We were out of the house in minutes as fire began to creep up along the edges of the sector, eating away the older buildings like candy. Smoke filled the air, creating a thick curtain around us.

Tron must have skipped the meeting with the people, choosing instead to burn the little island that had the lowest head count. It didn't matter if we supported him or nor anymore because we were a threat regardless and easy to destroy without spreading the fire to other sectors. He'd played a dangerous card burning East Sector, and now he was rethinking what to play next in his deck.

Leighton was gone and the brothers were nervous, guilt flooding me that he might be dead and it was my fault. I thought back to last night, imagining that the back of his head through the door frame might be the last time I'd ever see him. What if I sent him to his death?

"What's the plan? We need a plan! Plan equals living, and no plan equals balls being fried!" Ethan screamed as we all began to run, turning down alleyways.

We ran in a pack, Malaki guiding Matilda and I towards the center as Ethan gripped a long sword in his hand. I observed that they were all armed and felt a fire burn inside me that they had not given me a weapon as well.

"We are getting out of here!" Bodhi yelled, taking a right turn. The whole procession stopped at that moment. Everything came to a dead halt except the flames that were starting to lick up the side of the alley in front of us.

"No! We stay and fight!" Vulcan challenged, stepping into an alley leading left. "All ready to fight come with me!" He waved his thick sword over his head like King Arthur, less valiant in black clothes, torn up boots, and a ring of smoke as his crown.

"All ready to be alive by the end of the day come with me!" Bodhi said through gritted teeth.

They split like an opened book, half one way and half the other. It almost startled me how quickly we all divided ourselves, how easy we found it in us to choose. I found myself beside Vulcan; I needed to find Leighton if he were in the city because I couldn't let him die.

I watched the single group become two, each looking across at one another with a sense of remorse and embarrassment except for Vulcan who had a look in his eyes that one might deem as suicidal.

"Goodbye, Brothers. If you survive, may we all find each other again." Vulcan said through a clenched jaw, his eyes falling to his feet.

"Goodbye, Brothers. The same goes to you always." Bodhi nodded and his group of men ran off after him towards the outskirts of the sector, leaping over fire and disappearing into a thick cloud of smoke and ash. It was now Vulcan, Malaki, Matilda and I left. There was a sense of emptiness now that had not been here before.

"Fuck, I thought we'd have more." Vulcan steamed and now I could hear that tingle of fear with the absence of confidence. We'd need that confidence to find Leighton and see if maybe we could find a different solution to get out of this hell hole too.

"We can't stand here and burn alive. I say we find Leighton because I'd bet my life that he's somewhere here in the city planning an attack on his own." Malaki hissed.

"You might have to bet your own life on it." I whispered, gazing at the smoke that flooded the air around us. This was a maze, perhaps even one without an exit.

"We need to go towards the bridge heading into South Central." Vulcan said with force. "That's their escape route and we need to get off this island before we get burnt like bacon strips."

"Where do you think Leighton will be?" Matilda asked. I felt a sense of pride that she had chosen to stand beside me like we'd promised. Malaki had come with us purely because of her I knew; he wouldn't have let her run into the gates of hell alone.

"The Bridge. No doubt."  Vulcan slid his sword into his belt, pointing to our left where the smoke peeled back.

"Let's move." I brushed my sweat stained hair from my forehead. "I need a weapon."

"Sorry, Squirt. Didn't bring you one." Vulcan chuckled as he and Malaki broke into a jog, Matilda and I lagging behind.

"You are fucking kidding me? You are charging us into a war zone and didn't give us weapons?" Matilda cursed, shooting dark glares at Vulcan's back.

"You signed up. And to be honest, in the most respectful way, you're women. The guard isn't going to want to kill pretty girls so if you don't attack, you're safe from them." Vulcan shot back like a dagger itself.

"What about all the other crazies who are going to be trying to escape along with us?" I prompted, narrowing my eyes. We took a sharp turn right, leaping over a trail of fire in our path.

"That might be a problem, but I'll have your back. We can fend them off together." Malaki replied, shooting a quick glance over his shoulder.

I bit my lip and narrowed my eyes, grumbling under my breathe. I needed a weapon. I could fend for myself with a broken bottle at least. There had to be something lethal in the ruins that I could use.

"Halt!" A guard in a group of three screamed from the path in front of us. Vulcan raised his sword, chopping one into two pieces as Malaki shot two at the same time with his bow and arrow.

"Holy shit!" Matilda gasped as the trio fell to the ground and Vulcan flicked the blood from his sword. Blood mingled with the soot and ashes across one man's horrified face and I felt sick. Looking back towards Vulcan and Malaki, I took a deep breathe.

"I need a weapon." I hissed. Vulcan rolled his eyes before leaning down behind an overturned cupboard.

"Here you are, Darling. Most lovely piece we have here in the armory." I gazed in shock and wondered if he was joking.

"A pool stick?"

Vulcan held it over his knee, bringing it down to make a loud cracking sound. It split in two and he handed me the bigger side. "It was either this or a dust pan so enjoy. Vampires will run from you for miles, Buffy. Try to finish off some 8 balls, will you? We need to win this game."

I held it in my hands before sighing with a nod. It's something and on the heavier side. This will have to do until I find something stronger. Vulcan smiled and waved us forward. I guess it was time to find Leighton, kick some ass, and blow up a lot of shit.

The fire had consumed most of the South Island sector in under a hour. Skeletons of lost homes hovered over the edges of streets as we ran on towards the bridge, destruction and chaos only growing in size.

They'd burnt this area first. I couldn't figure out why they'd chosen the area near the bridge as the starting place for the fire. That was the escape route.

Unless they wanted to drive everyone away from the bridge only to be halted by another force on the other side of the river.

Vulcan and Malaki had killed nearly all the guards we faced, the only exception being the one I hit in the back of the head with my pool stick and he'd been knocked unconscious. Malaki had stuck him with an arrow, explaining that he might as well die now instead of waking up to be melted alive.

There'd been other corpses as well, some stabbed by the sword and others crushed by debris or dead on the street  while still burning. It was a waste land of nothing except for fire.

"There!" Vulcan hissed, ducking behind a brick wall. We gathered behind him like ducklings as he peaked around the barrier. "The bridge! It's still up."

"It has to be a trap." Malaki warned.

"Leighton might be over there."

"We need to cross the river before we can find Leighton. I don't feel like dying today." Malaki growled, nodding towards a neighboring street. "Let's cross the river down further like last time, Kate and Matilda? We swam it once already." He jumped to his feet, scrambling towards the river.

Matilda hurried after him and I crawled forward to follow, but Vulcan never moved, eyes resting on the open bridge as though it were a puzzle he needed to solve.

"Vulcan?"

"I know Leighton's there."

"We can meet him on the other side." I pleaded. Vulcan began to stand.

Then, the entire bridge burst into flames, trails flickering back up into the South Central sector. There was more screaming across the river as the flames started to eat away the buildings along the opposite side of the river. South Central had begun to be eaten alive by flames; I'd been wrong to believe that Tron was playing it safe.

"Holy fuck." Vulcan said in horror. "Tron's burning the entire city down today no matter if they agree to pay the fee or not. Nowhere is safe, Kate, not even across the river."

The ground began to shake, a pulsing vibration that sent me into the dirt as Vulcan grabbed my hand and pulled me up against the wall for support. Shadows ran across the ground in odd shapes as a loud cry echoed through the air almost as powerful as the fire itself. I looked up into the sky, a large flock of birds screaming above the city as their black silhouettes appeared to be growing larger.

"What the hell is that?" I screamed, pointing up. Vulcan went white.

"I have no fucking clue!"

Then there was another vibration on the ground but that of loud feet and the clamor of armor. Tron's guard.

They emerged from the area around the bridge like an ant colony. Perhaps more like a wild pack of wolves. Golden catapults were wheeled out from stone cellars beneath burnt buildings by men in armor as the birds clustered in a tornado of wind above us, arrows being launched into the open air.

"We need to go!" Vulcan screamed and grabbed my hand but the area around us burst into flames and the ground swung out from underneath me. I flew backwards into a cloud of smoke, gasping for air under the shadow of a remaining building. I couldn't see anything as I wiped dust and mud from my eyes.

Vulcan had disappeared and I screamed his name. The wall beside me started to shudder and moan before individual bricks began to fall from their slots. I stumbled to my feet, falling into a ditch as the wall crumbled into a heap of bricks as a dust cloud flew over me.

There were screams and shouts, arrows singing into the air as swords clashed together. My head was pounding as I pulled myself up over the ditch, gazing half awake at the soldiers who fought enchanting men and women. They were clothed in white, agile and miraculous in nature at how quickly they moved. They were fighting for us!

I pulled myself to my feet, grabbing my pool stick and breaking for the river. I jumped in and started to paddle with my one free hand across to the other bank. No one would notice me if I stayed low; those birds kept the men busy. The same guns were loaded again and fired balls of light into the air at the black silhouettes that shot back arrows of their own. What kind of birds were these?

Soaked to the core, I pulled myself out of the slosh along the river bank and ran towards the buildings not yet on fire. Soldiers in gleaming armor ran past me, eyes up in the sky as they screamed orders. No one noticed me run past them into the alleys where the fire hadn't spread.

I heard a scream, and it was one that I knew by heart.

Matilda.

My blood ran cold in horror as I nearly fell trying to run down the alleyway to my left. Where was Malaki?

Most likely dead.

I saw her dark hair in the dirt, a man in Tron armor standing over her as she screamed. "Come here, pretty girl. Let's take you to a safe place designated by the Emperor." I hid behind the corner of the building when he turned around, my heart stopped as though he might hear me over the gunfire.

"Help me!" She screamed. I looked around the corner to see her paddling backwards in the dirt and ashes, blood running down her forehead. "Malaki! Kate! Vulcan!"

"Hush! Hush! Well find them, beauty." The soldier held out his arms to her and I gripped my pool stick, ready to jump from the shadows to wedge this stick up his ass.

But the scene was interrupted. One of the birds fell from the sky in a flash of white as it leaped upon the soldier. I heard the soldier's scream before he went slack and fell to the ground. It wasn't a bird.

My eyes went wide and my hands started to tremble. It was a blonde haired man with white wings, huge with strong feathers that covered the entire alley at full width before they hung limp at his sides. Matilda quivered on the ground as the winged man looked down at her silent. Then, I charged.

I came around the corner, holding the pool stick in my  hands. I aimed for his head but he shifted his weight, his wings coming up as he turned to look at me. I swung the stick, hitting him in the back as hard as I could.

He hissed in pain, crumbling down to the ground and catching himself with his hands. I pulled my pool stick back up again, ready to hit him again over the neck. As he turned his head to look back up at me, I caught sight of his blue eyes and paused, their extraordinary sky blue hue taking me by utter surprise.

That was my mistake.

In a flash, he was up again and I screamed as I fell backwards. There was a blur of white as his wings moved around me, and I crushed against a brick wall and his body. Now I could see his face.

His blue eyes beat down into mine, his breath steady as he cuffed my hands behind my back with his own. His short blonde hair reminded me of Leighton's but the structure of his face was more defined as well as the sheer power in his arms and body. I noticed his wings had caged me as well as his arms. Everything about him radiated power from the way he stood and the boldness in his features as he watched me.

I realized I was panting and swallowed, unable to stop my arms from shaking. I could feel his eyes on me, studying me with interest. I closed my eyes, tilting my head away as I tried not to cry.

And then he let go. I slumped down into the dirt, quivering against the brick wall and anxiously looking for my pool stick.

"You have a good swing." His voice rolled from his lips like peppermint: brisk, sweet, and lovely. I stopped in mid motion, eyes flickering back up towards him. He was staring at me too, looking me first in the eyes and then scanning the rest of my body. I was covered in soot and ash, probably blood, which must have been a show.

"Kate?" Matilda's voice came into my ears softly and I sat up straight, meeting her eyes before looking back to the winged vigilante in front of me.

"Who are you?" I said, the words coming from my throat hoarsely because my mouth was dry.

The man's face contorted as he kneeled down in front of me. "Your head is bleeding." He was a little too close for comfort and I squirmed backwards against the wall.

"What?" I lifted my hand and dabbed my forehead. My fingers were stained red, but nothing hurt. It must be someone else's. "No. It's not mine."

He nodded in what looked like relief before extending his hand to me. "My name is Finn. Let me help you up."

"I'm fine." I stood up on my own as he did the same,  allowing me to eye him closely. I had no idea what he was or what he was doing here. The threat I had seen first in him had disappeared as his body appeared less tense and he took a few steps back. I hurried to Matilda, helping her up off the ground. "Matilda, what happened to your head?"

"I don't remember." She said weakly, leaning against me.

"Where's Malaki?"

"He was fighting someone and a man chased me down this alley. I don't know where he is anymore." She fell forward, eyes rolling back into her head. I let out a yelp in surprise as she swayed into me.

Finn jumped forward, grabbing her other arm to take more of her weight. "I'll help her. The medics should be around here."

"Medics?" I looked up at him only to find his dark eyes still resting on me. I looked back at Matilda.

"Yes. The Guardian medics."

"Is that what you are?"

"Correct."

"You look more like a bird." He chuckled at my response and I spotted my pool stick. Finn picked Matilda up in her arms as I grabbed the stick. "Hey, let me take her. I don't know who you are or why you're here."

"I've already told you that my name is Finn and I'm a Guardian. I'm here to protect you and the people of this city." He stepped closer to me. "Come with me. I'll keep you safe."

I stepped back, eyeing him. I didn't trust that statement. "Listen, that sounds nice and all, but the men here don't just do us favors, ok?" I thought of Jack, gripping my pool stick tighter at the thought of him throwing me in the pub.

Finn's eyes narrowed. "I promise you that I am not that type of man. The army is here to end Tron's reign of terror and save the people who are being abused. We are here to end the fire."

I grimaced, looking down into the dirt before staring back at him. A sudden rage took over me  and tears welled in the corners of my eyes before I gave him the meanest look I could muster. "Then where were you yesterday?"