes later, he brought the truck to a stop outside a two-storey brick building, with flowers hung on the walls and placed on the ground outside in pots. A set of stairs led up to the building¡¯s front porch and on the porch, a couple benches around a table, a chess board left on the table, its pieces scattered all over, no doubt blown about by the wind.


    Lights shone through a few of the building¡¯s windows, but more of them were entirely dark.


    One after the other, they alighted from the truck, and hurried onto the porch with their bags, eager to get out of the rain.


    ¡°Sure hope you¡¯ve got more luck on your side than the last unit of Pandorans,¡± the guard said, before rolling out of view in his truck, the lights of the vehicle very quickly reducing to nothing more than an ambient glow in the downpour. In a few more seconds, the lights vanished entirely from view.


    Jon pressed the doorbell and waited. Overhead, thunder rumbled, more furiously than it had been before. A brilliant flash of light came a few more seconds later and Chloe saw of bolt of lightning shoot downward, somewhere in the distance.


    Jon pressed the doorbell again, and then a few more times. After what must have been the seventh attempt, Chloe heard the heavy thuds of boots moving inside the house, climbing down wooden stairs.


    She heard a scraping sound, then something akin to a gun being cocked. A click followed, then the footsteps again, getting nearer and nearer to the door.


    There were a series of clicks as the door was unlocked and then a few seconds later, it opened very slightly and very narrowly, and the barrel of a shotgun emerged between the crack, aimed right at Jon who was closest to the door.


    ¡°State your business,¡± came a raspy no-nonsense voice from behind the door. Through the crack, she made out somewhat tanned skin and fierce brown eyes, but much else of the person¡¯s appearance was hidden.


    ¡°Hey, let me,¡± Andre said from behind, making his way to the door, positioning himself right in front of the loaded shotgun. ¡°Pastor Miguel, they¡¯re with me.¡±


    ¡°Andreas,¡± said the man, distrust not yet faded from his voice. ¡°I did not expect you at this time. Or in this weather.¡±


    ¡°Andre, not Andreas,¡± Andre replied.


    There was a three-second pause. Then Miguel breathed in relief, as though Andre had just passed a test. The shotgun barrel withdrew from between the crack, and then the door opened fully.


    There was Miguel, clad in a fastened, velvet sleeping robe and in oversized sandals, rough brown hair on his head and face. At his side, the lowered shotgun. Behind him, two fearful-looking boys, neither of which could have been older than twelve or thirteen.


    ¡°Apologies,¡± Pastor Miguel said, bowing his head courteously. ¡°I trust that you understand my wariness of sudden arrivals. It has been a concerning recent few weeks here in the fifth district. And I had to verify that you truly were Andre as for all I know, we may be dealing with an enemy who can wear many faces.¡±


    ¡°Hopefully not,¡± Chloe said and shuddered.


    Pastor Miguel and the two boys, who he addressed as John and Jace, took their bags from them and headed off. Pastor Miguel returned almost immediately, and without his shotgun. ¡°Clothes will be dried before morning,¡± he said. ¡°I am Miguel Navarro, and this is my home, as well as the home of children who do not have one.¡±


    ¡°Jonathan,¡± Jon said, stepping forward and offering a handshake to Miguel. Miguel accepted the handshake with a pleasant smile. ¡°That¡¯s my sister, Chloe and then my friends, Lucas and Aiden. And uhh, Jin. We¡¯re truly grateful that you¡¯ve offered us a place to stay here.¡±


    ¡°Ah, it is you I should extend gratitude too if I am to be honest,¡± Miguel said, leaving Jon with a slightly confused frown. Miguel scratched the back of his head awkwardly. ¡°See, uhh, the truth is I did not offer room or shelter out of the goodness of my heart. Or perhaps I should say charity, for I did still do it out of goodness¡­but the consideration was not for you, but the children here.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± Jon frowned.


    ¡°The children are safer if we¡¯re staying here,¡± Andre explained.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Miguel nodded. ¡°They have been frightened lately, all the disappearances¡­and the sad deaths of those other soldiers. Your presence here would do much to alleviate much of their fears. Mine too, in all honesty. But that is enough for now, I do not wish to wake the ones who already sleep, we will have time to talk in the morning. Come, let me show you to your rooms. I hope the arrangements will be convenient enough.¡±


    Miguel locked the front door properly, before gesturing to be followed. He led them through the orphanage, past a spacious living room that had several bookshelves, toys lying around, and an entertainment center; past a neat dining room, and the adjoined kitchen; past a brown door that led into a basement which he said was for storage purposes; and then down a hallway with doors that led into other rooms, to the room at the end of the all.


    The room was moderately spacious. It was simple. There was a single bunkbed in the room, a bedside table, a desk and chair and a boarded-up window that was already missing some boards. There was a small dresser in there too, but it was empty, except for clean bath towels. Aiden and Lucas took this room, and Miguel pointed out to them where the bathroom was¡ªeveryone downstairs shared one bathroom but it was spacious and had enough toilet stalls and shower stalls for six people at a time.


    Afterward, he led them up the stairs, to a hallway identical to the one downstairs, with more rooms. The room he led them to here had more space than the one downstairs. There was a bunk bed on one side, a single one on the other. Every thing else was about the same arrangement as the downstairs room, except the dresser had three bath towels instead of two.


    Chloe, Jin and Aiden took this room, largely because of Aiden¡¯s insistence that he also get to observe Jin, which Jon decided made enough sense. This meant Jon would share a room with the two boys that had been with Miguel downstairs¡ªJohn and Jace.


    ¡°I wake the children every morning at six,¡± Miguel said. ¡°It¡¯s a bell, sounds a little like an alarm. If you hear it, do not panic. When they wake, they take their showers and then file for breakfast. I would invite you to join us at breakfast, but I am aware of the dietary restrictions most of you have and I do not have¡­err¡ª,¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Jon smiled. ¡°The rooms are enough. Everything else, we will sort ourselves.¡±


    ¡°Very well then.¡± Miguel nodded. ¡°I suppose that¡¯s it for now.¡± He let out a long yawn. ¡°I really must turn in now, it was the doorbell that woke me earlier. If you need anything, feel free to look around, help yourself. Andre here knows the lay of the building.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Jon said.


    ¡°Good night then,¡± Miguel rubbed his head sleepily. ¡°I will see you in the morning.¡±


    With that, he left them, heading to his room, which was in the same hallway. Once he¡¯d vanished into the room, Jon looked to Andre.


    ¡°You trust him?¡± Jon asked.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Andre nodded. ¡°Implicitly. He¡¯s a good man. A little aloof, I¡¯d say¡­but I trust him.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Jon said, sounding a little relieved. ¡°You guys rest tonight. We¡¯ve much work to begin with when morning comes.¡±


    Jon left them, and then Andre locked the door to the room once they were in. Chloe and Jin took the bunk bed, with Chloe taking the bottom one. Andre took the single bed, stripping from his shoes at once and placing them by the window.


    He stripped from his shirt too, hanging it over the dresser, then grabbing one of the bath towels and drying his hair much as he could with it. The entire time, Chloe watched, heart thumping a little quicker as she did.


    When he was done, he turned and met her gaze. He frowned. ¡°What? I¡¯m not going to sleep in wet clothes.¡±


    Chloe cleared her throat. ¡°Right,¡± she said, glancing down at her own shirt awkwardly.


    Andre saw this and chuckled a little. ¡°I won¡¯t be looking,¡± he said, before climbing into his bed and drawing the blanket over himself immediately, turning so his face was pointed to the wall.


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Chloe glanced at Jin. The two of them exchanged shrugs and then, like Andre, they removed their shirts. Jin climbed into bed as soon as she had but Chloe felt far too uncomfortable to sleep just in her underwear with Andre there, and so she fetched a bath towel from the dresser, wrapping it around her chest.


    She climbed into bed afterward, drew the blanket over herself and turned so she too was facing the wall.


    For a while, there was silence in the room, except, of course for the roaring rain outside.


    Then Andre broke the silence. ¡°Good night,¡± he said softly.


    ¡°Good night,¡± Chloe and Jin echoed a moment later.


    ***


    Andre wasn¡¯t in the room when Chloe woke the next morning. She stirred awake, rolled over in bed to find his bed was empty, the sheets already made, only slight wrinkles revealing that someone had slept in it through the night.


    Her shirt was gone too, but stacked atop the dresser were her other clothes and gear. Dry already.


    She laid in bed a few more minutes, before poking her head out slightly to confirm that Jin was still there. She was. The alien sat on the top bed, back against the wall, knee curled up, a worn copy of Hitchhiker¡¯s Guide to the Galaxy in her hands, eyes intensely focused on the book¡¯s pages.


    ¡°Morning,¡± Jin greeted, without diverting her gaze from the book.


    ¡°Mhm.¡± Chloe rubbed her face, returning her head to the comfort of her pillow. She allowed herself a few more minutes of rest, before finally climbing out of bed. She glanced at Jin again. ¡°Didn¡¯t peg you for the reading type.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s quite good,¡± Jin replied, again without taking her eyes off the book. ¡°I do not typically enjoy the literature of your people but this is¡­pleasing. So far, at least.¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s Andre?¡±


    ¡°Breakfast.¡±


    Chloe nodded, and then headed to the bathroom to freshen up for the day. When she returned to the room, she changed into a new set of clothes at once, tucking a white shirt into the pants of her tactical gear and throwing her top on like a jacket. Once she¡¯d fastened her boots, she straightened to her feet then tapped Jin¡¯s bed.


    ¡°Come on,¡± she said. ¡°Let¡¯s go meet the others.¡±


    ¡°Must I?¡± Jin asked, voice a little whiny, closing the book around her index finger and shooting Chloe a displeased expression.


    ¡°I can¡¯t take my eyes off of you. In case you¡¯ve forgotten, I¡¯ve been tasked with¡ª,¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been with you for weeks now. Little over a month actually. You really still think I¡¯m up to any¡ª,¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter what I think.¡± Chloe interrupted her. ¡°Matters what I know. And despite how willfully cooperating you¡¯ve been, what I know about you and your people is that you¡¯re responsible for everything and everyone I¡¯ve lost, and that you¡¯re capable of taking a lot more. So no, I have no intention of letting you out of my sight.¡±


    ¡°Ugh.¡± Jin groaned, then rolled off her bed. She landed perfectly on both feet. ¡°Fine, let¡¯s go meet the others and the dull creatures.¡±


    ¡°Dull creatures?¡± Chloe repeated, raising an eyebrow.


    ¡°The snot-nosed whining children.¡± Jin sounded irritated. ¡°They¡¯re all over the place.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s an orphanage.¡±


    ¡°Whatever.¡±


    Chloe sighed and shook her head. She made her way out of the room, Jin just behind her and shutting the door. Immediately, she could hear playful squeals and laughter coming from down below. There was also the nauseating scent of pancakes and syrup.


    She made her way down with Jin to the dining where near all of the children were currently gathered, the rest of them being in the living room. Andre was there and aiding Miguel in dishing out food to the kids. Every few plates he handed out, Andre would help himself to a pancake slice and then squeeze the syrup into his mouth. The children always almost reacted with wide-eyed grins and clamoring for Miguel to scold Andre.


    ¡°No fair!¡± one boy squealed. ¡°You don¡¯t let us do that!¡±


    ¡°This is hell,¡± Jin said, slapping her hands over her ears and trudging toward the living room. Chloe made after her and as she went in the direction of the living room, Andre caught her gaze, smiled at her softly and nodded gently.


    She found herself smiling back instinctively before quickly shaking her head and turning her face stern again.


    The kids in the living room were playing, either with toys or with Jon and Aiden on the console. Aiden, in particular, seemed rather engrossed with the game they were playing. Mortal Kombat.


    ¡°Man, it¡¯s been more than a decade since I saw a PlayStation 5,¡± Aiden was saying to Jon. ¡°Surprised this thing still runs.¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s Lucas?¡± Chloe asked.


    ¡°Working out,¡± Jon answered, then gestured to double doors in the living room that led out back to a small sort of garden. There, Lucas was doing sit-ups, bare-chested and with an intense expression on his face. Standing around him were two kids who counted each sit up, much to Lucas¡¯s evident annoyance.


    ¡°Is he going to be grumpy for the rest of his life?¡± Jin asked, staring in Lucas¡¯s direction. ¡°Doesn¡¯t that get boring?¡±


    Chloe glared at Jin and for a split moment, felt a strong urge to smack her in the back of the head. Instead, she slipped her hands into her pockets and tightly clenched her jaw. ¡°Go read your book,¡± she muttered to Jin, who was more than happy to go plop down in a small seat in the corner of the living room and return to her book. Chloe headed toward Jon and Aiden, standing behind them and watching as they gamed, her arms folded.


    ¡°When¡¯s the meet with the Chancellor?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Ten,¡± Jon answered. ¡°Miguel¡¯s leading us there, think he¡¯s got a sort of relationship with Bridge. Of course, that just means at least two of us gotta stay back here at the orphanage, keep watch over the kids.¡±


    ¡°Not me,¡± Jin said immediately, without looking up from her book.


    ¡°Lucas and I could stay,¡± Aiden said with a shrug.


    ¡°Are you being kind or do you just want to stay on that game all day?¡±


    Aiden grinned mischievously and chuckled. ¡°Does it matter which? You want babysitters, you¡¯ve got babysitters.¡±


    Once breakfast and every other morning activity was out of the way, Miguel joined them in the living room, clad then in a neatly-ironed white shirt tucked into all too long black pants, a pair of gleaming loafers on his feet. Around his neck dangled a chain with a crucifix attached to it. He gave Aiden and Lucas instructions on supervising the orphanage while he was away.


    ¡°Contrary to what the dastardly devils might say, they are not permitted to go on walks,¡± he said and with great emphasis. ¡°Not at all a good time for those right now. Keep them in here, and try not to play nice.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Lucas grunted. ¡°I can play nice.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure of that,¡± Miguel said, a slightly wary expression in his face as he said so. He turned then to Jon and the others, gave them a nod. ¡°Alright, we may leave now.¡±


    They had to walk to Bridge¡¯s mansion.


    ¡°I¡¯ve only got a broken-down truck and a two-seater bike,¡± Miguel explained.


    ¡°What kind of pastor rides a bike?¡± Andre queried.


    ¡°One who knows how to ride one.¡± Miguel shrugged.


    The walk to the mansion took only a fair bit of time, about twenty minutes. For the most part, Chloe was glad they had to walk since it meant she got to see more of the district than she¡¯d been able to in the deluge when they arrived. There were puddles of water around that made things a little annoying but seeing market stalls along streetsides and corners, item auctions outside small homes, some children huddled around at a playground while others flew kites¡ªit made it all rather nostalgic.


    Here they were, at the end of the world they¡¯d known and there still existed fragments of what it had once been.


    ¡°Used to be a lot more light and joy than this,¡± Miguel said, noticing her expression as she took it all in. ¡°Streets would be a lot more packed than this on a good day. But hasn¡¯t been a good day here in a long time.¡±


    ¡°No patrols?¡± Jon asked, noticing the absence of guards on the streets.


    ¡°Most of the guards cover the district entrances in shifts, and the others at Bridge¡¯s mansion. There are still a few patrols that pass through the district routinely, but not nearly as much as there should be.¡± It was Andre who¡¯d answered and Chloe thought there was a hint of suspicion in his voice when he spoke.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t help that the special unit got wiped out,¡± Miguel added. ¡°Much of the responsibility of ensuring our own safety falls entirely to us now.¡±


    They were expected at Bridge¡¯s mansion. Once they arrived outside the mansion, the two guards stationed at the mahogany doors that led in took one look at Miguel, nodded, and then signaled them in.


    ¡°Library,¡± one of the guards said. ¡°Take the stairs up, second door on your left.¡±


    The mansion was as could be expected on the inside. Glamorous. Chandeliers hung from ceilings, larger than logical paintings and portraits were hung on the wooden walls. The carpets were thick and rather elegantly comfy, giving the feeling that it was possible to sink into them. There were multiple living rooms downstairs and no expenses had been spared in furnishing any single one of them.


    Spiral tiled stairs led upward, into yet another living space connected to a hallway that led to other rooms. With Miguel in the lead, they headed onto the hallway and stopped at the second door on their left.


    It was cracked slightly open.


    Miguel gave them all a look before clearing his throat. He raised a hand to knock on the door but before he had, someone spoke from inside the room.


    ¡°You may come in. I¡¯ve been expecting you.¡±


    Miguel lowered his hand at once. He stepped forward, pushing the door fully open and stepping into the rather spacious, magnificent library.


    It wasn¡¯t a library in the sense of a home library. It was a library. Hell, it could have been an archive.


    It was long, spanning a great distance on either side of them, rows and rows of stacked bookshelves filling the room. Some shelves held items¡ªglobes, pens kept in jars, wristwatches on displays and whatnot. But most of the shelves were filled with books, and each shelf was labeled, boasting everything from historical fiction to biographies to printed screenplays to dark academia fantasies. Whatever genre of literature there was or had ever been in the world, there was a shelf for it in the library.


    But just ahead of them, where a reception would ideally have been placed in an actual, standard library was a long desk, dark and expensive-looking. The desk had been positioned right in front of a set of windows, all of which had curtains drawn over them.


    On the desk, a computer screen, a bunch of documents in folders labeled CLASSIFIED and a single high-power pistol that was within reach of the man who sat at the desk. A man who resembled rather perfectly the image they¡¯d seen of him back in the Capital, with the bushy eyebrows and deep set eyes and gray streaked hair.


    Chancellor Bridge had his hands intertwined beneath his chin, an intended-to-be-welcoming-yet-awkward smile on his face. His brown eyes twinkled. Standing just behind him on his right, poised like a bodyguard was a person clad in black tactical gear, face hidden behind a black helmet with a visor.


    ¡°Chancellor,¡± Miguel greeted with a slight bow of the head.


    ¡°Pastor.¡± Bridge leaned back in his leather and rather comfy-looking seat. He gestured them forward with a nod.


    They all stepped forward, getting closer and closer to the desk. At a point, the black-clad bodyguard behind him stiffened and they all halted, taking that as a sign that they were as close as they needed to and were allowed to be.


    ¡°Which one of you wants to take the lead and explain to me why there¡¯s a special unit of Lost Ones from the Capital here in my district?¡± Bridge asked. His voice was warm, but his tone was not. ¡°A unit composed, if my data¡¯s correct of course, of the soldiers involved in the District 7 annihilation.¡±


    Jon stiffened and made to speak but before he could, Miguel took another step forward. The black-clad guard twitched slightly.


    ¡°Chancellor, I think we both know why they¡¯re here,¡± Miguel said gently. ¡°We have an emergency on our hands. People are out in the streets scared to death, worried about what might come for them.¡±


    ¡°I am aware,¡± Bridge spoke slowly, eyes looking past Miguel and focusing themselves on Jon and the Pandorans. ¡°It was I who authorized a request for aid, after all. So imagine my disappointment when our beloved Capital who pride themselves on being the champions of what¡¯s left of humanity, respond to that plea by sending to me a unit of soldiers with a¡­questionable track record. Well, at least they had good enough sense to not send as well that clueless oaf, Hardy.¡±


    ¡°We weren¡¯t sent to you.¡± Jon spoke then, his tone cold. ¡°We were sent here, to this District, to handle for ourselves what you¡¯ve failed to deal with in your capacity as Chancellor. Imagine how disappointed the Capital must be in your supervision here, if they would rather entrust the protection of your district into those who have¡­what did you call it? A questionable track record.¡±


    Bridge¡¯s eyes darkened rather rapidly then, and veins bulged on the sides of his face. His left eye twitched with annoyance. When he spoke again, the warmth in his voice was gone.


    ¡°Watch your tone, boy.¡±


    ¡°Ah yes, err, perhaps it¡¯s best that we not let tempers flare¡ª,¡± Miguel began.


    Jon walked forward then, all the way to the desk, placing both hands on it and leaning forward so he could stare Bridge in the eyes. Bridge¡¯s bodyguard looked primed to attack.


    ¡°We¡¯re not here to ask for permission,¡± Jon said matter-of-factly. ¡°Our presence here is merely a formality. Regardless of how you feel about it, we have a job to do here. We¡¯re not leaving until it¡¯s done.¡±


    Bridge and Jon remained locked in a staring contest for a full minute, Chloe and the others looking on warily, fists clenched. Chloe¡¯s eyes kept darting toward the bodyguard who she had a deeply unsettling feeling about.


    The tension broke quickly however, when finally, Bridge relaxed his face and his posture. The Chancellor started to laugh. ¡°I like this one!¡± he roared, pointing a thumb at Jon. ¡°Ah, how much safer I¡¯d feel if we¡¯d had Pandorans with your nerves here. Apologies for my earlier statement, I just had to get a measure of the people I¡¯d be dealing with.¡±


    Chloe frowned in confusion. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Come on, you didn¡¯t really think I wanted to get into a confrontation with a unit of Pandorans, did you?¡± Bridge asked, still laughing. He rose to his feet and offered a handshake to Jon. ¡°Stephen Bridge,¡± he said. ¡°But you can call me Steve.¡±


    Jon eyed Bridge¡¯s extended hand for a moment, a suspicious frown on his face. After a few seconds, he straightened and accepted the handshake. ¡°Jonathan Taylor.¡±


    ¡°Do I call you Taylor?¡± Bridge queried.


    ¡°Jon.¡±


    ¡°Jon it is!¡± Bridge exclaimed cheerfully, patting Jon on the shoulder before letting go of his hand. He took his seat again. ¡°So, how would you and your unit like to begin your investigation? Wait, firstly, how are your sleeping arrangements? I could arrange for you to bunk with the soldiers in¡ª¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± Andre said then, stepping forward as well. ¡°Pastor Miguel here¡¯s been kind enough to let us stay at his orphanage. We¡¯ll operate out of there.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Bridge frowned. ¡°Is that conducive? Because, you know, we¡¯ve got pretty impressive, state-of-the-art facilities here¡­well, almost state of the art, it¡¯s not like we¡¯re Capital level or anything.¡±


    ¡°The orphanage¡¯s fine,¡± Jon said.


    ¡°Very well then.¡± Bridge nodded. ¡°So,¡± he continued, ¡°Where will your investigation begin?¡±


    Jon glanced back at Andre then, giving him a gentle nod. Andre cleared his throat, then started to speak. ¡°We¡¯d like to see again where your special unit was attacked,¡± Andre said. ¡°And preferably, with Captain Voss accompanying us.¡±


    ¡°Just Voss,¡± Bridge said.


    Andre frowned. ¡°Beg your pardon.¡±


    ¡°Voss,¡± Bridge said. ¡°Yuri Voss. Not much for her to be captain of now that her unit¡¯s gone, is there?¡±


    ¡°Have any bodies been found?¡± Jon asked. ¡°Any of the missing Pandorans? Even the children?¡±


    ¡°None.¡± Bridge shook his head, looking grim and unsettled then. ¡°But as of now, and considering the sight of the scene, it¡¯s safe to assume that the Pandoran soldiers are dead. Even if they could have survived it, I¡¯m not sure I¡¯d want that for them. The kind of pain they¡¯d have to deal with?¡±


    Bridge shuddered.


    ¡°We can take pain,¡± Chloe said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t doubt it,¡± Bridge responded. ¡°But even people remarkable as yourselves have your limits. And I find it hard to believe that these missing soldiers weren¡¯t pushed well past that limit. But oh well, scene¡¯s not been disturbed so I suppose you¡¯ll see for yourself and draw your own conclusions.¡±


    ¡°And Voss?¡± Andre asked. ¡°Where do we find her?¡±

 Chapter 16

    Sweat dripped off of her as she stepped back.


    Her chest heaved intensely as she kept her eyes locked on what was ahead of her, a dark, soulless look in those stormy gray eyes. Her tank top was stuck to her skin with sweat. The sweat ran down her arms, dripped to the ground every few seconds. Under the cold lighting of the room, her arms glistened.


    She circled her target, moving slowly, allowing herself a few seconds to regain her breath. Then finally, she surged forward, right at the punching bag.


    A flurry of furiously-delivered blows and kicks followed, each one stronger than the last. As she hit the bag, she remained on the move, not letting herself stick to one spot. She continued to circle the bag, punching from every direction of it, sweat flying off of her as she moved with intensity.


    She went at this for ten entire minutes without taking a break. For most, it might have been a feat. For Yuri Voss, it was nothing. She, after all, had been going at the bag for the past four hours. In fact, she only stopped hitting the bag because of the disturbance she sensed.


    As soon as she sensed that she was no longer alone, she hit the bag hard enough to cause it to tear from the chain that suspended it from the ceiling. She grabbed it hurriedly, before it could fly a distance from her then she spun around and hurled the bag without looking to see who was there.


    Someone else caught the bag, but the sheer force with which it¡¯d been thrown caused the boy to stagger back a few steps. But he remained on his feet, regained his balance and then tossed the bag aside, before fixing her a cold look.


    ¡°Yuri Voss,¡± he said, his eyes dark and narrow. ¡°We¡¯d like to have a word with you.¡±


    Yuri walked toward a stool that she¡¯d placed against one of many columns in the room, grabbing the towel atop of it and wiping off her face and arms with it before draping it around her neck. She seized a bottle of water from the stool, opened it and gulped it down in one go, before tossing the empty bottle into a bit at least twenty feet away.


    She turned her attention back to the intruders in her gym. ¡°Who are you?¡± she demanded, hints of an old Eastern European accent evident in her voice. ¡°How did you know where to find me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Jonathan Taylor,¡± introduced the boy who¡¯d caught her punching bag. He was definitely younger than she was, perhaps by a few years but he already had a somewhat hardened look. No doubt because of what he¡¯d been through recently.


    ¡°Taylor,¡± she repeated. ¡°I know who you are. From the seventh district. What are you doing here? I was not privy to any knowledge that you and your unit were being transferred here.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not here from the seventh,¡± Andre said, stepping forward. ¡°We¡¯re from Capital.¡±


    Yuri¡¯s expression darkened at once and she leaned against her stool, folding her arms. ¡°Capital,¡± she murmured. ¡°Then you¡¯re here about¡ª,¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Chloe nodded. ¡°We¡¯re here to help you.¡±


    Yuri snorted. ¡°I¡¯m retired, honey. Whatever it is you¡¯re here to do, it is not me you would be helping. And to be frank, I do not think you would be helping anyone at all. If you know what¡¯s good for you, I¡¯d hightail it back to your precious little utopia before you get caught up in whatever¡¯s going on here.¡±


    ¡°Trust me, there¡¯s a lot more things we¡¯d rather be dealing with right about now,¡± Chloe said, narrowing her gaze at Yuri. ¡°We¡¯re kind of sick and tired about being given the attitude by everyone here. We¡¯re here to help, try not to make it harder than it needs to be.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not giving you an attitude, kid.¡± Yuri moved away from the stool and toward them. ¡°I¡¯m giving you a warning,¡± she added, her voice suddenly going coarse, eyes watering just a little and going slightly slack. ¡°If you value your lives, you¡¯ll walk away from this.¡±


    ¡°Yuri.¡± Jon spoke softly, tenderly, and walked toward her. ¡°What did you see?¡±


    The former Captain flinched for a moment, briefly breaking eye contact with Jon. When she met his gaze again, it was pretty evident that she was doing all she could to keep the tears at bay. Her lips quivered slightly when she spoke. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± she answered coarsely. ¡°But whatever they were, I can tell you it wasn¡¯t something natural. They were fast, strong, ruthless¡­my unit was gone in less than ten minutes.¡±


    ¡°Were they human?¡± Jon asked, raising one eyebrow over the other. ¡°Like us, I mean. Enhanced?¡±


    ¡°I¡­I don¡¯t know.¡± Yuri shook her head. ¡°They could have been¡­but I don¡¯t know. They said nothing, and they were in this sort of weird glowing mask.¡±


    ¡°Yuri, I¡¯m going to ask something of you now that maybe you might not want to do,¡± Jon said. ¡°But we want you to take us where this happened, walk us through everything that happened. It could help us figure things out.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Yuri shook her head, taking a step away from Jon. She grabbed onto one of her arms and squeezed firmly, turning her face away from him. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I can¡¯t go back there. Never again.¡±


    ¡°Yuri¡ª,¡± Jon began.


    ¡°How did you survive exactly?¡± Jin interrupted him, her arms folded, a suspicious look on her face as she studied Yuri. ¡°You called the things that attacked you ruthless, said your squad stood no chance. So how exactly did you make it out, if you don¡¯t mind me asking?¡±


    ¡°Jin, don¡¯t¡ª,¡±


    ¡°Did you fight them?¡± Jin pressed on. ¡°Did you run? Were you even ever down there with them? Or better yet, did you off your unit yourself and then decide to play for a little pity.¡±


    At the final statement, Yuri fixed her gaze on Jin and snarled. She took one step forward but before she¡¯d taken another, Jon was right in front of her, one hand stretched toward to discourage any violence.


    Jon shot a disapproving look at Jin. ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡±


    ¡°Jin, come on,¡± Chloe said, grabbing the girl by her arm and dragging her off toward the exit. Andre followed them, leaving Jon alone in the gym with Yuri.


    Once they were outside, Chloe let go of Jin and glared at her. ¡°What the hell do you think you were doing in there?!¡± she demanded.


    ¡°Trying to save your lives,¡± Jin answered. ¡°Maybe you¡¯ve forgotten but the only reason your little government isn¡¯t currently trying to kill me is because I¡¯m with you guys. Anything happens to you or your brother, they¡¯ll be gunning for me and while I¡¯m pretty sure I can handle those oafs, I¡¯m not quite interested in making things easier for my dad.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Andre frowned. ¡°How¡¯s pestering the captain supposed to be saving our lives?¡±


    ¡°Because the captain¡¯s lying,¡± Chloe and Jin said in unison.


    The two of them met eyes and exchanged a subtle glance before turning to Andre, who looked a little out of the loop.


    ¡°Were you listening to her heartbeat?¡± Chloe asked him.


    Andre nodded. ¡°Uhm, yeah? It was steady.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Chloe agreed. ¡°But she just finished working out. So if it was steady, then it¡¯s because she was¡ª,¡±


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    ¡°Controlling it on purpose,¡± Andre murmured, eyes widening slightly as the realization dawned upon him. He glanced back at the gym entrance, and a dark expression swept across his face. ¡°You don¡¯t think there¡¯s a chance that she really did¡­you know, kill her own team?¡±


    ¡°If she did,¡± Chloe began, ¡°Then we need to be really careful with her. Being able to wipe out a squad of Pandorans singlehandedly is no small feat.¡±


    ¡°I could do it.¡± Jin shrugged, a smug, cocky expression on her face. ¡°And if the rest of you would care just a little less about the lying captain¡¯s emotions and give me five minutes with her, I could get the truth out of her.¡±


    ¡°Without killing her?¡± Andre asked, raising one eyebrow over the other.


    ¡°Jesus, are you actually considering that?!¡± Chloe asked, eyes wild as she stared at Andre. ¡°We¡¯re not doing that!¡±


    ¡°So we¡¯re supposed to just knowingly let her lead us into a trap?¡± Andre asked. ¡°Look, I don¡¯t want to do anything awful but if you both know for certain that Yuri¡¯s lying to us then shouldn¡¯t we do something about it right here, right now? There are missing children involved here, I¡¯m sure you need no reminder of that.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± Chloe said flatly. ¡°But we don¡¯t know for sure that she¡¯d be leading us into anything. For all we know, she might have her own reasons for lying. I say we go through with this as planned, check out the scene where it all happened, try to piece things together ourselves.¡±


    Andre scoffed and shook his head. ¡°This how your unit typically operates?¡±


    ¡°We operate how Jon wants us to,¡± Chloe said in a tone of finality. ¡°If he wants to continue as planned, we continue as planned. You¡¯re here to observe, not call the shots.¡±


    ¡°Fine.¡± Andre snorted. ¡°I¡¯ll observe. But if she turns out to be crazy, don¡¯t expect me to put my life on the line for yours.¡±


    Before Chloe could provide a retort, Jon emerged from the gym, accompanied by Yuri who¡¯d now thrown a brown biker jacket on over her gray tank top. In one hand, she held a lengthy scabbard, a sheathed sword within it. Jon nodded at Chloe and the others. ¡°Come on,¡± he said. ¡°We¡¯ve got a crime scene to investigate.¡±


    ***


    It¡¯d been a long time since Chloe had seen the inside of a subway tunnel, but it was nothing like she remembered. Most of the entrances to the tunnels in this district had either been sealed long ago, or they¡¯d collapsed. There were a few entrances here and there, although they required a great deal of maneuvering to get through.


    Yuri led them through an entrance that had recently been cleared up to aid investigation of what had gone on down there. Down in the tunnel, there was absolutely no light. The district¡¯s power supply served the district and the district alone. That meant all they had for light in the tunnel was a dim flashlight that had been in Yuri¡¯s workout bag.


    ¡°Always got essentials on me,¡± she¡¯d said when she¡¯d pulled the flashlight out.


    ¡°That include your sword?¡± Jin asked, glancing to the sheathed weapon that hung to a side of former captain¡¯s waist. ¡°Bit old-fashioned even for you humans, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°When did old fashioned ever go wrong?¡± came Yuri¡¯s response.


    The glow of the flashlight cast illumination on cracks in the walls, and piles of rubble and trash that littered the place as well as the oversized rodents that scurried back and forth and raced across puddles of water over damaged train tracks. Every now and then, they¡¯d come across the skeletal remains of a rodent that had died down there, of which there were many. But even more concerning were the human remains they came across.


    ¡°There¡¯s no Servants down here, are there?¡± Jon asked, staring warily at a human skeleton that was down on the train tracks.


    ¡°None.¡± Yuri shook her head. ¡°Used to be a few who¡¯d get in here a while back. Then we started to conduct patrols down here, wipe them out before they became a problem. There haven¡¯t been Servants here in a long time, but we never stopped with the patrols. Considering what happened, maybe we should have.¡±


    ¡°What were you doing down here exactly when the attack happened?¡± Andre asked, bending then to avoid cobwebs.


    ¡°Had a hunch a few of the missing kids might have found a way in here and gotten themselves lost,¡± Yuri answered. ¡°Loads of kids in the district like to scheme on how to get into the tunnels. Have it in their heads somehow that there¡¯s valuables or cool stuff to be found down here. Caught too many trying to get in, and thought maybe the missing kids somehow had.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh,¡± Jin said, rolling her eyes.


    Chloe nudged her in the shoulder quickly and gave her an annoyed look that said: Cut it off. Jin simply rolled her eyes again.


    They continued through the tunnels another half hour. Twice, they happened upon an all too narrow passage packed with rubble and they had to maneuver gently to get across. Finally, they reached a section of tunnel that reeked rather powerfully of blood and looked even worse.


    There were blood stains, dried off now, that went across train tracks and off them onto the platforms. The stains continued up the walls, and even across the ceiling above. There were white marks too in the concrete. Scratch marks, and they went rather deep into the concrete.


    Chloe saw one section of wall that was particularly bloodstained and cracked. Something strong had hit it and hard.


    She picked up on the sound of a quickening heartbeat and struggled breathing and looked to find Yuri with her eyes closed shut, one fist firmly clenched, the hand that held the flashlight trembling. Beads of sweat rapidly formed on her forehead, trickling down the sides of her face.


    Chloe took a step toward her in a bid to calm her, but Jon was with her first. Jon held on to the hand with which she gripped the flashlight and steadied it.


    Yuri cracked her eyes open slightly then, looked sideways at Jon. Jon simply nodded at her. Yuri released her grip flashlight and Jon took it from her, holding it in his left hand which he aimed forward, illuminating the tunnel that still stretched onward. He prepared to continue ahead. Yuri held onto his right hand and followed.


    Chloe¡¯s face darkened when she saw this.


    Jin snorted and glanced at Chloe. ¡°I already told you what we need to do. Might be best to do it before someone gets hurt.¡±


    Chloe shook her head and continued forward, her eyes darkly trained on Yuri.


    The trail of blood led them another fifty feet deeper into the tunnel before vanishing abruptly. Jon aimed the flashlight around, scanning to see if the trail continued anywhere else but it didn¡¯t. He aimed the light at the ground, checking for any sort of hatch door that led downward. When he found none, he aimed the light upward. There was nothing there too.


    ¡°How far¡¯s a search gone?¡± Jon asked.


    ¡°Tunnel goes on a little longer before ending in a dead end, caved in there. So pretty much entirety of the tunnel¡¯s been combed, and there¡¯s been no sign of them,¡± Yuri answered. Her voice was shaky.


    ¡°And we¡¯re certain the dead end¡¯s a dead end?¡± Jon queried. ¡°The trail just vanishes. There¡¯s no way that just happens, unless of course, there¡¯s some exit we missed.¡±


    ¡°Or maybe we¡¯re dealing with something that can just¡­vanish?¡± Andre suggested.


    Everyone went quiet. Jon turned and looked to Jin, his expression dark. ¡°Is that possible?¡± he asked.


    Jin folded her arms. ¡°In theory, yes.¡± She nodded. ¡°And back home, to an extent, we¡¯d managed stuff like that. But not spontaneously, there had to be gate points and stuff to do things like that. The idea that there¡¯s Pandorans running around who can just teleport¡­I don¡¯t think that¡¯s possible.¡±


    ¡°Back home?¡± Yuri repeated, raising one eyebrow. ¡°What¡ª,¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Jon said quickly.


    ¡°Well, you could see the dead end for yourself,¡± Yuri suggested. ¡°But I don¡¯t think it means much, the trail doesn¡¯t lead to it. It just cuts off right here.¡±


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t hurt to see it for ourselves,¡± Jin said.


    Jon nodded in agreement. ¡°Come on.¡±


    The tunnel stretched a little longer, and it took another half hour before they arrived at the dead end Yuri had spoken about. This time, she hadn¡¯t been lying.


    There was a train flipped over on its side, all of its windows shattered, rust already pattered across its metal frame. And there was rubble just ahead, through which the train had been lodged. Jon led them into the train in hopes that they might have been able to get through to the other side, but it¡¯d been crushed up ahead by the rubble, leaving absolutely nowhere to go.


    Chloe glanced around the train, at backpacks that had been left on it, old purses, dollar bills strewn across the floor. She even saw the front page of a newspaper. Dirt and time had made it so the page was almost unreadable but in the top right corner of it, she could still make out the year on it: 2028.


    ¡°Sheesh,¡± she said, before letting go of the paper.


    ¡°These tunnels,¡± Jon said. ¡°There¡¯s got to be other access points, right? Sure, it¡¯s a dead end over here but there¡¯s got to be some other opening somewhere else in the district that leads into the other side?¡±


    ¡°Like I said, most of the tunnel entrances are non-functional,¡± Yuri answered. ¡°A whole lot of them have been built over too, which meant those had to be sealed.¡±


    Jon¡¯s shoulders slumped slightly and he tossed his head back the way he always did whenever he was stumped or frustrated. After he moment, he let out a great sigh and nodded. ¡°Alright,¡± he said, turning to the others. ¡°Nothing¡¯s down here for us to find. Let¡¯s head back up. Later, we ask around, see if we can find other leads.¡±


    Afterward, they got off the train and started to make their way back toward the exit. As they went, Chloe couldn¡¯t help but be unsettled. There was something odd about the tunnel, something very glaring that they should all have been able to notice and yet, had missed. She couldn¡¯t quite put a finger on it herself, but she knew there was something there, something wrong.


    Trails of blood didn¡¯t just vanish into thin air. So either there¡¯d been some sort of hidden way out they didn¡¯t know about or that Yuri was lying about, or someone else had been coming down here to do some cleanup.


    Whichever it was, Chloe was going to find out.

 Chapter 17

    Answers weren¡¯t any more forthcoming over the next few days that followed.


    Jon, in particular, had taken to visiting the tunnels whenever he could, as if hoping he might catch something out of place if he went down there frequently and suddenly enough. But in the three days since they¡¯d first been down there, in which Jon had headed down six more times, he¡¯d found nothing out of place. Only once did he return with something and it was a Rubiks cube he¡¯d found in a backpack aboard the train, a cube Jin quickly took interest in.


    They also hadn¡¯t been able to unearth anything on the missing kids, even while coordinating their investigations with Chancellor Bridge, who¡¯d let them look through district security footage on the nights when a disappearance had been reported. Andre and Chloe had the keener eyes of the group so it was them who combed through the footage over and over again and not once did either of them spot anything that looked out of place.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t mean much though,¡± Andre said, after another disappointing attempt at looking through security footage. ¡°This stuff can be edited, cut perfectly, especially by an expert.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t they know if someone was tampering with security footage?¡± Chloe asked, frowning.


    Andre shrugged. ¡°Not if it was an inside job.¡±


    After that, they gave up on looking through the footage, all of them in agreement that there was not much that could be found there. Even Jon, over the next couple days, started to grow tired of exploring the tunnel and looking for alternative entrances and exits. On the fifth day, he returned to the orphanage sweaty and stained in soot. He joined them in the living room, collapsing on the floor against a couch before saying:


    ¡°Is there at all a chance that what we¡¯re looking for might not even be in the district anymore? For all we know, whatever or whoever was responsible for the kids and the attacks might have moved on elsewhere, right?¡±


    When he said this, they all exchanged looks. No one said anything. In truth, that possibility was one they¡¯d all considered, one they¡¯d all tried to convince themselves couldn¡¯t have been the case, simply because it would be frustrating if all of this ended in futility. Missing children, dead Pandorans. That wasn¡¯t something they could just leave be.


    ¡°We¡¯ll keep looking,¡± Chloe said. ¡°Something has to turn up. Something has to.¡±


    The following day, once the kids had had breakfast, Lucas got up and mentioned he was heading out.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Aiden asked.


    ¡°Out.¡± Lucas shrugged. ¡°Nowhere exactly. I just need to take a walk. Don¡¯t think I could go another day right now of being on babysitting duty or waiting for answers to present themselves. I need air.¡±


    ¡°You want someone with you?¡± Aiden asked.


    ¡°Nah.¡± Lucas shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. Shouldn¡¯t be gone too long.¡±


    He left afterward and he knew the others had been a little worried about him when he was leaving, knew they must have been exchanging glances behind his back the same way they had been doing every day since Spike had died. He¡¯d been happy to act oblivious to all of those exchanged looks and the secret conversations about whether or not he was handling things particularly well, simply because he knew they meant well.


    But being cooped up was starting to get to him, and it was becoming a little harder every day to pretend like he didn¡¯t want to rip Jin¡¯s throat out every time he saw her. He¡¯d accepted, like the others had, that she was of some use to them. But it¡¯d been five days now since Jon and the others had gone in the tunnel and there¡¯d still been nothing. What use was she if she couldn¡¯t turn up some answers?


    Every part of him felt as though there were a chance she might have known what was going on and that she was content to let them walk around in circles while things got even worse. But saying something, anything about that would have made the others think his head wasn¡¯t quite where it needed to be just yet.


    And maybe they were right. Maybe it wasn¡¯t. Hence, the walk.


    He hadn¡¯t been lying when he¡¯d said he had nowhere in particular that he wanted to head to. He simply just made his way out of the orphanage and started going, taking a few turns whenever he started to feel like he¡¯d been going in a straight line too long. All the while, he kept his hands in his pockets, eyes trained at the ground, only looking up every now and then at the market stalls he went by, at the shops in the district which had very few items on display, at the children who moved around in timid groups, at the rotating security cameras whose infrared lights blinked away every couple seconds.


    Whenever he did glance up, he¡¯d notice a couple eyes focused on him. Sometimes, it was the timid children. Other times, it was wary civilians. Each time, they¡¯d glance away once they knew he¡¯d seen them. He knew they weren¡¯t following him. They were just people concerned either about what he was or what he might have been trying to do.


    He was used to looks like those. Back when he¡¯d first become a Pandoran, he¡¯d gotten even worse looks. They still got those looks sometimes, especially when they were seen feeding on blood. Few people actually cared that all they were doing was trying to help¡ªthey saw Pandorans and thought of them as abominations, just as bad as the mindless monsters whose plague had decimated much of the world.


    He might have earned a lot less odd looks if he hadn¡¯t left the orphanage in his gear but in truth, he cared incredibly little about the looks or the thoughts that must have accompanied them. He cared incredibly little about most things now.


    People had always had their prejudices. It didn¡¯t bother him much that even at the end of the world, people still sought out things to hate.


    A little while later, he picked up the scents of lilacs and roses, and glanced up to find a flowershop just ahead of him, flowers in pots put up on display. A tall-dark haired man tended to the shop.


    Curiously drawn by the scent, Lucas followed it, making his way toward the shop. He arrived outside the shop and peered in at the flower bouquets inside. He studied the flowers in the pots too, bringing his face particularly close to one and sniffing. The fragrance was overwhelmingly sweet and his mouth watered slightly in a most unusual manner since the scent of most things that weren¡¯t blood typically left him nauseated.


    ¡°Uhm, can I help you?¡± asked the man who tended to the shop, brown eyes studying Lucas curiously.


    ¡°Are these natural?¡± Lucas asked, gesturing to the flowers. ¡°They smell¡­really good.¡±


    ¡°Sure are.¡± The man beamed proudly, folding his arms. ¡°Grew ¡®em myself.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Lucas asked with a frown, diverting his attention to the shopkeeper. ¡°Surely, there can¡¯t be a whole lot of market for this, right? No way people are going around buying flowers.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not doing it for the business,¡± the man said and snorted. ¡°It¡¯s a hobby. I do it for the peacefulness of it.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh,¡± Lucas said, running a finger along a lilac petal, eyes trained on it.


    He went from pot to pot, observing the various flowers and noting their scents, from the spring-like scent of daffodils to the slightly herbal fragrance of lavender. This wasn¡¯t something he¡¯d ever done, largely because he couldn¡¯t even remember the last time he¡¯d come across flowers, the last time he¡¯d even smelled them.


    It didn¡¯t last very long however since after about five minutes, he suddenly became rather conscious that someone was watching him. Not in the same way others had given him looks prior, no. He could almost sense the intensity of focus on him, could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand. He straightened to his feet and with a frown on his face, he turned around.


    Across the street from the flower shop was a small stall with watermelons and pineapples on display. Standing there, at the stall, clad in a brilliant blue T-shirt and a pair of gray shorts, along with a pair of rubber slippers was a tall girl with auburn hair, striking blue eyes and a face dotted with freckles in a manner that somehow made her look all the more beautiful.


    Lucas met her blue eyes and his frown became sharper. It became even sharper still when the girl started to walk toward him, a smile on her face as she slipped her hands into her pockets.


    ¡°I¡¯d go with the marigold,¡± she said once she was right in front of him. Up close, he could smell her. She smelled just as fragrant as the flowers he¡¯d been looking at. Perhaps even more so.


    His mouth went a little dry. ¡°Sorry?¡±


    ¡°Marigold,¡± she repeated, gesturing past him to one of the flowers on display, one a fiery orange color that made him think of autumn. ¡°It suits you, I think.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± He cleared his throat. ¡°Uh, I¡¯m not here for flowers. I was just looking.¡±


    ¡°You do that often?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Well, no, I haven¡¯t uhh¡­I haven¡¯t seen any in a while.¡± He frowned at the girl. ¡°Who are you?¡± He queried. ¡°What do you want?¡±


    ¡°I thought you looked a little cute sniffing at the flowers like that,¡± the girl answered with a hearty chuckle, her eyes twinkling as she laughed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry if I was staring¡­it¡¯s just, it¡¯s incredibly rare to come across someone who stops to look at the flowers, especially with how grim things have been lately.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why you¡¯re here, isn¡¯t it?¡± the girl asked, frowning at him. ¡°You¡¯re part of that special unit everyone¡¯s been talking about, aren¡¯t you? The soldiers from the Capital?¡±


    ¡°Word sure travels around fast, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Everyone¡¯s on edge. Can¡¯t blame them.¡±


    ¡°Are you?¡± Lucas asked, raising an eyebrow. ¡°You don¡¯t strike me as the sort of person who¡¯s on edge.¡±


    ¡°Well, you know what they say.¡± She smiled. ¡°Appearances can be deceiving. I mean, you¡¯ve got that weary, gloomy demeanor about you and yet, here you are, stopping to smell the flowers.¡±


    ¡°Well, you haven¡¯t got the sort of demeanor of a person who wants fruits either.¡±


    The girl laughed again. ¡°Really? What¡¯s a person who wants fruits look like?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Lucas shrugged. ¡°Hungry, I guess?¡±


    She continued to laugh and after a few seconds, Lucas found himself joining in. About ten seconds later, the laughter slowed to a halt and their eyes met. For about five seconds, they simply stared at each other in total silence, and then she broke the silence by snorting.


    ¡°Wow, you really suck at this, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Suck at what?¡±


    ¡°Talking,¡± she answered.


    Lucas scratched the back of his head awkwardly. ¡°Uhh¡ª,¡±


    ¡°Here, I¡¯ll take the lead.¡± The girl cleared her throat then extended a hand to Lucas, smiling as she did. ¡°Hi,¡± she said softly. ¡°I¡¯m Kaia.¡±


    ***


    Despite knowing almost for certain at this point that there was nothing in the tunnels, Jon found himself heading back there as soon as night fell on the District. Accompanying him this time was Andre.


    The district went rather quiet at night. In fact, the streets were often bare at this time, except of course, for a few people returning home after closing up their market stalls and the shops they owned. As with the previous times when he¡¯d gone to the tunnel at night, the faces he saw outside were the same¡ªthe same shop owners, the same vendors. Not one face out of place.


    When he and Andre arrived at the entrance to the tunnel, someone was already there, clad in black, standing with fists at her side, scabbard dangling from her waist.


    ¡°Yuri?¡± Jon frowned when he saw her. ¡°What are you doing here?¡±


    Yuri turned to face him, a slightly surprised expression on her face. Jon thought her eyes looked a little more sunken now, sallow almost, and she looked gaunt. She looked back to the tunnel entrance.


    ¡°There¡¯s something down there,¡± she said, her voice slightly coarse.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Jon exchanged a concerned glance with Andre before moving toward Yuri. ¡°Is there something you haven¡¯t told us about?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± She shook her head. ¡°I just know. There¡¯s something there. The others¡­they can¡¯t be dead. They have to be down there somehow. I have to find them. I have to make it right.¡±


    ¡°Make it right?¡± Jon repeated, a dark look sweeping across his face. ¡°What¡ª,¡±


    Before he could finish, Yuri went forward, starting down the stairs and descending into the subway. Jon made to follow but Andre grabbed his arm, holding him back.


    ¡°Dude.¡± Andre¡¯s expression was wary. ¡°Do you trust her?¡±


    Jon met Andre¡¯s eyes. ¡°She¡¯s lying about something,¡± Jon said. ¡°But I do trust that she¡¯s doing it for a good reason.¡±


    ¡°What if she¡¯s right?¡± Andre asked, his face turning dark as he looked back toward the tunnel entrance. ¡°What if there¡¯s something down there right now?¡± His voice was grim. ¡°If there is, we shouldn¡¯t be going in just the two of us. We need the others.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t have enough time to go get them,¡± Jon said. ¡°We leave her down there, there¡¯s no telling what could happen to her.¡±


    Andre bit down hard on his lips, a slight hint of doubt and fear in his eyes. The look in his eyes lingered for a few seconds then he drew a deep breath and nodded, before putting on a wide smile, his eyes twinkling. ¡°Alright then,¡± he said. ¡°Long as we¡¯re on the same page and know exactly what we might be walking into here. Anything happens to either one of us down there, it¡¯s not on the other. Deal?¡±


    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Deal.¡± Jon nodded. He slipped his hand into his left pocket, retrieved a dark vial filled with blood, one that he offered to Andre. ¡°But just in case,¡± he said. ¡°We get in any trouble down there, drink this.¡±


    Andre accepted the vial with a look of suspicion. ¡°This is Jin¡¯s¡ª,¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Jon said.


    ¡°Right.¡± Andre drew another deep breath, peering down into the dark of the subway tunnel. He slipped the vial into his pocket ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s follow the crazy ex-captain.¡±


    Jon nudged Andre in the shoulder and shot him a disapproving look. ¡°She¡¯s not crazy.¡±


    Andre snorted. ¡°Sure thing.¡±


    Together, the two of them descended into the tunnel, both of them equipping their flashlights and turning them on once they were down in the dark of the tunnel. Some distance ahead of them was Yuri, aiming her flashlight in every direction, examining every inch of the tunnel closely as they passed through.


    ¡°Listen,¡± she said from up ahead, but didn¡¯t stop walking.


    Jon frowned. ¡°To what?¡±


    ¡°Nothing,¡± she answered. ¡°But listen. Really listen. Keep listening, you¡¯ll see what I mean when we get to it.¡±


    Jon exchanged looks with Andre again. The both of them shrugged but did exactly as Yuri had instructed. They listened, focusing intensely on their hearing. The distant scurrying of rodents became much louder, the scratching of their tiny little feet against the train tracks and sidewalks. They could hear the gentle breeze from up above too and if they listened hard enough, they could make out heartbeats from the people in the district, distinct heartbeats all blending together.


    Still listening, they continued forward. All three of them stopped once they reached the scene, the bloodstains there just as Jon remembered it. They lingered at the scene for only a moment before Yuri continued forward. Jon and Andre followed.


    Only three minutes later, Jon came to a halt, as did Andre. Jon¡¯s eyes went a little wide with confusion and he turned around, staring at the tunnel walls and at the ceiling, darkly confused. Andre looked the same.


    ¡°Do you see now?¡± Yuri asked.


    Jon couldn¡¯t hear anything anymore. He couldn¡¯t hear the heartbeats above or the breeze, couldn¡¯t hear the scurrying of rodents, nothing. With a dark expression on his face, he started to retreat. He took about six steps backward before halting again.


    The sound had returned.


    ¡°Holy shit,¡± he murmured, eyes widening even further. ¡°How¡¯s that happening?¡±


    ¡°This section of tunnel¡¯s reinforced, I think,¡± Yuri answered. ¡°I¡¯ve been places before where my hearing was dulled.¡±


    Jon thought back to Capital, and the reinforced building where they¡¯d met with the Council. But he hadn¡¯t come across anything like that here.


    ¡°This is about where the blood trails vanish too,¡± Andre murmured, glancing around. He moved his flashlight about. After a quick search, he let the beam of his flashlight hover above a section of wall on the left side of the tunnel. With a frown on his face, he made his way toward the wall. Jon and Yuri followed.


    Andre stopped at the wall, frowned and placed a hand to it, pressing his ear against the wall. He moved along the wall, tracing his hand along then repeated the same movement the other way. He did the same a third time then stopped at a point, his face darkening. He balled one hand into a fist and without warning, slammed it into the wall.


    His fist connected with a loud, hollow thud. His face darkened even further and he turned back to look at Jon and Yuri.


    ¡°There¡¯s something there,¡± he declared. ¡°Something past this wall.¡±


    ¡°Together,¡± Jon said, joining Andre at the wall. Yuri joined them too.


    The three of them exchanged nods with one another before throwing themselves against the wall, slamming into it shoulder first. Once more came the hollow thud and Jon thought he could hear it echo somewhat just past the hall. There was a lot of space behind it.


    Again they threw themselves at it and did so about five more times before growing frustrated and resorting to slamming fist after fist against it. This, they kept up for ten minutes before Yuri yelled in frustration and started to kick furiously at the wall, both Jon and Andre exchanging looks and backing away from her slightly.


    Once it¡¯d set in for her that kicking wasn¡¯t doing much good, she growled loudly and then dropped to the ground, sitting with her back to the wall.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Jon queried.


    ¡°Waiting,¡± Yuri growled. ¡°If there¡¯s something past this wall, whatever or whoever it is has gotta come out eventually. I¡¯ll be here when they do.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Jon shook his head. ¡°We¡¯re not doing that. Mark it.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Yuri frowned.


    ¡°Your sword,¡± Jon instructed. ¡°Mark the wall. We leave and come right back with Chloe and Jin and the others. There¡¯s a pretty good chance Jin might be strong enough to take it down.¡±


    ¡°Or we could just use the vials now,¡± Andre suggested.


    Jon shook his head. ¡°Those, we reserve only for battle. We use it now, no telling when it might wear off and I¡¯d rather not take any chances with whatever¡¯s past the wall. Mark it and then we go get the cavalry.¡±


    Yuri nodded and returned to her feet. She reached for her scabbard and unsheathed her blade, a 45-inch long blade with silver that shone rather dangerously in the dark, its edges looking sharp enough to cut through flesh with ease.


    Jon raised an eyebrow at the sight of the blade. It was perfect. Too perfect. Its edges were perfectly even, free from nicks or chips in the metal that ought have come with usage. It was free of scratches too and the leather wrapping of the blade¡¯s hilt looked all too good.


    Jon¡¯s gaze shifted from the blade to Yuri, a single thought running through his head then.


    The blade hadn¡¯t been used before.


    Yuri put the point of the sword to the wall and in two simple gestures, marked an X onto it before sheathing the sword once more. She turned then to find Jon staring at her, eyes oddly focused as the gears of his mind whirred.


    ¡°What?¡± she asked, frowning.


    Jon cleared his throat. ¡°Nothing,¡± he said. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s get out of here.¡±


    They started back the way they¡¯d come, heading for the exit. As they went, Jon thought about Yuri¡¯s sword. He glanced over at her, found her with her face trained down at the ground, one hand over her scabbard.


    ¡°How many of those have you got?¡± he queried, gesturing toward the scabbard. ¡°A collection? Or just the one?¡±


    ¡°Just the one.¡± Yuri looked at him. ¡°Not exactly easy to come across one these days. Most people aren¡¯t bothering with them.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh.¡± Jon nodded. ¡°How effective is it against the Servants? Does it slow you down when you use it?¡±


    Yuri¡¯s face darkened slightly at the question and her eyes narrowed almost knowingly. She diverted her gaze from Jon¡¯s at once. ¡°Uh, yeah,¡± she answered then quickly, added: ¡°I mean, no. It doesn¡¯t slow me down.¡±


    Jon said nothing else of the sword. But it made sense to him now, made sense to him exactly what had happened down there with Yuri¡¯s unit, made sense how she¡¯d survived, and why she blamed herself.


    They were halfway to the exit when Jon heard the footsteps. As soon as he heard them he came to a sudden halt, a shiver running down his spine. Andre and Yuri halted too.


    The three of them turned around, looking in the direction from which the footsteps came. In the darkness of the shadows, Jon made out three distinct shapes moving, getting closer and closer to them. He aimed his flashlight ahead, right at the three shapes.


    They were human. Or at least they looked human. He couldn¡¯t tell for sure since all three were clad in black bodysuits that looked almost military, with oddly-shaped helmets that blinked red at the ears.


    ¡°It¡¯s them,¡± Yuri croaked.


    Jon looked at her, saw her take one step backward, her eyes going wide, face contorting with an expression of horror, her jaw slacking somewhat. ¡°It¡¯s them,¡± she said again, her lips trembling this time. ¡°It¡¯s them.¡±


    Jon stepped forward, placing himself in front of Yuri. He glanced sideways. ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± he said, his tone soft.


    ¡°No.¡± Yuri shook her head. She dropped to her knees. ¡°Not again.¡±


    ¡°What the hell¡¯s happening to her?¡± Andre demanded. ¡°What are you doing?! Get up! Fight!¡±


    ¡°Andre!¡± Jon yelled, dashing forward quickly enough to push Andre out of the way just as one of the Helmets surged at him in a blur of movement.


    The Helmet¡¯s fist connected with nothing but air but the impact still sent out a strong gust of wind that whipped about the tunnel, causing Jon¡¯s eyes to go wide.


    The Helmet scoffed, then turned its head in Yuri¡¯s direction. ¡°Pathetic,¡± came a raspy, distorted-sounding voice. ¡°Utterly pathetic.¡±


    ¡°What are you?¡± Jon demanded, fists clenched at his side.


    The Helmet shifted its attention to Jon. ¡°Evolution,¡± it answered. Then it vanished.


    A fraction of a second later, a fist connected with his stomach, the impact sending blood spurting from his mouth and sending him hurtling through the air like a projectile. Jon flipped over multiple times as he shot through the air before managing to find the train tracks with his feet, digging in deep and bringing himself to a stop.


    Just as soon as he¡¯d stopped, he glanced ahead to see two of the Helmets blurring toward him. Instinctively, he attempted to leap backward and out of the way of their immediate attack but just as soon as his feet left the ground, one of them grabbed onto it, yanked and launched him right at a wall.


    Jon slammed into the wall hard and dropped to the ground with a groan. His muscles were quaking now, throbbing agonizingly. Slowly, he got back to his feet, spat blood from his mouth and looked to the two Helmets ahead of him.


    Further down the tunnel, Andre was having his head pounded against the train tracks. Yuri remained on her knees, her face buried in her hands now.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have come looking for us,¡± said one of the Helmets in front of Jon. ¡°We wanted to let you live, you know. You and your team. You were of absolutely no relevance to us, we already got what we wanted from the last ones. But you just had to come too close. Now we can¡¯t let you leave. Not when you could jeopardize everything.¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Jon snarled, and launched himself right at the Helmets.


    His fist connected with one, sent it staggering backward then he spun around quickly enough to parry a blow from the other. He moved quickly, going in close to the second Helmet and slamming his head into his face. The Helmet staggered back a couple steps, then went flying when Jon thrust a foot into its chest.


    A snarl came from just behind Jon. Quickly, he swirled and both hands shot up instinctively to catch a fist that would have caught him in the back of the head if he hadn¡¯t turned. His entire body trembled under the effort of catching blow and his knees threatened to buckle. But he kept himself on his feet, teeth gritted as he spun around, still holding on to the Helmet¡¯s feet, hurling it right at the second that¡¯d been just about to rise again.


    Both of them went down. Jon reached into his pocket at once, grabbing the vial of Jin¡¯s blood and emptying it down his throat at once. Almost immediately, he felt the throbbing in his muscles dull to a stop, felt something akin to adrenaline surge through him, felt that intense bloodlust that came with consuming her blood.


    He charged down the tunnel with intense speed, going straight for Andre and the Helmet still bashing his head into the tracks. He arrived with a knee slam into the Helmet¡¯s face that sent it flying a great distance away from Andre.


    ¡°We need to get out of here,¡± he said immediately, helping Andre up to his feet. ¡°The vial. Use it now.¡±


    Andre nodded at him a little weakly, blood pouring profusely down the side of his face. Jon moved toward Yuri, seized her by the arm and pulled her to her feet.


    ¡°Hey, snap out of it!¡± he growled. ¡°We¡¯re getting out of here. Now.¡±


    Yuri met his eyes then. Her eyes were wet. She¡¯d been sobbing. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she croaked. ¡°I¡¯m so¡ª,¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter!¡± Jon yelled, a little frantically since all three Helmets were getting back on their feet now. ¡°You can¡¯t fight but you can run, right?¡±


    Yuri nodded.


    ¡°Good. Then run!¡±


    All three of them broke into sprints, charging in the direction of the exit, two Helmets ahead of them getting into position to obstruct their escape. Jon didn¡¯t stop running. He sped up, eyes turning bloodshot with rage as he got closer and closer to the Helmets. Once they were close enough, he extended one hand to Yuri.


    Yuri took it and with all of the strength he could muster, Jon launched her forward, sending her sailing right past the Helmets, both of whom spun around and looked ready to go after Yuri. Jon and Andre got to them first, hurling the Helmets out of their way and continuing forward with speed.


    Jon looked over his shoulder to see both Helmets getting back up immediately, the third joining them and then all three broke into pursuit.


    The Helmets were rapid and inhumanly determined. They closed in very quickly and soon, Jon and the others had to constantly move from left to right to avoid the Helmets who would attack from any direction. One Helmet leaped at the ceiling of the tunnel, digging its hands to it and crawling in spider-like fashion before launching itself at Jon from above.


    Jon turned around to meet the Helmet with a powerful blow to the face, and immediately continued to run for the exit which was rather difficult because every natural instinct of his then wanted him to stop and to fight, to kill the Helmets, tear them apart from limb to limb and then find any more and do the same to them too. That was what Jin¡¯s blood did.


    But the more logical part of him, dulled as it might have been in the moment knew that the chance they¡¯d win here, even with Jin¡¯s blood was rather slim. If they could get out of the tunnels, take the fight up above where there was more space and a pretty good chance that the commotion would be heard by the others back at the orphanage then they¡¯d stand a higher chance at surviving.


    Survival was all that mattered here. And the Helmets showed no sign of wanting to make it easy on them.


    But they were close now. The tunnel exit was just in view, rays of moonlight slipping into the tunnel via the opening.


    They were close now. Closer. Just a few feet more to go.


    A loud snarl from behind Jon. Firm hands gripped his neck from behind and a force tackled him to the ground. A Helmet swiped away furiously at him. Jon winced in pain as he felt skin be torn from him, felt his flesh be pierced, sliced through like butter. His vision blurred underneath a flurry of attacks and he felt blood seep out of him.


    But Jin¡¯s blood hadn¡¯t yet finished his work in him. He growled angrily, dug deep into the reserves of strength it provided. He poured as much strength as he could into a fist that he slammed right into the Helmet¡¯s face, sending it hurtling off him and through the air.


    Jon hurried to his feet immediately, looked in Yuri and Andre¡¯s direction. Andre was pinned to the ground by one Helmet and was being strangled. The last Helmet was advancing on Yuri, moving slowly, as though savoring the moment, enjoying the look of horror on her face.


    Jon growled angrily, and dashed first toward Yuri. He grabbed the Helmet from behind, seizing it by the waist, raising it high above his head and then slamming it down on the ground. The Helmet hit the ground with a loud crack, growled then started to rise again. Jon smashed a foot into the Helmet¡¯s face, launching it some distance away.


    He moved quickly then. In a blur, he¡¯d taken Yuri¡¯s sword from the scabbard and was charging at the Helmet atop Andre, his eyes bloodshot with murderous fury. He raised the sword, the Helmet¡¯s neck in sight. He prepared to swing, prepared to take the monster¡¯s head clean off its body.


    BANG!


    The gunshot echoed throughout the tunnel, accompanied rather closely by the scent of gunpowder. The bullet struck the blade of the sword with enough force to knock it right out of Jon¡¯s grasp.


    Jon, stunned and surprised, swirled around in the direction the bullet had come from. Standing there, just at the tunnel entrance, little visible of him other than a silhouette, was a man clad in a trench coat, barrel of a long firearm aimed in Jon¡¯s direction.


    Jon¡¯s eyes went wide in a mixture of confusion and fury. ¡°What the hell? Who are y¡ª,¡±


    ¡°WATCH OUT!¡± yelled the stranger.


    Jon reacted too late. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw the movement, rapid and precise. But there wasn¡¯t enough time to get clear.


    Yuri¡¯s sword went straight through his chest, passing all the way through and protruding from his back. Blinding agony shot throughout his body and he stumbled backward, a loud roaring sound filling his ears. It took him a few seconds to realize the sound was from him. He¡¯d been screaming.


    His eyes stung as he dropped to his knees, vision blurring out of focus for a moment but he could still make out the Helmet in front of him, one hand raised, poised to finish Jon off.


    Andre was getting back up now, but he wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything quickly enough. Jon stared down at the hilt of the sword at his chest. He coughed and blood sprayed from his mouth onto the floor.


    He looked back to the Helmet, drew a deep breath. ¡°Get it over with,¡± he hissed, and squeezed his eyes shut.


    He awaited death.


    What came in its stead was another gunshot and the sound of something shattering. He cracked his eyes open again to see the Helmet down on one knee, half of its helmet having shattered from the gunshot, exposing half of the creature¡¯s real face.


    But it wasn¡¯t a creature at all.


    It was a kid. A boy with curly dark hair and green eyes that¡¯d been glazed over. Jon watched as some expression slowly returned to the boy¡¯s eye, some life and consciousness returning to it. He watched the boy¡¯s eye widen in horror, saw it water, saw the tears streak down the boy¡¯s cheeks.


    ¡°Help.¡± The boy¡¯s voice was a shaky whimper.


    Jon extended a hand toward the boy, but felt his entire body go limp then. He dropped to the ground face first. Before his vision faded entirely, he saw feet rushing toward the boy. The other Helmets. He saw them seize the boy, saw them drag him off, heard something akin to screams and loud yells.


    He heard more gunshots, accompanied by frantic yelling. Then he felt hands grab him, felt himself be lifted off the ground, his arms being slung across the shoulders of people whose faces he couldn¡¯t make out but who he knew must have been Yuri and Andre.


    ¡°He¡¯s dying,¡± a teary voice said.


    ¡°He needs blood,¡± another said. ¡°We need to get him to the orphanage now.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Jon groaned weakly, attempting to refocus his sight. ¡°Not me,¡± he said, head pounding. ¡°Leave me¡­help¡­the¡­.boy.¡±


    Then the world went black.

 Chapter 18

    Chloe was in the living room when Andre and Yuri arrived with a limp Jon between them.


    Jin had been in a corner of the room, curled up again with a book. Aiden and Lucas were on the console and Chloe sat with some of the kids, watching them play. And then the door had been barged open.


    ¡°HELP!¡± someone had yelled.


    It took Chloe only a moment to burst from the living room to the entrance where she froze, mouth dropping slightly open at the sight of Jon, fear etching itself into her eyes. She felt her head go numb, felt a tremble in her hands.


    ¡°W-What happened?¡± she stammered.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Jin?¡± Andre asked. ¡°We need to get the sword out and heal him with her blood. He¡¯s still alive but barely.¡±


    ¡°Sword,¡± Chloe repeated, heart starting to thump as she processed everything. The sword. Her gaze shifted toward Yuri, to her scabbard. It was empty. Rage drowned out the rest of her thoughts and she felt something burn inside of her.


    She watched blankly as Andre and Yuri led Jon past her and into the living room, where she knew he was being set down on a couch. She heard the sound of a blade being removed and the pained grunt that followed, heard kids make their way out of the living room, murmuring fearfully about what had happened. Then she heard another door open and close somewhere else in the orphanage, heard quick footsteps, heard someone barge out of a room.


    Miguel raced past her and into the living room. ¡°Stop the bleeding!¡± he instructed at once.


    Yuri¡¯s sword.


    Chloe turned then, heading into the living room to join the others. Yuri stood to one side of the couch Jon was on, looking down at him, one hand over her mouth, tears streaking down her cheeks. Yuri looked toward Chloe and an apologetic expression swept across her face.


    ¡°I¡¯m so sor¡ª,¡±


    She didn¡¯t get a chance to finish. Chloe blurred across the distance between them in an instant and there was a crashing sound as Yuri slammed into one of the bookshelves in the room and then dropped to the ground. Several books fell from the shelf and onto her.


    ¡°Chloe, no!¡± Andre yelled, but Chloe wasn¡¯t listening.


    Chloe zipped toward Yuri, lifting her off the ground with ease and pinning her by her throat to the shelf. ¡°WHAT DID YOU DO?!¡± She screamed, before smashing a fist into Yuri¡¯s face. She felt the satisfying crunch of a nose breaking underneath her fist.


    She slammed another fist into Yuri¡¯s face and then another to her stomach. Yuri doubled over, gasping loudly, and received a knee to the face that sent blood spraying.


    ¡°Chloe, stop!¡± Andre yelled.


    Chloe growled angrily, seizing Yuri by her neck and hurling her across the room. She turned and made to dash in Yuri¡¯s direction but before she could get to her, Andre and Miguel were in her path.


    ¡°Chloe,¡± Andre said slowly and gently, his hands extended toward her in a pleading manner. ¡°She wasn¡¯t the one who hurt him,¡± he explained. ¡°The things that wiped her unit out. We found them down there. They did this.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Chloe shook her head, and aimed an accusatory finger at Yuri. ¡°She lied to us. You know she did.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Andre nodded. ¡°She lied. But that had nothing to do with what¡¯s happened here and killing her isn¡¯t going to change anything at all. Please, don¡¯t do this.¡±


    Chloe¡¯s eyes shifted from Yuri to Andre then, burning with fiery determination. ¡°Get out of my way!¡± she growled.


    Andre drew a deep breath and straightened slightly. Defiance shone in his eyes. ¡°No,¡± he said, shaking his head. ¡°You won¡¯t execute her. Not here. Look around, Chlo¡­there¡¯s children watching.¡±


    Chloe looked back then. Sure enough, standing at the entrance to the living room, fearful expressions on their faces were a handful of the kids in the building. At the sight of them, her eyes stung a little, watering slightly.


    She looked away from them, past Andre and right at Yuri who was slowly getting back up now, blood streaming out of her nose.


    ¡°If my brother dies, you¡¯re next.¡±


    ***


    Jon woke the following morning, his throat incredibly dry and itchy when he did. Sunlight filtered into the living room through the curtains, bathing him lightly. In the room with him were the others, all sat around, gloomy expressions on all of their faces. There was a girl there too that he didn¡¯t recognize, one who sat rather closely to Lucas.


    He coughed slightly and stirred in the couch. ¡°Why the long faces?¡¯ he asked, groaning as he did. His chest still hurt.


    As soon as he spoke, all of their expressions shifted into one of relief.


    ¡°Welcome back to the land of the living, Jonathan.¡± Miguel had a relieved smile on his face. ¡°You gave us all quite a scare there.¡±


    ¡°Sorry,¡± Jon said. He noticed Yuri had her face trained downward. When she did look up, her face was bruised, one of her eyes a dark purplish shade. He frowned. ¡°Woah. What the hell happened to you?¡±


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Every one looked toward Chloe. Jon understood at once.


    He shifted into an upright position. ¡°Have any of you gone back down there?¡± he asked. ¡°We need to get down there.¡±


    ¡°Woah, woah, woah,¡± Andre said, walking toward Jon and placing a hand on his shoulder. ¡°You just woke up. Maybe take things slow, think things through before jumping right back into trouble? We only barely made it out of there and you want us going right back down?¡±


    ¡°The kids,¡± Jon said. ¡°It¡¯s the kids.¡±


    Chloe frowned. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°There was someone else there last night,¡± Jon explained. ¡°A guy with a gun. He took a shot at one of the Helmets¡­I saw its face. It was a boy, possibly one of the missing children. Dark hair, green eyes.¡±


    ¡°Tobias,¡± Miguel murmured, his face falling. ¡°He was one of the boys here. One of the ones who went missing.¡±


    ¡°Not missing.¡± Jon shook his head. ¡°Taken. Experimented on. Someone¡¯s taking children and experimenting on them, turning them into Pandorans. A whole new breed of Pandorans, stronger and faster than any we¡¯ve encountered yet. But that¡¯s not all.¡±


    ¡°What else is there?¡± asked the girl who sat with Lucas. Jon looked at her and frowned in a manner that meant he expected an introduction.


    Lucas cleared his throat. ¡°Uh, this is Kaia. She¡¯s a friend.¡±


    Jon nodded, then continued. ¡°The stranger who turned up with the gun. He stopped me from killing one of the Helmets. I think he knew already that it was the children in those suits, in the helmets.¡±


    ¡°So someone involved in it somehow?¡± Jin asked, folding her arms. ¡°Looking out for the experiments, ensuring nothing happens to them? Preserving a new creation?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said another voice.


    They all looked to the living room entrance where the boy had come from. Standing there with his head poked just slightly into the living room was one of the kids from the orphanage. John. With all eyes on him, John looked a little awkward.


    ¡°No?¡± Chloe asked, raising an eyebrow.


    ¡°The stranger,¡± John said. ¡°We call him the Nightman. He first started appearing right when the disappearances started. But not in a bad way¡­he was trying to help, looking out for the other kids, trying to stop more from being snapped up. No one knows who he is, but he¡¯s not one of the bad guys.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯d be easier to believe that if he¡¯d stuck around to help right after getting Jon hurt.¡± Andre snorted. ¡°We don¡¯t know who he is and we can¡¯t afford to be na?ve about things, not with lives at stake. We see him again, we treat him just much a priority as the Helmets and anyone else who might be involved in this. Everything and everyone we¡¯re not sure of is a threat until we can be certain of otherwise.¡±


    Jon nodded. ¡°I agree.¡±


    ¡°Have you taken this to the Chancellor?¡± asked Lucas¡¯s friend, Kaia. ¡°If you¡¯re right and there¡¯s children being turned into Pandorans like you, that kind of thing will be hard to keep under wraps. The Chancellor should be able to sniff out answers that might help.¡±


    ¡°I already reached out to him,¡± Miguel said. ¡°He¡¯s ordered an investigation into the labs here. He¡¯s also having the guards sweep the district properly for anything else we might have missed. If there¡¯s anything, we¡¯ll be the first to know.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t just sit around and wait on the Chancellor,¡± Jin said.


    ¡°No, we can¡¯t.¡± Chloe agreed. ¡°What we can do is address a few more elephants in the room. I suggest we start with Captain Voss.¡±


    As she spoke, everyone glanced at Yuri, their expressions dark.


    ¡°She lied to us about what really happened down there with her unit,¡± Chloe went on. ¡°I think we deserve to know why.¡±


    ¡°No, we don¡¯t,¡± Jon said quickly.


    Chloe looked at Jon, eyes wide with surprise. ¡°What? You¡¯re joking, right? Did you get hit in the head a little too hard last night? We¡¯re dealing with experiments stronger than us and you want us to do that with a liar in our midst?¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t be the first one,¡± Lucas muttered.


    Jin shot him a quick look before returning her focus to Jon. Jon found the ground with his feet and rose, despite Andre¡¯s efforts to keep him on the couch.


    ¡°Yuri doesn¡¯t have to explain herself,¡± he said. ¡°What happened last night had nothing to do with¡ª,¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Yuri cut him off. Her voice sounded almost lifeless. She raised her head, and glanced at everyone. ¡°You¡¯re right. I lied about what happened in the tunnel. I lied about why I survived, how I survived. The truth about what happened won¡¯t change much, but you should know. You should know why I don¡¯t deserve to live.¡±


    Jon shifted uncomfortably. ¡°Yuri¡ª,¡± he began.


    ¡°Most of what you already know is true,¡± Yuri started to explain. ¡°My unit and I were down there, patrolling like we were supposed to, looking for the missing children. And just like I said before, we were attacked down there by things we didn¡¯t understand. The Helmets. We didn¡¯t know they were the kids or anything of the sort, we just thought they were monsters.


    ¡°They attacked out of the shadows, moving faster than I¡¯ve ever seen anything move. One of them came for me, but Mason placed himself in front of me, took the hit instead. They all fought the Helmets, offering themselves up to protect me, told me to get out of the tunnel and to get help.¡±


    ¡°Wait, hang on,¡± Lucas interrupted, a confused frown on his face. ¡°Why was your unit putting their lives on the line for you? You were captain, shouldn¡¯t you have been fighting with them?¡±


    Yuri¡¯s face fell. ¡°Yes,¡± she said. ¡°I should have been¡­but¡ª,¡±


    Her voice trailed.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t,¡± Jon said. ¡°You didn¡¯t fight. You¡¯ve never fought, have you?¡±


    Yuri shook her head.


    ¡°Hang on, never fought?¡± Jin repeated. ¡°You¡¯re Captain of a Special Unit. How the hell¡¯s that happen if you¡¯ve never¡ª,¡±


    ¡°Commanding, strategy, coordination,¡± Yuri said. ¡°I excel at those. Having a bird¡¯s eye view of the situation¡¯s always helped get my unit through it. But when I¡¯m up close and right in the thick of things¡­I¡ªI don¡¯t know what happens, m-m-my body just freezes up, I go numb all over and it¡¯s like I¡¯m a helpless kid watching her home be razed down all over again.¡±


    ¡°But you were captain.¡± Chloe¡¯s voice was cold. ¡°Mason, the others¡­they trusted you.¡±


    ¡°They knew,¡± Yuri said. ¡°Knew what my limits were. I wasn¡¯t keeping them in the dark about anything. I shouldn¡¯t have been down in that tunnel with them¡ªbut we weren¡¯t expecting to find anything like what we did down there. So when the attack started, when I froze up¡ª,¡±


    ¡°They tried to get you out,¡± Jon said. ¡°Offered themselves up in your place. You made it out and they¡ª,¡±


    ¡°Died,¡± Yuri croaked.


    ¡°We don¡¯t know that.¡± Miguel rose to his feet. ¡°Not yet. If the children are alive and being puppeteered then there¡¯s a chance whoever did this still has your unit. And bad as things might have been last night, there are some positives to be found.¡±


    ¡°Positives?¡± Chloe repeated. ¡°Like what?¡±


    ¡°The attack means whoever did this, whatever¡¯s going on, it¡¯s still happening in the district. They didn¡¯t just take the children and leave. They¡¯re still here and they¡¯re not done yet. It means you can find them. And you can stop them.¡±


    ¡°We do more than just stop them,¡± Chloe growled. ¡°Whoever¡¯s responsible for this is twisted, evil beyond anything that should be possible. We find them and we kill them. We can¡¯t let them walk, not after this.¡±


    ¡°Agreed,¡± said everyone else in unison.

 Chapter 19

    Jon found Yuri at her gym.


    She had on a white T-shirt, baggy gray sweatpants and was barefoot. She stood in the center of several wooden dummies, and had a wooden sword gripped firmly in her hands. As with the last time he¡¯d seen her in there, she was drenched in sweat, with strands of her clinging to the front of her face.


    She sensed him as soon as he walked in.


    ¡°I¡¯m busy,¡± she said.


    ¡°Fine with me,¡± Jon answered, before placing down his gym bag. ¡°I¡¯m kind of here to train too.¡±


    Yuri turned around then, looked right at Jon with a quizzical expression on her face. ¡°You do know this is a private gym, right? I¡¯m the only one who uses it.¡±


    ¡°Make an exception for today?¡± Jon asked pleadingly. ¡°I mean, look at me, I¡¯m already dressed for it.¡±


    And he was. He wore a fitted brown tank top over swamp-green pants, and a pair of worn, old sneakers that he¡¯d gotten from Miguel. On his hands, he had fingerless gloves.


    ¡°What do you really want?¡± Yuri asked, sounding slightly exhausted. ¡°I¡¯m not interested in talking.¡±


    ¡°Like I said, I want to train.¡± Jon shrugged. ¡°And maybe also apologize for my sister breaking your nose, and throwing you around an orphanage. It was¡ª,¡±


    ¡°That was three days ago.¡± Yuri turned back around, returning her attention to the wooden dummies. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. She was right. I lied. You got hurt because of me. In her shoes, I¡¯d have done the same. Maybe even worse.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± Jon nodded.


    Yuri grunted loudly then as she struck at one of the dummies, and then another. She moved gracefully, like she weighed absolutely nothing, passing between dummies in a way that made it looked like she was gliding. And yet, when she swung, it was with incredible strength, with precision, each strike delivered at spots that would have been vital points on a living person. Or an undead one.


    Once she let the wooden sword fly out of her hand and high into the air. While the sword dropped, she unleashed a flurry of attacks on a dummy, striking at every direction with her fists and knees. And then once the sword was close enough to her, she leaped high into the air, flipped and kicked at the sword, launching it right at the head of a dummy with incredible force.


    The sword struck the dummy¡¯s head. The impact sent the dummy sliding backward and the sword bounced right off, hurtling straight in her direction. She caught it on the spin, grabbing it in one hand before making a circular, slicing gesture, lowering herself slightly as she did. All around her, the wooden dummies fell to the ground.


    Jon let out a whistle. ¡°You¡¯re good.¡±


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be working out?¡± Yuri asked as she straightened. She went to the dummies, started to right their positions.


    ¡°You know it¡¯s okay, right?¡± Jon said, raising an eyebrow over the other. ¡°To be afraid? I mean, the experiment that made us all super soldier freaks took away much of what we consider humanity that, I don¡¯t know if this is silly, but it just means something like fear¡¯s a good thing. Means there¡¯s still something left in us. We¡¯re not just complete killing machines. We¡¯re all children who never got a chance at life, turned into soldiers thrown into a war against things that shouldn¡¯t exist. Fear¡¯s the right response to that.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk about it,¡± Yuri said coldly


    ¡°Maybe you should.¡± Jon walked toward her. ¡°Talking¡¯s gotta be easier than just putting the blame for everything that goes wrong on yourself.¡±


    ¡°What would you do?!¡± Yuri demanded, swirling around to glare at Jon. ¡°What would you do if your unit died and it was because of you?! If your sister died, and all you could do was stand and watch?! You wouldn¡¯t blame yourself for it?!¡±


    Jon flinched, bit down hard on his lips.


    ¡°Exactly.¡± Yuri¡¯s eyes narrowed and she turned back to focus on the dummies. ¡°So don¡¯t tell me how I¡¯m supposed to handle this. You¡¯re no different than I am.¡±


    Jon said nothing. He simply fell silent, watched as Yuri went at the dummies again, her grunts filling the silence, along with the sound of wood thudding against wood. In only a minute, all of the dummies had again fallen to the ground. Yuri started to right their positions again.


    ¡°You¡¯re wrong,¡± Jon said softly then.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wrong,¡± Jon repeated, louder and with more fierceness. ¡°I am different. I wouldn¡¯t have stood by and let the people I was responsible for get killed. Every single one of us who¡¯s been through Pandora, who¡¯s been through the goddamn end of the world, we¡¯ve all lost people and gone through hell, we¡¯ve all been scarred. Difference is the rest of us know we have a job to do, we know what¡¯s hanging in the balance. We don¡¯t all have the luxury of being cowards.¡±


    ¡°Shut up,¡± Yuri growled.


    ¡°They weren¡¯t cowards, and they didn¡¯t deserve to die in those tunnels,¡± Jon continued. ¡°But they did and it was because of you. Your fault. Your responsibility. And what have you done about it? Spent every goddamn fucking second hitting foam and leather and goddamn wood statues? Moping about it? Somehow made yourself the victim of the entire thing? They¡¯re the ones who are dead, you¡¯re the one who gets to keep going. How about you do something with that?¡±


    ¡°Stop talking.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Jon¡¯s eyes flared. ¡°You need to hear the hard truths that you¡¯re avoiding. What would they have wanted you to do after they died? Spend the rest of your life moping about it? They didn¡¯t give themselves up for you so you could stay in here, crying about it!¡±


    ¡°SHUT UP!¡± Yuri screamed angrily, spinning around and hurling the wooden sword right at Jon.


    Jon¡¯s hand shot up quickly, grabbing the sword, stopping it when it was just inches from his face. He scoffed, and tossed the sword aside. It clattered a few feet away from him.


    ¡°Really?¡± He shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s the extent of your rage? You¡¯re a goddamn Pandoran, show me some real anger. That can¡¯t be what Liam, Daniel, Lucy, Estelle and Mason died for.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say their names!¡±


    ¡°Then don¡¯t disgrace them.¡± Jon¡¯s eyes narrowed coldly.


    Yuri¡¯s lips trembled slightly and she lowered her face, staring straight down at her feet. At her sides, her hands trembled.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re about to start sobbing again,¡± Jon hissed.


    Yuri raised her face again, and her eyes had gone a bloodshot red. Her knuckles cracked as she balled her hands into fists, arms flexing and bulging. ¡°No,¡± she growled.


    And then she surged toward Jon, and threw a powerful fist right at him. Jon reacted instinctively, moving out of the way quickly and getting behind Yuri in an instant, letting her fist find nothing but air.


    Jon grinned, his back to Yuri¡¯s. ¡°Finally,¡± he said. ¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡±


    Yuri swirled around and threw another fist. Jon leaped backward quickly enough to avoid her blow. ¡°Faster than that,¡± he said. ¡°Angrier than that.¡±


    ¡°What are you doing?!¡± Yuri demanded angrily.


    ¡°I told you already.¡± Jon shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m here to train. There¡¯s children out there who¡¯ve been brainwashed into being murderous superhumans and whoever did it¡¯s still on the loose. Next time we¡¯re out there, I can¡¯t afford you freezing on us. You need to fight. I¡¯m going to show you how.¡±


    ¡°This doesn¡¯t change anything,¡± Yuri hissed. ¡°This isn¡¯t nearly the same as what it feels like when I¡¯m out there, when I¡¯m in a real fight. You¡¯re wasting your time.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Jon shook his head and moved toward his duffel bag. He unzipped it and pulled out a long, black sash. ¡°Your brain freezes in the middle of battle because of what you¡¯re seeing, right?¡± He asked. ¡°So what if you couldn¡¯t see at all?¡±


    ¡°You want me to fight blind?¡±


    Jon walked toward her, sash in hand. ¡°We¡¯re Pandorans, Yuri,¡± he reminded her. ¡°We can see with more than just our eyes. Sure, it might be a little trickier to get used to and there¡¯s no guarantee it¡¯ll work. But don¡¯t you owe it to Mason and all of the others to try? I suppose the real question here is, do you want to avenge them or not?¡±


    Yuri stood in silence for a moment, staring right at the sash in his hand, outstretched to her. Jon watched her curiously.


    She looked up at him and met his eyes. ¡°I still hate you for what you just did, what you said just now.¡±


    ¡°Sorry.¡± Jon smiled sheepishly. ¡°Just had to get to you somehow.¡±


    ¡°Well, it worked,¡± Yuri said, accepting the sash from Jon. She placed it over her eyes, wrapped it around a couple times and then Jon went right behind her, grabbing onto the ends of the sash. He started to fasten it at the back of her head, leaning in slightly. The smell of her hair enveloped him¡ªa blend of vanilla and something floral, reminiscent of the linger of a summer afternoon.


    When he finished with the sash, he lingered for a moment, his chest feeling oddly tight, his heart beating a little quicker. Then Yuri broke the silence.


    ¡°Are you done?¡± she asked.


    He cleared his throat. ¡°Uh, yeah. It¡¯s done.¡±


    Yuri turned then to face him and aimed her face upward. ¡°Thank you,¡± she said softly, and there was something about the warmth of her breath against him as she spoke that made him feel as though a knot had just been tied in his stomach.


    ¡°Anytime,¡± he whispered back.


    Yuri smiled then stepped away from him. Even with the blindfold on, she moved steadily toward her wooden sword. She placed a foot just beside it and kicked it up right into her palm, catching it perfectly. Then she turned around and aimed the point of the sword at Jon, shifting her feet against the ground and lowering herself slightly, adopting a fighting stance.


    ¡°Ready?¡± she asked.


    Jon grinned at her and nodded, then remembering she couldn¡¯t see him, he said: ¡°Ready. Let¡¯s train. I¡¯ll go easy on you.¡±


    ¡°Funny.¡± Yuri snorted. ¡°Took the words right out of my mouth.¡±


    ***


    ¡°More,¡± Andre said as Chloe helped him to his feet, blood trickling out of the corner of his mouth. He wiped the blood off his mouth, gave Chloe a nod of gratitude then dusted himself off. He glanced at Jin. ¡°You need to hit me harder than that. Don¡¯t hold back.¡±


    ¡°If I don¡¯t hold back, you die,¡± Jin said, her tone more of amusement than of warning. ¡°And unfortunately, that wouldn¡¯t do much to help earn me the trust of people whose help I might need.¡±


    ¡°Well, then hit me just a little harder,¡± Andre said. ¡°The Helmets hit harder than that. If we¡¯re going to be going up against them again, we need to be able to take as hard as they give.¡±


    ¡°And you know for sure they weren¡¯t holding back?¡± Kaia asked. She was sat on a wooden chair that¡¯d been placed out back just for her, and Lucas was currently stood next to her, a pack of ice held over his broken nose, courtesy of Jin.


    ¡°They¡¯re children,¡± Jin said with an air of condescension. ¡°How hard could they possibly hit?¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t underestimate them,¡± Chloe warned.


    ¡°Maybe you can¡¯t.¡± Jin snorted. ¡°I don¡¯t see why you¡¯re all so worked up about this. If I¡¯m there the next time the Helmets attack, the fight will be over in an instant.¡±


    ¡°So she¡¯s the strongest one?¡± Kaia asked, the question directed to Lucas.


    ¡°Uh-huh.¡± Lucas nodded, before lifting the pack of ice away from his already healing nose. ¡°Evidently.¡±


    ¡°How¡¯s that work?¡± Kaia frowned. ¡°How is she stronger than the rest of you? The Pandorans are all made the same way, right?¡±


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    The others exchanged glances then. Chloe shook her head subtly at Lucas. Lucas looked at Kaia, cleared his throat before responding. ¡°As far as we know, the procedures are similar but there¡¯s differences in each generation of Pandoran,¡± he said. ¡°Kind of like how Andre here can eat hamburgers and shawarma and whatever, and the mere smell of it makes the rest of us want to puke.¡±


    ¡°So she¡¯s like a newer model?¡± Kaia asked and then to Jin, she said: ¡°No offense.¡±


    ¡°None taken.¡± Jin said. ¡°Newer, superior,¡± she added, beaming proudly as she did.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough,¡± Chloe said. She looked at Lucas. ¡°Are you ready? We¡¯ve got to keep going, can¡¯t take any breaks.¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s your brother by the way?¡± Kaia queried.


    ¡°With Yuri,¡± Chloe answered darkly, eyes narrowing in annoyance. Kaia took that as a hint not to ask any more questions about that and simply nodded.


    Lucas rejoined the others. ¡°Ready,¡± he said. ¡°Just don¡¯t aim for my nose this time.¡±


    ¡°Sure thing.¡± Jin smiled. She placed a hat atop her head, a symbolic makeshift helmet that the others were required to get off of her. As soon as the hat was on her head, the others surged forward, charging right at her.


    ¡°Remember, go on the offensive not the defensive!¡± Andre yelled, just before lunging right at her, taking a swipe at her face.


    Jin leaned back just enough to avoid the attack before shooting her leg out and finding Andre¡¯s stomach. Andre went hurtling through the air, crashing into Aiden, knocking them both to the ground.


    ¡°Get off me!¡± Aiden whined.


    Lucas and Chloe went at Jin simultaneously, from either side of her. Lucas was the first to her, feigning as though he was about to throw a blow before going into a slide, attempting to take Jin¡¯s feet off the ground. Jin managed to leap enough to avoid his slide, but left herself open for Chloe who dove right into her headfirst and attempted to take her to the ground.


    Jin slammed her elbows into Chloe¡¯s back once to get her off and then again, knocking Chloe to the ground. Chloe hit the ground hard then went flying almost immediately as Jin slammed a foot into her stomach.


    Lucas ducked, just quickly enough to avoid getting hit by Chloe who crashed instead into Andre and Aiden, both of whom had just gotten back to their feet, all three of them going down to the ground.


    ¡°Not this again!¡± Aiden cried out.


    Jin went at Lucas, charging forward with blistering, distorting speed. Lucas¡¯s hands shot up quickly enough to block the punch she threw, gritting his teeth at the strain of her strength acting upon him, the impact enough to send him sliding back a few feet.


    Jin went at him immediately, not allowing him even a moment to recover or adjust. She threw another punch but this time, Lucas ducked beneath the blow, countering with a precise blow to her stomach. Jin flinched slightly under the attack, then proceeded to unleash a flurry of furious attacks, sending Lucas on the defensive.


    Lucas remained quick on his feet, shifting from left to right, ducking beneath blow after blow, parrying what he could. But he couldn¡¯t keep it up for much longer. Lucas retreated, but Jin kept close to him, throwing attack after attack. Finally, Lucas decided to use her own momentum against her. He feinted, letting one of Jin¡¯s punches sail right past him, then he went forward, pushing himself into her, grabbing her outstretched hand and turning her momentum and weight agsint her.


    He flipped her through the air, then slammed her to the ground hard. As soon as she hit the ground, he moved quickly, going for the hat atop her head. Jin, however, recovered quickly, rolling out of the way before sweeping his feet off the ground.


    Lucas hit the ground with a loud thud and a groan. Jin got back to her feet quickly but just as soon as she had, Chloe charged into her, knocking her to the ground. Jin attempted to get Chloe off of her but it was too late. Chloe had the hat in her hand now, and a wide grin on her face.


    Chloe got to her feet, putting the hat on her own head before offering a hand to Jin.


    ¡°That was cheating,¡± Jin muttered, before reluctantly accepting Chloe¡¯s hand. Chloe pulled her to her feet and helped dust her off.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be a sore loser,¡± Chloe said smugly. ¡°You lost the hat.¡±


    ¡°You came at me while I was distracted.¡± Jin was pouty now. ¡°That¡¯s not very free and fair.¡±


    ¡°We won¡¯t be trying to be free and fair out there,¡± Chloe reminded. ¡°We¡¯re trying to save lives. We have to do whatever it takes.¡±


    ¡°Whatever.¡± Jin rolled her eyes, then looked at Andre. ¡°You¡¯re the one who¡¯s encountered the Helmets. You think that was good enough?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s an improvement.¡± Andre nodded.


    ¡°And that was without your blood,¡± Chloe added. ¡°With your blood, we¡¯ll be faster, stronger and able to take a lot more from the Helmets. I think we¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    ¡°Wait, her blood?¡± Kaia looked confused. ¡°What, is there something about her blood that gives you guys special boosts? Does feeding on Pandoran blood make you stronger than when you feed on regular blood?¡±


    ¡°Uhhh.¡± Lucas scratched the back of his head awkwardly. ¡°It¡¯s kind of complicated,¡± he said. ¡°But it doesn¡¯t matter. All that matters is when we come across the Helmets again, we should be strong enough to stand a chance.¡±


    ¡°We will be,¡± Chloe said confidently. ¡°Remember, target isn¡¯t to beat the Helmets in a fight. It¡¯s to get the helmets off their heads, break whatever mind control rubbish is going on with them. We stick to that, and we¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    ¡°Well, sooner all of this is over, the sooner our district can get back to being like it used to,¡± Kaia said, before rising to her feet. ¡°It¡¯s getting kind of late now and my dad¡¯s going to blow a cap if I don¡¯t get back soon so I suppose I¡¯ll be leaving you guys to it.¡±


    ¡°Uh, hang on,¡± Lucas said. ¡°I¡¯ll walk you.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Kaia nodded, a warm smile on her face.


    ¡°Great, everyone¡¯s got a girlfriend now,¡± Aiden muttered. ¡°Jon and Yuri, now we¡¯ve got this going on.¡±


    ¡°Shut up,¡± Lucas said, punching Andre playfully in the shoulder as he made his way to Kaia. Together, the two of them headed back into the orphanage, before taking the exit out onto the streets of the district, the sky tinged the purplish-gold of sunset, the air rather cool.


    ¡°You know you don¡¯t have to walk me, right?¡± Kaia asked as they started down the street. ¡°There¡¯s still some light out.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Lucas nodded. ¡°But I want to. Where am I walking you to exactly?¡±


    ¡°Uh, the flower shop¡¯s fine,¡± Kaia answered. When Lucas¡¯s expression shifted slightly, she looked at him and sighed. ¡°My dad¡¯s not very pro-Pandoran, so if he saw me turn up at the house with you¡ª,¡±


    ¡°Oh. Right, understood.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Kaia said, her tone both genuinely apologetic and slightly playful. She tugged at his arm. ¡°You¡¯re not upset about that, are you?¡±


    ¡°No, of course not,¡± Lucas responded, shaking his head. ¡°But just out of curiosity though, where¡¯s he think you are every time we¡¯re together?¡±


    ¡°Helping out at the orphanage.¡± Kaia shrugged.


    ¡°So you¡¯ve been lying to him?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯ve been helping out at the orphanage,¡± she said, as if to remind him. ¡°So, you know, I¡¯ve sort of told him the truth.¡±


    ¡°But left out a few things.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s some things some people are better off not knowing,¡± she said softly. ¡°Especially when there¡¯s no good that could possibly come out of them knowing. Wouldn¡¯t you agree?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Lucas shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t like being lied to.¡±


    ¡°So would you rather I tell him all about you and have him forbid me from spending any more time with you?¡± Kaia asked, a playful smirk on her face when she did.


    Lucas¡¯s expression changed then, as he looked slightly horrified. ¡°Okay, maybe you can lie to him a little,¡± he said.


    Kaia laughed. ¡°See? I knew you¡¯d understand.¡±


    She moved closer to Lucas, their shoulders brushing, and slipped her hand into his. Lucas felt his heart skip a beat, felt his breath almost catch in his throat. He glanced sideways at her, and met her eyes. She smiled at him and squeezed hard on his hand.


    He squeezed back.


    They said nothing more to one another for the rest of the walk, simply going hand-in-hand, listening to the quieting district. It wasn¡¯t until they arrived outside the now closed flower shop that they spoke again.


    ¡°Guess this is as far as I walk you,¡± Lucas said, with Kaia standing right in front of him now, looking straight up at his face, those gentle, tender eyes locked onto him.


    ¡°See you tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°If the world doesn¡¯t end tonight.¡± Lucas nodded.


    She laughed again, in the hearty manner she always did. Then she quieted and leaned in, going just slightly on tiptoes and pressing her lips against his cheek. He felt a warmth spread throughout him when she did that, and when he felt her hand start to slip from his, when he saw her start to turn to head home, he felt that warmth start to slip too.


    He held on to her hand, pulled her back toward him, pulled her closer, enough that he could feel her warm right against him. His eyes met hers, and he was the one leaning in this time, hunching slightly, bringing his lips to hers while her hands found their way around the back of his neck and his went around her waist.


    Her lips were soft against his. Her breath hitched when their lips met, and she pressed ever closer against him. His grip around her waist grew tighter as their lips moved in perfect symphony, parting and closing. In that moment, the world seemed to pause, and Lucas forgot all about the missing soldiers and the enhanced children or the shotgun-wielding Nightman. The world no longer existed outside of that space, of that moment, of the two of them.


    And then, just as quickly as it¡¯d began, it ended. They parted, eyes wide and breath mingling in the space between them.


    She gulped. And then she whispered. ¡°Uhm¡ª,¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± he said quickly, mind starting to spin then. ¡°I¡ª,¡±


    ¡°No, no, no,¡± she cut him off and then giggled. ¡°Not sorry. No, I liked it. It was good.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± He felt a wave of relief sweep over him, his shoulders relaxing slightly. ¡°Okay. Then that¡¯s good.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± She nodded in agreement. ¡°But why?¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Lucas repeated, frowning slightly.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Kaia cleared her throat. ¡°Why¡¯d you do that?¡±


    ¡°Uh, I don¡¯t know¡­I¡¯m not sure what I¡¯m supposed to say to that.¡± Lucas shrugged. ¡°Uhm¡ªI guess, because I like you? Which, I mean, I guess I could understand if that sounded stupid, it kind of sounds stupid to me too because¡­you know, I haven¡¯t liked anyone in a long time. But I guess I do? Like you, that is¡­you¡¯re not like the others.¡±


    ¡°The others?¡±


    Lucas nodded. ¡°Yeah. Most people, they see Pandorans and they see monsters or weapons. Very few stop to think that we were just kids with little choice in what we became, with little choice in what we have to do. So when we met, and you know, all we spoke about was the flowers. It was nice. And the way you look at me, it¡¯s not like others would. Not even the way my friends would. You weren¡¯t asking about what happened to me or wondering if I was right at the edge of hurting someone else or myself or anything like that. You really just¡­I don¡¯t know, it¡¯s stupid¡ª,¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Kaia shook her head. ¡°I get it.¡±


    ¡°You do?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± she said softly, then raised her lips to his and kissed him again. It was a light, tender kiss and lasted for all of a moment, but it was bliss. ¡°Can I ask you something?¡±


    Lucas frowned. ¡°Sure. Of course.¡±


    ¡°Do you think I¡¯d lie to you?¡±


    Lucas was taken aback by the question and his eyes went a little wide while he pondered it. A few seconds passed before he answered. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± he said finally, and honestly. ¡°I don¡¯t think you would¡­but I think that even if you did, it would maybe be for a good reason. But you don¡¯t seem like the kind of person who would do a bad thing for a bad reason. But why are you asking me that?¡±


    ¡°No reason.¡± Kaia shook her head, then she pulled away from him. She tugged at her sleeves, looking a little awkward while she did so. ¡°Uh, I have to be go¡ª,¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I know.¡± Lucas nodded. ¡°See you tomorrow?¡±


    Kaia nodded. ¡°Sure, tomorrow.¡±


    The two of them exchanged a hug before both going in their separate directions. While Kaia walked in the direction of home, she kept her hands in her pockets, kept her face aimed at the ground as she went, not even having to look up to know which turns to take. After all, she knew the entire district like the back of her hands.


    She walked briskly and in no time at all, she was right outside the Bridge mansion. She didn¡¯t stop. She continued forward, right up to the entrance where the guards simply nodded at her and parted for her to make her way in. Inside, she went straight for the stairs, taking it up and going straight in the direction of the library.


    The door was open. She walked right in, came to a stop at Bridge¡¯s desk, staring at the Chancellor.


    ¡°You¡¯re late,¡± he said impatiently and with a tone of frustration.


    ¡°I know,¡± she said flatly.


    ¡°And?¡± Bridge raised one eyebrow over the other. ¡°I suppose you have a good reason for that? Have you learned anything noteworthy?¡±


    ¡°You were right about the girl. Crowman. She¡¯s the one who poses the greatest threat amongst them. She¡¯s strong¡­stronger even than the Newbreed,¡± Kaia said, her tone dark. ¡°And I don¡¯t know what but there¡¯s something about her, about her blood¡­it gives them more strength.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s how they managed to escape the Newbreed in the tunnels,¡± Bridge leaned forward onto the desk, placing his hands together. ¡°So she could be the key then?¡±


    ¡°Possibly.¡±


    ¡°Then we move on the o¡ª,¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Kaia said quickly, taking an instinctive step closer to Bridge.


    Bridge¡¯s eyes went a little wide, and he raised an eyebrow. ¡°I beg your pardon? Please do not irritate me by telling me this little task I assigned you has somehow clouded your judgement.¡±


    Kaia bit her lips. ¡°There¡¯s children there. Innocents. We send the Newbreed there, they won¡¯t stand a chance, it¡¯ll be a massacre.¡±


    ¡°A small price to pay, and one I¡¯m certain you knew about already so that cannot possibly be the reason for this change of heart. Is it the boy with the heartache? What was his name again? Lucien?¡±


    ¡°Lucas,¡± Kaia said sharply, clenching her fists firmly, her nostrils flaring.


    Bridge chuckled. ¡°Ah, so it is him.¡± Despite the lightness of his tone, his irritation was evident. ¡°I take it he¡¯s also the reason behind your delay tonight?¡±


    ¡°Leave him out of it.¡± Kaia met Bridge¡¯s eyes. ¡°I can deliver the Crowman girl right into your hands, just leave him out of it.¡±


    ¡°If the Crowman is stronger than the Newbreed then she will surely be stronger than you, my sweet, sentimental princess.¡± Bridge rose to his feet. ¡°And despite what ill-conceived feelings you might have for the¡ª,¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not about feelings, it¡¯s¡ª,¡±


    ¡°Do not interrupt me again!¡± Bridge roared, slamming his fists down against his desk. Kaia flinched and took two instinctive steps backward, as Bridge glowered at her, his eyes twitching slightly.


    Kaia bowed her head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Bridge cleared his throat. ¡°As I was. Regardless of how you might feel about the boy or the children or whatever¡­I cannot risk the jeopardization of everything I¡¯ve been working toward. The work I¡¯m doing here, the work we¡¯ve been doing, it¡¯s going to save the world. And I¡¯ll be damned if I let it all burn because of a juvenile crush.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m an adult.¡±


    ¡°Then act like one,¡± Bridge growled. He took a deep breath then sighed, raising a hand to his head, an exasperated look on his face. ¡°How about a compromise? You want to play the hero? I¡¯ll give you a chance to mitigate the bloodshed.¡±


    Kaia looked straight at Bridge, her eyes attentive.


    ¡°Ideally, I would have the Newbreed move on the orphanage tonight. This instant, even. But for you, I will wait. Until the stroke of midnight tomorrow.¡± Bridge took his seat again. ¡°If you have not delivered Crowman to me by then, then I will have the Newbreed move on the orphanage.¡±


    Kaia¡¯s expression lightened a little, some relief evident in her eyes. ¡°Thank you. Thank you so¡ª,¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t done yet,¡± Bridge growled, shooting Kaia a glare that silenced her immediately. ¡°As I said, if I do not have the girl by next midnight, the Newbreed will move on the orphanage. And Kaia, believe me when I say, I have absolutely no interest in taking any prisoners. Should you fail in your task, my army will decimate that orphanage and lay waste to everyone and everything inside of it. That, my precious daughter, will be the price of your failure. So do not fail me.¡±


    Outside of the room, thunder rumbled and past the library windows, Kaia could see storm clouds gathering in the night sky, could see the flashes of light passing through the clouds. She focused her attention on Bridge, bowing her head slightly.


    ¡°I will not fail you. Jin Crowman will be yours.¡±

 Chapter 20

    ¡°You¡¯re supposed to say thank you.¡±


    Chloe was sprawled on a couch in the living room, chilled blood bag in hand that¡¯d been untapped. In another of the seats, just directly across from her was Jin who held now a ice cream cone, and standing in the distance between them was a boy.


    Jin frowned, looking from the ice cream cone in her hand to Chloe, and then to the brown-haired ten-year-old boy who¡¯d brought it to her. ¡°What would I thank him for?¡± she asked, genuinely confused and then to the boy, she said: ¡°Did you make this yourself?¡±


    The boy shook his head.


    ¡°When people do things for you that might make things easier, you¡¯re supposed to thank them.¡± Chloe sighed in exasperation. ¡°For example, if he hadn¡¯t brought you the ice cream, you would have either had to go get it yourself from the kitchen or you might not have gotten ice cream at all because someone else would have beaten you to it.¡±


    ¡°The kitchen¡¯s only twenty steps from the living room,¡± Jin said and then, as if to prove a point, she blurred out of the living room and returned a moment later with a second ice cream cone in her hand, one that she extended toward Chloe. ¡°So would you thank me now?¡±


    ¡°If I could have ice cream, I would.¡±


    ¡°Oh, right.¡± Jin frowned then turned to the boy, Mark, offering him the cone instead. ¡°Well, do you want the ice cream?¡±


    Mark shook his head. ¡°I already had ice cream. Pastor Miguel says too much of it is bad for us.¡±


    ¡°Hm.¡± Jin cast a searching glance around the living room before looking back at Mark. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t see Miguel anywhere around. Tell you what, it¡¯ll be our little secret.¡±


    Mark¡¯s eyes lit up then and he grabbed the cone from Jin¡¯s hand, hastily digging into the ice cream. He stopped a moment later to smile at her, the vanilla ice cream having painted a wide smile onto his mouth. ¡°Thank you!¡±


    Mark hurried out of the living room, ice cream in hand.


    ¡°Huh,¡± Jin said. ¡°He did thank me. For something as mundane as frozen cream. Your people have weird customs.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s called being polite.¡± Chloe shook her head. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t kill you to try it sometime.¡±


    ¡°Well, you¡¯ve never thanked me,¡± Jin said, turning to face Chloe, licking some of the ice cream off the cone. Her eyes went a little wide as she tasted the ice cream. ¡°Huh. It¡¯s¡­not completely filthy.¡±


    ¡°What would I thank you for?¡± Chloe asked, her turn now to frown and look a little confused.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. How about, for starters, letting you and the others use me as a sort of punching bag to prepare yourselves for the next confrontation with the Helmets?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the one doing most of the punching!¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± Jin nodded, licking more ice cream. ¡°Alright then, then how about a couple months ago when you were on the brink of death and I saved you with my blood? I don¡¯t recall getting any thanks for that. In fact, I vividly remember your brother and Hardy threatening to kill me.¡±


    ¡°For good reason. You caused us a whole lot of trouble. And besides, you only saved me because of something you wanted, you didn¡¯t do it because it was the right thing to do.¡±


    ¡°And that matters?¡± Jin asked. ¡°Does intent redefine a deed?¡±


    ¡°You wanted soldiers to help you in a fight against your dad. You didn¡¯t save me because I was dying and needed to be saved, only because you thought saving me might earn you our trust. Humans have a word for that. It¡¯s called manipulation.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Jin nodded, digging her teeth into the ice cream. ¡°So you¡¯re saying that if I saved you for the right reasons, you would thank me?¡±


    ¡°Probably.¡± Chloe shrugged. ¡°But it wouldn¡¯t exactly be good intent if the only reason you were saving me was to hear me thank you, would it?¡±


    ¡°Well, maybe you¡¯ll save me and I¡¯ll have to thank you,¡± Jin said but immediately chuckled as the words left her mouth.


    Chloe raised an eyebrow. ¡°You don¡¯t think I could save you?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I could ever end up in the sort of trouble that would require me to be saved,¡± Jin responded, rolling her eyes. ¡°No offense, but even the best your people have to offer is still rather laughably mediocre. Enhanced children? It¡¯d be a stain on my pride if they posed any harm to me. Besides, even if you humans did manage to conjure up something that could hurt me, I don¡¯t think you¡¯d save me.¡±


    Chloe looked at Jin then. She was still focused on the ice cream but the look in her eyes conveyed that she really did mean that. She went quiet and in the silence, she could hear the thuds and grunts coming from out back where Lucas, Aiden and Andre were currently sparring. She knew if it came to it, none of them would prioritize Jin¡¯s life or view it as one worth saving.


    But Erwin had saddled her with Jin, made her Chloe¡¯s responsibility. And annoying as that had been at the start, annoying as it¡¯d been to hear Jin loudly scrutinizing the books she was reading in the dead of night, she¡¯d come to feel a little less hostile toward her.


    ¡°If you were a little less annoying, I might try to save you,¡± Chloe joked. ¡°And for what it¡¯s worth, I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t thank you for saving my life then. You might have done it for your own reasons but I¡¯m still glad you did¡­so thank you.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, whatever.¡± Jin rolled her eyes again, then rose from her seat. ¡°I¡¯m going to head upstairs to read.¡±


    As soon as Jin rose to her feet, someone barged into the orphanage. Quick footsteps followed as Kaia raced into the living room, hair wild and in her face, a frantic look in her eyes.


    Chloe shifted into an upright position at once, her face darkening with concern. Lucas and the others returned inside at once, all having heard her arrival.


    ¡°Kaia?¡± Lucas¡¯s voice was filled with worry. ¡°Are you okay? What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°Y-you haven¡¯t heard?¡± Kaia¡¯s voice trembled.


    ¡°Heard what?¡± Chloe rose to her feet. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s been an attack,¡± Kaia said. ¡°Saw it on the way here. Captain Voss¡¯s gym was torn apart.¡±


    Chloe¡¯s heart sunk to the depths of her stomach at once. ¡°Jon.¡±


    ***


    ONE HOUR EARLIER...


    Jon caught the wooden sword perfectly in one hand, halting Yuri¡¯s attack. Sweat rushed down his face like a river, drops falling to the floor. His chest heaved, heart racing as he drew deep breaths.


    ¡°You sound tired,¡± Yuri said, lips curling into a smile. ¡°Do you want to take a break?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t even say anything.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t have to. I can hear your breathing,¡± Yuri took a step back and put the wooden sword away. ¡°It¡¯s okay, we can take a break for a while, it is getting pretty late and we¡¯ve been going at this all day.¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t you being tired and just projecting, is it?¡±


    Yuri snorted. ¡°Do I sound tired?¡±


    Jon gave her a studying expression. She was sweating, just not nearly as much as he was, and her heart was beating a lot steadier. He sighed. ¡°Fine, let¡¯s take a break. You know this was supposed to be me helping you learn to fight without needing to see, no idea how I¡¯ve somehow ended up the student here.¡±


    ¡°I learn quickly,¡± Yuri said, before heading to a stool and sitting on it. She reached out to her left without taking off her blindfold, grabbed the water bottle that was there, uncorked it and halved the bottle in one go. She resealed the bottle then tossed it in Jon¡¯s direction, who caught it perfectly out of the air, grinning as she threw it.


    ¡°You¡¯re showing off,¡± Jon said.


    ¡°Am I? I don¡¯t see it.¡±


    ¡°Funny.¡± Jon rolled his eyes, before opening up the water bottle, downing what was left of it. Afterward, he headed toward a stool, grabbed the towel he¡¯d left there and wiped off his face and his arms before sitting on the stool, resting his back against the column the stool had been placed against.


    He tilted his head upward, breathing deeply and heavily. After about five minutes, his heartbeat had steadied somewhat and his skin had cooled off just enough, and he felt enough energy within him to keep going for another few hours, at least until night had fallen. Already, the sun was setting but he imagined it was still another couple hours until nighttime, at which point he¡¯d have to return to the orphanage to check on the others.


    He returned to his feet. ¡°Alright, alright, let¡¯s keep going.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Yuri asked, smug grin on her face as she returned to her feet. ¡°It¡¯s fine if you¡¯d like to head home and get some sleep right about now.¡±


    ¡°How are you doing this without getting tired?¡±


    ¡°Great diet and a lot of cardio.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh.¡± Jon nodded. He started walking toward Yuri. ¡°You heard anything back from Bridge or any of the guards he¡¯s got looking into stuff?¡±


    ¡°Nothing.¡± Yuri shook her head. ¡°And¡ª,¡±


    ¡°And what?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± she said, shrugging. ¡°Just feels weird, doesn¡¯t it? How laid back all of this kind of is? The effort, I mean. A Pandoran squad gets wiped out, kids go missing but Bridge concentrates security around his mansion instead of doing everything he can to get to the bottom of things.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s incompetent.¡± Jon shrugged. ¡°That¡¯s not a particularly difficult thing to understand.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, sure. But you don¡¯t feel like there¡¯s just something wrong about him? About all of this? I¡¯ve seen the guards today, Jon. Just hanging about, pretty unmotivated about everything that¡¯s going on. You ask me, doesn¡¯t feel like there¡¯s any real search going on.¡±


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    ¡°You think he¡¯s involved?¡± Jon asked.


    ¡°Realistically, how easy do you think it would be for someone to conduct Pandoran-level experiments and have it go right under the nose of a district Chancellor?¡± Yuri asked.


    ¡°We¡¯ve had a look at the labs here,¡± Jon said. ¡°None of them looked particularly guilty.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right.¡± Yuri sighed. ¡°It¡¯s just frustrating still being in the dark on all of this. Nothing about what¡¯s happening makes any sense, and it sucks just sitting around, waiting for something else to happen so we can react to it. I just wish there was more we could do right now, to get to the bottom of things.¡±


    ¡°Look, I¡¯m not saying that what you¡¯re saying is crazy, alright?¡± Jon sighed. ¡°If I¡¯m being honest, I¡¯ve thought about it too, since my unit and I first met him even. But he¡¯s Chancellor and even if we¡¯re here on Capital orders, there¡¯s still limits to what we can do without hard enough evidence. We make even one wrong move, all he has to do is place a call to Capital and we get withdrawn and that sets things back. So yeah, it could be him, but there¡¯s not exactly enough to go on, not right now at least.¡±


    ¡°So we do nothing?¡±


    ¡°We are doing something, Yuri,¡± Jon said, throwing up his fists. ¡°We¡¯re preparing. Next time the Helmets come out, we¡¯ll be there to deal with them, we follow them right back where they¡¯re coming from and we put an end to all of it. And whoever it is that¡¯s responsible for this, even if it¡¯s Bridge¡­they¡¯ll be sorry.¡±


    ¡°I still don¡¯t like waiting. Feels wrong, given everything.¡±


    ¡°If there¡¯s still nothing from Bridge by the end of the week and no other attacks, we¡¯ll look into him, even if it means having to fight our way into his mansion. But for now, why don¡¯t we focus on you kicking my ass a while longer?¡±


    Yuri grinned. ¡°Alright, fine. If you insist.¡±


    Yuri leaned forward, holding the wooden sword out in front of her, poised to strike. Jon simply grinned, planting his feet firmly against the ground.


    ¡°Bring it.¡±


    Yuri shifted on her feet, sending out a gentle gust of wind as she did. She charged forward, right at Jon but just as soon as she had, the fluorescent lights overhead all flickered, buzzing loudly as they did, bringing her to a sudden stop.


    She pulled her blindfold off slightly, looked up at the flickering lights, a grim expression on her face.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    Yuri craned her neck slightly to the side, her ears twitching as she listened. A few seconds went by. Then her eyes went wide and she spun around just in time to catch a fist aimed right for her head.


    She wasn¡¯t fully prepared for the strength of her attacker and so the impact of the fist against her palm, sent her staggering backward a great few feet before she regained her balance. She looked up to see the attacker, a mysterious figure clad in black standing there, fists clenched. She recognized the figure at once.


    ¡°I know you,¡± she said, straightening to her feet. ¡°You¡¯re¡ª,¡±


    ¡°Bridge¡¯s bodyguard,¡± Jon finished, his eyes narrowing darkly. ¡°Is he listening to us somehow? Bug us? Send you here to shut us up before we could link things back to him?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± the attacker answered, her voice distorted, modified by her suit. ¡°I¡¯m not even here for you.¡±


    ¡°What are you here for then?¡± Jon demanded, circling the attacker.


    The attacker shrugged. ¡°Bait.¡±


    Without warning, she charged at Jon. The attacker threw a series of rapid, powerful blows, all of which Jon managed to avoid before countering with a swiftly delivered blow to the face that staggered the attacker backward, and then a spinning roundhouse kick that knocked her aside.


    ¡°If you wanted to come after me, you should have used the brainwashed kids again,¡± Jon growled. ¡°You¡¯d have stood more of a chance that way.¡±


    The attacker scoffed. ¡°I¡¯m trying not to hurt you.¡±


    ¡°How kind of you.¡± Jon advanced toward the attacker. ¡°I¡¯m going to hurt you. A lot.¡±


    ¡°Fine. Have it your way then.¡±


    The attacker charged at Jon again, throwing another powerful blow. Jon parried the strike and retaliated with one of his, one that got parried too. On and on this went, the two of them falling into an exchange of blows and parries until, finally, the attacker switched up, feigning as though she was about to throw a punch before crashing a knee into Jon¡¯s stomach, and slamming her elbows into his back once he doubled over, knocking him to the ground.


    Jon hit the ground hard and with a groan, but immediately started to rise. A firm foot struck his back as he attempted to rise, knocking him back down. The foot remained there, keeping him pinned.


    ¡°Don¡¯t make¡ª,¡±


    The attacker trailed off, spinning around quickly enough to catch a wooden sword that had been hurled at her. She looked ahead, expecting to find Yuri there, but she wasn¡¯t.


    And then, from behind the attacker came a loud, furious yell.


    She spun back around and a foot from Yuri collided into her chest, knocking her backward and off of Jon, who immediately hurried to his feet.


    ¡°Blindfolded?¡± the attacker asked, a tone of amusement evident even in her modified voice. ¡°That¡¯s cute.¡±


    Yuri snarled angrily, then reached for the scabbard around her waist, unsheathing her actual sword, the blade glinting dangerously. Without saying anything, she charged at the attacker. Jon charged too.


    The two of them went at the attacker from different flanks, swinging simultaneously, Jon with his fist and Yuri with her blade. The attacker was quick on her feet and very clearly well trained¡ªno doubt military training, the same Jon and Yuri had. And it was more than evident by now that she was Pandoran too.


    An unregistered Pandoran.


    She dodged and weaved their attacks with ease, and it was perhaps made even easier for her by the fact that Jon had to be careful how close he got, because every time she slipped out of the way of one of Yuri¡¯s attacks, Jon himself was at risk of getting cut by Yuri¡¯s blade as evidenced once, when Yuri¡¯s blade slashed across his cheek accidentally, sending a flashing pain through him.


    After what felt like an eternity of making no progress against the attacker, being unable to land any critical hits, an opening presented itself.


    Yuri let her blade fly from her grasp, right at the attacker. The attacker moved quickly, parrying the blade aside and to the floor before going at Yuri. But Jon was quick. He grabbed the blade just before it hit the ground, charged at the attacker, slashing from behind, a perfect arc going across the attacker¡¯s back, slicing through the bodysuit.


    The attacker grunted in annoyance and swirled to face Jon. Jon landed a blow to the attacker¡¯s face, then tossed the sword to Yuri, who sliced again at the attacker¡¯s back.


    The attacker growled, turned to face Yuri, left herself open to consecutive blows from Jon. Yuri landed a few blows of her own, then tossed the sword to Jon who caught it perfectly and slashed again.


    On and on this went, Jon and Yuri passing the attacker back and forth, passing the sword between them, taking turns unleashing a barrage of strikes on the attacker.


    And then finally, when Jon had been about to pass the sword back again, the attacker spun around and seized onto his hand.


    ¡°Enough!¡± The attacker snarled, before snapping.


    Jon roared in pain as his hand broke, bone jutting out of skin, entire vision flashing with pain. The sword dropped to the ground. He swung a fist with his other hand, missed and received a powerful strike to the stomach that sent blood spraying from his mouth and dropped him to his knees at once.


    The attacker slammed a foot into him, sending him flipping through the air before landing some distance away, pain flashing through his broken hand once more as he hit the ground. Wincing, he reached into his pocket for something.


    The attacker scoffed and held up a vial of Jin¡¯s blood. ¡°Looking for this?¡± she asked. ¡°Not a chance. Now stay down.¡±


    ¡°Funny, I was just about to say the same to you,¡± said Yuri from behind.


    The attacker swirled around, just as Yuri thrust forward with her blade, shoving it right through the attacker¡¯s stomach.


    Yuri kicked the attacker¡¯s feet out from under her, knocking her to the ground then grabbed her helmet and yanked it off.


    She pulled her blindfold off, looked down at the attacker in front of her. Her eyes went wide at once. ¡°Kaia?¡±


    Kaia bent over, clutching the sword lodged in her, spat blood from her mouth. She looked at Yuri, curled her lips into a devilish smile. ¡°Hey, Captain.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Yuri frowned. ¡°Y-you¡¯re human. How?¡±


    ¡°Looks can be deceiving,¡± Kaia replied, before yanking the sword out and tossing it aside. She held one hand firmly over the wound. She attempted to return to her feet but her feet trembled and she dropped onto one knee instead.


    ¡°You¡¯re working with Bridge?¡±


    Kaia chuckled. ¡°Kinda have to. He¡¯s my dad.¡±


    The look of shock remained on Yuri¡¯s face for a moment. Then she walked toward her sword, grabbed it, and aimed it right at Kaia, the point of the blade touching Kaia¡¯s neck. Yuri¡¯s eyes flashed with anger. ¡°The children. Where are they?¡±


    Kaia snorted, spat more blood from her mouth, some of it getting onto Yuri¡¯s blade. ¡°Does it matter? You¡¯re not going to save them.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll see about that.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Kaia shook her head. ¡°You don¡¯t understand. You¡¯re not winning this fight. I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t let you win. He¡¯ll kill the others if I do.¡±


    Yuri¡¯s expression shifted, her eyes widening slightly. ¡°What? What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°He just wants to save the world. They don¡¯t need to die. All of this, it¡¯s for them, so they get to live a better life.¡±


    Yuri¡¯s eyes went even wider as realization dawned on her. ¡°The children,¡± she murmured. ¡°The orphanage.¡±


    Kaia attempted to return to her feet again but Yuri was quick, striking at her head with the hilt of her sword and dropping her to the ground. She sheathed the sword immediately, then hurried across the room, making her way to Jon.


    She crouched at his side, saw the broken hand and gulped. ¡°That¡¯s going to take some work to heal. Gotta get you out of here.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Jon groaned weakly. ¡°Go. The orphanage. You have to warn them. Quick.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not leaving you like this.¡±


    ¡°Just go! Now!¡±


    Yuri bit her lips and looked from Jon to Kaia, who remained on the ground, hunched over oddly. She looked back to Jon, and placed her hand beneath his chin, tilting his head up slightly. She leaned forward, bending over and pressing her lips against his.


    The kiss lasted briefly, only a moment before she parted.


    Jon frowned. ¡°What was that for?¡±


    ¡°Take your mind off the pain,¡± she answered, as she straightened to her feet. ¡°And also, don¡¯t die. I¡¯ll be back as quickly as I can.¡±


    She turned on her heels and sprinted in the direction of the exit. She was halfway to the exit when she heard a slight clink and came to a halt. Frowning, she turned and looked in Kaia¡¯s direction.


    The girl was still on the ground, still hunched over but now, there was a vial rolling away from her. The same blood-filled one she¡¯d nicked off of Jon. Except it was empty now.


    ¡°No,¡± Jon croaked.


    Yuri watched with a confused frown on her face as Kaia got back to her feet. At first, the girl wobbled, but then she steadied, still hunched slightly, arms a little limp at her side in a manner that made her looked possessed.


    Then she lifted her head and looked straight at Yuri, eyes a frightening bloodshot red, lips peeled into a crazed smile.


    ¡°I told you,¡± Kaia said, without her smile faltering. ¡°I can¡¯t let you win.¡±


    Yuri grunted and unsheathed her blade again, lowering her blindfold once more. ¡°Fine,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯ll kill you this time.¡±


    Then she charged.


    ¡°Yuri, no!¡± Jon roared.


    Kaia flashed forward, halting Yuri mid-charge. A gasp escaped Yuri as she came to a stop, eyes widening in surprise at how much faster Kaia had gotten. Still, she swung with her blade, aiming right for Kaia¡¯s neck.


    Kaia¡¯s hand shot upward and the blade hit her wrist instead. It cut through slightly, but the blade chipped upon impact. A strike from Kaia¡¯s hand caused it to shatter entirely, Yuri¡¯s eyes going even wider with shock.


    Kaia¡¯s hand shot out, grabbed a piece of the shattered from the blade as it fell to the ground, then moved forward, slamming her head into Yuri¡¯s face with incredible force, breaking Yuri¡¯s nose with the single strike, blood gushing out of it at once.


    She slammed her head into Yuri¡¯s face again and when Yuri made to throw a fist, Kaia parried it, then slammed a blow of her own right into Yuri¡¯s stomach, one that came with a sharp, piercing pain as Kaia lodged the broken piece of the blade in Yuri.


    Yuri wheezed for air, doubling over and coughing up some blood. A knee crashed into her face, staggering her back, and then another fist that dropped her to her knees.


    ¡°Stop!¡± Jon roared.


    But Kaia didn¡¯t relent. She slammed another fist into Yuri¡¯s face and then another, one that knocked the blindfold right off of her face. Three more powerful blows followed before Kaia seized Yuri by her hair, and then hurled her right at a column.


    Yuri slammed hard into the column, more blood spraying from her mouth as she did, vision blurring out of focus. Before she¡¯d dropped to the ground, Kaia charged into her, doing so with enough force to crash her right through the column.


    Yuri hit the ground hard and rolled a few times before coming to a stop, her face against the ground, bloodied beyond recognition.


    Blood bubbled from her mouth as her fingers twitched weakly. She tried to get up, tried to get herself back on her feet but all of her muscles had gone limp, her body refusing to heed her.


    Kaia seized her by her hair again, and started to drag along the ground. She attempted to swat Kaia¡¯s hand off, to free herself. It was no use.


    Kaia lifted her off the ground, and threw her over one shoulder. Then she walked to a defiant Jon who was already getting back to his feet, knocked him out with a powerful blow to the head and caught him before he could crumple to the ground.


    She hoisted him onto her other shoulder. And then she made her way toward the exit.


    She had the bait she needed. Now, all she had to do was get the others to bite.

 Chapter 21

    Kaia¡¯s eyes remained wide and frantic when she was done, clutching a bruised arm as she stared at the others, waiting for some sort of reaction out of them.


    Chloe and the others exchanged dark, suspecting looks and communicated with their silence. Miguel slowly retreated from the room, and outside could be heard ushering the children out of the house. The others, in the living room with Kaia, started to circle her.


    Kaia looked around at all of them, frantic expression shifting into confusion. ¡°W-w-what¡¯s h-happening?¡± she stammered, eyes teary and voice cracked. ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Your heart,¡± Jin said softly. ¡°It¡¯s beating fast.¡±


    ¡°Too fast,¡± Andre added, his eyes narrowing. ¡°What the hell are you?¡±


    ¡°And what did you do to my brother?¡± Chloe snarled, knuckles cracking as she squeezed her fists firmly, fingernails digging into her palms.


    ¡°W-what?¡± Kaia made sputtering sounds before throwing a pleading expression to Lucas. ¡°Lucas, what¡¯s going on here? What are they doing? You believe me, don¡¯t you?¡±


    Lucas met her eyes, bit down hard on his lips. ¡°No,¡± he said after a moment, shaking his head.


    ¡°What?¡± Kaia¡¯s face fell.


    ¡°Kaia, what did you do to Jon?¡± Andre demanded, very rapidly running out of patience. ¡°Where is he right now?¡±


    Kaia looked stunned for a while, mouth hanging slightly open, eyes wet, her lips quivering. And then, slowly, her expression contorted. She shut her mouth, pressing her lips firmly together. Her jaw clenched. Her eyes darkened and narrowed, and veins bulged along the signs of her face. When she spoke again, there was steel in her voice.


    ¡°He¡¯s alive,¡± she said. ¡°For now. I can¡¯t guarantee how much longer he¡¯ll stay like that. If you want to save him, you¡¯ll give me what I came for.¡±


    ¡°What exactly is that?¡± Aiden frowned.


    ¡°She¡¯s here for Jin,¡± Lucas said. ¡°Isn¡¯t that right?¡±


    Kaia looked at him. ¡°How¡ª,¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not an idiot, Kaia,¡± he said. ¡°I think I¡¯ve known for a while that you were lying about something. It was too good to be true. And I¡¯ve watched, seen what words you hang over, what statements you think about. You were keeping an eye on us for Bridge. I saw you go back to his last night. The real question is why.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Chloe shook her head. ¡°The real question is which of us gets to tear her fucking throat out.¡±


    ¡°You followed me?¡± Kaia asked, staring at Lucas.


    ¡°I told you. I don¡¯t like being lied to.¡±


    ¡°So what are you waiting for?¡± Kaia took a step forward, fists clenched. ¡°You know who I am, what I am, what I¡¯m here for. Why aren¡¯t you trying to stop me?¡±


    ¡°Just waiting,¡± Chloe answered, before craning her neck slightly and listening. They were the only ones left now.


    ¡°All clear!¡± Miguel yelled from outside.


    Lucas was the first to charge. In an instant, his hand was at Kaia¡¯s throat, pinning her against a bookshelf. ¡°Where¡¯s Jon?¡±


    ¡°Where the others are,¡± Kaia choked out, attempting to pry Lucas¡¯s hand off her neck. After struggling a few seconds, her lips curled into a smile. She slammed a palm into Lucas¡¯s chest then, sent him hurtling backward. Lucas crashed straight through a wall and out of the living room.


    Chloe looked to Kaia, eyes going a little wide. ¡°Blood,¡± she murmured. ¡°That¡¯s why your heart¡¯s¡ª,¡±


    Kaia was right in front of Chloe in the blink of an eye. ¡°I have to say, shame on you for keeping it to yourself. This power? From a little bitch¡¯s blood? Tell me, what is she really?¡±


    Kaia reached out to grab Chloe by the throat but Chloe was quick. She ducked beneath Kaia¡¯s outstretching hand, charged right into the girl headfirst, knocking her backward before rapidly spinning around, seizing Kaia¡¯s face from behind and flipping her through the air.


    Kaia crashed onto the coffee table. It shattered immediately beneath her weight.


    ¡°Blood won¡¯t make you a better fighter,¡± Chloe snarled, walking toward Kaia. She seized her by her hair and lifted her slightly. ¡°Where¡¯s my brother?¡±


    ¡°Oh, hush.¡±


    Kaia spun around, drove a piece of wood from the broken table into Chloe¡¯s thigh, before quickly shoving another into her stomach. Chloe staggered backward as Kaia rose to her feet. Kaia turned on her, broken table leg in hand. She licked her lips wildly, prepared to stab it into Chloe too.


    Andre crashed into her then, launching himself into her at full speed, tackling Kaia to the ground, pinning her beneath him. Kaia, still holding on to the broken wood leg attempted to stab Andre with it. Andre slapped it free of her grasp, grabbed it before it hit the ground and stabbed it right into her palm and against the ground, nailing her to the floor with it.


    Kaia grunted in agony and stared at the piece of wood jutting out of her hand. Andre rose, straightening to his feet.


    ¡°You can¡¯t take all of us on,¡± he said. ¡°Juiced up or not. You keep fighting and the next one goes straight through your heart. Now tell us where you¡¯re holding Jon and the others, and exactly what that lunatic¡¯s goal is with the enhanced children.¡±


    ¡°You know where they are,¡± Kaia said. ¡°You¡¯ve been down there before.¡±


    ¡°The tunnel,¡± Chloe said, before grunting as she yanked out the pieces of wood lodged in her thigh and stomach. She tossed them to the ground, held one hand firmly over her stomach as she waited for the healing to begin. ¡°That¡¯s not good enough. We can¡¯t get past the wall there.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a wall, it¡¯s a door,¡± Kaia said. She attempted to free herself from the ground but Jin was quick. She planted a foot over Kaia¡¯s free hand and shot her a dark look.


    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it,¡± Jin warned. ¡°Keep talking.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t get past that door because you don¡¯t have the clearance for it.¡± Kaia sneered.


    ¡°And you do?¡±


    Kaia grinned then, and she wriggled the hand Jin stood on. ¡°I do,¡± she confirmed. ¡°And I would happily take you all down there.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s okay, you can stay here,¡± Jin said softly. ¡°We don¡¯t need all of you. Just the hand will do.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Kaia¡¯s face darkened rather rapidly, appearing horrified.


    Without warning, Jin stomped down on Kaia¡¯s wrist with all of her strength, crushing it in one movement and severing the hand. A loud scream erupted from Kaia¡¯s throat, eyes rolling back as she writhed in agony.


    Chloe squeezed her eyes shut at once, turning her head away from Kaia as blood spurted out of the stump where her hand had been just moments earlier, most of it getting onto Jin¡¯s feet.


    Jin moved away from Kaia, stooping to pick up the severed hand, holding it up tenderly. ¡°We should hurry,¡± she said. ¡°I do not know how long this will be useful to us.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not leaving her alone,¡± Andre said, gesturing to Kaia. ¡°Missing hand or not, she¡¯s still dangerous.¡±


    ¡°Go,¡± Lucas said, stepping back into the living room, blood trickling down the side of his face. ¡°I¡¯ll stay here and keep guard. The rest of you go, find Jon and the others, put an end to all of this.¡±


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    ¡°I¡¯m staying back too,¡± Aiden said. Lucas nodded at him gratefully.


    ¡°Alright then,¡± Andre said. ¡°Chloe, Jin, head for the tunnels. I need to send a broadcast about what¡¯s going on, and then I¡¯ll catch up to you guys down there.¡±


    ¡°Capital?¡± Chloe asked.


    ¡°No.¡± Andre shook his head. ¡°To Major Erwin. Go, now.¡±


    Jin nodded at him and started for the exit at once. Chloe made to follow, but Andre¡¯s hand shot out and grabbed hers. She looked back at him and frowned, slightly confused.


    ¡°Be careful,¡± Andre spoke softly. ¡°I¡¯ll catch up soon.¡±


    Chloe nodded at him, squeezed his hand lightly for a moment and then she was on her way. Andre made his way out of the room too, leaving Lucas and Aiden alone with a Kaia who had tears of agony streaking down her face now.


    Lucas tore off a piece of his shirt, crouched by Kaia¡¯s severed hand and fashioned a sufficient enough tourniquet to stop the bleeding. While he acted to stop the bleeding, Kaia looked at him.


    ¡°He¡¯s going to kill them,¡± she said. ¡°He was going to kill all of you. I was trying to help.¡±


    Lucas ignored her entirely. Once he was done with the tourniquet, he straightened to his feet and joined Aiden, two of them standing with their arms crossed.


    ¡°There¡¯s no way she¡¯s still strong enough to pull anything off, right?¡± Aiden asked, staring down at Kaia with some concern in his eyes.


    ¡°She tries to move, her head goes next,¡± Lucas growled, diverting his gaze away from Kaia.


    ***


    ¡°You didn¡¯t have to take the hand off like that,¡± Chloe said as they dropped into the tunnel. She flicked on her flashlight at once, aiming it around to illuminate the path ahead.


    ¡°What was I supposed to do? Negotiate with her? Plead with her? Those are human solutions, not mine. She had something we needed, I took it. And don¡¯t tell me you pity her when you don¡¯t even know what she might have done to your brother?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t pity her.¡± Chloe¡¯s voice was flat. ¡°You just didn¡¯t need to do that.¡±


    ¡°Well, I did.¡± Jin shrugged. ¡°And after I help you save Jon¡¯s life, that¡¯ll be one more thing you owe me for. And now, he¡¯ll also owe me one thing too so funny how it all works out, right?¡±


    ¡°Right. That¡¯s the only reason why you¡¯re helping.¡±


    ¡°Damn right it is. Now come on, let¡¯s hurry up.¡±


    ¡°What do you think Bridge is really doing all of this for?¡± Chloe asked, while she and Jin upped the pace, half-sprinting through the tunnel. ¡°Turning children into weapons. He¡¯s got to have a reason for doing this, right?¡±


    ¡°My people studied a lot of your history when we were preparing our move on this world. There is some historical precedence for things like this, a trend to seeking out weapons of mass destruction for no reason other than to defend against an imagined threat. Or to conquer.¡±


    ¡°What would he want to conquer?¡± Chloe frowned. ¡°There¡¯s nothing left to conquer.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s the Capital,¡± Jin pointed out. ¡°A man displeased with the current state of things sets out to remove those he deems responsible. His perceived enemies live within a fortress he cannot singlehandedly breach, so he raises an army to fulfil that purpose.¡±


    ¡°So he¡¯s crazy.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps.¡± Jin shrugged. ¡°But who¡¯s to say he does not have his reasons for perceiving the Capital an enemy? Just because they are your leaders does not mean that they are good. Trust me, I would know.¡±


    ¡°Whatever they are, there¡¯s nothing that could justify what Bridge is doing.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps,¡± Jin said. ¡°But who are we to dictate what means are justified?¡±


    They got closer and closer to the spot where the previous encounters had occurred, and Chloe started to train the beam of light at the walls, scanning for the section they¡¯d marked. A few minutes later, she picked up on a footstep and came to an abrupt halt, stretching a hand out in front of Jin.


    ¡°Did you hear that?¡± Chloe turned around, aiming the flashlight down where they¡¯d been coming from. Her eyes narrowed.


    ¡°Someone¡¯s coming,¡± Jin said.


    Sure enough, the footsteps grew louder and louder and Chloe saw the approach of a shadow just down the tunnel. A few moments later, Andre appeared, flashlight in hand, jogging toward them.


    He came to a stop in front of them and grinned. ¡°Miss me?¡±


    ¡°Send out the broadcast?¡± Chloe asked.


    Andre nodded. ¡°Didn¡¯t get an answer but I can only hope it got to him. No telling what might happen down here, we might need all the help we can get. Plus, even if we handle things ourselves, we probably will need help with the cleanup.¡±


    ¡°Cleanup?¡± Chloe frowned.


    ¡°Word of what Bridge is doing can¡¯t exactly get out or spread to the other districts,¡± Andre said, as they continued moving down the tunnel. ¡°That¡¯s the kind of thing that could, you know¡­make things more tense than they need to be, or it might give some of the other Chancellors funny ideas.¡±


    ¡°So we take care of this and then Capital covers it up.¡±


    ¡°Pretty much.¡± Andre shrugged. ¡°That said, when we find wherever Bridge is conducting all of the sick stuff, we¡¯ve got to wipe it out. The information, the samples, everything.¡±


    ¡°And the children?¡± Chloe asked, halting then and turning to face Andre, a stern look on her face.


    Andre met her eyes. He shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know what happens to them. Capital will want to run tests on them, find out¡ª,¡±


    ¡°Is there a chance that they might want to neutralize them?¡± Chloe demanded.


    ¡°Not on my watch,¡± said another voice, distorted and modified. A figure emerged from the shadows. Chloe, Jin and Andre all spun toward him, training the beams of their flashlights on him.


    The figure had on a hat despite a face already hidden behind a black mask, with odd-looking googles obscuring his eyes and a weird contraption over his mouth no doubt responsible for his altered voice. He wore a coat over a black suit, padded in such a manner that indicated it must have been military-issue. But old. A mismatch of gear, no doubt scrapped together for his ensemble.


    Nightman.


    ¡°You,¡± Chloe growled. ¡°You¡¯re the reason my brother¡ª,¡±


    ¡°An unforeseen consequence,¡± Nightman interrupted. ¡°But I think you would agree with me that he¡¯s in considerably worse danger at this moment, wouldn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t hear you,¡± Jin murmured, narrowing her gaze at the vigilante. ¡°How¡ª,¡±


    ¡°Technology¡¯s a beautiful thing,¡± Nightman said. ¡°I did not intend to reveal myself, but I couldn¡¯t help but overhear the course this conversation was taking. So I¡¯d like to make one thing perfectly clear.¡± He cocked his shotgun. ¡°We shut down Bridge¡¯s experiments but the children are off-limits.¡±


    ¡°The gun supposed to scare us into agreeing?¡± Andre snorted.


    ¡°No.¡± Nightman shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s what the bullets are for.¡±


    Jin chuckled. ¡°You really think that¡¯ll work on me?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you are,¡± Nightman admitted. ¡°But I¡¯m willing to bet I¡¯ve got something on me that¡¯ll be just right for you.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s test that theory.¡± Jin took a step forward but Chloe extended a hand ahead of her and shook her head at the girl.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have time for this,¡± Chloe muttered. ¡°And he¡¯s right. We save Jon and the others, shut down the experiments.¡± She turned to Andre. ¡°But absolutely no one lays their hands on the children. We take their helmets off, break whatever control Bridge has got on them, and then we get them to safety. If Erwin or anyone from Capital does turn up, we figure out a way to keep them safe.¡±


    Andre nodded. ¡°Works for me.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s keep going.¡±


    And so on they went, Nightman in stride with them. Every now and then, both Andre and Jin shot dark looks his way but neither one of them acted or even said anything, not until the door came into view.


    ¡°There,¡± Jin said, pointing to the door, identified by the X that had been marked onto it by Yuri¡¯s blade. And there, on the ground was the sword itself, unsheathed and its blade stained in blood. The scabbard had been tossed onto the train tracks.


    They were definitely there.


    Nightman retrieved the scabbard and sword, re-sheathing the sword before fumbling with the scabbard and strapping it to his back in a manner that made him look like a comic-book character from back when there¡¯d still been comic books.


    Andre took the hand from Jin and walked up to the door. He felt around the door with his own hand for a few seconds, frowning for a while before, finally, his eyes lit up and he placed the severed hand over the last section he¡¯d felt.


    They all stood around and watched, waiting for the door to open. Nothing happened.


    ¡°Uhm, did you place it right?¡± Chloe asked, a sense of unease creeping on her now. If Kaia had somehow played them.


    She turned around, glancing down the tunnel in either direction and scanning for heat signatures. There was no one else down there with them. ¡°Try again,¡± she said, as she turned back to Andre and the door.


    Andre obliged,, lifting the hand from the door and placing it back, this time pressing it against the door with added force. Again, nothing happened.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Nightman queried, his anxiety evident even despite his voice modifier. With the anxiety in his voice, Chloe thought he sounded strangely familiar and she actually looked to him, oddly curious. But now wasn¡¯t the time to attempt figuring out who he really was.


    Andre growled in frustration and slammed a foot into the door a few times, before bashing his fist into the section where the biometric scanner off had been. Afterward, he took a deep breath then placed the severed hand to it again.


    This time, there was a beeping sound, followed almost immediately by a scanning green flash. A buzz followed and then a hissing sound from behind the door as it shifted slightly, separating itself from the wall. And then it started to slide apart, as if retracting into the wall.


    Andre tossed the severed hand aside at once, and the others all moved a little closer, staring at what had been on the other side of the door.


    A long hallway that seemed to stretch almost endlessly, shrouded in gloom, the result of the dim, flickering fluorescent strips that ran along the wall and floor. Overhead, the buzzing of electricity. There were pipes that ran along the ceiling before vanishing into wall at sections and from some of these pipes, water dripped to the floor, forming puddles that were no doubt responsible for the stale, damp odor.


    They all exchanged looks.


    Chloe took the first step forward, stepping into the hallway with the flashlight aimed ahead of her.


    ¡°Well, here we go.¡±

 Chapter 22

    It wasn¡¯t very long till they were attacked.


    They reached the end of the hallway that¡¯d been immediately past the door, and turned right onto another dilapidated hallway with an elevator at its end.


    ¡°No way,¡± Andre had said when the elevator came into view. ¡°Where do you reckon that goes?¡±


    ¡°If I had to guess, I¡¯d say up would take us somewhere into Bridge¡¯s mansion,¡± Nightman answered.


    ¡°And down?¡± Chloe asked.


    ¡°Where the trouble is.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Andre continued forward. ¡°Trouble¡¯s what we¡¯re here for.¡±


    They were halfway through the second hallway when the elevator doors dinged and then slid open. Out of the elevator charged five of the Helmets, all five of them blistering down the hallway, coming right for Chloe and the others, snarling furiously as they did.


    ¡°He knows we¡¯re here!¡± Chloe yelled, before going on the back foot, leaning back to avoid a swipe one of the Helmets took at her.


    A second launched itself at a wall and propelled itself right off it, straight at her. Jin was there in an instant, catching the Helmet by its head, holding it up in one hand, while it kicked and clawed at her. She winced at the Helmet¡¯s attacks then hurled the Helmet into a wall, before charging into it and hastily yanking the helmet off.


    A boy, brown-skinned with eyes glazed over was behind the helmet. The boy slumped to the ground at once, whitened eyes regaining some color before falling shut. Jin frowned at the boy for a moment. Her ears twitched.


    ¡°He¡¯s alive,¡± she said.


    Chloe dodged a blow from another of the Helmets, and ducked as it charged at her. She spun at once, catching the Helmet in the face with a well-delivered kick that sent it staggering into a wall. She charged at the Helmet immediately, held her elbow to its neck, pinning it to the wall. Rapidly, she got the helmet off and tossed it aside.


    A blue-eyed girl slumped to the ground.


    Nightman, to avoid hurting the kids behind the helmets had stowed his shotgun away, and was shooting with a pistol that fired off pulse blasts rather than bullets, each blast enough to disorient the Helmets enough for the others to pounce. All the while, he remained nimble on his feet, darting around to avoid getting targeted by the feral Helmets.


    It took little more than ten minutes until all five Helmets had been taken care off, with five children left unconscious on the ground once the helmets had been taken off of them. Jin went around, stomping on the Helmets, shattering them.


    Andre crouched by one, picking it up and examining its interior curiously. ¡°Huh,¡± he said, raising one eyebrow over the other. ¡°That¡¯s interesting,¡± he remarked, before tossing the helmet to Nightman who caught it perfectly. ¡°Hold on to that for me, would you?¡±


    ¡°You want to keep this?¡± Nightman queried.


    ¡°Could study it back at Capital,¡± Andre said. ¡°Judging from what it looks like, I¡¯m guessing there¡¯s a module somewhere in here that¡¯s transmitting waves to the helmet, telling the kids what to do or more precisely, shutting off the parts of their brains telling them what not to do. Just making them completely feral. Could be reworked into something useful back at Capital.¡±


    ¡°You mean a weapon,¡± Chloe said, taking the helmet from Nightman, while staring straight at Andre. ¡°We¡¯re not here to help Capital acquire something like this. You¡¯re talking about mind control, hell, erasure. This could be slapped on to any one of us.¡±


    She tossed the helmet to Jin who caught it with both hands and crushed it immediately, before tossing what was left of it to the ground. Andre flinched slightly as the helmet hit the ground then sighed.


    ¡°Alright then.¡± He shrugged. ¡°Guess you¡¯re right. Let¡¯s keep going now, shall we?¡±


    ¡°What about the kids?¡± Chloe asked, gesturing to the unconscious kids sprawled on the floor of the hallway now.


    ¡°They should be fine here,¡± Nightman said. ¡°I¡¯d take them and go but there¡¯s bound to be more inside and more work to be done. We finish our task here then get all the kids out.¡±


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    ¡°Come on,¡± Andre said, continuing ahead toward the elevator. Chloe, Jin and Nightman all followed, throwing glances at the unconscious kids as they went. The kids had sustained bruises from the encounter but already, Chloe could see their cuts healing, bruises fading. They were healing a lot faster than Chloe herself could.


    They were almost at the elevator when Chloe heard rather rapid footsteps from behind. She spun around and received a staggering blow to the face at once, her vision swimming as she stumbled backward, collapsing into Jin¡¯s arms.


    She heard a snarl, followed by the sound of Nightman¡¯s shotgun going off. She blinked hard and turned then to see Kaia in front of Nightman, his shotgun bent now at an odd angle. She yanked the shotgun free from his grip, and spun around to face Andre who¡¯d been going at her. She slammed the shotgun across Andre¡¯s face, knocking him to the ground. Nightman reached behind him, grabbed an odd prong-like device that buzzed as he hit a button and fired off dangerous electric sparks. He prepared to attack Kaia with it but before he could, she¡¯d spun again. She caught him in the head with the shotgun. He crumpled at once and she grabbed the prong before it could hit the ground. She pushed the button, examined it as the sparks flew from its tip, and smiled manically.


    Andre started to rise but Kaia turned to him, jabbed the prong at the back of his neck. A roar escaped him as he convulsed. A moment later, he was unconscious, smoke issuing from the back of his neck.


    She turned then, glaring in Chloe and Jin¡¯s direction, eyes wild. ¡°You know, you should really do a better job making sure samples of your blood aren¡¯t lying around,¡± she said, letting an empty vial drop to the ground.


    Aiden.


    Kaia¡¯s hand, which had been severed and left outside the door to Bridge¡¯s facility was with her now. Somehow, it was reattached to her but not entirely. It was limp. Chloe could see signs of the healing still underway, blood vessels and nerves and bones slowly reconnecting as the body attempted to knit itself back together.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be your head this time,¡± Jin promised, letting out a low, feral growl. Chloe saw her nails harden, ready to slice through flesh and bone.


    ¡°And to think I tried to be nice about this whole thing.¡± Kaia sighed in disappointment, before turning a dial on the prong in her hand. She turned it all the way up to the max before flashing Jin a daring smile.


    Jin snorted. ¡°Cute.¡±


    And then she charged forward. The two of them went at each other, speed sending out gusts of wind in the hallway. Jin swung first. Kaia dodged the blow, and the fist slammed into wall instead, sending a crack spiderwebbing through it. Around them, the lights flickered.


    Kaia swung a blow, catching Jin in the face but Jin barely budged under the weight of the strike, sending forth another jab that Kaia dodged. Kaia attacked then with the prong, but Jin parried it carefully and slammed an elbow into Kaia¡¯s face, staggering her backward and sending blood streaming from her nose.


    Kaia paused to wipe the blood from her nose but Jin wasn¡¯t interested in allowing any breaks. She charged again. This time, Chloe joined in, fully refocused after being caught out by the earlier strike.


    The two of them went at Kaia together, flanking her and throwing jabs from either side. Kaia dodged and weaved between blow after blow, but would occasionally get caught out by Jin who was a lot faster and a lot more feral with how she attacked. All the while, Kaia would attempt jabs at them with the prong, prompting them both to duck beneath it and remain on their feet, switching positions every few seconds.


    It wasn¡¯t long until Kaia got caught out.


    WHAM!


    A punch from Jin connected with her face, sending her staggering sideways, eyes lolling to the back of her head. Chloe struck immediately from the other side, a well delivered blow aimed at her chest, the impact taking out a rib or two.


    Jin slammed another fist into Kaia¡¯s face, knocking her back toward Chloe, who landed yet another blow.


    On and on this went, Chloe and Jin in perfect symphony, landing blow after blow while Kaia swayed between them, eyes permanently at the back of her head, tongue stretching out of her mouth in a manner that made her look insane.


    One blow from Jin sent blood spraying out of Kaia¡¯s mouth. Another from Chloe worsened the stream of blood from her nose.


    Chloe had been about to land a consecutive strike when suddenly, Kaia¡¯s hands moved, almost instinctively. She flipped the prong from one hand to the other and without hesitation, jabbed it straight at Jin¡¯s throat.


    Jin¡¯s eyes went unbelievably wide as soon as the prong made contact, fingers twitching at her side. The scream came a little slower, like there¡¯d been some sort of input lag, and she dropped to her knees at once.


    ¡°NO!¡± Chloe screamed, before attempting to strike at Kaia and seize the prong from her.


    Kaia shrugged Chloe off, slammed an elbow into her nose with enough force to drop Chloe to one knee. The prong hit Chloe next, and an impossible current ravaged its way through her body, her vision going white as agony dulled everything else.


    She knew she was screaming but it wasn¡¯t until the pain halted that she heard herself. Her vision returned, albeit blurry, darkening at the edges. She saw Jin on the ground, prong pressed right to her forehead. She convulsed intensely under the current.


    Chloe attempted to reach toward her but she couldn¡¯t. The mere thought of movement caused her to spasm uncontrollably.


    And so she watched, helplessly, as Kaia despite being bloodied and beaten beyond recognition still stood somehow and mustered enough strength to drag Jin by her hair. She watched Kaia drag her all the way toward the elevator at the end of the hall, watched her jab the prong at Jin as she started to move again, watched as the elevator¡¯s doors started to slide shut.


    And she heard Jin¡¯s whisper.


    ¡°Chloe. Help me. Please.¡±


    Then her vision went black.

 Chapter 23

    She heard screams while she slept. Then she heard her name.


    ¡°Chloe, come on, get up.¡± A hand lifted her head off the ground and then came the first signs of stirring into consciousness. Taste returned to her, and numbness started to fade. Someone dragged her into an upright position, then felt for a pulse. A hand tapped her in the face repeatedly.


    She groaned. ¡°Go away.¡±


    A sigh. ¡°This might sting a little.¡±


    A slap followed, one that almost knocked her back to the ground. With the slap came a sharp jolt, the sort that caused her eyes to go wide open, that caused memory to flood right back. She blinked once. She blinked again. Slowly, her vision refocused, regained some clarity.


    Crouched in front of her, half his face bloodied was Lucas. Behind him, Migue¡ªno, that didn¡¯t make sense. She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head slightly, as if trying to clear up any hallucinations.


    When she opened her eyes again, Miguel still stood behind Lucas, clad in the same attire Nightman had been in, except he was without the mask now and had his hand against a slightly swollen forehead.


    ¡°What¡ª,¡± She looked around. Andre was still on the ground, but was starting to come to. ¡°Where¡¯s¡ª,¡±


    ¡°Possibly beneath us,¡± Miguel answered, as Lucas helped her to her feet.


    ¡°You,¡± Chloe said, looking at Miguel, confused expression on her face. ¡°What¡ªhow¡ªwhy?¡±


    ¡°Now¡¯s not the time for that.¡± Miguel stooped to grab his mask from the ground then fit it back onto his face. He threw the goggles on next, and then the voice modifier before placing the hat atop his head. ¡°We¡¯re not done here. Not yet.¡±


    ¡°Can you still fight?¡± Lucas asked, staring straight into Chloe¡¯s eyes.


    She nodded, then looked around. ¡°Where¡¯s Aiden? Is he¡ª,¡±


    ¡°Alive.¡± Lucas nodded. ¡°Things are pretty hectic up there. Bridge let the Helmets loose. They¡¯re tearing the District apart.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Chloe¡¯s expression darkened.


    ¡°He means to buy time,¡± Andre said. He was awake now and was already pushing himself back to his feet. ¡°He wants to split our attentions between trying to get to him and trying to stop what¡¯s happening up there.¡±


    ¡°We need to go help your friend,¡± Miguel said grimly, his voice once again distorted by the modifier. ¡°If the Helmets are running riot, he won¡¯t be able to handle it on his own.¡±


    ¡°Some of the guards are helping too, but Miguel¡¯s right,¡± Lucas agreed.


    ¡°I have to find Jon,¡± Chloe said, turning her attention to the elevator ahead. ¡°And Jin. The rest of you go help Aiden.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Lucas shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m coming with you.¡±


    ¡°Lucas, n¡ª,¡±


    ¡°Kaia¡¯s down there somewhere.¡± Lucas¡¯s tone was hardened, almost vicious. ¡°I have unfinished business with her.¡±


    ¡°The two of you go.¡± Andre nodded, flexing his hands slowly as if to confirm that he was still capable of making a fist. ¡°Miguel and I will help out above. But please, try not to die, alright?¡± His eyes were focused on Chloe¡¯s when he said this.


    Chloe nodded at him.


    ¡°See you on the other side,¡± Miguel said, patting Chloe and Lucas both on the back. He reached behind him then, and unstrapped Yuri¡¯s scabbard from his back. He placed it in Chloe¡¯s hands. ¡°If she¡¯s still alive, she will be needing this.¡±


    Chloe nodded as she accepted the scabbard, watched as Miguel turned and ran down the hallway. Then she looked to Andre. He lingered for a moment, eyes focused on Chloe¡¯s. Then he turned too and was gone in an instant.


    ¡°Right.¡± Lucas nodded and drew a deep breath. ¡°Seeing as it¡¯s just the two of us now, maybe we could be a little honest. We¡¯re going to die down there, aren¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡±


    ¡°Well, no better day than today.¡±


    The two of them headed for the elevator at the end of the hallway. Lucas called the elevator with a button push and they waited. A moment later, the steel doors slid open and they stepped inside.


    There were three buttons in the elevator. One simply labeled U, and two more labelled SL1 and SL2. They were already on SL1.


    ¡°Down we go,¡± Lucas said, before hitting SL2 on the elevator. The doors slid shut after a moment and then the elevator started to descend. While they went down, Lucas cleared his throat. ¡°Uh, so Andre, huh?¡±


    ¡°Shut up.¡±


    Lucas chuckled and Chloe looked at him, an odd expression on her face. ¡°Why are you happy right now?¡± she asked. ¡°You know, not brooding or anything.¡±


    Lucas shrugged. ¡°We might be dying today. Something oddly exciting and uplifting about that.¡±


    The elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open, revealing a large, sprawling room. A laboratory of sorts. The lights there were red, flashing somewhat. An alarm.


    There was no one in the room, none that they could see, at least. No scientists, no doctors, no engineers, nothing. Just long, steel tables and rows of shelves that held vials and jars filled with random-color liquids. There were pods and tubes and cylinders and centrifuges. On some tables, syringes were strewn across haphazardly, some of which had fallen to the floor and shattered, their crimson contents which Chloe assumed was blood spilled everywhere.


    She and Lucas made their way through the lab slowly, side by side, two of them rotating to get a good look at everything. Chloe spotted a sort of engineering station where the suits she¡¯d seen on the children were held in displays and the helmets that had been on them were on a table, wires hooked up to them connecting into a computer.


    There were other computers around, screens lit, casting light blue glows into the red of the room.


    They took a turn into another section of the lab and Chloe felt herself go cold all over immediately. There were more tubes here. Glass and steel tubes, from the looks of it. And unlike the first they¡¯d seen, these weren¡¯t empty.


    There were people in them, suspended in some sort of fluid. And they¡¯d been torn apart. Stomachs had been sliced open, and their innards looked to have been harvested. Their eyes were wide open, stuck in the expressions of agony in which they¡¯d spent their final moments. She recognized their faces.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    In two of the pods, Liam Heller and Estelle Park.


    In the others, the rest of Yuri¡¯s squad. They¡¯d all been gruesomely sliced apart in some way, but not nearly as horridly as Liam and Estelle had been. Daniel¡¯s eyes had been plucked, but the rest of his body was intact and Chloe realized, from the way his brows still furrowed within the pod that he was still alive.


    The same was true of the person in the immediate next pod. Mason. He was missing an arm, but somehow, oddly, there were strings of flesh extending from where an arm should have been, bits of revealed bone too. Like his body was slowly putting itself back together, regenerating.


    They¡¯d been experiments. The last of the pods had Lucy in it, and like Mason and Daniel, she was alive and looked to have been cut apart the least. Or perhaps, she¡¯d just managed a full regeneration already.


    Chloe heard a sobbing sound and looked in the direction it had come from. Just across from where they were, on the floor and bound together in a manner where they had no choice but to look at the pods, Jon and Yuri.


    Jon¡¯s head was slumped, hair matted to his face with blood and one hand was at an odd angle. Broken. But he was conscious. He simply refused to look at the pods. Yuri was a mess too¡ªclothes stained in blood and dirt like she¡¯d been dragged through a construction site, her face bruised almost beyond recognition. But her eyes were wide open and focused on the pods, and tears ran down her cheeks.


    ¡°Oh my God,¡± Chloe croaked.


    At the sound of her voice, Jon shifted slightly. He raised his face slowly and stared directly in their direction. His eyes remained hollow, dark, almost like he thought this was some trick. He blinked once, and then his eyes went a little wide.


    ¡°Chloe?¡± He sounded weaker than she¡¯d ever heard him.


    Chloe raced toward them both, sliding to a crouching stop in front of Jon and lifting his face in her hands. Her hands went wet at once with his blood.


    ¡°Oh God,¡± she said, her voice cracking.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Jon said weakly. ¡°Get us out of here, would you?¡±


    Chloe looked to the binds that held them. Chains. Done in a manner that they couldn¡¯t attempt to free themselves without hurting each other, particularly with Jon¡¯s broken hand.


    Chloe straightened to her feet and withdrew Yuri¡¯s sword from the scabbard. She drew a deep breath as she aimed for the chains. And then she swung with all of her strength, steel striking against steel.


    Yuri¡¯s steel was stronger. The chain shattered as soon as the sword struck, and dropped to the ground around them.


    Jon was the first to his feet, scrambling up while clutching his broken hand. Chloe noticed then that bone was jutting out. Her stomach sank even deeper.


    ¡°I need you to help me force it back in,¡± Jon said, extending his broken hand toward her. ¡°I¡¯ll start to heal once it¡¯s done. Can¡¯t do it myself, the pain¡ª,¡±


    Jon trailed off into a shaky breath. He looked like he wanted nothing more in the world but to cry, and was doing everything he could to hold himself together. But he was very evidently at the limits of that composure Chloe often envied.


    Chloe let Yuri¡¯s sword drop to the ground and took Jon¡¯s hand. She met his eyes and gave him a nod. ¡°On three?¡±


    ¡°On three,¡± Jon agreed.


    ¡°One,¡± Chloe counted. Jon squeezed his eyes shut immediately.


    ¡°Two.¡± She forced the bone back into place immediately, and Jon roared, doubling over in pain and almost wobbling to one knee.


    She let go of his hand then, wiped the blood off against her pants. Jon clutched the hand, remained bent over for a moment, breathing loud and quick. Then he started to slow his breathing.


    After a few seconds, he straightened. ¡°You said three.¡± He turned then and helped Yuri to her feet. Yuri walked away from them at once, stooping to pick up her sword as she marched to join Lucas in front of the tubes that held her unit.


    Chloe felt an almost overwhelming amount of pity for her. But she couldn¡¯t get sidetracked by that.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Chloe asked, looking at Jon.


    ¡°For the most part. Kaia, she¡ª,¡±


    ¡°We know,¡± Chloe said. ¡°Have you seen Jin? She took her.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been in and out of it but I think so,¡± Jon said. ¡°I heard some screaming earlier. It¡¯s what woke me.¡±


    ¡°We have to find her,¡± Chloe said. ¡°And the sooner the better. Bridge let Helmets loose on the District. We need to finish down here and make sure things don¡¯t get out of hand up there.¡±


    One of the tubes shattered then and Chloe spun around in time to see Mason fall right of the tube that had held him, hitting the ground with a splashing sound. Yuri struck at the rest of the tubes with her sword, getting all of the others out.


    ¡°Yuri¡ª,¡± Jon began.


    ¡°Go,¡± Yuri said, without looking in their direction. ¡°Find Jin, find Bridge. I¡¯ll find you.¡±


    ¡°Yuri¡ª,¡±


    ¡°GO!¡± Yuri yelled, crouching next to Mason and lifting his face up slightly. ¡°Just go! We don¡¯t have time for this!¡±


    Chloe looked at Jon. ¡°She¡¯s right. Come on.¡±


    Chloe continued through the lab. Lucas and Jon followed her. The lab was a lot larger than it¡¯d looked when they¡¯d come in. There were other sections of it, connected to the main lab by small hallways. They checked section after section, and found nothing. Then just as they turned down one section, someone charged at them.


    Chloe heard the buzzing of electricity and ducked just in time. She heard Lucas grunt, heard the sound of a fist colliding with something, then the clatter of metal dropping to the ground.


    She looked to see the prong on the ground, then turned and found Lucas with a hand at Kaia¡¯s throat, pinning her to the wall.


    ¡°Kaia.¡± Chloe¡¯s eyes turned bloodshot red almost immediately.


    ¡°No!¡± Lucas growled. ¡°She¡¯s mine. Go!¡±


    Despite her reluctance, Chloe continued ahead with Jon. They ended up in a room akin to an infirmary. Strapped to a bed there in metal binds was Jin, dangerous looking needles jabbed into her, siphoning blood out of her. The room looked a mess¡ªthere was some blood on the floor, a monitor had also crashed to the ground, bits of shattered screen everywhere.


    She¡¯d put up a fight.


    ¡°Help me get her out!¡± Chloe said frantically, rushing to the bed and immediately undoing the straps at Jin¡¯s feet while Jon fumbled with another set around her thighs. She finished with the feet and moved on to undo straps around her waist and together, she and Jon undid the binds around her wrist.


    She unhooked Jin from the needles, tossed them aside and raised Jin into an upright position, doing so tenderly.


    ¡°Jin!¡± she yelled.


    Jin groaned and cracked an eye open. ¡°Hey,¡± she said softly. ¡°Chloe.¡±


    ¡°Can you walk?¡±


    ¡°In a moment,¡± Jin answered. ¡°But I don¡¯t think you¡¯ve got that.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Chloe frowned. ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°My blood,¡± Jin said, before gesturing to a small fridge Chloe had missed. Jon darted toward the fridge and opened it. He pulled out two large vials filled with blood. ¡°Bridge has it,¡± Jin continued. ¡°He¡¯ll change. Stop him.¡±


    ¡°What is she talking about?¡± Jon queried.


    Chloe looked at Jon. ¡°Shit,¡± she murmured. ¡°I think Bridge plans to turn himself into a Pandoran,¡± she said. ¡°Or something worse.¡±


    ¡°Like the Helmets?¡±


    ¡°With Jin¡¯s blood?¡± Chloe¡¯s expression turned grim. ¡°He¡¯ll be a lot stronger.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what he¡¯s been doing this whole time,¡± Jon said, realization dawning on him slowly. ¡°Abducting Yuri¡¯s unit, the Helmets¡­we thought the children were his attempts at a perfect soldier but they were only¡ª,¡±


    ¡°Prototypes,¡± Chloe finished. ¡°And now, with Jin¡¯s blood, he could create the real deal.¡±


    ¡°We need to go. Now.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t leave her¡ª,¡±


    ¡°Chlo,¡± Jin said and squeezed Chloe¡¯s hand tightly. ¡°Go. I¡¯ll be fine. I just need a few minutes. I heal a lot faster than you bozos, remember?¡±


    Chloe met Jin¡¯s eyes. She squeezed back at her hand. ¡°If you die, I¡¯ll kill you.¡±


    Jin chuckled. ¡°Sure. Oh, and Chloe?¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°See, was that so hard?¡±


    ¡°Just so you know¡ªwe¡¯re still not even.¡±


    Chloe smiled. Then she straightened to her feet and turned to Jon. ¡°How¡¯s your hand feeling now?¡±


    ¡°Good enough that I can swing with it,¡± Jon answered, then stared at the vials he was holding. ¡°But I think it could be even better in a moment.¡±


    Chloe walked to him, took one of the vials. ¡°Bottoms up,¡± she said. They emptied the vials down their throats and immediately felt that rush of enhanced strength. ¡°Right. Now let¡¯s go kill a Chancellor.¡±

 Chapter 24

    Kaia crashed through a wall, and into a shelf loaded with chemicals. Vials and jars fell onto her, shattering, contents spilling across her head and face. A hissing sound followed as her face burned, smoke issuing from it.


    Lucas advanced toward her, eyes glowing.


    ¡°You said you¡¯d understand if I lied!¡± Kaia shrieked. ¡°You said you¡¯d understand! So why won¡¯t you understand that I was trying to help you! I was trying to save all of you!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not angry that you lied, Kaia,¡± Lucas said softly, continuing his advance toward her. ¡°I¡¯m not even angry that you were involved in the disappearances, no, see, I¡¯m angry that you came after my family. I lost someone recently, and you came for what I had left. I can¡¯t forgive that!¡±


    Kaia snarled angrily. ¡°Then die!¡±


    She seized a jar from the shelf and shoved it in Lucas¡¯s direction, sending its content spilling toward him. Lucas darted out of the way in a blur, reappearing in front of Kaia and seizing her by the head. He slammed her head into the shelf again, then hurled her across the lab.


    She crashed into a table and sent it flying.


    ¡°Blood¡¯s worn off, hasn¡¯t it?¡± Lucas asked, advancing toward her again. ¡°Right about now, you¡¯re experiencing what it feels like when Jin¡¯s blood starts to wear off from your system. You¡¯re feeling the exhaustion. The soreness. The disorientation. The beatings you¡¯ve taken, pain you were able to ignore. You can¡¯t ignore it anymore, can you?¡±


    Slowly, Kaia got back to her feet. She swayed from left to right but kept her eyes trained on Lucas. There was a hunger in them. A madness.


    ¡°Do you not love me anymore?¡± she asked, a tear rolling out of one eye.


    She charged at Lucas, took a swipe at his face. Lucas ducked beneath the strike and sent a fist crashing into her stomach. Kaia went stumbling backward.


    ¡°You¡¯re crazy,¡± Lucas said. ¡°Whatever Bridge did to you, whatever he¡¯s had you do¡­it¡¯s twisted you, Kaia.¡±


    ¡°NO!¡± She screamed, and went charging again.


    Lucas held up his fists, ready to put an end to it.


    ¡°YOU WANT TO FIGHT ME BECAUSE OF THEM?!¡± She screeched as she unleashed a flurry of attacks, forcing Lucas onto the defensive. ¡°THEM? You¡¯re calling them family! Where are they right now?! You think they care about you like you care about them! They¡¯re not your family, you have no family!


    ¡°They don¡¯t care about you. Jon put himself on the line to save the failure of a captain he just met. Chloe? Ran into danger to protect that freak Pandoran. But you? They never run to save you. Because they don¡¯t care. You¡¯re just another soldier, another weapon. Nothing about you means anything. You think your anger is righteous? All your talk about hating lies and betrayals¡­and you haven¡¯t even seen the one happening right under your nose, have you? They¡¯re all betraying you, turning their backs on you. You¡¯re the one they¡¯ll forget.¡±


    Lucas faltered for a moment, and a blow from Kaia caught him in the face, sent him staggering to the side. Another blow connected, knocking him against an empty pod. Kaia came again, throwing another fist.


    This time, Lucas caught it. He growled, raising his head slightly and meeting her eyes. ¡°Got anything else to say? I¡¯d like you to get it all off your chest before I rip your heart out.¡±


    He slammed his head into hers.


    ***


    Nightman staggered backward, having only just managed to avoid a fist from one of the Helmets aimed straight for his head. He stumbled into a cart of fruits then rolled out of the way hastily as another Helmet came at him.


    Frantically, he aimed his pistol at the Helmet, using his index to alter a dial on the side of the pistol. The Helmet came charging again.


    Nightman fired. An ion blast exploded from the pistol, slamming into the Helmet and sending the kid hurtling through the air, crashing into the wall of a building before dropping to the ground.


    Andre was at the kid in an instant, stooping to pull the helmet right off of the boy¡¯s head. He glanced in Nightman¡¯s direction. ¡°Your gun could have done that this entire time?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m trying not to hurt them,¡± Nightman responded, as he got back to his feet.


    ¡°Well, hurt them,¡± Andre said. He spun around then to face a Helmet that had leaped at him off the side of a building. His fist shot through the air, caught the Helmet in the face and sent the kid crashing into a dumpster. He looked back to Nightman. ¡°They can take it.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± Nightman nodded, then turned to find Aiden pinned to the ground by two Helmets who clawed at him simultaneously.


    He aimed the pistol at them and fired again.


    ***


    Bridge¡¯s mansion was completely unguarded. There were no other soldiers in there, which was understandable since they might have been dealing with the chaos outside. But there were also no Helmets in the mansion, no security measures, nothing at all to stop them from finding him or even to slow them down.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    That made Chloe worried.


    She got even more worried when they finally found Bridge, not in his library but in a room deep in the mansion that¡¯d been mostly stripped bare except for a single seat in front, placed atop a platform as if to resemble a throne.


    ¡°Throne of leather and wood,¡± Jon said when they walked in. ¡°That¡¯s cute. Very contemporary.¡±


    ¡°Ah, Jonathan,¡± Bridge grinned in his seat. ¡°You look in good shape. And Chloe, I¡¯m glad you could make it.¡± He rose to his feet. ¡°Also, just to straighten things out, this isn¡¯t a throne room, no, I wouldn¡¯t resort to something so juvenile. This, my friends, is a stage. And looks like you¡¯re audience I¡¯m here to perform for today.¡±


    ¡°Call off the Helmets,¡± Jon growled.


    ¡°Helmets. Ah yes, Kaia did tell me you¡¯d taken to calling the Newbreed that. Unimaginative, if you ask me. An advancement in human evolution and you¡¯ve labeled them something so dull.¡±


    Chloe and Jon moved apart, going on either side of Bridge, preparing to flank him. They approached slowly, eyes trained on him.


    ¡°Call them off,¡± Chloe repeated. ¡°Do that and we won¡¯t have to kill you. We¡¯ll let you answer for your crimes in front of the Council.¡±


    ¡°Do not irritate me, child.¡± Bridge¡¯s voice turned cold. ¡°The Council? You believe them the innocents in all of this? You believe them worthy of judgement?¡±


    ¡°We believe you¡¯re crazy.¡±


    ¡°The ones who dare to push the limits almost always are,¡± Bridge acknowledged. ¡°In any case, the Helmets are not mine to call off. Their orders are preset, transmitted to their helmets and besides, it¡¯s not much of a problem, you¡¯ve got friends outside currently contending with the threat they pose.¡±


    ¡°You wanted them to slow us down. It didn¡¯t work.¡±


    ¡°Slow you down?¡± Bridge repeated, eyes going a little wide. ¡°Oh my dear, no no no¡­what¡¯s going on out there isn¡¯t for you at all. Like I said, this is a stage. It¡¯s a show. And what better way to alert the world to a glorious performance than via word of mouth? Rave reviews?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re sick,¡± Jon spat.


    ¡°I think you¡¯ve insinuated that already. Don¡¯t be repetitive. It bores me.¡± Bridge held his hands beneath his back and walked off the platform, straight toward them. ¡°I¡¯m ready whenever you guys are, by the way. Sooner this is done, the better. I expect I¡¯ll have other company soon.¡±


    As he approached them, Chloe saw the veins. Black and red, etched against the back of his left palm, pulsing slightly and spreading.


    Whatever it was he¡¯d done with Jin¡¯s blood, he¡¯d already put it in his system.


    Chloe clenched her fists firmly, planting her feet firmly against the ground. Jon growled and leaned forward, readying himself to strike.


    ¡°Good.¡± Bridge nodded. ¡°You¡¯re ready. Let the show begin.¡±


    Chloe and Jon charged simultaneously, bursting forward and leaving gusts of wind in their wake. They arrived in front of Bridge at the same time and sent powerful fists forth.


    Bridge raised his hands, caught both strikes in his palm without flinching or budging an inch.


    Chloe¡¯s eyes went wide at once.


    Bridge snorted. He squeezed their fists firmly and then spun around. He swung Chloe across the room, and slammed Jon hard against the ground before smashing a foot into him, launching him through the air like a projectile.


    Jon slammed into a wall and dropped to the floor. Chloe flipped through the air, managed to dig her hands into the ground and bring herself to a stop. As soon as she¡¯d stopped, Bridge was right in front of her, seizing her by the throat just as she straightened to her feet.


    She reacted immediately, not with a punch but by jabbing fingers straight into his eyes. Bridge roared in frustration, let go of her at once, stumbling backward.


    Chloe shot forward, slammed a fist into his face, followed up with a string of consecutive strikes and then leaped backward just as Bridge adjusted and made to retaliate.


    Bridge looked at her, eyes reddened now. He snarled furiously and darted toward her. He was halfway to her when Jon slammed into him from the side, crashing a fist into Bridge¡¯s face, knocking him off course.


    Jin¡¯s blood and the boost it provided to their speed and reactions was all that kept them in the fight over the next few minutes. Chloe and Jon avoided attack after attack from Bridge, experiencing one too many close brushes, while attempting to land hits of their own. They darted around and swapped positions often in a bid to disorient him or tire him out, but the effect appeared to be the opposite.


    Bridge only got more focused and much stronger as the fight went on, the veins Chloe had seen on his left hand gone as far as his neck now, his eyes a botched red. And yet they kept going, pushing and pressing for the opening, desperate to find one before the effect of Jin¡¯s blood would start to wear.


    And then, all of a sudden, without either of them needing to do much, Bridge started to act oddly during the fight. He swung one wild punch that swung harmlessly past Jon¡¯s face then grunted oddly, his other hand darting to the back of his neck and scratching furiously for a moment.


    Then he recovered and charged at them. He¡¯d only gone forward a few feet when he growled and dropped to one knee. He spat blood from his mouth, hand flying over his stomach.


    Jon and Chloe stopped, exchanging confused looks.


    Bridge let out an agonized roar and spat more blood. This time, there were teeth accompanying it. He looked up and straight at them, revealing the veins that had now gone across half of his face, spreading into his eyes.


    The veins pulsed intensely and bulged and his skin bubbled in places.


    Confused and mouths dropped in horror, Jon and Chloe watched as a dark transformation took over Bridge. Color rapidly faded from his skin as the veins spread entirely. His muscles started to bulge and enlarge, his skin hardening, turning scaly. His finger nails extended into curved claws.


    He snarled furiously and spit flew from his mouth. Replacing the teeth that had fallen out were razor sharp teeth and a set of fangs. Bridge growled and pounded a hand against his face, as if attempting to halt whatever was happening.


    It was no good.


    The next phase of the transformation looked the most gruesome. Spikes jutted out of his skin, tearing through flesh and bone, sending blood everywhere as they emerged. The spikes ran along the length of his arm, up to his shoulders, thick and sharp and frightening looking. They continued along his spine, and ran all the way down to his waist.


    Bridge remained on the ground, grunting and breathing heavily while it looked like his bones were moving around, shifting, resetting themselves. And then the transformation was over.


    Slowly, Bridge rose to his feet, now a seven-and-a-half-foot tall monstrosity with eyes red as blood glowing at Chloe and Jon. He unleashed a powerful roar, the kind that rattled the entire building and forced the two of them into shielding their ears.


    Then he attacked.

 Chapter 25

    Bridge was unstoppable.


    Somehow, even after morphing into a hulking monstrosity, he was still impossibly rapid, darting around the room in blurs. Jon and Chloe couldn¡¯t get any hits in, and were forced rather quickly onto the defensive, constantly retreating and darting around, attempting to avoid direct hits from Bridge.


    ¡°How the hell do we get him to turn back?!¡± Chloe demanded, just after Bridge slammed his hands together, sending out a directed wave of concussive force that sent her sliding backward a few feet.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we can!¡± Jon roared.


    Bridge struck a fist against the ground then and ripped up a slab of concrete that he hurled right at Jon.


    Jon darted forward and dived into a roll, avoiding the slab but finding himself at the mercy of Bridge. Jon saw Bridge too late and threw up his hands in an X to shield himself. Bridge¡¯s fist connected and in an instant, Jon had crashed right through a wall and out of the building, the impact of Bridge¡¯s blow launching him like a rocket.


    ¡°Jon!¡± Chloe yelled.


    Bridge went at her next, roaring as he charged. She ducked beneath his first few swipes at her, darting around him, remaining quick on her feet. She stared at one of the spikes that jutted out of his skin, torn bits of skin still visible at the base of the spike. An idea popped into her head, but she greatly doubted how effective it would be. Still, it ought to work a lot better than throwing punches at his reinforced skin.


    She continued to dart around Bridge, and the more she evaded his hits, the angrier he seemed to get, his growls turning more guttural with each moment. He hadn¡¯t said a word since his transformation and she wondered if there was something about what had happened that¡¯d nullified his ability to speak.


    With Jin¡¯s blood in their system, the Pandorans turned more feral, more aggressive, in addition to their physical abilities being heightened. Had Bridge gone so feral that there was nothing human left? Just how much of her blood had he mixed in with whatever formula had turned him to this?


    Opportunity presented itself when one of Bridge¡¯s fists found wall and remained lodged in there. Before he could get his fist out, Chloe moved with a burst of space, going right for one of the spikes jutting out of his arm. She grabbed onto it and with all of the strength she could summon, yanked on it.


    The spike snapped and Bridge roared furiously. He freed his hand then and turned around to swat at her. Chloe flipped the spike in her hand and struck with it, stabbing straight at his palm.


    The spike cut through his skin and flesh, pierced through to the back of his palm. At the same time, his foot shot out and caught her. She zipped through the air, felt pain shoot throughout her body as she crashed right through concrete and landed hard against asphalt on the street outside.


    She started to her feet immediately but before she¡¯d risen, Bridge charged right out of the mansion, slamming his way through a wall. As he emerged, the guards who¡¯d been outside dealing with chaos all halted, turning to face the monster with looks of horror on their faces.


    ¡°What the¡ª,¡±


    ¡°Shoot at him!¡± Chloe cried out.


    The guards heeded her, opening fire at once. Bridge raised a hand to shield his face as bullets pelted against his skin and bounced right off. And then, angrily, he attacked, striking at the wall of the mansion and ripping loose chunks that he hurled at the guards. Some guards ducked out of the way, others were unluckier.


    Bridge reared, as though he were a bull preparing to charge and then he came right at her, eyes unmistakably furious. She rose but not nearly quickly enough to get out of the way. Bridge¡¯s fist hurtled toward her.


    Jin was there.


    She appeared in an instant, shoving Chloe out of the way and catching the punch that¡¯d been met for her. There was a small shockwave as Jin caught the blow, but it was evident even she wasn¡¯t a match for Bridge. Not after she¡¯d been drained of blood down in the lab.


    Her entire body trembled under the mere effort of stopping one of Bridge¡¯s strikes, and when he sent his second fist crashing into Jin¡¯s stomach, she stood no chance at all. She went flying, blood spraying out of her mouth as she did.


    She hit the ground hard, rolled severally before coming to a stop, then spat more blood from her mouth.


    ¡°Jin!¡± Chloe yelled. She hurried in Jin¡¯s direction but Bridge started to charge toward her. Before he¡¯d reached her however, Jon threw himself onto Bridge from behind, grabbing one of the spikes protruding from his back and snapping.


    Bridge roared and reached behind him to deal with Jon. Chloe reached Jin, crouching next to her and lifting her head.


    ¡°What the hell are you doing?!¡± Chloe demanded. ¡°You can¡¯t fight! Not like this.¡±


    Jin chuckled weakly and spat more blood from her mouth. ¡°I just had to make sure¡­that you would still owe me.¡±


    ¡°I need to get you out of here,¡± Chloe said. She attempted to lift Jin up but Jin stopped her, shaking her head.


    ¡°No good,¡± she said. ¡°You won¡¯t outrun him. He¡¯ll kill everyone. My blood¡­not meant for humans. You have to stop him.¡±


    ¡°In case you haven¡¯t noticed, that¡¯s not something I can do!¡±


    Jin snorted. She raised one hand and hardened her fingernails before making a firm fist. She winced as she did and a moment later, blood started to trickle out of her palm and down her hand. She undid her fist and extended her hand to Chloe. ¡°You just need more.¡±


    Chloe¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°No,¡± she said flatly. ¡°I can¡¯t. You¡¯ll¡ª,¡±


    She was cut off by an outcry from Jon then. She looked back to find him on the ground, one of Bridge¡¯s spikes protruding from his stomach. Bridge was advancing toward him.


    ¡°It¡¯s the only way,¡± Jin said softly. ¡°And don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll live.¡±


    Chloe hesitated. From behind, she heard the sound of metal scraping, looked again to see Yuri approaching Bridge, the tip of her sword scraping against the ground. She glanced back to Jin.


    She accepted Jin¡¯s hand and raised it to her mouth. And she drank.


    She drank all she could.


    ¡°Yuri, you can¡¯t take him on,¡± Jon said as Yuri walked past him, her blindfold off now, eyes bloodshot. Clutching the spike in his stomach, Jon returned to his feet.


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    ¡°Stay back, Jonathan,¡± Yuri said. Her voice was cold, soulless. ¡°He¡¯s mine.¡±


    Bridge roared and upped the pace gradually until he was full on sprinting toward Yuri. He lunged forward, swinging a powerful fist at her.


    Yuri darted out of the way gracefully and without her expression shifting. She went right at Bridge¡¯s mansion, darting up the wall with tremendous speed before launching herself off of it and right at Bridge.


    Bridge raised a hand to meet her. Yuri twisted and spun in the air, avoiding his strike, before countering with hers. Her sword went straight for his left eye. It found its target. Blood gushed out of his eye as the blade stabbed straight through and Bridge dropped to one knee, a furious roar escaping him.


    Yuri yanked her blade free of his eyes, wiped the blood off then prepared to strike again. Bridge raised his head then and let out a low, guttural growl.


    His hand moved through the air with speed, slamming into Yuri. Yuri hit the wall of an apartment building hard, her blood splattering against it before she dropped to the ground.


    She didn¡¯t move again.


    Jon yanked the spike out of his stomach and fixed a glare on Bridge. He held the spike firmly like a weapon. ¡°Come on, you piece of shit!¡± he roared. ¡°Is that all you¡¯ve got? Come on! You¡¯re supposed to be the next stage of evolution, right? You¡¯re supposed to be putting on a show for us? Well, I¡¯m still standing and I¡¯ve got to say, this isn¡¯t a very good show!¡±


    Bridge, who¡¯d been clutching his wounded eye then, lowered his hand and turned his attention to Jon. He grunted and his lips curled into what should have been a smile.


    And for the first time since he¡¯d transformed, he spoke. ¡°Fine.¡±


    He went at Jon, and threw a blow. Jon ducked beneath the first strike and stabbed with the spike in his hand. The spike pierced through Bridge¡¯s chest. Bridge simply grunted then reached out and seized Jon by his neck, lifting him high off the ground.


    ¡°Disappointing,¡± said the crazed Chancellor. ¡°I really hoped you¡¯d do something there. Oh well, goodbye.¡±


    ¡°LET HIM GO!¡± Chloe screamed at the top of her lungs.


    Bridge turned then, just in time for Chloe¡¯s fist to collide with his face. He let go of Jon at once, the impact from Chloe¡¯s punch sending him staggering backward.


    Bridge raised a hand to the point on his face where Chloe¡¯s blow had connected, rubbing it slightly, a look of surprise on his face. He turned slightly and spat. Blood flew from his mouth. ¡°Huh,¡± he said, before turning his attention back to Chloe. He licked his lips in a crazed manner. ¡°That¡¯s more like it!¡±


    Chloe screamed furiously and went at him again. Bridge shifted, moving toward her and readying to catch her strike. Chloe blurred right past him and struck from behind, slamming a fist into his side before rapidly breaking a spike free and stabbing with it. Bridge spun to face her and received consecutive blows to the face that sent him stumbling backward.


    She went at him again. A fist from him connected with her face and knocked her to the side, blood spraying from her mouth, vision blurring for a moment. But she didn¡¯t stop. She spun toward him as he prepared to strike, sending her fist hurtling right at his. Their fists collided and out went a small shockwave that caused the windows on his mansion and nearby buildings to shatter outward, glass raining down on them.


    Before the glass had settled on the ground, shards of it still in the air, the two of them went at each other, eyes glowing with power and bloodlust as they did.


    Chloe screamed loud as she could, her rage deafening her. Bridge roared.


    The two of them exchanged a flurry of attacks, throwing blow after blow, neither one caring much for dodging or remaining on the defensive. Blow after blow connected, each one landing with a resounding thud and causing the earth to rumble enough that anyone in the distance might mistake it for an earthquake.


    On and on the exchange went, a display of crazed bloodlust that could have only one victor. It became apparent soon however, that despite the strength coursing through her as a result of Jin¡¯s blood, that Bridge still had the advantage. His skin was sturdier, more durable, capable of taking more than she was dealing out.


    She, on the other hand, was still very vulnerable and this proved true when Bridge swung his arm wildly, aiming the spikes on his forearm right at her. She made to step back to avoid the spikes but they still slashed across her, sent pain flashing through her.


    Bridge ripped one spike free, shot one hand out, seizing Chloe by the back of her neck and then he plunged the spike right into her stomach.


    A gasp escaped her. Bridge¡¯s lips curled into a smile and he shoved the spike even deeper, before pulling her in close. He brought his face to hers. ¡°That, that was good,¡± he said, eyes twinkling with madness. ¡°Really, it was. It just wasn¡¯t enough.¡±


    ¡°Fuck you.¡±


    Chloe jabbed her thumb into his good eye. He let go of her at once, roaring as he stumbled backward, clutching his eye. Chloe dropped to her knees immediately and watched as he went through the agony.


    A few seconds passed before he lowered his hand from his eye. He growled at her and looked ready to charge.


    Then came the applause. Bridge halted at once.


    Accompanying the applause were footsteps, slow yet powerful. Chloe turned, glancing behind her in the direction it¡¯d come from. Approaching them and clad in armor that was oddly scaly, a truly amused expression on his face was Julius Erwin.


    Erwin reached Chloe. He stopped just beside her, beamed right down at her. His applause didn¡¯t cease. ¡°Commendable,¡± he remarked. ¡°Truly commendable effort. And you almost had him too.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re here.¡± Chloe attempted to rise to her feet.


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother,¡± Erwin said gently, ceasing the applause then. ¡°You¡¯ve done just enough, Ms. Taylor. Please, allow me to take it for here. My way of making up for not being here sooner.¡±


    Chloe met Erwin¡¯s eyes. ¡°He can¡¯t live to see tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°He won¡¯t, rest assured.¡±


    Erwin returned his attention to Bridge. ¡°Chancellor Bridge,¡± he began, continuing his advance toward the monster. ¡°Are you still in there? I¡¯d like to know what it is I¡¯m about to kill.¡±


    ¡°You think me frightened of you?¡± Bridge snorted. ¡°Look at me!¡±


    ¡°Yes, I know, I see you well enough, Chancellor, there¡¯s no need to yell,¡± Erwin spoke calmly. ¡°And now I know there remains a man in there. That¡¯s good. I want you to plead before you die.¡±


    Bridge was at Erwin in the blink of an eye. His fist shot through the air, collided against Erwin¡¯s chest. There was a powerful gust of wind that swept dirt in every direction and briefly obscured the two of them.


    But then the dirt cleared and Erwin still stood. Bridge¡¯s strike hadn¡¯t even moved him an inch. The Chancellor¡¯s eyes went wide.


    ¡°What the¡ª,¡±


    WHAM!


    Erwin¡¯s fist connected with Bridge¡¯s stomach, and the rest of what he¡¯d been about to say was lost in a gasp as the wind was knocked right out of him, blood spraying from his mouth. Bridge wheezed and threw another punch. Erwin parried this with a disrespectful amount of ease, and sent his palm flying into Bridge¡¯s face, landing a slap that sent the Chancellor slamming down into the ground.


    ¡°Get up,¡± Erwin commanded before slamming a foot into Erwin, sending him flying a great distance away.


    ¡°Jesus,¡± Chloe murmured, watching with eyes wide as Erwin continued his advance toward the Chancellor.


    Bridge got back up then and looked in Erwin¡¯s direction. The excitement in the monster¡¯s eyes was gone now. In its place, fear.


    He extended a hand toward Erwin. ¡°Wait¡ª,¡±


    Erwin was right in front of Bridge. ¡°No,¡± he said coldly, and thrust his foot into Bridge¡¯s stomach, sending him sliding backward. Bridge coughed up more blood. He wiped the blood off his mouth and stared at it in disbelief, before looking back to Erwin.


    ¡°Plea¡ª,¡±


    Again, Erwin was right in front of him. ¡°Already?¡± the Major asked. ¡°That¡¯s disappointing.¡±


    Bridge¡¯s lips curled into a grin then, and he thrust a hand forward, meaning to stab Erwin with one of his spikes. The spike slammed into Erwin¡¯s armor and shattered immediately. Erwin looked down at the point where the spike had met his armor then looked back at Bridge.


    He sighed, as if unenthused and proceeded to clap his hands on either side of Bridge¡¯s face. The Chancellor dropped to his knees immediately, roaring in agony, blood streaming out of his nose and ears.


    Erwin looked down at him, an expression of disgust on his face. ¡°You bore me,¡± he declared, and then shove a fist right into Bridge¡¯s chest.


    There was a gasp from the Chancellor as Erwin¡¯s fist dug in, followed by a sickening wet sound as Erwin twisted his fist inside of the Chancellor¡¯s chest. A shaky breath escaped Bridge as the color started to fade from his eyes.


    Erwin yanked his hand free of Bridge¡¯s chest, and shoved the Chancellor aside. Bridge hit the ground on his side, lifeless eyes looking in Chloe¡¯s direction.


    Erwin turned around. He looked right at Chloe, looking a little disappointed and then he asked, ¡°Is there anyone else that needs killing? I need to be done here by dinner.¡±

 Chapter 26

    The chaos ended fairly quickly once Erwin killed Bridge.


    What was left of the Helmets, he made light work of, stripping the children of the helmets in mere moments. Inside the lab that sprawled beneath Bridge¡¯s mansion, they found Lucas, wounded but alive. He¡¯d beaten Kaia and had passed out afterward. When they found him, Kaia was gone, escaped somehow in the chaos.


    Those who¡¯d helped in Bridge¡¯s experiments, Erwin left to Yuri who showed absolutely no mercy. Mason and the others who¡¯d survived were moved to an official lab where they continued to regenerate, Erwin watching curiously as they did.


    Mason was the first of them to wake and he remembered nothing since he and the others had been attacked down in the tunnel. He did recognize Chloe and the others, and was confused to see them when he woke. And once he¡¯d been filled in on everything that had happened, all he had to say to Chloe was: ¡°All of this is because you shot at my car.¡±


    Miguel too had sustained some injuries during the fight against the Helmets and he now had one hand wrapped in a cast. The tech he¡¯d put together for his ensemble as Nightman was examined by Erwin who labeled them archaic, but oddly useful.


    Chloe left Yuri alone with Jon and her recovering unit members, and went to find Jin in the next room where she was laid in bed, already looking much like her old self. She¡¯d occupied herself with a book from Bridge¡¯s library.


    ¡°Hey,¡± Chloe said as she walked in. ¡°How¡¯re you feeling?¡±


    Jin shrugged. ¡°Alright, I suppose. This is a pretty uninteresting read though.¡± She looked up and met Chloe¡¯s eyes. ¡°How are you feeling?¡±


    ¡°Your blood¡¯s wearing off now so I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯m about to feel incredibly exhausted and pass out,¡± Chloe answered. ¡°But before that happens, I figured I¡¯d check on you, see how you were doing and you know¡­thank you.¡±


    ¡°Thank me?¡±


    ¡°Well, you did help out against Bridge. And your blood¡¯s the only reason Jon and I are still alive.¡±


    Jin smiled. ¡°Huh, you were right, it is nice being thanked. But just so you know, you don¡¯t have to thank me. I¡¯m happy to save your life whenever.¡±


    Chloe snorted. ¡°Well, don¡¯t get too used to it.¡± She let out a long yawn then, her vision blurring slightly.


    ¡°I¡¯ll try,¡± Jin said. ¡°Now go lay down or something, you look awful.¡±


    When it was time for Erwin to leave, he made Miguel Chancellor of the District. Only the Council could permanently appoint a Chancellor but with Erwin currently the highest ranking official in the District, responsibility to assign tasks on a temporary basis fell to him and so he tasked Miguel with cleaning up everything that had happened, and sending an adequate report back to Capital.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°The Councilors might yet decide to appoint someone else for the position,¡± Erwin said as he prepared to leave, ¡°But based on what I¡¯ve learned here, I can¡¯t imagine there¡¯d be anyone more fitting to lead the District.¡±


    In the morning the following day, the kids who¡¯d been kidnapped and turned to Helmets woke. Jon and Yuri were with them, monitoring to see how much they¡¯d changed. They were very clearly still Pandorans but without the Helmets, they weren¡¯t as feral or even as strong.


    ¡°They¡¯re staying,¡± Yuri said to Andre when he looked like he¡¯d been about to suggest that the children come with them back to Capital. ¡°They¡¯re kids and far too young to be involved in any of this. Been through enough already.¡±


    Andre simply nodded and let it go. Choppers arrived by evening to transport Jon, Chloe and the others back to Capital. While they got set to leave, Jon went to speak to Yuri, presumably to ask if she¡¯d come with. When Chloe saw them kissing in an almost melancholic manner, she figured Yuri had turned down the invitation in favor of remaining in District 5 with her unit.


    ¡°Chances are the Council will want to examine them,¡± Andre told Yuri before leaving, referring to the others. ¡°They¡¯ll want to know just how much they¡¯ve been enhanced.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Yuri shrugged.


    Chloe, Jon, Aiden and Lucas left aboard one chopper. Andre left aboard another. Chloe wondered for a while if there was perhaps someone else like Erwin aboard the chopper who he¡¯d needed to speak to. Then once the choppers took off and they set back for Capital against the backdrop of a purplish-orange sunset, the thought left her entirely.


    Nothing really mattered. They¡¯d fought and won, but she reminded herself that everything that had just happened with Bridge meant very little compared to what dangers they knew were still out there.


    The Others hadn¡¯t moved to reclaim Jin yet and she knew it was only a matter of time until they would. With that on her mind, she couldn¡¯t care less who it was with Andre on the other chopper or what they were even talking about.


    ***


    Andre stood with his hands behind his back, staring at the Council. ¡°So yeah,¡± he continued to speak to them, ¡°That¡¯s everything that went down in 5, everything associated with the Bridge Incident. And as you asked, it¡¯s been contained¡ªnone of the other Districts know about what went down, or about Bridge¡¯s experiments.¡±


    ¡°And the children?¡± asked Councilor Atwell.


    ¡°They remain in the District, under the supervision of reinstated Captain Voss and Chancellor Temporaire Miguel Navarro. Their abilities are unremarkable, at least they appear so for the time being. But we have eyes there monitoring them, and if there¡¯s any developments, we will be informed.¡±


    ¡°And the other business?¡± Councilor Donovan queried. ¡°The true purpose for our sending you to accompany Taylor¡¯s unit?¡±


    Andre slipped his hand into his pocket and produced a thumb drive. ¡°All the data pertaining to Bridge¡¯s experiments was wiped, but not before I backed it up. Your authorization of Bridge¡¯s secret lab, or the other laboratories isn¡¯t known by anyone other than yourselves and of course, me.¡±


    ¡°Good. Bridge¡¯s madness was unforeseen and were we to be implicated in the matter, it would be¡­difficult,¡± Donovan said slowly. ¡°And the samples?¡±


    ¡°I could not acquire a sample of Crowman¡¯s blood.¡± Andre shook his head. ¡°But I did bring the girl back with me. Bridge¡¯s daughter, Kaia. She recuperates down in the lab, heavily sedated and in a pod, next to no chance that she escapes or poses any trouble. I also managed to retrieve one of the helmets.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± said the man who sat now at the head of the table, broad and with a head of blond hair. He leaned forward, placing his hands together. ¡°That will do for now. Dismissed, Mr. Nicholson.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Mr. President.¡±