Adelaide was rescued by a small group of fighters lead by Jackson several minutes after she'd sent her distress signal, Jackson practically sprinting towards her. The pair hugged tightly, sobbing into each other. Jackson tried to ask what had happened but Adelaide just shook her head, refusing to speak about what she had lived through. Jackson understood and decided not to press her about it, instead taking her back to the museum.

Over the course of several days, Adelaide's ankle healed but it would take time for her to be able to fight again. She could walk, but she couldn't put too much pressure on it nor could she run. Adelaide was okay with that, she was done with fighting, anyway. Without DogNut, she felt like she didn't have anything else to really live or fight for.

Perhaps that was why she found herself standing on the roof, the cold wind blowing through her hair and drying her tears. Adelaide stood at the edge of the museum roof, her toes curling over the edge. It was so easy… just one more step and she would be free. Free from the guilt, free from the pain, free from the constant reminders that she had lived and so many people had died.

Just as she was finally about to jump, she felt arms wrap tightly around her middle and someone pulling her back from the edge. She tried to get out of their grip but she wasn't strong enough. Once she was far enough away from the edge, the person's arms released her and Adelaide finally saw who it was.

Hayley.

"Have you completely lost your fucking mind?! Adelaide, what the hell are you doing?" She almost screamed at Adelaide, her long black hair whipping around her face.

Tears began to fall down Adelaide's face again, her breathing heavy and she knew she was on the verge of a panic attack. "Everything reminds me of him, Hayley. I can't live like this! I want to leave this fucking place and not look back."

Hayley gently placed her hands on Adelaide's shoulders, calming down within moments. "Addie, calm down, just breathe."

Adelaide forced herself out of Hayley's grasp, screaming in her face. "I can't calm down! Everyone is dead, Hayley! Jack, Bam, DogNut, Courtney, Aleshia, Frédérique, even Jared... they're all dead, everyone is dead!"

"Adelaide, what happened to them… it wasn't your fault."

"Yes, it was! Courtney died because I wasn't there to help her, Jared died because I wasn't there to protect him and DogNut died saving my life… it should've been me."

Adelaide didn't wait to hear Hayley's response before she stormed back downstairs, ignoring the throbbing in her ankle as she arrived back into her bedroom, slamming the door shut behind her. She looked around her room in anger before grabbing a small pot of black ink and a needle from a shelf, knowing what she was going to do.

Sitting on her bed, Adelaide cringed at the sensation of the needle penetrate her skin but she didn't stop until she had finished her tattoo; it was DogNut's name on her wrist. She wanted to remember him and this was how she would make sure that his memory would never die. He died protecting her and she wanted to remember him like that; her brave knight.

Once she was finished, she lay down on her bed and traced over her new tattoo over and over and eventually fell into a light and dreamless sleep – a welcomed relief from the nightmare of her reality.

By the time she woke up, the museum was silent and the dim light of the morning came into her room. Sitting up in bed, she wiped the sleep out of her eyes and rolled out of bed. If she couldn't kill herself, then she'd do the next best thing; she'd runaway and never come back.

In the early hours of the morning, Adelaide made her bed and made sure all her belongings were safely in her backpack, including the many Polaroid pictures she had taken of DogNut. They were her most prised possessions, and looked at them often. She kept his jacket, too, but she never wore it. She sometimes hung it around her shoulders like he would have done but that was about it. She wanted to preserve it as best as she could, even though she'd worn it once back at the park.

Leaving her room, Adelaide walked silently around the museum before reaching Hayley's room and reaching into her pocket to bring out a letter she'd written earlier that night;

Dear Hayley;

I'm sorry. I can't stay here – everything I see reminds me of him and I just need to get away from here. I don't know if or when I'll come back but I hope we see each other again, my friend. Don't come looking for me, I just need to be alone for a while.

Tell Esme that I'm sorry, that I love her and that I'll come home soon. And to never give up hope. Protect her with your life, Hayley. She's the only good thing I have left in this world.

May we meet again.

Adelaide.

She looked over it one more time before she left it under Hayley's door and walked towards Esme. Adelaide watched Esme sleep for a few moments before she finally leaned down to press a gentle kiss to her forehead, mouthing her goodbyes and how sorry she was for leaving Esme again.

Walking slowly and quietly away, Adelaide had to remind herself that she needed to do this – she had to leave. There was almost nothing left for her there, and she needed time alone for her to figure out what she was going to do next.

As quietly as she could, she left the museum and stepped out into the chilly morning, her breath clearly visible as she made her way down the steps, trying to stop herself from thinking about the last time she was in this position – she was going to the Tower with DogNut and she was happy. That life felt like a million years ago rather than several days.

Slowly, she opened the main gates and stepped out of them, closing them behind her. She took a deep and shaky breath as she looked at the streets before her before looking back at the museum, she took one last look at the museum before she turned her back and walked into the empty streets alone, not looking back.

END OF PART TWO...

Note

One more part left of this story; I don't want it to end! But like I said earlier, Adelaide's story still hasn't been completed just yet and although DogNut isn't in it, he'll still play an important part in it.

Just wait for part three; it's my pride and joy, to be honest. If I could, I'd just make the entire story like part three but then it wouldn't make sense.

Until next time;

Lorna.