Rerouting the Supply Route

(Theresa)

I opened my eyes into complete darkness. I liked the feeling of just hanging here, absolutely motionless. For a second, I thought of falling, flopping down on the bed. I'd thought of falling often, but I'd never flown until now.

I'd always liked swings, going high up in the air and Ferris wheels when you reached the highest point. I'd never flown on a plane, but I'd always wanted to do it. I'd never dreamed of flying, with nothing to hold me up but my own body, until today.

I remembered I could fly when I wished I knew how many Myrmidons there were. I remembered I could fly when I wished I could help Deyana. I was surprised my legs could move, but they did, and my body responded, allowing me to soar.

It's the first thing I'd liked about this body. I could fly, not just hang by my feet and be carried around. I could fly.

Could I fly from this bar? I let go, moving my wings, descending towards the door. I stayed in the air, scratching the door with my feet, finally opening it. I went in the hallway, but the passageway was too small. I hit my wings, and flopped to the floor.

Where would I go? I moved slowly, crawling with my feet and edges of my wings, down the hall. I reached the door that led to Dan's room. What was in there? I tried to fly up, but ended up banging myself against the cold metal. I flew up again, catching the handle, opening the door barely an inch.

I then wedged it open, crawling slowly into the darkened room. As I wedged my way farther inside, I stopped, staring at something in the corner. It was a large form, sitting in the corner, and as I moved farther in, I knew what it was.

Deyana's Myrmidon had apparently awoken, and was now in Dan's room. I waddled farther in, deciding to venture a word. "Hi."

The creature looked over at me, dark eyes looking intently at me. It was the first time I'd ever seen a Myrmidon's face, and it shocked me how human it was. There was more hair, and the nostrils looked larger, and the nose looked altogether squarer and muzzle like. The skin that I could see was thick and bumpy, like warts or pimples grew all over it.

"You're the other one," the deep, base voice more said than asked. I waddled in, deciding to venture getting a little closer.

"I'hm Therehsa," I said to the creature, a slight irrational fear building inside me. I still remembered the Myrmidons from the dorm days, but I tried to convince myself this was different.

"Don't you want to die?"

I paused, not sure how to answer. Yes, I did, partly, want to just not exist and have to live like this. Dan had abused me to my limit, but after Dan left, it became more tolerable. I felt attached, in some way, to Deyana. I liked her for what she'd done, eventually, and I genially liked her for a person.

"At fhirst, but now, I lhike it," I spoke slowly enough so he could understand everything I said. The creature surveyed me, not sure if he believed me.

"I want to die," he muttered, and I almost didn't catch what he said, his voice was so low.

"It'hs nhot all that bhad," I told him, hoping he might feel better. I did understand, and I could only imagine how disgusted I would've been to wake up as a Myrmidon. Nobody liked Myrmidons except the Overlords. Everyone feared the huge monsters that wanted to and easily could kill you.

"Theresa," Deyana's voice called. I turned my head, looking towards the crack in the door. Deyana's slim, small shadow soon appeared in the doorway. "Oh, good, I see you've found Calvin. I hope you've talked some sense into him."

With that, Deyana picked me up, walking back into the hall. She turned, facing in the room again. "Come on, we need your help. We need to reroute this bloody supply route once and for all. We're running low on food."

(Calvin)

"The creatures will be watching the area. We'll go in two separate groups. Julio, Theresa, and myself will go to the supply house and get supplies. Calvin and Liza will go down into the basement and get meat. We'll take two separate entrances. My group will get out at one ladder, while Calvin and Liza will go down two more ladders before coming above ground. It's a good time of day, very early in the morning. We shouldn't run into a lot of problems now that the ferrets are cleared out."

I stood there, in the gray, immaculate lab, listening like a robot to Deyana's words. What did they matter? Nothing. I looked at the tall, Asian man standing calmly beside me. He had scars all over his body and some were freshly bandaged. Did I do that to him?

I darted my gaze over to the younger Hispanic girl with thick hair and eyelashes. She stood close to the man, Julio, and had looked at me once, and her eyes had gone wide. She hated me. I knew it by the way she avoided looking anywhere in my direction.

"Got that?" Deyana looked in my direction. I gave a slow nod. Deyana picked up Theresa, leading the way towards the sub. I came last, clinking and clanging down the metal hallways. I ducked through the small sub door, which no of the others had problems getting through.

Deyana kept my helmet off. I wanted it to hide my face. I only guessed she kept it off to distinguish me from other Myrmidons if we got in a battle. She didn't want to accidentally kill me, of course.
The sub chugged slowly up towards the surface. Deyana opened the door, and Julio led the way down the dark tunnel. I was glad my sense of smell was practically none existent so I couldn't smell how gross this sewage tunnel must smell.

I stepped off last, closing the door after Deyana carried Theresa out. Deyana cut up in front, with Julio, and I stayed in the rear, following Liza. The girl walked slowly, very close to Deyana. We plodded along for a while, and I began to look for the exit ladders.

"AH!" I stopped suddenly, running into Liza. She let out a blood-curdling scream. I jumped back, making a terrible ruckus. I felt my heart racing, cursing myself mentally for probably hurting her.

"Shut up," Deyana whispered, covering Liza's mouth. She stared up at me, motioning me back over.

I didn't want to move. Liza's eyes were wide, huge and filled with fear. She was terrified of me. Could I blame her? I hated Myrmidons, everyone did, in the dorms. I hated myself. I couldn't blame her for hating me.

"Get over here, and be quiet," she snapped at me. I walked obediently behind Liza, who was shaking slightly. "Julio and I are going up here. Count two more ladders, and no noise. If you get yourselves killed, we can't help you."

With that, Deyana, Julio, and Theresa ascended to above ground. I waited, keeping a good distance from Liza, so I couldn't scare her again. I could hardly see her, and I couldn't hear her soft splashing steps over my loud footfalls.

"This ladder," I stopped, hearing my loud, guttural voice echo in the silence. Liza jumped slightly, but found the ladder, and slowly began to climb it. She pushed off the metal lid that led to the street, and climbed out. I began to climb, then, wondering if the metal bars would hold my weight.

But they did, and I made it to the surface. I expected sunshine, but as I climbed out, I could barely see an arm length in front of my face. Thick, damp fog hung in huge clouds all over the city, and I couldn't even see the sun.

"I don't know where we are," Liza whispered hoarsely. "We're lost."

I swallowed, realizing I had no idea where we were. There was too much fog. For whatever reason, Liza had no idea where we were, either. I put the lid back on the sewer, and walked forward.

Liza glanced nervously back at me. She started to cautiously step forward in the sea of fog. I lagged behind, trying to spot something, anything, which might be moving in the fog. I kept my distance, determined not to run into Liza again.

I heard nothing, but soon, we were moving down an ally way, and the fog became less. I looked up, able to see the outline of the sun through the deep, thick clouds above me. The last time I'd remembered the sun was through a dingy dorm window.

I reeled back, suddenly, my motion stopped when I banged into a Dumpster. The sound of metal grating on metal sent a splitting sound through the suppressive silence. Liza, who was right beside the Dumpster, screamed bloody murder again. This time, she whirled around and grabbed her knife.

Would the knife actually hurt me? Probably not, but that's all I could take. I'd sit here and die. I didn't ever want to move. I just wanted to die. I turned, sitting right down beside the Dumpster. I leaned my head back against the brick wall, looking up into the endless fog.

"What are you doing?" I heard the soft voice of Liza whisper nearby. I didn't move, not wanting to see her face.

"Dying," I replied deftly. I sat there, listening to her quiet footsteps on the pavement. They passed in front of me. Good, she was going away. I could sit here and die in peace. Then her footsteps stopped. I heard a noise beside me, but I didn't move.

"Listen," her voice came from right beside me. I ignored her presence. "I've been an idiot, okay?"

"I'm going to stay here forever until I die. Tell Deyana I died."

"If that's the way you're going to be, fine," I heard her mutter beside me. Her voice took on a stern tone as she spoke, though, totally different from her voice before. "I'll stay here and die, too."

"Not happening," I replied, glad my voice was slightly muffled in the fog.

"Yeah, it is. Listen, I'm sorry, okay? I spent days running from the trackers and Myrmidons. You were in the dorms, too. You know how it is." Her voice held the stern quality to it still, but softened as she spoke about escaping.

"That's why I want to die. One more dead Myrmidon never hurt anyone."

She went silent. Good, maybe she'd leave. I knew she believed me there. She'd agree with that, for sure, after everything she'd done and gone through. I let the peace settle in on me, waiting until she got up.

Escape. I'd had the chance, a long time ago. Drum asked me to go with him. Had I been too scared? Yes, I'd been terrified of dying. I'd told Drum he was an idiot for trying to escape. They'd kill him for sure.

'Everyone dies.' That's all Drum said to me, right when I tried to talk him out of going. I should be dead now.

"I had friends in the dorms what didn't come with me." Her voice was soft and filled with sadness. I kept looking up into the fog, ignoring her. "If I knew, for a second, that my friends would know me again, if for just a moment, they would know me as Liza again . . ."

Her voice faded for a second and I felt my head drop. I looked at my knees, thinking quietly of my friends. They were all dead now, probably, all serving the Overlords. Drum, they'd probably caught him by now and used him, too.

"I want my friends back," Liza's voice returned very resolved. I turned, looking at her for the first time. She looked up at me, meeting my gaze. She had dark, rich brown eyes. Her gaze was strong, though.

"Even if they were like me?" I asked her. She held me gaze, but it drifted for a second, and then, she met my eyes again. Her stare was stronger than ever, and she nodded again.

"Yes, I want them back. I don't care if it hurt like hell to see them that way everyday, I want them back. I don't want to think they're dead." She paused, and her lips formed a small smile. "You're not dead, either."

"No," I thought quietly, feeling slightly better. "I'm not."

"We better get going," Liza stood up, looking at me. "We need to find that basement now that the fog is clearing."

I stood up, letting Liza walk ahead of me, down the alley. She looked around, and turned, and soon, she'd come to a brick house. She pulled out a flashlight and opened the door. We went down the stairs, into the cellar. Liza let out a quick groan, and I looked where the beam of light fell. On the ground lay three dead ferrets, starting to rot they'd been there for so long.

"These?" I looked warily around, ready for more ferrets. Liza walked to the refrigerator, opened the door, and piled raw, frozen meat into the bag.

Then, she turned around, shot me a nervous look, and raced up the stairs before me. I followed her, glad to come back into the pale morning light. We left the dingy building, and I suddenly realized what a bright day this was turning out to be. We were past safe daylight hours. Liza began to search frantically around a city block for our sewer entrance.

"Where is it?" She muttered. "We're way past time. We'll be caught."

I stared at the pavement, trying to find tracks or marks of any kind. I paused, grabbed Liza, and ran inside the nearest building. I pulled Liza under a table, looking up into the window to see nine wingers fly over right where we'd stood.

"We're being watched," Liza whispered. She looked at me with a deep frown set in her face. She pulled out her knife again, but not on me. She stood up, opened the door, and bolted down the street, down several city blocks.

I didn't ask questions, just struggled to keep up with her quick strides. My strides were huge, but running wasn't easy with the armor and heavy bones. I tried to keep Liza in my view as she sprinted straight under the open sky.

Several city blocks later, Liza opened up a metal lid. She jumped down the hole, and I followed, pulling the lid over the entrance. At the bottom of the rickety rungs she stood there, waiting for me. She was panting, clutching her side, grinning stupidly at him.

"That was crazy," I told her, and my voice echoed into the long sewer tunnel. She laughed in quick pants, then, turned, and began to walk.

"I knew one tunnel entrance, and that was the one Deyana and Julio used. So, I ran after them," Liza giggled slightly, walking through the sloppy, stagnant water. We plodded along, and then, a little bit of light hit the green water.

"Where have you been?" Deyana, arms empty of Theresa, marched towards us, with hands on her hips. "All three of us have waited for you in the sub for about half hour."

"We got lost, and then, we got the meat, and couldn't find our way back," Liza blabbed out a quick explanation, and passed up Deyana, jumping down into the sub. I looked at Deyana, who narrowed her eyes slightly at me, then retreated into the sub. I followed her then, closing the hatch.

(Julio)

"That was a mission well accomplished," Deyana sat at a chair in the lab, scribbling something down. She was pouring through dissection papers, as usual, and making some new ones.

"Liza is happier." I smiled, quietly noting the change in her mood. Her nervous gestures for the day before were gone, and she seemed genuinely much happier about her circumstances. "She wasn't too happy with Calvin at first."

"At least he didn't get killed or do something ridiculous," Deyana muttered. I shook my head, amazed at her attitude toward her newest recruit.

"You were never even this hard on Dan until he was ready to break with you." I walked over to her, and peered over her shoulders.

"That's because this particular boy has emotional issues," Deyana muttered, detailing a paper on how to surgically remove the silver ball from a Myrmidon's head.

"We all do," I replied softly to Deyana's quick, shrill comment.

"I don't sit in my room mauling over them, either," Deyana scoffed, turning a page, reading another dissection paper on ferrets, quite discontent.

"You want another mission," I sighed, feeling her restlessness. My change ability, when I was this close to her, made it unbearable to feel how terribly agitated she was.

"I do." Deyana spun her chair around, looking up at me. "I just want Liza, Calvin, and you to go, though. I want another creature."

"Okay," I shrugged, deciding to replenish the subs food supply before heading out. "Wake them up, brief them, and I'll get everything together."

I walked into our storage room, opening the closet we kept the weapons cache. Dynamite? It was night, so flares and dynamite. Knives or swords? Both, since we'd probably meet ferrets. Guns? No, too dark, we'd never hit our targets. Rope? One, for myself, just in case.

I grabbed the supplies, and met a fully armored Calvin, who wouldn't need anything but maybe a flare, and Liza. Liza wore the belt that would hold her weapons, and wore tights so she could move faster. Under her camouflage jacket she wore a tight T-shirt, also for limberness. She'd hopefully be able to escape any situation where she'd get her clothes caught. That mistake cost us some people early on.

"Let's move," I nodded towards the sub. Liza walked quietly behind me, while Calvin clanked down the hallway. I gave them their weapons as we boarded the sub.

"Where are we going?" I asked, hopping in. Liza handed me a map.

"Deyana said Fishing Pier 12, where the shopping complex is," Liza's tone sounded thoroughly confused. I frowned slightly, giving a quick nod. I knew the place. I'd been there many times as a child.

"It's a haunt of Sapphire Star, so be careful," I told them deftly, piloting the sub under one of the piers. I opened the hatch, helping them onto the beach. We climbed up an old set of wooden steps onto the deserted pier. Eerie street lamps cast lights on the ghostly boardwalk. Neon lights lit up bar signs and festive lights sparkled from vendor's booths.

The mall loomed, lights burning from inside, lighting up the surround area. At least we'd probably not meet a lot of ferrets here. It was too bright for a ferret haunt. That left trackers and Myrmidons, in which case we'd at least have a brief chance. I looked back at Liza and Calvin, very glad to have them alone.

"What's that place?" Liza whispered, pointing at the mall. I chuckled quietly, realizing they'd never seen a mall. If they'd seen one, they surely didn't remember it.

"It's a mall, full of normal, human things. This place looks actually very creature free, at night, anyway." I led them into the mall, through the revolving doors. There was no music, and the crowded, jostling place I remembered echoed of nothing but crackling fluorescent lights that were starting to burn out.

"Oh, it's so big," Liza whispered, pointing at the escalator. I laughed, watching her jump on and ride up. "This is fun! You have to try this!"

Calvin walked over, getting on. It took him up, although he didn't laugh, but motioned for me to come up. I sighed, letting the escalator move me effortlessly up towards the second floor.

"Want something to eat?" I looked around, realizing we'd come up by the food court. "Everything is free."

"Okay," Liza and Calvin followed me over. I jumped into the Dairy Queen booth, deciding ice cream couldn't be that bad, if the freezers still worked. I grabbed three huge cups, sat them on the countered and looked questioningly at Calvin and Liza.

"What do you want?" I asked, a slight grin on my face.

"Well, what is there?" Liza looked around. "I want something very good."

"Okay," I decided to give them two Blizzards with as much chocolate chip cookie dough as was safe to put in. "How about an ice cream cake, too? You can eat that while I get this ready."

I pulled out a huge, slightly freezer burnt, birthday cake from the freezer. I gave it to Calvin with a huge metal knife, some plates, and forks. "Cut it and eat as much as you want. We've got everything that hasn't expired."

I began to make the Blizzards, remembering how I'd always go to Dairy Queen. "How did you learn that?" Calvin asked, and I turned around, watching the two of them watching me intensely.

"When I was five, I asked the Dairy Queen people to teach me," I laughed, remember how I'd bugged all the teenagers working at the local Dairy Queen to teach me how to make my own Blizzards and put together my own ice cream treats. "I bugged them everyday I went there, until they gave in. If I hadn't wanted to be a nuclear scientist, I would have worked at Dairy Queen."

"That's very stupid," Liza giggled as I handed her and Calvin their Blizzards. Liza had a hard time digging the first bite out with her spoon. Calvin stuck his chunk in his mouth and scrunched his face together.

"It's very cold," he muttered. I cut the ice cream cake, picking up a frozen piece and sticking it into my mouth. It was cold, but sweet, and very tasty, even if freezer burnt. "I don't think I want much more."

"Your mouth is probably more sensitive," I shrugged, feeling slightly sorry for Calvin. "You like it, Liza?"

"It's cold," Liza opened her mouth, fanning her tongue to get it warm. I shook my head in amusement, eating a little more ice cream cake. After we'd wasted nearly an hour eating ice cream, I thought maybe we should snoop through the mall for creatures. I doubted there were any, but at least we'd technically looked.

"Let's look through this mall for a little bit, to see if there's anything in here," I motioned for Liza and Calvin to follow me. I walked in and out of designer stores, amused at the looks on Calvin and Liza's faces as they stared at things expensive, eccentric, and artistic from every kind of fashion designer.

"So, this is what people did," Liza mused as we entered a jewelry store. Liza peered into the counter, looking at the beautiful diamonds, emeralds, and sapphires. "They're so sparkly."

"They're precious jewels," I said, jumping behind the counter. I grabbed the pair of keys, opening one of the glass doors. I pulled out a size seven ring with the biggest diamond I could find on it. I gave it to Liza, and she just stared dumbly at it.

"It's so white and colorful all at the same time," Liza picked it up, trying it on. It looked gaudy on her little tan hand. She held it up to Calvin, who squinted at it, transfixed by the shimmer it cast in the light.

"That's a very good diamond," I told Liza. "Some billionaire probably would've bought it for his princess fiancée."

"Came I keep it?" Liza asked stupidly. I nodded realizing no one else would probably ever wear it. It looked shockingly out of place on Liza's casual form, with her belt full of weapons.

"If you two want anything else, we've got nothing better to do," I looked up at Calvin, who was looking at a set of emeralds. "Those are emeralds, and the other ones are rubies, and those are sapphires."

"Like the names of the Overlords," Calvin muttered. I frowned, and Liza looked slightly disheartened at her diamond.

"It's where they took the names, but these gems aren't theirs. It won't curse or hurt us to take them now." Calvin shook his head, still not entirely sure. I looked through them, and took a long, gold chain with a beautiful pearl on the end. I put it in my weapon belt, looking up at Calvin to see if he wanted any.

"Maybe that," he pointed to another case. I pulled out a pendent of a silver daisy with the center being a huge topaz stone. I handed it to him, and he nodded, putting it with his weapons, also.

"Let's go and do something now, before Deyana gets too angry that we failed," Liza sighed, also putting away her god like diamond. We walked out of the mall, across the boardwalk, to the places were the boats docked.

I paused, then, hearing noises coming from down along the wharf, where the fishing boats were. I put a finger over my mouth, heading that way, preparing for a hoard of anything. The wharf was decisively darker than the boardwalk, good for even ferrets. As we approached the noise, I heard clanging and screaming.

"Human screaming," Liza whispered. We headed down towards the noise, speeding up our pace. Liza and I jogged slowly, while Calvin kept up with his huge strides.

Suddenly, in front of us, a single street lamp in the wharf illuminated the battle. Like phantasmal figures from a dream, four humans were fighting off three Myrmidons. A red hair girl struck violently at one of the creatures, freeing a blond hair girl from its net. Then, the creature struck her across the arm, sending her sprawling.

In an instant, the blond threw a knife at its neck, cutting an artery. The creature went to pull the knife out, but the red head stuck a long metal poll into its neck to finish the job. Before the blond girl could blink, however, another creature knocked her off her feet.

Two boys, one blond and the other almost bald, fought against the pair. The blond boy had gashes across his arms, and stumbled around, struggling to stand. With the blow to the blond girl, the blond boy charged the Myrmidon, who promptly picked him up and threw him several yards.

The red head charged the creature that fought the bald boy, and it promptly broadsided her in the head. All the while, we were heading closer, but all the damage the Myrmidons were doing took barely seconds.

As we were almost close enough to fight, the blond girl got up, throwing her metal poll into the other Myrmidon's spine, by its neck. She drove it in with all her effort, but stopped, looking over at her bald friend.

He fought like an ancient warrior, holding himself against the enormous monster with a single poll. The girl ran over, about to strike the creature, when it turned, throwing her into the air, into the lamppost.

"Drum," I looked over at Calvin, who'd stopped moving for a second. Suddenly, his pace doubled. He charged the remaining creature, drew his blade, and cut it straight on the head, cracking its skull.

However, the bald boy suffered injuries from the monster and lay sprawled on the ground, his arm in an odd position. I walked over to the other creatures, making sure they were all dead.

"Help them," Calvin pleaded with me. I wondered at his sudden burst of emotion, but decided I'd ask later. I looked at the blond girl. She was hurt, definitely, maybe even in a comma. I picked her up, and headed towards the red hair girl. I felt her breath. There was none. I felt her pulse. There was none.

"She's dead," I sighed, picking up her body. Deyana would be able to use it some how.

"He's alive," Liza pointed to the blond boy. Calvin had the bald boy, and walked over to Liza, picking up the blond boy.

"He looks very bad," I studied the boy's bleeding arms and bruised body. Up close, I realized he'd sustained several more injuries to his head, back, and legs I hadn't seen before. "Let's go, quickly. They don't look well."

Liza led the way towards the sub. She went in first, and I took the driver's seat, putting the sub into full power. We sped along to the depths, reaching the docking point. I grabbed the two poor girls, bringing them into the lab first.

"What?" Deyana turned to us, expecting creatures. Her face went from expectantly content to grave and very worried. "They're injured. Lay each of them on a table."

"This one is dead," I laid out the red hair girl first. "She was dead when we found her."

"Help me hook up these two," Deyana motioned towards the blondes. "They look like they've sustained the worst injuries. Lay the other boy there, and I'll look at him. Give them all oxygen."

"What can we do?" Calvin asked after he laid the boys down.

"Go to your rooms and rest," Deyana sighed. "It'll be good for you. I'll call you after I figure out their conditions."

(Liza)

I followed Calvin out of the lab. I watched him, walking into his room. I headed towards the shower, my stomach full of ice cream. I took off my weapons, putting them back in storage. Then, I took out my diamond, stuffing it under my pillow. I took a quick shower, eager to talk to Calvin.

I walked towards his room, my hair straggly and wet. I'd dressed in sweat pants and a sweatshirt, and felt warm and comfortable. Now might be the time to ask about his actions. His sudden vigor surprised me because I'd never seen him do anything vigorous yet.

I knocked, walking in when he didn't respond. He sat on the floor, all his armor off, with a blanket over himself. His dark, almost black eyes, looked up at me. "What?"

"What happened? On moment, you're in a fast walk, and the next, you're charging like a mad bull?"

Calvin didn't answer, so I sat down across from him, deciding I had all the time in the world to wait. I crossed my legs, looking up at him. He'd dropped his head to his knees, and I couldn't see his eyes. I sighed, waiting for him to decide to talk.

"I've got time," I made sure he knew I was still there. Calvin gave a deep sigh, and looked up at me.

"I knew the one boy." I looked at his eyes, feeling a deep sadness in them. I nodded slowly, realizing what he was getting at.

"A friend, from the dorms," I filled in the blanks. Calvin paused, staring blankly past my head now. He nodded slowly.

"Drum," he replied, and I remembered the word he'd said just before he went crazy. Drum? It was an odd name, and I definitely had questions. I realized I had no idea what had ever happened to Calvin. I'd never thought of what happened to Calvin or Theresa before now. It suddenly occurred to me that it could be very emotional.

"Who is Drum?" I asked softly. Calvin met my gaze, and I could see him thinking of what to tell me.

"We were bunk mates in a Myrmidon camp." Suddenly, something inside of my head clicked. I remembered my own bunkmates, and a deep ache intensified inside of me. I remembered Josephine, my bunkmate and elder by three months.

'What could we do if we escaped?' Josephine asked me one night. 'We'd just we caught and go to the meat factory early.'

'Elle escaped' I whispered in the thick darkness of Silver Sun's dorms. 'Maybe we can. You can cause expositions in mid air!'

'They're only smoke, Liza. We'd be caught. Go to bed.'

"My bunkmate had her sad birthday, then, I decided I wanted out. That's when I fought Stelo," I replied quietly. Calvin nodded eyes and mind detached from anything real.

"Drum and I were a week and three days apart. He was the younger. He and I always talked about escape, but we didn't know how to do it because the Myrmidon camps are guarded more than the normal dorms. Secretly, we were both afraid."

"Then, one day, he told me he was done. He was escaping. He asked me to go with him. I told him no."

Calvin's words floated across my mind, and suddenly, I felt truly upset. "When did it happen?"

"Three months before our sad birthdays. I expected, every morning, to see him back in the dorms, or be tortured in the work yard. He never came back."

I sighed, looking down at my hands. I knew I'd never see Josephine again. I'd pushed that dead thought of seeing any of my dorm friends from my mind when I'd met Stelo. He'd told me they were dead. They, the part of them I knew and loved, were dead. Their bodies were there, parts of monsters.

"You told me you wanted your friends back, no matter what," Calvin's words pulled my head up. I looked into his dark eyes. "What if this happened? If I were your bunkmate, what would you do?"

I felt a slow, sad smile creep across my lips, and I felt longing fill my soul. "I'd look like this," I knew deep longing and sorrow were etched together in my features. "And I'd talk to you."

(Deyana)

Julio walked up behind me as I finished bandaging the bald boy's broken arm. I set it in a sling, walking over the dead girl. I'd have to take her apart tonight before she started to seriously decay.

"What's the diagnosis?" Julio asked quietly. I walked over to the bald boy.

"He's lost blood, suffered trauma, and broken several parts of the arm, not to mention dislocated his right arm."

I then strolled across to the blond girl. "She's in a comma, although lasting trauma shouldn't be too severe in this case. She's lost blood and broken several ribs and her wrists. She was several fractures in the hand with the broken wrists, too."

"The blond boy will die," I met Julio's chocolate brown eyes. He stared serenely into my eyes with full patience and understanding.

"Go on," he said tranquilly. I cocked my head slightly at him, silently asking him if he was ready to hear it. Julio nodded pointedly.

"He's broken several ribs and spine in several spots. If he lives he'll be a quadriplegic for the rest of his short life. He's also in a comatose state, and there's bleeding in the brain. He's lost huge amounts of blood, and almost died from a cut wrist."

"What do you want to do?"

"I want to take apart that girl and keep these three on oxygen. I've put this boy on life support, but it won't last much longer. He has so much time until he's suffered permanent brain damage. Maybe five days or a week, depending."

"What do you want to do?" Julio asked the question again. I knew what he was getting at. What was I going to do with the boy?

"I'd like to make him a new body," I sighed wistfully. "I'll need DNA from the aquarium. I don't know the technology. I need to find that out, too. The other two will revive in merely days, so I'll watch them, especially the girl."

"So, we're off to the aquarium?" Julio walked towards the door.

"Yes, and don't take Theresa. Make it fast. Tell them we're racing the clock."

A/N: for anyone reading this, still, thanks. I loved this story, and finally wrote more. Have fun, make comments, and I'll reply. Thanks, MorganRay.