Howdy! Here's yet another story by me. I hope you all enjoy it (it's a bit different from the kinda stuff I usually do...so beware!) Unlike with "A Light in the Dark" I haven't finished this story in advance. I'm only half way through the second chapter...so updates will not come as fast, I can tell you that...
But anyway, onward! I hope you enjoy.

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Summary

Jizai, one of the largest cities on the planet, has fallen into the hands of a corrupt government. Their once proud city is now a basis for weaponry. It seems that they produce something new at least once a month, but their newest creation is truly something to marvel at. However, they are in no way unopposed. A gang, lead by a quiet, aloof man known only as Core, enjoys causing as much trouble for them as possible. They steal what they can from the government buildings, including the newest weapons. However, a problem arises when they realize that the government’s newest secret project has to do with a woman named Tempest. It’s easy to tell that she’s in no way normal, but just what is she to the governor? Why had she been treated like a prisoner? Perhaps there is more to this woman than what meets the eye.

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Prologue

Jizai: one of the largest cities on the face of the planet. It was truly a marvelous place to behold, with buildings so tall that they seemed to touch the sky. Most probably could at least breach the cloud cover that often hung above them. However, they would never be able to find their way to the clear blue sky above. This city always seemed to be shrouded in darkness whether day or night. It just couldn’t be helped. A year ago, a new council had been chosen for them, and with the council came their governor, Zen Ligatio. Ever since his inauguration, nothing had been quite the same. Their once quiet, mild city had become full of fear. No one could sleep soundly anymore. Terror had become a large part of everyone’s life. So much had changed.

In the middle of this huge city, a place that had once been the town square, there resided a huge building, one that stood far taller than any other. No one knew just how many floors it had. It would take quite a while to count them, and no one had the time or patience for such a trivial thing. Besides, the common public wasn’t even allowed inside. It was strictly a government building. It was the place where their council resided. It was where their governor lived. It was the place where their corrupt government produced weapons.

Jizai was indeed a city filled with injustice. Unfortunately, no one could do anything about it. People often disappeared if they knew too much about the council. No one wanted to mess with them anymore. Everyone just left them alone…almost everyone, that is. Jizai had a few people who opposed the governor and his council, and they were often rather successful. They would break in and steal what they could, always managing to give Zen Ligatio the slip. They were slowly becoming a nuisance, but in a way, the irritation they caused wasn’t logical. After all, they were a simple street gang.

Surprisingly, this group of people was hard to track. No one, not even other gangs knew where they resided. No one knew too much about them either. The names and origins were all a mystery. They only knew that the leader went simply by Core. Nothing more, nothing less. Very few knew his last name, his birthplace, or what he looked like. Nonetheless, he was notorious. Everyone knew of him and his gang’s escapades. In fact, they were past due for a raid, and the government just finished their newest project…

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CHAPTER 1
Abduction

The hallways in the government building were dark, but then again, they were always dark. The walls were all painted a navy blue, and currently, every light was off. It was shut down for the night. Not many were probably left except for the security. However, the security was a bit thicker tonight. After all, this was the government’s headquarters. They had a lot to protect, especially with the development of their newest “weapon.”

In the normally quiet hallways, there was the sudden sound of footsteps. However, they were soft, as if the intruders were nothing but small animals padding across the floor. They had to be quiet though. If not, then these trespassers would easily be caught by one of the sensors spread out in the hallways. They were already this far. They couldn’t afford to be caught now.

“Which way?” whispered someone as a group of about ten men reached yet another corner.

“Just a second,” responded another. In his hand was a device hooked to a pair of headphones. He pressed in a few buttons and listened intently. Someone was apparently speaking to him through the other side. “To the right.”

The group began walking again, making sure to watch the doors on the sides of the walls. They had to make sure that no one saw them. If they were caught in a space like this, there would be no escape. They had to get what they came for before they got caught, which could very well happen. Rumor had it that Zen Ligatio really liked his latest project. It was most likely a weapon. Everything he created, every project he started included some sort of weapon.

The further they went, the darker the hallways seemed to become. Soon it would be hard to tell where the walls were. They would only be able to see the soft flashing red lights of the sensors. Hopefully that would be enough, and hopefully they were getting closer. This room was really far from the entrance when usually Zen stationed his weapons in the same basement room. This one was up a few floors, and by a few, that meant at least twenty. Considering the building’s height, twenty floors was nothing.

“Are we getting close?” someone asked, this voice a bit younger than the others.

“I think so,” answered the one with the headset as he pressed in a few more buttons.

“Gee,” began one of the few walking in front, “you’d think by now we’d have this place memorized.”

“Oh shut up, Hane,” snapped another man. “You know for a damn fact we’ve never gone this high, so quit complaining.” The other man, Hane, just grunted a bit and kept quiet as they made their way down the hallway. After turning just one more corner, they came to a dead end. However, upon closer inspection, they could see a door there. It was just as dark as the walls.

“This it?” asked an older sounding voice as the man it belonged to walked up and tapped on the door.

“I think so,” responded another. Without even being told to do so, all of the men began searching the door for some kind of way to open it. They placed their hands all over the walls, finding different crevices everywhere their hands went. Eventually one of them found an upraised area, the cover for a control panel.

“Found it,” stated Hane as he opened the lid to reveal the brightly lit code box. “Do your thing, Zack.”

Zack walked up to the door, his headphones still on, and his handheld system still clutched tightly in his hands. He found a small socket on the control panel, took one of the cords on his remote, and plugged it in. The control panel began to flash, a ton of random numbers appearing on the small screen above the number pad. In a matter of seconds, a single five-digit code was displayed, and the door hummed softly before sliding open.

All ten men cautiously began to walk into the room, and surprisingly, the second they went through the door, the lights turned on. It was a bit blinding going from pitch black to sudden light, but at the same time, they were happy to see that they hadn’t triggered any alarms. Zen obviously didn’t have this place set up very well. His security officers apparently weren’t all they were cracked up to be.

“Alright,” began Hane, turning towards Zack. “What now?”

“Got me,” he responded as he brushed a hand through his spiked black hair. A soft sigh escaped his lips as he looked around the room. It was huge, full of different boxes and other useless items. He began to wonder if this was really where they were supposed to be. Was this the room that Zen was keeping his newest project in?

“Are we really in the right place?” questioned Hane, his dark green eyes scanning everything. He just couldn’t see anything that looked like a weapon. All that was here were boxes.

“What’s that?” questioned a rather young voice. Everyone turned their attention to him. He was far smaller than any of these men. However, that was understandable. He was only about eleven years old. If he were any taller, he would be a slight abnormality.

As he pointed towards something in the far back of the room, one of the men began to walk forward. Everyone just watched him. His hands were shoved deep into the pockets of his navy blue pants. Unlike the rest of this gang, he was dressed a bit more professionally. His white shirt buttoned up the front and his jean jacket fell just a little past his waist. He walked proudly, as if he was better than the rest of them. There was a lot of poise in his step. However, despite his grace, he was frightening. One look at his ice colored eyes could send anyone into a fit of chills.

“Core?” questioned Hane as he ran towards him, followed by the other eight men. None of them said anything. They knew better than that. No one ever questioned Core about his actions. He was their renowned leader, after all.

They eventually arrived at the far corner of the room. Sitting there was a huge metal tube, one that looked like it had a sliding door to it. There was another panel located on the side, but that wouldn’t be able to stop them. Zack could use the device he had to crack any code thrown at him. However, until he was given the okay by someone, he wouldn’t do anything. This was a bit more serious than simply opening a door. They had no idea what would be within this tube. They were all just standing there, staring at it.

“Open it,” said Core, his voice lacking any emotion. It had a deep sound to it, very monotone and dark…and yet it lacked any anger or demand.

“Sure,” said Zack as he walked up to the tube. He easily plugged his remote into it, and once again, the numbers began to flash across the small screen. Eventually it stopped at five set digits, and the keypad flashed a bit. Suddenly, the sound of a door humming could be heard. The huge capsule shaped device began to beep softly, and the sliding cover began to slowly open. Smoke poured out of it after just the tiniest crack was revealed. All of them covered their mouths, shielding their lungs from the strange haze that now filled the room. More came as the door fully opened, and a soft thud soon followed.

“What was that?” questioned one of the men as he began coughing a bit. Their eyes were all on the capsule. Something had fallen out of it. They could see its figure through the cloud of smoke. Only when the strange gas began to lift were they able to see exactly what had come out of the huge metal tube. All of them were shocked at what they saw. After all, they had been expecting some kind of weapon. This was anything but. Lying in front of them was something that looked human.

“W-what is it?” asked Hane, surprised at seeing the thing that had come from the capsule.

“It’s a woman, idiot,” spat one of the men with a smirk. Hane just turned and glared at him a bit.

“Shut up, Lex,” he shot back. “I don’t need to hear that from you.” Hane quickly turned his attention back to the person that was lying before them. She was completely unconscious. In fact, she was so still that it was hard to tell if she was even alive. By the looks of it, either possibility was plausible. After all, she didn’t appear to be that strong. Her structure gave away the idea that she was frail. She was a rather thin girl, dressed only in a white silk dress. Her long, sandy brown hair was sprawled all around her lifeless form, hiding her face from them. They had reason to believe that this woman truly was dead simply by looking at the tone of her skin. It was pale, almost as pale as Core’s ice blue eyes.

Hane was the first to make an advance. He walked over and knelt down by the girl. He looked her over a bit, and just like everyone else around him, he was wondering just who and what she was. After all, she had been placed in that capsule. There was probably a reason for that. Just what was her importance? Why had Zen imprisoned her like that? Perhaps this wasn’t just a simple girl.

“Well, what should we do?” he asked the surrounding group, praying he’d get an answer. He ran a shaky had through his spiked red hair, a small sigh escaping his lips. He really wanted an answer to his question, and he wanted one now. However, there were a few answers he didn’t want. After all, they had come all this way to find and steal Zen’s newest “weapon.” They couldn’t just go back empty handed, right? Besides, this girl had been a captive. It was their duty to tick off Zen in any way possible, so maybe taking her with would be worth their trouble.

“We can’t go back empty handed, right?” he asked, looking back at his fellow gang members. “Do you think we should take her with?” The only answer he received was silence.

Without a word, Core turned around and began heading towards the door. Some of the men followed him right away and others remained a little behind. Hane just gave the girl they had found one small glance before he sighed. He was about to just give up and follow after his leader, but Core suddenly stopped and glanced back, his cold eyes never once faltering in their stare. He instantly locked them with Hane’s emerald ones.

“Hane,” he called, immediately drawing the man’s attention. “Pick her up, and let’s go.”

A smile broke out on Hane’s face as he turned back around and bent down, gently lifting the girl in his arms. She was as light as a feather, and upon closer inspection, he could see that she was very much alive. However, she was ice cold. It was no wonder that her skin was so pale. That capsule had obviously been some kind of cryogenic system. It kind of made him wonder just how long she had been in there. However, he didn’t have time to ponder that. His friends were leaving without him.

As they all walked out the door into the dark hallway, Zack and Lex began discussing what way would be the best to escape. However, they weren’t going to have long to ponder the idea. Just as Hane walked out the door with the girl, the alarms began going off. The dark hallways were suddenly lit with red flashing lights as the sirens blared in their ears.

“What the hell?” asked Lex as he turned towards Hane, his blue eyes seeming to accuse the other man. “What’d you do?”

“It wasn’t me,” he defended. He glanced down at the girl in his arms, wondering if she was the reason for the trigger of the alarms. His suspicions were proved accurate when he saw what looked like a collar around her neck. There was a small white light flashing on it. He cursed under his breath as he got down on the floor for a minute to free up one of his hands. He effortlessly jerked the collar off, tossing it to the floor.

“Come on,” called Zack. “It’s this way.”

They all began running down the hallway, the sirens flaring everywhere they went. So far no one was following them. They couldn’t hear anything but the alarms and the pounding of their feet against the tiled floors. Hopefully Zack and Core knew where they were going, because the two of them were in the lead. All they needed to do was find the stairwell, and they could get out of the building. However, that was easier said than done, and sooner or later, the security guards would be on the higher floors. They were going to have to be careful.

As they turned a few more corners, Hane could feel a sudden shift from the girl he was carrying. He looked down at her and watched as her eyes slowly opened. They were a bit dull at first glance, but he could soon see that they were a hazel color. However, they weren’t just hazel. There was quite a bit of blue thrown in as well. It was as if every eye color had been mixed into one. She blinked her eyes a bit, first slowly and then more rapidly.

“What happened?” she whispered, her voice sounding tired. It was no surprise. She had just woken up, after all. She was currently glancing around a bit, but her eyes apparently hadn’t adjusted yet. She was squinting, trying to make out her surroundings. She knew she was moving, but why was there so much sound? What was that horrible siren for?

“I see you’re awake,” said Hane, instantly drawing her attention. Her hazel eyes locked with his soft green ones, and he just smiled.

“W-who are you?” she asked a bit hesitantly. “What’s going on?”

“The name’s Hane, miss,” he introduced kindly. After all, he didn’t want to frighten her. Now he just had to find a non startling way to explain the situation. In reality they were kidnapping her, but they couldn’t very well say that. “Currently we’re trying to get outta here.” He decided that that was the best way to explain themselves. Hopefully she wouldn’t think they were trying to harm her.

“But why’re you even here?” she asked, and Hane once again had to search for an answer. Luckily one of his friends, an older man by the name of Ben, glanced back and answered for him.

“We came to get Zen’s newest weapon,” he began, “but instead we found you.”

“So you’re kidnapping me?” Strangely enough, she didn’t seem too startled or angered by this insinuation. It was as if she didn’t even care.

“To an extent,” Ben responded.

“If you’re worried, don’t be,” stated Lex without glancing back. “We’re not gonna hurt ya or anything.” The girl just nodded even though she knew the man couldn’t see her. She just began looking around at the ten people who were supposedly kidnapping her. All of them were men, and each seemed to be a different age. Some looked as old as thirty while others were obviously just teenagers. One of them was definitely a kid, a boy with shaggy dark brown hair. He was running towards the front, next to a man who was probably their leader. All she could really see of him was his light colored amber hair. It stood out amongst the dark surroundings.

“Is he your leader?” she asked suddenly, startling Hane a bit.

“Who?” he asked her curiously.

“That one up front,” she said, pointing towards Core. Hane just smiled as he saw where she was directing his gaze.

“Yep. His name’s Core. Coming here was his idea.” The girl in his arms just frowned a bit, dissecting what Hane had just told her. She didn’t quite understand their reason for being inside this government based building. After all, everyone hated the government of Jizai. Why would anyone wanna come here?

“You shouldn’t have come,” she whispered sadly, refusing to meet Hane’s eyes as he glanced down at her. “If you get caught, he’ll kill you.”

“We know,” stated Hane with a smirk, knowing exactly who she was talking about. After all, there was only one man who really wanted them all dead. “That’s why we’re here. We just love getting under his skin. Zen has too much power.” She didn’t say anything to his statement and just watched the floor as they ran. Any minute now they’d reach the stairwell, but something told her that these men weren’t going to escape here alive. She knew Zen Ligatio. She knew what he was like. If they tried to leave the building in her company, all of them would be gunned down. Despite the fact that they were kidnapping her which was indeed a crime, she didn’t want to see these people get killed by Zen. She didn’t want to see anyone get killed by Zen.

They turned just one last corner and came to the stairwell. It would take them all the way to the first floor, and from there, they could escape. However, at the bottom there was a good chance that the security guards would be waiting for them. Maybe Zen himself was even standing down there, watching and waiting. Either way, they didn’t really have a choice. This was the only way down to the first floor. They had to hurry if they were going to have any chance of getting out.

The ten of them began running down the stairs, going as quickly and quietly as they could. The metal stairs made a bit of racket, but the sirens easily drowned it out. No one would be able to hear them coming. However, Zen probably knew that that was their only way to get to the first floor. At the exit to the building, he would be there waiting for them. They all knew it.

As they finally reached the last set of stairs, they began to move a bit slower. Now it was time for extreme precautions. One of them, a thin man named Mark, glanced around the corner, making sure the coast was clear. Strangely enough, it was.

“Let’s go,” he whispered, and they all followed after him, going at a slow pace. They didn’t need to draw attention to themselves. However, normally that would be a hard thing to do. Usually these hallways were crawling with security officers. For some obscene reason, not a single group flocked these halls.

As they made it further down the hall, they knew they were approaching the exit. Just a few more turns, a few more rooms to run through, and they’d be out. Perhaps they would get away with this without an encounter after all. However, just as they entered one of the large rooms they would have to pass through, the dark area was suddenly cast into the light. The sudden brightness blinded them all as they raised their arms to shield their sensitive eyes.

“It’s been awhile,” began a rather smooth voice, one that held a certain detestable smugness to it. All of them uncovered their eyes and glanced upward. Standing there, on one of the balconies, was a man with graying brown hair. His black eyes were filled with a vicious look even though his expression gave him the appearance of a business man. He sure was dressed like one, that was for sure. All around him stood guards, each one with a rifle. They were all aimed downward at the group of men. Everyone in the room knew what was going to happen. This was it. Core and his gang were as good as dead.

For a while no one said anything. They were all just standing around, staring at each other. For some reason, the guards weren’t firing. Why was Zen Ligatio hesitating? He wanted all of them dead, didn’t he? All ten of the gang members couldn’t help but wonder just what was going on. Was it because of the girl they had with them?

“Came to steal from me again, I see,” Zen observed as his eyes strayed to the girl that Hane was holding. He scowled a bit as his sights returned to Core. “I don’t see why you even bothered.”

“It’s my job,” stated Core, a ghost of a smirk appearing on his face. His voice was still so emotionless.

“Give Tempest back,” stated Zen, as if on the verge of yelling. Core seemed just a little confused at the moment. Tempest? “She means nothing to you.”

Now he understood. Zen was talking about the girl they had taken. Tempest was a rather odd name for a woman, but then again, she probably wasn’t a normal girl. One look at her gave away that much. She obviously meant something to the government. The governor had never gone through this much trouble to get back any of his other possessions that they had liberated.

“That may be,” began Core confidently, “but she obviously means something to you, so it’s worth it.” Zen shot Core the most ice melting glare, but the younger man was seemingly unaffected. His cold eyes could probably extinguish any fire thrown at him.

“Fine,” Zen snarled. “We’ll make a deal. If you give her back, I’ll let you and your men leave here alive. All you gotta do is put her down.” He glanced around at all ten members of Core’s gang. Not one of them budged or spoke up. They all seemed to be waiting for their leader to say something, but he didn’t. He simply glanced over his shoulder, his eyes going over towards Hane. Their captive that his friend was so gently holding seemed to be thinking about something. She had obviously just heard the entire conversation.

The girl, Tempest, eventually looked up, and her eyes instantly locked with Core’s. It was hard not to stare at eyes like his. They were frightening, but it was obvious that this boy wasn’t a monster. He was looking at her as if he could see right through, as if he could see everything there was to know about her. A shiver ran up her spine. Just why was he looking at her like that? It was almost as if he was trying to ask something.

“Hey,” called Hane, drawing her attention away from Core. “It’s Tempest, right?”

“Yeah…” she began a bit softly.

“It’s up to you now,” he stated softly. “If you want, we can leave you here and walk away quietly, but if you wanna get out, all you gotta do is say so. We’ll take you with, so make up your mind.”

“But…why ask me?” she questioned curiously. She just didn’t understand why they were doing this. Why was Hane asking her something so important? She had no say in any of this before, so why now?

“You’re human,” he said simply, as if the answer had been obvious. “We’d never force you to do something you didn’t want to.” Tempest just bit her lip a bit as she realized the weight her decision would carry. If she stayed with Zen, she knew what would happen. He’d put her back in that tube until he needed her for something. She really didn’t want that, but at least she knew the people in this building. These men, these gang members were all strangers. They seemed nice enough, but were they really trustworthy?

“I…” she began, her voice quivering. “I-I…” She looked up at Zen, instantly wishing she hadn’t. He seemed to be losing his patience. He was scowling, an angry arch in his eyebrows. She knew he was about ready to yell at her. She was going to get in trouble if she decided to stay here. “I don’t…”

“Tempest!” he demanded, as if he was commanding her to stay. He probably thought that this kind of decision was easy, and it was. As she shied away from him, she knew what her response would be.

“I don’t wanna stay here,” she told Hane softly. “I’ll go with you.”

A small smirk developed on Core’s face as he heard her say this. All of his men seemed pleased with the girl’s response. He just turned back towards Zen, pleased at the scene he now saw. The governor seemed to be throwing a small fit. He resembled a child in the middle of a temper tantrum.

“You heard her,” stated Hane, a wide smirk plastered on his face. “We’ll be leaving now. Just say the word, Core.” Their leader just looked over at Zack, and the black haired man instantly understood the silent message. He whispered something into a microphone attached to his headset, gave a small nod, and then flipped a simple switch on his handheld device. Before any of the guards knew what was going on, every light in the entire building went out.

“Fire!” shouted Zen, and the room was instantly filled with the sound of gunshots. The guards continuously fired their guns, having no real aim. After all, they couldn’t see their targets. The best they could do was blanket the area with constant fire, so that’s exactly what they did. About a hundred shots had been fired before the lights came back on. However, there were no bodies anywhere. Core and his gang had gotten away without losing anyone. Upon seeing this, Zen slammed his hand down on the railing to the balcony.

“Damn it,” he cursed softly. “They got away with Tempest.”

“I’m sure we must’ve hit one of them,” began one of the guards as they all started making their way down the stairs. There were bullet holes everywhere in the room and in every which direction. It was hard to believe that Core and his men could have escaped without a scratch. “They couldn’t have gotten away unscathed.”

“Don’t be so sure,” said Zen as he reached the lower floor. “Look.” He pointed to a few of the bullet holes. “You men fired at least a hundred shots…but I don’t see a hundred holes.” The guards began looking around only to find that Zen was right. Even though they had fired off so many rounds, there was nowhere near a hundred holes. What had happened to the rest of their bullets?

“But how’s that possible?” asked one of the guards as he began inspecting some of the holes in the wall. Zen just scowled, his fists clenched tightly at his sides.

“We have to get Tempest back,” he stated firmly. “Block every exit. I don’t want them getting out of here alive.”

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Core and his men were sprinting down the hallways, the sirens and the flashing red lights still filling the narrow space. At least this way they could see where they were going. Hopefully it wouldn’t take too much longer to reach the exit. They didn’t need to have Zen and his men catching up to them.

“We’re almost there,” stated Zack as they turned yet another corner. “Jen should be waiting for us.”

“Do you think Zen’s guards’ll be waiting too?” asked Lex curiously. After all, the corrupt governor seemed to be intent on getting Tempest back. It would be no surprise if he surrounded every exit with at least fifty security guards, despite how much of an overkill that would be.

“Let’s hope not,” responded Hane softly, drawing Tempest’s attention. She was still being carried around as they tried to escape. Hopefully she had done the right thing. Hopefully going with these people hadn’t been a mistake. However, if they were caught now, she’d never get to find out. She knew for a fact that if they ran into any guards, they were all as good as dead, and there were most likely some stationed at the exit. After all, that was just how Zen was. She knew how his mind worked. Now she just had to do something about this.

“Wait,” she called out, stopping Hane in his tracks. Her voice easily caught Core’s interest as well, and since he stopped to pay her his attention, everyone else did. If he found this important, then it probably was. Their leader had never misled them.

“What?” asked Hane gently.

“There’s another exit we can use,” she told him, making sure that the others heard as well. “Turn right up here.”

“That leads to a dead end,” stated Zack as he pushed a few buttons in on his handheld device. He gave her a small glare. “Is this some kinda trick?”

“No!” she half screamed, pleading with him to believe her. “I would never do something like that. Just trust me, okay?” A lot of them gave her rather suspicious looks, as if not a single one of them believed her statement. She looked to each and every one of them, wishing that their eyes didn’t look so untrusting. She eventually met Core’s again, and she was relieved to see that he wasn’t glaring at her. If anything, his ice blue eyes were searching hers, as if looking for a reason to believe her. She wasn’t trying to trick them. She needed him to see that. After a while, he just closed his eyes and turned back around.

“…Alright,” he said, and that simple statement was easily interpreted by the rest of his group.

“You sure that’s a good idea?” asked Ben, the older and possibly wiser one of the group.

“What Core says goes,” Hane reminded them with a smile. He looked down at Tempest. She seemed just slightly confused. “Looks like we’re gonna be trusting you, miss.” She simply returned his smile as the group started moving again, heading towards the exit she had directed them towards. She gave them instructions every time they reached another corner, and soon enough, they were at the place she had directed them towards. It was a dead end.

“What now?” asked Lex as he crossed his arms and stared at the huge wall before them. One of the other men, Luke, spun around to face Tempest and Hane.

“You did trick us, didn’t you!” he accused angrily, his hazel eyes full of distrust. “Now we’ll be cornered and killed!”

“Oh shut up, Luke,” remarked Hane. He then directed his attention towards Tempest who was curled tightly in his arms. She seemed just a little scared right now. It’s not like he could blame her. She was getting yelled at quite a bit right now. “It’s okay,” he told her gently. “Just tell us what to do.”

“Could you move a little closer to that wall?” she asked, and without a word, he obliged. Tempest reached out carefully, her pale hand trembling a little. She touched the cold wall and began searching for something. They all just watched her silently, not wanting to startle her. It didn’t take long for her hand to stop moving. She pounded against the wall a bit lightly, and everyone was surprised to hear how hollow it sounded.

“Right here,” she told them. “There’s a control panel just behind this part.”

“Well then, allow me,” began Lex as he walked up towards the wall. He reached to his side and grabbed onto a handgun. He raised it, took it by the barrel, and slammed the handle into the wall. The force of the metal gun easily ripped through the thin layer that led to the control panel.

“One, eight, six, five, three, nine, two,” she told them, earning her quite a few confused stares. However, Core just walked up to the keypad and typed in the seven numbers she had given him. There was a soft humming noise, and before they knew what was happening, a door to their right slid open. They could see the outside world just past that opening.

“Come on!” shouted Zack cheerfully as he sprinted towards the door. “I’ll tell Jen to meet us back home. Let’s get going.” Everyone began running after him with Hane bringing up the rear. After all, he was carrying a little extra weight with him.

As they all left the building and the door closed behind them, Tempest couldn’t help but feel just a little scared. After all, she had never been outside those walls before. Inside that building, she had been safe from almost everything…everything except Zen himself. Anything was probably better than the things he had put her through. Still…there were a lot of people that she knew she was going to miss. However, she had no regrets, and a small smile spread across her face as she was greeted with the city air. No turning back now…

“Goodbye…Zen.”