I felt two soft hands on my head, bringing me to consciousness. "Creed! Wake up!" My eyes shot open. Arielle looked dishevelled and anxious as she tugged on my face. "What happened?"
"There's something happening outside. I heard gunfire!" she replied quickly and gulped nervously.
This time I heard it too. It sounded like there were two sides clashing. "Quickly, go wake up Bryan," I told her, and she nodded. We both hurriedly got dressed, and she left for my room.
It was then that I could hear a loud voice, "Come down, kids, hurry!" It was TJ. I dashed into the living room. There, Bryan and Arielle both stood still with stupefied expressions on their faces. "Let's go!" I shouted, bringing them out of their stupor, and they rushed down to the ground floor, I stayed behind momentarily, glancing at the duffel bag towards the entrance I debated whether I should take something with us before finally opting to take the entire bag with me and follow them down.
Outside, the intoxicating smell of sulphur littered the dusty air, and the still-warm bodies of the easily recognisable peacekeepers lay strewn across the civilian streets that had turned into a chaotic battlefield. The opposing group stood strong, decked out in black special ops gear. It looked like they didn't have any casualties, but I only recognised TJ out of all of them.
When they saw us, TJ looked relieved and grinned slightly. "We have to leave quickly. I'll explain everything on the way."
The others in TJ's group suddenly took something out from the sides of their armour that I didn't recognise and launched them into the air. Time seemed to stop for a moment as dozens of flares were launched high into the air before descending on the streets. In an instant, a camouflaging smokescreen enveloped the streets, covering for us as we escaped into narrow alleyways.
No more words were exchanged. I didn't know what we were doing, or where we were going, but I had faith in TJ. He wouldn't be doing this recklessly if he didn't have a plan.
All of a sudden, the entire group came to a screeching halt. "You guys go down first," TJ finally spoke again. Ahead of us was an unofficial entrance to the subway system. "Arielle, Bryan." I didn't need to say anything else. The three of us climbed down together, followed by TJ's group and finally TJ himself.
The environment down under was dark and damp. This abandoned part of the subway network was more like a sewer than anything else. Wherever the squad's flashlights pointed, rats would screech and scurry away.
Somebody I didn't recognise handed me three headlamps and said, "For you and your friends, you'll need these."
I was a little taken aback, but quickly thanked him and he gave me a light nod.
After giving one to Bryan and Arielle and putting mine on myself, TJ came up to us. "Look alive, kids," he chuckled, but his appearance betrayed his feigning. He was pale and deep dark eye bags sagged on his face. I thought he was probably exhausted.
"What's this about TJ? That was crazy. You guys killed peacekeepers!" Bryan told him.
"What's going on? Well, I'm saving my favourite trio, of course."
"The majority of the peacekeepers are still stationed around the borders, and the one battalion that was overseeing the lockdown has mostly moved towards the central district in preparation for the execution that'll soon take place. The few bastards left behind are no problem for us, so I managed to convince the leaders to spare me one squadron to pick you guys up."
"Execution? What execution?" we didn't know about any execution.
TJ showed a bitter smile. "They are going to make an example of the premiers and the other higher-ups in 108's council. Many of them supported the resistance." His expression became cold. "Many of them were part of our resistance."
"I am taking you guys to a safer place. You can stay there for now. The chaos and destruction that will unfold on the surface when the fighting starts will kill many of the inhabitants of 108." TJ's expression became a shade more distant. "Well, at least whoever is left after the Capitol's butchering."
—
TJ and I separated slightly from the rest of the group. He put his hand on my shoulder reassuringly and said, "As soon as there's an opening, I'll send you guys away to safety in the independent wards." His fists clenched as he said this. "I won't let you guys be caught up in this conflict. There will be nothing here but suffering and anguish. You guys deserve better, especially you, Creed."
A strange feeling welled up inside me. It was a mix of anxiousness, nervousness, unwillingness and for a fraction of a moment, madness. I just couldn't accept it. I couldn't accept leaving TJ here to die while I escaped. I shuddered, and a chill ran down my spine. My vision flickered between the sight that lay ahead and a static of absolute darkness, but that static felt strangely familiar.
I shook my head aggressively as if it would make a difference, but it was already gone.
Bryan and Arielle. I thought about them. Things were more complicated now than they used to be, especially with Arielle, but it didn't change the fact that I loved them, and that I wanted the best for them. The three of us were orphans, one with unknown parents, the other abandoned by their parents, and the last separated from parents. Growing up, we only had each other. We had lived a life for each other. Bryan and I worked our odd jobs and put Arielle through school in the hopes that she would then lift the rest of us up with her.
A self-deprecating chuckle escaped my lips. Our pathetic struggle that was just barely enough to get by living on the low with no way out now amounted to nothing. From bad to even worse.
"Thank you, Sirius," I replied genuinely.
He slapped me on the back and laughed cheerily. "Cheeky brat," before rubbing his nose and continuing somberly, "Besides, I owe you my life, Creed."
TJ and I rejoined the rest of the group and said nothing else to each other for the remainder of the journey. Some others held conversations with each other as we walked. Bryan was at the front talking to another burly man. Arielle came up to me. "What were you guys talking about?"
"TJ will help us escape to the independent wards as soon as there's an opening," I responded.
"By us, do you mean me, you and Bryan?" Arielle poised.
"Yes," I nodded.
Suddenly, a woman at the forefront shouted, "We're here! Up ahead." From the darkness, figures slowly walked out, advancing towards our group, and the woman spoke again. "Special mission squad 3, no casualties." The new figures were fully covered with headgear included too, making it hard to discern anything about them. One of them, seemingly the leader, nodded and signalled for us to follow them.
They led us through an even more narrow passage. I wasn't ready for what I would see on the other side of what I could only describe as a huge settlement. It was like an underground city, albeit makeshift. There must have been at least a few hundred people here. Armed guards were everywhere, decked out in similar gear to the group we had been travelling with.
Large campsites were perched, and wooden crates had seemingly been littered everywhere. TJ interrupted my thoughts, "Right now we're underneath the abandoned industrial zone in District 4 we've built a makeshift settlement within the subway system that we can use to stay under the radar as we move around, but there are still forces above ground, in fact, the majority of our forces are still on the surface."
"Anyway, I need to go report to the higher-ups. Echo will take you guys from here. I'll see you kids later." With a light wave, TJ made his way away and the woman from the front who had spoken earlier came up to us. I could see her properly now. She had a sharp face, deep brown eyes and neck-length curls.
She examined the three of us for a moment before her eyes landed on me and squinted. "I don't understand why Sirius values you all so much that he would risk an entire squadron for you, especially you, Creed. He speaks of you highly."
I didn't know how to respond. It seemed like Bryan and Arielle didn't either. Luckily, she soon turned around and motioned for us. "Follow me."
As we followed behind her, many of the others in the vicinity eyed us curiously. But I was too preoccupied with thinking about what she had said earlier to notice. How did she know this? And what was her relationship with TJ?
We paused standing in front of one of the camps. It was a dome on the larger side relative to the ones perched in the surroundings, with a black fabric covering it entirely. It was impossible to see within.
Echo led us inside. I didn't know what to expect to see, but I was still surprised. five lamps in formation provided enough lighting for comfort. The floor was covered in a similarly simple black fabric, but it was thick enough for, again — comfort. Three futon-like mattresses lay on the floor towards the other end of the dome. I assumed that was where we were supposed to sleep.
"If you guys get hungry, the cafeteria is near the centre, you'll be able to find it by the smell. TJ will stop by soon and give you some supplies. Well, bye." and with that, she left us alone in our dome.
As I walked towards the left-most bed, I asked, "So, what do you guys think?" and finally let go of the duffel bag that had been weighing on me before sitting down.
"I guess this is better than staying in our apartment, right?" Arielle answered unconfidently.
"Bryan?"
Bryan seemed to be deep in thought. "I don't know what to think of this," he paused to put his hands on his face and rubbed it aggressively. "I don't know. It's all just too much."
I walked up to him and mimicked TJ's earlier actions. I put my hand on his shoulder reassuringly and said, "As soon as there is an opening, TJ will help us escape to the independent wards. We will be safe then. There's no way that the Capitol will clash with the independent wards, not unless they want to kill everyone, themselves included."
Bryan looked like he had regained some hope for a moment, but it was quickly diminished. "Really? But how can you be sure that there will even be an opening? Or if his plan will even work?"
I interrupted his thoughts, which were spiralling out of control. "Bryan!" and he turned to face me. I told him, "We will make it through this, like everything else. If you don't believe in TJ, then believe in me. I will ensure that we all make it out of this alive."