The Master lunged at me, his fingers gripping my throat so tightly that I thought my neck was going to explode. His fingers bruised my skin, turning it black and blue. But then suddenly, I melted into the black floor. When I came back up, it wasn't me who was being strangled, it was Josh. I cried out, screaming at the Master to stop. He did, letting Josh fall but as he did, Josh seemed to morph, now tied to a chair, his mouth gagged to prevent him from talking. A gun was on the table in front of me and against my will, I picked it up.

The Master was behind me, whispering his cruel persuasion. I slowly lifted the gun using telekinesis completely on my own which shouldn't even be possible. Josh's eyes were shattered as he looked at me. They were once so soft, so trusting now cracked liked glass. Without myself in control, I couldn't do anything about what happened next.

I shot him.

Dead.

 I fell to my knees over Josh's still body, feeling the agonizing burn that ripped through my heart like a bullet on fire. But that wasn't because I was now dying; it was because the one thing in my life that was wort living for, was gone. Tears streamed down my face like the blood running down Josh. Josh was dead.

And I killed him.

Now I was going to die as my punishment because we were connected. Kill one and you kill the other. I was lying on the floor beside Josh now, whispering the same words over and over again: forgive me. The Master stood above of me, laughing his cruel, evil laugh as I took my last excruciating breath-

I woke up clutching my bruised neck and screaming. Josh scrambled around the fire we had made on the far side of Central Park, about four and a half miles from the Empire State Building, where Triple's base was underneath although it did stretch for miles underground. We had set out late from the base so it was dark now. The stars gleamed above the ruined city.

"Erin, calm down," Josh said soothingly but gripping my shoulders. I was still panicking, thinking the dream was real. My heart was racing as I took deep gasps of air. "It was only a dream. It was just a dream; you're here with me." Josh now had his hands on the sides of my head, forcing me to look at him. His eyes were a soft hazel brown, not matching his white silvery hair. To a normal person it would have looked odd, but to me it made him more interesting to look at. It was also a side effect of us being Triple's experimentation in the early days of trying to create two people bonded as one. Another thing to add to the list of 'not normal things'. His silver hair and my illuminous golden eyes.

"You're OK," Josh told me. I calmed down a bit, taking in my surroundings and staring at my hands to make sure they weren't covered in Josh's blood. I buried my head into his chest, ignoring his little grunt of surprise. Slowly, his arms encircled me. "What was your dream about?" He asked me when I finally let go. I shook my head.

"I don't want to talk about it," I mumbled. "It was scary enough without having to relive it."

"Sometimes it's better to talk about it," Josh said without looking at me. He was rummaging through his rucksack and then passed me a bottle of water.

"You can read my mind," I said. "I don't have to talk about it." Josh laughed lightly.

"I actually haven't looked yet," he admitted. He was fiddling with his shoe lace on his boot; a sign that he was worried. "I thought maybe we could be normal for once and talk like normal people about things."

"But we're not normal, Josh," I said, tucking my knees up to my chin. "And I'm too weak to talk about it." Josh looked up at me with sad eyes.

"You are not weak, Erin," he said sternly. "I've seen you take down fully grown men with nothing but a pocket knife. You can flip and vault over buses. And on top of all that, you can use telekinesis. You are anything but weak."

"I can only do that with you!" I cried. "And what good is that if I can't take down the men at Triple?"

"They have the only thing that can stop us, Erin," Josh replied darkly. "And we are stronger together."

"This time I can't do it with you," I said, close to tears. "I have to kill this guy or we're both dead." I lowered my voice to a whisper. "I can't kill, Josh. Not in cold blood like that. All the other times were when they were trying to kill me too. They want me to just shoot him when he's probably trying to save the world."

"I'll do it," Josh said quickly. "I'll do it so you don't have to."

"They won't accept it," I said. "You heard the Master. We need proof that I did it. They have us in a corner."

"Our whole lives have been spent in a corner," Josh murmured. "But one day, I'll find a way to get us out of this. But for now-"

"I know," I sighed, lying back down to try to sleep again. "Grin and bear it."

***
I switched over the watch with Josh at about two in the morning. He was asleep within seconds. Now, at about five o'clock, he shivered slightly in his sleep and murmuring as he did so. I smiled slightly and shook my head at some of the ridiculous things he was saying, tucking a blanket round him and stroking his slivery hair softly.

I looked around at the destroyed city around me. The attack on New York fifteen years ago was apparently devastating. Missiles blew up the crumbling skyscrapers and land mines placed before exploded the pavements, leaving crators as big as swimming pools on sidewalks and roads. Similar attacks happened in London and Tokyo. People in Triple think that it's called Triple because of the Master's three scars on his face. He never said but we knew that he got them because of a missile strike from the combined forces of Japan, England and the US. That's why they were the first to get obliterated when Triple rose to full strength. But he wanted to take it out on the world.

Since then, Triple always attacks in threes. They hit Rio, Delhi and Sydney just six months after New York, London and Tokyo. Then, when Josh and I were five, they destroyed Mexico City, Cairo and Shanghai. The last one was when we were eleven and Moscow, Chicago and Lagos were wiped off the map. Of course, in between the large attacks, Triple destroyed an important building or two just to make sure that the world didn't forget about them, but still they were in threes. Or they held off attacks from the World Armed Forces but they always left each city the same way: barren, filled with rubble, completely lifeless.

Two hours of me sitting by the embers of the fire and Josh finally woke up. He sat up and yawned before turning to me. "Any trouble?" He asked.

"No," I said. Some people still roamed the cities just for shelter from the violent world but they were often dangerous either in gangs or on their own, all with guns. Ever since Triple, the world out there had become very dangerous, people fighting for the smallest scrap of food and the Armed Forces hanging on by a thread.

"We better get to the five mile check point," Josh said. "I would rather have some ammo for tonight rather than just relying on telekinesis." We started packing up and carefully spreading the fire remains.

"Josh," I said, catching his arm as he turned. "Thank you for last night for calming me down from my nightmare...and for telling me that we can be normal. Things in our lives are kind of messed up and I'm losing hope but you aren't, so I'll try not to."

"Erin, I'm always here for you as you are for me," he said simply. "Nothing will ever change that." I thought about my dream where I shot him in the heart, his blood spilling through my fingers like a river. What if it turned out to be true and I am the reason that Josh will die? Will I be there for him then in them few seconds that I have left to live? Can I be as strong as him?

I forced a smile to my face and nodded, shutting out the picture from my mind as we walked to the nearest road. The quicker we kill this guy and get this over with, the better.

As we reached the road, I happened to glance up a the security camera that was screwed to the wall of a building. That was odd; Triple had taken them all down. But before I could ask Josh about it, the road below us exploded.

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Hi guys!!!

So, this was a bit of the filler chapter to get a bit more background on Triple and Erin and Josh's life there. It may have been a bit boring so I decided to leave it on a cliffhanger...yay for me but maybe not for you. Sorry if you did find it boring.

The picture above is of Josh. You may have remembered that I mention that one of the side effects from Josh and Erin being bonded was that they have slightly unusual features i.e. Josh's bright white hair and Erin's golden eyes. I just thought it would make them more interesting, if it didn't then oh well. I'll put a picture of Erin on the next chapter.

Also in this chapter I wanted to show you what Josh and Erin were like when Triple wasn't watching them. (So Erin's vulnerability but also how she can be strong even if she can't see it. And Josh's endurance and never ending compassion. We'll see a different side to Josh in the next chapter when it's in his perspective and not Erin thinking he has no flaws which he does.) Hopefully I can make them better as the story goes on but you know, anything can happen... If you don't get my characters or the story then please tell me so I can improve it!!!

So now the end of my very long author's note. I hoped you enjoyed it, comment and vote if you did!!!

Thank you lovely people!!!

CricketCat