The room was immediately strange, yet familiar. Smoke and dust relentlessly infected the air as the room was washed in a thin orange haze. Embers billowed in the dead air in sync with each wafting flame, each anguished cry. Orphans clutched each other as they lay broken on the floor; some bodies too bruised and damaged to move, others too mentally frail to lift themselves up and apart from whatever shared comfort they could find. Perhaps the warmth of the fire played a part in the paralysis. The quarters were beautiful on fire; the bedframes shattered and twisting upward, having tumbled in on themselves from the impact. Parts of the ceiling had broken off and collapsed, smothering much of the southern portion of the room. Wild flames and dark smoke flooded in from the third floor where the damage had seemingly originated from.

As Amber's eyes adjusted, she knew she had seen this once before. She had seen the faces of condemned children trapped beneath what were their homes, their sanctuaries. She had heard their terrified screams before, arms outstretched toward their friends in a last gasp of courage or selfishness before the flames or suffocation took them. Amber never had time before to discern which it was; lying collapsed against the wall, she pondered whether or not she'd be given the opportunity tonight.

Window's too high up to reach and my entire body aches. It's…why is it so hard to breathe? Amber let out an audible moan, coughing as she found herself short of breath. This was a nice orphanage. Fed us stews and soups instead of nutrient paste. Always hated the paste. Liked the journals too, they helped keep my mind straight. And Mel…

Amber slowly urged her body to angle her head to the side, wincing as the stiff, stressed muscles complained. She caught sight of a dark, scraped kneecap; raising her head, she found Melody using the wall to steady herself in her attempt to stand. It'd be so easy to just lay here. My whole body is sore and tingly. There's no one to put the fire out. Why…

Amber drifted out of her thoughts, noticing Melody trying to pull her up with little success. Why is she making this harder than it needs to be?

"Come on Birdy, we need to go." Melody's voice was hoarse from the smoke, and would be worse by the end of the night. She leaned down toward Amber and locked eyes with her. "You promised to keep me with you. Well, I'm leaving." Melody locked her hand onto Amber's forearm, coughing. "I don't know about you, but I plan to keep my promise too."

Space. Colonies. Ships. The Space Eleph…Elcor. Amber glanced at her surroundings. The impact had knocked much of the beds to one section of the room, and the collapsed ceiling had blocked off much of the rest, but there was a path she could make out toward the door. The storage room wasn't far from there, and there would be some first aid and other supplies. Can we do this? Is it worth the risk? She thought, looking up at Melody's soft green eyes. There's still time. There's still hope.

As if reading her mind, the redhead spoke quietly, her eyes smiling down at her. "There's always hope, Amber."

She grasped Melody's arm with both her hands and, using the wall and her friend as leverage, pulled herself to her feet. "I was kind of wishing I could just fly out, you know?" Amber said before choking out a strained cough, a small grin forming on her face. Melody let out a giggle, but it was clear the smoke was getting to her, as it led into a coughing fit.

Amber took small steps forward, leading Melody toward the exit. Each step was lighter than the last, each lashing flame duller and cooler than those before, as they brushed past the carnage. Amber didn't allow her gaze to fall across the dead and dying; she knew she had no answer for them, and knew that survival was a brutal game. Her mind shuddered at the reality of their situation as they neared the doorway. Even if more than just us escape, this is their last day as children. No one's waiting to save us, to help us.

The hallway wasn't in much better shape, with debris piled across the width in both directions from collapsed walls and ceilings. Amber led Melody down the corridor to the stairwell, silently praying that the storage room wasn't as much of a mess. The ceiling groaned in agony, dust and small pebbles raining on their heads as the pair limped their way down each step. Her body's ache had lessened, but the tingling she'd felt before was nearly overwhelming; each step felt as if she were made of pins and needles. At least it doesn't hurt, it's just really uncomfortable.

Amber breathed as much of a sigh of relief that she could, given the amount of soot she'd inhaled; the main floor, while somewhat damaged, appeared to be in good shape. The girls made their way through the halls, cautiously glancing upward every few steps in expectation that the ceiling would break on them, but their journey to the storage room was unmolested. The main floor was ghostly with the dust swirling through the air, and with no other bodies in sight. The living quarters had all been on the second and third floors, so it made sense that there would be less children escaping, but they hadn't seen or heard anyone since departing their room.

Amber nudged the storage room door open, finding the room mostly in the same shape it had been in nearly an hour before. It's still really dark in here. I…Wait… She grazed her hand across the strip on her arm and activated the 'light' function, illuminating the room for the most part. Glad I picked this up, I needed a little good luck tonight.

Amber and Melody split up and scanned over the room; one shelf had been knocked over, but it was fairly bare, carrying pencils and a few small tools. The redhead called Amber over to a corner of the room, revealing a small first aid kit.

"I won't lie, Mel. I don't know how to sew or anything, so…" Amber turned away, letting out a cough. "…if you need stitches for your knee, I probably won't be able to help."

Melody opened the case and found a small book, needle and thread, three small bottles, and a few packets of a clear substance. "I think we should take this with us, Birdy." Amber simply stared at her friend. Glad she came to the same conclusion. I really didn't want to have to talk her into going out on our own.

"I think we'll need it out there. Put it near the door, and keep looking for anything useful." Amber noted, returning to looking around. The room, as before, was fairly standard. The circumstances had changed, so more of the equipment had come to her attention. She limped over to the coat rack and pulled two large winter coats from it. They're way too big for us, but they'll form a nice enough cocoon if we can haul them out of here. As Amber brought them to where the first aid kit laid, she nearly bumped into Melody, who was carrying small cloth bundles. Amber shot her a confused look.

"We're going to need extra clothes, you know. We can't carry much, but an extra pair or two will really help, I think." Melody's voice sounded like gravel, she needed something to drink badly. They both did.

"Good thinking, Mel. I'll try to track down some water before we get out of here. I…"

The sound of a loud crash above them shattered their conversation and visibly shifted the ceiling. Whatever crashed into the 3rd floor probably just fell to the second. We need to go.

"We've got meds, we have coats, clothes, this light thingy, what else do we need?" Amber asked, hurriedly. Melody pondered over that question for a few moments, visibly thinking of how to say what she wanted in as little words.

"Food? Boots? Gloves?" she said, succinctly. Amber moved quickly near the rack and scanned the shelf. There must be other winter clothes here, there has to be! Maybe inside this box…no. Well, maybe in here… Amber spent a few minutes flipping boxes off a nearby shelf, knocking tubes of strange substances onto the floor, before finally coming across a small stash of well-worn gloves. They fit loosely on Amber's hand, but would be warmer than nothing. She snagged two pairs. No boots in storage I guess. Probably aren't shared, the guards probably had their own pairs. Food will be a problem too, they don't store any here. It used to come in daily, with the cooking staff.

Amber made her way over to Melody, who was packing as much as she could into the pockets of the coats and the small first aid kit. After quickly scanning the room, she tugged on her friend's sleeve.
"Come on Mel, let's get you something to drink."

The main floor was in visibly worse shape upon exiting the storage room. The crash had been worse than expected, and had caused a lot of debris to collapse onto the first floor, as the flames continued their occupation of the building. Amber led Melody slowly around much of the more jagged debris and the flames, toward the water fountain in the main lobby. Despite the damage to the building as a whole, the pipes underground were unharmed, and the fountain still functioned. Melody eagerly gulped down the cool water, drying her chin with her sleeve as she finished. Amber took a few quick gulps and froze. The room was crackling, both from the flames and under the strain of whatever had done away with the upper levels, but she swore she could hear something outside. The crunching of snow. Voices. She signaled to Melody and pointed to the front of the room.

The girls quietly snuck behind a fallen lump of debris near the main entrance, peering out from behind it. Two men wearing red and black jackets were cautiously moving around the yard, appearing to survey the damage. Some curse words were audible, and the voices sounded a little panicked. They're not really walking toward the entrance… If they're here now, more will come later, for sure. Maybe we can sneak out when they aren't looking… There were no vehicles parked near the gate, or shuttles in the yard, so the men had likely came on foot, alone. Both girls peered outside to gauge their plan of escape. The gate was open, but was far away. While it had stopped raining, the chill of the night had begun to freeze the wet snow into ice. Hard to run on, and it's a long run, with nothing to hide behind. At least it's not freezing rain, though. Those men will be faster than Mel and I…. If we can get out of the yard to the alleyways, Mel can probably find us a place to hide. Maybe. We just need a distraction…

Amber waited a few moments for the men to disappear from sight, having walked off to their right. Risky, but as good a chance as any. She thought to herself, scanning the supplies they decided on. We need all of this. God, we're going to need to be lucky.

"Mel," she whispered, while slowly rising. "When I say run, we need to rush to the gate. Do you know any decent hiding spots nearby?"
Melody slowly cocked her head to the side, before nodding quickly. "Yeah. I think... It's been a while. I didn't go out all winter."

"Well let's hope it's as good as you remembered." Amber snuck over to the main doors. This is it. Wish this tingling would go away.

"Run!"

The two girls burst open the main doors, dashing across the frozen, half melted snow beneath them. The air was colder than expected, the usual nightly winds blowing them around slightly as they made for the gate. For a few moments, Amber felt untouchable. Despite her body feeling like it was home to thousands of tiny pins and needles, her senses felt heightened; each patch of ice was obvious to her, each gust of wind fully expected, each muffled crunch of snow beneath their feet amplified. But then she could hear another pair far behind them, followed by an angry shout which the wind muffled as the girls ran on.

"Don't look back Mel, just keep running!" Amber was surprised that the redhead could sprint so quickly, saddled with a coat and the first aid kit; Melody had kept up in a dead heat with Amber from the start and wasn't looking the least bit winded. Maybe I underestimated her a bit.

The gate was just ahead, but their pursuer was gaining ground quickly, each step crushing the icy foundation beneath him. As they rounded past the gate and into the street, a shout rang out behind them.

"You wanna live, you'll stop running you little shits! Maybe I won't beat some goddamn sense into you!" The voice was livid and deep. More importantly, it was close behind. Melody led Amber down a small alleyway, jumping some spilled garbage as she slipped into it. The alley was short, mostly dry, and branched off in a few directions. The redhead sprinted forward and made a left into the second nearest alleyway, Amber and the older man following hastily behind her.

Amber felt herself slip mid-step, stumbling on a patch of ice as she rounded the corner; she regained her balance quickly but Melody was far ahead of her, unaware. Just as she was stepping back into a sprint, a force from behind bowled her into a nearby wall, her right shoulder taking the most of the impact with a nauseating crunch. Suddenly, that full body ache from the crash returned; her legs were wobbly and uncertain, forcing her to stumble forward as she tried to regain her footing. Amber looked down the alley. Melody had stopped and was staring at her, but Amber's vision was a little blurry from the impact. She needs to get out of here.

"Run, Mel! You…" Amber's hoarse yell was interrupted by a sharp impact to her midsection, sending her tumbling across the cold, rough pavement. Her body strained for breath, forcing bloody coughs out in hope that she could get a little air. She felt a foot press onto her back firmly, keeping her flat against the ground, spitting out blood. Her breath caught as she lazily opened her eyes.

Mel's closer now.

"That's it. I'll kill your friend here if you don't get the fuck over to me right now, you ginger piece of shit!" The man above her said, menacingly. It was clear he was a little out of breath. She can absolutely outrun him. Why isn't she running?

Amber gathered what little air as she could and gasped out "Go now!" The pressure on her back was eased for a moment before the man dealt another sharp kick to her ribs. Amber's body collapsed as she slid across the alley, her face scraping along one side and bloody saliva oozing from her mouth. She lay on the pavement helplessly watching Mel slowly step closer to the thug, who had drawn his pistol and was casually looking it over. Despite the pain coursing through her body, she knew the thug would only do the same to her friend, if not worse. Amber wanted to feel the pain of her failure. She wanted to feel sorrow for what she'd gotten her friend into. She wanted to feel pity for herself over her injuries. She tried, but she couldn't.

She only felt anger; it built with each labored breath, each spatter of blood she coughed out, each aching limb as she forced herself upright. Each pained memory of her past fueled her; each pleasant thought of her friend cleared her head. Each vague, naïve hope for the future turned those pins and needles into electricity. I made a promise.

The thug hadn't noticed the frail, bloody brunette rise; his focus was too sharply on the redhead in front of him, just slightly out of reach. "Lay that junk on the ground, now." He said sternly to the young girl, who knelt and began unloading the pockets. Smiling, he raised his arm, readying a pistol whip to the gullible girl, but halted the motion midway as a glimmer of blue caught his eye. The man turned his head slowly, the look of confusion never leaving his face as the blue-engulfed form in front of him tensed, and disappeared.

Melody startled at the explosion, scrambling backwards as fast as she could muster. There were bricks scattered across the impact zone, a thick cloud of dust and clay obscuring the damage in front of her. It was only when she felt a drop of liquid hanging off her nose that she looked down at herself and her surroundings. Her hand cupped her mouth as she screamed; the alleyway was slick with blood.

She steadied herself for a moment before slowly creeping forward into the hazy aftermath. The bricks lining the wall had crumbled at the impact, exposing the cement foundation through an oval imprint where they once were. Her eyes peered across the carnage and found the thug looking back at her, confused and soaked in blood. Her eyes slowly shifted downward and quickly she turned away, gagging at the sight of the mutilated corpse beneath. His ribs and collarbone were smashed and decorated the bloody debris. She looked over to where Amber had collapsed and noticed she was missing; only the coat remained.

"Oh god. Oh no, no, not Birdy…" she pleaded, choking away her sobs. She reluctantly glanced back at the rubble, noticing the dust had mostly cleared. Her breath caught as she spotted a small foot buried beneath a brick. "No, no, not again, please!" she cried, crawling toward the debris. Kneeling down she carefully removed a portion of brick at a time from atop her friend. Each brick revealed more of Amber's gaunt frame; intact, but bloody and likely broken.

Melody stripped off her coat and as gently as she could, lifted Amber onto it; not knowing how severe her friend's wounds were, she dragged her from the wreckage. Quickly gathering Amber's coat and her other supplies, she continued gently hauling the damaged body out to the nearest street. Amber had a pulse; weak, but it was there, and her breaths were laboured. Melody's mind momentarily trailed back to the storage room, remembering the device Amber had on her forearm.

"Hal had one of these!" She said, frantically opening up its interface, selecting the 'Comms' option. Melody entered 9-1-1 and quickly shut off the call, not knowing what to do next. She hoped ambulances still tracked Omni-tools during emergencies. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she gingerly laid down beside Amber, careful not to touch her, and covered the both of them with the extra coat.

"This is going to be the worst birthday celebration ever." Melody whispered to Amber's unconscious form. "I'll have to hold off on the fourteen birthday beats I owe you. I hope you don't mind, Birdy."

As the sirens drew closer, she laid back, closed her eyes, and imagined they were on Eden Prime, stargazing. For a moment, she could almost believe it.

Ughhhhhhhh This chapter took forever to write, despite how short it is. Well, it didn't help I cut out some material for the next chapter, but that "fight" scene... That was hard to write. It wasn't even that brutal, but those poor girls :(

That's more or less why this took as long as it did. I learned I freeze up when I subject my characters to terrible pain. Sorry about that. Anywho, the next chapter is about 2000 words in, so I'm hoping, if I can get through my schedule quickly tomorrow, that I can work away on it. Maybe get the next one out by the weekend. I'm hoping.

As usual, thanks to Helljumper 1337, Exar Kun IV, PMC65, Theodur, gearseffect and Salser, who have humbled me with their feedback :)

I hope you enjoy! As usual, feedback is deeply appreciated, and any constructive criticism will brighten my day tenfold. Have a good Wednesday!