This is my story of what happened to Ryan after the Chosen fell from power. He was one of my favorite characters and though his send off was good, I disliked how his fate remained unknown. He and Patsy being core members of the original cast deserved better. Everyone does stories on Bray and Danni but I have yet to read anything about Ryan. I often wondered what could make Ryan stay away from the mall, away from his family. I like to think he found happiness out there and a new home. This is my story.

Some of you might think Ryan's character is somewhat different but keep in mind that traumatic experiences can change a person. Ryan spent a period of at least three months in the mines. Something like that can definitely alter ones' perspective on things.

Also, for story's sake I have more than one type of mine. The kind where Cloe was sent was a punishment labor camp run by mostly inept guards. So when the Chosen empire fell apart those guards simply left and the kids were free to go. Ryan on the other hand, because he was sentenced to death and had to be kept hidden, was sent to a different mine. A mine where people were sent to be forgotten. It's run by the Praetorian guards who will live and die for Zoot. They would rather blow the whole place up than see anyone escape Zoot's wrath. A much more dangerous place to be.

This year's love had better last

Heaven knows it's high time

I've been waiting on my own too long

And when you kiss me like you do

It feels so right

I start to forget how my heart gets torn

When that hurt gets thrown

Feeling like I can't go on

Turning circles when time again

It cuts like a knife oh yea

If you love me got to know for sure

'Cause it takes something more this time

Than sweet sweet lies

Before I open up my arms and fall

Losing all control of every dream inside my soul

And when you kiss me on that midnight street

Sweep me off my feet

Singing ain't this life so sweet

This year's love had better last

So whose to worry if our hearts get torn

When that hurt gets thrown

Don't you know this life goes on

And won't you kiss me on that midnight street

Sweep me off my feet

Singing ain't this life so sweet

This year's love had better last

-David Grey

CHAPTER ONE

Ryan's eyes slowly opened. He moaned. It hurt to breathe. His whole body wracked with pain. He made an attempt to sit up but...

"Ugh!" He gasped in agony.

"You shouldn't move." A voice said quietly.

Ryan's eyes focused on the darkness around him. There was a girl crouched in the corner of the room. She was cooking something on a small camping stove. As she looked up she swept her long hair over her shoulder and Ryan was able to see her face. She looked familiar.

"Taisan?" He whispered.

"Who?"

No. It wasn't Taisan but she was of Asian descent.

"Where... where am I?" Ryan asked, confusion on his face.

"I'll tell you where you are if you tell me who you are."

Ryan paused a moment. "Uh... Ryan. My name's Ryan."

The girl came to him with a small thermos in hand. She knelt beside him and gently helped him to lift his head.

"We're in an attic of a cabin. Don't worry, you're safe. The Chosen can't hurt you anymore."

"The Chosen?" Ryan was confused.

"Here." She tipped the thermos to his lips. "You need water."

Ryan took a sip becoming aware of how painfully dry his mouth and throat were.

"The Chosen." He said again and looked at the girl. Her dark dreadlocks reminded him of someone... "Lex!" He suddenly remembered. Images were coming back to him in random flashes. The Chosen. The mines. The Mallrats. Salene... "What happened!"

The girl looked at him silent for a moment as she placed the thermos beside his makeshift bed. Then she crossed her legs and stared at her hands.

"I don't know what happened to you. I found you..." She swallowed as she thought deeply. "The Chosen were falling apart and there were rebellions all over the city. And with the rumors of the Guardian going insane there was no way they were gonna keep it together..."

"The Guardian." Ryan whispered to himself, remembering that it was his attempt to kill the Guardian which sentenced him to the mines in the first place.

"So I took my chances and started hiking over the mountain. I mean, who knew how it was gonna end. I stayed off the roads and followed a small stream and at nightfall decided to camp out until daybreak." She sighed before continuing. "The next morning I was on my way when I saw it." She paused, her slanted eyes narrowing. "It was blood on a tree. I decided to check it out and then I found him. This kid... this dead kid. I didn't know how he got there." She sighed. "Then I discovered he wasn't the only one. It was... a massacre." She said in a whisper. "Kids everywhere. Like a battlefield. Right in front of this cave in the hillside."

Ryan stared at her as a memory came back to him. He was running through the darkness. Amongst the screaming kids. All of whom were running towards the same thing he was. The light. The light that had been kept from them for months. He was weak with hunger and thirst but all he could see was the mouth of the mine. The trees outside. He was almost there.

"I've seen Chosen mines before but none like this." The girl paused before shaking her head as if to make the memory disappear. "Anyway, you moaned so I got you on your feet and brought you here. It was the closest thing I could find and you needed rest." She finished quickly and stood up. Their eyes caught one another for a moment before she walked back to the stove.

"I walked here?" Ryan had no memory of this.

"I'd hardly call it walking." Ryan suddenly made a brave attempt to sit up. "I wouldn't do that just yet." She warned.

But Ryan ignored her. Yelping all the way he managed to pull himself up. He felt like there was a giant hole ripped right through his chest. He panted in pain. He could barely support himself as he struggled to keep from falling back.

"I told you." The girl rushed to his aid and Ryan allowed her to ease him back down. "You're too weak." She explained gently. "You haven't eaten in God knows how long. From the looks of it they were pretty much starving you." She gave him a once over as she fixed his blankets. "You're nothing but skin and bones."

Ryan swallowed painfully. "My head's killing me."

"You're body's starving and you have no fat on you." She nodded towards the stove. "I've made soup."

Ryan felt himself drifting away. "Not hungry." He murmured.

"You need to eat." She insisted.

But Ryan was already gone. Adrift in a sea of black dreams.

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He was running again. Towards the light. it seemed so far away and he was tired. Something was slowing him down. Holding him back. He realized he was carrying something but he couldn't look down to see what it was. He just kept running towards the mouth of the mine. Towards the light. Towards the trees.

"I'm coming Salene." He whispered. "Almost there."

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It was light outside when Ryan woke. He could see the slant of the attic roof. The cobwebs that seemed to have taken over every corner. Blue sky peaked through a knothole and he could hear the chorus of trees dancing in the wind. Then the pain hit him again. It split down his back cutting through his midsection. And his right leg, God his leg felt broken at the knee. Ryan cried out as he attempted to adjust his position on the wood floor. Suddenly he heard running up the steps.

"You're awake!" The girl bent over him, Her face much clearer in the light of day. Ryan grit his teeth as she adjusted some pillows under his back so he could sit up partway. "It's been two days." She stared at him, worry in her eyes. "You have to eat something or you'll never get well."

He didn't protest. He could barely breathe as it was. He watched her dig into a dingy book bag in the corner. He realized there was another bed made up over there. Seeing her now he decided she looked nothing like Taisan except for her almond eyes. She was shorter and paler. Her lack of height was accentuated by the length of her hair which trailed down to her waist like a dark cape. Colorful beads and small strips of fabric were weaved in the twisted dreadlocks. Her clothes were simple and aged giving Ryan the impression that she stayed on the move. A gray fitted tank with almost black cargo pants. Worn combat boots in dire need of a polish finished it off. This was a girl who gave little thought to her looks. She came back to him with an opened tin of green beans. Ryan made a face as he gingerly took a bite.

"Sorry." The girl frowned. "My cook has the night off."

Ryan caught the sarcasm in her voice and looked up. "No, I'm sorry. Been eating dirt for months. Taste buds are screwed."

Her stern eyes relaxed as she spoon fed him. Minutes passed in awkward silence as she watched him choke down his meal. Ryan tried to remember the last time he ate anything else besides stale bread covered in dirt. Even when in captivity at the mall he was fed decent food though sparse. He thought of the daily scrap of bread he was given in the mines. The small tin cup of water which tasted like rust. How he grew accustomed to the taste of dirt caked on his lips.

"What was it like?" She asked as though reading his mind.

Ryan met her eyes briefly before looking back at the ceiling. "It was dark."

She waited patiently for more and when he didn't offer... "And?"

"And it was dirty. I mean I was in the ground... practically." Ryan finished quietly.

The girl, sensing he wasn't going to eat anymore placed the half eaten tin of beans next to her. "Were there a lot of people there?"

Ryan started to shrug but winced in pain instead. "I dunno. I didn't really see anyone. We were kept separated in the dark." He swallowed. "But I could hear them. Screaming. Crying."

The girl went to fetch him more water and when she returned saw his eyes brimming with tears. Ryan gratefully took the water and had no trouble drinking this time.

"What happened there?" She finally asked after several minutes. "What I found... How'd you get that way?'

Ryan didn't look at her. He was trying to dig into his memory. He knew there was something locked away. Something had happened but he couldn't recall what it was.

"I dunno." He finally answered in defeat. "I can't remember."