Once I got to the entrance of the A building, likely for the final time evaluating the state of Altandor, I was exhausted since I had run for what seemingly felt like an eternity and had to hide in a bush that had irritating spikes. I tried to avoid them with all of my might, but some still stuck onto my... uh, butt. But (no pun intended), I was still glad I was at the school building. I was curious onto what the glow from the rooftops of one of these buildings had come from.

I opened the door and sneakily went past the A building. And when I say sneakily, I mean I squished my mud-filled socks on the marble ground while I glimpsed around for any type of monster or Redwood after me. Where I had seen the light had assumably been from the B building rooftop and I wanted to run there quick.

But I was curious about something else, something I really shouldn't have been intrigued by. I went through the A building in quick haste and made my way to the B building, but I didn't go in. Instead, I went to the D building. As I went there though, I saw the condition of the C building and what was posted on its wall. I immediately vomited a storm of fluids.

Remember Ms. Svena? That easygoing teacher who had helped us be more honest with ourselves and was incredibly laid back? Well her back was laid on a spike poking out of the ground. She was also impaled through the head and leg right at the entrance of the C building which I saw from all of these miles away.

I wiped my mouth and with tears in my eyes, went into the D building. At the entrance, I proceeded through hallway after hallway until I got to a wide-open door. I spotted three robots were ripped into shreds right at the entrance of the basement. It looked like this happened weeks ago though since the robots were already starting to rust.

I went over one of the robots' legs and entered into the basement stairs. The steel door had been completely ripped off from its hinges and thrown at the electric door. Causing it to be flattened like a pancake. I walked to the door and stepped over it, even though I didn't exactly need to do that because the power was out in the building.

I got up to the door leading into the actual basement room and saw that it was swung wide open. I took a deep breath and entered inside. As soon as I did, the door suddenly closed behind me with a loud—

BANG!

My heart jumped, I went towards the door and tried it, but it was locked tight. I looked behind me leaning against the wall directly adjacent to the door where I saw a figure right next to an empty basement, with only a box.

"If there is one thing that you and my cousin are alike in, it's that both of you are curiously laughable. You go into situations without even knowing the consequences, nor considering them." The girl said, facing towards me. Her hair was dyed a bright red color and she had on a blue sweater with blood-covered jeans. Her eyes were wide with a craze as she held in her hand a box. The same box that I had stolen from this basement all of those months ago.

"You're probably wondering who I am. That's fair. No one has seen my face and lived to tell the tale. Well apart from my family, but that's because they're my family. I'm sure you understand." She stated, dropping the box she outreached her arms onto the sky and placed her hands firmly on her blood-soaked jeans. I knew exactly who she was.

"This is my basement. My little world that you destroyed not once, not twice, but thrice." Ruby stated, she went into her box and pulled out the water gun. Except it wasn't filled with water this time.

"H-How did you know I was here?" I asked her.

"Do you mean how you were here in my basement or how you were here at Altandor?" She asked, aiming the gun at my face.

"B-both." I kept my equanimity for the most part. Yet she was aiming a real pistol at my face and I couldn't just come to be tranquil.

"Simple, cameras. You never took out the cameras on your first or your second expedition. I would've had you two arrested and slain off, you and that little friend of yours. But I thought you wouldn't be stupid enough to enter my basement again. Or so I had thought." She stated, aiming her pistol lower near my feet.

"You captured animals and brought them here against their own will for experiments. I had a right to come here and free them." I stated firmly.

"OH! Oh, of course, you felt like you had a "right". Where did your rights land you again?! Hmmmm... oh right! DESTROYING YOUR WHOLE LIFE AND ALTANDOR SIMULTANEOUSLY!" She screamed, looking up at the ceiling as if she was speaking to a God, which I guess there was only one she could technically be speaking to. The Redwood Lord. The only religion practiced in the Federation.

"Remind me you big fucking idiot. Was it the first, second, or third time that you entered my basement where you previously unleashed a whole ecosystem and a half for your gain?" She asked me. I looked at the ground in embarrassment and fear at her and myself.

"Third." I croaked.

"That was a rhetorical question. But yes you're correct, congrats! At the very least you got one more answer correct before being killed, just like Ms. Svena when I asked her whether or not she knew where you were. Except that time, she got that question incorrect. Even though I repeated it numerous times." I held back a sob while Ruby went over to me and stuck the pistol towards my throat.

"I'll only ask this once, hopefully you don't get the answer wrong." She stated.

"Where. Are. Your. Friends?" She asked me. I closed my eyes and thought of all of the possibilities that would happen. I would either be jailed by her in the basement for eternity as soon as I gave her the answer and my friends would be promptly killed off. Or I would be killed off immediately if I didn't give her the answer she desired and my friends would likely be found, trying to wait for me even though they didn't know I died. I gulped my last bit of saliva and asked,

"How did you know I was here in the town? I asked you this question before but you never answered, it's only proper that you answer my question before I answer yours." I said in a booming voice. It echoed off the walls which gave me an incredibly perilous idea. Ruby still stared at me though with the pistol still at my throat and answered,

"The birds. They're secretly cameras. Though I know you're not going to do anything with that information, so please answer my question before I have to kill you and find your little friends myself. Maybe I'll kill your girlfriend first so you can meet her in the afterlife sooner." I clenched my fists and looked around the room before yelling at the top of my lungs,

"FUCK YOU!" Right before she pulled the trigger, I breathed in heavily and screamed,

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

The echoes from my scream rang and ripped in both Ruby's ears as she dropped her pistol and dropped to the floor in misery. I was able to withstand the ringing in my ears and grabbed the pistol from the ground. I could've killed Ruby here and now, but I thought of the consequences of killing a Redwood and sighed.

"Goodbye," I stated weakly, pulling the trigger on the doorknob, it blasted open and I ran up the stairs once again with the gun in my hand. I rushed up the stairs and out of the D building through the front entrance. I hurried over to the B building where I shouted in a now weak and cracked voice,

"Jack! Emily! Anyone here!? I saw the light from the roof..."

No one responded again as I ran through the building. I went up the stairs in quick haste, hoping that they would still be there and didn't give up hope on me. I got to the third floor and wheezed through the stairs, I was nearly out of energy.

Regardless, I needed to get to the roof to make sure that my friends were safe and to get the hell out of Altandor once and for all. I ran over to a flight of staircases that led to the roof and climbed them slowly but surely. Once I got to the roof of the B building I skimmed around where I saw Angel at the edge of the roof holding a mirror.

As I was exhausted and out of breath I said, gasping for air,

"GASP—ANGEL—WHEEZE—I was looking—GASP—everywhere—WHEEZE—for you!" She had a cut running along her right arm yet even with that, she looked up at me with glee. She set down the broken piece of glass which had blood on it. I could only guess she had somehow jumped through a window without checking the entrance.

"GEORGE! I was looking for you too! I guess you ran through the entire town looking for me since you're drenched in sweat, hehe.." She stated, a weary giggle escaped from her mouth. My eyes were tired and my legs were so vulnerable I limped my way to her and hugged her. She hugged me back tightly.

"What are you doing here? Where are the rest of our friends?" I asked her curiously. I slowed down my breathing profusely as she exclaimed.

"Hm? Oh, they went to look for their families at their homes." She leaned against the railing that lined the roof.

"And you?" I asked her.

"What about me?" She asked me back.

"What about your family? Don't you think you should go look for them silly?" I asked her, knowing full well they were all gone. It had been three full weeks ever since the factory exploded and they knew nothing about that.

"I had to worry about you first. That's why I got this piece of glass in the first place and went to the highest peak I could think of." She stated.

"I get that, and I'm thankful for you finding a way to get me, but right now you should go look for your family and uhm..." I looked at the gash on her arm.

"You know what, instead why don't you sit down while I grab something?" I stated, going to the other side of the roof and picking up a handful of gigantic leaves that had probably been blown away from an enormous tree around us. I literally mean around us by the way, it encircled the entirety of the B building.

"Alright, I got some leaves. Do you by chance have some type of rope or twigs we can use to patch you up?" I asked her. She shook her head and I sighed.

"Okay, let's go to one of the classrooms and get out of this breeze. We have to patch up that wound up or else you might get an infection." I said. She held her arm tightly as we went downstairs to one of the third-floor classrooms. She sat down on a desk that stood surprisingly sturdy since all of the other desks looked to be split in half or overturned.

"Staples... staples." I rummaged through one of the desks not finding staples but instead plastic tape. This would have to do for now to stop the bleeding.

"Okay Angel, turn your arm toward me. I'm going to patch you up." I stated the obvious. She nodded and brushed her hair aside from the cut on her right arm. The leaf seemed like the perfect size for the cut and I applied it to the wounded arm. She winced in pain while I quickly used the majority of the tape to wrap the leaf around her arm and in place. Blood seeped from the bottom of the leaf which I tried to wipe away.

Once I was finished I wiped my head, accidentally getting some of her blood on my forehead, and looked at her right arm. It wasn't the best patch-up I'd ever caught a glimpse of, but it would have to do for now if I wanted her to survive without bleeding out on me. I walked over to the doorway.

"Alright, I'd recommend we go to the nurses' office before anything to make sure you're fully patched up. So let's hurry out of here before—"

"Did I ever tell you why I didn't go for my family?" She suddenly asked me. My eyes widened at the doorway and I turned to her. Her eyes were a simple bright, white hue from the factory explosion and even though they were whitened, I could still see her eyes clouded in sorrow.

I dropped the tape I had in my hands and walked over to her. I picked up a seat and carefully set it down next to her. She twirled her fingers across the desk she had next to her seat.

"I've always resented my family. Of course, people know that, with all of the rumors spread around about me and my family's relationship and whatnot. Though most of that is true, there's still a detail people mostly gloss over. My siblings." She said, her hair hiding her face.

"My parents have always despised me and always tried to dress me up as a guy because of well... I bet you know why. But, my older sister always tried to help me out as much as possible. My little brother is way too young to understand my situation, but he still tries to help me whenever he can. No matter if he tells me in his cute little voice "Are you okay?" or just giving me a lollipop that mom gave him. Meanwhile, my older sister always took off my ridiculous men's clothing and I was allowed to use her closet and her for support anytime. My father tried to separate my relationship with my sister and brother but we were inseparable. We were... until today." She said, her eyes fixated on a broken clock on the wall.

"People have always focused on my relationship with my parents. And in a way I've sort of too. I built this illusion that my whole family hated me and that's why I didn't chase after my house. I tried to look for you first because you were the only one apart from my siblings and our other friends who truly understood me, my pain, and my heart. But... now I see that not going after my family was selfish, my siblings are probably scared right now. My little brother would probably be calling for my name while my older sister would be trying to search for me." I felt bad she was being honest while I still hid a significant detail of our lives that would crush her; how long we'd been unconscious in the first place. It rang in my ear, what my spirit said,

Three weeks.

Three weeks. It kept repeating in my head while Angel took out her heart and soul into what she was saying to me. My guilt ate me up to the point where I didn't have a response when she looked up at me.

"And I guess... no. I know that's why I didn't look for my family. Let's be honest, I didn't see anyone else in Altandor apart from Ms. Svena... which I don't want to go into. I think most of our families might've uhm, uh... left, George." She said this like it was a theory.

I knew it as a fact.

My lips tightened together and I wanted, so badly, to tell her the truth. About my spirit, the time, everything. Yet for whatever reason, I couldn't. I opened my mouth but before I could say what I needed to say I heard a knock at the door. I turned toward the door and stared in terror.

It was Ruby.

"Oh shoot! You scared us. Are you lost?" Angel asked her, oblivious to knowing who she truly was. I reached for my pocket but I realized I left the pistol I had upstairs on the rooftop because I was simply that exhausted to carry a simple gun. Also, I didn't want to worry Angel by bringing a whole pistol with me.

"Hmph, no. Looks like I'm exactly where I should be." Her right ear looked like it had bled. But the blood dried up around the canal of her ear. I guarded Angel with my right hand while she sat up.

"George, what's wrong? It's just a girl that's lost, you don't have to be so protective." She tried to pull my arm down but I laid it firmly still between her and Ruby.

"You have to trust me. When I say run, you run to that back door over there." I whispered to her. The back door was fully visible from here and though there was a slight chance Ruby might've locked that door, I needed to take the risk. I didn't know what she had up her sleeve.

"Pfft, alright what's going on here?! Are you two trying to pull a prank on me or something? Is that Emily in disguise?" She asked the both of us. Ruby's mouth twitched as soon as she mentioned Emily.

"Yeah, you can say that. Just a simple prank right?" Her teeth were clenched tight as she held something behind her. I gulped loudly and stated,

"Let Angel go freely. This is just between you and me."Angel's joking manner deteriorated into a blurred one once I said that.

"You know, I would. But I also remember asking for something in my basement. Something that you still haven't answered yet." She pulled out a dagger from her back. Angel's eyes widened as she started to stutter,

"W-w-what are you do-doing?!" My eyes tightened at Ruby as she stepped closer and closer to us. I balled my fist up and remembered the tape that was next to the doorway on the floor. I had another idea, but it would require an extreme amount of luck and time, both of which we had none of. I needed to create a distraction to keep Angel safe.

"Getting what should be mine." She muttered under her breath, getting ever so near us. I had no idea how to get out of this, so I shouted out of desperation,

"ETHAN?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!!?"

This caused Ruby to turn around to where I was looking—the front doorway—quickly. I snapped my right hand into a fist and once she turned around I sucker punched her in the face. I picked up a chair and tossed it to her as I tried for the back door.

Locked. Fuck.

I grabbed Angel's hand and rushed over to the main entrance while Ruby groaned in pain. I pushed Angel out of the doorway as I grabbed the tape from the floor and frantically went to one side of the doorway stretched the tape all of the way to the other side of the doorway and cutting it with my teeth.

I glanced toward Ruby and she stared at me with a death glare that made me breathless. I hurried my hands and tossed the tape down the hallway while Ruby surged towards the doorway. I grabbed Angel's hand once again as I shrieked and ran across the hallway.

Ruby, somehow, in some sort of miracle, didn't see me put the tape across the doorway. As a result, the tape latched around her neck and caused her to stumble backward. That gave us an extra few seconds while I stopped suddenly and looked at Angel.

"Rush downstairs and hide in one of the lockers," I stated.

"What!? But what about—"

"JUST DO IT, GO!" I yelled at her. She looked nervously at me for a second or two before heading downstairs. I ran over to the flight of staircases leading to the roof and grabbed the pistol quickly after the last step. I turned around only to see Ruby staring at me with the most immense and frightening eyes I'd ever seen.

I fumbled with the gun and aimed it at her before she slowly walked up with the dagger in her hand. She was on the roof with me aiming at her, the blazing sun ascending on the horizon.

"A new day. How nice." She stated, pointing the dagger directly at me.

"D-don't make me use this Ruby. I don't want to hurt anyone!" I exclaimed.

"Oh, but you already have. Causing this massive crisis with the jungle and everything has caused not one, but two teachers to die at my hands! And of course, what happened to your family but..."

"Oh! did that offend you?" She asked with a grin on her face. Tears streamed down my face, and my right index finger was placed firmly on the trigger.

"Does mentioning your pathetic, little family trigger you? Good. It should. You did this, you created this whole mess. I'm just the one-woman clean-up crew, mopping away all of the filth in this world that you brought in with your grimy hands. Shall I congratulate you for single-handedly screwing up your own life? Or shall I do that after I slice your throat?" Her words dipped into my consciousness, like a deep dive from a fifty-foot board next to a swimming pool. I walked closer to the fringe of the roof.

"BAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Are you trying to lead me to my death down this roof? Trust me, George Cameron. That's not going to work, not even in the slightest! I'll just slowly come to you, and slice your throat." She said. I lowered my pistol, almost accepting my fate.

Almost.

"What did you say about my family again?" I asked in a shaky voice. She looked at me in amusement as she came ten feet near me.

"I said that your family... is... patheti—"

BANG!!

I shot her directly in the shoulder. She looked surprised as the bullet entered and exited out of her shoulder, exploding bits of bone and blood everywhere. She screamed in pain and dropped her dagger.

She looked at me for one more second before immediately running away. I tried to shoot her one more time but with only one hand I shot the staircase as she ran down. I was too tired to chase her. I fell down to the ground and sobbed in despair. Not only for my pathetic self but for my family too. I wished for their safety.

After sobbing for a solid minute or so, I picked myself up and put the gun in my pocket. I breathed heavily in and out as I went slowly downstairs. I heard the door near the front of the building slam shut, meaning she probably ran out of the building. I sighed in despair as I went over to where the majority of lockers were and shouted,

"Angel! Come out! Please." My voice cracked. My eyes were tired and twitchy. My hands were pulsating. My throat was on fire from all of the yelling I had done. I hadn't eaten ever since those berries all those hours ago, not drunk any fluids ever since.

Angel soon came out of one of the lockers and locked eyes with me. I dropped my arms as I accepted her hug. She dug her face into my shoulders and I dug into hers. We kept each other in our arms for another solid minute before we let go, breathing in and out slowly in relief.

"Who was that girl!?" She asked me. I again wanted to tell the truth about the basement, but I spared that whole event and bent the truth. Or told a lie.

"That was Ruby Redwood. The niece of Ethan Redwood. I guess she saw your glass glint from somewhere in the town and went over to the school. She knew me by name because—" BECAUSE I CREPED INTO HER BASEMENT THREE TIMES! My thoughts echoed in my brain.

But I sighed and stated,

"Because I saw her when you and I split up and we sort of fought. That's how I got this pistol in the first place." I stated, showing her the gun. She backed away and I put the gun in my pocket and raised my hands,

"Don't worry though! I'll... we'll keep each other safe. I promise." She didn't smile, she didn't even respond. She just frowned at me while looking into my eyes.

"Oh and before I forget. I saw Ethan and Veronica in the town. They said that they were looking for us for those missing capsules? Any idea what that means?" I asked her.

"I... I don't know George. It probably means they think we somehow carried the capsules here and caused a huge explosion which also caused a jungle to grow here. I don't know why they think that though so I'm probably way off. I don't think we should worry about them. We have to find your family remember?" She responded.

"Yeah, yours too!" I exclaimed.

"My parents abandoned me. You and I both know that as a fact now. I'm willing to bet your family stayed here in Altandor to look for you." She argued.

"You... yeah, I guess you're right. Let's go before Ethan, Veronica, or that Ruby girl find them before we do." I replied.

We hurried off towards my house and I knew my family wouldn't be there. Nonetheless, I wanted to go to my home for at least one last time.