It wasn't supposed to go like this. Alex wasn't supposed to be here.

The officer's hand trembles as he holds the gun in my face.

"Move, Raven," he growls, but he's shaking from head to toe. He doesn't want to shoot me, I know, but he has to get to Alex.

"I can't do that," I whisper, stepping closer so the barrel of his gun is against my forehead.

"Raven!" Rae shouts. She's got Alex's head on her legs, trying to stop the bleeding.

"Go. You and Erick get him out of here!" I order.

"If... if they leave, I'll have to take you in as an accessory," the officer's voice trembles.

"I know." I nod, knocking my forehead into the barrel of his gun, making him jump.

"Raven," Erick warns, reaching for my arm.

As soon as his skin is on mine, I rip away from him, pushing him away.

"Go!" I snap, not able to look at him.

My stomach twists as Erick sighs and leaves my side.

I can't turn to look and see if they're gone, but the officer starts forward, so I assume they're leaving.

I slam one hand into the officer's wrist and at the same time I slam my other hand into his gun, grabbing it.

I back away from the officer, pointing the gun at his head.

The pistol begins to burn my hand, as it's supposed to.

During a time of war, America sealed its borders from the rest of the world. We built a dome to protect people from radiation from bombs. Or at least, that's what they tell us. It keeps us afraid of the outside.

People became suspicious of everything. Every move we make is monitored. Our buildings are glass for 'transparency'. We have chips in our heads that allow us to use technology better than ever, but the government also uses them to track and control us.

The police are the only ones allowed to have guns. They have biometric scanners so no one can use them except the police.

If you don't scan your finger, the gun starts to heat up and in sixty seconds, you'll have third degree burns or worse.

Still, I don't drop the weapon, and unlike the officer in front of me, I'm not afraid to fire.

"Don't do this," pleads the officer.

I don't want to shoot him. I've never had anything against officers... even though I should.

But they've protected me because of who my mom is, so I've always felt grateful towards them... most of them anyway.

But I can't let him get Alex, or my other friends.

A stinging pain flares through my hand and I flinch. I only have thirty seconds.

"Drop the gun, Raven," the officer pleads.

I have no choice but to listen. But I make a decision. I drop the gun to point at his leg and fire.

He screeches and collapses to the ground, grabbing his leg.

"I'm sorry!" I shout, dropping the gun to the ground.

I turn and take off in the direction my friends went. I have to hope they're going where I'm guessing they're going.

Another shot rings through the air. The entire world goes still for a moment as pain flourishes through my shoulder.

I scream into my teeth, but keep going.

I'll process the pain later and Rae will patch me up, but for now, I can't let myself get caught.

I make my way to the cemetery.

It's not really a cemetery in the sense that we bury our dead here. After we built the dome, there wasn't exactly room for dead bodies, so we dump them outside the dome.

We still have cemeteries, but they're nothing more than plaques beside trees. Cemeteries are really the only place you can find trees here anymore.

I make my way to Oliver's grave. It's deep in the cemetery, which is almost a small forest. I pass his grave and don't look at it so I don't have to see the wrong name on it... Or feel the guilt it brings.

I stumble towards the gazebo a little beyond the grave and settle onto one of the seats.

I have to hope the grounds keeper will be around soon. I'm too exhausted to go on and my vision is flickering from the pain.

In fact, my vision is almost completely black. I try to keep my eyes open, but a weariness I've never felt creeps into my bones.

I slide forward on the seat, collapsing to the Gazebo floor on my knees. I only have enough control to topple sideways, onto my uninjured shoulder.

Darkness envelopes me.

A gunshot echoes in my ears and faintly, I hear myself scream a name. I can feel myself move, but I'm simply going through the motions.

I've had this dream so many times it's warped beyond recognition.

Instead of the real face of the shooter, some punk named Hunter, the face is a donkey's.

The donkey seems to smile when I lunge for my shot friend.

My friend, Alex, is lying there, but instead of blood coming from the wound, it's strawberry syrup.

I'm, of course, used to this by now, but it doesn't hurt any less. Even though the dream is changing and becoming less real every time I dream it... The events actually happened.

When the second shot rings out, I struggle to tear my eyes away from Alex.

He's lying there, on the ground. His wound more fatal than Alex's.

Someone shot the love of my life. And I'd done nothing to stop it.

His wound leaks real cherries.

I snap awake somewhere warm, but keep my eyes sealed shut. I faintly smell vanilla and hear someone shuffling.

She must notice me wince, because Rae says, "you're safe, Raven."

I blink my eyes open.

Rae stands over me, studying my eyes. "How are you feeling?"

I take a second to run through a checklist of my wounds. "How'd I get here?" I ask, because it's easier.

Rae huffs and rolls her eyes. "Raven," she berates.

Somehow, she still manages to look drop-dead gorgeous even under the unflattering fluorescents. They ignite her light brown hair and give her a golden halo.

Her dark eyes, which are boring into mine, are so dark I can't tell where her iris begins. A flickering candle on my side table makes her eyes glitter like they hold stars.

She breaks our stand off first by grabbing my hand. "I thank the Lord you didn't die out there. By the time Will found you, you'd almost bled out."

I look at my hand in hers. The contrast between her dark skin and my pale skin makes me look like I'm glowing. I squeeze her hand. "I'm feeling alright," I tell her.

She shakes her head. "I'll choose to believe you," she whispers.

I look down. "How's Alex?"

"He's fine. He narrowly avoided a concussion. Once I got the bleeding under control, he was alright."

I close my eyes. "Did Will find the man that shot me?"

"He wanted to kill him," she says, confirming my fear. "But he was already dead."

I flinch. "That shot shouldn't have-."

"It wasn't your fault," she murmurs. "The shot to his leg didn't kill him."

"Then what did?" I hiss.

She gives me a pointed look. "He shot the head councilwoman's daughter, Raven. That comes with consequences."

I flinch and look away. "Where's Will? I should debrief him."

"I already told him what happened. He knows you were protecting us."

"Still... I should talk to him."

She sighs and glances at my wrapped shoulder. "Fine. He's in the garden."

I mock salute her. "I'll be fine, Rae. Don't worry about me."

She stands and rolls her eyes. "If I knew how to do that, I would be at home right now."

I squeeze her hand and pull myself to my feet. The floor bucks under me, but I manage not to stumble. "Thanks, Rae. Love you."

She waves me off. "Love you too. Now get out."

I slip out of the room and into the compound's hallway.

The band around my wrist vibrates, but I know it's my mom, so I ignore it. She'll be wondering if I'm alright.

Let her believe I'm dead. It's for the best.

She'll use the chip to track me if I don't answer soon enough, but I'm allowed to be petty for now.

"Good evening, Ms. Black."

I flinch as I pass the woman and her child.

I'm well known throughout the city because of my mom being the head councilwoman. But within the rebellion, that can be a bad thing.

Either people hate me for being the reason they have to be here, fighting. Or they adore me because they've heard of me turning my back on my mom to fight for them.

It's worse when they adore me. They think I'm some kind of saint. As if I'm their savior.

Children are the worst. They grow up with me around here, fighting cops, stealing weapons. They think I'm some action hero. Some kind of knight in shining armor.

The woman's child stares at me with wide, round eyes, chewing on a plastic figurine.

I nod to excuse myself and keep going to the garden.

Why does it have to be so far away from my room?

The smell of food from the cafeteria makes my stomach grumble and I pause to peer inside. Getting shot takes a lot out of a person. I should get some food.

Across the cafeteria, I see Alex sitting with Erick and Ava. My shoulders tighten, sending a hot spike through my left shoulder.

I shake the pain off and keep going.

It's not like the food is that good anyway, most of it is blended and put in tubes. I can wait to eat.

As I make my way through the housing section of the compound, my shoulders tighten even more, making my vision swim.

I should be proud of our housing section. We've taken in dozens, maybe hundreds, of families with nowhere to go.

But this is a rebellion. Able bodies are put to work. Or worse, they're put on a front line of a war they came here to get away from.

Will is technically our leader. He owns the compound and the garden. Fresh air like this is hard to come by. Somewhere safe where you don't have to rely on the council to survive.

He was in the council's army before he saw the corruption tearing our city, and country, apart. He joined the rebellion at a young age, then rose to be one its prominent leaders before he was even twenty.

Now, he's been leading this compound for four years. I've been with him since O... since the incident.

The door to the garden eases shut behind me and I stand in the doorway for longer than I need to, staring at a patch of too dry Tiger Lilies. Usually, Ava's in here to take care of them, but she can't always tell when they need more water.

I suppress the urge to water them and make my way deeper into the garden. When I round a corner and come upon Will, I clasp my hands behind my back. "Commander," I greet, not looking at him.

He looks up from a patch of roses he's weeding and sighs, "Raven. Release your arms, you'll pull your stitches."

I relax and look down at him. "What are you doing?"

He gives me a blank stare. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

I roll my eyes. "You hate gardening, I mean."

He nods, returning to the roses. "I do. But these little fellas need me."

"About what happened-."

He uses a shovel to wave me off. "Rae already told me everything. How's the shoulder?"

I don't answer. It's easier for us if I don't.

He needs his best soldier to be in top form. I need to not be benched.

I expect him to let my non-answer slide, like usual.

But he gets to his feet and uses his height advantage to tower over me. "Raven," he warns. "Be honest."

"Do you care?" I ask.

It's a bit harsh, but it's hard to tell with him sometimes. He may be a huge nerd who likes video games and ancient movies like Star Wars. But he's also a commander of a rebellion. He's my commander.

"You're not just a soldier, Raven," he says, walking around me to sit on a nearby bench. "You know that."

"I'm not here for you to get all sappy on me, Will. You know that."

He takes a breath and stares me down like I'm the same kicked puppy he took in after... everything. "What did you come in here for, then?"

I try to shrug, but the stab into my shoulder makes me stop. "I, uh, I want another mission."

He scoffs, "do you ever know when to quit, Raven Black?"

"Please, Will. You know recovery isn't my thing."

He runs his tongue along his teeth. "Yeah. I'll see what I can dig up for you." He turns away.

I step forward, hesitating for a moment. I know what his answer will be. "Maybe... I could go to the dome. You know there's been reports of movement out there."

Will slams his gardening tools onto the bench and turns on me. "You hear that from Ava? I told her to stop telling you confidential information she overheard from her parents. There's no proof that information is true, Raven! They know she's part of the rebellion. They could be feeding her false information."

"We don't know that!"

Will rolls his eyes. "Please, Raven. Give it a rest. Whatever's out there is not going to give you what you want."

"How are we supposed to get proof if you won't let me at least look? I'm the head councilwoman's kid! They'll let me see what's out there! What if it's true!? What if the radiation is all a lie!? We could leave the dome, Will! There could be people out there!"

"That's what I'm worried about," he snaps.

I quiet, balling my fists. Electricity buzzes through me. "You're a coward," I tell him.

He scoffs and gives me an unamused smile. "And you're a fool, Raven. I know what's waiting for us out there. It's not good. It's not what you want. If there has been people out there unaffected by radiation all these years, why haven't they tried to get in before? And if there is radiation, who knows what it's done to them? Why have they waited until now? We've only been getting reports for the past month. Why now? Think, Raven. And don't bring this up again. You're not going to the dome."

I flip him off.

"Raven," he sighs.

I turn on my heel and take off. I don't cry. Even if I did, I wouldn't cry over Will's unending desire to keep me locked up.

He's almost as bad as my mother. He doesn't think I'm strong enough for anything. He thinks I'm going to get myself hurt.

If it was anyone else that wanted to go, he would sanction the mission right away.

But it's not just anyone. It's me.

I'm so lost in my thoughts; I don't realize someone's calling my name until Erick grabs my injured arm and snaps me to a stop.

I refuse to give him the satisfaction of crying out.

"What do you want?"

"We need to talk," he says.

"Why? Do you have information on what's going on outside the dome?"

He sighs, "no. But it's imp-."

"See you at the briefing tomorrow, Erick."

"Raven!" He shouts, but doesn't follow.

He's used to getting his way. A bat of his pretty blue eyes or a sweep of his curly blonde hair and he's got all the girls falling for him.

But he doesn't follow me because he's afraid I'll break his nose like I did on my birthday last year.

I get to my room without anymore distractions and begin to pace. I need to get out of here. I'm no good at sitting still, even when I'm injured.

Inaction leads to pain. I'm no good with pain either.

Someone knocks on my door and I clench my fists.

Dammit, Erick, I thought you'd learned your lesson.

"Go away!" I shout.

My door slams open, smacking the wall behind it.

"Excuse you!?"

At the sight of wild, red hair, I close my eyes. "Ava. I didn't realize it was you."

She kicks the door shut with her foot and makes her way to my bed, slowly. "Yeah, well, maybe wait until you open the door before yelling. I may be blind, but I can still kick your ass."

I grin. Ava always knows how to calm me down. She's only about a year younger than me, but she's always been like my kid sister.

Her parents weren't around for most of her life, and my mom couldn't give a damn about me, so we tended to gravitate towards each other.

She's one of my oldest friends.

She runs a hand over her red hair and I suppress a Merida comment.

It's one of the reasons she hates the kids staying here. We don't have a lot of new movies to watch in the compound, so we have to make due with what we can find online from decades ago.

The kids ask her all the time if she knows how to ride a horse or shoot a bow and arrow.

She usually snaps that she's blind and Rae has to shoo the kids before she can start cursing at them.

"You're staring," she states.

"Your sensors tell you that?" I ask. "Because they're wrong."

Her light green eyes stare off into space over my shoulder. "I don't need the damn sensors to tell me you're being weird again."

I snort and settle onto a chair in front of the bed.

Rae must've brought it in when she was fixing up my bullet wound.

I tap her knee and she jolts at the touch. "Y'know, Will was weeding your plants earlier."

"What!? But he always damages the roots! Which plants?"

"The roses." I smile as she grinds her teeth together.

One of her front teeth is longer than the other and she tends to grind it into her bottom teeth when she's emotional.

She rants for a moment about Will's bad plant care, then shakes her head. "Stop distracting me, that's not why I'm here."

"Why are you here?" I ask, running a finger over her knuckles.

She licks her lips and shakes her head. "I overheard my parents talking yesterday."

I sit straighter. "About the people outside the dome?" I ask. My leg starts to bounce.

Ava nods. "But... the reports they were discussing are... odd."

"Odd? Odd how?"

"This isn't public knowledge. You can't tell Will I told you this."

"Cross my heart," I swear.

She sighs, "they have wings. And they appear to be readying for an attack."

My body freezes. I know what my mind should be focusing on, but it's going the opposite direction. "Wings?" I ask.

She grinds her teeth. "I knew you were going to react like this. But seriously! Maybe it's the radiation!"

Radiation giving people wings? That's... different.

But it's not the reason my mind is whirling. I've dreamt of this. Maybe not winged people attacking the dome I live in. But people with wings. Castles. Entire kingdoms of people who can do magic and fly.

I shake my head. "It's not that crazy," I say. "What do you mean they're readying an attack?"

Ava shrugs her shoulders. "My parents didn't say much about it. Just that they've been getting braver with getting near the dome recently. They seem to be searching for something."

"This is crazy," I breathe. My heart is racing. My mind is going a million miles a minute.

Ava chews on her lip. "Raven, I feel like I've seen this before." She closes her eyes. "There's something coming for us... for you. They're looking for you."

I can't suppress the giggle that bubbles out of my chest.

Her expression tightens and she sits straighter. "Don't laugh at me."

"No, Ava, I-I'm sorry. I just... that's ridiculous. No one from outside the dome is looking for me."

"You're the head councilwoman's daughter!"

I flinch.

"It's not that crazy!"

"Yeah, but if they're outside the dome, it's not like they know who I am, Ava! You're messing with me, right?"

"No!" She snaps to her feet. "This isn't a joke, Raven! I've been having these dreams! For months! Something bad is coming for you."

"Dreams?" I ask. Even if I've been having my own, I've spent enough time around Rae to know they're bullshit. "You're just worried, Ava," I placate her. "Nothing's going to happen to me. I'll be fine."

"You can't promise that," she whispers.

"I'm resilient," I assure. "Your dreams are just dreams, Ava. Don't worry about them."

She balls her fists and her face burns red. "I thought of all people, you would believe me. I know they're dreams, but they feel so real. And the last time I had a dream like this-!"

Blood rushes in my ears. I stand and my chair scrapes on the floor. "What?" I ask, in a quiet voice.

Tears flood her eyes and her lips tremble. "Oliver died," she breathes. She reaches for me, but I step back.

A tear slips down my cheek. "You had a dream about Oliver's death?" I ask. "Before it happened? You didn't tell me?"

"I thought I was crazy," she breathes. "I thought-." She shakes her head. "But that's why I'm telling you now. I think they're looking for you. They're here for you, Raven!"

"Get out."

She steps back. "What?" Her voice cracks.

"Get out, Ava!" I shout, yanking the door open.

Her head turns as her sensors alert her to my movement. She gasps for air and shakes her head. "Don't. You know I love picking fights, but I hate fighting with you. Just listen to me."

I keep my voice as controlled as possible. "I hear you, Ava," I say, "I'm going to be careful. But I need to think for a moment. Please. I'll find you later."

She steps up beside me and reaches for me, hitting my arm. "His death wasn't my fault," she whispers, "I couldn't have known."

"Please," I breathe, "go."

She grinds her teeth together and nods.

I slam the door behind her without meaning to and curse myself. I begin to pace. I shouldn't have treated her like that.

She's right, it's not her fault. Oliver's blood is on no one's hands but mine and that Hunter punk.

She's always right about these things. It's kind of annoying.

I stop in front of my sink and stare at myself in the mirror. I plant my hands against the corners and press until a dull ache spreads up my left arm.

I meet my eyes in the mirror and glare at myself. What kind of asshole yells at a sixteen-year-old kid when she's scared?

When I look at myself, all I can see is my mother. Same long, wavy black hair. Same Korean eyes, although I'm only half-Korean. Same sharp nose and severe looks, like a bird. Same plump and pink lips that make flirting my way out of a bad situation easy. The only differences are the deep green of my eyes and the splash of freckles across my nose, but even the green of my eyes is splashed with the same silver flakes as hers.

I scan myself, looking for something I don't hate. I don't find it.

When my eyes shift down and over my boobs, I curse and clench my jaw.

Damn things.

Damn everything about me. I look too much like my mother. Too much like a girl for my liking. Too much like everything I don't want to be.

I punch the mirror. And the pain immediately rips through my hand as the glass slices in.

I curse and kick the cabinet, nursing my hand to my chest.

As if she knows I'm thinking about her, my wristband buzzes.

I clench my eyes closed, feeling all the pain filling me so I can resist the urge to break the damned bracelet. I always wonder what it would be like to take it off for the first time in eleven years.

I want to cut a slit in the back of my neck and take the chip out. My mom wouldn't be able to track me anymore, but I would become a shoot-to-kill target.

My door creaks open. "I can hear your thoughts you're thinking so loud."

I don't give Rae props as I pace my room.

She's leaning against the door frame, watching me like she's the coolest kid on the block.

She is, but that's not the point.

"You look like a caged animal," she says.

I cut her with a glare and she sighs.

She shuts the door and goes to my bed, pulling a knee into her chest and resting her chin on it. "Alright, hon, what's going on?"

"I want to be alone," I growl.

"Right," she says. "I'm sure your mirror wanted to be alone too." She nods at it.

I stop pacing to stare at my splintered reflection. I sigh and shuffle over to her. When I plop beside her, she grabs a first aid kit and examines my hand.

"I saw Ava in the hall," she says.

I look away. "Was she crying?"

"You know her," Rae sighs, "she only cries in front of you. But she wasn't okay, if that's what you're asking. What happened?"

"Look, I don't need your preaching right now, okay? Ava had a dream about Oliver's death before it happened. And-and I know what you're going to say, alright? There was a lot of shootings happening that year and he was doing something dangerous. She was drawing from her surroundings! Magic's not real! Jesus Christ will save my soul if I-."

She smacks me upside the head.

I don't protest. I deserved it. "Sorry," I mutter.

"If you didn't want me to be religious, you shouldn't have snuck me that bible."

"I don't have anything against you being religious," I whisper. "You just sometimes make me feel like I'm crazy for believing in magic."

She hesitates, wiping my hand with alcohol.

I don't flinch. It makes her feel guilty.

"Magic is hard for me to believe in, okay, Raven? Even believing in God is sometimes hard for me. I questioned myself a lot after Oliver died. But I don't think you're crazy for having these dreams, Raven. Ava either. I don't think you're crazy because you don't follow my religion. But I think you've been through a lot. After Oliver-."

I flinch now and she hesitates.

Somedays I can't even admit what happened. Somedays I still can't admit he's gone.

She wraps my hand and tries to find the right words. "You live a dangerous life. You were shot for trying to protect your friends. You've lost people. Some people blame you for that. It's a lot to deal with, Raven. You are allowed to cope in anyway you need to. If believing in castles, and swords, and magic is what helps you get through your day-to-day life, that's fine."

"But what if it's real?" I ask, quietly. "What if the people outside the dome have wings? What if Ava predicted Oliver's death? What if she's right about this?"

Rae blinks and her gaze shifts from my hand to my eyes. "Right about what?"

I close my eyes. "It's nothing."

She grabs my knee and digs her nails in. The temperature drops a few degrees. "Raven, you don't get to keep secrets from me. I'm your doctor."

I scoff, "you're not my doctor, Rae."

"Really? Someone else has helped you with your broken foot, and ribs, and your bullet wound? I'm shocked any other doctor is willing to put up with how much you get injured."

I scratch my forehead. "You done?"

"Hardly, but I'll put it aside for what's important. What did Ava tell you?"

I hesitate, trying to find a way to tell the truth without getting Rae so worried she locks me in my room. "Ava... overhead her parents. The people outside the dome are trying to find a way in."

"Is Will doing anything?"

"He won't because he thinks Ava's parents are feeding her false information. He won't make any moves without proof."

Rae stands, furrowing her brows. "Then, we need to get proof. We can't be sitting ducks like this."

I snap to my feet, sending a flare of fire through my shoulder. "You're not serious!? You're not a fighter, Rae. To get proof we'd have to go to the dome! We'd have to go behind Will's back!"

Rae studies my face, then nods. "I know. Which is why we're taking Erick. As backup."

I flinch. "Do we have to?"

She smacks my good shoulder. "Be nice to my boyfriend, Raven."

"Do I have to?" I ask, dryly.

She rolls her eyes. "Do you want to go to the dome or not?"

I bare my teeth in an unenthusiastic smile. "I'm ecstatic to spend the next hour and a half in your car with Erick."

"I'll take it. Let's go. I'll tell Will we're going on a med run."

I try not to show how excited I am. If she knows how bad I want this, she'll get suspicious and worried. She'll ground me, like I'm a toddler or something.

I grab two daggers and slip them into my boots, then go to the garage to wait for Rae and Erick.

I'm more into swords, but they're not exactly easy to come by. I've spent my entire life training in virtual reality simulations with all kinds of weapons.

I should've realized from a young age that I am very strange. Turns out I'm one of the only people in the dome that has an affinity for multiple languages, weapons, and fighting styles.

First day of gym class in a private school was not my friend.

It's part of the reason I fell in with Erick, who was trying to learn German to reach out to his long-lost sister, who his parents swept out of the dome in order to protect when it turned out she liked women.

Erick arrives before Rae, running his fingers through his curly blonde hair and smiling at me like we're best of friends.

I cross my arms and shuffle away as he approaches.

"Now that we're alone, can you hear me out for two seconds?"

"Nope."

His jaw tightens and he narrows his eyes. "You think you're such hot shit, Raven, but you're not. If this is about your birthday-."

"It is."

"You broke my nose," he snaps.

"After you tried to-!"

"Hey!"

I clam up as Rae hops up to us.

Erick smiles at her and kisses her. "Hey baby." He frowns and shifts her loose hair off her shoulders. "You know I don't like it when you wear your hair down."

I grit my teeth. "Her hair looks great. You're just an asshole."

"Don't curse, Raven. It's fine," Rae says. "It's warm anyway. I should get it off my neck."

I don't say anything as she gathers the tight curls at the back of her head.

I slam the door as I force myself into the back of her tiny car.

It's completely electric, which has become more popular these days.

The dome loves relying on electricity for everything. Even the street lights hover off the ground to free up space.

I wouldn't mind the whole technological revolution if it didn't come with complete control over everything.

After the war that made us build the dome, we decided that it's best if things that cause fighting are outlawed. No religion, no same-sex attraction, no being transgender, no nothing they deem as something that can cause differences. They've practically erased as much of our history as possible.

It's why I got really into history when I was younger. I wanted to preserve as much of it as possible. I wanted to know what made people different. What made them unique. Which is partially how I met Alex and Oliver. Then, later, the rebellion.

Since everything's electronic, they started destroying books as a form of censorship. My first brush with the rebellion was my illegal bookstore that I ran with Oliver. I wanted to join, but Oliver was scared.

Maybe if I'd ignored him, he'd still be alive.

"Raven," Rae says, bringing my head out of the clouds.

I look forward as Rae brings her car to a crawl.

We live in what used to be Oregon, so we're fairly close to the edge of the dome's walls.

Some states, such as Oregon, got cut in half when they were building the dome.

People who lived outside when they closed the walls were left to fend for themselves when the bombs began dropping.

The only way to see out of the dome is to make it to the top of one of the control booths at the top, where the council's soldiers watch over the outside. People have tried before as a prank or whatever, but they never make it to the top. They usually die trying.

The thought makes my stomach turn and Rae's fresh linen air freshener makes me want to puke.

I look out the windshield.

A man with a gun at his hip is approaching our vehicle. He's got one hand on the gun and the other lifted out towards us, forcing Rae to stop the car.

I slide out and the man blinks into the headlights.

"Stop right there! Whoever dared you to do this is trying to get you killed! This isn't a joke! If you get any closer to the walls, I will be forced to put you down!"

I get in front of the car so the man can see me clearly. I flash a brilliant smile. "I'm here on behalf of Zoey Black," I tell him, calmly. I keep my arms out, even though my stitches are straining.

Rae grabs my shirt to pull me back.

"Got any credentials?" He asks.

"How about my license stating I'm her daughter?" The word daughter rolls off my tongue weird.

The man stammers, "R-Raven Black? Is that really you? You shouldn't be out here. You don't have clearance-."

"I doubt my mother would be very happy to hear I'm being held up by her lacky," I say. I don't pull out the Draco Malfoy card very often, but it's usually very effectual.

I twist my wrist and the bracelet projects the screen onto my wrist, illuminating my serious expression. I'm not going to call her, but I have to hope he won't call my bluff.

He glances back at the stairs and frowns.

"I'm sure..." He freezes and shakes his head. "No. No! Raven Black, I'm sorry, but feel free to call your mother. I know my orders. I'm not allowed to let anyone through without permission, and you don't have permission."

Damn. Of course, my mom would manage to find the only people loyal enough to her to guard the stairs so I can't get past.

"I guess we have no choice then," Rae says, drawing a knife.

She's not big on fighting, but I've seen her cut a man's finger off before, so I trust her to have my back.

The man's eyes go wide. He starts to open his mouth to shout for reinforcements, but before a sound comes out, an alarm blares.

Rae steps back, surprised.

The three of us glance at each other, and I even look to Erick, confused.

He shrugs.

"What the hell is that!?" I shout.

The man whips around to face the dome, where other soldiers are pointing their guns at the walls. "That's... the proximity alarm!"

"Get in the car!" Rae shouts, reaching for me.

"They're coming," I breathe, stepping towards the dome walls.

"Raven! Now is not the time! Get in the car!" Rae grabs my right elbow and drags me towards the car.

The guard abandons us to go to his station.

A loud metallic sound reverberates through the air. Metal grinding on metal.

"What the hell is that!?" Erick shouts and Rae smacks his arm.

I smirk.

The sound echoes again and jolts up into my feet. I grab the car door as the ground trembles under me. The door vibrates under my hands, making my arms tingle all the way up into my shoulders.

Rae's eyes widen as the wall of the dome begins to retract.

"The dome," I whisper, sliding into the back seat. I lean between the front seats, gripping the leather in my hands. "They must've found a way to get it open!"

"But if there is radiation out there..." Rae starts, but her voice dies out before she can finish. She throws the car in drive and whips us back towards the city.

She stares into the rear-view mirror, shaded like sawdust.

I look back and find a person chasing us.

Now, it's already strange that he's keeping up with a car. But it's much stranger how he's doing it.

Owl wings, bigger than my entire body, spread to either side of him. Since we're closer to the dome, there's no buildings for him to dodge out here. He flies, unobstructed, straight for us.

"Open the sun-roof," I order.

Erick doesn't hesitate to slam his hand into the button.

"Raven, whatever you're going to do, don't! You're still healing from being shot! Sit down!"

I ignore Rae, clambering onto the center console. I 'accidentally' kick Erick as I push myself up and turn to face the winged man as he lands on the roof. He plunges a sword into the roof to steady himself.

He pulls his wings in tight and I stare in fascination.

"You have control of those," I say, under my breath. I shake myself. "We're not warriors," I shout.

He nods to my hands, where I hold my daggers. "The weapons say otherwise!" He shouts.

"You speak English? Were you affected by radiation!?" I call.

He furrows his brow. "Is this a fight or a pop quiz?"

"Why not both?" I ask.

I have no balance up here, so I stay low.

He seems to have no trouble. Whenever Rae jerks the car to knock him off, he just spreads the wings to catch himself.

"Were you born with those?" I ask.

He looks at his wings, frowning. "Are all humans as inquisitive as you?"

"Humans?" I ask, stepping towards him. "Are you not human?"

He grabs his sword, stepping away. His eyes widen and snap behind me.

I follow his gaze and my brain barely has any time to process the highway sign rocketing towards my face.

The man tackles me... Off the car.

He manages to slow our fall by opening his wings, but the landing sends a severe shock through my shoulder.

I scream in pain. It's like someone poured hot lava into my bullet wound.

I hold my shoulder and the man smiles. "So, you won't be a difficult opponent after all."

I search for my daggers, but they clattered away when he tackled me.

Rae's tires screech in the distance.

I keep my attention on the man as he staggers to his feet with his sword in hand.

He holds it above his head like he's about to drive it down into my heart.

I throw my hand up, as if it's going to stop three feet of cold steel. "Please! Don't!"

The man freezes and I move my hand to see his horrified face. His arms tremble. His eyes are wide and so dark I can't see the pupils. His voice breaks when he rasps, "Raven Black?"

My hand lowers and I stare at him, my brows pinched. "How do you know my name? Who are you!?"

"Raven! Come on!"

The man doesn't move as I scramble to my feet and hurry towards Rae.

I hesitate to get in the car, staring back at him.

He still doesn't make a move towards me. His wings are drooped at his sides and he's staring at me like he knows me.

"Get in the car," Rae orders and slams her hand into the sunroof button so I don't get any ideas.

I watch the man the entire time Rae peels away.

He still doesn't move; he just watches us disappear into the distance.

Rae looks over her shoulder at me. "Raven, are you okay? Why didn't he stab you? What happened?"

"I-I-?" I bury my head in my hands. "I don't know."

"RAE!" Erick screams and I look up just as the car is jerked to the side.

I'm slammed into the door and my shoulder starts bleeding. "Shit!" I shout, my vision blurring.

"They're everywhere," Rae breathes, not even berating my curse.

When my vision returns, I see what she means.

More of the winged creatures are in the city. They're methodically trashing it, as if they're searching for something.

They yank people out of cars and homes, shouting at them, threatening them with swords.

"We need to get back to the compound," Rae breathes. "Will is going to be so pissed we're missing during a fight. He has to be doing something about this."

"Why would he?" Erick snorts, "we can just let them kill the council and sweep in after to take control."

Rae bites her lip and he reaches over to grab her chin.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to do that? You look ridiculous."

I kick the back of his seat and he whips around to smack my leg. "What is your problem!?"

"Oops," I growl, kicking him in the shoulder.

"Enough!" Rae shouts. "You'll both walk back if you don't let me concentrate on getting through this!" She weaves through traffic.

One of the winged creatures comes at us, but Rae just lays on her horn.

The thing doesn't move in time, but Rae doesn't stop.

I dig my nails into the leather as the car jostles over the creature. "Damn, Rae," I whisper.

She grips the wheel tighter and squares her shoulders. "You can judge me later. We let them pull us out and we may never make it to the compound."

Erick rolls his eyes and leans back against his seat. "Whatever. It's not like they're going to care about us. If they want any of us, it's the councilwoman's daughter."

I stare out the window as my heart starts to race.

"They're here for you, Raven!"

A/N: I previously published this, but have been rewriting it recently. I haven't been editing it at all, so forgive any typos please! I will be editing it at some point, but I want to finish writing the whole story first in case I decide to rewrite it again. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed chapter one of Lost Soul and I hope you enjoy the coming chapters!