"Ready?" I asked the unnamed soldier. Not that he was unnamed, I just didn't care enough to ask.

He nodded, determination in his eyes.

"Light it up."

He dropped the match, landing it on the wooden floor which was covered in beer.

"Out, out, out!" I yelled.

I jumped out the top window of the two story building. My body skidded onto the roof of the next one over. I was pulled up by Chris as the other four quickly popped out.

We started moving. One building after another we headed towards Pacific Rose. In the distance, I could see smoke rising in three distinct directions. Good, looks like everything went okay on their parts.

I jumped, landing in the next roof. Below me, I could see people, citizens and us terrorists, making their way away from the fire. Wee needed to get down, we were too suspicious.

I motioned with my hand, and the five of us running on roofs dropped down into the dirt. People bustled and pushed around us, but we managed to push through. No officials would be coming this way. Orchid was self sufficient, and the government hated them, us.

"Only a little further," I said to those listening to me.

When we hit Pacific Rose in twenty more minutes. Riots had already broke out from citizens and us terrorists alike. I guess I should've expected that. After all, officers were making all kinds of arrests on people from Orchid, and that just turned into chaos. My groups quickly joined the fight. The richer citizens were starting to run, away from the fighting and the blood.

"Chris," I yelled over the crowd. He looked at me, obediently waiting for instructions. And he compared Theo to a dog too. "We're heading into the main building."

I touched my finger onto the bud that was resting in m ear. "Alright, guys. Time to head inside. Bring a bit of the chaos with you if you can."

'We have a problem,' Levi's voice said in my ear.

My heart skipped a beat. "What's wrong?"

'Mila's missing. She was with me a few minutes ago, but disappeared when the soldier came back with the earbuds. I haven't been able to find her.'

"Were you in or out of Pacific Rose when she went missing?"

'We were still in Evergreen.'

"Chances are, she got lost in the crowd. Either way, we don't have time to wait up for her. We have to keep moving."

If she was still in Evergreen, she was lost in a safe zone.

There were several 'okays' through my earbud before it was quiet again. Even though I said she'd probably be fine, I was chanting 'please be okay, please be okay,' in my head.

Still chanting the little saying, I pushed and fought my way past others. Even inside the building, there was chaos. Some people who I recognized as rookies were rushing the normal staff deeper into the building, away from the oncoming danger.

"Where are we headed?" Chris asked. "Or am I not welcome to come with you that far back?"

"Oh no, you're coming. I need someone to be my scapegoat while I make my way to the top."

He sighed. "Well, glad to be useful, I guess. I still don't know where we're going."

"Just follow me."

I touched my finger to my earbud, turning on the voice recognition, while we ran in the direction of the arena. "Alright, listen up. Mercy, stay with Clover in a deserted place until Chris or I tell you otherwise. The rest of you, don't die. That's an order."

'What about you?' Levi's voice asked, concerned.

"I'll be mowing a way to the Kaiser's office. Be prepared to get directions."

We kept running, knocking out as many people as we could. I caught Chris killing a few, but the most I could do right now was sternly scold him.

I made a right turn into the main office in front of the actual arena, busting open the double doors. Like I'd expected, it was empty.

"This is creepy as hell," Chris muttered.

"Yeah, it is now," I led him further back, where the seating was, "but you should've seen it when we all fought here." From here, we could see the whole of the arena, which was pretty much just a dirt field now.

We jogged half the circle until we were at the locked doors that led to the long and fancy hallway that led to the Kaiser's office.

"It's locked," Chris said.

"No shit. You seem to be forgetting that I broke you in and out of prison. Give me a minute and we'll be in."

I got to work, snagging the rake against the levers inside the small lock. You know, it's surprisingly easy to break into houses? I mean all you need is... Right, not the time.

The lock clicked. I grabbed onto the handle before it could slide open. Slowly, I peeked through the door. The hall wasn't empty. Inside it, stood three people. Good Cop, Bad Cop, and Bailee, the swordswoman I fought during the tournament. Well, this wasn't going to be easy.

"Take out the two guys," I whispered to Chris as we stepped into their line of sight. "I'll take on the girl."

"Shadow," Bailee's voice called, "I should've guessed. You can never trust a criminal. What happened to Squadron Five? Did you kill them all to get out?"

"Actually, they basically begged me to take them out of this hellhole. Clover too actually. Apparently, the thug life's better than this prison. Oh, and the name's Lena."

"Lena? Nice. Too bad you're a threat to the Kaiser and I'll have to kill you."

She drew her sword and pointed it at me. I drew my daggers, meeting her fierce glare.

She charged first, taking a swing from above me. As if she thought that could hurt me. I tipped to the left, but she wasn't done. The sword followed me, as if she knew where I was going. My right hand shot up, catching the attack.

"Don't forget," she gritted out, "I know your weakness. Anything to protect that left side."

I gave a wicked grin and then lunged with my left hand, dagger at the ready. I prepared for the refreshing feeling of metal puncturing skin, but it never came. She'd back stepped before I could make the fatal blow.

I growled out at her, "Don't underestimate me."

"Never."

She came again, lunging at me with a straightforward stab. Seeing it coming, I brought my knees up, hitting her in the stomach and taking the wind out of her. She doubled back, and I took the chance to make another hit.

This time, my ankle came around and nailed her in my stomach. Don't forget, I keep a dagger tied right above my ankle, so the hit was all metal. She grunted against the hit, which she wasn't quick enough to catch.

She looked up at me, eyes begging for mercy, or a break at least. But I was cruel. I kept going. My fist collided with her face. I felt her nose snapping and then warm blood pooling on the top of my hand.

She fell back, unconscious. Maybe she was dead. There was a fifty-fifty chance that her nose went back into her head and punctured her brain, killing her.

She coughed, gargling blood. Yep, she was alive.

I turned back to Chris who'd just taken a dagger out of Bad Cops throat. I let a little bliss fill me at the thought of sweet vengeance. Good Cop was laying on the floor, but I wasn't sure if her was dead or alive. I kinda hoped he was alive. I liked him, in a he'd an officer, I'm a criminal kinda way.

"Ready?" He asked, looking back to me.

I took in a deep breath and then nodded. We kept going down the hall-

Something sharp stabbed my shoulder.

"C-chris?" I mumbled, falling to the ground.

"Lena!" He shouted.

At least I knew he hadn't betrayed me. Reaching for my left shoulder with a shaking hand, I felt a long slender arrow protruding from it.

"I'm really sorry," a trembling voice said.

I turned, my eyes wide with hurt, and more than just physical. And there stood a little black haired hamster with shaking hands and tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry."

"Mila."