Alice

The sound of the door opening was the only thing that made me look up. Maybe I thought it was Shun. No, I hoped it was Shun. Even though his betrayal was still fresh in my mind, I wanted to see him again. I wanted to ask him why he turned against us.

A tiny place inside my mind kept screaming that he would have never done something like this, but the rest of my mind was screaming and raging over the fact that I had witnessed him join Nero. I didn't know which part of my mind to listen to. I watched as Nero, Shun, and a group of Officials filed into the room. All of us remained silent as their eyes scanned over us.

Dan was glaring at them. I couldn't even begin to imagine what he was thinking right now, but I was sure that it was a replay of how he acted when we found out Shun turned against us. He was probably yelling at himself for trusting Shun.

I didn't know if I should have been doing the same thing or not. Nero began to pace around the room and said, "We came to a decision on what will become of you all. My Officials will escort you out to the Wastelands, and we'll go from there." The Officials went behind us, and tied our hands together.

Nobody resisted against them. Cameron was the Official escorting me out, Dan had Kat, and the others had Officials that I didn't recognize or remember. I noticed they weren't taking Brunswick, but why would they? He was on the verge of dying anyway.

As we were herded down the halls, I noticed that I was walking beside Shun. I kept my head lowered, but glanced at him. He kept his gaze straight ahead. I whispered to him, "Shun. Shun." In front of me, Kat turned around and snapped, "Quiet back there!"

I shut my mouth, but chanced a look up at Shun again. He was still looking forward. Did he even hear me, or was he ignoring me? I decided it didn't matter, and kept my gaze adverted to the floor in front of me. We turned and stepped through the front doors of the headquarters, and into the City's main street.

Rain was drizzling, causing the dirt roads to turn to a muddy mixture. I looked around at the City, seeing what the Officials had done to it since our departure. I saw nobody in the streets, or in the houses. Did they even leave anybody alive? Surely they didn't kill everyone.

An Official behind me, lightly pushed me with his hand and said, "Speed up." I did as he said and caught back up next to Shun. Rain had soaked my hair, turning my curls dark and straight. I saw the gate to the Wastelands open up in front of us. We went through and crossed over into the dead land.

Nero said to us, "Just a little further." We walked through the wet ash until we reached a small patch of freshly burned ground. By looking at the distance we were from the City, I realized we were back at the small town that the Outcasts used to live in.

Shun even looked surprised at the location that Nero had picked, but he quickly regained his emotionless composure. Nero said briskly, "Bring me the orange-haired girl." Cameron grabbed on tightly to my tied hands and dragged me over to Nero. "Ouch!" I said when Cameron's nails dug into my arm.

He let go of me and I faced Nero; Dan and the rest of my friends stood behind him so they could be forced to watch whatever Nero had in store for me. Nero pulled out a hand pistol and tapped the barrel in his hand. "Now that we're here, I suppose we can get started. Thanks to the help of your old friend here, we felt it was a fitting punishment to drop you all dead in the place that you threw us out in so we could suffer and die. I only hate that this will be quick."

My mind couldn't wrap around the fact that Shun helped to come up with this demented plan. Didn't he understand that Nero helped kill Christina and the rest of the Outcasts, even though it was under Xavier's orders? He pulled back the hammer on the pistol so a round would load into the chamber.

I shut my eyes tightly and waited to here the gun fire and for everything to go black. But instead of the load pop I expected, I heard Shun's voice. "Hold it!" I opened my eyes to see Shun stepping in front of Nero. I smiled, thinking that Shun had seen the wrong that was about to happen and was going to put a stop to it.

Nero raised an eyebrow and asked, "What is it?" Shun held out his hand and said, "Give me the gun. I want to be the one who fires first." The little hope that had built up inside of me, fell back down to where it had been. I saw the shocked faces of my friends behind Nero and his gang.

They were just like me; unable to believe that Shun was going to be the one who would shoot and kill me. Nero tapped the barrel of the gun on his chin as he thought about Shun's proposal. He then smiled and handed over the pistol. "I think it's only fair," said the Official's leader.

Shun smiled and opened the chamber, revealing the six bullets inside. He then shut it and spun the rounds and pulled the hammer back like Nero had done. I felt tears starting to spill over my eyes and down my cheeks. I didn't want to die. Not like this.

And not by the hand's of the person I cared so much for. It was like slow-motion when he lifted the pistol up and had it pointed right at me. My eyes went down the barrel of the gun and looked at his. They were cold and unwavering, and I saw my own reflection in their amber pools.

I looked like the scared little girl I had been at the beginning of this madness. I shook my head, sending water from my wet hair flying around me. "Don't," I mouthed to him. His expression didn't change, and I saw his finger start to tighten around the trigger.

I wanted to close my eyes, but I also wanted to see if he would show any signs of regret when he fired. So, they stayed open and never left him. Maybe my face would haunt him after this. A slight grin appeared on his face, then he winked at me and turned around, firing a bullet into Kat.

Shun

I turned and shot the round into Kat's abdomen, sending her down to her knees and clutching her sides. Nero shouted, "What the hell do you think you're doing!" Kat was screaming in pain, then doubled over on the ground. Cameron ran over to her, and caught him in the knee with a bullet.

The rest of the Officials finally registered what was happening, and they began to reach for their weapons. They didn't get this chance because Dan and Murucho charged at them and tackled one. When the two of them fell to the ground on top of the Official, I saw their hand restraints snapped, freeing them.

I felt something hit me in my ribs, and I turned to meet another one of Nero's fists. I stumbled back, holding my chin. "Traitor," he hissed. My lip had busted open from his punch and my hand was covered with my own blood. Nero's hand reached to take his pistol back, but I kept it out of his reach.

"I don't think so," I told him. I tried to load another round, but my hands, slick with my blood, couldn't get a grip. The gun ended up slipping from my grasp and landing on the rain-soaked ground. Nero growled then lunged at me. His hands wrapped around my throat, pinning me to the ground. I struggled to get air, but was unable to get his hands off of me.

Nero's eyes were wild and mad when he said, "You know, I was actually planning on killing you after this anyway." Lightning flashed behind him, making him look all the more insane. My vision was starting to fade around the edges. It wouldn't be much longer before I blacked out.

Behind Nero, I saw a figure moving around. Then, I piece of charred wood swung and hit him in the head, sending burned bits of the wood everywhere as it broke. Nero's grip left my throat as he fell over and unconscious. I sat up, taking in gulps of air and holding the place where Nero had been choking me.

I looked up and saw Alice had been the one who knocked the psychopath off of me. She knelt beside me and wrapped her arms around me in a hug. I wondered how she got out of her restraints. She asked, "Are you ok?" I put my hands on her shoulders and pushed her back some.

"Yeah. I'm fine thanks to you." Her eyes were still wide with fear when she said, "I-I thought you were really going to shoot me." I smiled and said, "Had you guys going, didn't I?" She narrowed her eyes at me and hit my arm. "Don't do that again!" she shouted then smiled and laughed.

Nero was starting to come to. He shouted to his Officials, "Get him!" I looked up and saw Dan had was in a fistfight with one, but the other two Officials were ganging up on him. One of them caught a hit on him, causing him to fall over and out cold. They recovered their pistols and hurried over to us.

My eyes frantically searched for the gun I dropped. Nero and I saw it at the same time. We looked at each other for a moment, then shot off for the weapon. He dove and grabbed the gun before me, and rolled over onto his back, pointing the barrel at me.

I froze and realized the three Officials had me in their sights as well. I looked past them and saw Cameron holding onto his knee, while Kat was no longer moving. Near them, Dan was coming back to consciousness and Murucho was untying Runo and Julie.

Alice was still where I had left her. She stood there, and I could see in her eyes that she was trying to figure out how to help me. I shook my head and mouthed to her, "Run!" She shook her head, refusing to leave. Nero's crazed voice pulled my attention away from her.

"You…..Ha-ha…You thought you were pretty smart, didn't ya?" His hands shook around the bloody pistol. "But you weren't smart enough. You could have gotten the payback you so well deserved, yet you still were sided with them. Why? What are they worth to you that would make you save them?"

I stared him down in his wild eyes and said, "The truth and knowing that they are the ones I can trust and who are on my side." Nero laugh, but he suddenly stopped and turned serious. "Kill the traitor so I don't have to look at this disgrace any longer. I'll take care of the ones that are on his side."

The three Officials loaded their guns and pointed them at me. The one right in front of me smiled and said, "I knew we should have done this a long-" A gush of blood exploded from his head, and I heard the bone of his skull crack. He dropped on the ground, and I saw what killed him. A rock.

I looked around and saw Feliciana running towards us. The two remaining Officials started to fire at her. I saw her swinging her weapon, and heard a rock shoot by their heads. They ducked and ran away in a panic. Dan, who had apparently taken a gun from either Kat or Cameron, shot a bullet at them and got one in the back.

Blood gushed out of the wound and he dropped dead. Feliciana ran up to me out of breath and said, "I didn't think I could hit him from that far away." I smiled and said, "H-how did you?" She held up her rope weapon and said, "While I was getting Marquis and myself out of the City, we ran across our weapons.

Of course, I took mine back, and that might have been a good thing cause when were started up the mountain, we heard all this mess going on." She was about to say something else when a bullet shot past me and clipped her arm. It left a gash and blood started to pour from the wound.

She yelled curses from the pain, and I turned around to see Nero had been the one who shot her. Four. Feliciana growled behind me and she found a rock on the ground. Using her good arm, she placed it in the weapon and flung it at Nero, who hadn't been expecting it.

It hit him in the stomach, throwing him off balance. I took the opportunity and tackled him down. Water splashed up from the ground when he fell. He still held his pistol in his hand and he attempted to shoot me. I grabbed onto his wrist and caused him to shoot a round up into the air. Three.

I was then distracted by Dan, who was still shooting at the panicking Officials. He had shot another dead, and was working on the last one. Murucho was trying to get Alice to go with him and Runo and Julie to a safer place. Alice kept refusing her friends' pleas.

Due to not paying attention to the dangerous man I was holding down, Nero had escaped my grip and shot a bullet into my thigh. I screamed out in pain as the projectile cut through my leg. Two. I found the strength and regained a hold on Nero's wrist, keeping the gun, and last round, away from me.

The leader of the Officials had apparently worn himself out as he struggled to free himself because I found that he wasn't putting up much of a fight anymore, and he was trying to catch his breath. He found a sudden burst of strength and was able to pull the trigger again.

I ducked and actually felt the bullet go by my head. One. I pushed his arm down, making the gun in his hand point right at his head. He tried to push back, but I had the upper hand. Nero said through clenched teeth, "What will killing me accomplish? The Officials will still be after you, and they'll find you no matter where you go. You'll never be able to escape. My death will only fuel their will to end your lives."

I pulled the hammer back on the gun and shrugged. "Oh well, at least we won't have to worry about you again." I forced Nero's finger to pull the trigger on the gun that I had him holding to his head. The bullet cracked through his skull, and shot out the other side. His body went limp in an instant. Zero.

I pried the gun out of his hand and opened the chamber. The six rounds that had been in there, were now gone. One in Kat. One in the air. One in Feliciana's arm. One in my leg. One past my head. And one in Nero's skull. All six rounds. I closed the chamber and threw the pistol as far as I could.

I tried to stand up, but my shot leg buckled underneath me. I fell back down, clutching the hole in my thigh. Alice ran over to me. The others quickly came over after her. Feliciana was holding on tightly to her arm, blood poured from between her fingers as the wound bled under her hand.

I saw something running towards the City, and saw it was the Official that Dan had been trying to shoot down. I said, "He's getting away." The brunette looked at the running Official and said, "Let him run back and tell his friends that Nero's dead. Oh, and by the way." Dan kicked me in my side.

I yelled at him, "The hell!" He snapped at me, "That was for the stunt you pulled back in the City and making us think you turned on us!" I rubbed my side and hoped he didn't break one of my ribs. Then, he held out his hand to me and said, "And this is for pulling that stunt and saving us."

I stared at him, then took his hand as I had done Nero's. He then helped to pull me up on my feet, where I balanced myself on my good leg. Murucho was looking over my injury and said, "We need to get him and Feliciana patched up before we go anywhere." We turned to look back at the City, but not because that was the only place we could go to for medical help. But because we heard gunfire, and saw Officials shooting at one another.

chapter title based off the song Hero Of War by Rise Against :) i think y'all see what i did there. (maybe not. im not sure what should be seen o.o) two more days, then i'm free from the public education system for two months! -dances- well, read, review, and other things. ~Copperpelt~