So I've been firing out a lot of chapters lately but this is gonna be the last one until I've finished Bree's outtake. Truthfully, I haven't started it yet.

...I'm kinda sorry, but then again, I'm also not...

The three men didn't stay for long and soon they were all in the truck with Artemis and driving off to Dauntless… Lucky buggers. Issy was sad to see Artemis go but on the other hand, it meant that they wouldn't have to leave her at Amity when they finally leave… Whenever that is but it didn't feel like it would be any time soon.

Issy felt exhausted. She had just come off from an 07:40 to 11:40 shift that seemed to drag forever, even though she had Tate and Finely to try and keep her sane. It didn't really work, but then again she wasn't really all that sane beforehand either.

After showering and changing into something comfortable, she layed out on her sofa with her phone out and a film quietly playing. Issy had at least another nine hours before her next shift so the rest of her day turned into a lazy one. it was quite a lazy day for the others that weren't on shift too; all of them were sprawled out and weren't really doing much.

That's what made Red shouting for all of the captains so odd in the first place. What could have been so important that it needed all of the captains? Nevertheless, each captain stopped what they were doing and followed Red to whatever he needed them for. Red came back not long after, and to those that were paying attention to what was going on, it raised a few eyebrows. Whatever it was, it took a while until the captains came back, a half an hour at least.

"Round up all of the members at the barracks. We want them all here." Kenna ordered sternly and many members quickly jumped up to get everyone that wasn't on shift in the room. Issy was sandwiched between Tate and Uriah once everyone was present. She looked to Duncan, who was frowning. Duncan started explaining that they had been on the radio to Max and started explaining but not quite getting to the point. He was stalling.

Issy turned to Captain to see him frowning too but the twitch off his lips gave him away. Issy gasped inaudibly as she tuned back into what Duncan was saying.

"– And, well, what I'm trying to say – or what Max has told us is –" He paused and that moment Issy wanted to punch him. She desperately wanted to know if she had guessed wrong or not. "– Is that we're going home in two days' time."

Never had Issy heard so many people start screaming at once. Sure, the Pit at its busiest time was pretty loud but this was louder. People were screaming, pinching themselves in case it was a dream, staring into the abyss like the mere thought seemed impossible. Issy was one of those that were staring into the abyss. Issy stopped staring into nothing momentarily to exchange a look with Uriah and Calvin. They were sure that some kind of impending attack would happen from whatever Meg had been telling them weeks earlier. Apparently not. Not that they were complaining though.

"I thought there was meant to be some kind of attack?" Issy called out.

In response Captain shrugged. "Max said that there'd been a couple of raids near Candor but that was weeks ago. Apparently there hasn't been any major disturbance since the attack at the fence."

"So we're going home?"

"We're going home." Captain grinned at Issy. "But until then, we still have to carry out the designated shifts until we leave at twelve o'clock in two days' time. After a week off for those who have been at barracks in the factions, we'll all be back to our usual shift rota."

"Also," Duncan called, drawing the attention of everybody again. "I think it would be really funny if we all just started packing up our things quietly and not telling those that are currently on shift."

"That's such a bad idea…" Someone sighed, though they hadn't noticed the mischievous glints that had appeared in the younger squaddies' eyes.

"It's a great idea!" Issy smirked, her eyes blazing. "Lets not tell them until more or less the last moment but at a time when they still have enough time to gather all their stuff together so that we can leave on time."

There were several shouts of agreement and that was that.

xXx

When the squaddies had arrived back from finishing their shifts, they were too tired to notice many of their colleagues battling smirks off their faces. Issy's stuff was already mostly packed and her bedroom had been tidied up too. Of course, for those that weren't there for the big announcement, had caught on that something was up but none of them could figure out why.

The rouse was kept going for less than a day. Though instead of just outright telling them all, that small titbit of information that would affect them so much was casually inserted into conversations. Most times they didn't notice, others they froze but then brushed it off like they misheard whoever they was talking to. When they finally caught on to the fact that they were going home the next day, all those that were present and already knew about it clapped their hands over their ears as their colleagues quite literally screamed. They scared the absolute shit outta some people that didn't know what the fuck was going on.

So when it came to ten o'clock the next day, everyone was buzzing with excitement. With only two hours to go until they could leave, they had started loading the trucks with bags and rifles. In contrast to the weeks beforehand where they got into the trucks that belonged to their squad, all of the three squadrons were completely mixed up and only the captains and the usual drivers kept to their designated vehicles.

Issy placed her bag with Uriah's and Hector's in truck 226 before she rolled her bike out of the shelter. A stab of guilt went through her. Issy hadn't needed to use her bike at any point since being at the cabin and she had only really started the engine now and then to check if it was still working. Thankfully it was. she placed her helmet on her seat after brushing the cobwebs and dust off.

Once all of the trucks were loaded and ready, they still had around forty minutes before they could leave. They spent this time searching around the cabin to see if they've left anything. A couple of people had found pairs of socks they had happened to lose at the start of their time here. The captains decided on the formation they would take to go home. Kenna's truck would go first, followed by Issy on her bike, then Captain and finally Duncan.

The last few minutes were spent by getting the squaddies into the trucks. Uriah and Captain climbed into the cab of truck 226 with BD driving of course. Issy didn't see which truck Hec climbed into as she was placing her helmet on and mounting her bike.

They waited in silence, par the rumbles and revs of four engines as the seconds counted down.

Then, finally, Kenna's truck started to move forward and even without connecting her radio to the trucks, Issy could hear the whoops of joy. After Kenna's truck was far enough, Issy revved her bike and took off. There were rumbles behind her and when she glanced back Issy saw Uriah waving at her and grinning like the crazy shit he is.

It felt so good to be back on her bike that Issy started laughing as she weaved left and right behind Kenna's truck before straightening out again. Sadly though, there were two trucks behind her and she didn't think either of them would appreciate it if she suddenly braked just to drive normally again. Instead Issy kept to the formation and behaved.

The drive back home was going smoothly and Issy felt herself relax. She could see the strip of the fence not that far off on her left; she could even see members walking across the levels. Technically, Issy was still on duty so she shook off the lazy haze that had overcome her and started paying attention to her surroundings…

… Seconds too late…

Several hisses of air flung past her, missing her by millimetres. Then there was a second wave that shot past her, a stabbing and somewhat electrifying pain in her leg and the front wheel suddenly locking up until it seized.

Issy's eyes widened and she inhaled sharply, bracing herself for what was to come.