When the night came and the screaming faded from the arena, I curled up on the floor of my cage and tried to get some sleep, but my mind played tricks on me over and over. I dreamed about the explosion, the gunshot, the fights, those sixty one lashes, but most of all, I dreamed about my own round in the games. I couldn't close my eyes anymore without seeing Lazslo there, screaming and bleeding with my sword in his chest. Sometimes, he was a different person. Braken, Anna, David, Aaron, even Leo and Varien. And always, I heard someone scream in the background: "It's your fault! You did it! You killed him!"

I killed Lazslo, I nearly killed Gus, and now I'd just killed all of Refuge. I was a murderer. Just another human.

The feelings kept me up that night, when all I wanted to do was pass out to escape the pain. I gripped my leg tightly, now that they'd unlocked my handcuffs, and I couldn't bear to take my hands away for more than a second. Sometimes, the throbbing grew so heavy and quick that I thought it would explode. The guilt in my soul made me want to curl up and die.

Finally, near dawn, someone came up and tapped my cell door. I didn't look up. I didn't have the will to do it. "Here," Varien said, tossing a wad of bandages into my cell. "It's for your leg," he prompted when I didn't move.

I didn't hear him leave, and after a minute, I finally pulled myself up and glared up at him. "Why did you betray us?"

He shrugged, as if it was no big deal. "Fighting is what I do best. He said that I could be his champion. He'd take care of me, if I'd keep fighting for him. I'd get a percent of the money he earned to come and see me fight."

"Then why did you ... how'd ..." I didn't understand. I thought he was on our side. Turns out, he didn't care enough. "Is Sky in on it, too?" I asked softly.

He shook his head. "No. I did what I had to to get him to make you go out there. He wasn't the one who saved your life. I was."

"You mean ..." I tried to figure out what was going on, but the pain in my leg was throbbing all the way up to my head. 

"I've been talking to him about it for a while. I was there, in the shadows. I'm the one who brought the guards that night. I'm the one who picked you up and then made everyone think it was Sky. I told him that Leo wouldn't get hurt if he only did what I asked." He laughed a little and ran a hand through his hair. "I didn't think Leo would run off on his own. I almost lost Sky when that happened." There was a pause here, as if he was collecting his thoughts. "Look, it's nothing personal, Joel. I'm doing it for the good of everyone. I don't know if you heard, but Braken went back out there and killed someone. It was all over the news."

"I know, but -"

"And do you have any idea what he did when he found out you were captured?" Varien said, lowering his voice.

I shook my head and squeezed my eyes shut. I almost didn't want to know.

"He's been slowly picking off the street police and the patrols. He went to Anna's place demanding to see her, and she had to run here before he killed her. No matter how much they try ..." He licked his lips almost nervously. "When you've been here for long enough, for a year or two, when you're forced to kill to survive, you get this craving in your heart. Murder is a drug, Joel. You do it enough and you're addicted. Leo's got it, I've got it, and so does Braken. Witnesses said that Braken got mad at the first guy he killed, and their fist fight ended fatally. He can't help it. It's better to put him back in here where he can kill without consequences. He's been doing it for too long to get rid of the addiction. He'll always want it back."

"That's not true," I said, my voice cracking. "He's the sweetest, most loving person I've ever met. It was an accident."

"He's killed seven officers in three hours, Joel. That is no accident."

"But -"

"I'm sorry," Varien said, starting to walk away. "I know you don't believe me, but I'm protecting the rest of the city by turning you in, because either you'll take us to Braken, or he'll come to us." He gestured at my leg just before he vanished from sight. "I'd wrap that up if I were you. Wouldn't want you getting infected."

I was completely speechless. I didn't understand. Scratch that - I didn't want to understand. I knew that Varien was right. I'd seen it when Braken had fought in his round. He enjoyed killing his opponents. I knew something like that never really went away.

But he was the most sensitive person I'd ever met. He was always there holding my hand, leaning against my shoulder, blushing when he smiled; I couldn't believe he was addicted to murder. It just didn't fit his character. 

I remembered something Leo had said. He didn't want anything to do with me if I kept denying the facts. I was never going to help Braken if I didn't acknowledge the problem. But now it seemed like I'd never have another chance to help him. I probably wouldn't ever see him again. 

That realization slammed into me full force, and I started to cry again. I missed him so bad and I'd only been here barely a day. No one had filled the two empty cells next to mine. I wanted to feel his soft embrace and his traced words, see him twirl in his skirt and laugh when I said something funny. I needed my only friend back now more than ever.

The sun rose, the soldiers did their rounds, and I didn't touch the bandage Varien had given me. I tried not to think about anything, especially not my upcoming round or my betrayal, but it was no use. Though pain numbed my other senses, my guilt and fear wouldn't leave me alone.

At around noon, when the sky had clouded over and the wind had picked up, a few soldiers came to take me back to Howell. I didn't protest. I couldn't. My mind had started to fog up and I couldn't think clearly. I let them drag me up the steps and down the hall, since there was no way I could walk yet. 

Now I started to think about the mystery Gifted who assisted in saving my life, back at Refuge. The more I though about it, the more familiar the voice became. They were female, I thought, though I wasn't sure if I was just making it up in my foggy state of mind. 

When we got to Howell's room, they shoved me toward him and I fell to my knees. Anna was there, I noticed. Anna. For some odd reason, I thought the Gifted's voice was hers. I must have been going crazy.

Both Howell and Anna started to say something, but as they took a breath to speak, a blaring alarm went off. Someone was running down the hall toward us. Not someone - a whole group of people. The wind howled outside, accompanied by a round of gunfire and a few screams. 

"What's going on out there?" Howell demanded, shoving past me. I hit awkwardly on my side and cursed.

"There's a group of - it's him! It's Aaron! The one you were after!" one of the soldiers shouted. 

"No!" I cried as they yanked open the door and aimed their guns. What was Aaron doing here? He was going to be killed. And those footsteps - they must have been other Gifteds from Refuge. 

"Leo!" Howell ordered, and the Gifted's soft voice answered from the back of the room. "Get out there and make them regret ever breaking in here. Understand?"

"Yes, sir," Leo said.

"Leo, please," I begged. He just glanced at me and shoved his way out into the hall. He still had a massive limp. "Anna," I said desperately, turning to her. I didn't know what to say. "Don't you love me?" I whispered. 

Before I knew what had happened, she'd sunk to the floor next to me and kissed me, long and gentle. "I'd give up the world for you," she breathed. "You don't understand." She glanced at my leg, took a breath, and said, "I'm sorry I'm not who you thought I was." As she climbed to her feet, her fingers brushed over the wound, and instead of lighting up in agony, the pain actually dulled. 

"What -" I started.

"Don't think about it," she said, running out of the room.

"Everyone out of the way!" David screamed, and suddenly the ground exploded only a few meters away from me. 

"What the -" someone swore, and three others screamed. Maybe four. Now, it was dusty and I couldn't see anything. 

Someone grabbed my arm and I shrieked and punched them, and Sky swore, too. "Joel, calm down, it's me."

"How'd you -" 

"No time to explain. Come on, we can only keep this up for so long."

"Where's Braken?"

"I don't know. I'm sorry."

He pulled me to my feet and I cried out as pain shot through my leg - though it wasn't as bad as before. I needed to find Anna and Aaron, and quick. 

We started to move, but we didn't get very far before something slammed into us from behind, some invisible force that threw us across the room. Sky yelped and I heard something snap, but I barely registered what had happened. My leg was bleeding all over. The blood flow had stemmed during the night, but now it was as bad as ever. 

"I did not throw everything away to have you ruin it!" Varien shouted. "Don't move, or I'll kill you, Sky!"

"Don't touch him!" Leo screeched from somewhere far away. 

I didn't know what was going on anymore. Someone else grabbed me - Anna. Suddenly, I didn't hurt so bad. "You're a Gifted, too," I breathed. 

"No," she said. "Yes. I - It's complicated."

"You're one of them, and you're trying to kill them all!" 

"I am not a monster like they are! I heal, Joel! They just destroy. Come on, I can get you out of here while he's distracted."

We burst out into the hallway, where there was a whole group of them - most of the Gifteds from Refuge were here. I couldn't believe my eyes. They came after me. They came after all of us. 

"Out into the arena!" Aaron shouted. He was standing in the middle of the crowd, gripping his shoulder where he'd been shot. "David, you get the walls down!"

"Got it!" he shouted back. 

"Michael, get those cells open. We're not leaving anyone behind!"

"Already on it," someone else said. I noticed subconsciously that he also had a British accent. Not many people here did. 

There, off to the side, I caught a glimpse of Braken, but he was gone before I could call to him.

Anna suddenly screamed and dropped me on the floor. She tried to grab her shoulder, behind her back, and I noticed a bright crimson stain spread across her shirt. "Anna, are you -" I tried to say, but I lost my voice as Howell stepped out of the smoke, his gun still pointed at her.

"I thought we had a deal," he said coldly.

"Don't kill her!" I cried. "Please, take me back! I won't fight you! Just don't kill her!"

"Joel, don't do this," she said, her voice strained. She gently grabbed my leg, where I'd been shot, and squeezed gently - almost like Braken would have, if he was trying to disintegrate me. Immediately, relief flooded though my body, and I sighed in content. I quickly stood up and winced, as I still had a slight wound, and I as tried to help her, Howell smiled grimly and fired his gun. 

Anna suddenly jerked us both to the side, and I felt the bullet slam into the wall inches away from my face. "Pretend I'm dead," she breathed. 

"What? Why? I - I don't -"

"Just do it. Please. Trust me." She tipped her head up slightly, her lips barely brushing mine as she spoke, and then she went limp. Her head rolled back and her arms dangled uselessly. 

"A-Anna?" I whispered. "I - I don't ... please don't leave me." I started to cry, feeling completely alone. I couldn't tell if she was pretending. I didn't understand. Her shoulder was bleeding a river, trickling down her back and staining our clothes. "Please don't leave me," I begged. She didn't respond.

"You are never someone I would have allowed her to be with," Howell said, laughing. He glanced at her, and his eyes told me that he knew exactly what was going on. He knew she wasn't dead. "Now get up, Joel. Don't make me kill more of your friends."

Someone else screamed from out in the arena. Meghan. David had been shot, too. Aaron barely managed to shout orders. The young mother, the one who had so tenderly held her baby only a few days before, was already dead. 

This time, it wasn't my fault. I couldn't have prevented it, but I could still stop this.

I slowly laid Anna down on the floor and stepped away. "Okay," I said, my voice cracking. "But you let everyone else in here leave safely."

He smiled coldly. "Alright. Get them to stop fighting and you have a deal."

Slowly, I walked into the middle of the arena. I didn't bother to wipe the tears from my face. All around me, people were bleeding and dying. I knew what I had to do. "Everyone, listen to me!" I screamed, my voice cracking again under the strain. I swallowed hard, tears burning in my eyes. I had to save them, no matter what it did to me. No matter what it did to Braken. 

The sacrifice of one is for the greater good.

I took a breath, but before I could say anything, someone landed right on top of me, flipping me onto my back and pinning me on the ground. "I know what you're going to say," he growled, his fingers tight around my shoulders, his torn wings flared aggressively. "And I'm not going to let you say it."

"Aero Chord?" I yelped in surprise, my voice an embarrassing squeak. "I thought you thought I was stupid!"

"You are," he said. "Every single one of you guys are stupid. I'm only going to say this once, so listen up." His grip tightened. "You've rallied them up. Nothing is going to stop them now. You might as well go with it. You actually have a chance now. And you're the stupidest human I've ever met." He pulled me up to my feet and gave me a shove. "Now get your band of followers and get out of here before they shoot you all down."

"And you?" I asked.

"I'll make the soldiers wish they'd never laid eyes on me," he said, flexing his wings, and then with only a breath, he launched himself up and took to the sky. 

I didn't watch him any longer. I turned to the group of Gifteds before me and shouted, "Everyone out! If there's no one left to fight for them, we've already won!" I broke into a run, heading back toward the building, wincing in pain as my leg started throbbing. 

"Where are you going?" Aaron shouted.

"To get Gus!" I shouted back. 

To get Anna.