There was another loud bang against the door, so hard, Jesse thought it was about to break. She peeked through the drawn curtains, seeing the crowds surrounding her home. Trying to find a way in.

"Please, no." Jesse whispered, pulling away from the window. She was shaking, her breath racing. Tears stained her cheeks, her eyes faintly tinted red.

She couldn't believe it. Nobody would believe that it was Romeo... nobody trusted that she was telling the truth. Everything he did, she was blamed for.

Jesse had no idea where her friends were at that moment, as she had simply bolted for the order hall. It was a coward's move, but she wasn't about to hurt her people... even if they practically wanted her head on a spike.

Jesse raked her fingers through her hair, leaning with her back against the wall. She could only pray that the rest didn't get caught up in this. She didn't want them to suffer on her account.

"Traitor!"

Jesse suppressed a sob, the call being like a stab to the chest. Her beloved citizens, each and every one of them hating her guts.

She hated to admit it.

But the thundering voices outside, the banging against her door, the raised weapons...

It terrified her.

All of a sudden Jesse heard a familiar voice call her name, looking up to see somebody running down the stairs.

"It's a good thing you never close your bedroom window!" Petra called out, stopping a few feet in front of Jesse and resting with her hands on her knees.

Jesse struggled back up into a standing position, approaching her friend who had just practically broken in to get to her. Petra was out of breath, like she had run quite a bit. Her face was red, her hair wet with sweat.

What frightened Jesse more, was the deep scratches on Petra's chestplate, violent scars on the blue steel. The exposed parts of her clothes were ripped, cuts covering her arm that wasn't protected by a sleeve.

"What happened?" Jesse asked, desperately taking her breathless friend by the shoulders.

"The crowds didn't care about us until we started defending you." Petra explained, regaining her breath and recovering herself. "It was like we painted a targets on our backs by trying to convince them they're wrong. Jack disappeared into the crowds like a coward, probably going to hide in his shop with Nurm."

Despite the situation, Jesse lifted an eyebrow at these words. Jack has surely ruined his reputation with Petra.

"We tried to get to you, but the others weren't able to get past the mobs of angry citizens." Petra explained. "I was able to fight my way through, with no other choice than to leave Lukas and Radar behind."

"Did you get hurt?" Jesse asked worriedly.

"Just some cuts." Petra replied, nodding to her arm that still had trails of dried blood across it. "Nothing serious."

There was another loud bang against the door, bits of wood splintering. Jesse fought back tears, realising it was only a matter of time before she would be cornered in her own home.

"Jesse, these people are out for blood, you're blood." Petra said as Jesse started pacing up and down, gripping strands of her dark brown hair. "It's only a matter of time before you get hurt."

"What am I supposed to do, other than hide?" Jesse asked, turning to face Petra with bloodshot eyes. "I can't hurt them, they're my people!"

"I know." Petra said, stepping up to Jesse and taking both her hands in her own. "That's why you need to run."

"Run?" Jesse asked, her voice cracking.

"I know this isn't in your nature." Petra said seriously. "I hate running as well, I'd rather die fighting.. but not at the hands of the Beacontowners."

"Run where?" Jesse asked softly, looking down at her hands in Petra's.

"Anywhere, as far away as we can." Petre replied. "I know this isn't how you wanted it, but we can leave Beacontown now, go into the great unknown. Find a place where our names are clear."

Jesse fought back a sob, feeling like she was trapped in the hardest decision of her life. Petra pulled her closer, hugging her tightly.

There was another loud bang, followed by the crack of wood. Jesse and Petra broke apart, both turning around to the door quickly.

"Now is the time, before the last of that door gives way." Petra said, grabbing Jesse's wrist.

"We're not going to get supplies first?" Jesse asked as Petra started dragging her up the stairs, the redhead surprisingly energised despite everything.

"No time." Petra replied. "We have our weapons and that's all that matters. We'll have to make it work."

Jesse looked back one more time, before accelerating to keep up at Petra. The redhead lead her up the stairs and to her own bedroom, where the window was wide open. Jesse could see boot prints on the window sill from where Petra had climbed in.

"There." Petra said, pointing down. "We jump into that tree, then to the ground. It's how I got in. You think you can make the jump?"

"I think so." Jesse replied nervously. "The distance is no problem, it's the limited landing space that concerns me."

"Well, fears aside I guess." Petra replied matter of factly, letting go of Jesse's wrist and leaping down.

Jesse watched in suspense as Petra perfectly landed on the branch, it swaying beneath her feet. She grabbed onto the trunk to steady herself, before clambering over another another one and looking up.

"Your turn!"

Jesse took a deep breath. Keeping her eyes on the branch, she pushed herself off the window sill, jumping.

As soon as she was in mid air, did she realise she wasn't going to land on the branch.

Jesse extended her arms, grabbing desperately. Her right hand manged to clasp around the piece of wood she was meant to land on, leaving her swinging slightly on the branch.

"That's one way to do it." Petra said, giving a nervous chuckle. She held one hand out, helping Jesse back onto the branch.

"Where to now?" Jesse asked as they both leaped the final distance down to the ground. "The front of the building is crowded by bloodthirsty beacontowners."

"I agreed to meet Lukas and Radar back near Bad Luck Alley." Petra explained, gesturing with her hands as she spoke. "We should try and sneak past the crowds."

"Will that work?" Jesse asked nervously, brushing some of the loose hair out of her eyes.

"Only one way to find out." Petra replied matter of factly, before once again grabbing Jesse by her wrist and pulling her along.

Jesse wanted to pull her hand loose from Petra's grip; the redhead was much faster than her and it felt like she was practically being dragged. But Jesse was also afraid of getting separated from her friend, especially in a place as large as Beacontown. Even more so, counting the fact that every citizen within it's walls wanted to tear her apart.

So Jesse only accelerated, fighting to keep up with her friend. She could feel her heart hammering about inside her chest, fresh tears burning her eyes. She blinked them away, biting her lip.

It felt like some sort of horrid nightmare. Like she was trapped in some sort of action film, running with no where to go. Blamed for another man's mistakes. Hated by her own people.

All of a sudden Petra stopped, causing Jesse to nearly somersault into her.

"Focus." She hissed, her voice now low. "It only takes one person to spot us for this to end badly."

Jesse nodded, forcing herself out of her train of thought. She wished she was still running on adrenaline like Petra, but alas the truth had managed to sink in. Her spark dimmed, her energy faltering.

Petra held Jesse back almost protectively, while peering around the corner. Despite her friend's gesture, Jesse moved forward to peek out as well.

She all of a sudden understood why Petra was so desperate to get them out of there. What looked like thousands of people, were crowding the normally calm streets. Holding torches up for light, swords and other weapons raised.

The front doors of the Order Hall was broken down, wood splintered, a stone axe lodge in the frame. The thousands of murmuring voices were deafening.

"They've noticed you're gone." Petra said softly, clenching her fist around the helm of her sword. "They're going to find us here soon."

"What do we do?" Jesse asked nervously, her quick breaths picking up the pace.

Petra bit her lip, looking back and forth. Obviously hesitant, as she tightened and loosened her grip on her sword repetitively. Then she took a deep breath, her fingers clasping back around Jesse's wrist.

"Get ready to run."

And they did. For once Jesse was glad Petra was pulling her along, her legs feeling like they wouldn't be able to put her feet in front of each other fast enough otherwise. And it wasn't long before they were spotted.

"Petra!" Jesse called anxiously, glancing over her shoulder and seeing the mob approach. Weapons raised, eyes blazing with rage.

"Just keep running!" Petra replied, although her usually-confident voice was laced with fear and doubt. Two words that weren't usually associated with Petra.

She pulled Jesse along, swerving in between buildings and cutting across the empty streets. Quickly however, citizens were coming from all directions, predicting that the two fleeing order members were heading for the town gates.

"We're going to have to split up, throw them off our trail!" Petra deciding, speaking mid-run.

"Splitting up?" Jesse gasped in horror, nearly loosing her footing on the gravel road.

"Meet back up in Bad Luck Alley!" Petra called, giving Jesse a hard shove off the main road.

Jesse wasn't able to keep her balance, thudding onto the concrete. She looked up just in time to see Petra leap right over a path bench, continuing her run in clear sight. Drawing the people away from Jesse.

Jesse didn't even have time to think of how grateful she was, scrambling to her feet as figures came up to her, people that that didn't take Petra's bait.

"You tore down my house!" One man hissed, ripping a dagger out, it's blade shimmering red in the setting sun's light.

"Please, it wasn't me!" Jesse begged, stepping back slowly, trying to reason instead of run. "You have to believe me, I would never intentionally hurt my people!"

"We're no longer your people!" A woman called, pointing a large shard of broken wood at Jesse. "You're a traitor!"

"Please!" Jesse fought back tears, taking another step away from them.

The two citizens kept advancing towards her, more slowly joining their crowd. All of the sudden the man launched forward, his dagger stabbing at Jesse.

The blade scraped off on Jesse's armour, leaving a nasty scar on the silver surface. Even though Jesse wasn't hurt, the force was enough to knock her back hard. She looked up, the man raising his dagger again – this time aiming at her throat. Which, unlike her chest, wasn't protected by armour.

Thinking fast, Jesse kicked upwards. She planted her boots on the man's chest, thrusting him backwards and then using the same momentum to propel herself to her feet.

Jesse drew her sword defensively. She didn't want to hurt these people, but found she had no choice. Their step was more hesitant, all of them aware of the fact that Jesse's diamond blade was a lot stronger than any of their measly weapons.

But Jesse knew, well armed or not, she was outnumbered. So before they could too that realise, she turned tail and ran.

------------------------------

It felt like Jesse's heart skipped a beat of relief, when she spotted the familiar black leather jacket, the disheveled blonde hair and the deep blue eyes.

Jesse leapt in between the two buildings, promptly collapsing against the wall before she even had a chance to greet Lukas.

"Are you hurt?" Of course it was his first question.

"I'm... fine." Jesse gasped out, fighting to get the air back in her lungs.

Her chest was heaving, her head feeling dizzy from over-exertion. Her arms and face were covered in minor cuts and bruises, but nothing hurt yet – she knew she was definitely going to feel pain in a few hours.

All of a sudden a pair of arms wrapped around Jesse's waist. She opened her arms, surprised to see Radar – clothes grimy and black hair a rats nest.

"I'm so glad you're OK!" He cried out, unable to hold back his tears.

"It's OK, buddy." Jesse whispered, hugging back and resting her chin on her short intern's head. "I'm alright."

Only now did she notice that, other than Lukas and Radar, there were two more people in the shadows. Axel and Olivia's expressions were a jumbled up mixture of terror and relief.

"I'm so glad you're all OK." Jesse said, giving them a shaky smile as she battled the urge to start crying as well. "This is all my fault, I.."

"It's not." Lukas said, putting his hand on Jesse's shoulder and gently squeezing it. "What's going on here is nothing more than a frame up. You did nothing wrong, you risked your life to save these people."

"Lukas is right." Radar said in a small voice, slowly starting to recover himself as he took off his glasses to wipe his eyes on his sleeve.

"Where's Petra?" Lukas asked, looking back towards the streets. "She left to go look for you."

"We got split up while running." Jesse explained as Axel and Olivia walked over to both hug her as well. "We agreed to meet back here..."

It was silent for a second, an uneasy tension and fear for their friend hanging in the air. Jesse raked her fingers through her tangled hair, biting her lip until she nearly drew blood. She should never have let Petra lead the crowds away on her own.

"Where will we go from here?" Olivia asked, pulling the still-shaking Radar closer to her and squeezing his shoulder reassuringly. "Beacontown... it's become a war zone."

"I'm going to flee with Petra." Saying those words out loud felt like a punch to the stomach for Jesse. "You and Axel need to get back to Boomtown and Redstonia. Hopefully this.. 'fight' doesn't spread that far. Point is, the longer you hang around me, the harder it's going to be to clear your names. Your towns need you right now."

Axel and Olivia exchanged glances, Axel's goofy expression completely gone for once and tears making Olivia's brown irises shine. But nonetheless, they both slowly nodded.

"I'm coming with you and Petra." Lukas said, taking Jesse's hand. "If the Beacontowners come after you, the first place they'll check out is mine. I don't want to be there when that happens."

"What about me?" Radar asked in a small voice. "Beacontown doesn't want me here either..."

"You can come with me." Olivia said, putting her hands on Radar's shoulders. "There's bound to be a place in Redstonia for a smart young man like yourself. And seeing how well things worked out between you and Jesse, I wouldn't hesitate taking you on as an assistant."

Radar's face lit up, and he tightly hugged the engineer.

"Thank you, Olivia." Jesse said, giving her friend an appreciative smile. "Take care of him for me." She hated the audible crack in her voice at the end of her sentence.

Another violent call in distance caught their attention, smoke changing the colour of the dimming sky to a murky grey.

"The rest of you, go!" Lukas said, pulling his bow off his back.

Axel and Olivia didn't need telling twice, both disappearing into the shadows with Olivia still clutching Radar's arm.

"You too, Jesse." Lukas said when she didn't budge. "I'll meet you outside of town as soon as I can find Petra."

"I'm not leaving you." Jesse insisted, pushing herself off the wall she's been leaning on. "Petra might be in danger because of me."

"It's too dangerous for you to be seen out on the streets." Lukas insisted. "I think it would be both safer and better if-"

Lukas was interrupted as another figure all of a sudden broke into the shadows from outside, gasping for breath. Petra.

The warrior was visibly limping, the pain-masking adrenaline wearing off. Her breathing was heavy and laboured, sweat trickling down her red face. Lukas and Jesse were by her side in a second.

"Are you OK?" Jesse asked worriedly, taking Petra's arm to help steady her.

Only now did she notice that Petra's clothes were covered in dirt, her long black sleeve torn around the elbow. It looked like she had a bad fall.

Petra dismissively waved her hand at Lukas and Jesse's concerns, showing that she was OK whilst still trying to get her breath back.

"Just... fell... Not.. hurt.." She gasped, taking a few deep breaths. "We need to.. get out of here... now."

"Agreed." Lukas said, nodding. "Now that we've got everybody together, there's nothing holding us back."

"Well excuse me for holding you back." Petra muttered, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she finally caught her breath.

Jesse rolled her eyes, about to drop her own sarcastic comment, when something came from the side, shoving her into the wall hard. Strong fingers wrapped around her throat, two rage-filled eyes burning into hers. It was the same guy she encountered earlier, dagger and all.

He didn't even get a chance to say something, Jesse's friends grabbing him and pulling him away from her. The crushing grip on her throat was released. Jesse would've fallen to the ground, had Lukas not been there to catch her.

Petra had tackled the guy to the ground, her fist having already made contact with his ribs once. She pulled her arm back, ready to land a punch in his face when he all of a sudden manage to pull his one hand loose, bringing the helm of his dagger up right against Petra's nose.

The redhead let out a cry of pain, stumbling backwards and clutching her face. Almost instantly, blood ran through her fingers and down her arm. Her eyes squeezed shut in obvious agony.

"Are you OK?" Lukas asked as he and Jesse both knelt down beside Petra who was still sitting on her hunches, clutching her bleeding nose. She didn't say anything, only nodding.

Nobody payed attention to the man on the ground, curled in a pitiful ball of pain from the hit Petra had landed.

"Let's get out of here." Lukas said, helping Petra to her feet.

He took her arm, the one she wasn't using to stop the bleeding, guiding her into the shadows. Jesse was right behind them, carrying Petra's golden sword that she had dropped.

"Hey!"

By pure reflexes and instinct, Jesse turned around when she heard the voice.

Right as the man thrust his dagger at her face.

___

Starting off with a long 3000+ word chapter and a cliffhanger - this is why I love this book. 

I can't tell you guys how much I had been willing the past five days to pass, just to post this. Then today came and I very nearly forgot about the chapter all together XD  BUT, here we are, finally getting into the story!

Since we're still so early in the thing, I really don't have much to say, other than - I hope the story has so far been living up to everybody's expectations!

I'll see you all in five days with Chapter 2!