"Hey, India!"

India looked up from her desk to see that Slone was stood there, smiling.

"What?" India asked, ignoring Slone's smile.

"The Pluxarians are dead!"

A feeling not dissimilar to a gunshot to the heart found itself effecting India's body. She tried to suppress her widening eyes and keep her mouth closed.

"Really? I was kinda hoping that they didn't have to die," India said instead.

"I know that you were rooting for them, but you can root for other people?" Slone suggested unhelpfully.

"I'll be right back," India smiled.

India got up from her desk and walked away from Slone. She didn't follow, but she watched India as she disappeared around the corner.

***

"Oh, you're back?" TnTina greeted India.

"TnTina, this is urgent," India said.

"Ok? What do you need?"

"Siona and Dio are dead."

TnTina gasped, before her expression went dark.

"That's because your stupid phone didn't work!"

"I know. I'm so sorry, it was a long shot, and I was really hoping it was going to work."

"You... You fix this!"

"I think I can try. Do you still have that phone I gave you?"

TnTina threw India a look before she punched the wall and a chunk of it fell out. The fact that the phone was inside spoke for itself.

"How...? What...?" India asked.

"Don't even ask," TnTina smirked.

India decided not to press any more questions... she already had enough liability on her hands.

"Could I have it?" India asked TnTina.

TnTina shrugged and put the phone through the bars.

"Great. Just one more thing."

"What?"

"Do you remember Skye's number?"

"...Yeah. I memorised it."

TnTina told India Skye's number. TnTina still didn't know why she remembered it; the chances of her getting out of the prison were incredibly slim.

"Thanks so much TnTina. I'm getting you out, I promise. One way or another, I will."

India smiled, then turned to leave.

"Wait!" TnTina called after her.

India turned around to face TnTina.

"Call me Tina. All of my close friends call me Tina."

India smiled to herself, then left. It was one of those moments where she was glad that the Imagined Order had very little staff in the lower layers: the corporation thought that no one was escaping, so they didn't bother situating any guards until the upper levels of the building.

On one of those upper levels, India knew of a particular cleaning closet. This closet was famous among the IO employees for its tiny amount of reception. This allowed people within the prison to contact people from the outside world.

Hopefully, if the reception held up for long enough, India would be able to contact Skye.

Of course, India knew exactly what to type. She had formulated a perfect first message for Skye. It was so perfect, that it was highly unlikely to be ineffective. The chances, in India's opinion, were almost zero.

Hi :)

Now, she had to wait for a response. It could take minutes or hours, but it didn't matter. India was in it for the waiting game. She would wait as long as she had to.

***

Skye, Ollie, Ava, Olivia, Joe, Ocean and Brutus had decided that today was the perfect day for a picnic. In the Autumn months, sunny days were few and far between, but today was like a slice of Summer.

"Could you pass me a jam sandwich?" Ocean asked Brutus.

Brutus passed Ocean a sandwich.

"Brutus, this is ham. Jam, Brutus. Jam."

Brutus sighed and swapped the sandwiches around.

"Skye, this food is delicious," Joe commented.

"Aww, thanks! Me and Ollie made everything together," Skye smiled sheepishly.

"Mmhmm!" Ollie smiled, stuffing his face with marshmallows.

Skye didn't even have to look down to know that it was her phone vibrating in her pocket.

"Oh! I think someone's messaging me."

Skye looked at her phone and didn't recognise the number.

"I'll be right back," Skye smiled innocently.

She walked over to a nearby tree and sat in the shade underneath it. The breeze that whistled through the trees cooled her on the boiling hot day they were having.

Skye looked at the message displayed by the unknown number.

• UNKNOWN: Hi :)

• SKYE: Hello?

• UNKNOWN: Is this Skye Nimbus?

Skye grimaced.

• SKYE: Who's asking?

• UNKNOWN: I'm sorry, I can't tell you that.

Skye frowned. What did they want?

• UNKNOWN: But I can tell you that I work for the Imagined Order.

Skye gasped. She thought about blocking the number at that moment, but she decided to hear the IO employee out.

• SKYE: Why should I trust you?

• UNKNOWN: Frankly, you have no reason to trust me. I just hope that you do, because what I have to say is really important.

• SKYE: Are you Slone?

• UNKNOWN: Luckily for you, no.

• SKYE: What do you want, then?

Skye didn't receive a reply for a few minutes. She sat under the tree, longing to go back to the picnic when the next message came through.

Co-ordinates?

• SKYE: What is this?

• UNKNOWN: It's co-ordinates for the location of IO's prison. It's the main one, where your friend TnTina is.

Skye's heart skipped a beat. TnTina was in prison?

• SKYE: TnTina's in prison? Why are you telling me this?

• UNKNOWN: Because I've had enough of working for the Order. If you launch an attack with every Ghost and Shadow agent you have, maybe you can defeat them?

Skye thought about this. She knew how advanced IO tech was... what if it was a ploy to destroy Ghost and Shadow once and for all? What if TnTina wasn't actually at those co-ordinates?

...What if TnTina was already dead?

No. There was no point thinking like that. She had to be hopeful.

• SKYE: That's really risky.

• UNKNOWN: I know. I can try and distract Slone, make it all a surprise.

Someone who could distract Slone? They must have been a high ranking officer.

• SKYE: What are you risking by doing this?

• UNKNOWN: Everything. My job. My life. My freedom. My memories. The Order will take it all away if I'm not careful. They can see all of these messages right now. Nothing gets out of this building without them seeing. They don't know it's me of course, that's why I'm remaining anonymous for you.

• SKYE: That's a huge sacrifice.

Skye didn't know what to say. She still wasn't convinced that this was the real deal.

• UNKNOWN: I know, but this is what I want. You have to believe me.

Skye sighed. Although her head told her that this was a trap, her gut told her that this could have been for real.

• SKYE: I'll think about coming. Keep an eye out.

Skye turned off her phone and put it on the ground. She put her head in her hands, not wanting to be a part of the real world, just for a moment.

"Skye! Are you coming back or what?" Ollie called over to her.

"I'm just coming!" Skye called.

Skye went to go back to the others, but stopped.

Would Midas want to see those messages?

Skye decided that he would if they were true or not. His judgement was superior to everyone else's - he was a smart man, he would know if something was up. And so, she did just that.

And, as she did so, another message appeared on her phone.

• UNKNOWN: Good. Please hurry!

TO BE CONTINUED...