"It's simple." He limped away from me, grabbed a folder on the table, and handed it to me. I flipped it open, and saw a picture of Jade. "Kill the Scorpion."

Ardelis

"I'm sorry, what?" He chuckled humourlessly, limping over and placing a hand on my shoulder.

"She has been a particularly painful splinter for too long. I want her removed from my side for good. I had thought you were up to the task... but it seems I was mistaken." He pulled the folder from my hands. He turned to leave when an idea popped into my head.

"Wait! Wait." He turned back to me and raised an eyebrow. "I'll do it." He smiled coldly at me.

"Wonderful, you can leave now, yes?" I nodded once and left the room.

It was almost midnight when I finally reached the Tower. It looked no different than when I'd left almost five months ago. Using the darkness as cover, I crept closer, keeping low to the ground.

I slipped into the lobby, my soft footsteps seemed so much louder in the silence. I pulled myself over the ledge to the second floor. There was no one. No guards, no civilians, nothing. I thanked dumb luck and stood slowly. The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open, flooding the room with light.

A woman stepped out, and in my stupidity, I was frozen. Her eyes flicked over to me, and she stumbled in shock, before pulling a sword from her hip.

"Who are you?" I stayed silent. She dropped into a fighting stance. "I won't ask you again. Who are you?" I shook my head and took a step towards her.

"This should be fun." And I leapt forward, drawing my machete.

The woman slumped to the ground unconscious. I felt a sudden pang of regret as I looked at her form. She hadn't even wanted to fight me, just protect the others from the unknown.

Maybe I was too hasty.

I pulled her into a sitting position inside the elevator, and reached into my pack, removing a medkit.

I patched up her shoulder as best I could, but she would always have a scar. I pressed the button for the 19th floor. Someone would help her. As the lift rumbled upwards, I sighed and turned to the stairs.

It would be a long climb up. I squeezed between the fences blocking the stairway, stumbling into the unknown. I climbed up to the second floor, and the third. It wasn't until I reached the 12th that I saw any infected. As I climbed the last stair and stepped onto the floor, a group of biters stumbled into view. On their own they were easy, but in groups, they could easily overpower me.

They had no brain function left to register pain. It was why they were so formidable. They didn't tire, and they didn't hurt.

I took a step to the side, trying to find a room to hide in. My foot kicked something, a corpse. As the zombie's eyes swept over in my direction, I jabbed my machete down into the corpse's chest and cut. I scooped out a handful of rotted flesh, cringing at the smell. I smeared it over my clothes, hoping to mask my scent.

The infected's eyes skipped over me completely, and they shambled off down the hall.

Thanking whatever god was watching me, I slipped up the next stairwell.

I reached the barrier between the 18th and 19th floors and squeezed over the top of the fence blocking it. My feet hit the ground with a muffled thud. Since it was so late, the only guard would be at the lifts. In their eyes, no one would be crazy enough to climb the interior of the Tower.

I slipped up the last flight of stairs, heading for room 209. Jade's.

I pushed the door open, closing it silently. Pulling my knife, I crept into the other room. She was passed out on the couch, her blade just out of reach. I crept across the room, pressing my knife to her neck, I didn't want her killing me. It woke her with a start, her eyes flying wide at the sight of my mask.

"You." She hissed through her teeth. "What do you want?" I pulled my mask off with my free hand and watched her eyes widen further. A warm look came across her face before it twisted into anger. The next second I was on the floor, my own knife pressed against my throat. "What are you doing back here?" I tried to pry my knife away but her hold was too strong.

"Jade..."

"I said what are you doing here?" She pressed the knife harder, I could feel it drawing blood.

"I'm saving your life. Rais wants you dead, so you better get the fuck out of here or you will be." She slowly pulled the knife away, and my hand immediately went up to my neck. Another scar to add to my collection. She climbed off me and slumped onto the couch, while I pushed myself up onto my elbows. She glared at me for a second, before her expression softened, and she patted the seat beside her.

"Before... before you tell me anything, about this shit with Rais. You need to tell me what happened with..." She paused and let out a shaky sigh. "No, I have to know, what happened with Rahim. I think I'm ready to know." I pushed myself to my feet, and fell onto the couch beside Jade. I instantly felt like someone had dropped a weight onto my shoulders. I thought I was beyond explaining all this, that I wouldn't have to come back to it. I rubbed a hand over my eyes.

And so I told her, everything. About how Rahim came to me with his idea, how I told him not to, and that he should wait to talk it over, to think more about it. I told her about how I was pissed at him for not listening to me, and running off with Omar to do it anyway. About how it destroyed me when I found out what had happened to him, and how I pulled away from everyone for the months after it happened.

When I was done, I felt lighter than I thought I would. It was different than when I confided in my sister on top of the bridge. It felt like I could finally let go. I was pulled across the couch into a hug, I could feel Jade's body shake with each sob she let out.

"I'm so... sorry that I thought... that I thought you did nothing." I did my best to console her, I was never good with dealing with others emotions. After a few minutes, she stopped crying. She wiped her eyes, and sat up straighter, going back to the Jade I knew. "So, what's this plan you have?"

We trekked through the tunnels under the river, each step carrying us further away from everything.

We were headed for the city on the other side, hoping to start new over there. I had nothing left for me. Rahim was dead, my sister a traitor, Rais would certainly want my head after this. It was better for everyone if I just left.

The tunnels vibrated slightly, the explosives I had set at the entrance to the tunnels detonating, sealing the tunnels behind us. There was no going back now.

We walked for hours, our footsteps echoing through the silent tunnels. Jade didn't speak the whole time, and I wasn't inclined to talk. I had too much to think about, like I had for the past weeks.

I hadn't truly accepted what my sister had done. As much as I wanted to hate her I couldn't, it was only us left in our family, and I didn't want to be the only one left. I remembered back months ago, when I fought her on that roof top. When I swore she could rot from the infected bite. Now, I wasn't sure if I meant it. If I really wanted her to become one of those things.
I suppose that was why I was running away, so I wouldn't have to face her if she turned. So I wouldn't have to kill another one of my sisters.

My foot caught on something, pulling me out of my memories. I reached my hands out to grab hold of something, but I wasn't quick enough, and they slid off the wall. Throwing my arms out in front of me, I landed hard on my right hand, and felt something pop. I bit my lip to stifle a scream, my wrist throbbed in pain, I could already feel it going numb. Jade pulled me up by my arm, and I cradled my wrist protectively.

"Shit, you can't fight with that." My wrist was bent at an odd angle, not broken, but badly dislocated. I was hopeless at fighting with my left hand, which left me defenceless, save for my handgun. I would only use that as a last resort, it would draw too much attention otherwise.

The alarm on Jades watch beeped. 8:30pm flashed on the small screen. Almost night.

"Come on Ari, we have to keep moving. It's too dangerous to stop." We trudged forwards, and before long I could see a dim orange glow surrounding one of the doors. Jade pushed on the handle, and it swung open with a squeal that echoed through the tunnels.

A distance screech answered, followed by another closer one. We scrambled through the door, slammed and shut and threw the bolt across. It was an old door of heavy steel, built to withstand extreme water pressure. We would be safe in here. At least until we had to leave.