Chapter Two –

Sedaytion's Mind

It had been a week since the incident with Albedo. Since then he hit her, and threatened to kill her three times. She was frightened of him: terrified. She didn't want to pass him in the hallway, or even glance in his direction. She avoided Nigredo and Rubedo just to keep away from him. It was horrible: she seriously couldn't understand what she did that ticked Albedo off so much.

She decided not to be useless though. In his eyes she was, and she was going to prove to him and herself that she wasn't. On the day she had to be in the Simulator, she told Doctor Mizrahi she wanted them to know they were in her mind and had been. She agreed without question, and before she had to be used, she quickly ran into Mizrahi's office when it was empty.

Quickly, she searched the drawers until she found a gun. She placed it in her backpack, just in case she would need it. She heard about monsters and war happened with the U.R.T.V's and that's why they would train. Sedaytion didn't know much, and really she didn't want to. She just wanted to get involved and find out what they were doing: maybe learn so she wouldn't be useless.

Before entering she checked her appearance. Her hair had been straightened, and her bangs brushed across her forehead. Her cloths were a pair of grey jeans and a white, flowing top, with a black top underneath. Nervously, she went into the room, and was being prepared to be used.

The U.R.T.V's were ready, and Doctor Mizrahi began to speak in the microphone to them.

"Today you will be entering another Simulator," she said. "Area is the same as last week: another city. You'll be in the mind of Sedaytion Clementine."

"What?" Albedo yelled. "We're in her mind?"

"Albedo, shh," Rubedo said.

"For the last year and a half you've used her mind for the Simulator quite often," she continued. Rubedo frowned. "We've got orders from her father to keep her extra safe today. We have no idea if she's ever followed you, but today is going to be difficult so do not let her follow and keep her safe."

Sedaytion opened her eyes quickly. She found herself lying on grass, yet she didn't know where she was. The sky was dark and grey; the world was murky and gloomy. Pushing herself up, she looked around. A church was to the right of her and there was a single tombstone in the graveyard. Curious, Sedaytion stood up to her feet, picked up her backpack and swung it over her shoulder.

She had a feeling whose name would be on the tomb yet she wanted to check just to make sure. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the name.

'Alison Jem Clementine.'

"Mother …" she whispered. Her head shook. "But what are you doing here?"

Sedaytion looked at her surroundings and it was different. Usually she'd be in a Theme Park, with rides and all sorts of things. Yet, she was in a graveyard. Was it because of her determination? Sedaytion thought long and hard, trying to think of an answer and then she found it.

"Father never gave me the drug …" she whispered. "Maybe that creates the park for me so I'm safe. But why wouldn't father want me to be safe?"

"Sedaytion?" someone called. Gasping, Sedaytion turned around. There was Rubedo, Nigredo and Albedo along with a few other U.R.T.V's.

Sedaytion frowned, and it seemed they were just as confused as she was. Wondering whether they were real or not, Sedaytion stared at them. She didn't understand much about the Subconscious Domain, apart from it could project memories. She had no idea if it could make people she saw daily.

Rubedo and Nigredo walked over to her, but Albedo kept his distance. They were defiantly real; they had to be.

"Why didn't you tell us we were in your mind?" Rubedo asked. Sedaytion shrugged.

"I didn't think it was a big deal," she said.

"But I don't understand … why couldn't we see you before?" Nigredo asked.

"I think it's because father gave me a drug to stay somewhere safe," Sedaytion replied.

"Why couldn't he give it to you now?" Albedo sneered.

"So you haven't had it now?" Rubedo asked. Sedaytion shook her head. "Well, you'd better stay here."

"No! I'm coming with you," she said. Rubedo shook his head.

"It's too dangerous," he said.

"Yeah, and we're not gonna have time to keep our eye on you," Albedo harshly said.

"We won't be long, Sedaytion," Nigredo said. "And we'd prefer you to stay here so you're safe. Okay?"

Sedaytion looked down and stayed silent for a moment. Then she nodded, agreeing to stay where she was to be safe. It was all for the best, as they said. They said they wouldn't be long, and as they began to leave, Sedaytion watched them carefully.

They went down a pathway, surrounded by dark trees, leaning over it. After waiting a minute or so, she followed, albeit quietly. She had no idea where she was going, but she followed the single path quickly. It was boring, but was over in moments and next thing she knew she was in a city.

In amazement she looked up at the tall buildings, and the beautiful orange and red coloured sky. The sun was quickly setting, and she couldn't understand why it was so dangerous. The city was huge, going as far as the eye could see. Lights were switching on as the sky grew dark. It was awesome. The only problem was the eerie silence that hung around, but Sedaytion just ignored it.

Sedaytion didn't understand why there was a city within her mind, and realised it was the simulator. She had made it there, and she was going to help! She remembered something called U-Do they trained to fight, or defeat. She wasn't sure what it was: it could be some creature or a place for all she knew. Even the city could've been U-Do.

Sedaytion walked for awhile, trying to find a U.R.T.V or U-Do. She felt no danger and kept her gun in her bag. As she walked, she kept her eye out for Rubedo, Nigredo or Albedo. She couldn't let herself be seen by them. She looked at her watch and made an agreement with herself.

"I'll stay here for an hour," she said. The Simulators could last from one hour to twelve hours and she had to make sure she wasn't going to get caught. "If I can't find U-Do then, or anything to help with I'll go."

Just then she heard a few gunshots nearby. A window smashed near her as it was shot and it made her jump. She saw no U.R.T.V's or anything, but she could hear yelling. She felt a little frightened at that moment; she took her gun from her bag just to feel a little bit safer.

As she went further down the street, it was like she stepped into a nightmare. Her foot went into a wet puddle, and as she looked down she saw blood on the street. She gasped, and moved her foot quickly out of the way and moved away from the blood. There was a crash of thunder, and rain suddenly fell from the sky. It ran down Sedaytion's face, soothing her as it did so.

She continued her walk through the horrible city and heard a shot right behind her. Quickly, she turned around and U.R.T.V was there. Blood had splattered across his face; a large circle of blood was around his chest. He had been shot. Looking around, she saw another dead body on a building. Perhaps his gun had shot this U.R.T.V. But, Sedaytion had no time to think. She quickly dropped her bag onto the wet floor and reached to grab the falling U.R.T.V.

"Are you okay?" she asked. She was panicking and placed him to lie on the floor as she took out some bandages from her bag.

He moaned slightly, and Sedaytion looked sorrowfully at him. She was going to help him: she was determined. "Don't worry. I'll save you," she told him. He coughed once, some blood ran down his face, and she quickly wiped it away.

Sedaytion ripped up the bandages, and moved his cloths so she could wrap them around his wound. He groaned at the pain, and she apologized a few times. His eyes kept shutting but she kept waking him up, refusing to lose him. There were a few more screams near by, and more Gunshots. She screwed up her face each time she heard a scream.

Once she had done she looked at the U.R.T.V. Sedaytion took his hand and checked his slow pulse. There was too much blood and she knew he wasn't going to make it. He looked up at her and she smiled as best she could; trying to hold back tears.

"You'll be okay," she assured. She had always been told U.R.T.V's were just machines, used like dolls; like she was. That the only real ones were ones from 666 to 669. But, she couldn't believe that.

Sedaytion looked at the number on his hand. It said 612. She remembered that really well, and he coughed a final time, a little bit of blood went on her white top. And then he died. Sedaytion stayed there for a moment, sitting on the cold floor. The rain took most of the blood away, yet it ran onto her knees and bag. Ignoring it, she shut his eyes and put her things in her bag.

Sedaytion swung the bag over her shoulder and continued to walk down the street. Her gun was firmly in her hand and she glanced down at her watch. Fifty minutes left. The boy, 612, played on her mind for the few moments of peace she had. She always thought she'd be used to seeing someone die, especially after last time but she wasn't. Not at all.

Sedaytion stopped suddenly and held her breath. Her legs were frozen in shock, or in fear: who knew? Purple beams were flying into the sky, hitting many U.R.T.V's. As it did they screamed painfully, and died. It was like a bloodbath. The most horrible thing she had ever seen. She heard the word U-Do being screamed repeatedly. Was that U-Do? As she looked more carefully down the street she saw some of the boys changing.

She shook her head. No, what she was seeing wasn't right. It couldn't have been. It was impossible.

Sedaytion took a few steps foreword to see if it was real or not. The boys … were changing. The ones who had been hit by U-Do were either dying or changing into … monsters.

'No, monster's aren't real …' she told herself as she got dangerously closer. She couldn't help herself but to be curious. 'It's gotta be my mind playing tricks on me.'

Sedaytion was only a few feet away from where some of the U.R.T.V's were dying. But, she didn't feel frightened. Her curiosity had got her at that moment and nothing would pull her away from finding out what was happening. It was like … a monster was inside of them, and they ripped open their skin as they came out. They were weird shapes, almost like humans but with pointy arms and weird facial features.

One had appeared in front of her, and it looked deeply into her eyes. Her limbs were shaking with immense fear; it was just inches away. She tried to lift up her gun, yet her body was frozen in fear. She told herself to run, don't look back, but she couldn't. It was more terrifying then the night with Albedo.

It lifted its razor sharp arm, ready to stab Sedaytion, when a U.R.T.V ran in front of her.

"No!" Sedaytion yelled, grabbing the U.R.T.V's shoulder. She was about to pull him away, and give her life for him, but the monster was too quick. It stabbed him in the stomach, and the usual red liquid sprayed on Sedaytion's cloths. She, herself, had been cut along the arm sharply, yet she hadn't noticed. Her blood dripped down onto the floor.

She took a few steps back and the boy slid off the monsters arm. Quickly, the monster turned around and ran away. Still shaken up, Sedaytion moved foreword and looked down at the boy. His injuries would surely kill him, yet he tried to speak.

"Pro …protect … S-S-S…Sedayt-tion," it whispered.

Doctor Mizrahi gave orders to protect her. She realised that.

"Thank you," Sedaytion said, with a smile. She checked around to make sure no U-Do or monsters were near her, and then she bent over to look at the boy's number.

655

Sedaytion quickly straightened up and looked at the bloody massacre in front of her. Realization suddenly kicked in and she took many steps back. She couldn't bare to watch them fight and die endlessly any longer. Quickly, she ran down the street for her life. She was frightened and her fragile mind was struggling to take in what was going on.

There was so much screaming, so much death it was unreal. She was truly in a nightmare. Or at least she hoped she was. Her feet splashed in puddles mixed with water and blood.

She saw a medium sized, brick bridge and decided to take shelter under it. She breathed quickly, trying to catch her breath. Sedaytion leaned her back against the cold wall, and ran her fingers through her damp her.

Sedaytion saw someone or something move in the corner of her eye. Quickly, she turned her head and saw a boy limping towards her. She ran over to him and helped him stand. He was injured in the leg, but that was it. Finally, she was going to be able to help. She was going to save him.

"You okay?" she asked. The boy looked at her blankly. She smiled. "Does it hurt? I'll help ya, so don't worry." She smiled.

Sedaytion didn't notice the U-Do beam swoop under the bridge.

The purple light hit the boy standing in front of her, and warm blood sprayed everywhere; over her cloths, her face and the wall. The body fell to the floor in front of her, and her blue eyes widened. Her heart was pounding, and her hand immediately reached to cover her widened mouth. She let out a scream, and she took a few steps backward, letting her back hit against the under bridge cold wall. She slid down it, and hit the floor, a few more splotches of blood went on her cloths. Her gun dropped to the floor by her, and so did her bag.

She couldn't believe it: there was so much death around her; had she entered hell? Sedaytion wished she had listened to her father and Rubedo: she wished so badly she hadn't followed them, but her curiosity had gotten the better of her. And all she wanted to do was help. But she couldn't. She couldn't help anyone. And no one would be able to help her. For all she knew Rubedo, Nigredo and Albedo were dead or were monsters. For all she knew she'd die.

Her limbs were shaking, and she arms had fallen to her sides. She couldn't care that she was covered in blood, that she freezing cold or soaking wet from the rain. All she could care about was the boy and the others who were dying.

She hadn't felt so alone in her life. She wanted to leave under the bridge, just to find someone yet she didn't have the courage. Teenagers her age were dying out there: even if they hadn't been born properly they were still people. For ages she listened to the rain, the crashing of thunder and the odd final scream of someone. Her mind was too fragile to handle it all, and she was frightened she'd be there forever: no one knew where she was.

As she was watching it all, she thought she was handling it. But she wasn't: she couldn't. It all just piled on her like a pile bricks. Every death, scream and splatter of blood she heard and saw in the last half an hour ran through her mind over and over again.

Like a lonely child, she pulled her shaking knee's up to her chest, and hugged them tightly. Her head leaned on her knee's and tears began to leave her eyes. She couldn't bare to look at the body in front of her for more then a moment. How she longed for home, for warmth; for shelter.

There was a scream and she hunched her shoulders dejectedly. She felt her blood trickle down her arm, and it dripped onto the floor. The wound was bad, yet not enough to kill her. She couldn't care less about it or the pain anyway.

Sedaytion lifted her head, hearing a few footsteps. They were outside the bridge first, but then they began to echo. She lifted her head, opening her eyes slightly. Her vision was blurred from the crying, but she didn't bother to make it better. She saw two feet stop in front of her, and as she lifted her head to see the face her heart pounded quickly.

Albedo.

"No," she whispered, fearful of her life. His eyes were wide and he was staring down at her, and she stared back up at him fearfully. They were alone, and she knew he wanted to kill her, and he would. He would if he ever got the chance and now he had it.

He took a step foreword, and she opened her mouth to yell until he covered his with a single finger. "Shh…" he said softly. His eyes had softened, and slowly he went down onto his knees. He acted as if she was a skittish cat, taking his time with his actions slowly. He moved foreword, to be as close to her as possible. Her heart was pounding, yet his eyes had changed: she didn't feel like she should've been scared.

"This…" he whispered. "Is horrible … huh?"

Sedaytion nodded, still unsure about him. He smirked slightly and brought his pale hand to her face. She was worried he was going to strike her, but he wiped blood away. She frowned but wasn't going to complain. His kindness was what she needed at that moment. Whether he would hurt her when they got back, it wouldn't matter if he helped her get through it.

"You're … not going to hurt me?" she whispered. Albedo gingerly shook his head. He took his bloody hand from her face, and wiped the red liquid on his trousers. Not many people had gotten as bloody as her before, but he was used to it.

"Don't worry, you'll be safe with me," he assured. He looked at her white cloths, stained in red. "You're covered in it …"

"I think … I got too close to them …" she whispered, feeling the tears well up in her eyes again. Albedo looked sympathetically at her.

"How many did you see die?" he asked softly.

"A lot. Three near me …" she answered. "I tried to help them but …"

She began to cry again and Albedo stared at her. He wanted to stop her from crying, yet he didn't know how. He tried shushing her gently, like she was a child but didn't know what else to do. No one had comforted him in his life, apart from Rubedo a few times and he was too timid to hold her tightly and tell her it would all be okay.

"Sedaytion," he said. "Don't cry. You probably did your best and they're just U.R.T.V's. Nothing special. They've got one collective mind or something like that."

Sedaytion sniffed, her tears were stopping. She wiped her face with one hand, and then felt Albedo grab the other one. Her heart thudded, wondering whether he would hurt her, but he was holding her gently. He gave her a faint smile, and she smiled back.

"Come on," he whispered. Sedaytion nodded, and using his hand and the wall for support, she stood up quickly. Before they began to move, she picked up her bag, put it over her shoulder and then picked up her gun.

"Where did you get that?" he asked. Sedaytion smirked.

"I stole it from Doctor Mizrahi's office," she answered. "Don't suppose she'll miss it."

He nodded. As they walked, Albedo refused to let go of her hand, even though he must have known she didn't need him to hold onto her. And then it struck her: did he need her? Did Albedo need her to be soft and kind to him just as much as she needed from him? As they walked out into the city area, the rain hit hard.

She felt his hand shaking; her blue eyes glanced in his direction and he did look quite frightened.

"Albedo …" she murmured. "Are you frightened of this place?"

Albedo sighed, ran his hand through his hair and then nodded. "Don't tell anyone or else."

"I won't," Sedaytion promised. "What happened to Rubedo and Nigredo?"

"They're at the graveyard," he answered. "We were gonna go, but then you weren't there and I agreed to find you."

He went to find her? He did? The boy who was out to kill her in the most painful way? It was … weird … strange. Out of the blue. Why? Why did he try to find her? She wanted to ask it so much, but she couldn't bring herself to. It could make him angry or anything. She kept it in, and looked across the street. There was still yelling, screaming and gunshots. In the corner of her eye she could see some of them mutating into the monsters. It was surprising how Albedo, Rubedo or Nigredo didn't go crazy. They had been brought up to live like that. To Sedaytion it was sick.

"You've been hurt," Albedo said, just noticing the cut on her arm. Sedaytion looked to her bloody arm, sighing. It stung yet it wasn't a terrible pain: she could deal with it. And she wasn't going to get killed or hurt badly.

"It's no biggie," she said.

Albedo's pace quickly sped up, and as they walked further and further, Sedaytion noticed less buildings and more trees. The streets had singled out into one single path, just like the one from before. The screaming had stopped, and there were no more gunshots. Had they made it out of there? She was so thankful, but would only be happy when she'd get home.

"Do you still hate me?" Sedaytion asked.

"Don't think so," Albedo replied. Sedaytion nodded.

"Why … why did you hate me?" she asked. Albedo looked down to the ground, almost shamefully.

"You really confused me," he answered. "Loo, just never mind, okay?"

"Okay," Sedaytion said, nodding.

There was a long pause of silence as they walked down the path. All the buildings had gone and they defiantly weren't in the city anymore. After the pause of silence Albedo looked at her.

"I'm sorry I hit you," he said. His face went a little red. "And I threatened you. And frightened you."

"It's okay," Sedaytion said. She had forgotten about it and she couldn't care less about what he had done, only because he had changed.

The path opened up, and the trees spread out. They found themselves in the Church yard; Rubedo and Nigredo were sitting on the wall near the church.

Her mother's tomb was still there; Sedaytion ignored it. Rubedo and Nigredo ran up to the pair of them, both shocked by the amount of blood she was covered in. Albedo, awkwardly let go of Sedaytion's hand and looked at Rubedo. There was a long pause of silence and Rubedo shook his head.

"I can't believe …" he couldn't get his words out and took a moment, before yelling. "What the hell were you thinking?"

His yelling made Sedaytion jump slightly.

"I told you to stay away! Just look at you! And hell knows what you've seen," Rubedo yelled.

Sedaytion looked to the ground, too angry to speak, Rubedo walked away. Nigredo stood still, wondering what to do and Albedo followed Rubedo back to the wall. They sat on it and spoke. Sedaytion let a long sigh escape her mouth and she looked across the almost empty graveyard.

"I was only trying to help," she whispered.

"You did your best," Nigredo said to her. "You can always help outside the simulator, if you want."

Sedaytion sighed again. A small, blue and white portal appeared from the ground a few yards in front of her: the exit. She watched as Rubedo and Nigredo ran in first. Just as Albedo was, he turned around to her.

"Come on," he called.

Sedaytion reluctantly followed, slowing her pace down; she knew her father was going to kill her when he found out.