Alex and I left the yellow-bricked building and walked to the nearest town; we climbed dunes of sand until we reached Cairo. The heat caused us to become mildly dehydrates, but we will survive. The city had tan colored buildings of various sizes and shaped with a patches of grass, trees, and bushes. There were a few grey skyscrapers and a river that flowed through the city. Before we entered the city, I made sure that my hair covered my tattoo. We walked through the busy streets, Alex walking on my right side, and saw street vendors selling clothes, food, and various other items. We were passing by a clothing stand, and while the vendor wasn't looking, Alex took a tan jacket, that would cover his tattoo, removing the price tag and tossing it to the floor before putting the jacket on. We need to get out of the country.

"How are we going to get out of the country", I asked Alex.

"I don't know", Alex replied. A hand then grasped my wrist and dragged Alex into the alley of two tanned buildings on the right. Alex grabbed my wrist and dragged me into the Alley with him. The potential kidnapper had black eyes and hair with pale skin; he wore a grey shirt with black pants and shoes.

"You guys are from the facility", the man said.

"How do you know that", I asked while glaring at him.

"Quickly follow me if you don't want to get caught", he said while walking further into the alley. There wasn't any ladders or windows in the buildings, so we couldn't escape if our path is blocked from behind us. Alex and I looked at each other before following the man. The man then opened opened a metal sewer drain cover. Once he opened the sewer drain cover, I noticed that I didn't smell methane or anything that would resemble a sewer.

"Get in", the man said. I glare at the man; why should we trust him.

"I'll go first to make sure it's safe", Alex replied while jumping down into the round hole. I face palm at Ales's decision. This man could be an enemy. Just as Alex gracefully touched the floor, lights began to glow around him.

"Sapphire, I think it's safe", Alex said in a monotone voice while looking through the hole towards me. I then jumped down as Alex cleared the opening for me to land. My feet touched the floor softly as crouched to soften the impact. I then stood and looked around the room; it was a peach-colored room with a door made from planks of wood and a silver-colored door knob. I then walked towards Alex to clear a path for the stranger we just met. The man then used the ladder leading from the opening to the floor, taking a few steps before reaching up to replace the drain cover, and climbing down to reach the floor.

"Sorry that I scared you", the man said while smiling, "My name is Haruto."

The Haruto then walked past us to the door. He grasped the door handle and looked at us while smiling.

"Welcome to Dark Phoenix", the man said while opening the door. I looked at Alex and back at Haruto. Only one question is  racing through my mind: What have we gotten ourselves into?