The next day, I went into Alex's room and took one of the books from a hole in the wall. He was fast asleep, unaware of my presence. I raised the book above my head and then dropped it on him stomach. He jolted awake.
"Agh! What the-" he cried. He looked up at me and glared. "Was that really necessary?" He snapped. I laughed in response. "Most definitely. Anyway, I need a favour." Alex rubbed his stomach. "I don't know, Rose. That was a little uncalled for," he mumbled. I rolled my eyes. "Oh, don't be such baby! I just need a key for the cell next to the prisoners."
He stared. "Whatever for?" I tapped my foot impatiently. "There are these grates between the cells and I figured if I entered the adjacent one and slipped through it, I could get into their block without letting them out. Don't worry, if you saw the size of them, you'll know they won't fit through," I added quickly when he opened his mouth to argue. He shut it grudgingly and nodded. "Fine. I'll go look for it now but you have to go to school. If you skip, I'm not giving it to you."
I groaned. "You can't be serious..." However, the look on his face said otherwise.
All through school, I was praying Alex would find a key so my time in convent wouldn't go to waste. The nun was surprised at my silence but didn't comment. I reckoned she was suspicious of my behaviour rather than approving. She passed my desk often, hoping to catch me with something I shouldn't have or to see if there was some sort of prank in my line of sight. As I left the convent for lunch, I saw her check under my desk. I giggled at her tension.
In the mess hall, I took my normal place at the back. I ate slowly, waiting for Alex to arrive. After a while, I began to worry. What if he couldn't find a key? What if he'd been caught and was no longer allowed to work at the office? I didn't want him to have to go back to the convent. It was bad enough for me there. However, all my worries were quelled when he entered with a small smile on his face. I breathed a sigh of relief as he sat down. He took a bite out of his lunch before sliding a metal key attached to some cord across the table.
"This is a copy of the master key. I'm trusting you not to let them out of here. Just in case, I want you to wear it around your neck. They'll have a hard time taking it off you like that," he whispered. I nodded and slipped it over my head. Alex reached into his pockets and pulled out a pocket knife with several attachments. "You'll find it easier to remove the grates if you use this. Then you can also replace it before you leave. I know you're careful around sharps but that hunting knife blade makes me nervous." I smiled and ruffled his hair before putting it in my pocket. "You're awesome Alex, thank you!" I said gratefully. He grinned back. "Better get moving, those guys get out soon."
I dashed home and got changed. Afterwards, I made my way back to the prison block, ducking under the hole in the fence then scaling the wall once more. Making my way around to the south wall, I peered through the hole where the window was. No guards were about. I leapt through the hole and headed to the cell adjacent to the one that held the prisoners. I unlocked it and stepped inside. I clambered on top of one of the wooden benches that served as a bed and began unscrewing the grate. Once it was removed, I slid through the gap feet first. The hole was small, even for me so it was a bit of a tight squeeze. Still, I managed to get through and land on the bench inside, bending my knees on impact. Evidently, Ferris was standing against the wall and pushed me off the bench. I toppled forward, only just remembering to roll. Due to my late reaction, I hit my head mid-roll.
I sat up, holding my throbbing head.
"What the hell?" I snapped, turning to face the wall I had just come through. I heard Ferris' cruel laughter behind me. Which meant...
I stared at the person near the bench. It was Gabriel.
"You're starting to react faster but not fast enough. You need to be ready. At any moment, you could be thrown off balance."
I rubbed my head and got up. My bandanna had fallen off so I tied it back up with some difficulty. I struggled with the bandanna that wouldn't stay tied on my probably swollen head. It made me question whether Ferris was really trying to help me escape or if he was trying to kill me. We gathered near the window where Ferris sat atop the bench, elevated from us. I squatted on the floor; Dante slouched next to me and Gabriel on my other side. He stood leaning against the wall with his arms folded.
"Right. Today, Drifter I want you to work on your precision. I saw you stumble the other day so you'd better get back up to scratch. Dogs, you're working with me on combat. Nothing personal, I just want a reason to punch you in the face. I'm kidding," he smirked when Dante frowned. He continued. "Wings, you're working with Pinks, bring her reflexes up to scratch. We don't want snails working with us."
I peeked at Gabriel. His determined expression made me shiver. If he'd just smile a little and didn't tower over me so menacingly, I would've him a 'gentle giant'.
I think that's what Stevie called them. There was this boy at school that was so tall he'd always hit his head on the doorframe on the way in. I avoided him because he was the only guy scary enough to stop me from playing jokes. Regardless of his size, Stevie occasionally talked to him and one boring day at school when Stevie and I snuck out, he sat near the window, blocking us from view. I could've sworn he gave us the thumbs-up. I intended to thank him. I really did. However, when I went into the shelters and asked Stevie where he was, he told me he'd enlisted. Unfortunately for him, that next batch of recruits was to go north and infiltrate an enemy compound.
I never got to thank him. Heck, I didn't even know his name.
I scrambled out of the cell and met everyone in the yard. Gabriel didn't pull me away from the group like Dante. Instead, he made me stand up on the silver bar next to where Elijah was practising precision. He held out his arm to spot me.
"Okay, you know the drill here. Walk across."
My voice stuck in my throat. I nodded weakly. I shuffled along the bar, my stomach churning. I made it across safely.
"Hmph," Gabriel snorted. "You don't trust yourself enough." He showed off his right arm. All over it were little dents made by my own fingers.
"You're gonna do that again and for goodness sake, try not to cut off the circulation in my wrist!"
I walked again and again over the silver surface. Soon I was able to go over it without needing him to spot me.
"Good," he said finally. "Now, speed up."
Before I could prepare myself, he slapped my ankles. "If you don't go fast enough, I'll kick you off and you'll start again. Hope you know how to roll properly because if you don't, you better learn quickly."
I increased my speed with each lap, hoping my balance would hold out. He kicked me off a few times even when I reckoned I was going faster than the last. It wasn't perfect but at least I escaped with only minor bruises.
Now that Gabriel was grudgingly satisfied with my efforts, he started to teach me how to jump up onto the pole without support, getting across it when it was unstable and sprinting.
Ferris came around and nodded expectantly. "Show me what you've got," he said. I stood up on the bar and made my way across swiftly. Instead of jumping off, I went backwards, retracing my steps slowly but surely. I expected Gabriel to sweep my feet out from underneath me which is exactly what he did.
I landed safely on the ground, standing up at the end. Whilst I felt a grin tugging at my lips, I hid it just in case Ferris decided to embarrass me.
"Cute." He smirked. "You've finally discovered the meaning of balance. I'm still going to get you try slack-lining though; it'll be good for you."
"Slack-lining?" I asked.
"Let's go!" He yelled, ignoring my question. I sighed but followed swiftly.
After a few weeks of the strange training, I started to feel lighter, swifter and almost superhuman. I didn't really care that I couldn't do flips or highly decorated jumps like them. Just the exhilaration of flying between obstacles was enough. Even my hand-to-hand combat had improved. If Stevie were here, he'd be so proud of me. However, I was not pleased to find out that Ferris was actually the weakest fighter out of all of them.
"Let me get this straight: you're saying that my recruit training and all the practice I've had wasn't enough to beat Ferris, the worst fighter out of all of you?" I said to Dante, my mouth open in shock. He nodded, trying not to laugh. "I really thought you could beat him. Normally when Prince knows he's about to lose when training, he backs up and says he's done for the day. But, he had the upper hand and pinned you." I scowled. "I can't believe it..." Dante reached over and thumped me on the back. "Don't be too down, I reckon now you could take him out with your eyes closed."
At the end of a particularly tolling session that involved climbing up the underside of a staircase, Dante approached me with a half-smile.
"Can you stick around for a while? Prince finally agreed with me that you're in this for the long run."
I nodded. "Am I allowed to have dinner first?"
He shrugged. "Sure, just be back by 6."
"6?" I asked.
"Sorry, 1800. Your way of saying the time is weird," he commented.
"Yours is weirder. How do you know whether you mean 6 in the morning or 6 at night?"
He chuckled. "We add something called 'am' or 'pm' to the end of time normally. We also have another thing called 'common sense'."
I gave him a friendly punch in the arm. I felt my stomach growl so I gave a wave and ran off.
I slipped off my disguise and threw on my uniform. I dashed out of my room and ran into Alex.
"Are you really going to the mess hall like that?" He raised an eyebrow. I reached my hands up to my hair. It wasn't up in a bun like it should be. Rather, it flowed down to my ribs and was kind of messy from being pinned up under my bandanna all day.
"Oh, right. Thanks!" I grinned and ruffled his hair. He flattened it and I tied up my tangled mop.
"Better?" I asked.
His eyes disappeared into his skull. "Seriously? You know, I think you're losing touch with reality."
I snorted. "Who wouldn't want to though? This reality sucks."
Wisps of hair kept coming out the bun I was trying to put up. In the end, Alex sighed and swatted my hands away.
"Take a seat and let me do this," he said exasperatedly.
He gently tugged at my hair and wrapped it around itself, securing it with an elastic band. I was curious to know how he knew how to tie up girl's hair but I wanted to get back to the cells as soon as possible.
After dinner, I jumped out of my uniform and threw on my disguise. I was about to disappear out the window when someone barged in. I panicked. I went to flip over the window frame but my jacket got caught on the latch. I could've easily slipped out of it and bolted but it was kind of cold so I reached up and untangled it. I was so glad my door was really dodgy because it gave me those few extra seconds to move. The door finally gave way as my hand slid out of sight. I couldn't risk getting up and running because whoever was inside would see me. Instead, I flattened myself underneath the window ledge. Paralysed with fear, I listened intently.
Judging by the heavy footsteps, it was probably my dad. Why was he in my room? Did he catch me in the prison yard? After a while, I heard a scratching noise and him clearing his throat. Then he left, shutting the door behind him.
I stood up and went back into my room. On my bed lay my uniform and a handwritten note.
Iron your uniform. It's a disgrace to see you in the mess hall like that. Your spare better not be wrinkled as well.
I exhaled, relieved I wasn't in that much trouble. I leapt out of my window again and headed for the jail.
I was going to have to be more careful. It was lucky I changed as soon as I got home; it was lucky I was cold enough to save my jacket; it was lucky my door stuck all the time because otherwise I'd have no explanation for why I was dressed up as a prisoner.
Dante was waiting for me at the grate in the wall. He helped me through then led me to one of the unused benches. The others completely ignored us which I took as a good sign.
We sat opposite each other on the bench, his back to the cell door so anyone passing by wouldn't see me at first glance.
"So," he began "did you want to go first or shall I?"
I decided to go first because I didn't want to be distracted by his answers on the way home. I had to prioritize just in case our time was cut short.
"Well, remember when I first came into the prison and you stopped Ferris from manipulating me? I'm really grateful you did so thank you."
He smiled. "Yeah, I remember. You're welcome."
"So, why did you do it?"
"Well, for one, I could tell you were quite a remarkable person. The way you sneak around and no one notices is really cool. You agreed to help us straight off the bat for something as simple as leaving which showed you had pure intentions. Plus leaving in such a way would be risky and I assumed you wanted to do so meant that you didn't want to be part of this war. To me, that means you're still human. I was afraid Prince would just exploit your ideas then leave a perfectly sane person to die in a stupid fight."
I was flattered. I gave him an appreciative smile. He grinned back at me then coughed.
"Oh and of course you're gonna be useful for when we escape." He said a little louder, glancing sideways briefly at Ferris. I laughed and gestured for him to continue.
"Next question: How old are all of you?"
"Well, I'm 18 so I'm the youngest which Prince likes to point out when we argue. Drifter and Wings are the same age at 21 and Prince is 24." He said. I nodded in response. "You're a lot younger than them." I commented. He shrugged. "It doesn't really bother me. I don't look any younger than them which makes it better. Although when Wings first heard I was only 18, he didn't believe it." He laughed. Seeing me look a little uncomfortable, he gave me a reassuring smile. "Don't fret, you'll fit right in. It'll be good to have someone my age around here." I nodded and continued.
"How did Prince come up with your aliases?"
He laughed. "That's a long story because you have to know our backgrounds to understand them."
I leaned my head on my hands. "Is there a shorter version?"
He shrugged. "Put quite simply, the aliases are the embodiment of our past. It allows us to remember who we were before we joined forces. For Prince especially, that's important."
I resisted the temptations of curiosity and went to ask my next question. However, Dante stared me straight in the eye and said plainly:
"It's alright to be curious. You don't have to worry about time since we can talk tomorrow or the next day."
"I'm not curious," I replied, quickly blanking out so he couldn't read my thoughts.
He watched me, puzzled. Finally he spoke. "Yes you are. You can trust me Rose. I know it must be hard for you to trust anyone, especially people like us since we aren't like those you grew up around and even though you hate war, you still categorize everyone as a friend, an ally or an enemy. You're using this time to gather information in the event we betray you. You don't have to for me, really. Right now, I'm hoping you at least consider even just me as an ally. However, that won't stop me from trying to be friends with you."
I was taken aback. No one, not even Stevie, could tell what I was thinking when I blanked out. It was my best defensive mechanism and he saw right through it. I eyed him suspiciously.
"Can the others do that too?" I asked tersely.
"What?"
"Can the others tell what I'm thinking as well or is it just you?"
He relaxed and shook his head. "No, it's just me. As I said, you can trust me."
I contemplated this, trying to make up my mind on whether to believe him or not.
"Okay, I trust you."
He scrutinized me for a moment then grinned. "I'm glad you do. So did you want to know about the aliases or is there another question you want to ask more?"
"Aliases," I replied instantly.
"Alright. Well, I'll start off with our leader. Ferris took the nickname 'Prince' because he was next in line in the royal family back in his home country."
"Royal?"
His eyes widened. "Oh right, you don't know. Well, before there was war, there were some countries run by people called 'royalty'. They are these people who were considered high-up. Unlike war generals, they were mostly loved by their people. They live in massive houses called castles, they're normally rich and they live a life of luxury. Anyway, Ferris was a prince, which is like a fourth-in-command or something like that. However, when war struck, he was taken prisoner by his enemies. Some of his loyal subjects were there too and helped him escape. He taught himself to become fearless and was able to manipulate everyone around him. His past made him who he is today: a manipulative, handsome, arrogant leader who demands respect."
That explained a lot: why he always got mad at Dante whenever he interrupted; why he deemed it his right to give me a stupid alias that I couldn't figure out how it had anything to do with my past and why he flaunted his beauty and expected the world in return.
"Anyway, when he escaped, he fled to my home country and stayed there for a few years. We met at a dog-fight which is where people got feral canines and pit them against each other. We'd guess which one would win and if you were right you'd get money."
"That would've been dangerous," I interjected.
He shrugged. "I guess so. I wasn't there to win money though. I was there to bring dogs to fight. It was my family's business after all. Sometimes, the dogs I grabbed were too vicious for me to handle so I'd have to run. Running wasn't always enough so sometimes I had to climb and squeeze between small spaces to evade losing a chunk out of my leg."
"How old were you at the time?"
"About seven. My town hadn't been bombed yet so I was pretty lucky. One time when I was taking a dog back to the fight, Ferris threw a stone at it which made it go wild. I took off as I normally did and he followed me. He admired my speed and in short, asked me to come with him. Being a kid with not much, this felt like a chance to have fun with life and have a friend. Once again, I was really lucky. A week after I'd left, my home got taken over by a neighbouring country."
I watched him sympathetically. He was trying to hide it but I could see it pained him to leave his old life behind. Eleven years later and the dark memory still killed him on the inside. "And?" I encouraged him to continue.
"Oh, yeah. When we ran, I asked for his name. He was reluctant to disclose it and came up with the idea of code names. I didn't have to know him and he didn't have to know me. So he took the name 'Prince' and gave me the name 'Dog-catcher'. It sounded pretty cool so I rolled with it."
I laughed. I could imagine Ferris, this 13 year old boy being a saviour to Dante. Reaching out to him in all his elegance, promising a life full of adventure and escape from chaos. "Was it as fun as you dreamed it to be?"
"Of course! I ate more, that's for sure. Also, it's a lot more fun evading danger when you have someone there with you. As a kid, you get lonely."
"We moved on across the border. It was getting really scary at this point because everyone was fighting with guns instead of fists. I was starting to see reality and how terrifying it really was. I begged Prince to let me go home but he just got mad. It didn't stop me from crying and in the end; he said he'd tell me his real name if I shut up. Curiosity got the better of me and I agreed."
I wasn't surprised. How can you practically live with someone and know nothing about them? His eyes lit up as he told me about the next part.
"I couldn't believe I was in the presence of royalty. Me, a child who spent his life taking strays and pitting them against each other for money. I was amazed and all I wanted to do was protect him. I mean, come on! Royalty! An actual prince!"
I glanced over my shoulder and gazed at Ferris. He was lying on a bench with Gabriel and Elijah on a separate bench. They looked happy together and I could see room for where Dante would most likely sit if he were with them at the time. I wondered if there would ever be room for me.
"After a few years, Prince decided he wanted more people to join us. At first, I thought he was bored with me and wanted to replace me. He called me an idiot and attempted to formulate a plan. He got frustrated at not being able to iron out all the flaws and asked me to help him. Together, we came up with an idea. We would get captured and find two prisoners to invite along with us. He figured they would be the most desperate and less likely to deny the invitation."
"It didn't work initially. Sure, we got caught but in the compound there weren't many teenagers like us. They were all adults with terrified children. So we moved on, compound to compound. We eventually were recognised by allying bases so soldiers were ordered to shoot us on sight. Neither of us wanted to give up but then again, we didn't want to be shot either."
He snickered nervously at this point. He tensed up and began fiddling with his arm band.
"Prince decided that a change in appearance was in order. We both had especially long hair at the time because we never bothered to cut it so we stole a knife or something and chopped each other's hair until we looked pretty different. That wasn't enough for him though so he made some dye out of more stolen materials and persuaded me to dye my hair. I was hesitant but agreed. It washed out eventually but I still like to dye the tips," he laughed then continued. "Prince had naturally dark blond hair and decided to make it a lot lighter."
"We took some comfortable clothes and went into another base. That's where we found Gabriel and Elijah. Prince was drawn to them because they knew how to fight, especially Elijah. However, communicating with him proved impossible so he moved on to Gabriel. It didn't look good. I reckoned we would move on once they rejected us outright. Still, we stayed a few days and on the night of our escape, we had two people trailing just behind us. They didn't say anything and neither did we. A week later, Prince finally initiated conversation and casually called Gabriel 'Wings'. Apparently, he was given that name because he had an artistic mind and in Prince's country, they used to say 'let your ideas take flight'. I prefer to think that his technique in our way of transport is pretty much close to flying."
I contorted my mouth at the explanation. It was pretty absurd in my opinion and I wasn't sure if I really believed him.
"Elijah still refused to talk to us directly and spoke through Wings. They're very close but they're not brothers surprisingly. Prince coaxed some background out of Wings and decided 'Drifter' was appropriate for Elijah since that's what he spent most of his childhood doing: drifting around Wings, doing whatever he did. Even now, he's only here because Wings is."
That was a lot of information to take in. We sat quietly for a moment while I processed everything I was just told. I found it interesting how he used their aliases so nonchalantly. Since I knew their real names, the ones given by Ferris were difficult for me to use. That was probably what set me from them.
"They really are nice guys, all of them. They're just tough on you because they need you to learn quickly. They pick on you because they want you to be as close to perfect as possible, or at least up to their standard. I know it seems like they're unenthusiastic about you but honestly, we're all still laughing at the time you outsmarted Prince, him included."
I smiled. Given that Dante was telling the truth, I wasn't so different from them after all. And because I trusted him. I didn't doubt his words.
"Sorry, that was probably a really lengthy explanation," he said, slightly embarrassed. I didn't mind. It was worth knowing who they were for reasons I couldn't explain. I put it down to curiosity and a desire for friends.
My list of questions went on for ages and Dante answered all of them patiently. The weird pictures on their skin called 'tattoos', the spikes decorating their ears sensibly called 'earrings'; their adventures; the outside world I never knew; their arm bands and the strange behaviour that Ferris took on the other day.
The arm bands were actually designed by Gabriel and made by some of their cellmates from another base that they had helped escape. They depicted a curled-up gryphon. I had no idea what a gryphon was but I guessed it was some sort of bird mixed in with what Dante called a lion.
"What does this say?" I asked, running my finger over the letters bordering the animal. The script was stylised and difficult to read.
"Oh, that's who we are. We call ourselves 'Runners'. We find our way into prisons and free the ones who never intended harm. It's like we're racing to reach the end of the war: the faster we get there, the quicker freedom comes," he said. My fingers moved down his arm to the bottom of the badge. "And this?"
"It says: 'You fight with them; you fight for death. You run with us; you run for life.'"
Dante watched me as I examined the circle. His face moved closer to mine. I assumed he was trying to look at the badge as well but he continued to keep his eyes on me. My stomach fluttered and I remembered my last question.
"Oh, I just remembered. Yesterday, Ferris got really edgy when I asked him a question. What's up with that?"
He contorted his mouth slightly. "You know how I said he was royalty and all that? Well, as a higher-up, he's not keen on people questioning him. And, uh," he stopped briefly to glance over at the others. "We can't really discuss this."
I sighed. "Really Dante? Even the higher-ups here have to take questions and some banter from everyone here. But you don't see any of them leaping over to try and kill us! Well, kind of," I trailed off.
He shook his head. "I promise, you'll understand Prince and his antics eventually. But I'm sorry, I can't talk about this."
I was certainly inquisitive but I didn't want to push him. I took a deep breath and grimaced. "Don't worry about it; I understand."
We sat in silence. I glanced around the cell, waiting for what felt like several hours. Finally, Dante prodded my knee and brought me back to earth. "So, can I ask a few questions?"
I sat up straight, tugging at my clothes. "Oh, sure. Go ahead."
My mind ticked. What would he ask? I had to be careful about what I told him. If things didn't work out being a Runner, I'd need to be able to return safely to Delta 2. I ordered the information in my mind from 'okay to tell' and 'don't disclose'. He already knew about the dustbowl in the West, we covered that when I first came in. The reintroduction of the adult conscription rule, non-retrospective should be fine. Maybe the soldiers themselves wasn't a good idea. I clenched my fists and tilted my head slightly.
He nodded. "Okay. How old are you?"
I was a little surprised at that. I decided just to humour him. I stayed alert in my response, wary of letting my guard down.
"I'm 16- no, 17 now." I realised. I'd completely forgotten in the midst of this mess. No one else remembered either.
"Yeah?" He nodded. "When's your birthday?"
"August 3rd."
"Happy birthday for last month," he grinned. "What's your favourite colour?"
"The colour of straw." I replied quickly, raising an eyebrow. He didn't seem fazed.
"Alright. Uh, can you do a flip?"
"No."
"What do you do in your spare time?"
"Secret recruit training."
"When did you start that?"
"I think when I was 13."
"Do you think you could beat me in a fist-fight?" He asked with a sly grin.
"I'm not sure."
"Do you have any siblings?"
"Just my little brother."
Dante scratched his chin and I was only narrowing my eyes further. "You know, you don't have to be so straight with your answers. I don't mind a bit of a life story. Also, why do you look so suspicious of me?" He asked with a little laugh.
I didn't understand what he was doing. None of these queries made any sense. What was the point in telling him about a hypothetical situation where I'm stuck in solitary for 24 hours? Was it of any benefit to him to know what I'd wish for if I had one wish? It was a waste of time. He was wasting time.
So then, why was I enjoying myself so much?
My smile faded and I felt my sore facial muscles relax. Dante mimicked me and tried to make eye contact.
"What's wrong?" he asked, concerned.
I stared at my hands. "Why are you doing this?"
He frowned, scratching the back of his neck. "I just wanted to get to know you better. Making conversation, y'know?"
I fidgeted. I guess I wasn't as human as I thought. I never talked about this kind of stuff with Stevie. No, we discussed pranks and fights and how long we should hide for when the patrolling officers catch us scattering bullet shells in the mess hall.
"Rose?"
"Yeah," I mumbled, still not looking up.
"Sorry if this question is a bit insensitive but... am I the first friend you've ever had?"
My head shot up. "No!" I cried. He jumped, surprised at my harsh response. I buried my face in my hands, embarrassed. Something grasped my shoulder. I peeked through the gaps in my fingers to find Dante trying to comfort me.
"Who was your first friend?"
The curiosity in his eyes shone like a torch beam in the darkness, searching for something unknown. After that little outburst of mine, I reckoned it was fair to answer.
"I... wasn't always like this. I used to be 'empty', well; at least that's what Alex called it. Then, on my first day of school, he saved me. His name was Steven but I called him Stevie. He was my best friend."
"Was?"
I expected some sort of vicious pain to start stabbing my chest but nothing of the sort occurred.
"Yeah, was. He went M.I.A a few months ago."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be," I said suddenly. "He's strong and kind and determined so he'll be fine. He's probably made friends with the other P.O.Ws and planning a really cool trick. He's waiting for me, I can feel it." I clenched my fists. They shook but I ignored it.
Dante grinned. "Is that why you want to get out so badly? You want to find your friend?"
I nodded. He thought about this for a moment then asked: "Are you two...?" He raised an eyebrow.
I giggled. "No, but Alex likes to think so."
He laughed and seemed to relax a bit. "Did you plan to come back here once you found him?"
I screwed up my face. "That part I wasn't entirely sure of. I guess I should think about that, shouldn't I?"
He smirked. "You know, there is one place in the world that isn't involved in World War III. Why don't you aim for there?"
I stared. "What?"
"Where do you think we send our freed people? Oh right, you wouldn't know. Tell you what; I'll explain it to you sometime later. It's getting late."
I swivelled to see the sun going down. How long had I been here? I got up and pulled myself through the hole in the wall.
"Well, I better get going. Thanks for answering most of my questions."
"Sure, see you tomorrow. Oh, and Rose?"
I twisted my head around to face him. "Yeah?"
"I guess it's just my opinion but it doesn't matter what friends talk about as long as they have each other's backs."
I smiled appreciatively. "Then I guess the only way we have to look from now on is straight ahead."
I didn't wait for his reaction. I took off; knowing that behind me his mouth opened, then closed, then smirked, happy for that moment. Just like me.