A/N:Chapter nine. Be forewarned; the chapter is dark.

Never Give In

Chapter 9

271

""Who were you before?"

She looked at 265. Auburn hair and green eyes. This was probably not the first time she wondered but it was the first time she asked out loud, searching for answers. A strange look came over 265's face, she could not understand it.

"I wondered about them more often than I should. Those people that I could have had but didn't, those that I could have loved but didn't," The red head recited from a memory that 271 cannot comprehend. Brown eyes meet green eyes, "I think the mind protects us far more than we can imagine."

So here is how it's suppose to go down she thought. They have ten minutes. There will be a buzzer. 265 will be in charge of distracting. Aiden and her will move towards the entry point knocking anyone that tries to get in their way. 265 will join them and they will run through the breeding ground towards the entry point that they have been studying, and hopefully all of them get to escape.

She did not know what exactly was considered cover but there had to be some sort of place to hide...hopefully. In theory it all seems simple but that did not stop her heart from feeling as if it was about to leap out of her chest. Keep cool she thought as she tried to look normal, well nothing about this was normal.

She needed to focus and not get distracted. Moving her feet again she was keeping time to the beat and in synchrony with all the other girls in the dance room. She wondered how many of them knew of today. She wondered if they knew the stakes. The person studying them was focused on them as a collective whole that she wondered if they were able to notice any single difference of just one person.

By the time she was dismissed she moved towards the cafeteria area. Nothing looked out of place. She spotted Aiden with his food at the table that they usually sit. She did not see 265 and decided not to dwell on that. She grabbed a tray and moved to the food line. In 3….2….1…

There was an explosion. And it happened all too fast. A fight broke out, people ran in different directions, there was a lot of white noise. 10 minutes starts now.

She abandoned her tray and meandered through the different hallways away from the cafeteria. There were no guards, the surveillance camera were already down, thankful that Aiden taught her the basics of how to fry a computer system.

9 minutes. Somewhere she could hear the sounds of gunshot being fired at the cafeteria area. The adrenaline was kicking in. It made her faster.

6 minutes. She meets Aiden at one of the stairwells and he tossed her a gun that he knicked out of the training facility. She grabbed the holster knowing that it was do or die now and they were turning the corner of yet another hallway where they will meet 265.

1 minute. They reach the entry point and 265 shoots it wide open. She could hear the sound of footsteps rushing to where they were.

30 seconds. Aiden shoves her and 265 in before closing the door and disabling in such a way that no one can get through it for 15 minutes. He was the best out of all of them with computers after all.

10 seconds. They run for cover and hide in the woods.

3...2...1… It was over. They needed to find a place and hide for a couple of days but they will all find their way home. Or at least Aiden's home. He was the only one out of the three of them who could actually remember. 271 landed her feet on the ground below before giving out a bright smile. There was sunlight and fresh air.

"We did it!" She cheered. They had focused on escaping for ages and to actually do it, well she did not know how to explain that kind of joy. The eutropia of this moment was short lived. The smile on 271's face turned cold as she saw blood on 265's torso. She quickly moved.

"HELP!" She screamed placing pressure on the wound.

"You can't save me," 265 whispered her voice weak. Her voice wasn't of those that underwent torture but of someone who was finally at peace.

"Don't you dare give in," she said fiercely, "Aiden!"

"Aiden isn't here," 265 said. She looked around wondering where he was. He was just there moments ago. If her brain was so scattered she would be curious to know how 265 know's what is Aiden's name. She thought she was the only one Aiden told.

"Think about it," 265's voice made her turn back. There was a foreboding-ness to it, "The mind protects you far more than you can imagine."

The surrounding world got more blurry. Green eyes meet brown. Things were a bit more hazy and out of focus. In a distance she could hear a distinct heartbeat.

They had 10 minutes. But here is what they forgot. The sirens will sound alongside the bombs. Areas will start being locked up. Their captors will come and they thought that they were smarter. They could have had 10 minutes to leave the area and escape before it goes to lock down but there was a back up generator. A back up generator that they did not know about that will start working 3 minutes into their ten minutes.

"Do you really think you are the first people to try attempt to escape?" A voice whispered before she felt the scalding metal at her back. She bite back the urge to scream. They will not break her.

There were metal doors sliding down trying to contain everyone. The adrenaline and fear that coursed through her veins did not help her to move faster. How do you move quicker?

"Come on Sev," Aiden urged. They were passing the corner where 265 should have met up with them.

"Where's 265?" She asked panic in her voice. She felt Aiden grabbing her hand and them moving to where they were suppose to exit.

"We can't save her, we don't have time," Aiden insisted. The hallway that they were approaching was locking down and she barely had time to slide through.

"Sev!" She turned to see Aiden already unlocking the exit. He was out. And so was she. She was almost reaching the door only to be hit by something. Her legs felt immobile and as she faced Aiden, she saw him slam the entry point shut. Someone was holding her down but all she could think of at that moment was the sting of being left behind.

"I'll come back for you. I promise."

She was so close to freedom but she failed. And the heaviness of everything weighted down on her being.

"Do you know what happens to those who refuse to obey?" A harsh voice whispered to close too her left ear that she wanted to flinch, "They suffer. Do you want to suffer pretty girl?"

She forced herself to keep quiet. They will not have the satisfaction of seeing her broken.

Her eyes fixated on the scene in front of her. She wanted to scream and run away or curl up in a ball waiting for someone to show her mercy. Which was an impossible feat itself because no one here was the slightest bit human.

Instead she watched the scene in front of her, detached like an out of body experience. 265 giving her all, fighting and creating destruction every chance that she could get. There was still a lot of life and fire left. Green eyes meet brown. She heard a shot go off and she was silently screaming. The light and fire were diminishing.

They had 10 minutes. The mind protects you far more than you think. What if you can't even trust your mind anymore.

Okay so I'm going to end this here. I took a little bit longer for this chapter and I'm not going to lie; this was by far the hardest chapter to write. I had a writer's block for this particular chapter and everyday I will try writing something and the end result didn't fit. I have no idea how many times I changed and rewrote this chapter but this is it. I mean I knew certain things I have to write about to keep the flow going but this was pretty far fetched from what I had originally planned.

I know some of you are asking if Riley is ever going to go back to her family and friends...she will...eventually...Certain things have to happen first. So I hope you all like this chapter and I hope you are ready for the next chapter because as promised it will be Lucas' POV. So see y'all real soon :)