Hope everyone likes this one-Returning to some of my characters from the beginning. Graves will be back next chapter!
As always, read, enjoy, and please..review!

Chapter 6

Pain. Agony. Darkness. Suffering.

Pitch blackness seemed to surround her-a once strong body now a lifeless rock. It felt as if a hundred pounds were pushing down on her chest, preventing air from filling her aching lungs. She groaned, coughing, and pushed against the weight with the little strength she had. Bit by bit, light began to fill her vision, and breathing became easier.

Where was I? A loud sound escaped her lips as she yelled out in pain. For one split second she imagined someone hearing her and coming to her aid, but no answer came. And although she was slightly less constricted, a claustrophobic fear set in.

With one last final shove she could finally move more freely, and she wriggled towards the opening. Pain seared through her body, but she attempted to ignore it, wanting nothing more than to break out into the fresh air.

But it wasn't so fresh.

She gasped, coughing more and wrinkling her nose as the strong aroma of death wafted into her nostrils. Her eyes watered as she tried to soothe her throat from the intense coughing, her body pushed up on her arms whilst her legs were still slightly pinned.

That's when she saw the burns.

Her arms were extremely red, swollen and blistered, and bits of flesh were either gone or pulled back, revealing muscles. But the marks didn't stop there. Her hands, and all across her body displayed a similar appearance, explaining why so much pain was radiating throughout her. A scream caught in her throat, and she pushed it back down, wanting to get out of here and figure out just what the fuck was going on.

Slowly pulling out her legs from under the enclosure, she attempted to stand up. Her arms pressed her up off the ground and she grimaced as she stood upon her legs, looking below at her body and realizing there wasn't too much left of her previous clothes.

A pile of rubble encircled her; bits of glass, large chunks of concrete, and who knows what else filled her vision. A digital caution strip encircled the area, warning no one to pass. It was frightening to observe, and she wondered what had happened, and why no one else was here.

Her body shook, and she felt ill. A dizziness entered her head, and she knew she needed help. But from where?

She looked in every direction, realizing that she was practically in the center of a city-though this was the only destroyed part of it. Sure, buildings that were too close seemed to have suffered some damage, but the harm was minimal compared to where she was standing.

Quickly, she decided upon a small back alleyway, for some reason feeling as if she had been there before.

And so she stumbled in that direction, over the bodies of the dead .

"That ignorant little shit!" The young woman muttered to herself, cursing her most recent Zdealer for being late, again.

This was getting extremely tiring, she thought, pushing a few strands of her short hair out of her face. Didn't he realize just because Geneco collapsed it didn't mean the rest of the world fell with it? A hiss escaped her lips as she tapped her spiked heels on the ground in irritation.

The other Scalpel Sluts had lost patience, and retreated to the shadows. But not her. Once you were a Zaddict you couldn't stop, and you needed the Blue. Plus, the Boss would be demanding more of it to feed her cravings. That was, as long as Boss hadn't crumbled to ashes like Geneco had...

Shaking legs stumbled as a shoulder leaned against the wall for support. Any ounce of strength left in her was gone: she had lost it all from abandoning the ruins. Nor had she found any help yet, for most people were far away from the chaos that lingered in the center of town. Still, she continued, feeling a sense of familiarity around the graffitied walls and large trash bins.

Everything was killing her, and she wanted so badly to slip away from it; to detach herself from her body. She felt faint and was trembling as if she had low blood sugar.

She needed food.

She needed rest.

She needed help.

She nee-

What was that? She had her hands propped up against the wall as well now, and her eyesight was starting to become foggy. But no matter how shitty she felt, she could clearly see a woman standing in the alleyway, searching the grounds for someone.

She had short dark hair with blue streaks running through it, and was wearing a black belly top that hung off her shoulders. Long gloves went up to her elbows, and under her leather shorts was a garter with a strange looking gun in it. She could be a very dangerous person, but the victim knew she needed someone. This woman was all she had.

"Please...help.." She garbled as her body tumbled forward, her legs giving out.

"Boss?" A look of uncertainty was on the woman's face as she held the other one in her arms. She shook her, trying to keep her awake, noticing the burns that covered her. "Amber?" The Boss's formal name. "What happened to you?"

The weak one looked up at her, confusion and doubt hitting her. "Wha?" She managed out "I have no idea... who.. I'm sick... shaky... "

The woman laughed lightly, knowing what at least part of the problem was, glad to see that Boss was at least alive. "You're having withdrawals."

"Huh?" Amber's eyes fluttered, looking up at the one who held her. Even the slightest touch made her whole body feel as if it was in the flames again. But she didn't dare move, nor did she have the strength to. The woman's mouth opened, familiar words escaping her lips.

"And addicted to the knife, she needs a little help with the agony.." The words slipped from her tongue, such a familiar tune that she had learned so long ago. She hoped that it would somehow spark Amber's memory, for she couldn't work for someone that didn't even know her own name.

Her hands felt for the small bottle on her belt, and she pulled it out, examining it as the blue glow reflected off of the Boss's eyes.

"Zydrate comes in a little glass vial." She sung, slowly pulling out her Zydrate gun as she looked down carefully at her injured companion. Yes, within the last few months her and Amber had actually grown quite close, shaping each other's lives in ways they never thought possible.

But that seemed to be all gone from Amber's memory now. Instead, she coughed, and with a weakened voice asked the question that the one she was at the mercy of had asked so long ago. "A little glass vial?"

The woman smiled and nodded, a comforting gaze across her face. "A little glass vial. And the little glass vial goes into the gun like a battery" She slipped the vial into the gun, pushing the tip of it against Amber's thigh. "And the Zydrate gun goes somewhere against your anatomy.."

With one quick move, Shiloh pulled the trigger, releasing the toxins of Zydrate into her Boss's body. She watched as Amber convulsed, her eyes glazing over as the drug hit her system.

"And when the gun goes off, it sparks, and you're ready for surgery..."

For sure, it was going to take a lot of work to restore Amber to her former self. If there was one thing Shiloh knew, it was that both of them needed Zydrate, and she would do whatever it took to make sure Amber remembered at least that part of her life.