"Follow her." The elder whispered to one of the guards behind her.
* * *
"Chase!" Lina burst through the door of her star completely out of breath.
"Yes, Miss? Is something wrong?" Hearing his voice immediately made Lina feel just a little better about her punishment, but it also reminded her that she would never hear it again.
"I have to go." All of the tears that she had been holding back began to flow. "I ca-can't come back here anymore." She sniffled and walked to her closet to dress.
"Lina, who is this man?"
"What who-" She turned back around and recognized the guard from inside of the Chapel. "You!" She snarled and backed up as the man approached her. He pulled the white stick out from his back pocket and pointed it at Lina threateningly.
"You shouldn't be here Miss." The man's voice was distorted, which made him seem more frightening to Lina than before.
"I needed clothes. And I had to say goodbye to Chase."
"Chase?" He scoffed. "Your star doesn't care about you. It can't and it wasn't programmed to. As for your clothes...the next society would certainly be more pleased to see you in your current attire than a bulky robe. I know that I am."
"Ugh! You're sick!" She picked a small lamp off of her table and smacked the man right between the legs with it, swinging it as hard as she could.
The man let out a loud groan, then tried to compose himself but couldn't help but slump over in pain.
"Chase, you're my best friend, and I love you. I don't care if you aren't able to love me back, I just need you to know that. Okay?"
"Yes, Miss."
Lina expected him to say as much, but the emotionless words still stung.
Lina redirected her attention to the man, and charged at him. She forcefully pushed him to the side and onto her bed. Panting, she made a run for the doorway, but the guard stuck his foot out in front of her and caused her to stumble to the ground. Lina smacked her chin off of the hard floor and winced in pain.
She jumped back upright, and lunged at the man. Her fist was tightly clenched as it made contact with his mask.
"Fuck." She mumbled as she turned back around towards the door at a high speed. The punch had barely affected the man, but caused immediate pain to her knuckles and wrist.
Suddenly, the guard's arm was tightly wrapped around Lina's neck, once again stopping her from escaping. She frantically scratched at his arm as it became more and more difficult for her to breathe.
"Just...Stay still!" The man was laying on his back and drug Lina backwards on top of him as he struggled to keep his forearm in place.
Between staggered breaths, Lina managed to speak. "Let me go!" With that, she opened her mouth and dug her teeth into the guard's arm. She could hear him screaming, but kept pressing her jaw down to make sure he would be in too much pain to chase her. When she finally removed herself from his grasp, she stood beside him and began kicking as hard as she could at his sides before finally rushing out of the star.