Dark, so dark.

Rene ran her tongue along her teeth, blood painting it. She wondered if she could draw with it, stick her tongue out and make a smiley face, perhaps add the letters R I P. A little interior design to what could be her coffin, not that she could see it to reveal in the beauty.

The flaking metal scraped against her body, enclosing her in a tomb with nothing but the stale scent of her own sweat. She was scrunched up in a ball, her knees pulled tight to her chest. She never thought she'd end up in a prison smaller than the pit. Idiot. Stupid idiot. It was getting hard to breath.

It was a different kind of darkness that now was plaguing her. The darkness of the pit had fear in the creatures that could have lurked within the unseen expanse. The concoctions of melting minds crept and ruled that domain, just always barely touching and out of sight. In the barrel, the darkness was the fear of the reality and every possible scenario. It was the fear of the very real world outside the barrel and what would become of her once it was opened.

Rene reached up and again tried to push open the barrel. It didn't budge. The lid was wielded down or something. It didn't help she couldn't get proper leverage in such a small area. She lowered herself back down, staring at the black.

She dragged her teeth over her body lip and bit down. Once more, she pulled a bit of her own skin off. The fragile layer was easily worn and tore. She reached up a hand, wiping the mixture of blood and skin off herself. It mingled with the blood already dried to her face from the punch to the nose by her assailants. It still twinged and ached, probably broken. She supposed she should be thankful nothing else seemed to be.

Rust coated most of her body, no doubt staining her with its orange tint. The thought brought back to many memories of the water like blood, falling down Rose's face. She hoped she was okay.

A groan vibrated the barrel as it slowly started to tilt. Rene bit her lip to keep from shrieking. Her hands flew out, attempting to brace herself within the confided space. A bare left arm taunted her, even in the black. Gravity shifted and suddenly, Rene was rolling. Her body flung and banged against the sides with no control, despite her efforts. A loud smack against a strong unyielding surface rattled her bones and halted her roll of freedom...or death she wasn't exactly sure. Life sucked sometimes.

Small rays of light trickled in. The barrel lid was being pried off. Rene reached a hand down for a pistol. The movement had become a natural now and just a fluttering of her fingertips across the small of her back brought the tattoo from her skin. She aimed the sight line straight at the encroaching person on her prison.

Bang!

"Shit Sparky!" A bright red head poked down at her.

His head was upside down, or maybe she was. It didn't matter though she'd recognize that hair and flashing brown eyes.

Her hand started shaking, the pistol dropping from her grasp. "Michael."

A strong hand reached in, waiting. She grasped his forearm and let him help her out.

"You look... Ow, pretty of course I was going to say pretty."

Rene leaned over to spit the blood out of her mouth. She fell to her knees digging her hands into the grass. Grass was the most amazing thing in the world when you thought you'd never see it again.

"Don't lie Danny, we both know pretty doesn't even describe me on a good day." She tilted her head, eyes squinting in the sudden sun to see him towering over her.

A soft sigh came from behind her. "I told you if you'd just let me put some makeup on you, current conditions aside, I could make all the guys fall for you." A pause "Well maybe not all of them, but a little effort never hurts your chances."

"Thank you for your kind words of encouragement Cass." The teal headed girl smiled before coming over and helping Rene stand. "How did you guys find me?"

"Well, luckily you left someone behind." Michael winked. "Still sorry it took so long, there were a lot of barrels on the docks."

Rene scanned her surroundings for the first time. There were hundreds of barrels sitting and upturned all around. Turning to her own barrel, she realized how lucky she really was. The barrel was at the foot of a slight slope, mere feet from the beach and ocean. She easily would have drowned in it while the barrel sank to the bottom. Uneasiness washed over her.

"Not really so lucky." She whispered, looking up back at the warehouses on the dock. "If I hadn't left Kai behind I could have summoned him to break me out or Karo for that matter."

A deep rumbling in her head and chest agreed with the sentiment. Karo had been pacing in her mind the entire time. His rage a tangible thing eating away at her.

It had taken over a month of stamina endurance training, but she could now have Kai and Karo out for hours and even a couple days, depending on her mental and physical state. The only problem was, despite practicing, she could never handle both of them out at the same time.

She narrowed her eyes, whipping round to shove her fingers in his face. "I blame you for all this."

"Me?" Michael held his hands in the air. "What did I do?"

"Sparky go hide and I'll find you. Don't worry it'll be fun and great stealth training." Rene mocked.

"Well, I did find you."

"Found me? You found me after I had been freakin' beat up and kidnapped!"

"Details."

"Get in the barrel."

"Hey come on! Plus it's not like this all entirely my fault. I'm not the one who decided to go for a joy ride on the dragon."

Danny raised an eyebrow. "Fine, next time you scout for our enemies while flying hundreds of feet in the air. Oh wait you can't cause you're afraid of heights."

"Being afraid of plummeting to my death off a giant dragon is just smart."

Rene growled, her head aching.

"I see you found Rene."

Her head jerked up to see an incredibly tall black-haired boy jogging down the hill. His brilliant blues eyes were ever watchful and scanning the area. Even without his uniform, it was obvious he was a soldier at heart.

"Yes I," the word emphasized, "did. And you know how she thanked me? Shot at me. Seriously what kinda damsel shoots the prince?" Michael flung his hands in the air, exasperated.

"Doesn't look like she hit you." Michael nodded, causing Declan to continue, a slight scold in his tone. "I told you that you need to work on your shot."

A thud could be heard. Michael had fallen over, ever the drama queen.

"Why did you bring him?" Rene leaned into Cassie as they began ascending the hill, her stride awkward having to lean on the much shorter girl.

"Because he's adorable." She smiled.

"You mean like a puppy? Cause my excuse was he'd trash the place while we were gone." Danny mused, his eyes darting to the two of them on occasion to make sure neither needed help.

"I was thinking more along the lines of he whines when left alone."

"Addendum, he might piss on everything."

"Hey, come on this is not pick on Michael day!" Michael sprung up and raced after them. "That is a national holiday and I pay you mind to respect it in all its sanctity by only celebrating it on the proper day, August 23rd."

"Wait, that was yesterday."

"Not my fault you chose to exclude from celebration."

Rene's thoughts swirled, the continued argument ignored. Edges of blood and darkness lingered in the peripherals of her mind. She could see them oozing down the walls, ready and waiting to sunk her down into them. She clenched a fist.

"Dec? Where's Kai?"

He gaze met hers a moment then trailed up the hill. She followed it. The cement buildings stood tall and imposing above them. The individual units could easily have held the Asylum and then some. Funny how that was her frame of reference. Rene couldn't feel him and Karo's lack of response made her worry that he couldn't either. It had been at least a couple days from what she could tell and it wasn't like Rene had been in the best state through it all. Waiting to die inside a barrel could do that to a person.

A blaring horn screamed from the water. Rene turned slightly to see a giant cargo ship coming in to the bay area, heading straight for the docks. Her ride was here. For some reason, she didn't think it would have been a luxury cruise around the world. Pity really, Rene loved the ocean. There was something about the expanse that settled her mind. It probably had something to do with the way the darkness could be held deep within the ocean waves. There was more to the water than just the sparkling surface.

"Don't listen to Michael." Cassie whispered barely audible, her eyes straight ahead. "You should have seen him. The guy was going crazy once he realized what happened. I thought he was going to burn the whole forest down."

"Crazy huh?"

Cassie laughed. "Well, I mean he has nothing on us, but I could almost believe he belonged in the Asylum with that."

She withdrew at that. Things with Michael were complicated. At times she honestly didn't even understand why they kept him around, not for lack of the occasional attempt on her part. Trying to kick him out of their little group was worse than trying to get rid of a parasite. He was too stubborn, said that they needed him. Unfortunately, it's not like he had ever done anything wrong besides annoy Rene. It made presenting her case harder.

Escaping the Asylum had left them all on the run together, from Dr. Laurel and any others who might seek the dragons tattooed on her arms. Michael had promised refugee with his group, his employers. Dr. Laurel hadn't been lying when he told her Michael had come to the Asylum looking for her...well not her exactly, but people like her. Apparently the people Michael works for send their employees into places like the Asylum to find those that have abilities, powers, or as Michael puts it "the freaky". The world ignores the unknown. They don't want to know the truth if it doesn't fit within their tiny little box, so many young people end up in similar situations to hers entirely outside their control. It was why Michael doesn't like the word crazy.

Michael was dodgy with his answers. Partial truths and omission were the name of the game. All the answers were waiting though; all she had to do was agree to go with him to meet his employers. It sounded too familiar. Someone interested in the ink and offering promises of a better life, even if Dr. Laurel's better life had been dependent on ending hers. The feeling of the table strapped beneath her was too fresh and the Asylum's ashes barely dispersed by the wind to agree to the pretty words. Rene said no and she had turned to run, only to find them all running beside her, even Michael. He hadn't brought it up again.

BOOM!

A pillar of smoke and fire shot straight into the air. A warehouse caved into the hole created by the explosion.

"Ah, just like the good old days." Michael laughed, giving her a wink.

A small white streak could be seen rocketing up through the opening. Rene shielded her eyes with her hand to get a better view at the blur heading for the sky. It flew in front of the sun and changed directions, becoming larger. It, well he, was heading for them.

White shone in the light, a dazzling brilliance of snow landing on the ground. Kai's gauzy opaque wings glittered in the sun as folded his wings to tuck tight against his body. The dragon swung his head to allow the golden eyes to take her all in. The squeezing tension compressing her organs into nothing but a hard ball, slowly unraveled to their proper places. Rene ducked out of Cassie's arms to stumble forward. She dropped into a crouch before Kai and stroked his head. It was barely the size of her stretched out hand.

"You alright?"

"I believe I should be asking you that Young One."

The Fledging is not the one the size of a giant cat. Karo grumbled. It's a disgrace brother.

A thin layer of white ink was spread across Rene's hand where she had touched Kai. He had definitely been off her too long and the access she offered to his realm. He edges seemed to be undefined and a closer inspection showed the radiance of him to be nothing more than a trick of the sun compared to his normal unearthly glow.

"It is not your fault Young One."

She wiped at the silent tears falling. It hadn't taken long for her to become attached to the living dragons that had always been a constant in her life. To lose them was a terrifying thought, one she could scarcely imagine. A world without Kai's gentle encouragement and Karo's blunt pep talks was not a world she wanted to live in.

A press on her hand brought her back to the moment. Kai had nudged at her left hand, waiting. Rene nodded, turning her palm to the sky. They both had very different approaches to their return to Rene's arm. Karo bit her, leaving an itching feeling for hours. It didn't hurt, just a prick more surprising than noticeable, but the side effects left her scratching all day. Kai glided up her arm, tightly. A constant pressure that was uncomfortable, but not painful. Almost like a blood pressure cuff, then gone just as quickly.

Her cold fingers flitted up her arms, feeling the scars tracing the two, with Kai returned to place. She felt better. None of them were entirely sure what would happen if Kai or Karo didn't get back to her in time. Her weapons turned to piles of goop but the dragons would never confirm or deny that would happen to them.

Rene turned towards her friends. "Shall we playwelcome crew?"