"Guys! Guys!" Chisato frantically ran into the bedroom, "We have a big problem on our hands!"

"What's wrong, Chisato?" Aya questioned.

"They... they said Hina got broken out..." Chisato was gasping for breath, "They're pissed..."

"What's gonna happen to us?" Eve questioned, "We were accounted for. I don't get your panic."

"I heard the boss talking about... making us disappear..." Chisato stated.

"He... he's going to kill us!?"

Everyone was distraught. What did they do? They would be dead before long if they didn't act fast. But, what was there they could do.

"We have to run. It's our only option." Aya stated, "If we can find Roselia again, I'm sure they'd take us in."

"How do you plan to run, Aya?" Maya asked, "We can't leave without permission."

"We'll sneak out." Aya replied, "I'm not about to sit here and wait for death. I'd rather die trying to escape."

Everyone felt the same way, but they knew that might not be their luxury. It was quite likely they'd be taken down just enough to stop them from running but not enough to kill them. No one wanted that. To have to live longer through torture? That was very much not a fun thing to even think about.

"Is... everyone in agreement? Are we going to try?" Aya asked.

Everyone looked at each other. This was very risky. If things went wrong, it was over for them.

"Well... what do we have to lose?" Chisato said, "Either way we have the chance of dying. Why not take the small chance of survival while we have it?"

"I... I want to leave."

"We have the chance, let's take it."

DIVIDER--

A few days later, they had their escape planned out. They had not been approached by anyone yet about their accusations. They weren't sure if that would last for much longer. The longer they stayed here, the more likely they'd be killed. They had to get out soon.

The plan was relatively simple. Well, as simple as it could get escaping from the organization. They'd go out an unguarded area and run. They would most likely be spotted, so they had to be fast. There was also the chance the door they would need to leave from had an alarm on it. They might not be able to disable it at all.

It was already agreed if someone went down, you left them. If you helped them, you would be done for. So, if you got shot, you got left behind. Everyone was willing to accept that fact.

It wasn't easy to accept by any means. Everyone would rather not have to do that, but it was an unfortunate reality they may have to face. There was a very high chance that not all of them would make it out alive.

They knew of past attempts demons had made on doing exactly what they planned to do. There was never one that ended without casualty. most of the time all of them died. There were a few times some did escape, but were found later and promptly executed on the spot.

So, even for those that got away, they were still going to be hunted down. The organization would not allow anyone with this type of inside information to just roam free. Especially not those who were very capable.

"Ready?"

It was time. They were gathered at the door. Once they opened it, they had to run as fast as they could. Any form of hesitation would end in their demise. No one could stop running under any circumstances.

"Remember, spread out. Keep moving in unpredictable ways. Make yourself the hardest moving target possible." Chisato stated.

They all got ready. The only time they'd be together until getting far enough away was right here. Once out that door they would all go different directions. Make it harder for the snipers to hit them all.

Aya led the way. She opened the door and then booked it. An alarm rang as that door was never meant to be opened. Chisato went second. Maya third. Eve last. They all split up and ran.

Shots were being fired at them. Everyone kept running, moving erratically and swiftly. Occasionally they'd look for each other to see.

A scream cut through the air. Someone had been hit. There was no time to look. The rest just kept running. It was hard. Worry overtook them all, not knowing who was down.

Lots of bullets whizzed past everyone. Due to their movement patterns it was hard for the snipers to hit them. Of course, if anyone fell into too much of a pattern even with a lot of movement, they would easily be hit. These snipers were very skilled. Only the nest got to guard the main base, after all.

"Watch out!" Eve was roughly shoved aside.

An arrow of all things came at them, hitting her savior dead in the center of her chest. It missed its mark of her heart. Was that a good thing or a bad thing?

"Chi...sato?" Eve was frozen in terror.

Chisato was bleeding from the mouth and she covered Eve from the back, "Go... Hina needs you... more than me..."

Eve didn't move at first, until a second arrow made its way through Chisato, this time on her shoulder. That got Eve running. The woods were right there. She was covered.

"Thank you... Chisato..." Eve hoped she heard before she dashed into the forest.

She stopped at the spot they agreed on. Maya was there. That meant Aya had been the one taken down quite early on. It wasn't a surprise, unfortunately. She was their leader. Of course they'd go for her first.

"Aya and Chisato are down. It's just us now..." Eve stated, "Are you hurt? I'm not."

"Just a nick on my shoulder. I think. Is it just that?" Maya turned her right shoulder to Eve.

"Yeah. No blood. You're good."

"Eve? We need to change clothes. We'll be too recognizable in these." Maya stated.

"You're saying we should go in our undergarments?" Eve gulped.

"No. Chisato and I planned this. We left changes of clothes not too far from here. Let's go get them." Maya said, "It should be in a hollow burnt tree."

"Okay." Eve replied, "Let's go."

The tree wasn't hard to find. They found the clothes meant for them and changed. It was sad seeing the other two pairs still in the tree.

"Should we leave them here or take them with us?"

"I doubt they survived... there's no point."

Disheartened, they set off to find Roselia. However, neither had any clue where they were going. They just had to hope they could find the place. They knew where to look. That was at least something.

Unfortunately they would need to find shelter. It started pouring down rain notlong after.

"Really? Why could this not have happened during our escape? This would have helped us so much." Maya grumbled.

"We better find shelter." Eve replied, "It's dangerous to keep going when we don't know the terrain."

"You're both our eyes. Lead the way."

Eve found a small outcrop. They huddled together under it. Their clothes were soaked. This was not fun at all.

"Eve? We only heard one scream. What happened to whoever wasn't the one that yelled?" Maya asked.

Eve sighed, "Aya was the one that was taken down early. Chisato... she saved me from getting an arrow to my heart."

"Arrow? Since... since when did they have those?" Maya was very confused and concerned by that.

"I don't know... but I guess they have them too..." Eve frowned, "Chisato said she did it because Hina needed me..."

"Aya told her. About your feelings. That's why." Maya replied, "She didn't want Hina to die never knowing, so she told her."

"Why... why didn't she tell me then?"

"I can't say. I thought she had told you."

"I... I don't know what to do..."

"Eve... it'll be okay. Even if it's just us two, we'll survive. We'll live on and get revenge for them." Maya stated.

"Promise?"

"I promise."

They curled up closer together. They were trying to desperately warm up. it wasn't going too well. Both of them were frozen. Hopefully they'd survive.

The adrenaline had worn off and both of them were starting to nod off. It was hard to stay awake. Maya seemed a bit off. Eve wasn't sure what to make of it, so she kept quiet.

"Do you think it's safe to take a small nap here?" Maya asked, her speech seeming a little slurred.

"Yeah. It's pretty dead." Eve nodded.

They both dozed off into an uneasy sleep. They didn't wake up at figures started approaching them.

"Who's there?!"

They were cornered by three figures. It was three off the demons from Afterglow. This was their territory. It was Ran, Tomoe, and Tsugumi.

"That's Eve and Maya. They don't look very good."

"I hope that blood isn't hers."

"Let's take them back. We do owe them for saving us back then."

"Good idea."

And so they were taken to Afterglow's base. Neither stirred during the journey. Eve was too exhausted and Maya... something was wrong with her. That much was clear.

"Moca, get the med kit!"

The three girls laid them down on a spare bed. Now in the light, they could see them clearer. It became apparent Eve was not bleeding. The blood on her was not hers then. Who's was it? They had no clue what happened to them.

"Guys, um... this scratch is... is filled with poison."

Maya's scratch was not what it had seemed. The bullet that struck her had been laced with poison. It was fast acting. They didn't have much time to work with if they wanted to save her.

"I'll go see what antidotes we have. Check what type of poison it is now." Himari ordered as she quickly ran off.

Tsugumi was the most knowledgeable about poisons. She carefully took a sample and examined it.

"We have the antidote thankfully. It's one of those fast acting killers." Tsugumi explained.

Himari came back with different vials. Tsugumi selected the one she needed and forced it down Maya's throat. Maya stirred slightly, opening her eyes. Everything was blurry and unclear. She couldn't make anything out about her current situation.

The antidote was painful, which resulted in her falling unconscious again as she couldn't handle the pain. Her arm twitched as it worked to take out the poison. After a few agonizing minutes, it stopped.

"Alright. Let's leave them to rest. Maybe we should clean Eve up a bit?" Moca suggested.

"Both of them are soaked. We should change their clothes and get them near some heat." Ran stated.

So that was their next move. Tomoe and Himari worked at giving Eve a bath to clean off the blood. Ran and Tsugumi dried Maya off a bit and changed her clothes. Tsugumi covered her scratch with a bandage just to be safe. Moca started a small fire in a fireplace they had built. They laid Maya down next to it and one Eve was done they did the same to her.

Now it was just a matter of waiting for them to wake up and explain what had happened to them. They tried to puzzle it together themselves, but there was a lot they couldn't come up with a good answer for.

"Should we inform Hina about them?" Ran questioned.

"Not yet. We don't want to cause her any worry if we don't have to. At least wait until they tell us what happened and where the other two are." Himari replied.

"Fair enough. Anything else we should do for them right now?" Ran asked next.

"If someone could go get some more food that would be good. We don't have that much to feed them and us five too." Himari said.

"Tomoe, you wanna come with me?" Ran asked.

Tomoe shrugged, "Sure. Let's go see what we can find."