Young Writers Society

November --, 2065 - Kurai Island

"The phenomena started only fifty years ago, but it feels like it's always been here, as if the world has always worked this way. There was no society before this one.

Fourty-nine years our ruler, Herald Thal continues to reign with an iron fist and cross. Kuro's last maybe a day out there, and that's if they manage to escape those damned camps. Most are lucky to survive the first hour after the darkening. Things are much quicker now. We're much quicker now, too. Still Thal continues to kill thousands of us a day. I'm not saying that we're not doing well with our goal, but I am saying that we could be doing better. There is always better to achieve.

More important than anything else, my brother taught me that there is nothing we can't do while united. Ours is the most important team, this group of diseased and sick and scared... It's okay to be scared. Ario was always scared... Standing here now, over his grave - over Cooper's and Michelle's and Brandon's -, I find myself terrified. If leaders as great as they could fall, who am I to keep my balance?

But I will hone this fear. We can weaponize our hurt, our loss, and our sorrows. Enough of this mourning! It's time to fight back. "

What's Going On:

Kurome/Kuro: Slang name given to those affected by Megalsclera.

Megalsclera is a disease which rots the brain and drives those burdened by it slowly into insanity. As time goes on, the person loses impulse control and begins to go mad. Anger management becomes the main problem as those in the latter-stages of the disease devolve into murderous beasts. Megalsclera is characterized by the darkening of the entire eye to grey and then eventually pitch black. First the eyes become entirely white, and then the darkening begins. Even though the darkening is hard to notice on the whites of the eyes - as the color is very faded gray at the beginning - you will know immediately when it starts. However, the eyes do not always darken after becoming stark white. The darker the eyes, the further into the sickness the affected person has progressed.

MGS spreads much like chicken pox. Only those around the age of puberty to early-20s naturally contract MGS. During that age range, you could live in an area completely MGS free - as in you've never even heard of the disease before - and wake up one day and find your eyes gone white. However, if an affected person comes into contact with people outside of that age range, they will more likely than not contract MGS too. It spreads to anyone but only originates in a selective group of people.

The World As We Know It:

During 2015 the foundation of the world began to crumble when the first outbreaks of Megalsclera were reported. Early in the year of 2016 things fell apart completely when America was practically cornered into a hierocracy led by Herald Thal, a man who claimed that MGS was devil-spawn, and there was nothing the nation could do but repent their sins and purge themselves of the Kuro's. Thal's teachings were once contained in a small church, and he was deemed insane until the city that his teachings were followed remained the only city in the nation to remain MGS free. He ascended into "head honcho" quickly.

It's been 49 years since his crowning and the world is nothing like it was before. All children are sent to special camps when they hit puberty - much like Jesus camps - and let out only after their 22nd birthday. In these camps children are put on a strict religious diet. They are to pray at least four times a day with a Supervisor present, made to read the Bible for at least an hour, attend church two times a day, etc. As soon as a child's eyes go white they're isolated and deemed sinner - put into a room to be monitored until further notice. When the darkening begins they are immediately scheduled to be executed. All executions are mandatory to attend for those still in the camps - a day doesn't go by without one. The Kuro - or, sometimes, Kuro's - is ushered into a room, bound, and incinerated.

This is to teach a lesson to the kids to not be sinners. Those who go against God's will get MGS, and those who get MGS die.

Your Role, You Ask:

Well, about 40 years back there were a group of Renegades that banded together and started a sort of rescue team for the kids stuck in the camps. It started as something small but quickly grew into a situation big enough to catch Thal's attention. He began trying to stop the group - called, simply, KURO - but never completely ended it.

KURO is located on Kurai Island, previously a small island in Hawaii, now relocated off the east coast of New Mexico.

You are either already on the island - only two playable leadership spots open, selective - or just arriving. You are infected. Your job is to assist KURO in its goal of taking back their homes, lives, and their health. 40 years of research has been conducted on that island towards curing MGS - something more than prayer - and the doctors there have succeeded in finding a way to increase longevity, but at no small price. The medicine they developed works miraculously but causes the user constant head pains and must be taken every day or it will backfire and speed up the effects of MGS. Without medicine, MGS takes about 6-9 years to go full-black. They're sure that they could find a real cure if only Thal would consider their proposal. However, the time for nice words is over. Thal's gonna listen one way or the other.

It's been three years since the tragedy that occurred in 2062 where the four leaders of KURO, along with many others, died during an air-raid performed on the island, leaving it to be run by Ario's - the former leader's - little sister, Salem. During those three years, virtually all rescue missions and operations were shut down. KURO dropped off the face of the Earth. The government thought their raids had succeeded in wiping out the colony, but they were wrong.

KURO is now making a return. And they're badder than ever.

Character Spots:

The Doctor manages the medicine and keeps tabs on everyone's MGS progression. They're in control of supervising the sicker people. Also in control of the cure. They are in charge of developing it. Previously Michelle and Brandon's job.

The Trainer is gearing up the healthier people for war. Pretty self explanatory. They usually accompany the leader on the more risky raid missions. Previously Cooper's job.

And The Leader organizes and manages the raids and rescue missions, supply runs, medical research, and their progression towards war. They also control things on the island. Leader things. Previously Ario's job.

On Kurai:

Salem - Leader [ReisePiecey]
Bennet - Doctor [megsug]
- Trainer [AfterTheStorm]

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Allidae - Citizen [Auxiira]
- Citizen

New Arrivals:

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Template:

Salem

"Everybody down."

The march of careful footsteps chorusing behind Salem stalled at her frantically whispered command. Even more frantic still, her breathing echoed loud and raspy between the trees - breath clouding in giant clouds that would give away their position quicker than a sneeze. She tried to calm her lungs.

A gentle hand weighed down heavy on her shoulder, causing her cleansing breaths to hiccup back into her throat. When she saw Devon's calm face, however, she let out a sigh.

"Where," he asked, jaw tight.

"There, east, by that group of trees."

"Pretty close."

"Tell me about it."

Salem reached down and unsnapped the buttons on both of her holsters and Devon wasted no time in following suit. Once both were draw-ready, Salem bounced up on her heels from her squatting position among the bushes. Yes, the knife gripped in her fist was digging into her skin, but there was little room in her mind to worry about things like pain.

They were on their way back from the last rescue of that month. Five of their hovercycles had broken down - such was life - and so some people had to stay behind. Of course, this meant that Salem was staying behind. No way she was leaving her people in the states alone.

"Is anyone there? Hello?"

Salem quickly shot out a hand to signal the group behind her, those that couldn't fit on the rest of the HCs, to stay down.

"Trail me," she whispered to Devon before taking off.

"Hello," the man called again. In the darkness, she heard a gun cock.

"It's okay," Salem replied. "I'm not here to hurt you. Actually, I'm going to save your life really quickly and advise you to back up. I'm a little sick."

"Kuro!"

"Just a little, I said. You'll be fine as long as you're not stupid. What do you drive?"

"A four wheel," the man said through a clenched jaw. Salem narrowed her eyes and quirked an eyebrow in amusement. Devon had clued in nearly as quick as she did, and began sneaking his way forward.

"Oldschool, I like it. It's mine now. That okay with you, sir?"

They stood in silence for a moment while the man tried poorly to secretly wield his weapon. He had began to construct a reply before he fell to the ground, screaming in pain. Devon stood over his crumpled body for a moment, searching for his keys and phone, and cleared the area immediately upon retrieving them.

"All right, let's head out, everyone! Long way back."

Salem had just begun to had away when a weak cough directed her attention back to the body on the ground. Everyone paused and waited as the man struggled for coherence. Salem, however, approached him.

"Who are you?"

"Who am I," she repeated as she knelt by his side. He tensed as she cradled his head in her lap, and was soon struggling weakly once the full realization of what was about to happen dawned on him. "I'd tell you," she whispered gently, "but I'd have to kill you."

"Why are you doing this," the man spat.

Salem closed her eyes and shook her head sadly.

"There is no 'me' here. I can't tell you who I am, because I am... no one. No one important, anyway. There is only 'we'. And we are KURO. We do this because we care."

The sound of a neck snapping punctuated Salem's words. A pang of sadness welled in her heart but she brushed it off and stood.

Kurai was still a long ways away, and there was still so much to do.


A/N: Salem and Devon - the trainer - are coming back home from the states. Whoever posts first on the island can write out their arrival.

"Lift your tongue please," I murmured and examined silent Jazz's mouth the make sure she had actually swallowed the pill. Michelle had always made a point of doing so. While I still couldn't fathom what kind of person wouldn't take the medicine that would save them, I wasn't going to take any chances. "You're good to go," I murmured and called to the next man in line, "Next."

The line of people was coming to an end, thank God. I looked under the last man's tongue and reclaimed my now lukewarm coffee eagerly, heading back to the infirmary tiredly.

I was ready for Salem and Devon to be back.

What if they've been caught? What if they've been killed? What if they decided that they didn't want to come back, that they would just leave you- Stop.

I shook my head to try to dislodge the thoughts squeezing around my throat.

I gulped coffee as I paced down the hall that made up the infirmary. The locked doors on both sides of me always made me nervous. If an out and out cure wasn't found eventually, I would wind up here.

Maybe I should take up a protege.

I frowned at the idea, considering who I would take under my wing as Michelle and Brandon had done for me. I unlocked a door with my free hand, not wasting time peering into the dimness as I opened the door.

No need to give the sick opportunity to wreak havoc.

"Good morning, Alli," I said calmly, closing the door behind me. "How are you doing?" I looked at her, sitting in the light that came through the window. "You may be able to see better if you turned on the lights," I commented when she deemed that she wouldn't respond.

"Like it's your business," she spat.

I sighed inwardly, making sure that it didn't show on my face. It was going to be one of those days then....

Shrugging, I took a few more steps into the room. "It would make the place a little less gloomy too." I frowned when I saw the practically untouched tray that I had left for breakfast. "You need to eat."

"A cell is not supposed to be cozy," she sneered. "And I'm not going to eat that crap."

I took another gulp of coffee- damn there went the last of it- so that I wouldn't say something uncalled for. "I've offered to find things of your liking to brighten the room up, but- if you'll remember- you've turned down that offer several times. If there was better food to give you, I'd give you my own meal. If you had tried your breakfast-"

She jumped off her bed and slung her tray off the table so that eggs (that were indeed dry) and sausage (that was indeed questionable in content) along with the glass of orange juice (that was perfectly fine) were splattered against my pants and shoes.

I tensed as the instinct to jump over the table to attack her washed over me. My free hand, which had been tapping my leg in that wild dance I could never control, clenched. I kept my eyes on her black ones, sure the anger could be seen there.

One... two...

"That's what I think of your breakfast." She moved to sit on her bed again.

I swallowed the words I wanted to scream in her face as I shook her senseless and smashed her head against the wall. They burned going down as I blinked the vision away. I bent down to retrieve the tray. "I see. Well, we'll try again with lunch." I almost bit my lip, hearing Brandon tell me I should be gentler with my patients. "We'll see if you can be civilized. I'll make sure a broom and a mop are sent to your room. If you're savage enough to leave it there, I'll be back to clean it." In the best of circumstances, I would have hoped that the words came calm and cool. There was a definite snap though.

I left, ignoring Brandon who shook his head at me, and let myself sigh as I locked my door. Only seven more to deal with.

I had three trays on top of Alli's, a scratch on my arm, and a shattered coffee mug to show for my efforts a few minutes later. My could feel my eye twitching and was intent on taking deep breaths before moving into the next room.

Seven... eight... ni-

A roaring came from outside. I frowned. I had thought I had made it clear that the compound was to remain as quiet as possible. The sickest of us never responded well to loud noises. I groaned as one of the patients started howling which, of course, set off most of the others.

I marched outside, ready to unleash all of the irritation I tried to keep to myself as I dealt with my patients. I stopped.

It was Salem. A small part of the anxiety that was always built up in my chest released. I allowed a small smile and hurried over to the parked hovercycles and a four wheel looking worse for wear.

"How did it go?" I asked as I got closer. "Is there anyone injured? How many did you rescue?"

I stuffed the pillow over my head to block out the angry howling from the others in the ward that hadn't stopped even though the jubilant roaring from outside was long over. Resisting the urge to yell with the other Kuros was challenging and the roaring grated on my already thin nerves. The frustratingly calm demeanour that Ben affected always rubbed me the wrong way when I was like this.

A low groan emanated from my throat. Standing up sharply, I stalked over to the wall, ignoring the vertiginous spin the room took as I did so. A wave of anger swept over me pushing my to rip down the wall and tear at the howling being behind it. I tried to take a breath and force it down, but the absolute need to scream and fight and lash out came first.

***

I sat pressed into the corner of my room, my knees curled up to my chest in a desperate attempt to hold myself together. My hands were tempting shades of mottled blue from beating the wall. Someone had come with a brush and a mop when I had finished screaming myself raw, and I had docilely cleaned my breakfast from the floor. I didn't sense the pain in my hands. It felt as if someone had dropped concrete onto my shoulders and expected me to move on with live. Breaths were hard to come by. Mariana's photo was clenched in my fist, the old crinkles crisscrossing her features.

The door cracked open and Salem pushed her way inside, holding two trays. Nudging the door shut with a foot, she placed the trays on the table. I didn't want to talk, buried my head in my knees. The bed dipped slightly as she sat down.

"Hey, Alli. How've you been?" It always seemed such an idiotic question. I covered my head with my hands in an attempt to make her leave.

A sigh then a slight tug on my arm. I didn't shake her off, the only feeling trickling through the concrete a fear of hurting her. Giving in to her gentle hands, I let her pull my arm away from my face. As she searched my face she tugged on my hands trying to pull me to the table.

"Come on. You're eating."

"I'm not hungry." The words rasped through my throat, aching.

"You haven't eaten for days, Alli. I'm not letting you starve yourself." The kindness of her voice crept shame through me quickly obliterated by a roll of anger .

"Because I'm your precious specimen." The words spat themselves out of my mouth bitterly, tasting like medicine. "One of a kind. Welcome to the circus, freak."

"Because you're my friend."

She turned away and sat at the table, not even glancing at me. The anger faded away, leaving me drained. I crept off of the bed and sat across from her, noting the quick smile she gave me. I picked at the food then scooped up a forkful as she stared at my plate with raised eyebrows. It tasted like nothing.

After a while of silence, I replied to her question.
"I'm okay. You?"

"I'm okay too." We were never okay. I unclenched my fist and smoothed out Mari's picture. Salem's light grey eyes followed the movement.

"Alli..." She hesitated and I tensed. "What would you say to going outside?"

I somehow forgot how to breathe.

I hadn't realised how much I had missed it until she had asked. At the same time, a wave of grief hit me. Outside. Outside had been Mari's place, where she could always be happy. I longed to be where she belonged, but at the same time, I couldn't bare the though of it. The world tilted and I remembered how to breathe.

Salem watched me carefully, slightly tensed, hands on the edge of the table. A few strands of her hair had sprung away from the tie she had used and seemed just as alert as she was.

I took a breath and counted to ten, watering down the concrete and the fiery anger.

"I... Don't know." My voice, already scratchy, wavered.

"It's fine, you don't have to answer now." She pushed back her chair and took the empty trays from the table. I couldn't remember finishing. "I'm going to go and catch up with everyone. You'll be fine, Alli." There was conviction in her voice, more than I could feel.

Before she reached the door, she hesitated.

"Alli, it's none of my business, but think about this: would she want you to go outside?" She nodded to Mari's photo on the table. The door shut behind her, leaving me to concrete silence.

Sage Combe

It was the day. I could feel it in my bones, beating in my heart and flowing through my lungs.

That was the day I was going to die.

They'd been observing me for days after my eyes went white, and days turned into weeks which turned into months. Only, they weren't observing me for a cure. No. They were torturing me. Hitting me and starving me on and off, trying to get a reaction from me. I was on camera. So they could take all that lovely footage and turn it into propaganda about how we were devil children.

They'd dressed me in a black dress. Black, the color of death and of impurity. I was in a plain black dress, my hands behind my back. They didn't clean me up, though. I was just an example. They would shoot me or hang me, however they felt like killing me. And I had no choice. I was a lamb for the slaughter.

I prayed that Aidan wasn't sick. Yes, I prayed. This wasn't how God wanted us to worship him in these stupid death camps, being forced to pray and read the Bible. God wanted us to pray of our free will and I did. I knew Aidan and I were almost identical genetically, but I prayed he was different. I hoped he was. I had asked God to keep me sane, to let me die with strength and dignity.

The other teenagers being led on stage were savage, they kicked and screamed. I walked with my head held high, my greasy hair wrangled in a braid. I looked in the audience and up front was Aidan, tears in his eyes. That was it. That was when I began to cry. I was so thankful, the Lord spared Aidan, at least.

There was a commotion out in the audience and I turned my head, trying to see what was happening. I heard gunshots and shouts. Aidan looked at me, gesturing, trying to tell me something. He kept jerking his head back. It took me a minute, but I got it.

I threw my head backwards, hard into the chest of the man who held on to my bound hands. He was a priest. As if, he was guilty of murder and heresy in the eyes of God. As he fell backward, clutching his collarbone, I kicked him in the groin and ran off stage. Attendants rushed to join me but I ran, not caring that my hands were still bound between me.

Rebels had penetrated the camp and I saw built soldiers permeating the audience. A girl took out a dagger in front of me, she was dressed in black. I cringed, trying to dodge her. But she caught my hands and tore through my ropes. I wanted to thank her, but she was already gone. And I ran for the trees, running like the devil was chasing me. And in a way, he was.

But I was already gone.

Aidan Combe

Her eyes, my eyes, were shining with tears. We had the same eyes, right? But that was my twin, my other half being led up on stage to be executed. At least it would be quick, at least they had chosen to shoot her instead of hang her. Sometimes the kids didn't way enough in the gallows and their necks didn't break. So they slowly suffocated, held down by their own weight.

Sage didn't way that much. I couldn't bear to see her die that way. Even as she walked on stage, she gazed at the sky, her lips moving in silent prayer. She had her faith, even if I didn't have mine. She never bowed her head while praying.

"Why would I look to the devil," she used to say, "When God is up in the sky? Watching over me?" And I would scoff at her. But God brought her comfort and for a moment, I was grateful for that.

And then the rebels came, of which I was also grateful. I tried to tell her to jerk her head back, to get free the way I told her. We'd been teaching ourselves self defense from day one, knowing that this day might come. It took her a minute but she caught on, breaking free of the bonds that held her.

I narrowed my eyes, reaching up to the platform and tripping the guards that ran after her. Nobody beats up my sister but me. And only for practice.

She took off for the trees, not looking back. I felt a pang of sadness. She didn't look for me. But it was okay, she was alive. I ran. Even in the chaos, the gunshots and screams, the kids actually loyal to the camp were making an effort to help fight back. But me and about 75% of the teens ran, and about half of us made it.

Sage was first, entering the darkness of the trees. I wasn't sure who was there, or if anyone was there at all. But the darkness enveloped me, cool in contrast to the hot burning sun. But there were rebels there, directing us and leading us along the path that would lead us to... well, where they were leading us, I had no idea. But I was sick of being led. So I ran up front and found Sage, taking her hand in mine. She jumped in surprise but squeezed her fingers around mine, and I squeezed back.

It was me and her together, my only sister, my other half, the only person I could count on. It was us against the world. Nobody would take that away from me. Not even the assholes that called themselves Priests.

|Arkady Hawker|

Arkady woke up to the sudden flush of light and smiled.

There was no window in her designated cubicle, but she felt like the sun was shining. She imagined her white shoes, polished like the perfectly round pearls her mother used to wear, and then of them wet with dew with bits of dirt speckling their smooth surface. She imagined the paleness of the sky and how the muted sun would ascend the horizon, unhurried and unconcerned with the troubles below. She imagined her breath and how when she inhaled she'd feel the moisture on her lips and when she exhaled the air in front of her will stir with a barely perceptible cloud of warm air. She imagined the tightness of a fresh braid tugging at her roots, her clean white clothes disappearing among similar outfits, the birds singing their morning songs, and Father Constantine's gravelly voice washing over her thoughts.

She sighed and sat upright. Across the room, her roommate stirred, her loose hair spilling about her pillow in a disorderly mess. Arkady removed the sheets off of her own legs and neatly placed them over the side of the cot, smoothing down the shirt of her sleep clothes. She stood and walked directly to the small mirror hanging next to the door.

A small, gray face peered back at her. It never quite felt like her, though she couldn't name why. Sunken cheeks hinted at a lack of nutrition and dark thumbs under eyes talked of long nights without sleep. But she looked better than the night before. She had slept peacefully this time, a blessing from God. But she didn't mind those things as much as the color of her eyes, which she was again relieved to find that they hadn't changed.

She gathered some wake clothes and walked passed her roommate, who was beginning to untangle herself from her sheets. There was no door to her cubicle or any of the other cubicles strictly for safety reasons, so as she walked down the hallways she heard the grumblings of many girls woken from their slumber. Actually, there were only two locations in the dormitory that had doors: the entrance, with thick metal walls that could lock automatically, and the toiletry rooms. Arkady was heading to the latter.

When she entered Mother Catherine was in there in her designated seat, and nodded to her to go ahead and wash. Arkady smiled pleasantly at the aged woman and walked into the nearest stall, sliding the curtain behind her. She undressed and tweaked on the hot water and tried to let it wash out the noise of girls coming in behind her.

The privacy was bliss. The heated water pounded on her scalp and trickled down her face in hot little streams. She picked up the plain white soap and scrubbed herself down with a furious vigor, wiping away the invisible specks of contamination until her skin was singed with friction. When she twisted the shower knob off, she puffed through the humid air and wiped herself down with the one of the white towels that rested in the indention in the wall. She dressed in the clothes that she brought in and slipped out for the next girl to take her place.

Mass began before breakfast. She gathered near the front and waited as the others mingled and eventually quieted down before the stage, and watched as Father Constantine heaved himself up on the steps. He was considerably old, the oldest being Arkady has ever seen, maybe the oldest in the entire world. Liver spots dotted his body and one in particular stood out on his bald head, where the skin was puckered unnaturally from some unspoken altercation. Folds, cracks and creases made this wearied skeleton in the shape of a human being, burdened with the weight of thick ceremonial robes of white. Milky eyes, from age and blindness and not sin, peered out across the crowd as if searching for something. Either satisfied in what he saw or resigned in what he didn't, he opened Mass in prayer.

"Lord, we, Your Holy Creations, have sinned against You: Lord, have mercy. May the almighty God have mercy on us, condemn those who have sinned to Hell, and deliver us, Your Loyal Children, Your Holy Children, to everlasting life. We beg You to purge us from this wickedness."

"Lord, have mercy." The crowd echoed, and Arkady closed her eyes and smiled.

|Judias Hawker|

Judias closed his eyes and sighed in frustration.

Nothing. Zero. Zilch. That was what he had. That was what he was worth. That was what the time he wasted was for. Nothing. At. All. He imagined his comrades when they heard that he wasted another batch of resources on another meaningless trip. He imagined their taunts, their jokes and giggles, their ugly faces twisting into a sneer. He imagined their bigotry and their... cruel gestures. He imagined the satisfaction he would feel of his fist meeting flesh and the taste of blood on his teethe...

He stopped. Took three, long breaths. Popped a pill in his mouth. And calmed.

He glanced sheepishly to the side as a group of Kurai walked past him, eyeing him in curiosity. Yeah, he bet he was a sight. He hadn't showered in weeks and his jawline had surpassed stubble and gone directly to a rugged golden-coppery beard, half matted with mud. Half of his body was mud in fact, and pieces of it crumbled onto the floor when he moved. Mud even clung to his pack, which dangled off his shoulders in desperate dirty threads.

He moved in resignation further into the camp, ignoring those he passed. He headed towards his designated room, desperate for a shower, desperate to be alone. He tossed his pack on his small bed before taking a shower, watching as thick trails of sweat, blood and dirt swirled down the drain. Once clean and smelling human again, he dressed and headed towards the supplies wing.

There was a short line in front of the supplies window and Judias noted the flash of orange hair behind the window. He waited, more unsocial than normal. When it was his turn he snapped a few cheap iron coins on the counter.

"I need a razor." He said, the embarrassment he felt making him agitated.

Trinity quirked her eyebrows. It looked like her hair has just received a recent hack, and her locks were cut at varying lengths that reflected the light at random intervals. She had gotten bangs this time, and her lashes teased at their ends like playful butterflies. Her pale eyes never failed to reflect her sarcasm.

"Really." She replied, enjoying his childish chastity.

"Come on, Trinity. Are we really going to do this every time?"

"I don't know, Jude. I kind of like the beard look."

"I need to shave." Judias said shortly, heat flushing his cheeks as he felt the attention of the people behind him wondering what was taking so long. She rolled her eyes, turning around to fish for some in the back. "So, how was your adventure this time? No such luck?" She called, digging in between boxes. Something fell and he heard her swear.

He didn't answer for a while, then mumbled.

"What was that?"

"No, no I didn't get anywhere." He shouted to her. She came back, a cheap razor in her hand. She handed him a slip of paper and a pen and Judias signed it. She slid the coins her way, saying, "Don't look so down, man. You can't always be a failure."

"Thanks." He sighed and took the razor in his hands. They kept a close eye on anything sharp, ever since the last accident when an unstable Kurai got a hold of a razor. She instructed him to bring it back when he was done and then she called for the next person in line.

He returned to his room, positioning himself in front of the small mirror and carefully carving the unruly hairs off of his chin. The blade was dull, and air hissed through his teeth when he nicked his neck. When he was done he used a dirty shirt to scrub his face clean. He tossed the razor onto his small dresser and collapsed on the bed, letting his twinging muscles relax into the old mattress. He'd need his rest to explain another one of his failed expeditions to Salem.

Jazz Sanders

I watched as the others went around to do their business. It was the same routine as always – some were training, others were counting inventory, and a few more were inside their rooms, drawing the plans for the next rescue. There was barely anything to look forward to here.

I leaned back on the stack of boxes. The birds were chirping, the day was getting warmer, and I was only relaxing, thinking. Before, I thought that if I joined this organization, I’d be able to do more to bring down Thal and his minions, but so far, all I’ve been doing was train and spend my free time looking at the sky or practicing what I’ve been taught. What good did it do to live here? Sure KURO was helping get children out of the encampment, but there was no war – no fighting. How are we supposed to correct what’s twisted if most of what we did was stay here?

Putting my feet down on the ground, I began trekking somewhere away from people – not too far from the living area, but not too close to be spotted easily. All I had on me aside from the clothes that I was wearing was a makeshift wooden weapon. I should make use of the time productively than laze around. The clearing I was headed off to wasn’t a place I noticed much people explored, so I turned it into my personal haven. I’ve made dummies which I could practice attacking, with the latest one still in good condition, and had a hammock tied between two shady trees, for when I want to rest.

Once I arrived, I wasted no time and leaped, striking the dummy in the head. The rough weapon scraped my hand and it fell to the ground. Scratches and blood decorated my palm, threatening to make me ask for alcohol. I bit my lower lip and shook the idea out of my mind. No way am I going to tell them about this place. I calmed myself and wiped the wound before picking up the weapon again.

A lot of times, I’ve been told by to be more sociable, because being in an organization meant teamwork. What did social interactions have to do with anything regarding comradeship? I knew my position, so I’d do what I’m expected to and work hard. Nothing in it required that I be actual friends with anyone. If we were going to get close to one another, then all that would do would be to give us emotional burden should one of us fall in battle. That would only make things worse. That would only make things a lot more complicated than they already are.

The wood flew out of my hand just as I hit the dummy’s body. A searing pain greeted me, and I scoffed, sighed then slumped down to the ground. What was I thinking? This isn’t like me – at least, not like who I was before. What would everyone who knew me say about who I am now? Would they be proud? Would they be angry? What would my family say?

I don’t know, and I don’t think I want to find out, as thinking about them made my head hurt. I looked up at the sky. This was the same sky all of us used to stare at during our parents’ day off. Now, up there is where they are.

I stared at my bleeding hand. I can’t give in to my emotions – I have to fight, whether or not it meant I would be alone.

"Andrew! You're letting your guard down!" she piped up, noticing the way her student's movements began to slow. Luci ducked out of the way of his next swing (which narrowly avoided connecting with her ear). "Great!" He was learning. Twirling to the right to avoid another well-aimed punch, her pigtails bouncing with the fluid motion, Luci readjusted her position in front of her student and raised her arms in a defensive block.

Despite a brief burst of energy, it was evident that exhaust had overcome Andrew. He made a step forward for another attack against his trainer, but Luci caught his fist. "You need to get your stamina back," she said with all the sternness a ten year-old could muster. The girl pushed him backwards slightly then released her grip, suddenly sending him stumbling down onto the dirt training ring.

"Ow," he grumbled wearily, rubbing his wrist.

Luci flattened out a crease on her overalls. She smiled down at him, eyes sparkling. "That's three times in a row, Andrew."

"I know." He pushed off of the ground into a standing stance so he could now look down at her. "You really tick me off sometimes, ya know that, Luci?"

She shrugged both of her small shoulders. "I still beat you," was the happy response.

A sudden voice from the side caused the two fighters to quickly turn. "Andrew, Luci is two heads shorter than you. And yet you lost to her again?"

Luci's eyes went wide as a grin spread across her face. "Devon!" She jumped up into his embrace. The older trainer hugged his little friend tightly then set her back onto the training ring ground with a smile tugging at his lips too. "How'd the trip go?" she asked him.

"I'll tell you all about it later, Lu." Devon faced Andrew whose face was flushed from exertion and the climbing heat of the day.

"Hey, she's pretty quick, sir," Andrew responded, trying to excuse himself from the loss. "I'm going to grab some water," he then said abruptly before he jogged off in the other direction.

"He's just trying to avoid more training." Luci huffed and crossed her arms, though she didn't really mind Andrew's sudden departure. She had Devon back. Now because the head trainer had returned, that left Luci with a bit more free-time, less worry, and someone who would willingly practice and play games with her. "I'm glad you and Salem made it back in one piece," the girl told Devon, slyly inching for his holster. Her little hands grabbed around the gun at his side and she swiftly pulled out the weapon before he could react. "But now you gotta chase me!" Luci took off running towards the woods, followed by the amused shouts of Devon.

"Get back here with that, Lu!" the head trainer ordered. But she had already ducked into the cover of trees.


Note: I was thinking Devon and Luci could stumble upon Jazz in the woods.

Salem

Salem smiled and pulled Bennett into a hug before even considering his question. Any time away from Kurai was devastating for her but the familiar smell of coffee was comfort enough to reassure her that everything was still okay. When she pulled back, however, she saw his face, that knitted brow and stress lines too deep to be so easily covered.

"How's Allidae?"

"You know how she gets whenever you're gone for too long. "

"And how are you?"

"Better now."

Salem searched his face for a moment, and saw all that he was restraining there, but decided to let it go.

"Well, I have seventeen happy new patients for you. If everything goes well with their checkups you can send them straight to The Gym."

Bennett nodded and started off but Salem stopped him with a gentle hand on the shoulder.

"And try to relax a little, Benny. You need to get out of that hospital more."

Again, he simply nodded.

---

Salem barely made it through her front door before she was collapsing to the ground. As much as she cared for the girl, visits to Allidae have always exhausted her. Caring about someone as much as she did Allidae was hard on the soul, but she didn't mind the pain. However, she was only allowed to lay there for about a minute or so before there was a knock at her door.

"Coming!"

"Ah, take your time."

Judias. She recognized the tone of his voice. Another failed mission, she was sure, but she welcomed him into her home with a smile anyway. After taking the time to brew them both a cup of coffee, they sat on her porch and watched the people milling by in a comfortable silence. Only when their cups were finished, and refills were offered, they got down to business.

"Alright, Jude. Explain yourself."

I left Salem, feeling a little lighter now that the entire crew was back. I chaffed a little under her last words.

You need to get out of the hospital more.

The sentence circled around my head, just pissing me off because it was true. What did she know anyway? It's not like she-

My fingernails dug into my palm

One...

She meant well.

Two...

I do spend too much time in the hospital.

Three...

There's nothing I can do about it now anyway...

I could see the seventeen newcomers being led into Building B, and I would need to give the check up and explain the pill. I sighed. Coffee first.

I filed in at the end of the line and made my way to my personal coffee maker in the corner. Thank God there was one cup of coffee-- lukewarm-- left. Sipping from my mug-- life always seemed a little brighter after that first sip--, I studied the group. Most of them were young of course. Many looked uneasy. Others seemed happy to just be out of the camp. I always came away from these checkups feeling rejuvenated, ready to take down Thal as soon as possible.

I cleared my throat and made my way to the front of the room. Everyone got silent and faced me. There was a part of me that ate up the attention I got out of this moment every time Salem came in with a new batch.

I smiled as I had learned to do quickly. It was important not to scare the poor things, and to do that you had to act friendly and natural, not too cheery, not too grim. "Hello. I'm Bennet, the doctor around here. I want to welcome you to KURO. Congrats for getting out of the camps." I took the pill bottle out of my pocket, popped the lid off, and shook a pill into my palm, holding it up for them all to see. "This is your shot at life. It's not the best shot, and it's not a permanent shot, but right now, it's the best we have."

I gave them the spiel, telling it to them straight, including headaches. "Now," I said, wrapping up, "All that's left is for me to do a quick check up on each of you, take some samples, give you a pill, and someone will lead you to The Gym for a more in depth talk." I pointed to a room behind me. "You guys will join me one at a time in here, I'll give you an okay, and we'll get this party started."

For the most part they seemed relaxed, a little overwhelmed (who wouldn't be?) but not freaking out overly much. At least we weren't going to execute them.

Checkups went fast. I asked for names and tried to connect them with the face for future reference, filled out forms on each of them so I could keep track of their progression, and took some blood just to have on file.

There was a boy and girl who were huddled together every time I popped my head out to call next. At first I thought they were a couple, but the family resemblance was rather striking as I kept looking at them.

Finally the seventeen were done. They were all fine, none progressed more than twenty-five percent. All now stored in my tablet to look through whenever I was lagging and in need of motivation.

I tapped my empty mug against the desk in the new silence as they were led to The Gym. I sighed, put on another pot, and went to work on a cure.

I had seventeen new people waiting for me to find one.

Allidae


I hadn't anticipated it. The pain and fear and insanity were screaming and shouting and hurling themselves at the walls of my mind. Clawing, and scraping away chunks of my sanity. I had called them back and let them take over. That nightmare. Always the same one, invading just when I started to think that I could get out.

"Alli. Alli. Alli, breathe, breathe." A helpless whimper escaped my lips, riling up the monster. "Good, good." Her voice trembled as it soothed. "Hey, you know me, I'm not a threat." I quivered, the scrapes at my mind becoming tears. "Take my hand, Alli. You got in, we get out. We'll find help, for both of us. Alli, Alli, look at me. You're beautiful." Hands over my eyes. Hot tears, like blood. I didn't want to see, but it wasn't my eyes that saw the images. Her eyes. Her beautiful eyes. Her bright eyes. Her dull, staring, lifeless eyes, I couldn't breathe, couldn't think. And there was screaming and terrible sounds and anger and fear and insanity shredding the inside of my mind and there were hands and feet and shouting and... Black.

I gasped as the memory released me, as if I had broken the surface of an iced over pond. Tears burned tracks down my cheeks. Strangely, all I could feel was a hollowness in my chest and the fracturing, falling apart. There wasn't any anger, or any fear. I swirled around in my mind, utterly alone. The world was shaking, swirling, heaving. I grabbed the metal basin from under my bed and heaved everything into it. I gasped as the acid brought new tears to my eyes. The room felt too big. Jerking to my feet and across the room, I stumbled as I reached the wall, sliding down with my forehead against it. Sobbing, shaking, guilt.

"Hey Alli." I could almost feel the ghost of her fingers playing with my hair, trying to twist it into tiny curls on top of my head. Her hands were always gentle. "When we're older, I'll move away from this place. I'll be in the middle of somewhere beautiful, wild, and that will be amazing." This was a good memory. A bittersweet memory, but good. I turned around, pressing myself into the space between the wall and the tiny drawers. "And you'll be happy, Alli. When we're older, you'll be happy. All she'd ever wanted.

It pulled my decision together. I took deep breaths until I stopped shaking, then smudged the tears across my cheeks. There was a throbbing anger at the base of my skull, a pressure the threatened to drive me insane, but I had been there. It was the easy place.

Standing up shakily, I reached out and flicked the light switch. Black spots across my vision as my eyes adjusted to the light. The low grumbling of the person in the cell next to mine made my nerves shudder. A bruise started on the knob of my wrist as I whacked the wall without thinking. Biting my lip, I pressed down on it hard.

---

Ben blinked when he came into the room, and a small smile curled his lips before he schooled it away. A coffee in one hand, vials and needles in a box in the other. I quivered at the sight of the sharp points. Blood samples. I rested my chin in the palm of my hand, sitting at the table. It seemed an age since the morning.

"I'm sorry for this morning, Ben, really." My voice came out as a hoarse whisper.

"It's okay." He placed his box on the table. "I need to take some blood samples. Just routine." I nodded, stretching out my arm. As he filled he vials, I watched, fascinated by the controlled flow.

"Ben, what's it like outside?" He paused slightly, the question seeming to take him by surprise. He took a sip of his coffee.

"It's a forest. Everyone's built their houses in the trees, and we quite often have something to do on them. There are probably more people than you'd expect." He trailed off as the last vial filled and he took out the needle, pressing a ball of cotton to the spot. "I think you'd probably quite like it."

I gave him a tiny smile, bobbing my head. A flash of anger came from nowhere. I dug my nails
I to my cheek and grit my teeth until it stopped ordering me to move, to attack. Ben methodically put everything away and got up to leave. As he turned, I grabbed the back of his shirt. I could feel his whole body tense up and quickly let go.

"Could you... Maybe... Find me a photo frame?" My voice petered out at the end. He couldn't hide his smile.

"I'll see what I can do." The door clicked shut behind him, softly.

Sage
I've been in KURO for a few days now and I've noticed some of the other 17 around the island. My routine is the same everyday. Wake up with Aidan in our assigned tree house, eat, take meds, go to the gym for training, go back home. I haven't made friends and I don't want to, but I like the Doctor. Bennett.

I've seen the other 17 around. In training and just heading to and from the gym and the clinic. Everyone else and Aidan seem to have already gotten headaches. But... I haven't.

I waited in line to receive medicine, a nurse handed them out.

"I need to see Bennett." I said and she chuckled.

"Unless you're dying or phasing, that's not going to happen."

"It's important. I need to see Bennett." I stared into her eyes with the best stink eye I could muster, speaking up. I knew I could be shy but this was important. She looked uncomfortable before sending me back in the clinic.

I found Bennett.

"I need to tell you something." He looked up from his cup of coffee, startled.

"Okay," he said hesitantly.

"I've been on the meds for a while now and everyone else is experiencing symptoms."

"What do you mean, everyone else," He stirs his coffee with a popsicle stick, looking unconcerned.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you." The Nurse peeved me off and maybe I was shy, but that was quickly going away. He looked up, startled.

"I haven't had any headaches. I haven't experienced nausea, vomiting, or insomnia which hasn't happened often, but has happened to others in the past. I literally feel like a million bucks." My breathing was fast and I could feel my palms sweat and my chest get tight. He just stood there looking at me.

"Bennett?"

Aidan

I was really into training, having worked with Sage when we were in the Jesus camps. So when I saw 10 year old little Luci kicking everyone else's behind, I was pretty impressed. She was fast. Faster than Sage, and that's hard to do.

"Hey Luci," I called out. She looked up from her punching bag.

"You fight like a girl. I'm impressed." I smiled and nodded at her as she kept at the bag, barely making it swing on the chain. I wasn't fooled though. I might've had brute strength but that girl could kick my butt in seconds. I saw another girl tearing it up in the gym as well, she was fit with dark hair.

"Justine!" Luci called out, startling the girl with the ponytail.

"Square your shoulders!" Justine nodded, changing her positioning as her ponytail moved behind her.

I went to go meet Sage for dinner but she wasn't in our usual spot, at the base of our tree house.

"Have you seen Sage?" I asked the closest girl walking by.

"She's with Bennett still. Apparently there was an issue with her meds and she's been there since morning. Not sure why." The girl shrugged and continued on her way and I ran towards the clinic. Where was she?

|Judias Hawker|

Judias sputtered a nervous laugh: a pathetic sound coming out of a pathetic man. His hands quivered and gripped the empty mug in front of him, the shallow muddy liquid swishing around inside. His mouth twisted slightly at the memory of the bitter coffee that had slithered down his throat like bile, and the aftertaste that haunted his tongue. His lips tasted like sugar; an expensive commodity. He was more of a tea man, though he figured that drinking Salem's coffee might give him some desperate, haggard, insufficient decimal of clemency. The tips of his fingers itched for another pill to calm himself. Coffee usually did that to him.

"Uhm... yeah. It's... was a mistake to go there." He said, his lips hesitant to speak the words.

For a moment, Salem didn't move. Then she sat back, cup in her hands, and sighed. She didn't look surprised; Judias didn't know if that was better than her being disappointed.

"Tell me about it," she said.

Judias' eyes turned inwards, where images of trees, cracked roads, eerily silent nights and broken buildings danced with each other. The brush of nature's teeth against his skin pricked his hairs and his nose peeled at the ghost of sulfur.

"I was so sure this time," he started out. "But... You know how Walden said that one of his people saw a whole patrol unit going through east of it a couple weeks before? Nothing. There was nothing. I didn't hear the call of a bird for five days, or the noise of a cricket. The further I walked the worse it became, and the water smelled like chemicals. When I had finally made it to the forgotten city, everything was burned. What they didn't torch, they destroyed. I couldn't recover any documents from the government buildings. The city wasn't destroyed from forgotten bombs like the ones before - this was blatantly mutilated."

Salem was silent, swirling her coffee.

"You know what this means, don't you?" she said, looking out into the canopy of trees. "I can't afford, we can't afford, any more of these excursions. Not with these results. And I don't need you getting yourself or someone else contaminated with whatever they're using to spray the areas around the cities, or getting caught and killed. It's just too risky."

A heavy silence fell upon them. A feeling of emptiness filled Judias, and his lips failed to speak. Finally, he said, "I understand."

Salem turn sympathetic eyes on him, and Judias managed a weak smile. "I think...I think I'm going to get some lunch. I haven't had decent food in a while."

Salem smiled at the small shot at humor, but her eyes remained troubled. She pestered him to visit the doctor for a check up, made Judias promise, and then he excused himself and politely thanked her for the coffee. She stayed on the porch, the skin on her face stiffening, and her mind treading through thickets of thought and whirling in murky water at the new information Judias gave her.

|Arkady Hawker|

During private confession, sleep whispered in her ear. It polluted her with thoughts of rest, pressed its black fingers on her eyelids, befouled her with temptation. Arkady yawned. The Holy Book rested on her lap, the archaic language looking small and faraway. The grass caught in the rough fabric of her socks and struggled to free itself in the gentle breeze. Her knees weakened, and the Holy Book slid to the ground.

Black liquid slapped and gurgled on her pale, pale skin. Opaque bubbles swirled in and out of view, their oily surface reflecting back the light piercing the darkness through a small tunnel over her head. The liquid felt like fire. Arkady opened her mouth to scream, but a bubble popped, and flecks of it sprayed in her mouth. She coughed and gagged, bending over to expel the raunch taste. As she did so, a thick puckered arm of black smacked onto her neck, tipping her head under.

She came up and gasped, but the arm remained, weighing her down. Another appeared out of the eruption of a bubble, grasping her shoulder and melting over her skin. Only part of her shoulder blades remained untouched, and the skin seared at the presence of the black tar.

Above, the light narrowed in condemnation. Arkady felt that she was looking upon the eye of God. She opened her mouth to plead, and her lips were a dangerous shade of death. No words came out of her suddenly hoarse throat, but her skin still stretched in a scream. As the light continued to shrink to abandon her to the dark, a realization hit her.

Her eyes were not as they once were.

Tears had made her hair wet. A sob broke out, and she continued to lay in her awkward position against the tree, her neck exposed. Her hair was tangled in a branch. She allowed it to yank at her roots. She slowly slid to the ground, curling up, her eyes still fearing to look upon God's sunlight. The Bible was next to her, haphazardly opened to a random page. Her shaking fingers searched for it and pressed it tightly to her chest. She began to pray.

"Lord, I, Your Holy Creation, have sinned against You: Lord, have mercy. May the almighty God have mercy on me, condemn my demons back to Hell, and deliver me, Your Loyal Child, Your Holy Child, to Your arms of safety and forgiveness. I beg You to purge me from this wickedness that has contaminated my soul."

After desperately and with a quivering voice repeating this into the earth's soil itself, Arkady opened her eyes. She slowly righted herself, using one hand to tuck loose strands from her face and dust dirt from her skirt and the other to continue to grip the Bible to her chest. She finally wiped her face, taking deep breaths to calm herself.

She stood, not trusting her legs, then looked around her. In the distance, three bells rang.

Her mind jerked itself awake. Evening Mass. She had slept through dinner.

Ignoring her recent trauma, she sped towards the bells, still gripping the Holy Book in one hand. She arrived much later than her usual time, sticking to the back instead of trying to nudge her way to the front. Her eyes focused on the stage as Father Constantine mounted the steps with ancient joints.

Once again, before he spoke, his watery eyes searched the gathered mass. His face recalled that peculiar look, that look that could easily be mistaken for the giving of age, before his head nodded down to the large Bible resting significantly on the pedestal. But suddenly, his head jerked back up, as if something new has caught his eye.

His features gained a sudden energy and ferocity. With a finger that only shook from old bones, he pointed.

"D-Demon! The Devil has slithered under the mask of purity!" He howled.

Heads turned. And, next to her, an older boy screamed and stumbled away, shouting illegible things. It was then that Arkady realized that Father Constantine was pointing at her.

Salem

Judias left her to her thoughts, a dangerous place to be these days. Salem looked down at the dregs of coffee spotting the bottom of her mug and sighed so deeply she felt it almost appropriate to cry next. But she had not cried in a while, and definitely would not now while there were people passing her by, looking at her with those dark, dark eyes. She would be strong for them, always. They were her strength.

A smaller child approached her deck cautiously, eyes gray, and laid a bundle of flowers at her feet. He shuffled his feet nervously and then barreled into her chest, hugged her tight, and said "Welcome back" with wet eyes, "I missed you."

Salem ruffled his hair and kissed his forehead like his mother might have done once before.

"I missed you too, honey. Don't worry. Don't cry. Run along and pick your flowers, yeah? These are so pretty! How do you feel?"

"I feel fine."

Salem nodded and let her mouth twitch into a smile.

"Good, good."

One more pat and she urged the boy to run off and watched his back as he left to disappear into the thicket. After taking her time to fix the flowers in a vase and fashion them on her kitchen table, Salem tied up her hair and put on a better face.
There were things to be done. Always things to be done.

---

There were too many people dying on KURO and not enough people coming in. That much was apparent. Rescue missions were few and far between. It was no secret that they were running out of supplies, running out of equipment. The medicine took a lot of materials to make and, though she hadn't talked with Bennett about it yet, she didn't doubt they were running low on their stocks.

Training was coming along as fast as it could, she knew Luci and Devon did their best with what they had, but hungry people didn't usually want to train. She couldn't blame them for that.

They needed to go out again, more missions. But if what Judias said was true, how much more is out there? The surrounding areas have been picked dry, already, but the dangers of going into the main cities outweighed the pros of it... almost. It was the only chance they had left. She'd need volunteers... or she'd go herself. She couldn't force her people to accompany her on this. She couldn't put her loved ones into that sort of danger. Devon would want to go, she knew that for sure. But she needed him here, on KURO. She needed to be here, on KURO. But what choice did she have... what choice?

The urge to cry came again and, again, she swallowed it back. She was in the privacy of the trees now but still she had to be strong. Always had to be strong. For them. For Ario, watching over her - she was sure. For herself, for once...

Salem let herself sink down against the back of a tree. Exhaustion covered her like a thick blanket and here she knew she was safe. Her eyes closed before she gave them permission to.

She'd make a decision when she woke, but now she was tired. She was so tired.

Allidae | Day 2

She had woken with the distinct absence of slipping away from sanity for what seemed like the first time in years. She could feel the pressure pushing, niggling, squirming at the base of her skull, but it didn't threaten to take her over. She glanced at the closed shutters, then decided it was maybe too much, too fast, and retreated to her bed. Wedged in the corner of the room, she placed Mari's photo on her knees.

Crisscrossed with crinkles from being in her pocket, or in a fist, Alli could still make out the clear figure of her sister. The smile capturing her face. The excited glint in her eye. She was halfway up a tree in the picture, her hair tumbling around her shoulders, starting to snarl with branches and leaves, a flower propped into her hair. She was waving down at Alli.

A roll of grief threatened her newfound stability. She took deep breaths, confining herself in the darkness until the low buzz filling her thoughts dissipated. It was a game of tightrope she played. If she had one slip, one excess, she would tumble back into the insanity that yelled and clawed and felt fine. She needed to breathe and stay calm, and this new sanity hurt because she wasn't screaming her pain out loud for everyone to hear. It was caged up inside of her, the loss and guilt and void, and she'd only give it a voice when no one was there, even if it made her feel like a hollow shell.

She inspected the bruises on her arms. The mottled shades of blue and purple and red still fascinated her. She pressed on one experimentally, sucking in a sharp breath at the sudden twinge. After a while, the pain of the pressure dulled to a low throb, but externalising the pain felt so relieving.

She glanced up as Bennet came in, tray in hand.

"Good morning, Alli." She could almost read the trepidation, the fear that yesterday's progress had been but a flicker, and that she had returned to before.

She gave him a soft smile. "Morning, Ben."

He set the tray on the table and watched her as she started to eat tentatively. Underneath the table, she gripped her knee. It was easier to ignore the thundering at the base of her skull if she applied pressure somewhere else.

Ben sipped on his coffee, then took a makeshift frame from a pocket. He placed it on the table. "Is that good enough?"

She looked at it, saw the roughly cut sticks that had been used to make it and smiled. "It's perfect." She slid Mari's picture inside and placed it on the drawers. Ben watched as her gaze lingered on the girl in the photo, then reluctantly returned to her meal.

"Do-" he coughed slightly. "Do you want to talk... About her?"

She stiffened, concentrating on breathing as she clamped her hand on her knee. The buzzing filled her head. She squeezed her eyes tight. A tense minute passed as she forced the buzzing back to the base of her skull.

"Not... Not yet." Maybe. Maybe some day. He nodded, relaxing a little. She pushed the tray away.

"Salem's coming sometime this morning." He picked up the tray and left with a smile in her direction.

It was only a few hours later that Salem nudged open the door, an expectant expression dancing across her features. Alli smiled widely as she came in, standing up. Her friend seemed tired.

"How are you, Alli?"

"Better." It was true this time. She didn't return the question. She didn't think Salem wanted to be asked. Her shoulders were hitched up around her ears. Tentatively, Alli reached out and drew Salem into a quick, gentle hug. The buzzing protested, rolling down her limbs like an electric shock. She marshalled the attempted movement into a tightening of her arms, then let go. Tears beaded at the corners of Salem's eyes before she swiped them away.
"Should we go outside?"

Salem's head perked up at the I direct answer to yesterday's question. A smile flitted across her face, left, then circled back again to stay. "Of course!"

She thought for a second. "Stay here, a little while, I'll be back as fast as I can."

Alli nodded and sat back down on the bed. "It's a forest. Everyone's built their houses in the trees..." A forest. It had been so long. It was almost unbearable when she thought about it directly. Outside. Mari's world. She glanced at her twin's picture, then slid it out of the frame and into her pocket. Give me strength, Mari, I beg you.

Salem soon returned, followed by a tall man. His eyes were settling into the grey that characterised Kuro's. Alli smiled at him a little tensely.

"Alli, this is Devon. Devon, Alli." Alli could pretty much guess why he was there. To stop her if she went wild. She halted the thought. She wouldn't.

"Hi." She gave him a softer smile.

"Salem's told me a little about you." Alli could feel her limbs stiffen despite herself. Salem had been talking about her. Her little speci- No. That wasn't true.

"Only good. You're strong." He smiled as she glanced at her thin body. "Not necessarily in the physical way." She smiled at him. She liked this man.

"Shall we go then?"

Salem led the way out of the room. Alli followed her, peering into the corridor beyond before shuffling out. A row of doors exactly like hers. At the end of the corridor, double doors that meant Outside. It only seemed like a few paces before they were through the doors, and through another set and then there was the door leading outside.

Alli's hand crept into Salem's squeezing it tight as her friend opened the door.

It was bright. And there were trees, so many trees, and she could hear birds and they were in the middle of a forest and oh. Alli slid to the floor as her knees gave out. Tears tumbled down her cheeks but she couldn't blink or stop the flow. Her heart ached, almost wrenching her chest in two. She wanted Mari there. Mari. Alli could almost she her in one of the trees.

She trembled at the void that started to crawl back up and jumble her thoughts. Salem squeezed her hand.

"Are you okay, Alli? Do you want to go back inside?" Her voice was gentle, soothing until Alli felt she was safe.

She shook her head. "I want to look around." Salem nodded and helped her to her feet. Devon hovered next to her, ready to help a hand.

They meandered down a path until Alli started to pick out houses in the trees. They were all different, all beautifully unique.

"Ah, Alli. I should probably warn you - your eyes are still very dark compared to everyone else's. They might be a little scared of you. They don't know who you are." Alli nodded. She had expected it a little. She was scared of herself, really, so it seemed perfectly fine that others were too.

On their way to what Alli assumed was the centre of activity, a couple of people caught a glimpse of her eyes and flinched away. She closed them, breathed, and didn't let the pressure at the base of her skull grow.

As they moved into a more open space, devoid of houses, she loosened her grip on Salem's hand until they slid apart. She turned around, taking everything it.

"It's amazing." Her hand rustled into her pocket to clasp at Mari's photo.

People started to move toward Salem, apparently to talk to her, and Alli drifted over to Devon, still glancing around with wide eyes.

"Ah!" The slight exclamation caught Alli's attention and she turned her head to see a man with dark grey eyes meet her still almost black ones. His expression was a mix of curiosity and slight fear. She crafted a smile for him anyway, feeling the hollow rattle of her grief for a second before her emotions settled down.

"Hi, I'm Alli." She introduced herself. Devon shifted from one foot to another. She didn't hold out her hand to shake, hoping it would disperse a little of his apprehension.

"Jude."