Somehow, by some strange miracle, I managed to live to see the next day. Death had evaded me for 500 years already, one day didn’t seem all that bad to live through.

But trapped in a room with no escape with the two guys who held my life in their hands…

The room was small, three beds crammed in the corners. There was little walking space with only a narrow door leading to what I assumed was the

bathroom. John and Clayton claimed the more comfy looking beds, leaving me with the dingy one.

I sighed, sitting down. Despite the fact that it looked harder than a rock, it was relatively soft. Clayton leaned back on his, hands behind head. I looked over,

noticing John had mimicked his.

Little chat happened that night. I kept to myself, falling asleep before either boy.

And when I awoke, the Lightplane had just arrived.

“Let’s go, Leech” John snapped, shoving me forward. Clayton sighed, but didn’t do anything. I understood that. He couldn’t go around being nice to me when

he was in a heavily infested boys building.

“How long until we can fly it?” Clayton asked John as we walked down a familiar hallway. John shrugged.

“They have to re-boot it and then we go into the chambers for twenty minutes. About a half hour”

I held back a sigh. I hadn’t the slightest idea of what they were talking about. Nor did I have any urge to ask.

We entered a large room, one I hadn’t been in yet. The ceiling was at least fifty feet above my head, the opposite side looking close to a quarter mile away.

It was ridiculous.

John led us forward to where some chairs were placed around the halfway point across. Our footsteps echoed as we walked, any hope of surprise gone.

John and Clayton sat down on either side of me, each taking up the armrests. I placed my hands on my lap, focusing on my finger nails. My heart was

beating as fear trickled in. Almost everyone in this entire building was against my presence.

Neither boy talked, the tension rising. I realized I was relying on their conversation for any hint of whatever was going to happen in thirty minutes.

I leaned back, drowning in my own thoughts.

My mind replayed every little detail of the event that happened but two nights ago. I felt goose bumps rise on my skin as I thought about the forced kiss

between John and I. It was definitely something different from Clayton’s.

Where Clayton’s was gentle and cautious, John’s was… more experimental. That word felt appropriate for that was exactly what it was. He was just

experimenting. He wanted to know what Clayton was talking about.

I frowned slightly, thinking about it.

I felt used. John was just using me to understand what Clayton was talking about. With Clayton, I felt like the only girl in the world—which was exactly what I

was. At least on their side.

John left me feeling like an object. Something he could just throw away when he was done. Surprisingly, I felt a little hurt.

I shook my head, coming back to reality.

I noticed how I was sitting, my body leaning more towards Clayton’s. I was reminded of back when I’d first woken up in this world. I would’ve done everything

I could to stay away from John.

I shifted back into the middle of the seat.

“Don’t turn around-keep looking forward” A voice from behind us said. I resisted the urge to move and look. The voice sounded higher than excepted. Was it

a kid speaking? “Don’t ask questions. Don’t look around. Don’t talk. Just follow my orders. When I’m done talking, get up and follow me out. They’re not going to let

you use the Lightplane. They’re going to kill you. All of you. Let’s go”

I don’t know what made me do it, but I stood up, walking towards where I heard the voice. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw John and Clayton exchange a

look before getting up and following me.

I followed the body in front of me, the boys in toe. It definitely wasn’t a kid, the back of the body looking to be roughly a few years older than me.

The person moved quickly, a much faster pace than I was used to. My body was still slightly sore from the long trek from yesterday, which made this all the

more harder. But I kept up. I wasn’t sure why, but I believed him when he said they were going to kill us.

After all, it made sense. Why would they willingly give me back to the Girl’s Side?

I hadn’t paid attention to where we went until sunlight hit my face.

“Run!” He shouted.

Without hesitation, I took off. I followed the boy, quickly running out of breath. I could hear alarms sounding behind us, which only increased my speed.

Adrenaline pumped through my veins, keeping my going. Air was coming short and fast, yet we ran on.

I could feel John and Clayton close behind me.

The sound of a bomb going off came from behind us. I felt heat blow past me, causing me to let out a whimper.

“Don’t stop!” the boy ahead of us shouted back. He needn’t worry though, I had no intentions of stopping any time soon.

I picked up my pace, realizing that I wasn’t keeping up with everyone.

Another bomb went off. I held back any noise, trying to keep up with everyone. I had a feeling if I fell back now, they wouldn’t stop for me.

I felt something sear my arm before I heard the bomb. I cried out, feeling tears flow to my eyes. I didn’t want to look down—my arm felt like it was on fire.

I stumbled slightly, quickly regaining my balance. I couldn’t stop. Not yet. I’d been through so much so far, I wasn’t about to let myself die because of a stupid

burn.

We ran down a steep hill. I tumbled, feeling my legs getting scratched even more than they already were. A high-pitched squeal sounded close. One of the

trees nearby burst into flames, fire jumping to another one near it.

“Over here!” The stranger called, motioning for us to follow. None of us hesitated now. It was life or death.

My eyes widened as I saw the stranger disappear over an edge. John reached the edge next, not even stopping before he leapt into the air, falling down.

Clayton stopped, looking back for me. I ran up, tears running down my face.

“Do you trust me?” He asked, grabbing my hand.

I nodded, closing my eyes “I can’t do it Clayton. I can’t.”

“Do you trust me?”

“I do but—”

My words were drowned out by my own scream as Clayton pulled me down with him. The air rushed past me as I cut through it. Within seconds, my body

smacked against water, sinking under.

I pushed through the surface, breathing in air.

I was exhausted, but we weren’t done there. I caught site of John swimming away, quickly following. I didn’t have to glance back to know Clayton was

following me.

A ledge was near. The stranger hurled himself up, running into the cave behind it. We followed him, running after him. Our feet echoed against the cave

walls as we ran, everyone out of breath.

It was pitch black. I was relying on sound alone to get me to where I needed to go. I stuck my hand out, running it along the walls of the cave.

I ran into something hard, forcing it over.

“Sorry!” I muttered, trying to get off. John grunted, shoving me aside. A light flickered on, illuminating the cave.

“What the hell happened?” Clayton panted. “Why the hell did we run? Who the hell are you?”

“They were going to kill you.” The strange spoke, sounding just as exhausted as everyone else.

“No they weren’t! They were going to give us the Lightplane”

“You don’t understand” The strange sat with his back to us, not daring to look at us. “I’ve seen this happen before. Innocent guys trying to help out the girl.

They all go into the ‘lightplane’. None come back”

“Bullshit” John whispered, not sounding convincing.

“Its not. Think about it. Why would they need a Lightplane to get across the Atlantic?”

No one answered.

“Exactly” The stranger continued “You don’t need that much speed for that little distance”

“How do you know this?” Clayton asked.

There was hesitation before the stranger spoke. He turned around, looking at us dead in the eye.

I gasped, covering my mouth with my hands.

I couldn’t believe it.

It didn’t seem real.

But it made sense.

The voice, the body, why he even bothered to help us.

He was a she.

Our savior was another girl.