Shun

I finally woke from my sleep-induced state. Groggy and still feeling the last effects of the drug in my system, I slowly sat up and looked around. I was still on the examination table of the clinic. An empty chair was on the floor beside the table. So somebody was in here last night.

I could have sworn that I heard talking late last night, and I wasn't entirely sure if it was for real, or if I was dreaming it up. One of the voices had been Alice's, and I knew for a fact that I had heard it. Odds were that she had been the one sitting in the chair that had mysteriously moved from one place to another.

I smiled then began to wonder where she was now. My ears picked up the faint sound of people downstairs in the place where Jack lived. My attention went from the muffled talking, to my leg. Last I remembered, there had been a bloody hole in my thigh.

Now, thick bandages were wrapped tightly, and neatly, around where the wound had been. I brought my hand to the wound and was surprised when I discovered that my leg was numb. The door to the clinic opened, and Jack walked in. "Oh, I see you finally woke up." Alice, Feliciana, and Dan filed in behind him. "Runo, Julie, and Murucho are still downstairs eating breakfast," Alice informed me.

I nodded and turned my attention towards Jack. I asked, "Why is my leg numb?" Slight paranoia overtook me, and I began to worry if something was wrong. Jack smiled and said, "Nothing to fret. I numbed up your leg so you wouldn't feel the after pain of the operation."

I began to calm down now that I knew that the numbness my limb was feeling was intended, and not the results of something gone wrong. I had every right to worry when it came down to whether I would be able to walk or not. I finally noticed that Alice was holding a tray of food in her hands.

She seemed to remember it was there as well cause she looked down at it, then set the tray down on a small table next to me. Jack then said, "Thought you might want something to eat. Well, you kind of have no choice, seeing as you need to eat to help along with your recovery."

He shrugged his shoulders and vanished down the stairs. I saw the bandages on Feliciana's arm and said, "I see he patched you up as well." She looked down at her bandage and said, "Yeah, and he did a pretty good job too." I then wondered what my patchwork looked like under my bandages, then decided it might be best not to know. Alice smiled and said, 'Well, we'll leave you to some peace and quiet and let you eat."

The three of them left the room, and I kind of wished that Alice had stayed behind to keep me company. But my wishes were forgotten when I smelled the food. When was the last time I had eaten? It had been a while. A long while.

My stomach growled with anger from not being fed, and I didn't protest to deny it any longer. I picked up my plate of food, looking it over to make sure it wouldn't vanish into thin air before me. I cleaned the plate from its contents, and felt like I had forgotten what food tasted like.

Feeling content with my full belly, I placed the tray back on the table next to me and sighed. This wasn't good. From what I could see, we were getting comfortable in this place. And last time that happened, the Lake Zone had been torn apart and people died.

With plenty of food, warmth, and shelter, we had no reason to leave. Other than the warring Officials back in the center of the City. Were they even still fighting? I strained my hearing and could only pick up on the sounds of people talking downstairs. I couldn't pinpoint any of their gunfire.

Maybe they had stopped or called a truce. Regardless, we couldn't stay here. We had come so far and lost way too much to take refuge in the place we ran from. I swung my body around and slowly touched my feet to the cold, tile floor.

Then, I added my weight on my good leg, trying to keep as much off the bad one as I could. But to much of my surprise, the numbness in my leg allowed me to stand on it. At first it felt weird, but I got used to the feeling of a ghost leg. I opened the door to the staircase and cautiously made my way down.

Now this presented a challenge since I couldn't bend my leg all that much. My movement was limited, so it took me a little while to reach the base of the stairs. Alice and the others saw me, but she was the one to say, "Shun, you need to stay off that leg until it gets better."

Until it got better? How long would that take? Too long in my book, and we didn't have that kind of time to waste. I told them, "We need to leave."

Alice

Shun wanted to leave? On that leg? I laughed on the inside at the thought of it. Julie asked in a confused tone, "Now? But why?" He said sternly, "Things have quieted down now. We have the perfect opportunity to leave and get back to the mountain without running the risk of getting shot, captured, or killed."

Shun propped himself up against the wall, favoring his uninjured leg more than the bandage-wrapped one. I told him, "Shun, you won't get anywhere on that leg." Jack chimed in after me and said, "She's right. Like you said, things have quieted down now. You all have plenty of time to spare, and heal, before you go anywhere."

Shun sighed in aggravation and asked, "How long till my leg is healed enough for travel?" Why did he want to get out of here so badly? Jack had been a generous host to us; giving us food, shelter, and medical treatment. We were truly lucky that he was on our side.

And yet, Shun wanted to leave here as soon as we possibly could? Jack thought before saying, "If you stay off of it, you should be good to go in a day or so. The wound will still need to be cleaned to prevent infection, but you should be able to walk on it without risking or causing anymore damage."

Shun nodded to let Jack know that he understood. Julie jumped back into the conversation and asked, "Why are you in such a hurry to get out of here? We're safe." He stared at her and asked, "Do you remember the last time we felt safe somewhere?" Was this a trick question?

Since the Officials went mad, none of us felt safe. The last time we even felt the slightest bit of safety was back at the lake. Then I realized what he was getting at. Feeling safe was nothing more than an illusion. If you did feel safe somewhere, odds were that you wouldn't be for much longer.

Not as long as the causers of all this destruction were still running rampant through the streets and after us. Although, they were preoccupied with one another at the moment. It was a perfect chance to slip by unnoticed, but Shun's leg wouldn't permit it. Neither would I.

"I do remember, and I agree that we should get moving as soon as we possibly can," I told them. Shun gave me a slight smile that only I could see. There was a wave of mumbling and words of protest with what I said. I quieted them down and said, "Hush! Shun has a point. Now is the best time to sneak out of here without being spotted while the Officials are fighting each other. They aren't going to be personal enemies much longer, so we need to get out before they join back up. If they do while we're still here, then we'll be trapped again. And quite frankly, I want out of this place."

They were silent, and this silence brought about the faint and distant sounds of Official gunfire. They were still fighting one another, but for how much longer? Feliciana stepped forward and said, "I agree with Alice. It would be for the best if we left and returned to the mountain as soon as we can." It looked like the others were seeing reason as to why we couldn't stay.

I wanted to just as much as they did, but I also wanted to do what was in the best interest for our group. Staying behind while the Officials were shooting, wasn't in our best interest. Plus, Jack was still the private doctor for the Officials, and they would surely turn to him to treat their injuries.

Even though Jack was our friend, he was a liability to us. Runo looked over at our new friend and asked him, "So, two days?" He nodded. They were talking about Shun's leg and when he would be able to travel without causing himself any more damage. That night, while everyone had gone to sleep, I snuck outside of Jack's home.

I needed some fresh air and time to myself. The night sky was clear and I could see the stars that dotted its blackness with light. A sliver of the moon provided extra light. I let out a sigh of relaxation as the cool wind blew around me and down the alley.

I began to walk, staying cautious in case an Official strayed from the fighting. I heard none of the gunfire from earlier, but somehow I knew they were only taking a break. I followed the alley and came out at the Courtyard. I had to hold back the gasp in the back of my throat.

Officials littered the streets, their blood mixing with the dirt roads and clumping together as it dried. Those who were still alive, moaned in pain as their life slowly bled from their wounds. I saw a hint of irony in the situation though. They had spent their lives 'protecting' us, and now they needed somebody to protect them.

I heard talking nearby, and quietly followed the voices. Since I saw no living or well Officials running around in the streets, I walked into the open. I had no reason to fear being spotted when the only eyes on me were either dead or dying. I peered into a window and saw a large group of Officials.

Instinctively, I ducked down and out of sight to keep myself from being seen. The window, which was partially open, allowed me to hear the conversations they were having. They were discussing what they would do next, and I tried to decipher whether they were the good guys or the bad.

Since Nero's death, they broke into two groups'; those who knew what they were doing was wrong, and those who still thought it was right. A woman's voice was speaking to the group. It carried a sense of authority behind it. She had to be the one leading them.

Slowly, I peered just above the windowsill and watched them. From what I could recall, a good many of them were high-ranking. An Official with a shaved head asked, "What's our next move, Isis?" The name of the woman Official caused a spur of memory inside of me.

Jack had said that after Nero's death, she tried to take over the Officials. I knew now, that they weren't the ones on our side. Isis moved some of her dark brown hair out of her face and said, "The traitors are running low on weapons and ammo. It won't be much longer before they give in or we overpower them. We just have to keep pushing them to the edge of the cliff, and when they're about to fall over, we pull them back and make them pay for their crimes."

Something grabbed onto my ankle, and I looked down to see a dying Official looking up at me. "Help me," he said in a raspy voice. I pulled my ankle from his hand and stepped back. When I did, I bumped into a crate, causing it to topple over with a loud crash.

Slowly, I looked up and into the window that I had been eavesdropping on. They all looked back at me, unsure of what to do. Isis then ordered, "Capture her!" I didn't have to think before my legs took off and I was running back to Jack's. I heard the Officials running after me from far behind.

I had to hurry up and lose them. If I allowed them to see where me and the others were hiding, then we would be running from the City a lot sooner than two days. The tip of my foot caught on something, causing me to fall forward and land on the ground.

When I was about to get up and start running again, I took a moment and looked around. I found that I had run back to the area of the City where I had lived with my grandfather, and was even right back in front of my house. I heard the Officials shouting to capture me, and I got up and rain into my old home.

I pushed open the door and slammed it shut, then hunkered down against the wall. Chancing a peek out of the window, I looked out and watched them run by. I stayed there for a while and finally left the confines of my old home and hurried back to the others, making sure to stay close to the shadows so I wouldn't be seen again.

ah. my first day of summer vacation. X3 i would have enjoyed sleeping in, but my dogs decided they were going to howl and bark. in the house. at seven in the morning. -.-'' we're about to be minus two dogs. read, review, and other things. ~Copperpelt~