I tear down the corridor trying desperately to remember where the tubes are. My panic fuels my legs with adrenaline. I have to get there; he can’t die.
I reach the end of the hallway and turn right. The heavy panting from behind me stops momentarily and the footsteps slow to a cessation.
‘Lara it’s this way’ Iron puffs, gripping his chest. He nods me in the other direction and begins to dart away from me. I don’t waste a second and I’m soon sprinting after him. I pass a few doors, efficiently rounding the corners until I’ve caught up with Iron.
He manages to keep up with my pace now I’ve lost my head start. I don’t even think about the possibility of hazing; I can’t, not right now. The bonding with Iron couldn’t have been done at a better time. I wouldn’t have had a hope of seeing Jared one last time. I gasp as I’m hit by another wave of agony; it burns like furious conflagration that’s determined to hurt me at all costs.
‘The Demisio is getting stronger’ I wheeze, trying as hard as possible to keep my feet moving; to stop now would be suicide for both me and Jared. I don’t know why I’m doing this but I have to see him, even if it’s just one last time.
Iron reaches back and tugs at my hand as I begin to falter. He tows me along as the stabbing pain in my stomach makes me moan in pain. I want nothing more than to curl up in a ball and fall asleep. I want to rid myself of consciousness and the thought of…
‘Lara who is Ally?’
I cry out again as another surge hits me. I can still feel my underlying bond with Ally tingle at the sound of her name.
‘Don’t think about it. Think about your friend Ally’ Iron instructs. I conjure her face in my mind trying to fight the images of Jared. It’s a mental battle I have a high chance of losing. ‘Who is she?’
‘She’s my friend from the Leto palace’ I gasp.
‘How is a human on board that ship?’ Iron enquires. I pick up my speed suddenly a little afraid to answer him.
‘She’s not a Human; she’s a Dimidium’ I mumble. I elongate my strides yet Iron only matches my pace.
‘What is a Dimidium?’
The enormous sign-posted door crops up and I breathe out a sigh of relief. I reach for the door handle when I’m suddenly knocked to the floor. The torturous burn spreads like wildfire throughout my body as I hear a series of cracks. I scream at the anguish of my ribs.
‘Shit! Lara what happened?’ Iron shrieks frantically. I groan as I try and push myself up on my forearms.
‘I don’t know. I just got a colossal wave of pain’ I groan. ‘Shit Iron, I think I’ve broken my rib’ I tenderly run my hand along my waist, comforted by the immense purple blemish that camouflages my skin. It’s not just my imagination.
Iron lips form a hard grimace as he looks uncomfortably to his side. My head cocks in confusion but my body screams in protest.
‘Lara we need to get you to Jared now’ He says through gritted teeth. He swoops down and carefully lifts me from the floor; it’s such an easy movement you’d think I was a feather. He’s gentle enough to avoid my sore rib.
‘Iron what’s happening’ My voice is high-pitched and teeming with anxiety.
‘Look, we just have to get there now’ He says curtly. He’s holding back information that could be vital.
He activates the control pad and enters his name for the voice identity. The control pad buzzes in rejection and the light flashes crimson red.
‘Authorised personnel only’ The monotonous voice blares out of the speaker, reading off the words inscribed on the door.
‘Dammit’ Iron curses under his breath.
‘Let me try’ He sets me on the floor and I clasp at my stomach before activating the control pad. I push my tangled hair out of my face so it falls messily behind my shoulders. ‘But first, what are you hiding from me?’
Iron heaves a sigh. ‘Lara, I’m doing this for your own good. We have to get there now!’ He exclaims. I shake my head and he growls with irritation.
‘Lara, you have to activate the control pad now’ He says lowly; dangerously.
‘Why?’
‘Just do it’ He yells.
I fold my arms gently over my chest. ‘No’ I reply softly. My defensive stance forms a barrier as Iron draws up to his full height; a dark storm brewing in his eyes.
‘Lara we have to go now’
‘Tell me why’ I whine. Iron reaches the end of his tether and snaps.
‘Because goddamit, if we don’t move now we won’t make it time Lara. Jared has less than 5 minutes to live’ Iron explodes before me and I cower back.
‘Wait what?’ I whisper.
‘That fall you had, that’s the ‘Pulga’. It’s the final five minute warning where the bond sends the Caritas it’s the last warning. Jared’s got minutes Lara’ He bursts. The blood drains from my face.
‘Lara Aurora Hall’ I command quietly.
The door to the tubes slides open. I hobble into the room tugging Iron in behind me. I turn carefully to face him and point in the tubes.
‘Get in the tube. Close the door. Activate the control pad. Tell it to go the Leto palace. Meet me there’ I instruct him through gritted teeth. He nods in understanding and we both scamper towards the tubes.
The fluorescent blue does nothing to transfix me anymore. My mouth runs dry. What if I’m too late?
I activate the control pad and see Iron beside me shutting his door. I slam mine shut and order the Leto Palace as my destination. The tube begins to flash blue and I shut my eyes. Please God, don’t let it be too late. I pray over and over again as I begin to materialise.
I feel my body being given back to me; my limbs feel solid once more. The door clicks open and I burst out into the Leto palace tube room. I tap my foot impatiently against the white marble floor; I haven’t missed this place at all. I heave a sigh of edginess, pondering if I should go on and leave Iron.
The tube to my far left begins to flicker azure and seconds later Iron appears. I rip open the door and drag him out. He looks around with disgust at the white décor.
‘Are you sure you want to come?’
‘No but what are friends for?’ He makes his best attempt to smile but his repugnance with the Palace shines through. I smile gratefully and begin moving as best I can towards the door. My ears register a sharp crunch before I feel my left rib snap. I let out another scream, drawing in the precious air. I’m filled with the same agony as on the other side of my rib cage.
Iron darts towards and holds my frame up. I groan.
‘Let me guess, another warning?’ I smile weakly. He nods, grimacing at my distress. My pain is his and vice versa for the next week or so.
‘I don’t want to know how long’ I bury my head in my palms.
‘C’mon, we still have time’ He says quietly.
The situation seems more and more hopeless with every breath I take. I try and push myself out of his arms and gasp at the pain of my ribs. Iron quickly pulls me into his arms as he strides over to the open door of the tube room. He pauses outside, staring blankly at the bare white walls that house and shelter the Leto; they separate the truth and lies and right now I’ve got to find my truth.
‘Which way Lara?’ Iron asks. I frown at his question; I can’t answer it. All the white corridors look the same to me; I’ll never be able to find my way. I shake my head, not knowing how to answer in any other form.
A sudden outburst of applause from down to the left of the corridor gives me a start. I attune my ears shushing desperately at Iron. My ears pick up more applause, a few cheers and then the name I’ve been waiting for.
‘The male character evidence, Jared Miller’s execution will take place in precisely 1 minute. Please take your seats and be silent during the death sentence’ The robotic voice speaks slowly and clearly.
I gag, barely holding onto the tiny tangerine from this morning. The bile from my gullet burns my throat and stings my nose with the pungent odour.
‘That way’ I rasp pointing in the direction of the noise. In seconds Iron is up and running with me in his arms. As I’m jostled about, my ribs spit fireballs through my abdomen at the disagreement of being moved. I bit my lip to keep myself from screaming and to prevent Iron from slowing down.
The cheers and whoops begin to crescendo as we approach the strangely familiar doors. Behind a pair of white double doors we sand before, the shrieks travel through to my ears. He’s in there. I begin to sweat nervously at the thought of seeing his face after so many weeks.
‘Ready?’ Iron asks.
‘Can you put me down first?’ I ask softly. He smiles and places me on the floor. My feet hit the ground like feathers but it’s not long before I’m grasping onto Iron’s arm for support. He attempts to swing me back into his arms but I push his arms off.
‘No, I need to do this myself’ I choke.
‘Are you sure?’ Iron asks uncertainly. I nod, swallowing the omnipresent lump in my throat. He doesn’t look convinced at all. ‘Lara I’m right out here in case…’ He trails off.
‘Thanks Iron’ I squeeze his arm. Behind the doors I hear the applause becoming louder and louder. I panic and throw Iron one more smile.
I push the door open. I immediately recognise the room; it’s the one where the Leto Rex ordered the Mendosus to be killed. In front of me, a swarm of Leto stand, much like they did last time, all peering eagerly forward to try and catch sight of the obvious events that are unfolding. I slowly slip between the Leto, edging closer and closer to the glass where I know he’ll be. My heart stops as I hear the familiar monotonous voice droning from on top of the royal podium.
‘Please bring out the male character evidence Jared Miller’
There’s a small series of gushes and whispers between the crows of Leto before they fall silent once more at the hands of their Rex.
‘Jared Miller, the male character evidence is to be charged with treason and sentenced to death. His first charge is on account of the murder of Leto 38382919. The second charge is failure to complete the agreed upon conditions to form an established bond of love with the female character evidence Lara Hall’ The corner of the Rex’s lips tug into a satisfied smile. My eyes widen. Jared killed a Leto? That’s a Torpen for you I think bitterly before scolding myself for such thoughts. How could I even think that?
I hear a shuffle of feet and the clanking of chains. My heart almost breaks in two as I conjure up the image of Jared handcuffed and vulnerable in solid steel shackles.
‘Does anyone have any objections to the sentence?’ The Leto Rex asks smugly. He knows not one of these Leto’s will go against his orders; they know better. However I do not.
‘I object’ I call out. I watch the Leto Rex’s smirk fall from his face as he eyes begin desperately searching the crowd. I’m not hard to find though; it’s like playing spot the elephant in the room. I may as well shine the spotlight upon myself with the way my grey beach dress contrasts with the smart, professional white suits.
I push through the crowd of Leto’s gritting my teeth as an elbow knocks me and sends a fresh wave of pain through my ribs. I hiss gently at the passive blond Leto, she couldn’t even say sorry; instead she moves respectfully out the way.
‘Lara Hall, you have returned’ The Leto Rex says, his composure returning after his obvious panic. He’s wearing his white suit only this time he has crimson red coat, the colour of blood; the blood that could be soon shed.
‘Yes’ I set my lips in a firm grimace. I search frantically for Jared. The glass box in front of me is empty with two doors at either end. This is where the Mendosus was before they killed him so where is Jared?
‘Where is he?’ I snarl.
‘Where is who Lara Hall?’ The Leto Rex replies a little too innocently.
‘Where. Is. Jared?’ My eyes rifle through the crowd just in case. Black hair, obscure brown eyes and a smile that makes me weak. He’s not here.
‘Did you not hear my announcement about the male character evidence Jared Miller, Lara Hall?’ The Leto Rex begins to descend down his podium onto the cool marble steps. There he stands with his perfect posture intact, rising above the rest of the room.
I run my tongue over my lips.
‘You said he’s been sentenced to death?’
‘That is correct Lara Hall, the male character evidence Jared Miller has been trialled and proven guilty of both murder and failure to complete the conditions agreed to form an established bond of love with the female character evidence Lara Hall’ The Leto Guard all turn and look at one another. It seems as if they doubt the Leto Rex. I don’t have time to focus on that right now; I need to find Jared, I need to check he’s alright, I need to check he’s alive.
‘Wait so he didn’t ask you to kill him?’ I ask.
‘Lara Hall, it appears you’ve been obtaining your information from Dimidium 1’ The Rex says omnisciently and the blond lady to his left swallows; Ally’s mother.
‘So he didn’t then?’
‘No. Jared Miller was trialled 24 hours after the female character evidence Lara Hall left the Leto palace premises. This was proof for the Leto Rex that the character evidence’s had not been able to establish a bond of love’ The Leto Rex doesn’t take his beady eyes off me for a second. I squirm. It’s my fault again. I’m the reason another person will die.
No! This time I’m going to fight.
‘I left because I was hurt, not because I stopped loving him’ I say sternly, my voice low and constrained. I know he can hear me though.
‘I’m sorry Lara Hall, it’s too late. Jared Miller has already entered the Vestibulum chamber’ The Leto Rex’s face looks anything but sorry or sympathetic. For a Leto, this is probably the maximum amount of ‘happiness’ they can expose or even feel.
‘What’s the Vestibulum chamber?’ I whisper. My fingers begin to tremble. The label ‘Vestibulum’ is on one of the doors behind the glass screen. I place my quivering fingers on the glass; their warm prints are left on the cold panel as I stare right through the transparent material. The seconds tick by which is no doubt the Leto Rex’s cruel design.
‘The Vestibulum chamber’ He pauses, an arrogant smirk plays on his lips. ‘Is a gas chamber’
My ears perk up. Jared’s going to be gassed. My head flicks from side to side trying to find a possible way through the glass. My shallow breaths quicken as I realise that there are no doors through to the Vestibulum chamber. Jared only has about 50 seconds to breathe. My mind is made up; if I can’t go around the glass, I’ll have to go through it.
To my left, I catch sight of an antique fire extinguisher. It looks like a collectable item but I don’t care for preserving ancient history. The only fires that would be present on this ship are controlled and simulated. I yank the ruddy fire extinguisher from the wall. Surprisingly none of the Leto try and stop me. The Leto Rex stands with his smirk permanently plastered to his face. He doesn’t think I’ll do it; it’s not the first time I’ve been underestimated. The mental time clock in my head pulses so loudly I can barely think straight.
Taking a deep breath, I prepare for my run up. I swing my left arm holding the extinguisher round, feeling the full force of the impact as the rusty metal connects with the glass. It shatters everywhere into the tiniest of crystals. The crowd of Leto gasp and surge backwards towards the entrance doors, pushing themselves further away from me. I smile in satisfaction and begin to leap over the glass until I’m outside the chamber. I fiddle with the handle and it swings open. Stupid Leto error; always lock the door with Humans around.
I ram through the door into the dark room. Dim lights flood the room making the black haired man tied in shackles to the back wall. I can see the gas pipes, they’ll explode any moment now.
‘Who’s there?’ A throaty voice rasps. Tears spring to my eyes as I see the blindfold stretched across his eyes.
I don’t answer; this will be easier if we don’t talk. I race towards him cautious of the pipes; I’ve got seconds to try and get him free. His hands are shackled to a pipe with handcuffs that have a specific lock. I begin to panic, what if the Leto Rex has the keys? I frantically peer around the room for any possible keys.
‘Lara?’ He says hoarsely. A slow tear falls down my cheek onto his hand, his voice sounds as fragmented as the glass outside. How can I reply?
‘…Hi’ I swallow back the lump in my throat. I can’t think of anything else to say. My attention is caught as he body slumps, revealing a connection of two points. If I can break that, I can get him out. My time is slowly draining away…
‘Hi’ He says breathlessly. Though he cannot see me, his lips form into a gently smile; a happy smile. I weigh up the options with pipe; with a couple hard kicks I should be able to break it.
‘Am I in heaven?’ He asks contentedly. He thinks he’s dead already.
‘Not yet’ I reply curtly. ‘Jared turn to your left. I need to get you out of here’
‘Of course, anything for you Lara’ He smiles. He sounds so breathless and dazed I’m inclined to think he still believes he’s dreaming or worse…dead. He shifts his body to the left just as I instructed giving me a fine amount of space. I limber up and take my first kick at the pipe. It moves but doesn’t break off. Jared’s body shakes with the action. I aim another kick and once again the pipe creaks. On the third time my foot makes contact and the pipe breaks away from the tube connected to it. With one final kick, the pipe becomes fully loose so Jared is now free.
‘Quick, Jared stand up’ I grip under his arm to pull him up. We both gasp simultaneously at the tingle of fervour beneath our skins.
That’s the moment the green gas begins spilling out of the gas tubes. I scream and haul Jared up. It’s like he’s suddenly fazed back into reality. His handcuffed hands are tied behind his back but his feet remain agile and mobile.
‘Lara run’ He yells. ‘Leave me’ I don’t loosen my grip on his arm.
‘Come on’ I plead. ‘Come with me’
He pauses; I glance round to the approaching green smoke that rapidly approaches us.
‘Okay, hold your breath’ He says. That’s all the encouragement I need to guide his blind eyes towards the door; towards the pungent green gas. I brace myself; not knowing what the consequences of the charging through this fog will be.
As I enter the vapours, I realise I couldn’t have predicted anything as bad as this. My skin feels like it’s been lit on fire, as a thousand flames bite at me. My leg begins to convulse with pain. I scream and inhale the green gas, clamping my hand down on my mouth immediately. I immediately begin to feel woozy, my head swims with thoughts of my mother, Carlisle, Iron, Izzy, Ally but mainly Jared. Anything I do is about Jared and my mother likes doing the fandango with a piranha. Did I just think that? Maybe it was the gummy bears coming to chase me. I like the gummy bears especially the strawberry ones, they taste like chocolate.
I no longer see green and instead the white light glares at me. Jared’s face leans over me. I reach up and cup his cheek as the tears roll out of his eyes. Something sharp stabs into my back. I can see so many faces staring down at me, their mouths moving at a mile a minute yet I can’t hear them. My eyes automatically train onto Jared’s face and watch as he tries to speak to me, his expression becoming more and more frantic. I gently press my forefinger to his lips to quieten him. I smile as my eyes begin to flutter shut.
I can see nothing but an army of gummy bears marching towards me.
I think I may be delirious.