Her ears rang as she glanced around her, her head spinning.

All around her, strange cries came from the other students who had been hit. A gaping hole at the front of the cabin let in blinding rain. She shook the water out of her eyes and blinked, looking around her surroundings. Thunder followed a rumble that shook the train, metal creaking and grinding as the train started to tip sideways.

"All students head to the shelters nearest you. This is not a drill. I repeat this is not a drill."

Aella gasped, her fingers fumbling at her chest to undo the straps. The chest strap clicked out of its holster and snapped back to the seat behind her with a whiz. Shards of glass fell to the floor as she stood, and she trembled. She pushed into the mass of students, joining the line to exit through the door that led into the station.

She coughed, waving a hand in front of her face, using the other hand to clear the debris from her face. Her ears rang, the moans and screams from the students nearest the explosion echoing in her mind. She slid to the floor in front of her, leaning over as she coughed, her chest feeling tight. She saw ragged strips of cloth where her sleeves had been, and her arms ached as if she had been stabbed with thousands of needles.

Shouts came from the empty hole, and the ground rumbled. The metal creaked as footsteps thundered onto the train. She glanced up, her eyes growing wide as she caught a glimpse of the sky through the hole. Angry greenish-brown clouds of smoke and storm were billowing above them, explosions creating darks shadows and arcs of light that reflected across the gray walls like phantom fingers. Her eyes grew wide as she realized the biodome had been destroyed, letting the freezing rain come through unhindered.

A staff member ran toward her, his laser rifle smoking. Aella moaned as her muscles pulled as he lifted her up. She swatted at him as he sprayed protectant on her arms, sending spikes of pain through her senses.

He pushed her toward the hole, and she grabbed the handle of a mangled seat, her hand sliding off. She stumbled forward into a medical technician who was bent over the body of a student, scarlet blood streaked across her head and torso. "Evacuate to the shelters," the technician shouted, using a hand to push her away from the student.

She felt strong hands grab her shoulders and she let the person guide her through the stretchers, stumbling forward down the rubble.

Rain pelted her as soon as she cleared the cabin. She bent her legs and sat down on the edge of the cabin, scooting forward down the pile of rubble. Shouts filled her ears as soldiers hurried down a ramp next to her, carrying the wounded away on stretchers. She placed her boot on a rock and used her palm on the edge to stabilize her as she moved forward.

Her foot slipped on the wet metal and she crumpled onto the ground, a jagged piece of wreckage slicing across her leg. Black filled her vision as a soldier wrapped his arms around her and pulled her up.

She stood, swaying in the rain, blinking as she watched him. She jerked as the ground exploded on the other side of the train and shouts filled the air.

The soldier used an arm and pulled something from her back, and she felt lighter. She glanced down as he pushed a rifle into her chest. "Use it if you need to," he shouted. "Now follow me."

She stumbled forward as he pushed her toward the back of the small group. Four stretchers were being carried by technicians in front of her, four soldiers guarding the corners, their weapons drawn and glowing with red energy.

Aella gasped, her fingers sliding over the rifle as she primed it, watching as the weapon began to glow, humming beneath her gloves. The technicians started jogging forward and she hurried after them, the ground crunching under her feet.

She blinked in the pouring rain as they stepped out onto the tracks, heading in the direction of the Assembly Hall. The station was obliterated, sending plumes of smoke high into the air. Smoke was billowing from the building from a gaping hole, the spires tilted at an angle. Flashes of light marked the presence of explosions from the other side of the compound, the steady put-put of the heavy artillery sending rhythmic thumps through her boots.

She stepped over the tracks, and ran parallel to the dock, following behind the technicians.

She jerked her head sideways as another student bumped into her, his head waving around him, his eyes wide. A stream of blood ran down his face, into his eyes. He grabbed at her, his words blurring into a mass of sound.

She stopped jogging, and stumbled backward into the hard surface of the dock, wincing as it pressed through her uniform and into her spine. "Hey," she screamed, pushing him away.

The soldier from behind her grabbed the student, pulling him away from her. "Take over," he yelled.

Aella swallowed as she glanced toward the explosions as she pulled her rifle into position. She closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath as she stopped walking. The noise around her quieted, and she focused on her heartbeat, slowing her breathing.

Her hands gripped the weapon tighter as she opened her eyes, scanning the area as she jogged back toward the back of the group. She mentally counted from one to five over and over again, biting her tongue as the group halted at the edge of the station, the edge of the parade field blocking them from the dorm buildings.

The entire compound was hazy through the rain, smoke filling the air in clouds, and bright flashes of lights cast shadows that seemed to be alive. She ducked her head as she leaned against the dock, watching her chest rise and fall as she breathed.

The soldiers yelled above the roar into their coms, and a crackling reply filled the air.

She waited as the soldiers scanned the area, and the front two called out as the group started forward. She ran, her boots pounding into the ground as she sucked in freezing air. She winced as a blast hit the parade field, the dim light brightening for several moments before returning to darkness. The ground rumbled as the roar from the chunks of earth hit the ground.

The black walls of the dormitories loomed in front of air, suddenly appearing out of the smoke and rain. A shooting pain flared in her leg and she stumbled as they crossed from the slippery grass to the plastic pavers. The corridor between the two buildings blocked some of the rain and noise, and she could see the group in front of her clearly.

She glanced behind, then jerked her head back forward as she hurried behind the technicians. The soldiers slowed to a halt as they approached the end of the corridor, motioning for them to get closer to the wall.

She followed their example, pressing her body against the cool black wall of the dorm. She strained her neck, trying to distinguish what was in the wide alleyway that led to the other buildings and the shelter entrance inside of the Facility wall beyond it. All she could see was a wall of water and smoke. A lightning flash lit up the dark shadows in front of them and she gasped.

She blinked, her eyes widening, her muscles freezing as the man stepped from the street and into their corridor. His white uniform was streaked with dirt and blood, and his pale skin glowed in the light of the explosion. His eyes widened as he stepped back in surprise.

One of the lead soldiers fired at him, but the man ducked out of the way. A blast of blue light ricocheted from the weapon in his hand, sending chunks of the brick wall behind her outward. She fell to her knees as a piece of debris slammed into her shoulder, and she screamed as she felt her shoulder crack. A squad Facility soldiers came running through the corridor, two of them aiming at the enemy.

"Get out of the way," one of them shouted, as the rest scrambled to help the technicians with the stretchers, clearing debris off of the wounded.

She pushed herself up with her good arm, scrambling for her weapon.

An explosion shook the ground where the man had been, the light from the explosion lighting up the alley for several seconds. She coughed as smoke and dirt flew through the air, covering her upper body. One of the soldiers moved behind her, pushing her forward through the smoke.

She hurried forward, the pain in her leg protesting with every step. As they cleared the crater and entered the street, she noticed the small group of students emerging from a corridor farther down the street, heading in the same direction. She gasped as she recognized one of the women in front.

"Chloe?" she screamed, moving toward her. She jerked as someone grabbed her jacket from behind, pulling her back.

"This way," the soldier commanded, turning back to check the technicians who were following behind them.

Aella jogged behind him, her head frantically moving back to where Chloe's group was making their way down the street. The soldier led her to the other side of the street and down the alley, the sound of gunfire and explosions shattering the area behind her.

"Chloe?" she yelled, trying to make her voice loud enough over the sound of the blinding rain. She pressed herself against the wall as the soldiers scanned the perimeter. The rain was slowing, and the fog was moving in, reducing visibility. She glanced at the open space beyond, seeing the shelter fifty feet away, underneath the wall that surrounded the compound. A wall of fog blocked her view of it for a moment.

The soldier held up a hand as he checked the street in front of the alley, before moving his hand. "Go, go," he yelled. Two of the technicians and four of the soldiers ran forward, disappearing into the fog.

She took a deep breath, squeezing her eyes shut as the rest of the technicians moved up next to her.

"Go," the soldier yelled.

She ran forward, ignoring the pain in her leg that surged every time she took a step. Thirty feet. She stumbled and slipped on the slippery grass, the silence in the fog making her muscles tremble. The technicians continued on, disappearing into the fog. As she started to get up, a shout echoed from somewhere to the left and she froze, her hands gripping her rifle.

She turned, the sight of the soldier in the black and scarlet military uniform creating an odd contrast to the gray fog. In his upturned arm was a small, smoking cylinder. She watched as he threw it toward the open doorway of the shelter.

Someone behind her shouted for cover before a bright light covered everything in her vision and she was thrown back against the wet ground and everything went black again.

***

"Get up," a man yelled.

Slowly, she opened her eyes. The ground swayed beneath her as acid came up in her throat and she dry heaved. Hands reached under her torso and pulled her up and against their body.

Something cracked through the air, splintering the rock at her feet. "We've got to go now," the voice told her, shoving her forward and up.

Bullets. That was a bullet. Someone was shooting at her. Stone shards flew up from the ground near her face as another bullet missed its mark. She ran forward, her instincts taking over.

The man beside her sheltered her until they reached the alley. He dove down next to her, peering around the edge of the building.

Aella stared into the street, looking at the black, smoking hole that used to be the shelter. "Chloe," she whimpered. She turned to look at her rescuer. The man in front of her fired his weapon back at the source of the bullets and she turned her gaze toward him. He was wearing a white uniform, with a symbol on the back she had never seen before--a circle with three straight lines extending from the lowest point of the circle. She scrambled back when she realized he was a Europan, a Trinity member.

He glanced back at her, his face distorted by the sheets of rain.

"We need to get out of here," he shouted to her. "Can you run?"

Aella blinked, shaking her head.

He threw a small handgun to her. "Take this," he told her.

Aella reached forward hesitantly, her fingers curling around the weapon.

"On the count of three we are going to have to make a run for that other alley," he said, nodding his head to an alley on the other side of the street, twenty feet down from they were. He came closer to her. "Can you make it?"

Aella stared at him, her head aching. "Who are you?"

He cursed, turning to look down the road again. "Not the time," he told her. "We're going. Now."

He pulled Aella up and he ran, shielding her from the source of the bullets.

Aella ran, putting one foot in front of the other, slipping slightly as she tried to keep her balance. The soldier jerked away slightly as the dove into the next alley.

She continued running for a few feet until she tripped, falling face forward, her hands scraping against the concrete as her leg gave out from under her. She was cold, and her vision flared in and out. She glanced down at her leg, grimacing at the blood that stained the uniform from her hip all the way to her knees.

She scooted onto her back, pulling herself to the wall.

The man in the white uniform lay on his back, blood beginning to seep from an area on his chest.

Aella gasped, her entire body shaking. She needed to stop the bleeding. She fumbled at the belt around her waist, trying to get the clasp undone. Her fingers slipped and slid in the rain, and her fingers did not obey her commands. Her vision blurred and she swayed for a moment. She felt so tired.

She closed her eyes for a second, leaning her head back against the concrete wall, taking a jagged breath. She opened them and started to crawl toward the man, who was busy trying to apply pressure to his wound.

Black uniformed soldiers came into view as they turned the corner of the alleyway. One broke from the others and ran to her, kneeling before her, applying pressure to the hole in her leg. She looked around him to the white-uniformed soldier as one of the soldiers knelt beside him.

"Are you ok?" the man in front of her yelled, his voice sounding metallic and blurred.

Aella tried to nod as her eyes closed.