19

I couldn't tell which of us landed first, falling through the darkness began to feel like an eternity after three or four smacks against the shaft walls. I tried not to make any sharp noises that would give away our position, but it was all too much to bear.

The lives we had built here had come crashing down in a matter of seconds, and now my closest friends were being rounded up and executed as I lay on the wet ground, unmoving.

I felt a delicate hand wrap itself around mine, and caught a whiff of her perfumed golden-blonde hair as Blessing hoisted me to my feet. Her trembling fingers appeared to be equally distressed, although it was hard to tell through the lack of residual light.

"You aren't hurt, Daniel? I think we landed in the basement, the platform must have been built over some kind of cellar door-" She stopped when she heard my jaw clench with a crack, and an involuntary inhale gave notice to my surfacing emotions.

Her hand found its way from my palm to my tense shoulder, while her eyes desperately searched the dust-speckled basement to find my own.

"They're going to pull through. Don't you think for a second that Harry and Alisha will let Beth or Stacie out of their sight. The agents will be looking for us, not them."

"It's not that... How the hell did they find us?! We've been so careful, and we step out for one night-"

"No, this wasn't an ordinary raid. Not even Telos can be so thorough, and it certainly wasn't luck on their part. They must have received a tip-off, or..."

"...Or?"

"I hate thinking this way... but we did give our exact location to Elizabeth Boudica."

A shiver ran up my spine, exploring the possibility against my better judgement. I could hear Blessing shifting around in her bulky army boots, exhaling her discomfort into the dank atmosphere.

"To be honest, I know nothing about that woman... and our last conversation wasn't exactly pleasant. She has every reason to suspect that my existence will only advance the F.L.E.S.H. Program to its final stages. I mean, she only allows my infected brother in her ranks so that she can watch him like a hawk. Maybe to use him as a bargaining chip, if things got serious."

"Just to get rid of you, she'd call a Telos hit squad on her own niece's location? She would never do that, after all of the time we've spent searching... Would she?"

"If it's for the greater good, I would think she's capable of anything... I really shouldn't say such things, I'm sorry."

I scratched my arm, feeling a light scrape reddening from my tumble down the cellar shaft. Above our heads, I could just barely hear the undercover Telos agents barking orders for the crowd to be divided and searched, and for the stage to be pulled apart.

"Bless... We need to help the others. I don't know how, but we need to draw Telos away from the town center and make a run for it. Now that they know we're here, they might bring in reinforcements."

Feeling a nod coming from somewhere in her direction, I grabbed her arm and haltingly we made our way through the pitch-black basement, one step at a time.

I tried not to picture what was happening up on the surface, what Telos would do if they uncovered our friends' true identities. The school kids were still hiding in the sewer, with TB and presumably the rest of the O-Saints. They would be safe, but for how long?

"Mmph? Mmmph!"

Blessing stopped in her tracks, and I almost banged into her as we searched for the strange noise in front of us. It sounded like... someone was calling for help?

"Hrrmp, mmph!! Tmm Thmm Memm!" The voice felt distant, and yet so close that I could feel the sweat radiating from the panicked body. Whatever was going on down here, it couldn't be related to the sudden operation above-ground.

Feeling my way towards the wall, I ran my hands along the cobwebbed surface until I touched upon the cold steel of a metal door. Another room, was that where the strange sound was coming from?

I hesitantly tried the handle, but it was locked tight. Before I could even contemplate another solution, Blessing prodded me out of the way and cracked her knuckles.

"I guess I don't have to hold back anymore... You know all about me now, right?"

"Huh? You know how to pick locks-"

The words hadn't left my mouth before the blonde drew her fist back, and threw a deadly punch straight into a dense inch of pure steel, sending out a painfully loud ring.

As she pulled her bloodied hand away, I staggered backwards with sheer astonishment at the noticeable dent she had forced into the material.

Following up her punch with a dozen more and a heavy lunge kick, her dress ripped along the sides as the door flew off of its hinges and collapsed onto the floor in front of us. Speechless, I cast my open mouth in her direction, watching the supergirl flex her knuckles to accelerate the healing process.

Glancing back with a low smirk, she could tell that I was somewhere between impressed and astounded that she had been hiding that inhumane strength for weeks on end.

"Concentrated Muscle Tissue Development. That's part of our Puppet training, we're top-of-the-line organic powerhouses. If you ever need any couches moved, just give me a call."

"I... hah. Yeah. Awesome." I tried not to gush like a nerdy kid who had just met a steroid-infused Wonder Woman, and followed her through the doorway, taking extra care to step over the defeated block of metal she'd knocked out cold.

"Mmph? Danmm! Hmm Mmph!"

Panning my eyes around to each darkened corner, the only light we had at our disposal belonged to the fading embers of a centralised baker's oven.

Piles upon piles of cluttered junk funneled us into the basement's center; close to one hundred burlap sacks bulging with unknown goods filled the sides of the room, stacked up to the moldy ceiling with curious ambition.

The dying fire should've at least kept us warm, but somehow the eerie shadows that were cast along the walls drained the cellar of what little heat we could absorb. They provided a light distraction, until my sight fell upon the shapeless body laid out in front of the creaking oven.

"Tanner!!" Sliding myself across the gritty floor, I hovered over the collapsed boy for a second to check that he was still breathing. I couldn't imagine how he had gotten into this state...

His mouth was stuffed and taped over with his own filthy socks, and his hands were bound behind his back with a white cable tie, much to my curiosity.

Blessing ripped the duct tape from his mouth, dodging just in time as he hocked a load of spit out along with the taste of his dirty laundry. Trying to sit up straight against the wall of brown bags, his wandering eye glinted mischievously towards his blonde savior.

"...Black lace? That's a bold choice."

I followed his gaze towards Blessing's torn purple dress, and snapped my neck away in alarm when I noticed her 'delicates' were on full display, almost translucent against her smooth skin.

"T-This isn't the time for any of that pervy crap, man! Bless, move your dress!" Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the girl tilt her head in genuine confusion before lifting her gown even higher over her thighs. "Stop!! Other way! Other way, Christ..."

I don't know why I expected any modesty from the woman who had traveled half-way across America with only a bikini and a shawl to her name. If she hadn't told me that she was raised in a lab, her oblivious social behaviour would've given it away sooner or later.

After scolding Tanner for his repeated misconduct, I brought out the switch-blade that Harry had presented to me the other day and started cutting through his restraints. The thug was right after all; I would be needing the weapon, although I wished I hadn't used it this much in the past twenty-four hours alone.

"How did you end up like this, anyway? I thought you were going to see Charlotte?"

"Well, I was. I did..." His eyes widened, as though he'd just started to remember after his short black-out. "Her dad, they were both down here fighting about something. Wait, he straight-up smacked her across the face! I tried to get out and tell someone, but somehow..."

"...He caught up to you. Wait, did he seriously lock you down here?" I posed, and Tanner nodded in a less-enthusiastic manner.

"To tell the truth, it's no secret that she's got problems at home. No one can really do anything about it though, because he's the damn mayor... but heck, I wasn't going to stand by and watch it happen!"

I leaned against the wall, considering the implications carefully. Charlotte's father was beating her? I had noticed similar bruises on her body when we first met, but to think that it was her own father...

Shaking my head away from the drama of this farmhouse, it only served to distract me from the real issue at hand. Somewhere up above, Telos were trying to hunt Blessing down in a town full of innocent bystanders.

"Never mind that... We're safe down here, but there's been a serious incident at the party upstairs. Whatever you do, do not leave this room, okay? I mean it, Tanner."

Leaving him with as few details as possible, it would only draw his attention if I made it sound any worse than it was. For all we knew, they could just kill us and leave the town in peace. If that was what it took to minimise casualties, I'd have to consider the option.

"Daniel."

"Daniel?" Tanner turned his head to me, still believing in my temporary alias as 'Dante'. Ignoring his questioning statement, I turned to face Blessing as she rooted through one of the burlap sacks.

"Bless? Find something useful?"

"No, not at all. In fact, this... This complicates matters."

Stepping out of the way, she held the bag open just enough for me to peek inside. A strong unfamiliar scent filled my nostrils, almost overpowering me entirely. Cupping the contents in my hands, I felt the brownish-white powder filter through my fingers, rich like sand but somehow heavier.

"That's... not flour, is it? Oh, fuck."

"Oh fuck, indeed."

The hairs on my neck jolted with a shiver as the three of us whipped around to face the open doorway. Mayor Talmadge cocked a slim hunting rifle in our direction, his paranoid eyes darting towards each of our frozen faces.

"You shouldn't be down here. Why couldn't you just keep your filthy noses to yourselves? Now I'll have to keep the three of you quiet, God damn it..."

His threat fell flat on the floor in front of us, delivered with a quivering voice and shaky aim on his firearm. Something had him rattled, and it wasn't the Telos invasion a few feet above.

Taking a bold step backwards, Blessing shifted closer towards the baker's oven, only to be halted by another wave of the mayor's weapon.

"S-Stand down! It'll all be over soon, I promise..."

"It'll all be over soon? Does that mean you'll shoot us, or the soldiers up there will expose Patch for what it really is? I know what's in those bags, and it's not something that Telos want shifted outside of their black market."

"You don't know shit... None of you do!! You're bluffing!"

"Oh, you think I'm bluffing?" Her lips curved into a knowing smile, and drew her pointed finger towards the latticed wall of sacks. "Pure. Opium. Powder. Am I right?"

Turning my head slightly towards Blessing, I saw her reach backwards and carefully swing the oven door open, revealing a local delicacy that I myself had partaken in many times. The food tray boasted a dozen raw Pollies, almost bubbling with the delicious syrup contained within.

A low growl filled the pit of my stomach, as the realisation crept over me with gradual horror. Opium, she said... That was something to do with drugs, right? How many had I eaten since coming here?

After putting Patch's famous treat on display, the blonde girl seemed to piece the rest of the story together in record time. She threw her deductions at the mayor, each time knocking him further back out of the doorway.

"The most addictive substance in the world, some might call it... What does a beloved mayor want with this quantity of pure opium? You don't appear to be a drug dealer. In fact, you've been giving it away for free, baking it into these buns and distributing them among your citizens without their knowledge-"

"What else was I supposed to do?!" The mayor barked at us, lowering his gun in complete shame. "How would you keep a place like this running, with drifters coming and going all the time? What would I do, if I lost my community and couldn't provide for my daughter? This town needs me!"

"Don't you dare bring Charlotte into this!!" Tanner got up onto his knees, seething with rage and directing it all onto one target. "Like hell you care about her, after what I just saw! She's your kid, man! How could you treat her that?!"

The mayor avoided all three of our leers with the skill only a politician could fully harness, instead opting to stare straight into the embers of his little opiate factory.

"I... I'm protecting her. You wouldn't understand, not until you're a father yourself! She's my little girl, she just needs to learn how the world works. She knows the sacrifices I've made, and-"

He stopped defending himself abruptly, and turned his back to us. I tried to steal a glance over his shoulder, although it proved pointless as Charlotte herself pushed past him desperately and stumbled into the center of the room.

Clutching a small silver key, she clearly intended on coming down to let Tanner out of her father's custody... Seeing that he was free though, and noting my presence there as well, her slightly-bruised face dropped and reformed into many different shapes before settling on a more somber look.

Drawing her eyes back to her speechless father, she shook her head with the scorn only a teenager could possess for a fallen parent; a role model that once appeared to be invincible in the daydream that was her childhood.

"...Go on, Daddy. Tell them about Mr and Mrs Mackie."

"C-Charlotte? Why are you doing this to me? Go back upstairs, or I'll-"

"Tell them! Look Tanner in the eye and tell him what you did to his parents!!"

The teenage boy's mouth crept open, although no words came out. Blessing noticed the boy's hesitance, and stepped in front of him to act as a shield. Shaking her head at the mayor, a low scowl drew itself over her stone-cold face.

"You didn't... Please say that you didn't."

"I... They... They were members on the city council, when Patch was founded. They put our safety to a vote, and the Mackies motioned that we should pack up our overpopulated settlement and leave. I couldn't sit there and see my hometown destroyed, picked apart by those savages. I took matters into my own hands, in the least violent way I could."

"You drugged them?"

"Heavens, you make it sound so terrible... but yes, they were the first ones. I knew opium was easy to acquire in such miserable times, and I researched the withdrawal symptoms for drug addicts. If I could get them hooked with a long-term addiction, they- no, everyone... They would all need to stay, rely on my support. Of course, it had to be a weak dose that would subtly affect its user. For that, I needed guinea pigs."

Raising an unsteady hand to her face, Blessing scrunched it into a fist and waved her disgust away. She was too close to her own pressing issues, and this so-called mayor wasn't helping her deal with those exposed feelings.

"Guinea... pigs? Is that how you saw them? Did you trap the Mackies in your basement, like you did with this boy?! How are you any better than that damned institute?!"

The mayor was more distressed than ever, his eyes nervously flitting from Tanner's appalled face and Charlotte's look of utter contempt.

"I'm... I'm not the monster you make me out to be. I adjusted the chemical formula after the Mackie's commendable sacrifice, didn't I? Everything that I took upon myself, I did for the hundreds of lives up there today!"

Mayor Talmadge's face reddened, his anger growing along with his swollen forehead. No matter how you looked at it, this was a man who had justified such horrible actions by sheer mathematics.

"No one has died, because they don't want to leave the gates anymore! Those who do pass through, they always come straight back for the Pollies. They love what Patch offers them, and if you try to ruin that-"

"They're addicts!! Every single woman and child, you've trapped innocent people in this glorified prison and stripped them of their free will! They don't love you or this town, they're just addicted and constantly crave their next fix!"

I recalled the man that Harry and I had witnessed in the town center, begging for a single Polly before going into a psychedelic fit. How Tanner kept raving about Pollies as something the entire town was crazy about during every single meal. It was true, these people had been mentally indoctrinated; tied to the town that was slowly poisoning them.

Charlotte's request made full sense now... There was never going to be an easy way out of Patch, and the only thing left to do was to try and cut off their supply of drugs. Force the entire population to go cold-turkey, even though it would undoubtedly cause an uprising.

I lifted my heavy eyes to meet the mayor's, watching him fidget with his raised rifle. My dry lips parted, and the voice that came out tasted huskier than usual.

"What happens when you run out of powder, huh? What're you going to do if Telos decides to shut down your twisted little operation? Those civilians won't last two seconds out in the desert, not when they're coming down from months of drug abuse and withdrawal!"

"I... I came home..." Everyone turned to face a breathless Tanner as he wobbled to his feet with a sense of finality, propping himself up against the shadowed wall.

"I came home one day, and my parents... They were both on the couch, not moving. Not breathing. I mean, I hadn't seen either of them for weeks, and the city council turned me away whenever I asked."

Staggering forwards, Tanner kept his head lowered so that he wouldn't accidentally steal a glance at the influential man before him. A low exhale escaped his lips, and he only stopped moving once his bare feet were pressed up against the mayor's quivering shoes.

"Died of a drug overdose, they told me... I've spent months thinking that my mom and dad ended up becoming useless meth heads, but I guess that's not true. It was your fault... You toyed with their lives like they were nothing! They were my parents, and you made me think that they left me on purpose!!"

Using only his anguished words, Tanner had somehow loosened Mayor Talmadge's grip on the rifle as it clattered to the ground. Instantly kicking into motion, the teenager slammed Charlotte's father against the doorway and swung his foot backwards towards me.

The firearm slid across the ground, and instinctively I snagged it before anyone else could interfere. The confrontation wasn't planned by any measure, but somehow I ended up pointing the gun at both Tanner and Mayor Talmadge.

"Go on!!" The boy screamed at me, raising his arms and instilling a paralysing fear in the old man who was cowering beside him.

Lowering the sights a little, I pretended not to understand what he was asking. Even though I knew fully well, I just didn't want to believe that the innocently-mischievous teenager was just as tainted as the rest of the world.

"Huh?"

"Hurry up and shoot him! You've done it before, right? In the sewers? You're already a murderer, so just kill the son of a bitch!!"

My heart stopped, and my eyes darted from Blessing to the oven, from the oven to the ground.

"You do remember? Tanner, what you saw-"

"I don't give a shootin' shit! Either you blow his brains out, or you can give me that knife and I'll gut him myself!"