I let the dead pilot escape my grasp, my scorched lungs feeling as if they were about to explode. I needed to get to the surface - and quick.

My eyes darted to the window, where Ringer had exited only moments before. But she, like the others, were no where in sight. I figured they had already made it to the shore.

I propelled myself forward, using the dashboard of the helicopter to pushed myself off, toward the open window.

Suddenly, I felt my foot being jolted back. I let out a gasp of pain, water beginning to fill my lungs. I sputtered, glancing back to see my shoe lace caught to the gear shift. my fingers fumbled on the strings, trying to untie it.

I shook my head, my vision starting to go in and out. I squeezed my eyes shut, deciding to yank my foot as hard as I could. I pulled my bare foot out, relieved it'd been able to escape my trapped boot.

My hands gripped the sides of the window then, and I finally was able to leave the wreckage of the helicopter behind me as I breached the surface.

"You fucking left her?" I heard Zombie shout.

"Damnit Zombie, I couldn't breathe- what'd you expect me to do?" Ringer snapped.

"She went back to save you! You-" he started.

"Canary!" Nugget exclaimed, throwing himself in the water to swim over to meet me.

The others on the shore stopped talking, their attention following Nugget.

"Thank god," Cassie said under her breath.

"My-my" I took a deep breath, trying to get air. "My shoe got-" I blinked rapidly, "It got stuck and I couldn't-"

Zombie waded into the water, waiting there while Nugget helped pull me to the shallow waters.

Zombie didn't say a word when I eventually got to him. He just wound his arms around me, pulling me to his chest.

I closed my eyes, willing myself to ignore the pain of my foot and the fact that I'd nearly drowned right after both of us had been talking about how everything was going to be okay.

"Thanks Canary," Ringer said from behind Zombie. "For killing him...the pilot I mean," she continued.

I pulled away from Zombie, gazing over his shoulder at Ringer. For once, she wasn't entirely an asshole.

"You're welcome," I said, nodding once.

She nodded grimly, before turning to Cassie, who had begun to speak up. "We need to go," she said. "We need to find Evan and the command center. It's time to shut this shit down," Cassie said defiantly.

Megan let out a soft whimper. "I'm not ready," she said softly, hugging Bear to her chest.

I blinked twice. How on earth had that bear made it all this way?

"It's okay," Zombie said, reassuring her. "We're going to stick together."

Cassie, Ringer, and I nodded, knowing all too well that both Nugget and Megan would be staying behind. There was no way either one of them were going to be able to make it through the base.

Ringer cleared her throat, "Okay, here's how it's going to happen. Zombie and I will try to find Evan - since I'm enhanced- I'm really the only one that has a chance up against him...if Vosch has downloaded him into Wonderland...which I'm assuming he has."

I nodded, not bothering to argue. In this case, there was nothing to argue about. Ringer was right. Evan was most certainly in the control of the Others - undoubtedly, Vosch had sent him down into Wonderland, draining all memory of everything he was and implementing murderous desires in its place. And Ringer? Well Ringer was enhanced, and truly the only one that stood a chance against a raging Other like Evan.

"Cassie and Canary are going to go to the command room, which I've already made a point to tell Cassie about on the way here," she said. "There's a kill switch there. Flip the switch and the chips implanted in their necks will explode. That's the goal," she said. "No Others means there will be no chance for them to bomb the rest of the world."

I nodded, taking a knife from my belt and sliding it up my sleeve so I could grab it easily.

"How about me? And Megan?" Nugget piped up. "I thought you said we were going to be able to help."

"And you won't be," Ringer cut in, irritated already. "If you would just let me finish. You and Megan will be outside, near here," she said, "You'll be hiding in those woods over there," she continued, pointing to the cluster of trees a little ways away. "No doubt, the Others saw our helicopter crash and I need you two to be around when they come," she said. "Surprise attack."

My eyes widened, every part of me thinking this was a bad idea. Why on earth would we put them near the site of the wreckage if there was no doubt the Others would be coming.

"Okay," Nugget said, satisfied with his role.

"Alright," Megan said nervously, her grip tightening on Bear.

I looked to Cassie for a moment, but she just nodded. If she trusted Ringer, then I did too.

~*~

I waved softly as Zombie and Ringer raced off toward the opposite side of the base. I watched after their retreated bodies, wondering if this was the last time I'd ever see Zombie.

"You'll see him soon," Cassie said, appearing by my side.

I nodded, tearing my gaze away. "Yeah," I said.

Then we moved steadily across the grass, hugging the wall of the compound, making sure to stay under the cameras. Cassie led, taking us to where Ringer had mapped the command center.

We started trekking over a spread of gravel, toward a side entrance. It wasn't until then that I realized my having only one shoe was a real problem. The two people who were staying behind - Megan and Nugget - hadn't been able to help with my no-shoe problem. Their shoes hadn't fit. Zombie had tried to help, offering for me to take his. But his was many sizes too big, slipping off every time I moved a step...and well, everyone else needed their shoes just as much as I did.

"You okay?" Cassie asked in a hushed whisper.

I nodded, grimacing. "Yeah, I'm fine," I said. In the time since the Others, I'd dealt with much worse.

Cassie brought her gun up, focusing her attention forward again. She rounded a corner and pulled the trigger, taking out a guard.

I brought my gun up and stepped up to stand beside her. I shot another.

Without a word, we stepped over their dead bodies, entering the walls of the Others' prison.

We pressed our backs up against the cold concrete wall as we moved quietly down the hall and through the corridors. I hoped Cassie knew where we were going because I eventually lost all sense of where we were.

My eyes darted back and forth from the gray doors to the low ceilings - all reminding me of the time I'd spent in Wright Patterson. If I had stopped for a moment and stood there silently, It would've felt as if I'd never left.

But Cassie was here - reminding me that those times at Wright Patterson were over...and that it was time for a new wave to begin. This time, a wave not brought on by the Others, but by us. A wave of resistance that would cease all evil and lead the Others to perish.

Cassie made a move to turn the corner but stopped abruptly in her tracks, holding her hand out to stop me.

She shook her head softly. Soldiers she mouthed.

I nodded slowly, tightening my grip instinctively on my gun's handle.

"Someone has broken into the compound! Initiate General Order 4!" One of the soldiers shouted.

We saw two soldiers bolt down the hallway, away from the sound of the other soldier's voice.

I sucked in my breathe as they passed, only letting myself relax slightly when they were no longer in eyesight.

"Vosch sent the order to lock down the compound," the soldier said again, now to a different soldier. "And he's given special order not to kill the girl with the black hair. She's needed for something special. And get everyone to the safe areas! Now!"

The sound of their retreating boots echoed down the hall, both of them running toward the other side of the compound.

Zombie and Ringer had been found. And by the sounds of it, Ringer was needed by Vosch.

Yeah, Ringer was now enhanced by the 12th system, able to move and behave like the Others. But that didn't explain why Vosch needed her...and it also didn't explain how he seemed to know that she was the one who had broken into the compound.

Suddenly, my eyes widened and I tapped Cassie's arm. "Vosch wanted Ringer to come back," I said slowly. "So that she could kill Evan. He knew it- he knew that she would come back."

Cassie didn't have time to respond before all the lights shut off. An alarm went off, illuminating the dark hallway with beams of red.

"How close are we to the control room?" I asked.

Cassie shook her head, letting out a small sigh. She brushed a strand of hair haphazardly away from her face. "I'm not quite sure," she said honestly.

Don't panic I told myself. Sure, Zombie and Ringer had been found and yes, we were now lost and the power was out. But it was okay. It was going to be okay.

Then, as if a cruel joke, water started to spray from the ceiling, the sprinklers open to shoot strong, steady streams that began pouring onto the cement floor.

"Canary - over there!" Cassie shouted, pointing down the hallway. "The control room!"

Cassie sprinted away, sending up huge splashes of water with every step she took. In only a couple seconds, the water had already risen to our ankles.

I wiped the water away from my eyes, trying to clear my vision.

I trudged after her, moving in a desperate attempt to escape from the flooding water. The smooth surface of the compound's floor was slippery, causing my bare foot to be more of a dead weight than an aid.

I made it to the entrance of the doorway and wiped the droplets away from my face. I saw lights and buttons and a lever of some sort. Cassie was fiddling around frantically, searching for something I assumed Ringer had told her to look for.

"Canary! turn that knob!" Cassie shouted over the alarm.

Then a mist erupted from the sprinkler heads, flowing in conjunction with the streaming water. It made no noise and was a silent plague, a ghostly resemblance of the third wave.

Then it clicked. First - lights. Second - water. Third - disease. General Order 4 was a defense mechanism for the base...in the form of the first three waves.

I opened my mouth to warn Cassie about the gas. But instead of words, an ear splitting scream erupted. Pain seared through my bare foot as the poison began to seep into it. And then the rest of my body felt pain, the poison sweeping over each and every inch, not failing to sear it all.

<><><>

Hello everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Only one more chapter after this and then the epilogue! I am proud to say that 'Perish' will soon be finished!

I apologize for not updating for a month. I had some family problems which I won't describe in detail to you. But I wanted to bring it up so you all know that I wasn't updating because I didn't want to. It's just that I couldn't.

Never fear, 'Perish', after the long wait, will soon be completed!

Anywho, please please put anything at all you're looking forward to seeing the last two updates and/or what your favorite part of 'Perish' has been! I'm super excited to see the responses!