Chapter 9:

The roar of the engine filled the streets as Nyssia drove. Through unprotected roads and narrow passages the bus road, only to be followed by a serious of police cars. Sirens blazing and lights flashing, they chased down the chaotic bus as it weaved on and off the streets, running into anything that stood in its way. People were hit, street signs were knocked over and even cars parked on the side were subjected the Nyssia's driving. She wore that grin on her face again as she steered, tightening her grip with every turn and every collision. Everyone else in the back was in a state of constant worry.

"What do we do now?" Samantha shouted from the back. "This!" Nyssia said as she pulled on the cord that was hanging above her window. With a loud thumping sound the bus shook as a red rocket flew out of one of the exhaust pipes in the back of the bus and landed right in front of a car and exploded. The smell of Sulphur and ash filled the air. The car spun out of control and crashed into a street lamp. Sparks flew from the busted lamp as it fell over, ripping apart as it crashed in the ground in a spectacular light show of red and blue and yellow. The crowed outside look in horror as many dodge out of the way of the speeding bus. Screams could be heard from outside. Trashcans were being smashed, cars were being sideswiped and smashed. Broken shards of glass could be seen flying through the air from the back of the bus. A few unfortunate pedestrians were hit. Their blood splattered the windshield. Nyssia just smiled and turn on the windshield wipers.

"Not like that!" Samantha called back. "Can we please not go about without killing innocent people?" Jane proclaimed from the back of the bus. "You have any better ideas?" Tannin said. "I got one!" Nyssia called out from the front of the bus. Suddenly she jerked the wheel and the bus took a sharp turn, throwing everyone inside off balance. With a rumble and a shower of glass the bus ran into a department store and started to run down everything in its path. Shelves were knocked down. Merchandise flew into the air. People screamed and panic. The police cars chasing behind were on the receiving end of the merchandise that flew into the air. Some cars spun out of control and crashed into a wall while others immediately pulled over to avoid further damage or injury.

"This is intolerable!" Jane screamed out. "This is insane!" Samantha yelled out. "This is nuts." Said Io. "This is fun!" Nyssia said with a smile. "I think this is working." Tannin said as she looked back and saw the number of cars following them decrease dramatically. Falling debris continued to bombard the bus as it teared through the store. The screams were muffled by the clanking sound of shelves falling apart and the roar of the engine as it collided with everything in its way. Nyssia jerked the wheel one last time and the bus was now facing the opposite direction. Slamming her foot on the gas, the bus charge the opposition. On a much smoother path with only minor objects getting in the way, the bus hurled itself towards the remaining police force. As they stop to watch in horror the large metal death machine with the wicked painted grin on the front, they dived out of their vehicles as the bus crashed into their cars, knocking them aside and continuing on their present course. As some policemen and women took the chance to fire at the bus faint laughter could be heard as the bus made impact with the wall, creating a large hole. The scene of the current department store was horrid. Items that would have gone on sale were now scattered on the ground broken. Pieces of debris from the wall were now everywhere. Unfortunate bystanders who were hit either by the bus or by the merchandise laid in pain on the ground. As one policeman reported, "It is as if Hell itself had spat out its most fierce demon and let it run amok among us." The feint laughter would continue to haunt the policeman until the day he died.

Meanwhile the bus veered back onto the road at full speed, continuously knocking everything in its path. "Okay! Where to?" Nyssia said as she continued in a straight path, ignoring stop signs, pedestrians and red lights along the way. Cars would honk at her as she side swiped them or almost hit them. Samantha sat, stunned at what just happened but then soon shake herself out of the state and check her watch. "Uhh..I don't know actually." Tannin got up from her seat and with an unstable stomach held back, she made her way to the front of the bus. As Tannin directed Nyssia where to go when suddenly the radio turned on. "Oh! This never worked before." Nyssia said as she hum to the tune of an unknown song as she drove. Samantha sat in her seat, continuously checking her watch and writing notes in her books. Jane sat next to Io while breathing heavily. "Oh lord this is starting to be too much." "Ah come on doc. I'm sure things will be fine." Io sat as she patted Jane on the back a bit too hard. "But what if we get caught? What if we get shot? What if I get fired?" Jane said frantically. "Geeze doc, you think about things way too much. Also you may need to work on your priorities."

Jane sat in her seat, breathing heavily, staring at the back seat in front of her. Io look at her with a level of concern. "Hey, don't worry. Just stick in the back or on the bus and you'll be fine."

Jane chuckled to herself. "Oh yeah sure. Stay here on the deathship." Jane said as she waved her hand in a circle motion. "Driving by a maniac from an uncharted land that be unknown to not only us but to all of mankind. Seriously! We don't know where we were. She could be a monster or…or a werewolf or something." "Nah, she's not a monster. She's just a kid." Io said as she leaned back and stared down the way to the front of the bus. Tannin was still up in front, wrapping her arm around her stomach every few seconds Nyssia jerked the wheel. Samantha was up in the front seat, frantically writing in her journal and constantly checking her watch. Suddenly a loud yell came from the front of the bus.

"No! Not there!" It was Tannin and as soon as she said those words she dove to the ground as the bus crashed through a pair of front doors. Glass sprayed everywhere. The doors were ripped off their hinges and tossed aside. Samantha was lunged forward only to be stopped by the metal bar at the front of the bus. Her books and papers flooded the steps of the bus. Meanwhile in the back both Jane and Io were too tossed aside. Io fell on to the floor while Jane smacked her head on the window. A small splat of blood appeared where Jane hit her head. The bus came to a screeching halt as it skidded across the white marble floor, leaving a trail of black. Tannin frantically got up and glared at Nyssia who was sitting in her seat with the same silly grin on her face.

"I said brakes! You could have at least stop in front of the building! Now everyone knows we are here!" Tannin yelled out in frustration.

"But…But that wouldn't have been fun. And besides it's a party and everyone is invited." Nyssia said as she unbuckled herself. As she got up, grabbing her ammo belt in one hand and adjusting her bus cap with the other she said, "Alright folks! End of the line." She said as she loaded in a few shells into her shotgun. Jane had a little trouble getting up as blood trailed down the side of her face. She was in a daze state and had a hard time standing. Luckily for her Io was there to aid her in getting out of her seat. Samantha wasn't feeling in the best of moods either. Her stomach ache in pain as she attempted to retrieve her papers. Footsteps could be heard outside. Suddenly gunfire opened up on them. Everyone ducked immediately to the sound of gunfire. Bullets ricochet and skidded the bus. Everyone was on the ground, everyone except for Nyssia who continued to load more guns she had lying around. She opened her glove compartment only to pull out several small pistols. Bullets were scattered everywhere. She began to hum a tune to herself as she loaded every new weapon she picked up. Then she started to count out loud.

"One….Two….Three…." Then she suddenly stopped with a look of disappointment on her face. She moved over to the window and rolled it down casually. "Excuse me! Can you please keep it down! I'm trying to count!" The firing on the bus didn't cease and this only made her frustrated. As she sat her seat, the look of disappointment slowly turn back to her old grin. With a few turns of a knob and pull of a lever next to her, the right front headlight opened up revealing a small rocket inside. Smiling as ever she pushed the big red button on her control panel. Smoke spewed from the side of the bus. The rocket flew across the lobby with aim, without direction. It struck a concert pillar. A loud explosion erupted as a bright orange light lit up the area. The shock of the blast knocked several guards to the ground. The bus itself was pushed back a bit. The concert pillar crumbled. Pieces of it fell on the grounds and shattered into a thousand smaller pieces. Dust blew into the air. Heat from the explosion could be felt from inside the bus as it graced Nyssia's face. Sparks flew as the lights began to flicker from the explosion. The guards who were left standing ceased firing as some dodge out of the way of falling debris. Some were lucky enough to get away just in time as part of the second floor had fallen to the ground. Others were trapped underneath and or crushed by large blocks of solid concert. Their moans of pain and anguish could be heard loudly. As the debris settled the remaining guards had taken positions away from the bus, hiding in the shadows, awaiting to see what's next.

The doors of the bus swung open as Nyssia stepped off the bus. Well not so much stepped off the bus. She's not some kind of graceful creature. She more likely hopped out of the bus like a rabbit would. Strapped to her chest were several grenades, a couple of pistols and a shotgun on her back. She wore her bus cap proudly. Her dead white eye still exposed and a happy grin on her face. "Alright folks! End of the line! Everybody off!" She yelled out loudly as she draw her two pistols. Everyone else on the bus was hesitant to move. Still shaken by the ricocheting bullets, and still startled by the explosion of the rocket. The smell of Sulphur and dust filled the air. The lights flickered on and off. The outside of the bus was riddled with bullets, yet none penetrated. As the rest of the ground got up and made their way to the front of the bus, a guard leaped out of the shadows and opened fired on them. Nyssia turned slightly with one of her pistols and with a single shot, the firing ceased. A new sound of moaning came as the guard fell to the ground, clutching his stomach. "What just happen?" Jane called out as she held her head with her hand. "The guy was being rude so I shot him." Nyssia said with a smile.

"Is he dead?" Samantha called out as she helped Jane off the bus. "Oh no he isn't dead. Just shot in the gut. It'll take him a good long time before he dies of that kind of wound." Nyssia then turned around and surveyed the damage. A few guards could be seen trapped under the debris. One was half way out and his lower half was being crushed. Nyssia walked up to him and shot him in the head. Blood splattered across her face as she smiled at her masterpiece of destruction. The others looked at her. But right now this wasn't anything new and yet they still looked at her with shock. "Why did you do that?" Jane called out. The others were silent in this affair. They already knew the answer but they were too scared to say anything about it. "Did you want him to stay under there? Better that he dies here and now." Tannin said as she walked up to Nyssia. Nyssia looked at her with a smile and said, "Right. What she said." Tannin reached into her bag and pulled out her tranquilizer gun. "Jane, how many guards are here and where are they located?" Tannin said as she loaded pistol with darts. "Why? You're not going kill them are you?" Jane said in terror as she picked herself up. "I don't want to have to kill them. If I can though I would much rather love to avoid a confrontation." Tannin said. Nyssia stuck her tongue out at Tannin. "Yawn! Boring!" Tannin then turned to Nyssia and with a stern look, gazed into her eyes and said, "I don't want you to kill innocent people. Only bad men who shoot at you or us. No one else." Nyssia back off a bit. Her smile turned upside down into fright. She was silent for a bit before muttering anything. "Okay…" She said as she took another step back. Tannin then walked over to Samantha. "Here, take this pistol. It has less recoil then the first one you used."

"Oh no. You're not going to pull that disappearing act on us again. Nope. Nope. Nope. We're going to stick together on this one. Can't have some random person disappear on us-". Samantha sentence was cut short due to a slight tapping on her should from Io. "Uhh, Blonde I hate to say this but Nyssia is gone." She immediately gazed around. No sign of Nyssia whatsoever. "Ah! Goddamn it!" She yelled out. "That's a real slippery fish." Io said as she put her hands on her hip. Suddenly the sound of an explosion could be heard and the building started to shake. "Oh crap." Jane said as the lights flickered on and off.

There was no time to waste looking for Nyssia. They headed to the elevator. While in, Samantha reopened the control panel and switched around a few wires. Jane looked at her with worry and discontent. "What are you doing?" She said. "Just rewiring this thing so we can get off on the right floor without any intrusions." The building shook once more. The elevator rocked a bit back and forth. It wasn't long before the doors opened up. They ran out of the door only to be encountered by a few guards who stepped out into the light and knocked Tannin in the face with the butt of their submachine gun. Tannin fell to the ground. Another guard tackled Io from behind. Io struggled with the guard for a bit before ramming him into the wall behind them. Spinning the Io around the guard pinned her to the wall. There was a single gunshot. The guard slipped to the ground. Samantha was there with the pistol on her hand and smoke leaving the barrel. She had a look on her face that read of disapproval. Another guard came from around the corner, Io stepped into his way and knocked him on his back with a single punch. Jane meanwhile made her way to the door and type in a code. The door unlocked and the rest moved in. Tannin was being helped by Io as the door behind them shut. The next room looked like a clean white room. No tables though but it was large enough it could fit a few. A few guards entered in from the front. Tannin shot one guard in the leg with her dart gun and Samantha shot the other one in the chest. Both fell over as the door behind them opened and a scream could be heard. Turning around quickly Samantha and Tannin saw two guards grabbed Jane and Io and held guns to their head. "Drop the weapon!" One guard shouted out. Io struggled a bit with the guard only to be struck in the back of the head by a third guard. In front of them another pair of guards came out, pointing their guns at the two. "Dropped the weapon now!" There wasn't much of a choice. Both of them tossed their weapons to the side and were led away in handcuffs. One of the guards went up to Samantha and grabbed her bag. She didn't resist. All of a sudden the guard tossed the bag on the ground and started to shoot at it. Samantha's eyes opened wide with fear as she saw her bag get ripped apart by bullets. "No!" she shouted out as the guard continued to fire at the bag. Papers were shredded and blew into the air. An ink bottle exploded, gushing out black ink everywhere. "Eve!" Samantha yelled out again as blue smoke puffed out of the bag and suddenly disappeared. "Eve!" She cried out as tears rolled down her face. She began to struggle with the guard in a furious rage. But was all of a sudden quiet down as she slumped.

They were led into another room on the same floor, where they were handcuffed to several pipes. The room they were in was fairly small, housing just the four of them well enough. The pipes that they were handcuffed too ran along the walls and were large enough that two hands together could fully encircle it. The room had a single light hanging from the ceiling and to the side in the corner looked to be an old worn out speaker box. In the center was a drain. The floor was tiled and it smelt of mold. Facing the wall they stood there in silence. "Should have seen that one coming." Tannin said as she let out a sigh. "Eve…" Samantha muttered to herself in a melancholy tone. "She's gone…"

"Ah come on Blonde, you don't know that." Io said. "No she is. She was a part of me. And now she's gone. I feel so empty inside. So dead." Samantha said as she hung from the pipe, not even caring about the pain in her wrists. "She was with me for a long time. After the soldiers came and killed my father she was the only one who was there for me. Now I am truly alone." Samantha said as she cried to herself. "You're wrong Samantha." Tannin said. "You got us."

"Hell yeah. Blu is right. Come on Blonde. We're here for you." Io said with a surge of confidence in her voice. Samantha didn't say anything. She just slumped there in silence. Tears rolled down her cheek and fell to the ground. After some time Samantha picked herself up, wiped away her tears and in a soft tone said, "Thank you." "You're welcome." Io said then proceed to continue to tug and pull at the pipe. The sight made Samantha laugh a bit to herself and was smiley once again. Though the pain of a lost dear friend was clear on her face, she couldn't help but smile in relief that she was surrounded by good company.

It wasn't long before the silence was broken again by a familiar cry. "Oh no I'm defiantly going to get fired now." Jane cried out. "Doc you really need to get your priorities straight." Io said as she grabbed hold of the pipe and pulled with all of her might, grunting with every tug. The sounds of Io's grunts echoed in the room. "Why do you do that? Why do you continue to struggle, when there is no hope?" Tannin said. "Cause I would rather die on my feet then to live on my knees." Io said as she continued to tug and pull on the pipe. "I wonder what that wizzball of a child is up to." Io said. "Who?" Asked Jane. "Nyssia. You think she got away?"

"Oh I'm sure she is having a grand ole time. Probably having a tea party somewhere." Io said as she stopped for a moment, took a breath and continued to tug on the pipe. "Hey Jane. You worked here. What is this place used for anyway?" Tannin asked. "Delousing animals." She said. Samantha face turn to disgust as she looked down to notice her shoes were greasy. "Eww." She said. Silence once again crept over as they waited for the return of the guards or Bronsworth or someone. The building shook once again and suddenly the lights switched off in the room. "Well we now that she's defiantly alive and having a real blast." Io said. "I don't think that was Nyssia." Samantha replied as she looked up only to be met with water spraying down from the fire sprinkler system. "Well I don't think this can get any worse." Jane said

Suddenly, from the old dusty speaker, a familiar voice was heard. "Testing…..testing…three, four, nine, six, twelve. Good evening everybody! This is Nyssia Tannin reporting live from the central hub station here on the 74th floor. It is my honor to invite everyone to the reactor room, where we have ourselves a special party waiting for everyone! Act now and do not delay." The mic was still on as another conversation in the background could be heard. "Hey you're not supposed to be in here." "And you're not supposed to be dead." Nyssia called out as gunfire could be heard from the speaker. "Sorry about that. Now come on one and all, for the party is about to begin. Over and out!"

"Oh I so called it!" Io said as she tugged on the pipe again. Suddenly the pipe broke off the wall as Io was flung back and landed right next to Tannin who was just as surprised to see her as she was. "Hey look at that! I got it!" Io said with a cheerful look on her face. Sliding the handcuffs off of the pipe there was still the probably of being handcuffed. Io ignored that problem as she was sure a solution would probably come about later. Grabbing the other pipes and tugging once more she freed the rest of her companions. As they gathered themselves the water suddenly stopped from the sprinkler. They opened the door which was surprisingly unlocked to begin with and proceeded to the 74th floor.

Outside the room, the lobby was a mess. Fires were raging. Pieces of the ceiling had collapse. Blood was spilled all over the place. Bodies were laying on the ground. Sparks spewed to the floor and disappeared. The elevator outside had collapse. The doors to the elevator looked like they were aged a thousand years. "Where to now?" Jane called out. "We go up." Tannin said as she pointed inside the elevator. "But it's ruined. It can't possible work." Samantha said as she looked inside the elevator shaft. "That's why we use the ladder." Tannin said as she pointed to the ladder hanging on the side. "Oh great. Physical activity." Jane said with a sigh. Jane went first in climbing up the ladder, as the others were worried that if she fell, she would be caught by Io who followed behind her. Next was Samantha who wasn't fairly physical but kept up with the pace. Last was Tannin who kept watching around in case of unwanted intruders. After finally climbing up the ladder for a few floors they finally reached the top. Jane instructed them as to where the reactor room was as it was not on the floor they originally thought. Down the hall and through a pile of rubble and fire they finally found their way to the reactor room. It was originally supposed to be sealed off with several steel bars that ran across the two large metal doors. Protected by a computer with a passcode system that changed every twelve hours as well as a fingerprint identification key grid system it would have been difficult to crack, that is if someone didn't take a few explosives to it and sliced the hand off a guard to open the finger print identification key grid.

"Oh lord." Jane said as she rubbed her head with her hand in frustration. It was obvious that the whole situation was getting a bit stressful for her. As soon as Jane stepped through the door she was quickly greeted by a hand grabbing her arm, pulling her over to the wall and pointing a hot barrel to her temple. The sheer grin of the attacker brought fear into her eyes but suddenly a feeling of relief. "Ah! Nyssia. Good to see you again." Nyssia back off with a gun in her hand. Blood was splattered all over her. Her clothes were torn and full of holes. There was a microphone strapped to her head with black electrical tape. A communication box was strapped to her back with duct tape. And it seemed that a small part of her hair was at one point on fire as it was burnt. "Ah Jane and friends! Glad you could come to my party." Nyssia said with a glee. "Here sis, take this. It's dangerous out there. I think the marmalight has climb into our world." Nyssia said as she handed Tannin the pistol. The building shook once more. Crumbs from the ceiling fell to the ground as a blue light could be seen emitting from the next room.

In the next room was a large glass window and a control panel. The monitor in the center was displaying several numbers on a spreadsheet while on the other side there were an assortment of button and a few flashing lights. In the corner was a white metal box that read "Caution" with a symbol of a lightning bolt on it. Outside of the room through the large window, was a large grey room with large pipes running all around it. In the center there was a platform with several bridges connecting it to the room and to an emergency exit on the other side. Upon the pedestal was a bright blue shining object that occasionally shot out a blue light that ran all around the large pipes in the room. Above the pedestal was a large trident object that hung above the blue object, catching whatever cane out.

"Alright, one of these buttons has to shut down this whole thing. Whatever it is." Samantha said as she ran up to the control panel, eagerly observing all of the controls and flashing lights. "Indeed it does."

A familiar voice called out from behind as the group turned around. It was Bronsworth. He looked like he had been through hell. His coat which was clean and white to begin with had been torn and burnt. His face which was originally clean and spotless had bruises and cuts. He was bleeding in his right arm which the arm sleeve appeared as if it was ripped off by a rapid dog. In his left hand he was holding a pistol and pointing it at the group. As he walked forward he limped as if someone or something crushed it. "Very clever. Using time travel to come back. I really wished you would reconsider my offer. But as you can see. I don't need your help." Bronsworth moved forward, motioning with the pistol for everyone to move to the right near the metal box. "And now, I have succeeded in my experiment. All of the energy that could have been stored has been." He moved up to the control panel. "There is nothing you can do!" He said with a crazed look in his eye. He started to laugh manically. "And when this is all over I will kill you all!" He said as he point the gun towards the group. He looked back at the window to observe the final moments. Another blue light shot from the crystal. With another laugh he turned toward the group but was suddenly perplexed. "Weren't there five of you?"

He looked to his left just in time to see Tannin point the pistol at him and shoot him in the stomach. She stared at him coldly and fired another shot. The look of terror was written on his face as he slumped to the ground. The gun in his left hand dropped. Tannin stood silent and continued to fire at him. Grunts and moans could be heard in between gunshots. His body fell over to the ground. The firing didn't ceased until the pistol was empty. The rest of the group stared at her in terror. Never have they witness Tannin react this coldly to something. The glaze look in her eye as she watch the corpse bleed out sent shivers down Samantha's spine. Jane was left speechless. Io stood there in shock. Nyssia on the other hand was pleased with the scene as her expression didn't change throughout the entire moment. Several sparks shot out from the control panel. This was enough to break the trance that Tannin was in. "Oh no." She said as she moved over to the control panel. Samantha and Jane followed and gazed upon the control panel. From the looks of things, the control panel was shot several times. Some of the bullets that went through Bronsworth, passed through and penetrated the control panel. Jane tried frantically to work with the keyboard and the computer monitor. Unfortunately nothing seemed to work.

"I can't shut down the reactor. Radiation levels are increasing inside the reactor. We need to leave now!" Jane shouted out as she moved towards the doors. Everyone was so distracted about the danger of the situation they didn't see Tannin move over to the reactor door and walk through. It was the sound of the large door slamming shut that caused everyone to stop. Through the little window in the door Tannin grabbed a small pipe and shoved it through the handle, prevented the door from being opened from the outside.

"Tannin! No!" Jane shouted out. "You're going to die!" Tannin paused for a moment and muttered something to herself that the others couldn't hear.

The reactor shook again. Suddenly the blue crystal started to create a blue sphere around it. It started to pulse and grow bigger. Little bursts were made that engulf the small area. Tannin walked forward. The pulsing increased. As soon as the blue sphere hit Tannin she was knocked back. Parts of her clothes started to break apart. Her nails grew slightly as well as her hair. She continued to move forward. More and more energy shot out as the pulsing increased. Tannin was slowed down but continued to move forward. Grabbing onto the railing she pulled herself closer and closer towards the crystal. The rest of the group watched from the other side of the window with intensity. As Tannin reached out towards the crystal the majority of her clothes had dissolved and her hair was as along as she was. Her nails now look like claws as she moved closer to the crystal. The tattoos on her arms began to give off the same blue glow and suddenly they started to move. For a moment Tannin stopped dead in her tracks. Her arm fell beside her. Still feeling the force of the crystal she stared into the blue light. She quickly shot her arm out and moved forward eagerly. As if she was greeting an old long lost friend. Tears were trailing down her check. She was within reaching distance. She was gritting her teeth. Her hair was blowing hard behind her. As she grasps the crystal she muttered a single word and let herself get blown back from the force. She flew back a few feet and landed on the metal bridge with the crystal in hand. She wasn't moving. The reactor suddenly wind down and soon the building stopped shaking. All was quiet for a brief moment.

"Tannin!" Io shouted as she moved over to the reactor door. "No! The radiation will kill you! She's already dead!" Jane said but was quickly shoved aside by Io. Jane stumbled over to the wall and fell down, she didn't move. Io grabbed the door and pulled. She pulled and pulled. Tears were trickling down her face. Sweat was pouring from her head. "Please…" she muttered as she pulled and tugged. With one good pull she broke the door open. The pipe that was prevented Io from opening the door fell out of the handle. A bit of a relief swelled her as she moved in to the reactor room. Immediately Io was met with a terrible headache. Her whole body ache as she moved further into the room. Her vision began to get blurry. Pain could be felt in her shoulder. The tips of her fingers began to feel like they were burning. She stumbled over to Tannin's body who lay on the ground clutching the crystal in her hand. Io reached down and picked up Tannin and staggered back out of the reactor room. Her nose started to bleed. The headache became worse. The pain in her shoulder moved throughout her body. Her vision was completely blurry right now. There was a slight ringing in her ear. She fell on her knees with Tannin in her arms as soon as she made it out of the reactor. Feeling extremely sick Io laid there on the ground, Tannin's body was placed aside. Then before Io closed he eyes and passed out, a single word was heard. "Allea"