Andrew's POV:

I slowly crack open one of the double doors we came upon. A sign hung overhead that read 'Section C' in blue, neon lettering. I poke my head in slightly, just enough to get my eyes in.

The room is similar to the one I was in when first arrived, the lobby of Section F. There was a large window which peered into the main office, with a large, steel gated door blocking us from getting into the section.

Luckily, there were no guards patrolling in this room, no doubt due to Yuri's escapade. I gesture to the girls to stay low and we creep into the lobby. We stay low as to negate being spotted from the one guard in the office.

We sidle up underneath the window, right next to the steel door. I purse my lips and look around for a solution to our problem.

I feel fingers prod at my arm and turn to see Libitina signaling me to a panel on an adjacent wall. I crouch-walk up to the device, seeing an assortment of keys, buttons and lights.

I scan the device and see one of the keys near a "door" label. I hold the key and look back to the girls, who nod their heads. I take a deep breath and turn the key to "open".

The steel door hums to life and the doors open, ringing throughout the room. I slide into position and bring out the laser baton, activating it and standing by.

The guard in the office slowly pokes his head into the room and sees nothing. Confused, he walks in, only for me to lung at him. Before he could respond, I stick the prongs into his side and he crumbles, knocked unconscious.

I frisk his gear belt, fumbling around with different pouches. I brandish a set of laser handcuffs, the same kind they used on me. I heave and roll him over, placing his hands behind his back and restraining him. With difficultly, I drag his body through the door and into the main office.

I sigh and wipe sweat off my brow, the girls following me into the room.

"Good job, Andrew." Libitina says to me with a soft smile. "That was pretty smart thinking of you."

I shrug and start searching the room.

"Well, my dad is a cop so he kind of taught me some stuff here and there while growing up."

Libitina goes to respond but pauses at a control panel.

"Hey guys, over here!" She exclaims.

I scan the panel until I see a series of override switches. One of them were labeled 'Quarters', and Libitina flipped it without hesitating.

Outside the office, the sounds of doors buzzing and opening range through the halls. I step out and poke my head out into the halls, seeing the doors have indeed been opened.

Ilia rushes past us and out into the hallway, poking her head into each door.

"Allison!" She calls out. "Allison, where are you?"

A girl steps out into the hallway. She had the same skin tone as Ilia, with the same brown eyes and hair color. Her hair fell down to her shoulders and she was garbed in a yellow gown. She had the same innocent face as Ilia and had a shocked expression.

"Ilia?" She squeaks out, her voice a higher pitch than the rest of the girls I've talked to.

The two run into an embrace, squeezing each other for dear life.

"It's been so long," Ilia says, sounding like she was holding back tears. "You've grown so much!"

The younger girl speaks up.

"I lost hope that I'd ever see you again…" She trails off.

Ilia pushes away from the embrace and caresses her cheek.

"Don't worry, we have help. We're getting out of here."

I hear the crackling of a speaker overhead and turn around to see Libitina fumbling with a microphone.

"Er-attention, everyone! Meet up in the Playroom for an announcement! Quickly!"

I turn my attention back to the halls to see a bunch of reluctant girls heading into the playroom.

I hear Libitina sidle up next to me.

"Okay, so how do we do this?" She asks nervously.

I sigh and step out into the hall.

"The only thing I can think of. Rally the girls and get them out of here."

She has a nervous look on her face, almost like she doesn't know what to expect or do. I gesture her to follow and force a small smile.

"We'll go in, give a little speech and be on our way. Hopefully all the resistance will be after your sister, so we should be okay."

She scans my face and locks eyes with me. Her expression softens and she starts stepping out of the office.

We fall into the room with the rest of the girls looking perplexed and nervous. The girls murmurs fall silent as we get in front of them, with Ilia standing off to the side with her sister.

"As I'm sure you know by now, there's some circumstance going on throughout the facility," Starts Libitina, finding her voice. "and with these circumstances, we have a chance to get out of here."

She looks around the room, with the girls just staring back with expectant eyes.

"We have been revisited by an unexpected friend who I'm sure you're all aware of from the past, and with her help we can escape."

Everyone shuffles in place nervously, unsure on how to take in the news. Or if they believed the news.

"If you come with us, we can escort you guys to safety."

No one spoke up or said a work.

I turn to Libitina to see her staring at me helplessly, her eyes begging for help.

I gaze around the room and soak in the sight. They all wore the same, tattered gowns. Their body language shows that they've already given up, lost hope for their lives. Their eyes were sunken in and baggy, with years of torment eating away at their sanity. It's a wonder they've stayed put together this long.

I sigh and get their attention.

"Look, I know it all sounds crazy. Hell, I'm not even from here, but I've seen enough to know that no one deserves to live under these conditions. This may be all some sort of strange fever dream for me, but until I figure that out, I'm going to help you guys."

Libitina gives me an appreciative nod.

I sigh and stare back at the girls. So many broken souls, stuck in this prison. I realize that Libitina and Ilia have to be in the same boat, all helpless and tortured. I grip the baton in my hand, knowing that this was about to be one, long night.

…..

Libitina's POV:

Andrew finishes speaking and I feel relieved. The girls seemed to have been affected by his speech, for the atmosphere in the room was slightly lifted.

I don't know him at all yet, but for someone who was thrusted into this hell with us out of nowhere, he carries himself high and I admire him for that. The only problem with this whole charade was he stood out like a sore thumb.

The boys' quarters were on a completely different side of the facility, with their own sections and rules. Not only that, Andrew is definitely the only person within a 100-mile radius wearing blue jeans and a black shirt. Not to mention his strange only-the-sides-are-buzzed haircut, which I don't even know what to call it. If we could find a robe in his size, he could pass for your normal, brown-haired, average-height male in the facility.

I must have been zoned out for too long because I focus and realize everyone is staring at me.

"O-okay!" I cough awkwardly into my hand. "We kind of devised a plan to get everybody to Section F."

"Section F? I thought that place has been out of commission for a while now." Pipes up one of the girls.

"Due to the circumstance, the individual helping us actually can get us out of here through the abandoned section, so it mostly works out with the lack of activity over there."

The girl nods with approval.

"Okay, we'll all just stick together and move efficiently, and we should be out of here in no time. Luckily," I gesture to Andrew. "We have sort of defense system over here."

Andrew shoots me an eyebrow.

"Is that what I am now? A defense system?"

I nod my head to him.

"For right now, yes. We have very little time to execute this. Anyone have any questions?"

Eyes look around at each other, but no one speaks out.

"Okay! Let's see what we can do-"

I'm interrupted by the crackling of an overhead speaker.

"Attention, all. At this time, this facility is under full lockdown."

I gasp to myself.

"Dr. Winters…" I mumble lowly.

"It seems that we have a group of individuals directly disobeying orders to stay in their sections, as well as an individual taken into custody escaping." He continues.

I shoot Andrew a worried look.

"If you are caught outside your designated area, there will be consequences beyond your imagination. With that being said, you will be caught Libitina. And when we find you, you and your friends will regret ever going over my head."

Silence envelopes the room and all the girls shift their eyes to me.

"Okay, everyone." I stammer. "Let's get out of here! Quickly!"

I gesture the girls with my hand and turn out of the room into the section's halls.

I make it halfway down the hall before turning to see who was following me. Andrew, Ilia and Allison were close to the rear with only some of the girls treading behind.

Some of the girls stop and their eyes widen. I turn forward and my heart leaps into my throat.

Standing at the steal door entrance of the section was a squad of Onyx guards, weapons at the ready. One of the guards to the side reaches down and keys his radio.

"We found them, sir."

My heart pounds in my chest. This can't be how this ends.

I scan my eyes frantically across all the guards, searching for anything.

"What do we do with them, boss?" Asks one of the guards.

The captain charges his rifle and cocks a smirk.

"Well, I'd say they're resisting and we needed to take action."

Murmurs spread throughout the squad as they chuckle and charge their rifles.

"W-wait! You can't just kill us because you feel like it!" I hear Ilia squeal from behind us.

He lets out a low, chuckle.

"Oh, but I can."

A rifle whirs and fires, a projectile airborne and pierces through the face of one of the girls next to me, blasting a hole through her head. Her crimson blood and head matter splatters against one of the walls and her body falls lifelessly to the ground.

I heard the others rifles power on and open fire.

I froze in place, unable to move. Before I could get shot, I was tackled to the side, fumbling down onto the ground into one of the girls' rooms.

I rolled a few times before looking up, dazed. I shake my head and focus my eyes, seeing Andrew kicking his feet on the floor and sidling his back up against a wall.

He gripped his baton and was working on controlling his breathing.

The ringing of gunfire echoes throughout the halls and into the rooms, with screams and moans bouncing into my ears.

I crawl up to Andrew and plant myself on my knees, slowly raising myself so my eyes were level with the window.

I stared wide-eyed as guards corralled girls into rooms and executed others. Most run and dive into rooms, dying in the process.

"They're killing everyone." I shakily say. "They're literally killing everyone."

My eyes lock onto Ilia and Allison huddling in the corner of the room adjacent to mine, barely visible through the windows. A guard walks into the room and laughs, slowly walking up to the girls.

"My, what do we have here?" I faintly hear him say. He holsters his weapon and instead brings out his laser baton, sparking it in the process. "It's a shame we have to kill you guys. Some of you guys are too good-looking for your own good."

I see him reach down and grab Ilia by the wrist, dragging her upwards. He chuckles and sparks the weapon, barely grazing her skin. She cries out in pain, helplessly trying to break free from his grasp.

"No, Ilia, no! Leave her alone."

I felt a strange sensation flow down my spine, and my vision exploded into blood red. My blood boiled in my veins and I could feel anger eating away at my sanity.

Time slowed down to a near halt, and the echoing of heartbeats bounced around in my head, making me hungry. Hungry for bloodshed, hungry for death. Most of all, starved to end the life of the one who thinks he can lay a finger on the ones I love.

The glass in front of me shattered and exploded outwards into the halls. In one motion, I leaped through the window, across the hall into the other room.

I steadied myself and glared at the guard holding Ilia's arm. The two girls were staring at me wide-eyed, with the guard having a perplexed expression himself.

"What the.." He turns to me holding his weapon.

I cock my head and listen to his blood flowing through his body. Although he stood his ground, his heartbeat was sporadic, showing me vulnerability.

His weapon flashed and flickered, failing to be an intimidating item.

I lock eyes with him and see his irises shift in fear. I let out a low chuckle.

"What's the matter? Don't like being at death's door?"

My voice was my own but had a haunted layer to it. Every word echoed with another, almost as if multiple voices were speaking at the same time.

I felt power surge through my hands and the air around us lightened, granting me easier access to his demise.

I could smell his fear, his heartbeat keeping the same, crazed pace. His thoughts were running too wild, blocking rationale solutions with utter fear.

He rushes me with a battle cry. His baton was raised, intending to spear me. I easily side-step his attack and use his momentum to throw him against the wall.

He grunts and drops his weapon when his back hits the wall, looking stunned.

"Is that all you've got? That's a shame, I wanted to have a little fun."

I approached him slowly, swaying my hips in the process. When I was standing in front of him, the fear in his eyes drove me into a blissful rush.

I punched forward into his chest, loving the cracking of his ribcage and the gushing of his blood. I grip my hands around his petty heart and pulled, ripping the cardiovascular muscle out of his chest cavity.

His body shuddered and he shakily fumbled at his chest, palming his open wound. His back slide down the wall, leaving a trail of blood in its wake.

His breathing stopped and his head slumped to the side, his still wide eyes staring soulless at the ground.

I turned my attention to the heart in my hand. It was still beating in my hands, with each pump becoming slower and slower. The rhythmic contractions entranced me, exciting me. I heard murmurs of the others outside the room and giggled.

I crushed the muscle in my hands, the last bits of blood splattered through my fingers and onto my gown. I turn to the door and enter the hallway.

The guards notice me and immediately bring their weapons up. I flicked my wrist and one the individual's weapon points to his friend uncontrollably, launching several rounds into the other's skull.

I giggle and walk up, grabbing the man by the throat. I heard fire open up in and spin the man around, using him as a meat shield.

The man screams and gurgles as his friends kill him, and before his body falls apart in my hands, I throw the carcass down the hall, crashing into the squad forces.

I charge forward and curb stomp their soft heads into the ground, dancing my way from person to person.

The captain starts to crawl towards a radio that's fallen out of his gear.

I step over carcasses and crush the radio into the ground, ceasing the mans advances.

He glares up at me.

"You're all going to die in here." He spits at me.

I reach down and grip his neck, eliciting gurgles from the man.

"Maybe, maybe not. You won't be around to see it though."

I pull on his neck, ripping his head and spine free from the rest of his body. I held the head up high, his blood dripping onto my face and person like my own personal rainstorm.

I laugh openly into the air and toss the head to the side.

I heard shuffles to my side and see the handsome young man fill the doorway, eyeing me wearily. He was clutching his weapon and staring at me like he couldn't comprehend what to think of me.

I strode towards him, stepping over the deceased guards who opposed us. I stood in front of him and scanned his eyes. He stood a few inches than taller than me, so I had to look up into them.

His eyes darted all around me, gazing back and forth from me and the carnage behind me.

"Don't worry, I don't bite. Much." I giggle to him.

His expression caused me to laugh out loud more. I felt a genuine pleasure seeing someone not succumbing to my aura. I know I should've felt angry about not being intimidating, but he is an exception.

I reach my hand out and lay it on his cheek. He slightly recoils at me touch before staying still, not making any sudden movements.

"You're going to help me, aren't you?" I ask him, painting my words with hope.

He locked eyes with me and dumbly nodded his head.

I giggled softly.

"Good. It'd be a shame to kill you. You're growing on me."

I heard more movement behind me to see Ilia and Allison fill the opposite doorway. Ilia's eyes were wide with disbelief and Allison looked like she was about to faint.

"H-how are you doing that, Libitina?" Ilia ponders nervously at me.

"Doing what?" I ask her, genuinely confused.

"Your eyes are all…red, and you were zipping around the room at crazy-like. How are you awakened?"

I turn back to the carnage behind me, and then to myself, bringing my hands up.

I could feel more rational thoughts return into my mind and my body went numb.

I could feel my energy fading and the cool air swept over my skin. My vision cleared back to normal and I slumped against the wall, spent of my energy.

Andrew stepped forward and gripped my shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

I weakly nodded my head, pinching my eyes shut.

"So, I'm guessing that was all your superpowers or some shit just now."

Before I could respond, Ilia fills the air with her voice.

"I'm guessing that something triggered her powers…"

I re-opened my eyes and stood up, steadying myself.

I took a shaky breath and made eye contact with Andrew, Ilia and Allison.

"As much as I'd like to figure out what the hell happened," I gestured towards the carnage of the halls. "I'm thinking we should get out of here."

I gaze around us and slightly peek into rooms.

"Did….did anyone else make it?"

Allison stuffs her face into Ilia's chest and sobs quietly. I pinch my eyes shut to hold in the onslaught of tears I felt breeching the surface. I can't break. Not now.

"They….they're evil. How could they do this?" Allison meekly says, her crying beginning to fade.

"It's okay, everyone is in a better place now. We can still meet up with the rest of everyone from the other sections." Ilia says, soothing her younger sister.

"There is no escaping this place." Allison responds. "We'll never get out of here. That's our curse for being freaks."

Andrew shuffles nervously in place next to me, clearly not uncomfortable. I sigh and step forward slowly, placing my hand on Allison's shoulder.

"We'll stick together and get through this together. My sister should have helped out most of the other sections by now. We can try and see if they've met up outside or something."

She looks up to me with glossy, hopeless eyes. She wipes her chocolate orbs and Ilia slides her hand down and squeezes Allison's palms.

I turn to Andrew and nod my head. He shifts off the walls and takes point in front of us as we exit the halls, making our way outside.

The double doors swing open and we are greeted with the chirps of crickets and the glow of a full moon. Small outdoor lamps were set high up on walls, dimly lighting the rest of the outdoor scene.

We make our way down the stairs, slowly striding to the middle of the courtyard.

"…where is everybody?" Ilia murmurs.

I gaze around the yard, slowing to a halt.

"They should be here any moment." I tell Ilia, turning to her.

We all flinch in place as we hear the closing of a door behind us. We turn to see Dr. Winters approaching with a small team of Onyx.

I feel Ilia slide her hand into mine, squeezing it tight.

"Libitina, did you really think that you could keep up with this charade and you wouldn't be caught?"

None of us choose to answer.

"Your sister has caused enough carnage this evening. Although her whereabouts are unknown, it's obvious that she has led you on a wild scavenger hunt that deems no rewards."

This time, I step forward in front of our group.

"She came to save us from your tyranny! From your torturous experiments! It's inhumane!"

He emits a low chuckle and pushes his glasses up higher on the bridge of his nose.

"Is that so? Then tell me, where is she now? Is she not about to show herself? To, dare I say, save the day?"

I shift nervously in place.

"She finishing liberating the rest of the girls. You can't stop her."

This time, Dr. Winters lets out a hearty laugh, looking back and forth to the guards at his sides, who also begin to chuckle.

"Libitina, dear, the rest of the sections are still in their quarters, asleep. Unlike some unsufferable worms, they follow orders and stay where they are told. Your sister hasn't been seen since the little bout in the main hub."

I take a step back, astounded.

"No…your lying. She's just regaining her energy is all. Everyone else will be saved soon."

He stepped forward, standing tall at the bottom of the stone stairs.

"Denial is a dangerous thing, Libitina. The sooner you realize your sister's motives, the better."

I balled my hands into fists and shook in place.

"What are you talking about?"

He sighed contently to himself, placing his hands behind his back.

"That is not my place to tell. You'll know in time." He turned his head slightly to his guards. "You know what to do."

Two of the guards step forward and draw sparking handguns. They fire and lightening tendrils wrap around my arms and abdomen, sending shockwaves throughout my entire body. I immediately fall into unconsciousness without a second to react.