Once the words leave his mouth, the videochat disappears, and all the guards move towards me with guns aimed at my head.

And then the rest happens in a blur. Carmen kicks out at all the others, sweeping them off their feet, and they land with a grunt on the floor. Carmen quickly unties me, but in the process she's yanked back and punched heavily in the stomach. All the other people slowly get to their feet, and wordlessly move into two groups-one to get Carmen, the other to kill me. But majority of them run towards Carmen, and there's only one heading towards me.

Of course. The traitor is more important.

Still, panic bubbles in my chest. I quickly untie the remainder of the rope and begin on my legs, when the first gunshot rings out, piercing and loud. I wince at the sound, and almost turn my head to make sure it's not Carmen that's injured-but I don't.

The rope's almost off, and someone grabs my arm firmly, and I look up. It's not Carmen. I try to punch that person with my free hand, but due to the lack of training, after several punches-which she or he recoils a few times-my fingers and knuckles get bruised.

But I can't give up, not now. I swing my legs up from the rope, catching the guard by surprise, and try-but fail-to kick the person.

With my whole body free, I begin to kick and punch, however I like to. My main objective is probably to get his or her gun, find Carmen, and get the heck out of here.

And then find Chance and Dustin.

I'm suddenly jerked back to the present as the guard twists my arm up my back and my face contorts in pain. I try to kick the person's shins, but to no avail.

I feel a cold metal press against my temple. No, no, no. It shouldn't end like this. It can't!

Fueled by this thought I jab my free elbow back into the person, and she-I'm judging that by the person's long and slim fingers-steps back a little, her eyes narrowing to slits. That's her weak spot-her waist.

I begin to use my not-injured left hand to deliver blows towards her waist, and it works-she steps back repeatedly.

Then someone grabs my hair, and yanks me backwards, almost tearing my hair off my scalp. I cry out in pain, and tears prickle my eyes, but they do not fall.

"Where do you think you're going?" Someone growls in my ear. It's a male this time, I can tell from the low, masculine voice of the person holding me captive. "Don't touch her."

That one phrase reminds me of Dustin and Chance.

I need to get to them. I need to get to them. I need to get to them!

On the spur of the moment I just kick and hit anything that touches me. I fight, for all the wrong that's happened in my life, for all the pain and torture Edit out me through, for everything I've lost and found.

And then all of a sudden Carmen's in front of me, her dirty blonde hair in her face. "Let's go," she yells, "go, go, go!"

We rush towards the exit, not before I feel a sharp blast of pain in my shoulder. I let out a hiss as the pain intensifies, and multiplies a thousand, a million times.

Carmen sends a glare over her shoulder at some of the guards, still standing, their guns put down, their hair and faces revealed. My eyes widen when I spot Samantha in the few people. One of the guys, the one that held me, I presume, smiles sheepishly at Carmen.

"To make it real," he says, hands up in mock surrender, "and plus, she hurt Dakota."

So that's the name of the girl who held me captive at first...and she's on Team Carmen. No wonder she's still conscious, and I've heard her name. The boy must be Xavier. She stands by him, a blush tinging her cheeks. She looks like an Asian, with tan skin, dark hair and matching eyes. Xavier, on the other hand, has hair as light as sunshine, and an easy smile.

Carmen rolls her eyes as the others laugh and whoop, then nods at me. "Okay?"

I struggle to remain conscious-the pain is dragging me deep under. "Yeah."

"Then let's go."

Everyone starts racing down the hallway, but I'm the one who lags behind, having to press my hand to my shoulder wound.

"Amber!" I know that voice. On a whim, I spin around.

Bad choice. Two people grab my arms, and the man in the videochat earlier steps towards me, a small box in his hand. He shouts into it again, and this time it sounds so real I almost think that he's really there.

The man chuckles, and gestures at me with a walking stick. "A strong fighter, it seems."

His words seem slurred; the world is tilting from the numbing pain.

Then there's a huge blur of colour, of yells, of motion, but I don't know what's going on.

The last thing I hear is a simple "Stay with me, Amber".

_________

There's a cold object on my cheek. Feeling extremely uncomfortable, I try to get it off, but instead it starts stroking a rythmnic pattern on my cheek, followed with a "shh".

Then the object is gone, replaced with something slighter warmer. I recognize the touch, and I will my eyes to open. But when I open my eyes, my eyelids flutter closed again.

"Hey, baby girl, relax. It's okay. You can hear me, right? That's all that matters. You need rest, that's about it." Chance's soothing voice reaches my ears, and I want to wrap my arms around him. I want to tell him about everything that's happened, and never let him go.

But maybe, just maybe, this isn't Chance. Maybe it's another one of Edit's stupid pranks.

I whimper at the thought, as Chance's hand leaves my face. The cold object-I'm starting to think it's a hand-is placed on my cheek again. "Don't worry, Chance just went to get something. He'll be back soon."

It's Dustin. He's alive. Slowly, my eyes manage to open. The world spins and drops and I have to close my eyes again, but gradually my eyes open once more.

I'm lying in a room, that looks awfully like my room back in Headquarters, but it's not. It can't be.

"Where am I?"

Chance opens the door of the room and smiles at me when he spots me, coming over to plant a kiss on my forehead. I grab his arm and he chuckles, pulling me into his arms. I wince at the rocketing pain, and Chance smiles apologetically, before kissing me gently and stroking my hair, having seated on the edge of the bed.

"You're in a pod. They found some pod that isn't badly burnt somewhere, and this is what we get. They spent just a few hours making amendments, so please excuse the bad smell." Carmen says from next to me. "By the way," she adds, "sorry about the whole kidnapping thing."

I crinkle my nose, not because of the smell-I barely sniff it-but the mention of the kidnapping incident sends shivers up my spine.

"What kidnapping thing?" Chance and Dustin ask unanimously.

"Um...Amber was taken by the people in Headquarters who work for Edit, that's why she got her-"

"And you didn't tell us. At all." Chance says flatly. Carmen gives him a sheepish grimace.

"How are you feeling now, baby girl?"

"Okay, I guess. It still hurts a little, though," I say.

And then suddenly Carmen curses.

"What?" We all ask at the same time.

"The map, and...they're all still in Headquarters."

"We can't go back now, Carmen," Dustin points out, "just leave it there."

Carmen groans. "And there goes all my hard work. If they burn Headquartera to the ground, more chaos is going to ensue, and then we'll all have to say goodbye to our lives because all our precious materials are in there."

"And you want me to leave her like this," Chance says, staring at Dustin and Carmen, "I know her too well. If anything happens-"

"Wait, what?" I sit up, grimacing, and eventually allowing Chance to help me lie back down.

"The sensor," he says, face grave, "we're headed towards it, and there's a high fatal risk."

And it hits me. "What? Why didn't you guys tell me? Chance, you can't-"

"It's for the greater good, right?" He smiles, as my eyes fill with tears. I grab his arm.

"Amber, if I don't do this, you know the consequences."

My heart feels like it's been shattered into a million pieces. I imagine life without Chance. I imagine that what Edit showed me just now was real.

You're so selfish, Amber, asking someone to sacrifice their life for the cause. Have you forgotten the promise you made to Chance's parents? You need to protect him.

But we could be saving so many people. So many innocent people.

"Baby girl, relax. I'm doing this because I want to." Chance presses another kiss to my lips, before running his hands through my hair gently.

"Chance, we're reaching soon," Carmen says, and Chance throws a smile towards me.

"Wait. Let me do a few more things." Chance stares into my eyes, and uses his thumb to wipe away a stray tear.

He leans in and kisses me, full of passion and love. I kiss him back without hesitation, and when he asks for entrance I allow him. His tongue traces my mouth for what seems like the last time. When he pulls away reluctantly, I bring his head back to mine, but he pulls away again.

"Amber," Chance says, "remember that day in the meeting room when you caught me writing?"

I nod, more tears falling from my eyes. I don't want to lose him. Not now, not ever.

"And remember when we were younger I used to give you crayons to write with?"

I nod again, sobbing quietly.

"Yeah, I did something like that, but I couldn't find any crayons in the meeting room, so..." Chance digs around in his back pocket, and retrieves a piece of folded paper, and hands it to me. "Here. Promise me you'll read it."

I nod.

"I want to hear you say it."

"I-" my voice cracks, and I am enveloped by Chance's arms, and my face presses against his shirt as I cry. "I p-promise." I say, voice shaky and hoarse.

Chance leans down and kisses me one more time. I savour the way he feels, the way he holds me, the warmth of his breath. This may be the last time.

This time, I pull away first, and Chance presses kisses to my temples, forehead, cheeks, nose, eyelids, and chin, covering me in his kisses.

"I love you," he murmurs into my hair before standing up, and giving Carmen a big hug. She returns it, and closes her eyes, before looking up and making a comment I can't hear that makes both of them smile.

Then Chance gets to Dustin, and they do this weird man-hug thing that I've never known how to pull off. Chance says something to Dustin and Dustin nods in reply, before both of them stare at me.

Then Chance walks towards the door, and I throw off the covers and run to him, ignoring the pain. I get on my tiptoes and kiss him again, wrapping my legs around his hips. He rubs my back soothingly, and then pulls away.

"I've got to go, now, baby girl. Remember I love you, and remember to eat on time, okay?"

I hiccup and nod. "I love you too."

He kisses away my tears before setting me on the ground, and I watch as my Chance disappears through the doors, to fight for something we've always wanted to.