Blood began dripping down my face from my eyes and nose, the sticky substance clinging into the crevices of my face to mask me. I couldn't see the color, but I could feel the power flooding through me enough to know it wasn't brown.

A look of genuine surprise crossed the lieutenant's face, making me grin widely as I strode towards him.

"We tested your blood."

"You saw what you wanted to see, a weak little girl just a spoiled brat right?" I tilted over, watching the blood fall to the ground quenching its thirst and causing the dust of the substance to glow and pulse. "But you couldn't be more wrong."

A wave shuddered the cavern, rock cracking and falling from the ceiling. The ground rolled beneath my feet, reacting to my blood.

"What the hell have you done?" Malia shrieked, ducking out of the way.

Pitri shook, stepping beside me. "The question is what have you all done? What are you collecting exactly?"

"It's rock from a collapsed gateway from when the Others crossed over." I mussed, reaching down to crumble some of it in my hand.

Pitri gaped at me, shocked that I knew and the truth of the matter. I had heard about the Other's gates from the scientists. They were creations of ingenuity and magic, capable of bridging planes of existence and bring the Others here. Before the gates all they had been able to do was see us, but not interact with us. Of course, there had been occasional tears between the planes allowing for the formation of legends on our end, but none had truly crossed over until the invasion.

What an extraordinary find this was for humans, until now the gates were just faded memories from when they first appeared. The gates were in constant movement and hidden by magic from human eyes. But a broken one forced to a stand still, that was a miracle. If they could get it to work, they could force the Others back to their realm. Yet here they were using the remnants to kill their own people.

Blowing the dust towards the now cowering group, I watched them all back away like it was a plague. Which was the wrong way to move, behind them thousands of tiny needles were sticking up from the ground impaling them. Screams echoed, dancing across the walls to the mines. A blood of blood was quickly forming around all their feet, merging together to become a sea that leaked down towards her and Pitri. The lieutenant stared, alarmed that his entire army had been attacked at the same time. I had planned it though, raising the rock between all their ranks, even if they had moved forward most of them would have been stabbed.

"What have you done Alice?" Pitri whispered.

"No more than what they deserved."

Malia lunged forward, a syringe of the liquid solution created from the gate in her outstretched hand. I side-stepped her clunky movements. it was obvious she spent most of her time in the lab and was not ready for a fight. I grabbed her wrist, twisting her hand up and back towards her. I shoved, jabbing the needle into her chest. The plunger followed suit, pushing the liquid into her system by her own hand. She dropped to the floor, convulsing. It wasn't like before though, her voice didn't scream with pleasure it was pure pain, grating into my ears and soul. I raised my hand, rocks popping out to pierce her everywhere and end her suffering. I could feel Pitri's horror. It didn't matter though anymore, them, Others, anyone really.

"Malia!" The lieutenant came rushing forward, his pistol firing bullets that rocketed into me.

I jerked back with the impacts, surprised by the force. Having driven me back, he dropped to her side stroking her face. Soft words of disbelief and encouragement escaped his lips as though they could will her back to life. He loved her.

That thought alone was what slammed into and made the world spin. He. Had. Loved. Her.

And I had killed her...

Vomit bubbled out of me, I gagged wrenching it onto the floor. It mixed with my blood, a horrendous sight that only served to make me throw up more. I was soon dry heaving as I dropped to my knees. The blood stopped flowing from my face, anything fueling the power extinguished by a terrible realization. I was no better than any of them. There were good people and bad people in the world and maybe Pitri was right and there were good Others and bad Others. But me, I was a wretched horrible person that had killed those I was supposed to save all because I decided I didn't like them. Just like they had tried to do to me.

A sickening crunch, caught my attention from within my wallowing. Beside me, Pitri crumbled to the ground. I shouted, moving to go to him when a crack echoed in my skull. A white flash flitted through my vision followed by a swarming black. I fell into my own vomit and blood, the smell overwhelming and burning as I pasted out.

It was dark when I woke up. I wasn't sure where I was or how long I had been out. The pounding in my head, attested to the stupidity of having let my guard down and also signified it couldn't have been too long or I would have healed. No more than a day for sure, given it was a head wound. I touched the bump, wincing. It was tender and large. They had definitely gotten me good. I frowned looking into the dark, my eyes adjusting with the black.

"Pitri?"

I moan answered me and I scrambled toward the sound, sloughing through an inch thick of much along the ground...at least I pretended it was muck.

"You okay?" I reached for him, a set of bars was dividing us. We were in some sort of holding cells.

"I'll live, I think anyway." I heard a shuffling as he sat up.

Fingers fumbled around my arm before finding my hand and lacing with it. A huge sense of relief flooded through me, I hadn't lost him. Though, that probably wouldn't matter much if we couldn't get out of here. My eyes scanned around again, taking in more detail with each round. We were in small maybe six by six foot cells. The ceiling was shortened, though it was on purpose because the ceiling outside the cells disappeared higher above us. However, even I was too tall to stand in here.

"We're not dead, I'll admit I'm surprised." Pitri mumbled.

"I'm more surprised they didn't tie us down or chain us. Do they really think these bars will hold?"

"Oh they'll hold." A light entered the darkness, making me squint and turn away from the source. I could still see the lieutenant from my peripherals when he stopped outside my cell, a couple white uniformers in tow.

He tapped the bars, rapping out a mocking tune. "These are made from forged rock of the gate, even you won't be able to get out of here Other."

"I'm not an Other." I hissed, anger and panic choking at my throat.

"Don't lie! We all saw what you did. We saw the color of your blood!"

"She's not lying." Pitri interrupted on my behalf.

"Shout up you traitor! You betrayed humanity for that thing! What is it? Pretty little Other promises to make all your dreams come true and you couldn't help yourself? Then again, maybe she's offering you something a bit more physical. Disgusting." He spit, hitting Pitri in the face.

I screamed, launching away from Pitri and at the bar. One hand stuck out, inches away from the lieutenant's throat. I was so close. Pitri stood up, not bothering to wipe off the saliva and came to stand beside me.

"We aren't the ones who turned on our own kind. We aren't the ones who slaughter and manipulate innocent considering them to be nothing more than cattle."

"I'll enjoy watching you die, but first you are going to suffer for what you did to Malia."

He turned, leaving us alone in the dark. I watched his back until it was gone, imaging stabbing it furiously. I slide down the bars into the muck, clinging to them. It was such a confusing and terrible world we lived in.

"I'm sorry Pitri, if I hadn't insisted on meeting humans this would have never happened."

"Don't be sorry, if anything I'm sorry for bringing you here." He leaned against the bars between us, reaching through for my hand again. I shifted to clasp it, my safety. "I should have known better."

I shook my head, tears beginning to fall down my face. It was such a horrible world, run by terrible things and nightmares that had no place belonging and there was nothing I could do about it. I was the worst savior ever.

"Alice?" His hand tightened in mine. "Why did you kill her?"

"I don't know. She was going to hurt you and had killed so many people. I...I just wanted her to know what it felt like, what she had done to those people."

"It wasn't right Alice. You understand that don't you?"

The darkness hid my features from him, his eyesight not to the level of mine in pure black. I was crying and conflicted. I didn't know what was right or wrong anymore. I had been told my whole life one way only to have it flipped over and swirled around and then spat back out in a pile of unidentifiable nonsense.

"All life is worth something Alice. It was wrong to kill Malia, just like it was wrong to kill the Leshy."

"If you say so..."

He sighed, giving up on the issue though I could tell it still bothered him.

"You really think this stuff is inescapable?"

I shrugged, not even bothering to try. I felt deflated and dejected. All I wanted to do was wallow in the dark. It reminded me of my hole, maybe I deserved to be in one and the world was trying to show that by repeatedly putting me in one. I closed my eyes, silent. Letting the thoughts envelope me in their entangling grasp, I deserved this.