**a/n: Aaaaah, so sorry for the late update. My life is very full right now. Hope y'all enjoy the chapter!❤**

The door creaks shut behind us, and for a moment there is nothing but silence and darkness.

As my eyes accustom to the murky atmosphere, I make out the plastered surface of the metal walls and a small ventilation porthole near the ceiling. Near the corner, I spot the faint lining of a huddled figure.

"Naomi!" Brent rushes to her. Kneeling down before her, he presses a hand over his mouth. I gasp immediately as my eyes fall on her.

Patches of blue marks and dried blood covers her skin. Her pale blond hair is caked with dirt. Her elbow is bent at a painful angle as she rests against the wall, eyes closed and lips slightly parted.

"Naomi?" Brent tries again.

Her eyes flicker open. She shakes her head, then stares at us for a good few moments.

"What the – " she jumps up, startled. Her voice is coarse, like sand.

"Relax," Brent comforts her.

"How on earth," she stares at us with wide astonished eyes, like a doe caught in a headlight, "did you all get in here?"

"It's a long story," Jac tells her, "Oh my God, whatever did they do to you?"

"They, uh, tortured me," she sighs a long deep sigh, "Some 'there's-no-place-for-rebels-in-the-Elysium' crap."

"Oh, honey," Brent brushes his hand over her cheek as she winces, "We're here to save you."

"Save me?"

"We'll take you out of here." I say.

Her face lights up for a moment, but then something overclouds it. She looks down, "That's not possible."

"What? Why?"

"Do you really think the Helpers won't notice if someone breaks out of the Bastille and the next day they find her roaming about in the Quarters?" she says, irritated, "They will punish us all. You will all end up just like me."

There's silence for some moment before Mark speaks.

"She's right," he says, "We can't take her out of here."

"So what do you suggest, braniac?" Brent shoots at him angrily, "Leave her here to rot?"

"There's a way you can save me," Naomi says quietly, "Free me."

"What?"

"Send me out of the Elysium."

"How do we do that?"

The words Barnaby said to me on the first day in the Elysium flashes through my mind.

"By piercing her heart," I recite, "Only when the heart of an Elysian is pierced, can she escape the Elysium."

Brent stares at me incredulously, "Are you saying I should kill my pregnant girlfriend, Rachael?"

"Brent," Naomi interjects in a weak voice, "I'm already dead. Just end it. This place is worse than hell. I can't stay like this anymore."

"No," Brent says, giving a dry laugh, "I can't do that."

"Please...I beg you," her eyes are moist as she looks up at him with both longing and helplessness.

I gulp down the tears rising up my throat. I can see Jac's tear-stained face gleaming in the faint light of the room.

"Brent," Mark says gently, placing a hand on his shoulder, "It's the only thing we can do."

Brent slaps his hand off, "Are you all out of your minds?"

Mark pulls out a gun from his belt and holds it out for him, "You'll be saving her by killing her."

His cold unflinching behavior astonishes me for a moment. His eyes meet mine and I keep staring into them till I finally give him a small nod. I understand that he is just trying to do the right thing. Maybe experiences of the past have made him immune to pain.

A tear rolls down Brent's cheek as he takes the gun with shaky hands.

Jac and I hug Naomi and plant a kiss on her head. She looks as if she will break at the slightest touch. Mark takes her hand in his, and kisses her forehead, "You're one hell of a girl, Naomi. I'll always remember you."

The corners of her lips rise up in a soft smile, "Stay good, my bastards."

"Naomi," Brent says as he kneels down in front of her and takes her face in his hands, "I love you so much. And I'm proud of you."

Naomi breathes, as if to hold in her tears.

"Thank you," she whispers, "for everything."

Brent reaches down to her belly before kissing it softly over and over again.

"I'm so sorry, baby," he blurts out between sobs, "I love you."

I shut my eyes close as Brent takes his aim. I hear a deafening gunshot followed by its reverberations ringing inside the enclosed metal walls.

Hot tears roll down my cheeks.

Jac presses a hand over her mouth to suppress her sobs. Mark looks down, his jaws clenched.

Brent is still kneeling on the ground, his shoulders shaking.

Naomi rests silently against the wall with her eyes closed, the red patch on her chest slowly spreading like ink. She looks so beautiful and peaceful. There is no hurt or agony on her face – she looks like a sleeping child.

I realise with a sudden gust that the Elysium might not be the grand paradise the Helpers want us to believe. It is ruthless, mindless and cruel. It will do anything and everything to erase humanity.

I won't let it happen.

I can't.

We must free the souls.

We must bring an end to this perilous place.

"The Elysium wants war," I speak so low that I don't think the others hear me at all, "This is war."