Hey everyone, look I got it to you on time, thanks to the three day weekend. Woot! We have come to chapter 10! Thanks to everyone that has reviewed so far, you guys are great! Like I've said before the next few chapters will be delayed a few weeks, sorry.

Warning for this chapter, June is weird. She's kind of freaking me out actually.

JUNE: Chapter 10

Everything aches. The lights are too bright. I don't even have enough energy to keep myself up anymore so here I lie, sprawled on the ground, trying not to move. If I stayed still enough I could pretend that the pain wasn't there. I could make myself believe that the screams weren't even there. Something stuck to my face, always getting in the way. They're snakes I'm sure of it. They curl from my head and despite all of my effort; I cannot strangle them till death. The only ever nip and bite at me, even in sleep. Thin as threads yet their teeth are sharp. How I wish to keep them at bay.

The usually silent man, who stood in the corner of this white cage, told me that some boy was going to be coming by to see me twice a day from now on. If the boy was anything like this guy he was sure to be just as still and red.

There had been a lot of red as of late. People that blended into the walls, only floating heads, hands, and feet, came and brought red with them. They took red from me. I didn't like that. It was only a pinch of pain that they made but it was too real against my skin. The usual pain I felt day after day was fuzzy compared to this sharpness. I'd lash out, my hands becoming claws and they let the red seep onto the colorless ground. The noise was loud and the pinch would turn to a throbbing ach, leaving me to lie in that red until it faded. That bee woman, who I had started to call the queen, for that's what the bees liked to call her, brought much red with her. Her hair was red but I could not tell if it was like that by right or by sorrow. How horrid would it be to cause all that red just for the look of it?

The queen had a stinger ready to strike. Her words would drip from her lips in a black, inky trail. She must be asking something but I couldn't open my mouth to reply. When I didn't respond the stinger came down, clutched in her hand like a knife. The venom would run through me. It glowed like fire in my veins and it burned just as hot. I felt the need to back away, as though I had strayed too close to the flames, yet there was nowhere to run. My hands found my skin, hopping to claw the poison away but only red came of it.

The queen liked to laugh at that. I couldn't hear it but I could tell because the bees would get very excited and buzz, buzz, buzz, right in my ear. What could she want that would call for this?

None of this distracted me for long though. That solid thought, that single goal, was a rock in this ocean of mayhem. With each and every visit I would sneak another sound into my slipping memory. I had forgotten all else but this. The music to my escape was almost complete and soon I'd be free. But free I would be outside this cage I would need something to guide me. My light must also be saved, whatever that meant. I've quickly learned that the few things I do remember tend to make little sense. What good would a light do when this room was already so bright? Perhaps it was less literal? Meaning that this light could be something else, or someone else.

DAY:

June, I was being taken to see June. I wanted to run. I wanted to screech. I hadn't realized just how hard it was to be away from her. Even in those weeks that I had avoided her I had never felt like this. Never have I felt such a cloud of hopelessness and fear. As long as I could see June, happy and at least a little healthy, I would be able to sleep easier. I tried to memorize the way from my room to hers but I quickly got lost in my mental map and gave up.

The door was like all the others and was opened with a simple code. I would have rather met June again without the two armed guards but beggars can't be choosers, but then again, me being a beggar was debatable.

I had expected June to be well. I had thought she would be a little disheveled, hair out of its usual ponytail by now. I had told myself not to expect a conversation since I had been told she often slept the days away. I had not even imagined that this was what I would find. I never even thought June could get this bad. Always so strong it was simply impossible to understand that there was such a thing as a weak June.

Weak though was the wrong word I decided. June was not weak, she was defeated.

Curled in on herself, arms bared to cover her face, she looked like a lost child. Blood stained the skin and half healed claw marks scared the flesh in deep caverns. Judging by the way they were deeper at the ends I could tell they were self-inflicted. Her hair was matted and tangled around her and resembled more of a strange nest than a hairdo. Her skin was a sickly kind of pale and though I couldn't see her eyes I'm sure they were a blood filled black.

Her guard only stared as mine left to the room. Did they really think that one person was enough to hold back the burning rage I could feel building in my gut? With balled fists and hoarse voice I made my way to June.

"How in the world did this happen." I didn't look but he knew I was speaking to him. The rage was hardly contained in my words but I had to keep calm. Judging by how quickly she shied away, June still didn't know who I was.

"It wasn't me who did this but I-" I turned away, only half listening to the useless guard. I shouldn't have even asked. Me getting so angry wasn't going to help any.

"June, can you hear me?" She only hugged her knees tighter. "June it's me Day. They've let me come to see you." Still no reply, was she scared because of the hallucinations or because of something that'd been done to her? The thought made my skin prickle. I had to do something, anything to show her that no harm would come by my hands. I could almost feel the unease in her mind. All those thoughts were tumbling around each other. I kneeled before her.

I brushed some hair from her face and her arms lowered a bit. One dark eye peered out with curious trust. I'd hardly ever seen June with her hair down. It obviously didn't always look like this, but I could see how it could prove troublesome when in a place like this. I knew just how annoying long hair can be when unkempt. One by one my fingers untangled the knots and smoothed the strands back. I tugged at a bit of my sleeve and ripped a thin strip of cloth. I'd never had to pull back another's hair but I think I managed it alright.

June looked up and gave a small sigh of relief, as though I'd just removed a nail from her foot. She reached out and touched my head. With a crease in her brow and a question in her eyes she asked, "Where is it?" At first I had no idea what he meant.

"Oh, my hair, it had to be cut for the surgery." She didn't seem to understand but continued all the same.

"It was the queen and the white men. She stung and they stole." My eyes found the still bleeding arms. They would get infecting if nothing was done. I sighed. My thoughts had brought me back to this. I stood from my crouch.

"She needs medical attention. I'm sure Major Winston would disapprove if June…worsened." The guard, who I had thought to be so good for June, hardly moved. His words though, were slow and carefully chosen.

"I am not allowed to intervene, only to observe." I scoffed. "If I were to act in any way to help Ms. Iparis I would be removed and replaced." He glanced at the door as though expecting someone to come barging through it. "I trust you know that my replacement would not be nearly as inactive as I am."

Right, June would most likely be given a guard prone for interrogating. Though I don't think they'd be able to get anything out of her when she's like this.

The door flew open and Major Winston walked through in her loud shoes. June scurried to a nearby corner, eyes cast down.

"Day, was it nice to see your lady love after all this time? I'm sure you'll see that she's in a dreadful condition."

"Yes I can see that quite clearly major." My fists clenched. This was the perfect moment. If I were to attack her now I could easily slip out the still open door or even force the code out of her if it somehow locked. But June was still sick and it would be much harder to escape with dead weight. I shook that thought away. Maybe I could come back for her? If I were to get out of here I could go get Anden, tell him where June was. Would June even be alive if I ran? Would they kill her as I was walking out the door? Just how badly did they need us to make sure the Republic came? As far as I could tell they were coming guns blazing already. Was there any need to keep us here as bait?

If we were bait, cheese for the mouse, when was the mouse trap going to spring?

"When are you going to cure June?"

"You must realize Day that you are very important to our victory. We are also very well aware of the skills you possess. June is a kind of insurance-"

"Yes I've heard that all before but we both know that you were never going to cure June." Major Winston gave a coy smile.

"You are correct Day; the reason for June's continued sickness has little to do with our own safety." Her steps were loud in the suddenly shockingly empty room. I stayed still. She was a hunter and I the dear. "You must realize Daniel that there was never a cure to begin with. That is until we cracked open that head of yours."

No, there was a cure. She was lying. There had to be. June could not die from this. My eyes found hers. She would not end up like the others. Her name was not going to be one on the list of the dead.

"It seems that the experimentation done on you long ago found something amazing, though no one knew until a few days ago. You're immune Day. Those headaches were caused by the constant fighting your body has to do to keep the plague at bay. That tumor wasn't a curse but a blessing. It was saving your life, killing the plague that had been ejected into your eye." She turned to June hauled her up. June looked more like a doll, hanging by one bloody arm, eyes dulled. "This is the result of your company Day, not ours. Didn't you find it strange that so many people fell victim to the plague yet you were as healthy as ever? Just because you're immune doesn't make everyone else just as impervious."

My knees had found the floor though I don't remember falling. June's dark eyes filled my vision. I don't understand. None of this could be true. Blood was pounding my ears and I covered them to still the noise. This was a nightmare. How could something like this even happen? June could not die. I could feel a headache coming on and I bit my lip to hide the scream.

"You were the one to infect Ms. Iparis." I let out a noise I didn't even think I was capable of, one of an animal in pain.

"It turns out that there was another girl, though she somehow slipped away. She had come to us for help, claiming to have been vaccinated, yet somehow became infected. When we realized just who she was, we were eager to ask you, Day, for information on the matter. How is it that a girl who had so loyally been your friend also fell victim to the very thing you had tried so hard to prevent? You must just feel awful. We had told her that we would cure her if she brought you to us, but it seems that she died before she could get here." With a flick of the wrist major Winston untied the bit of cloth holding back June's hair.

"It seems that the girl you know as Tess is no longer with us."

Yeah…sorry guys. So there you go, an extra-long chapter for an extra-long weekend. I know it's a little confusing but I'll be sure to clear things up soon. Please leave a review! :D