"Where the fuck did she go?" Naruto had stopped dead in his tracks, looking frantically back at the empty and dark hallway they had come from. Gaara, a few meters in front of Naruto, had also stopped, looking emotionless in the direction Naruto was staring at.
"FUCK! Where is she?" Naruto's voice held an edge of panic while his fist clenched and unclenched frequently.
"When did we lose her?" The redhead spoke calmly.
"I have no friggin' idea," Naruto thought for a moment. "I'm... I'm not even sure she was with us to begin with," He spoke quietly with wide eyes, glancing terrified at Gaara.
"Listen." Gaara said hastily and firm, staring into the empty hallway that ended with a turn. "Somebody is coming." And surely, vain and running footsteps could be heard, coming from the end of the hallway.
"Shit! Shit, there's nowhere to hide!" Naruto began to jump around, clapping the walls in search for something.
"... What are you doing?" Gaara glared confused at the blond.
"I'm looking for a hidden door!" Was his panicking answer. Gaara sighed as the sound of footsteps became higher and higher. Suddenly, a shadow appeared at the corner.
"Here they come." Both of the boys prepared to fight, Naruto, who had given up on his search, clenched his fists with a deep frown.
I almost screamed as I rounded the corner, only to have my view blocked by a fist. I sprang to the side in order to avoid it, hugging Amanda in my arms tightly. It only took me a second to recognize my opponents.
"You! I've been looking almost everywhere, I was so scared, I thought wasn't going to find you," I stepped up to the two guys with Amanda clenching my shirt in silent fear. Naruto slowly let his arm fall, being the one who had tried to hit me. He stood still, completely stunned and surprised along with Gaara. I smiled relieved at the both of them. "I feared the guards had caught you, or that you had gotten lost in these hallways. Which reminds me, Naruto, there is a map in my breast pocket, could you get it for me?" I shifted the half-sleeping Amanda in my arms. She was skinny, but still heavy to carry with one arm.
"Of course," Naruto hurriedly took the map and unfolded it. A moment of silence passed by as Naruto squinted his eyes while investigating the drawings on the scrap. And then another moment passed by.
"Well? Which way to go?" I asked as Naruto didn't speak.
"Well, I... Euhm..." Naruto answered and turned the map upside down
"Idiot, you can't read it!" Gaara snatched the scrap out of the blond teen's hands, and studied it for a brief moment. "Straight ahead, and then left at the next crossroad," he answered coolly. I moved Amanda around so she was placed on my back with her arms around my neck.
"Let's get going then," I said as Amanda had gotten comfortable and Gaara pocketed the map.
"Why can't they just make maps that are readable? They should make some red arrows and write 'Here is the exit!' with big, fancy letters," Naruto mumbled sourly before joining in on the run, causing me to smile amused as he passed me.
And we ran for a long time. We stopped several times to check the map. In the darkness of these confusing halls, it was difficult to read the map clearly. However, we only succeeded in going the wrong way two or three times, but quickly found the right way again. Amanda didn't speak in the long time we ran. Her breath was steady and quiet, her arms limp around my neck. I couldn't blame her for sleeping, she had been through a lot for such a small child.
As we rounded a corner we were met by a gunshot. A small piece of the wall above my head crumbled to small pieces as the bullet drilled its way into the cement. Amanda woke with a scared gasp, while we stood still, completely terror-stricken. Down the hall stood three guards, all of them pointing their guns at us.
Everything proceeded in slowmotion as they fired a volley towards us.
I ripped Amanda from my back, pushed her into Naruto's arms and pushed all the three of them into another corridor on our right side. I felt a sharp, drilling pain in my left side, just between my ribs. Everything seemed so distant. I could hear Amanda calling my name and see her terrified face. When I fell, clutching the wound the bullet had created, I saw Naruto stand completely dumb-founded, while holding on to a wriggling and crying Amanda. Gaara's face was filled with surprise, but it quickly changed into anger. He seemed animalistic; his iceblue eyes glinting with rage.
"Run! For crying out loud, what are you waiting for? RUN!" I yelled from the floor. I could hear the distant sound of the guards coming closer as I locked eyes with Gaara. He looked uncomfortable, but nodded once before grabbing Naruto's arm, dragging him and Amanda away. I sighed, and felt most of the tension leave my body. I rolled over on my unharmed side, watching the blood flow out of the wound like a small and slow river. I put my hand above the wound and pressed slightly to lessen the bleeding. I groaned at the pain, before I noticed the presence of the three guards around me. Seems like they noticed my uniform. I made myself focus and their silhouettes became clearer and clearer.
"Morons..." I hissed as I spit out some blood.
"What did you say? You betrayer! Helping the prisoners escape!" The most bulky man of the three replied with anger.
"Helping them? I was... trying... to catch them! But you... You ruined it!"
"Then why did you push them away from the gunfire?" Another one answered this time.
"Because, jerks... The Master wanted those three alive. I wonder..." I smiled slightly. "Will she be happy... When she finds out... how you let them go?" The Master was the leader of this twisted prison. She was the one who ordered the kidnaps, the one who created the serums we were injected with, using us as guinea pigs. She was not a kind woman, and even the guards weren't on the best terms with her. She seemed to find cruel punishments the best way for one to learn his mistake.
"The... Master?" The third guard said; his eyes wide and nervous. The bulky guard bend down and ripped off my ID card from my belt. He gave it to his two companions.
"You, find The Master and see if she is speaking the truth. I'll stay and watch the hall and the girl," He grumbled, before receiving a nod from the two others as they hurried away. I slowly followed their moves cautiously, while reaching down to grab the gun in my belt, silently thanking the guards for being careless. I hid the gun under my arm, out of the guard's sight. He suddenly turned towards me with a glare.
"You'll be dead no matter what. If you lie, we will kill you, if you're telling the truth..." He glanced at my bloody hand and shrugged. "You'll die from blood loss. Guards don't mean enough for the Master to make her want to fix you." I coughed violently as blood filled my mouth. I began to believe that the bullet had grazed my lungs.
"I'm not dying, you fuck. Not before you," I said angrily and pointed the gun towards his chest. The bullet hit its target head on.
"Lira! Lira!" Amanda screamed the name again and again, and fought hard to get free of Naruto's iron grip as they heard the gunshot from far away. They had stopped running after approximately one kilometer, suddenly feeling power leave them.
"Shut up, Amanda," Gaara spoke loudly and firmly. "Screaming won't help a thing." Naruto let go of the now silent Amanda, who lifelessly sat down on the floor. Tears streamed down her face, and she sobbed pathetically.
"She... She was shot, Gaara..." Naruto was staring into thin air. "Shot... And we... I... let her lie there. We fucking left her there!" Naruto fell down next to Amanda, burying his face in his hands. Gaara remained silent, and soon heard Naruto's sobs joining Amanda's. The redhead slowly sat down next to Naruto, leaning up against the cool wall with closed eyes. The image of Lira, bleeding on the floor wouldn't disappear. He wondered, a frown evident on his face, why this image effected him so much. He had seen dying persons countless times, so why was this time any different? Getting lost in thoughts, he was startled when he heard sounds coming from the end of the hallway. Frowning, he tried to get a hold of the sound again, but there was nothing but the steady breathing of Naruto and Amanda. How long had he been dozing off? He glanced over at the sleeping Naruto, his head titled uncomfortably to the left, resting on his shoulder. His eyes drifted to the sleeping girl, whose head was resting against Naruto's arm. Gaara decided he had to break their moment of peace as he woke them up.
"We have to get going. Wake up." Eyelids fluttered open as azure blue eyes tried to focus on Gaara. He yawned as he straightened up, cracking his neck. He looked bewildered until he remembered what had happened earlier. His usually happy face became sad again. Amanda got up clumsily, her lower lip quivering slightly.
"She... She'll be b-back, right?" She mumbled with a sad voice. Naruto looked hurt before he shook his head. Gaara stood up as the sound from before came back.
"Schh! Listen," He said, staring down the hall. It sounded shuffled, as if something or somebody was dragged around.
"What is it?" Naruto mumbled with alertness, this time looking vulnerable and scared. They all looked at where they had come from, locating the noise to come from there. Now there was a quiet sound of footsteps. Slow and heavy. A bloody hand appeared on the wall, looking as if it was trying to get a grip at something. In the following second, Lira appeared.