Shun

Marquis didn't speak any as well snaked our way through the halls. He only kept his head lowered, and eyes adverted to the floor. I felt sympathy for him, but couldn't comprehend the kind of mental and physical pain he had to be going through.

Knowing that somebody who was brotherly close to you, was dying and you had to be the one to end his suffering, well, there were no words I could think of to even get close to explaining it. We walked up the last flight of stairs. Now, we were on the main floor of the Official headquarters.

After the drama with Marquis and Val, we never really encountered many more of the people who once kept order in the City. Did they know that we would find Val? It wouldn't be below Nero to use Val's death as a psychological weapon on us. To show us what would become of us and fill our minds with paranoia.

We carefully peeked around corners of walls and made sure that everything was clear. "Where's the exit?" I heard Feliciana ask from behind me. Dan turned and looked at her. "Why do you want to know that? You're not planning on leaving, are you?" the brunette asked.

Feliciana looked away and reminded silent. When she answered, she told him, "Yes. We've done all the damage we can and have had one too many close calls. If they get a hold of us this time, then we can kiss the mountain goodbye." She was right. We hadn't snuck into the City with many people from the start, but we had lost a lot of those who came with us.

And the Officials almost caught us back in the prison, and they succeeded in capturing us when I witnessed Nero killing Xavier. They had cut us slack, and if they caught us again, they would most certainly kill us. Dan said sternly, "Well, Feliciana, you are more than welcome to go.

But I want to find Nero and the Officials that took Runo." Even though the bluenette was out of the City and safe, Dan still desired his revenge on the Officials. They took one of the few people that he had left and cared greatly about.

I would do the same if Alice had been taken and locked away in a prison until she answered questions or they killed her. Whichever would come first. Feliciana nodded and said, "Then I'm going. I wish I could stay in this fight some more, but I want to live and see the place that I've lost so much to get to."

Brunswick jumped into their conversation. "Take Marquis with you." We all turned and looked at him. Even Marquis looked at him questionably. He asked, "I don't want to leave, Brunswick. I want them to pay for what they did to Val. The same way Dan wants them to pay for taking Runo."

Brunswick shook his head. "No, Marquis. We'll get the revenge for you, but right now you aren't well enough in the head. Your mind is still grieving and suffering from what it just went through, and you are unstable. That alone, makes you a threat to everyone. Officials, and your friends."

Marquis looked appalled at what Brunswick was saying. "Are you implying that I'm crazy?" he yelled. "Those twisted monsters that hurt Val are the crazy ones! Not me!" His voice was getting louder and louder, and I began to fear that every Official in the building would hear his ranting.

Brunswick grabbed on tightly to Marquis's arm and looked him narrowly in the eyes. "Listen to me! I am not saying you're crazy, I'm saying that you aren't well. Grief and traumatic experiences make people do things they normally wouldn't. And I don't want to watch you go mad."

They've all gone mad. Clay's voice made another random reappearance in my thoughts. Marquis had tears streaking down his face, and he stumbled back and slid down the wall. He buried his face into his hands. Feliciana placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and said softly, "Come on, Marquis. We'll split off from the group and find the way out. Then, we'll start heading up the mountain and find the others."

Marquis looked up at her, wet lines were on his cheeks from where the tears had rolled down. Brunswick was right, he wasn't well. The trauma of the last few hours may have altered his mental state forever. And that's just what Nero wanted. Feliciana held her hand out, and Marquis took it.

I was surprised to see that she was strong enough to help him to his feet; he might have done some of the work himself, but it wasn't easy to see. Brunswick gave her extra ammo for her rifle, and wished her luck. She turned and mumbled to herself, "We might need it."

She and Marquis turned and headed down another hall, one that led outside. I wished them safe travel to either the fence or the underground tunnel. And I hoped that they would find Alice and the others, and let them know that we were still alive at this point.

That could change quickly though. Now, it was just Brunswick, Dan, and I. Deep down, I was starting to wish that Feliciana stayed behind with us. She was a fearsome fighter, and a very good one at that. But I wanted her to find the paradise we were all looking for, and the one that she had sacrificed so much to get to.

Dan asked, "Now what do we do?" I looked around a corner and quietly told him, "I don't know bout you, but I want to find Nero." Dan shrugged and said back, "Sounds like as good a plan as any. Where do you think he'll be?" I thought about what I knew about the new head Official.

He was arrogant, thought he couldn't be touched and was invincible. He felt like he held all the power in the world. I sighed and said, "I have a pretty good idea of where he is." Dan inquired as of where, and I told him. "His new office."

Brunswick nodded and said, "That's just what I was thinking too." He led us down the halls and back to Nero's office. The new leader felt like he couldn't be hurt, so why would he hide himself away? He was going to be somewhere in the open and not heavily guarded.

And I was right. We rounded another corner and saw his office. Only two Officials stood outside as guards; Kat and Cameron. Kat raised her hands and signaled us to stop and lower our weapons. There wasn't much authority in her voice like there normally was, but it still carried a firmness.

She said, "Nero is inside and has been waiting for you." In confusion, we lowered our guns. Not because she told us to, but because we couldn't understand why Nero would be waiting for us. Cameron added, "He has a little surprise for you. I'm sure you'll like it."

What kind of 'surprise' would Nero have? A bullet waiting for us on the other side of the door? A chemical bath like Val received? There were so many possibilities. Dan muttered next to me, "I'm not sure I want this surprise." Kat reached and turned the doorknob.

The wooden door slowly swung open, and we cautiously walked by the guards and inside. I braced myself to be shot, but wasn't prepared to what I saw next. Standing next to Nero, was the guy we sent to escort Runo back and to the fence in order to get her out of the City.

He was beaten, bloody, and barely hanging on to either consciousness or life. His glazed over eyes found us. They looked like they were staring miles off into the distance. He said softly, "I-I'm s-sorry." Then, they shifted to the floor, and it took everything I had not to lose it right then and there. They almost looked dead, and I almost thought they were. Laying limply and deathly still on the floor, was Runo, Murucho, Julie, and Alice.

Alice

I couldn't move thanks to the drugs running through my blood. After all the weird hallucinations, I assumed that I had blacked out. But even then, I was being plagued by weird images and dreams. Now, I believed that I was in an office of sorts; four walls, a roof, and expensive oil lamps hanging everywhere.

But it was all distorted and blurred, so I wasn't entirely sure. What looked like two people were standing over me, were now joined by three more. They walked into the room, and froze right at the door. One of the people standing above me said, "I-I'm s-sorry."

Sorry for what? It didn't sound like Jack's voice from when he apologized for injecting me with drugs. The voice was slightly familiar, like I heard it at one point. But I couldn't place a name. Heck, that might not even be their real voice, and it could just be another effect of the drugs.

I had already watched trees grow teeth and speak, so I wouldn't be surprised. A voice then shouted. "What did you do to them!" Now this voice was so familiar, one that I had heard for a long time and had become a part of my life and reason to live. Shun?

I turned my head and saw the three blurred figures. When I focused, their profiles became clearer and clearer. It was Shun. And Dan and Brunswick were standing next to him. What were they doing here? Last I had seen of them, they had left and….Gone to the City.

My eyes darted from them and found the two people standing above me. I now saw who they were. The guy who brought Runo back to us. From what little clarity I had, he appeared beaten. It took me a moment to see who the man next to him was.

While I was trying to drag the memory from my foggy mind, I heard him say, "Oh, nothing major. Just knocked them out with a mixture of hallucinogenic drugs." This man's voice sent an inhuman chill down my spine as I began to recognize it, but I still couldn't remember.

I heard Dan tell him, "You're sick, Nero." Nero. The saying of his name sent a wave of memories back to me. Memories of this man almost killing Shun, and holding me captive and using me as a tool to get to Shun. My hands began to tremble, but not from the drugs.

No, they were trembling because a man who almost killed me, was standing right behind me. And I was defenseless to do anything to stop him if he so decided to harm me. My body suddenly woke from its drug-induced state. I scrambled around on the floor to get away from Nero, but felt a set of hands grab onto me.

They held too strong a grip to be Shun's or Dan's. I looked up and saw Cameron had a hold of me. I started to kick, flail and scream in order to get away, but his grip was too much for my weakened state to fight against. Shun yelled at him, "Get your hands off of her!"

I turned in time to see him and Dan about to run forward, but Kat jumped in front of them, cutting off their path to me. She held two hand pistols, both aimed right at Dan and Shun. The two of them froze and slowly backed up, returning to where they stood next to Brunswick.

I kept kicking and trying to break free. I felt my energy running low, and knew that I wouldn't be able to fight for much longer before I wore out. My eyes found Shun's. He was looking at me, his face telling me that he felt helpless. Images of what happened back at the fence returned to me.

How Nero had me in a hopeless scenario, and how Shun was unable to do anything. This was nothing more than a repeat. Kat threw me back to the ground, and quickly tied my hands together with something. I was unable to see Shun, but was faced with Runo, Julie, and Murucho.

They still didn't make any moves, even with all the noise going on. I would have thought that they would at least be waking from their drugs. But then again, I had no clue when Kat and Jack found them. I wiggled around and was able to see Dan, Shun, and Brunswick again.

But I wished I hadn't. I had turned around in time to watch Nero take one of the pistols from Kat, and fire it at the trio. The bullet looked like it was going for Dan at first, but Brunswick pushed him out of the way and took the shot instead.

ok, it is official. this is now my longest story o.o and i don't think it will be done for another four or five chapters. (what do i know?) this is my last friday at school! woooooo! read, review, and other things. ~Copperpelt~