Leo immediately whirled around and backed up, his hand against his heart, and nearly knocked me over. I started to apologize to Braken, but he was unconscious again, having passed out as we were walking. Varien just stared blankly, as if nothing in the world could phase him. 

"Don't come any closer," Leo ordered, his voice shaking as he lit his hand on fire.

"Oh, Leo," Howell chuckled, almost sadly. "I liked you better when you didn't fight back."

"I bet you did," I muttered.

"And you two." The fat man turned his attention to me and Varien. "What are you doing?"

"Orders from the Refs, sir," I said quickly, attempting to imitate one of the other soldiers' voice. I was told I was a great voice imitator, and I really hoped it had worked.

He stared at me for what seemed like a lifetime, and then a slow smile spread across his face. "Ahh, that's a good trick, Rogue. I must admit, you nearly had me."

He stepped closer and I staggered back, holding Braken closer to my chest. Howell's smile seemed to pick me apart, examine my soul, and I started to shake, barely able to stand.

"Give him to me," he said.

"No," I said, turned to the side and hugging Braken closer. My heart pounded hard against my ribs, and I wondered if either of them could hear it.

Varien stepped forward, but Leo backed into him and they both fell over. In the blink of an eye, Howell seized Leo's wrist and yanked him up to his feet, gripping the back of his neck tightly to hold him in place. He cried out weakly in pain, but Howell just chuckled.

"You wouldn't want to leave me, would you?" the man murmured in his ear, still smiling sweetly.

"Don't touch him," I said, my voice cracking.

"Really? Then give the silent boy."

"No," Leo whispered, and Howell's fingers tightened on his neck, making him let out a gasp of pain.

"Give him to him," Varien hissed.

"No," I said again, squeezing Braken. The small Unnatural let out a soft sigh, nearly sliding out of my arms.

"Give him to me," Howell said, his sickly sweet smile making me nauseous. "It's either Leo or that useless boy in your arms."

"No," I repeated.

Howell looked at Leo, holding him tightly, and traced the slashes across his face, digging his fingernail into his scabbing wounds. Leo shrieked and jerked away from him, but Howell kept him still. "The clock is ticking, Rogue. Which one will it be?"

"Leave him," Varien said again.

My mind was working frantically, searching desperately for an idea. He wasn't going to let us go, even if I gave Braken up. I couldn't think of anything, so I did what was probably the worst thing I could have done.

"Here," I said, handing Braken over to Varien.

"What are you -"

Without even taking a breath, I crashed into Howell and Leo, knocking them both over. Leo yelped and Howell cursed loudly, bringing his fist up to hit me. I managed to twist out of the way and land my elbow to his face, and then Leo scrambled to his feet and slammed a fist full of fire down onto Howell's body. I tumbled over myself and jumped up to my feet, starting as Howell let out a blood-curdling scream.

Leo grabbed my wrist and pulled me back. "Come on," he said, his voice shaking and his face pale. His hand was hot and sweaty.

I nodded and took Braken from Varien, and then together, we took off. I forced myself to keep my eyes forward, trying to breathe steady as we ran. Finally, after Howell's screams died away, we paused to catch our breath, resting against the wall.

I shifted Braken again, lifting him up and wrapping his legs around my waist, holding him up like he was sitting in my arms, leaning forward against my chest, like a little child. Leo glanced at where my hands were on his body and his eyes darkened with anger, but he didn't say anything. I was glad he hadn't, because I didn't know any other way to carry him without touching his back.

"This way." Varien pointed down the hall again. "If we hurry, I can use my magic to get the doors open, but we don't have much time before they figure out it was us."

I nodded, and we resumed our escape, walking briskly and trying to keep in character. Being a soldier was hard, especially since my eyes would dart nervously around the halls every time I heard something. We were almost there, almost free. Honestly, I hadn't thought my plan would work. I thought we would have been killed, that Varien's magic would have failed, that something would have gone wrong. I had even started to think that Braken was dead. 

What if he was dying, right here in my arms, and there was nothing I could do about it? Leo would blame it on me, no doubt, and then I'd lose the only two people I could call my friends. I knew Braken was a friend. He was nice to me, but was Leo? I thought he was. He trusted me enough to let me guide him out of here, even though my plan was insane. Maybe it was more of a mutual "I-don't-want-to-die" feeling. 

Braken's breathing was growing more shallow, and even though his head was resting on my shoulder, I could barely feel his breath on my neck. He needed help. I only hoped that the place I had in mind would take us in. Anna was an old friend. I thought she would, but I could never be sure with her.

I could see the door from here. Two guards were standing there, blocking it, and without a word, Leo lit his fists, stepped forward, and slammed his hands over the first soldier. The man's uniform immediately caught fire and he screamed, trying to yank it off. He dropped to the ground and tried to put it out, but the flames just grew hotter, consuming his clothes and eating at his skin. 

The other soldier held out his electric spear threateningly, and gave Leo a hard jab in the chest when he moved to grab him, knocking the Unnatural over with a yelp. I glanced at Varien, silently begging him to do something, as the second man was already yelling for reinforcements, but his eyes were shut and he was concentrating very hard. Suddenly, the door burst open, flying off its hinges, thrown by his magic, and then someone's spear stabbed me in the back, giving me a hot shock. I yelped and staggered forward, dropping Braken on the floor. The Unnatural lurched, half awake, and when he hit, his half-open eye quickly flickered across the fight. 

I whirled around and threw a punch, but the man who'd hit me ducked and landed a kick to my stomach. I stumbled back with a gasp for breath, and he cracked his fist across my face, knocking me over. Before I could regain my balance, his foot sunk into my gut again, pinning me down, and he threw hit after hit to my face. I threw my arms up to protect myself, but he managed to get around them, ignoring my yells of pain. Immediately, I felt my nose gush blood, and I could already feel bruises forming, especially around my eyes. I glanced over at the other Unnaturals, crying out for help, but they were busy with their own problems. 

Varien staggered with each hit, barely fighting back. His magic must've used a lot of energy. He looked ready to pass out. Leo was already pinned down by three soldiers, one for each arm, and one holding his legs down as he threw his body around with screams of rage.  

No. We'd been caught. This was it. We'd come so far. We'd beaten Howell. The door was literally open wide, right in front of us, and we couldn't make it. 

And then suddenly, the soldier on top of me collapsed into a pile of dust on top of me. Immediately, I screamed, bolting upright and scrambling to wipe the black dust off of my face. It got all down my shirt, under my fingernails, into my eyes and mouth, and I panicked. This had been a human being. I quickly stood up, brushing the dust off of me as best I could, and looked over at Braken. He was still laying on the ground, only half conscious, but his hand was resting in a pile of human ashes. He'd disintegrated him. I swallowed nervously, staring at the dust and thinking how easily that could have been me. 

Braken tried to lift his head, but he was too weak, so he just pointed, letting out a long sigh of pain. I followed his finger and saw Leo as they flipped him over onto his stomach and attempted to cuff his hands behind his back. I glanced back at Braken, and he pointed at himself first before pointing back at Leo.

"Take you over there?" I asked softly, rubbing my face and grimacing at the burst of pain that came with it. I had a dull, throbbing headache coming on, behind my eyes. 

Braken nodded, and I knelt next to him, afraid to pick him. He started to drag himself over, so I pushed my terror away and dragged him by his arm, and when he was close enough, he seized the first soldier's ankle, and with a squeeze, he dissolved, as well. The other two quickly released Leo and backed away, afraid they'd meet the same fate as their fellow soldier. 

Leo quickly flipped over and scrambled to his feet, breathing hard and bleeding from a gash on his forehead. He had his hands out threateningly, burning bright. Braken pointed at another soldier and Leo quickly helped him sit up, and then the Unnatural reached his hand out and the two soldiers took off. I glanced over, my face throbbing, to see that the soldier holding Varien had already run away once the first had been dissolved.

We were free.

We staggered out into the free world, the world where we could finally live as human beings, and I nearly collapsed. I was holding Braken again, and the added weight, no matter how little, was almost enough to drag me to the ground. We were almost there. Almost there. 

It was still raining, though it felt like sheets of slush were falling down onto us, soaking us instantly. All four of us flinched as we came in contact with the weather, but nobody said anything. 

I lead them through the city as quickly as we could, knowing that it wouldn't be long before they figured out where we'd gone. We were farther from Anna's place than I'd thought, and it took us nearly an hour to get there. Finally, I stopped in front of a door in a back alley, shivering and exhausted, the ground nearly hidden by garbage and flooding with the rain. I knocked on the door and stepped back, shifting Braken's position. He was unconscious again.

"Where the heck are we?" Leo muttered, standing closer to me, almost behind my back. 

A shorter, younger guy, maybe nineteen or twenty, opened the door, regarding us coldly. "And you are?" he asked with a thick Irish accent.

I didn't recognize him, but I ignored that for the moment. "Tell Anna Joel's here. I need help."

"Does she know you?" He had his arms crossed, and I noticed he definitely had some strength in him. If he was a new guy, he'd picked the right place.

"Yes. Tell her it's urgent."

"Who's Anna? Who's that? Where are we?" Leo asked softly as the guy turned and told another to go get her.

"She's a ... friend," I said slowly. 

"Doesn't sound very convincing," the Irish guy commented.

"She'll probably help me." I tried to see inside, but the hallway was dark, and the newcomer so conveniently blocked my view.  

"Probably?" Varien hissed.

"What's so important that it needs my attention at this very moment?" Anna's loud and frustrated voice came from inside. The guard guy moved out of the way and she came into view, looking just as I remembered. 

"Hey, Anna," I said, forcing a smile. "Can you help us out?"

"What do you - oh, you poor thing," she muttered, catching sight of Braken's mangled back. "What happened to him?"

"Long story. We need a place to stay for the night - for a couple nights. I'll tell you later."

"Here, Eoin, take him - gently. I have something to take care of. It'll only take a sec."

"Don't touch him," Leo snapped, slapping the other guy - Eoin's arm away.

"Hey, calm down. I'm not going to hurt him," Eoin said, pushing Leo out of the way. He carefully took Braken from me, holding him gentler than I would have imagined.

Anna stepped forward and grabbed my jacket collar, yanking me forward, and suddenly, our mouths were touching and we were kissing. I hadn't kissed her in a long time. I'm not sure I missed it, but it wasn't unpleasant. Varien whistled behind us, and she pulled away, breaking the kiss. 

Before I could say anything, she slapped me hard across the face. I jerked to the side, my eyes going wide, and touched my cheek. "What -" I started.

"Where have you been?" she shrieked. "I haven't seen you for months!"

"I had some ... other priorities," I said, glad she wasn't going to murder me. Last time I'd been here, the authorities had tracked me, and they'd gotten into serious trouble. Eoin returned Braken to me and I held him close. 

"Come on in," Anna said, waving us inside. It was warm and considerably less wet, and even though the darkness was unnerving, I felt better in here. "I'll get you a room upstairs. A fight's happening downstairs, if you want to see it. I know you love them."

"I'll pass," I said quickly. 

She was obviously concerned, though she tried to hide it. "Alright. Hey, Gus!" she suddenly shouted, and both Leo and Varien flinched. 

"Yeah?" another voice, a younger one, called back.

"Come here for a sec!"

A smaller kid quickly ran up to her, nearly bouncing with excitement. "Yeah?" he repeated. 

"You and Eoin decide which one of your rooms to give up. Either way, you're sharing. I have an old friend that needs a place to say."

"What?" both of them whined. 

"Just hurry up. This one needs medical attention, and quick."

"Not it," the second one, Gus, said.

"But I did it last time," Eoin complained. 

He paused and thought for a moment. "How 'bout ... you let me win, and I'll give up my room. Deal?" Gus had a heavy Mexican accent, and I wondered what he was doing all the way up here. 

"Fine," the other said, drawing out the word dramatically. "I'll go easy on you." 

Gus laughed and looked over at us, his cheerful expression quickly melting to concern. "Hey, is he okay?"

"That's why we need your room. Come on." Anna led us down the hall and upstairs to a small apartment-type room. Gus unlocked it and let us in, revealing a small kitchen/living room space, with only two doors - one leading to a bathroom, the other into the bedroom. "Sorry it's not much," Anna said regretfully. "And sorry Gus doesn't clean very often."

"Hey," Gus protested. "It's not that bad."

And it really wasn't. It was small and would hide us for a couple days. "Thanks," I said.

Anna cleared the couch off and told me to set Braken down. I did, laying him on his stomach, and she immediately went into the kitchen and opened a large cabinet filled with medical supplies. She pulled out some sort of wash and a whole lot of bandages, and then asked Leo for permission to clean his friend up. Leo had been staring at her, his eyes narrowed, but finally, he sighed and nodded.

I tried to watch them, but the moment Anna brushed the cloth against Braken's back, lifting up mounds of torn flesh, my stomach lurched and my head spun. I ran to the sink and vomited, the sight making me sick. How had Braken survived that?

I expected someone to laugh - Eoin or Gus, maybe, but no one did. I coughed and heaved again, grabbing for the paper towels to wipe my mouth with, and then sucked some water out of the faucet. I looked up at them and dropped my eyes back down, still feeling queasy. Finally, after a long moment, Anna began to wrap him up and I could bring myself to watch.

She was so gentle as she and Leo sat him up, wrapping the clean white cloth around his torso and chest, over his left shoulder, tying it tightly near his neck. He was still unconscious, but they didn't let him fall over, and they were so careful, even though he couldn't feel them. Once they'd finished that, Anna washed Braken's hands, his blisters, and determined that most of the heat had left his burns, and they could wrap his hands, too. Now, it was mostly just bleeding and torn skin. She unwrapped the wad of bandage and Leo reached out to stop her, but hesitated. Braken's hands were the only way he could talk to him, and now she was going to wrap him up and prevent him from communicating. I could see the pain written plainly in Leo's face, but he didn't say anything. She wrapped Braken's hands up in that soft white bandage, down from his wrists all the way up across his palms and over his fingers, encasing his hands in little fingerless mittens, preventing him from moving them very much. Then she laid him down on his stomach again, propping him up with a pillow, and brushed her fingers over his forehead, pushing his hair away from his eyes. There were tear streaks down his pale and bruised cheeks, and he looked so small and helpless laying there, nearly hidden by bandage and a mess of brown hair, and my heart filled with guilt. What if it was my fault?

And this brilliant escape plan - What if it got us all killed?