DAY 10

Arbiter

Naturally, they all came to my room looking for answers. Demanding them, in fact.

Several people crowded the door outside my room.

"Knew those pyjacks couldn't handle simple guard duty," Wrex aired his opinion, cross armed. "If anyone even thinks about letting Kaneki go..." He pointed at everyone present, "He isn't going loose."

I told him that wasn't going to happen.

"We gonna hang that bastard?" Jack voiced a concern I knew no one else wanted to say out loud, "The guy killed. Broke the big-o law. He should hang. Or get his head chopped off."

I tried my best to hide my disgust, but I couldn't cover up the silence that met her question.

"I don't feel safe on that side anymore." Kara looked the most uncomfortable out of everyone, her arms closed in her body. Her eyes darted around. "I think we should move all the prisoners back on one side, otherwise I'm moving out of my room and getting close to the Hospital."

I felt a tangle in the group grow from fear. I moved to undo it, "Everyone go back to your rooms. I've pulled all the guards out of storage and I'm moving Dutch in with Kaneki."

That only twisted another knot into existence, and the group got louder, each wanting their opinion heard. Then, Chief's heavy footsteps approaching the group quieted it all down. But fear only made the knot grip harder.

"Everyone," I started, waiting to see if the Chief had anything to say himself. He didn't. "We still need eyes on the halls."

I returned the glare Wrex had been giving me. The Chief hadn't fazed him. "Every minute you aren't looking at that door is another minute someone could tamper with it."

The tangle started to loosen. Kara held her head down, for what I felt was shame at her hand in the tangle. Jack only scoffed, avoiding eye contact and shaking her head. Wrex glared hard at me before turning away.

They all followed in his wake.

Chief and I watched their backs before we were sure they were out of earshot. I pulled a name from memory; tried that thing humans did with names, "I appreciate it, 117."

A little stare back at me, and I felt a tiny tangle formed in him. "Just John will do." I nodded back. "I'll help however I can, Vadam."

We walked into my office. Jaime still pushed for the useless room. He was there waiting with Cole, Sully, and the leader of Delta Squad.

I decided I needed to clear the room of people I trusted the least.

"I've made the mistake of spreading your squad too thin, three-eight," He stood straight at my attention. "I want you all in the garden, monitor whoever moves between all the sections in the building. Don't stop anyone, just observe."

His eyes glanced between Sully and Cole, sitting to the side. He knew some were blaming Scorch. "Sir? What about storage?"

"Jack told me she's planning to move in." Sully spoke to the whole group, even though it should've been just Delta Leader. "I'm sure she'll volunteer to keep an eye out."

"Beg your pardon," Three-eight's eyes were straight, trying hard not to show his true feelings. "But I know an ex-convict when I see one. Those tattoos all but read out the story."

"If she's not a good fit, we'll move you back in." I moved for my chair. Whatever counterpoint he had, died in his throat. "Right now, we need you to watch all movement. Get to it."

Boss spoke firmly, "Sir." He slid his helmet back on and left the room. Sully sighed when the door was closed, and I nearly did the same before I stopped myself. Needed to appear objective even when I wasn't.

"I'm pivoting my orders on the interviews," Detective Phelps perked up at me, "I want you to investigate what happened, Cole."

Sully pressed his lips and nodded, "We'll help however we can."

Jaime cleared his throat, "We've gotta take care of Archibal-"

"Archibald, was an alias," Cole sat back, nostrils flared, "His name is Dutch. He shouted his real name with enough pride to convince me, during the fight."

"Why lie?" I asked.

"My guess? It's in his nature." He looked like he wanted to spit at the floor. "All con men tend to be like that."

"We've gotta take care of Archibald." Jaime leaned forward, towards Sully and Cole. "That tiny little mob outside wanted blood."

Sully scoffed and crossed his arms, "Oh, so then you're starting the arena? Gladiatorial fights to the death at three in the afternoon?"

"We can't hold a murderer locked up forever." Jaime pointed at the door, "Not with our prison being a single room, our warden a dragon-faced man and four other guards, one of whom already let the man escape."

Sully looked like he tried to bring forth words to counter. They did not come through, and his eyes fell to the floor.

"I'm in agreement." Cole shifted forward, mirroring Jaime. "He's too dangerous."

Sully sighed. "I don't want anyone else to die…" He turned his head to face me, "I'm with Jaime."

All eyes were on me now. The decision was on me. Whereas the others demanded loudly, the people here advised softly. And I was grateful there'd be no argument to my choice.

"...Six days days from now, if we're not out of this, it will be done."

Silence. Then slowly, Cole and Sully bobbed their heads up and down, eyes casted to the floor.

Jaime continued discussing the details, the set up of the event. He'd need to find a spot, someplace easy to clean and was in public. Sully and Cole protested the public part. I leaned with them, and warned Jaime to only pick a private spot. No one needed to see it.

Sully was going to talk to Kara about cooking more food. "Warm food should comfort everyone," was his belief.

Cole didn't need Akane's body, so we discussed having the burial at the end of the day. I could dig a trench, but I don't know how deep we could dig in the garden…

Who'd do it? I looked to my desk as Cole talked, Me? I've done it many times before. Chief didn't have to do all the hard parts...

After that was done, everyone filed out, quickly and silently, to get to it. The next seven days weren't gonna be easy...

Before the door could fall shut behind Cole's back, a hand stopped it. Ripley came rushing in, eyes locked on me.

She took me by surprise, "Ripley?"

"I want to do it today."

My eyes widened. I stood from my chair, "Is it ready?"

"I'm sure it is." Her hands were clasped together.

"And the ones that are still on the printer?"

"We've got all we need," She walked back and forth, "Enough to get through the thickest."

She bit her nail, thinking in her pace. She fired glances up to me. Her, of all people, trusted me to make the decision too? I guess John was right.

I picked the perfect time, "Wait til the end of the day, we're holding the funeral and I want it to precede some good news."

She nodded, "let's get this over with."

? - In the Mountain Base

I awoke to particles of stone dust in my mouth. It tasted acidic. Horribly acidic. Unnatural. I spat it out and wiped off my tongue by hand. I could feel it itching my beard.

It was dark. The floor was cold against my hands and wet with...with what? Spilt buckets? Melted permafrost? It was discomforting, but I guess that was the purpose of a dungeon. I recognized one anywhere.

The sound of flapping paper met my ears, along with playful laughter. There were men outside the half-rotten door. They sounded like they were playing a game. Guards were the same everywhere, huh?

I called out, "Hello?"

The silence was instant, and I doubted if they were ever even there to begin with. Disappeared into thin air.

I called again, "Is anyone out there?"

A rush. Chairs screeched about as shoes hurried to the ground, "Go get Captain Miller!"

Feet scurried off, echoing through what I knew to be long stone halls outside.

"Hello?" More silence. "Hello?!"

Then a response through the door: "Shut up."

I could hear the teeth baring through the words. Anger-No. Fear. This world was strange to them, to men of war. I was just another strange thing on their porch.

I waited. The man who spoke was like a ghost through the door with the gentle breathing and still movements of a hunter, the only sign of him a rancid odor.

The cell had an infestation of pests, eight legs and a thousand crawling in the dark.

I closed my eyes and listened more closely. I could feel the innards of the fortress as if I was listening to a heart beat in its chest. Through a membrane of insects and rats and rock, I heard bellows work against fire, metal clang against piles of metal. A forge. And then, further, I could feel wails.

It was a room full of pain. I could not bear to hear it any longer.

More footsteps. Their Captain of the Guard must have arrived.

That voice came back to attention, "He's awake sir-"

"I know, open up." He was eager to see me.

Locks spun and scratched against old metal, and the door creaked open, torch light spilling into the room. A man reaching the edge of young manhood came walking with a piece of half bitten food in his hand. It was meat, wedged between two pieces of sliced bread. I half salivated at the look of it.

He saw my stare, "You hungry? I can't say I earned it."

He gripped the bread and meat and ripped it apart. He got in close and stuck it out. I took it graciously, and started picking apart the meats and the greens in it. I must've looked like a wild animal to him, bent over my food on the floor. Good. He needed to see me vulnerable, if he was to trust me.

Suddenly, his knees bent and he met me face to face. "I'm Captain John Miller," His eyes looked me over, "What's your name?

I pulled a name from memory "...Took."

"Took." He nodded, accepting my answer. "Where'd you come from?"

I spoke the truth. "...The forest. By the sea."

"How long have you lived here?"

I gulped down my food, "I don't live here."

Frustration squeezed his eyebrows together, "Then where'd you come from?"

Sadness jabbed at my throat, and I couldn't finish the tiny piece of bread left. "The forest."

He breathed a heavy sigh, "I'd prefer if you didn't make this hard."

He cannot know what I know- he mustn't, "I can't tell you everything."

"Why not?"

I looked him hard in the eye, "We're aren't alone."

His eyes narrowed. His head darted towards the open door, looking to the curious guards outside. Not them, the shake of my head said to him.

Then, thunder everywhere. Explosions. Weapons. "What is that?" A guard panicked, looking at the ceiling with his tool of war in arms.

Screaming. Shouting. Noise of danger penetrated the walls and dirt and stone. "Stay here, keep an eye on the prisoner," The Captain was out the door, swiping a weapon out of one of the men's hands.

One man in particular glared at me as the door was shut.

Cole - Back in the Prison

A lot of bad thoughts dirtied my mind when tasty smells washed it clean. A small portable kitchen was set up in the garden; a canister fueled stove sizzled meat, pans with mixes of spices and sauces and oils, and seasoned vegetables caramelized in hot butter. To my utter wide-eyed astonishment, one person was doing all of these things at once: Kara.

I'd never seen someone work with such speed and precision! She kept noodles spinning in boiling water, flipped cooking meat, stirred sauces and cooking vegetables, all the while gradually building a pile of clean and dried plates, bowls, cups, and utensils. She moved like a well-oiled machine, hard at work.

I didn't even see her break a sweat...

Mikasa had gotten out of her room. Nate's wife and another man I didn't talk to before sat there waiting on whatever Kara was making for them. Mikasa was slurping some herself, using a fork surprisingly.

"Mind if I join you?" I spoke in Japanese, and dropped the sack of evidence I collected next to a chair.

She saw me with noodles in her mouth. She slurped it up and gulped it down, "Go ahead."

There were chairs laid around the plastic tables, arranged like a booth. Kara noticed me grabbing a seat while stirring the pot of noodles. "Would you like to have some ramen too, Cole?" I felt the smile in my eyes when I heard Kara speak.

"I didn't know you could speak Japanese," I said in english.

"I'm multilingual. My-" there was a small pause, about a millisecond- "previous job needed it."

"I'm glad to see you're still up to cooking," I felt a sudden need to poke, "all things considered."

Kara smiled. She glanced at Mikasa, "Some of us need to eat, Mr Detective."

She was gonna be the hardest nut to crack. I smiled and grabbed a beer from the cooler at the end of the table, "I'll take some ramen, thank you."

A man in armor with a green glowing tube on his back pointed at the steaming pot, "Isn't that pot for me?"

"And me." Nora frowned before sipping her beer.

I held a hand up, "It's fine, I can wait."

Kara shrugged, "I can just start another pot."

She was quick. A pot was filled with spices and vegetables while she poured a large water bottle from her armpit. The man and I were picking our jaws off the floor by the time a fourth burner came to life.

I turned back to Mikasa grinning ear to ear, bowl to her lips. "I can see you're out of your room," I said to her.

She took a sip, "...I am."

Kara ripped open a package of beef cutlets. "I wanted to thank you for your help," I said. "Fighting that man."

Her eyes fell on me, "Did he murder that woman?"

That stumped me for a second. Did he? I asked myself, looking down at the sack. There was a plastic lock in there, melted and cut through in the middle with some kind of heated tool. Someone was responsible…

I shook my head, and gave her my best guess, "We think he did."

She faced me, "What are you going to do?"

She didn't need sugarcoating. "Kill him."

I eyed the two behind her, both of them uncomprehending as their steaming bowls finally arrived.

"Good." She leaned back, relaxing into the chair. "Whose decision was it?"

I felt relieved when he agreed with me and Jaime, "Arbiter."

She leaned forward, "I've heard that word all over the place. Who is Arbiter?"

For a moment, words escaped me. I thought back on what Jaime had said the other day. "Leader. He stopped the bloodshed."

Her eyes fell on the door leading to the other wing; where Arbiter was staying. "The monster."

I suppressed a sigh. "Only looks like one, he's a good person, and he's helping us get out of here." Her eyes fell to her palms. "There's no reason to be afraid of Arbiter."

"I'm not." Her hand squeezed into a fist. "I've fought things more frightening. "

She's dealt with some things. Nate dealt with bandits and vicious animals on a daily basis. Blazkowicz dealt with Nazis. I dealt with the war...

Even Sully had faced his own firefights.

I sighed and took a sip of beer, the stuff burning down the bottom of my tongue. "I should've told you why I came to your room."

She chuckled, "You did tell me why." She bounced a glance towards the people behind her, slurping their ramen noodles up. "You were making a list of all the people. People from other lands."

I knew it was a lot more complicated. I shook my head, "Did you see that guy in the blue?"

"Yes." She let out a deep breath before making some room between her knees and the table. "He was one of the other fighters."

I glanced at Nora and smiled, "That's his wife."

Mikasa avoided looking, but her nose scrunched, "I'm pretty sure I saw them shoot each other in the face."

I wondered for a second if I should tell her, until I remembered Nate had already told everyone during dinner the other day. I cleared my throat and leaned in, "That's because she's supposed to be dead. Before we came here."

She managed to stop her head from turning all the way to Nora, "What?"

"Shot in the head," I leaned back, half smile on my face, "Right in front of him."

A minute later, my ramen arrived. I told her other stories I gathered; Sully's treasure hunting, wars in space, crazy cannibals, and knighted princes. Made sure to pair up names with faces: Sully with that white moustache above his lips, Jaime with that heavy golden hand that most likely doubled as a metal club, and that giant Chief in all his green getout...

She knew who the cannibal was.

"Amazing…" She sipped out of the beer I had passed her. She gulped it down with a heavy breath, "You're either an insane liar, or so gullible to trust what they all tell you."

I giggled and propped my head on my knuckles, "How do you explain those that aren't human?"

"Well..." Her eyes fall to the side before being glued to Wrex. He came into the garden, probably from guarding Kaneki, sniffing the food in the air...

He grabbed a handful of frying meats right from the pan Kara was tossing them in, before turning and heading back where he came from. Kara didn't have the nerve to protest.

She sighed. "I'm done cooking for now." She looked over the customers she had gathered. Two others had joined.

"I'm not that hungry anyway," Ellie spoke softly, eyes casted to the floor.

"Gotta get some food in you somehow," Joel stood from his seat. "I can take over and make some more ramen, Kara."

While they went over how to make it exactly the way Kara does it, Mikasa looked at me with a straight face. "I was a soldier."

My silence lasted a millisecond, before I bursted into laughter. The others glanced at me, probably thinking I was drunk. A giggling, drunken idiot.

Mikasa looked flustered, "What? What is it? What's so funny?"

I wiped a tear from my eye, and sat up straight, "Everyone here was a soldier."

"Oh…" She stared at me. "You?"

I snorted, "Yes!"

That got me started. She asked about what country, I told her it was the one I was from; America. I started with going through Officer Candidate School to later enlist in the marines, and started telling her of all my time in trenches, jungles, forests...

Scorch

The world came back with a taste of beans in my mouth. Hundred pound blocks must've weighed down each of my limbs- arms, legs, and heads...Wait, I only have one head.

As much as I wanted to stay there, resting, I knew I couldn't. Rise little one, eyes like the stars appeared in front of me, you have a great many things to do…

I heard a voice far off. It was the boss! Slowly, I started to twist and turn my limbs. They felt like they were noodles cooking in reverse. I groaned.

That voice poked through a wall of cotton, "...Scorch is waking up. Someone get Cole."

Boss' voice echoed from someplace by...my feet? My helmet must've been there; he was talking into the delta squad communicator system.

"Scorch? Can you hear me?" It was the doctor, that woman… Elizabeth. "You've still got some of the drug in your system, you need to take it slow."

I blinked my eyes open, wiping away whatever blurred my vision. Elizabeth is definitely a pretty sight to wake to. I brush my tongue around my mouth, "Blegh!"

Boss was by my feet, his helmet off and I felt a little touched by the worried look on his face. "Boss… Those beans left a bad aftertaste in my mouth."

Half of his lips smiled. He laughed through his nose, "Those were bad beans."

It took a bit before I could sit up properly. Dizziness was a bit of a problem. When I got up, I took sips out of a plastic pack of water Elizabeth grabbed. Then the Boss filled me in on what happened.

"Ah shit," I got to use a new word I picked up from Franklin. "Those beans were in a can, all sealed in tin." I sighed, "I should've checked if they'd been tampered with."

One of the patients called out for the resident doctor's attention. When Elizabeth was out of earshot, Boss whispered to me, "You'll remember that the next time you eat in a building full of killers."

"So he finally graces the waking world." Prince Jaime waltzed in from the door, and I felt like I was the only reason why. "A woman was murdered because of you."

I had some comments I was gonna use before he said that last part. His royal highness graces the less fortunate, or something along those lines.

...But how could I screw that up? It was only one guy!

I expected Three-eight to glare at me with Jaime. I didn't expect him to step in between, "Sir, we didn't anticipate our rations being drugged."

"That's no excuse for being compromised." He leaned to the left to get a better view of me. "I'm disappointed really; we all thought you were a skilled group of warriors. But then you had your trousers hoisted over your faces like a pair of drunkards."

I coiled a fist. It was like I was a cadet again, and the other cadets had come to taunt us for failing the damn sims...

But Three-eight was there again, standing in between. "I can see your ribs have healed well."

Jaime squeezed his brows, "I beg your pardon?"

Three-eight tilted his head at one of the empty beds, "Your ribs. I heard that punch broke nearly half of them."

I nearly bursted at the look on his face. His eyes shifted from confused stare to inflamed glare.

"Too bad you didn't have your armor; it probably would've saved an extra quarter."

I could've sworn the corner of his mouth twitched into a smile before he spun on his heels and ran off. "Do the job Arbiter asked of you and I'll do mine."

When the door slid shut behind him, Three-eight let out a breath. "He's far too full of himself."

I was in awe, "You didn't have to do that, Boss."

His tone was harsh, "Don't tell a superior what he can't do, Delta Six-Two."

I giggled, "Aw shucks sir, you're making me blush."

Not a minute before I finally got some decent food in me, Cole came running in with a black duffle bag wrapped around his shoulder.

He spoke to the boss, "Got your message. He's fully awake?"

"Am I not in the room?" I sat myself up a bit, "When did I get so popular?"

The boss took my shoulder all comforting-like, "He's just gonna ask you some questions, Delta."

Cole hefted the bag onto the edge of the bed before grabbing a seat, that notebook and pencil already in hand.

He cleared his throat, "Tell me how the day started. What was the first thing you did when you woke up?"

"Well, let me see… Did I go to bed that night?" I rubbed my chin, before I shook my head. "No, I was going to sleep after I finished guarding Archibald."

His pen scratched against the paper, "So…" He eyed me, up and down. "Wouldn't you have been sleepy while guarding him?"

"Clones don't need a lot of sleep." I felt my heart pick up the pace for some reason. "The donor was a bit of a light sleeper and all."

He looked to the boss, who nodded. Cole seemed confused about something, "We'll...have to talk about that later. Who was on guard before you?"

"Sev." I pressed my lips together. "Prisoner gave some trouble before he left."

His gaze made me feel like a super battle droid was walking down the corridor, "What kind of trouble?"

"Just some yelling-" I stopped myself. He was looking for someone to blame; no way in hell was he crucifying anyone other than me.

"Look." I moved to the edge, my left foot on the ground. "My beans were probably poisoned before I picked them up."

Cole leaned closer, "When did you pick them up?"

"When I left storage. I grabbed my beans with me."

"Did you open your beans while guarding the prisoner?"

"Yes."

He wasn't even writing anymore. "Did you leave your beans unattended while you were guarding the prisoner?"

"No!" I snapped; the guy was getting to me. "Not even when I went to yell at him!"

Cole's expression relaxed, and he sat back, pencil back at work again "You were yelling at him?"

I rubbed the back of my neck. "Yeah…"

I remember now. Guy was being a real pain in the ass; calling me names, taunted me for getting taken like that by… I only got real mad when he started talking about Sev. I went to his door, banging at it with the can of beans in my other hand.

"Did you finish your beans?" Cole asked it like it was a valuable piece of information.

The boss said my thoughts, "Can we please move on from the beans?"

"You finished your beans halfway. But not your water?" Cole seems to be trying to make a point of something. He unzipped the bag.

I could only stare at the guy with a stupid look on my face, "I don't-"

Out of the bag came that plastic bottle of water I picked out from storage, and the can of beans with a sheath of plastic wrapped around it. The can was nearly empty.

"Remember dinner the other day? You left your spot at the table littered with empty bottles." He swirled the bottle; it was a quarter and a half full. "You drink fast. Did you refill your bottle at any point?"

Oh yeah, I had to go to the bathroom a lot when I was guarding storage. "Yeah. A bit after I switched with Sev. Just filled it in the bathroom sink."

Cole looked like he got what he wanted, "I don't think it was the beans." He pointed the pencil at the bottle, "I think you left your bottle unattended when you were dealing with the prisoner, when it was spiked. The drug kicked in before you could finish it."

Boss locked eyes with me, "You always did drink through all your water rations."

I glanced between them, a bit lost. "Why is this important?"

"How long were you fighting the prisoner?" Cole asked.

I didn't even stop to think, "Three and a half minutes."

His eyebrows nearly fell off his forehead, "That's precise."

"Demolition experts need a good sense of time." Boss had that proud smile on his face; made me all tingly inside. It faded when he realized something.

We locked eyes again. I gave him that look that said, 'You don't think…'

When Cole was preoccupied writing down the details into his notebook, I looked behind him. That blazko guy- the one who managed to get me from behind- was sitting up on his bed, cast off his arms already, snacking on some broccoli...

Miller - In the Mountain Base

It was barely a minute before I found the first body. One of Blithe's men. Dehydrated meats and mango slices were spilled all over, soaking in a puddle of the poor kid's blood. He was slashed, the wound big and deep across his chest and neck, tearing right through the tidiest uniform I had seen in a long time.

I was still on the lowest level; the most ruined and unused level. It was deep enough for most men to go without guns...which made it a soft point during an infiltration.

Did they sneak in through the attack? I thought, looking down the direction of the stairs. They would've had to somehow sneak through all the activity...Then my head swivelled to the other direction. Or did they come through the tunnels?

That thought was interrupted by a shout. "Ripple Man!"

It came from the direction I was facing. "There's a Ripple Man!"

My feet sprung into action. There were still some men down here, and we needed to plug this leak, fast!

"Wave!" I used the call sign, diving into a wall as I reached a split in the hall, "Wave!"

The response vibrated in the empty halls, "Crash!"

I jogged out of the corner. They were already in formation. Backs touching. All directions covered. Five privates, two corporals. Seven in total. I was silent as I took my place in the formation.

We trained our guns in the darkness. Movement that wasn't ours meant shooting, and everyone knew to use the call sign. It gave me time to think.

"We need to cover the stairs," A mental image of the base came into my head. Those stairs were a chokepoint. Anyone coming from the tunnels would have to get through there. "We can't let them get further into the base."

"Sir!"

We maneuvered through the halls. We could've beelined towards the stairs, took one straight hall, but that made it easier for our attackers to predict our moves. We zigzagged. Moving from one side of the level to the other. Kept us close to the corners for cover.

Screams froze us in our tracks, eyes on me. I switched to hand signals; I told the privates to move to the front, and the corporals to watch our backs.

We found a room lit by oil lanterns. The privates were the first in. Corporals watched the entrance. Two bodies. A private held up a shot of morphine, something that belonged in the hospice two levels up. I held up three fingers and an O, Understood.

We filed and left. The stairs weren't much farther from the room, but there was a problem; The door was propped wide open with a body. Some had already gotten into the second level.

Sandbags were kept around all the chokepoints in the base. We dragged them and set up two corners around the doorway. I had the privates and a corporal on watch with the sandbags, and put the other corporal's eyes on the stairwell. In case of any backtrack.

I was never so grateful to have men that knew to be quiet. They had ammunition in their rifles. Not a single movement was needed after that. They became like trees, the rifles branches hanging over the sandbags. Damn shame they were still so low on the ranks; the battalions still needed their privates and corporals…

I covered a tremor in my hand. A blue and red flash accompanied the gunshot that sprayed blood all over my face. The privates- reduced to four- opened fire on the figure that appeared down the hall. It was big. Big as a Stein.

It took cover behind a corner before it could be lit up by our rifles. Silence returned soon after, ending as quick as a single drop of water. "It's gone," a Corporal exclaimed in a whisper. "Came out of the air and disappeared."

"Maintain the choke-"

It was another bright blue flash, a foot away from my face. If my first instinct hadn't been to duck, I would've lost my head to the sharp piece of metal that sparked against the wall above me.

A slash to the right and one Corporal got that fate.

I jumped and rolled away from another slash downward. It was big alright- red and blue. My shotgun shredded its face, causing it to recoil mid swing. Another shot plopped it down on its back in a cloud of red.

The privates ripped the air with the sound of gunfire echoing down the hall. I turned to see the other one dropping to its hands and knee, before it's cranium was blown out.

When I stood up, gunfire was still echoing. It was coming from above the stairway; the level above us.

"They're in the base," I traded looks with the Corporal that kept their head.

"Where are they?" The voice of a panicked soldier echoed down, "Where are they?!"

The men looked to me, glancing back from their posts but glaring down the hall like deer watching for the faintest sign of a wolf. We could go up there, but we'd be trapped in a maze fighting an enemy we couldn't see. If they're really coming from the tunnels, we could maintain the chokepoint, cut off more from making entry into the base. But that leaves everyone up there holding the mess without us...

"Wave!" A shout broke me from my thoughts. It came from down the hall. "Wave!"

The men holding the chokepoint expected me to answer. "Crash!" I called out.

It was Jackson. He kept his rifle pointed to the ground, rounded the corner and stepped over the corpse we made. The other guards, and Took, were in tow.

I nearly shouted, "I told you to stay there."

"Matthews got jumped by one of them-" He took a heavy breath- "They're ripple men, Captain".

Ripple men. Men in the Ripples. It was a ghost story, tales of ripples in the air and men-like creatures coming out of them. It was used to explain random attacks on our outposts, and bodies that were found mutilated.

Took's eyes lingered at the corpse he passed with Jackson, "It's the blue ones."

Jackson shot a glare at Took, "You know them?"

Took didn't seem to notice the irritation, "One attacked me when I got up the mountain. They were with those warparties."

I scratched at my stubbled face, wiping some blood away. "Have you heard from Willis and Johns?" I asked Jackson.

He rubbed the cross on his neck, "They caught one trying to sneak up."

"From the tunnels?"

He looked to the ground, "From behind."

I let out a long breath. The tunnels weren't compromised; the point of entry had to be the front entrance. "They must've come in through the front," I leaned my back against the wall. "Walked right past the sentries."

I rubbed and scratched my face again. Some of the blood was already drying, and flaked off with a brush of my finger.

"Sir?" The young Corporal struggled not to look at the other one, laying on the ground, "What's our next move?"

I eyed all the men; they were good, even with Took weighing us down. "We head to the hospice," I loaded a piece of buckshot. The gun cocked loudly, "We gather whoever we can with us and hold up there."

Jackson wasn't sure. "What about the Ripple Men?"

"We'll wait for them there."

"What if they sabotage our equipment?" Jackson took a foot to me, "Steal our guns? Plant bombs?"

The corporal pointed to the dark halls, "You want to go out there and hunt them?"

"That's too dangerous." I shook my head, "We'd never see them coming."

Jackson stuck a thumb out behind, "Willis and Johns heard their footsteps."

"Can you hear them through gunfire?" My tone sharpened, "They'll see you before you can even figure out where they are."

Jackson was far from done. "Every minute they wander the base, the more danger we're putting ourselves in!"

We kept at that for about a minute. Questioning of command was all too common; men get hungry twice a week nowadays, and we're too spread thin over the defenses to cover bigger hunting parties. It didn't help that Jackson was getting too damn prideful...

It was Took that broke us out of it.

"Those bags by the door," He said suddenly, our heads turning to him, "What are they?"

I was getting better at putting frustration aside, "Sandbags."

He scratched his beard through the loops in his hand binds, "Full of sand?"

"What else would they be full of?" Jackson snapped.

It was stupid, but at least it told me something about Took. "They're for cover. Bullets won't get through them."

"Bullets?"

That sapped what little patience I had. I glared at Jackson, "We don't have time for this."

Took went wide eyed, "Can we use the sand?"

Jackson glared at him, "What for?"

"Cover the ground," His wrinkly hands pointed to the blood soaked floor, "They'll leave trails wherever they go."

My eyes must've been like saucers. It will work. I walked right up to Took, slid my knife out, and cut his ropes. The knife then went into his hands.

Jackson sounded more worried than irritable, "Sir?"

I linked my eyes with Took. "Your idea, you do it."

His gaze was strong. Focused. He nodded before he got to work.

We moved into the stairway, heading upwards. Jackson took point, I was the highest ranking in the squad, so I had to go behind him, covering his left. The corporal and privates were behind, covering our right and rear. Took was out of the formation, tailing us as he tore up sandbags and started sweeping the contents all over the floor.

Jackson glanced back out of the corner of his eye, "Sir, we need those for cover-"

I squeezed his shoulder, "Watch those corners, Jackson."

He sharpens up and looks straight up the spiral staircase, scanning the steps across and above with his rifle. The corporal tapped me whenever we got too far away from Took, and I responded by tugging on Jackson to slow down.

"He's just making us slower, sir!" He protested.

Took overheard him, "We don't need to run, we need to see!"

"Quiet," I spoke through teeth gritted like concrete.

They quiet down. A scream penetrates through the ceiling; pained and terrified.

For a split second, Jackson broke from his focus on the front to stare with the sharpness of broken glass at Took. A tight look from me got him back to his job.

It was when the door atop the stairway came into view, that Took pointed down below and shouted, "There!"

The privates were quick, filling the air with the smell of sulfur. The heavy stomps of a ghost broke into a sprint before they managed to hit it, revealing the creature in a blue hail of fire. It collapsed from the concentrated fire poking holes into its torso; it dropped its fire axe when the holes reached its face.

I motioned the corporal to stop them. "Johnson, Mccormick," I finally used their names, "Grab those sandbags and start spilling."

They started running to grab the sandbags left down below.

"Jackson and Davison," I touched Corporal Davison and looked to Jackson, "Cover our front with the browning."

But Took started climbing upward, "Give me our front!"

"What?" I stopped him from passing with a hand.

"The front!" He pointed to the spot in front of Jackson, "Let me through to the front."

I glanced at my gun before looking him in the eye, "Can you fight?"

"Not like you." He took a breath, and stood straight. "But I can show you the enemy."

I expected him to stand in front and spill the sand with his back hunched over. I expected arguing to move further ahead of us, to take the opportunity and save his own skin.

I didn't expect him to blow a sandstorm through the hall.

"Eyes ahead!" He pulled us from our wide eyed stare at his back.

We leveled our rifles, aiming down the hall as the next corner came up. Took was taking cupfulls of sand with his hand. He put it to his face, flinked his fingers open and blew faster than I could blink. A plume as long and big as a spray from one of our flamethrowers flew through the air, before dropping to the grey floor.

The third plume caught the outline of two large bodies stepping out of the adjacent halls. Took- to my massive appreciation- ducked and dropped to the floor to clear our way.

We sprayed them. Both were caught off guard and probably blinded by sand. Their bodies fell with hard smacks against the concrete.

A door to the kitchen was pushed open slightly. Jackson and Davison called out, "Wave!"

Crash. All over the level, from behind crates or inside empty barrels and closets. The callsign got a response.

We were a platoon and a half big now. Close to thirty had been caught with their pants down between the cafe and shooting range combined. Two men helped Took now; they each held bags on either side of him. He grabbed some with both hands and they'd grabbed some with theirs. All was thrown in front of him, a plume as long as a tree is tall. Two hits was enough to fill a single hallway.

It was clear that only two of the intruders had been kept down here. We moved up the next staircase. It was a long river of men flowing up the steps, my place far at the back. I didn't need to be there for the shooting up above.

The largest group was along the rusted catwalk leading to the final top level. "They were trying to break through the door when we caught them with the sand," Davison slacked behind to report to me, aware of my drift at the back of the group.

Took sprayed down the final hall to the Hospice. After, he drew one final large breath, and with the sand in front of his face, he shouted from the deepest recess of his diaphragm. "Wave!"

The booming voice drew wide eyes from all the men, stunning them into silence...Followed by everyone calling out with him. Wave! They all shouted. Wave! Wave! Wave!

"Crash!" a dozen voices answered; they pushed out the bed frames and shelves barricading the hospice, and the door atop the catwalk screeched open.

The engineers working in the forgeroom had run to the hospice, seeking shelter. Men- rangers and infantry- came down the rickety metal steps, stepping over big blue bodies flopped under the rails. Anderson and Blithe trailed behind, together.

Anderson saw me in the centre of it all, "Casualties?"

I squint out the particles of sand blown in my eyes. "I counted thirteen in the lower levels," four in the dungeon, eight in the halls between the shooting range and mess. Plus, Corporal Shelby, Davison's partner. "I think they came in through the front."

I knew Blithe's eyes would flare at Anderson, "I told you! We needed those machine guns!"

Jackson came walking down from the Hospice, staring up at Blithe. "They were ripple men sir-"

"Be quiet, Sergeant!" Anderson shut Jackson down. He didn't disagree though, "They were men from the ripples, Blithe. They're real, just like every rumor that goes through this base. And look at them."

He grabbed one by the collar, and lifted its head to face everyone. A familiar deformed snarl met everyone's eyes, "They're Steins."

This was the first time we managed to snag even a single corpse. If any of the men had caught one, they'd see exactly what Anderson saw now. Blithe gulped.

Lieutenant Dance came up the stairs. He held three satchels by their straps.

"Sir, they all had these on them." He opens the flap off one, revealing wired buttons and dials. "They had a lot."

"Explosives!" An edge of panic came into Blithe's voice. He clutched the railing, "They were gonna blow the place!"

Anderson dropped the head with a big thunk, and stood straight. "This is different from what we've seen from the Steins, more coordinated."

"These could be a different group for all we know," He pointed to the front entrance, "We never saw them during the attacks."

"We did have attacks by the men in the ripple." Eyes were on me. "Men disappearing, written off as deserters. Bodies found with no explanation."

Anderson nodded, "The rumors themselves could've been made by men who saw something on duty and didn't report anything."

He saw the prints his shoes left on the sand covered floor, "I was the sand your idea, John?"

"No sir. It was Took's."

The man in question sat on a workbench, trying his best to pretend he wasn't listening by fidgeting with an empty bullet casing. The rags the medics wrapped him in had been undone, and his wrinkly old chest showed with the bandaged wound on his shoulder.

Blithe was stunned, "Who the hell is that?"

Anderson sighed. "It's the prisoner, isn't it?"

A small nod from me ended the conversation with Blithe tearing earfuls out of Anderson. He wasn't happy that he wasn't told of a stranger being picked up by the rangers. Anderson quickly gave me the go ahead to let Took free to roam the base with an escort. I picked out some of my own men- Skalitz and Finnigan to do the job on rotation.

The rest of the day looked like more gathering of loot and bodies. More wounded ferried to the Hospice. More graves to be dug.

But something was nagging at me first; how Took seemed to know about the ripplemen.

"Those beasts?" He sat straight at the question...Then sat back before a frown came onto his face. "I wasn't talking about them."

I left him in silence.

Sully - In the Prison

The job for the funeral went to me and Kara. I double checked with Cole and he said the japanese will either bury or cremate their dead. We didn't have a crematorium, so I grabbed a shovel before we started to figure the depth of the garden's soil, seeing how it's indoors and all…

It was maybe a hand length deep, from my wrist to my fingertips. I was pretty sure Akane wasn't that thin. After Kara closed up her little food stand, we got to work. Kara marked out the size and shape of the hole.

"This'll fit her," she had said, writing in the dirt with a skewer.

"You sure?" I scratched my head. I wanted to grab a ruler or measuring tape, but she was adamant that it was right.

We dug the hole anyway. I dug another hole in a far corner, piled up some of the dirt in buckets. Arbiter got her in for us. We… didn't think it had to be an open casket. We dumped the buckets with the extra dirt over her body.

Her grave became a mound among the green grass.

Arbiter picked Jaime and Cole to get everyone together, and Kara volunteered. How that woman had the energy to do so much is a mystery to me…

The first people to trickle in were Elizabeth and Marcus. Akane worked in the same wing as them, and they had only just started to get to know her when Wrex gave her that translator tool.

Next were the people Jaime roped in; Nate, Echo, Mikasa, Jack, Franklin, Joel and Ellie. Glass also had been wheeled in by Nate. This group came out of respect.

Cole had been delayed trying to convince Nate's ex wife to come. He whispered to me that she had been locked up for too long, and wanted to be part of the group. My feeling was that she was just locked up for too long. She came along with a man I hadn't met yet, with a green cord climbing his spine.

The Deltas weren't attending; they were holding up security for the Hospital and the prisoners while everyone was away. Chief, Arbiter, and Ripley came long before anyone, while we were digging. Ripley had a duffle bag with her.

We took some time before we started, a sort of semi-wake. No champagne or food, unfortunately. Nate was bonding with Echo a bit. "Red and blue?" I quipped a smile at them, "What better combo?"

They laughed at that. "Echo was telling me how to do better against that grab Dutch did yesterday," Nate said.

"You should've braced your footing, grabbed his wrist and pulled him out when he tried to do that headbutt," She crossed her arms, but I saw the smile in her eyes. "Would've ended the fight a lot sooner."

Elizabeth and Jack discussed politics. "Don't know how someone as pretty as Arbiter became the leader," Jack brought her own beer that she sipped out of. "Most of these people have never even seen an alien."

"He was big, strong, and scary," I dodged her gaze; didn't want to get caught eavesdropping. "Sometimes that's enough to end up in charge."

Wrex came in late.

"Joel," He nodded at the man in question.

"Wrex," Joel nodded back.

Nora and the other man were split off from everyone. They stood together, silently watching the wake. Ellie was leaning against the wall when Chloe tried to chat her up. Arbiter discussed something with the Chief and Ripley, and I could see I wasn't invited. Cole and Mikasa laughed together, but whatever they were saying was a mystery.

I looked at my watch; the day cycle in the garden is exactly twelve hours, and 'nightfall' was maybe two hours away. I grabbed one of Jack's empty beer bottles and stuffed a few rocks in it. The glass clinked with each shake, like a trash maraca.

People heard it and broke from their mingling to gather around the grave. Arbiter and the rest of the circle were first on site. After that, Cole and Mikasa. Joel and Wrex, Marcus and Elizabeth, then everyone else. I'd almost forgotten how many of us there were, I pulled on my collar, even though it was already loose.

"Glad to see you all could make it." Eyes were on me now. "I've drawn up a speech for this, but I was wondering if anyone had anything… a prayer, a few words, some well wishes to her, um…"

I took a pause and gulped. "Her soul."

"I.." Nate stepped up. "I used to do funerals for some settlements I'd travel to."

I nodded. I shuffled to the side to give him my spot at the foot of the grave. He took it, and faced the torn up ground.

He frowned at it. "...I didn't know you all too well to be honest." He glanced at me, "We spoke different languages, came from different places…" He snorted, "and I'm pretty sure you may have shot me."

People laughed at that. Not Ellie and Nora, though.

He put his hands together and rubbed them, fingers brushing over the knuckles. "I can't even say for sure if you'll be gone for good." He said thoughts I'm sure were on all our minds, by the looks on people's faces. "I might not have you known you or what you were- or even what we are… but you were one of us."

He stared at the grave for a bit, everyone soaking it in. "I'm so sorry this happened to you... Rest in peace."

I patted him on the back, "Thanks."

Nate took back his place in the crowd. Jack patted his shoulder as she, surprisingly, walked forward.

She zipped up her jumpsuit, leaving her collarbone exposed but everything covered. "I've got something too."

That's definitely prison attire. I pursed my lips, "Sure."

She took a breath and stood at the feet, just like Nate. She fidgeted her knuckles, "Okay...Alright. I uh...Listen-" She swivelled back to face the audience- "I don't know any fucking one of you. I barely know Wrex and we weren't exactly buddies."

"Ha!" Wrex chorted.

Jack started rubbing the back of her head at the blank faces that met her. "But we all agreed not to fuck each other up," She turned back to the grave, "Someone broke that rule and for once it wasn't me. You were doing good by us, and got screwed over in the end." She rubbed her arm and turned half-way to the crowd, "Rest in peace."

She took her place, a stunned Ellie handing her back her beer. I smiled, "We can always rely on you to say what's in our hearts, Jack."

Some laughs preceded a playful curse from her.

And of course, Cole was next.

"A lot of us didn't know you Akane," He held his fedora by the brim, "But at least I was getting there. I knew you were from Chiba. I know that even though you did well in science at school, you went on to become a cop. An Inspector. My life, more or less, went down the same route. We both wanted to do good for the world, didn't we?" He smiled, and put his hat back on. "See you soon, Akane."

I looked wide eyed at Cole. That last phrase was actually...it fit. I scanned the crowd, and when it was clear no one was gonna step up, we all paid our final respects. My speech wasn't that great anyway.

But people echoed Cole's words. "See you soon, Miss Tsunemori," Elizabeth kneeled to touch her grave with a hand.

"Roses were my aunt's favorite," Franklin had one made out of red paper; an origami rose. He put it on her grave, "See you soon, girl."

Glass was wheeled over by Marcus. "See you soon." He said the words, but he seemed to use them literally.

"See you soon, Pyjak," Wrex spoke through the translator, his voice coming out with Japanese words. I knew they must've been along the same lines as everyone else.

"Rest in peace, Akane," Ellie threw some dirt over the grave with Joel showing her how.

Then came my time. I knelt and patted the foot, "See you soon, kid."

Everyone made a wide berth for the Chief to walk through. He noticed it. He spoke gently, "See you soon..."

Then, Arbiter shouted, "I have a few words to say."

I wasn't surprised. I expected him to cap off the funeral with a big speech, boost his popularity. The crowd made some distance between him and Akane. He looked to the ground, away from the grave. "The truth is…" He eyed the ceiling, "I'm trapped here. You were trapped here."

He looked to everyone standing above ground, "We are all trapped here. We all do our best to make this place safe and comfortable, whether that's feeding everyone, tending to the wounded, standing guard, or taking on murderers and imprisoning them."

At his words, Kara and Elizabeth smiled. Mikasa, Echo, and Nate looked at each other. Wrex and Jack scoffed with crossed arms. Nora scowled. Glass had that...creepy smile on his face again.

"But this place isn't our home; it's a prison." He looked down at the grave, hand curled into a three fingered fist, "And it killed you again, Akane. Exactly the same way it did last time. And it will do it again."

...At that moment, Arbiter's words from six days ago came flooding back into my ears. I stood forward, "I'm not dying again." Eyes were on me as I looked back. Hard. "Never again."

Jack saw that, and it looked like it actually touched her. "Never again!" She shouted.

"Never again!" Wrex joined her.

Then Nate, "Never again!"

Everyone, even Nora, joined in. Never again. No more dying. No more killing. Never again! Never again!

"Never again!" Arbiter held his fist in the air. "Never again."

His fist relaxed and opened. It lowered, the chants dying down with it. Arbiter looked at Amanda, "Ripley has something to say."

That caught me off guard, but she didn't seem surprised. She seemed prepared for her speech.

"Okay." I expected her to take a spot by the grave, but she didn't. "So, recap on the thermite- thermite is a non-explosive pyrotechnic material. It's composed of metallic powder and a metallic oxide, in this case the metal is iron. It's used to perform easy welds and metal cutting, which is perfect in this case."

Okay...So it's not a funeral speech. The crowd could only stare at Ripley as she pulled these devices out silently. I didn't even understand what she was saying.

The first person to speak out was the man who had been quiet this whole time. "What are we doing with thermite?"

Ripley smiled slyly, and pointed at the door with the big red exit sign above it, "We're gonna use it to break that blast door, right now."

Gasps met the news. "Did you hear about this happening today?" Elizabeth had turned to me, and I could only shake my head at it.

"They're talking about escaping," Cole spoke to Mikasa in Japanese. I'm pretty sure he was translating for her.

"About time," Wrex shook his head, "I was wondering when we'd finish fondling our quads and blow the damn door already."

But the armored man shook his head, "That's not gonna work. Thermite is powerful, but it's easy to make countermeasures against it. There could be extinguishers loaded in the ceiling or ground below, or the door could be lined with heat resistant materials like perlite, gypsum, or even just cement."

His... loaded criticism quieted the crowd. This must've been the only other person to understand what Ripley was talking about.

Ripley inspected the device, before glaring at the man, "And you are…?"

"Isaac Clarke." He crossed his arms, "I'm an engineer."

She rolled her eyes. She held the device for all to see, "You've dealt with blast doors and thermite?"

"On the job, I had to account for blast doors affecting ship integrity, yes." He scratched at the stubble on his face, "And what the hell is that charge made of? Plastic?"

"The charge is just so we can clear the way and no one ends up burned." She pointed at its underside, "It's lined with clay, which will be fired and solidified while plastic and steel are melted away."

Clarke shook his head again, "The melting plastic will weigh down the clay and pull it off the door."

Ripley scoffed, "Do you have any idea how hot thermite gets?"

"Ladies." I stood between them; this wasn't going anywhere. "The only way to see who is right is if we get on with the damn thing."

Ripley sighed. She left her bag of incendiaries on the ground while she moved for the door, "Let's get this over with."

Nate looked around in confusion, "We're doing this now? Right after the funeral?"

"What better time?" Wrex moved forward at a quickened pace, "Let Akane see something beautiful."

Jaime Lannister, our knighted prince in residence, walked next to me. "So this is something that'll burn through the steel door?"

I noticed him stare blankly, even more confused than most of the people here. "That's right. Clean through."

"But that Clarke-" He looked at the man in question, moving with the whole group cross-armed- "He's saying it could be reinforced, lined with armor against it."

Well, he isn't totally confused, I scratched my stache, and Clarke isn't totally wrong. Sometimes, with a door that big, it would be easier to just find the key.

"It'll melt through steel," I answered him, with something I only half-knew to be true. "Concrete we can deal with using explosives."

Jaime nodded, "So...It can be done?"

I eyed the exit sign ahead. "We'll have to see."

Reaching the door put things into perspective. It had a regular lever door handle, but the whole thing was deep in the wall. Hinges were hidden. By the look of it, it was heavy steel. I've dealt with enough similar doors in my life to know that this thing is reinforced with concrete. Every safe or vault that was even just four inches thick needed a safecracker to work the lock, and if this thing had a locking mechanism, it was on the other goddamn side.

But if Ripley's an engineer, she must already know that. She stopped people little ways from the door, "The goal is to burn an opening through the door itself. Going for the hinges is pointless, even if we could melt them they'd just weld the door to the wall."

"And what happens if Clarke is right?" Glass spoke up suddenly, after being quiet all this time. He elaborated, "The door is too well made, or some extinguisher pops out of the ground?"

"I'll take care of it." Chief pulled out the tool strapped to his back; a steel pickaxe with a yellow rubber grip.

"Brute force saves the day!" Jack cheered.

Ripley cleared the area, making space between the about-to-be-superheated door, and all us soft fleshy people. She pressed the device- a grey plate- on the wall, slightly above her head. It stuck with a bit of pressure applied to it.

The excitement that had taken root had receded a bit; now was the moment of truth.

"Alright," She locked her eyes with Arbiter, "It's ready."

He nodded. A dial clicked when fingers spun it, like those oven buzzers.

Clarke frowned, "Why aren't we just using a fuse?"

Ripley groaned. "I didn't want to use them up," She returned to safety, glaring at Clarke. "We might need them after."

Joel leaned towards me and whispered, "They're for bomb making."

I nodded and whispered back, "Who knows what the hell's out there..."

The dial stopped, ringing loudly. It died down when the plate popped and sizzled to life. It was loud with sparks flying right out of the plastic plate. I had to cover my eyes with how bright the light shining through the holes was.

"Oh my god it's holding." I heard Chloe gasp at the sight, alongside others.

I peeked a look and stepped a foot ahead of the group, and saw that Ripley had been right. The thermite completely melted the plastic. It dropped on the grass like a grey paste. But the light stayed attached to the door.

"Try not to look directly into it," People mimicked Ripley as she covered her eyes. She smiled at Clarke, who still kept an arm tucked underneath an armpit.

We all took peeks, looking at the ground below it. Molten steel had started dripping down. "It's working!" Laughter mixed in with Ripley's shout.

"We're getting out of this damn place!" Franklin exclaimed. Him and several other people started to cheer.

I smiled. I was just about to join their cheer, when the lights started flickering.

The ceiling with all its fixtures started to distort. Bend. Wane. It creaked loudly, as if something was bearing all of its weight down onto it.

My ears started to pop.

"What the fuck…" Franklin spoke our thoughts. Everyone started backing off, the group breaking apart wearily as the whole of the garden rumbles and darkens.

"...Get out of the room," Panic entered Cole's voice. "Get out of the room, now!"

People started running, but my feet wouldn't take off. The warping converged to a single point- above the door, thermite still white hot. White bursted from the ceiling.

Bang! Whatever hit the thermite caused it to explode. My arms were the only thing to protect me from the force that had hit me with so much strength, it drew all the breath out of my lungs.

I couldn't even scream as something ice cold dropped on me with immense weight, and everything became black.

A/N: Been a while again, but here I am. Did an online course on writing Dynamic Characters last month, so hopefully my writing has grabbed a significant upgrade.