Even in the dark, I can feel eyes on me.

The screeching sound of the carriage doors floods the station, blaring over the people's screams and tempting me to bolt back to the train despite the difficulty of the situation. Farhan and Rafe has a tight grip on my hands, and my bandaged wrist responds in pulsing pain. We blindly cruise forward to keep a distance from the panicked crowd. We barely have a clue to where we're really heading but resorted that aimlessly moving forward would be our best interest rather than staying put and risk getting caught up in a stampede. The thought of stray bullet terrifies me, but I push the thought aside. 

No matter how much I want to board the train, I know deep within that this is the only choice we have if we want to remain safe. Rafe leads the way as we stride aimlessly in the darkness, then we suddenly crash to what seem to be metal railings, halting us abruptly. The sound of metal hitting another metal in loud successive clang follows, until it gradually fades and drowns in the background noise. Rafe curses under his breath and slams the metal railing.

"My pistol!" he yells.

"What happened?" Farhan says.

"I lost my dang pistol!" Rafe exclaims in annoyance as he tightens his grip on my wrist.

It's not like the situation calls for a gun anyway. The whole place is shrouded in darkness. Blindly firing out a gun would be pointless and futile. We're not going to hit an overlooker by randomly shooting at nothing; we're only going to waste bullets on shadows, or, worse, on innocent lives in the frenzied crowd.

"There's no time for that. We have to get out of here!" Farhan hollers, barely audible with all the screaming going on around, then she tugs me westward, and I end up pulling Rafe.

Just before we could cruise any farther, lights start to flicker back to life. One by one, the hanging light bulbs start to illuminate the place in a blinding flash, shedding light upon the chaos on the station platform. People are scattered all throughout, running, screaming, bickering, while some are scurrying back to hide in dim corners. The station is huge, stretching far at either sides to accommodate all the carriages of the long suspension train. The concrete support pillars that line up on the platform softly glow in blue, then all of them suddenly flash pictures of people whom I'm unfamiliar with, like a projector of some sorts.

There are people laid on the ground, hands shackled by glowing wires, and their bodies restless from fidgeting as though they're convulsing from electrocution, then groups of men in full body suits of glossy black march up on the station platform; the glossiness of their suit catches flecks of light, giving it a sticky appearance. My muscles tense at the sight of fancy guns clasped upon their hands, and their faces are hidden behind night vision gears rigged up upon their heads like strange helmets.

Loud statics fill the air, coming from hidden speakers that seem to surround the area from above, then an electronic voice booms through out the place. "This is Site B check point. All Morales are not allowed to proceed past this station."

I gaze at Farhan as all the colors on my face ebb. Farhan flashes back the same horrified expression. With the train deliberately halted and people amass trapped in the station, there is no doubt the leaders from Site C will be able to collect all Morale individuals that have attempted to run away.

Men clad in black suits march in the station platform, firing shots from the strange guns clasped upon their gloved hands. More individuals fall on the platform, convulsing uncontrollably with their bodies and arms tied in glowing wires. The crowd has managed to find an exit stairway ahead but is now forming a bottleneck, for it is also where the guys in black suits are emerging. The men are effectively blocking all attempts of escape, using their fancy weapons to scare the people back. It's difficult to tell if they're outnumbered, as some of the men are already mixed up in the crowd, and I have no idea as to how they can tell if a particular person is marked by the Site C because there are no visible marks on those that have already fallen on the ground.

"Quick! We need to find another exit," Farhan says as she pulls us back towards the opposite direction where there are less people.

"What if there's no exit there?" Rafe says.

"We'll have to try and find out. We can't risk ourselves in the crowd," Farhan snaps in an authoritative tone.

We all bolt away towards the direction opposite to the crowd. Three doors loom ahead on the wall at the very end of the station, and none of us has any idea which among the three would lead us out of  here. There are no signs or anything that would indicate an exit route. Screams erupt behind us, and I know we're better off braving the streets of Belmot rather than to stay here in the station. Clearly, we cannot hide in here. Site C may not be intending to kill us, but they will surely destroy all our plans once we get caught.

As we get to the end of the station, none of us could decide which door to take.

"Should we split up?" Rafe suggests, which earns him a disapproving look from Farhan.

"We'll take the far right," Farhan says, pulling our hands, and we all head to the door further at the right side.

Judging the unease from Farhan's expression, I know she's not sure herself if the door would lead us out, but I guess it's way better than getting stuck here in the station.

As we wedge the door open, we are met with stairs winding up endlessly to the darkness above. I couldn't tell just how far the stairs stretches up, it could be miles for all I know. After all, we're deep underground. I idly wonder if there's an elevator on the other two doors.

"They must be insane for putting up stairs this deep underground," Rafe mentions, but Farhan seems unconvinced.

"I doubt this will lead us to the surface. Nobody's probably dumb enough to take the stairs miles underground. This'll likely lead to another chamber," Farhan says, as she scrutinizes how far the stairs goes.

"We'll have to find out then, we can't stay here. Let's hurry," I prod, and we all take the winding steps.

Farhan and I look back to see Rafe scurrying for the door, he then locks it from the inside.

"Good thinking," Farhan mentions, as she waves us onwards.

My feet aches in protest as we continue on climbing the stairs. I'm not quite sure for how long have we been climbing up, and it only gets darker the further we ascend with no sign of the stair's end nor any passage way to another chamber.  An irrational part of my mind is telling me that all this running wouldn't get us anywhere, and that the stairs wouldn't lead to an escape. My chest feels heavier as we continue exerting our efforts, clinging to what could be a false hope of escaping this place.

We all jump as we hear a successive loud banging on the door below.

Shit. Now we can't go back the way we came in case the stairs lead us to nowhere. We all have to hope now that this would lead us out. On a positive note, it's a good thing Rafe has thought of locking up the door before we climbed so we wouldn't have to deal with getting shot as we carry on with our escape, and now we're taking it as a cue to hurry up. We quicken our pace, taking two steps at a time, my breathing turning ragged as I feel my adrenaline kick back in.

We reach the end of the stairs and into a passage the leads to a very dimly lit corridor. The lone lightbulb hanging on the ceiling barely illuminates the place but is enough for me to make out of the doors that flank the corridor at either sides. Great, we're clueless again.

We hastily scan the place, and something faintly shining on my right catches my periphery on the furthest side of the corridor. It's an elevator. Both Farhan and I share a look of triumph. This could possibly lead us out of here. Or lead us further to danger. I set aside my irrational thought and immediately jammed the button. We could still hear the loud banging on the door from below the stairs.

"You think this'll lead us out?" I ask Farhan.

She looks unsure and answers without averting her stare on the elevator's chrome doors. " Not directly on the surface. Probably on the highest chamber where we can hopefully find another stairs out."

The doors don't open yet, which gives me the impression that the elevator leads high up to a lot of floors. This gives me hope.

Rafe is suddenly nowhere to be seen. I nudge Farhan and mouth Rafe's name. She quickly snaps her gaze around the place and when she coundn't find Rafe, her brows crease.

"I'm gonna kill that boy if he did something stupid," she utters in an irked tone.

The loudest bang on the door from downstairs reaches my ears; the door sounds as if it's been bashed with something heavy, followed by the sound of  a set of metal objects pinging as they hit the ground. Both Farhan and I share a look of horror in realization. It has got to be the men from Site C who just barged from the door downstairs, and it surely won't take long before they come storming in this corridor.

Rafe emerges from the stairs, running towards us just in time as we hear the sound from the elevator. The chrome doors slid open.

"They're here!" Rafe says in an urgent tone.

As he reaches us, we all hurry inside the elevator. I'm not well aware yet how exactly deep underground we currently are, but I sure as hell know we're in a pretty great distance away from the surface for the highest floor in the elevator is floor 30. I quickly jam the button to the 30th floor, and the elevator's chrome doors quickly slid shut with a loud hiss. My heart is pounding in my chest, and I let out a sigh of relief for making it here on time just before the men Site C could catch us.

We remain in silence in the musty, compact enclosure as the elevator ascends further with only the sound of our breathing and the elevator's faint electric hum audible. The lone dim light above us flickers then steadies, then flickers back again. It clearly needs replacement. Rafe's breathing is ragged. I don't know why he had returned to the stairs earlier only to come back to us in panic after the men barged in.

From what I can remember, the clock had read 9:40 pm when we had arrived in the station earlier, and now we're just about to find our way back to the surface, and not to mention we'll have to trek the streets of Belmot at night. The curfew has probably began already by now, and it'll certainly make things more complicated by the time we get ourselves to the streets. This will be a long sleepless night. I just hope Carson City is already in a close proximity.

By the looks of it, Farhan and Rafe seem to be tired and beaten already as well from all the trouble we've had today. I don't think they'll be able to function properly from this point on.

"What's the plan now?" Rafe is the one to break the silence.

Farhan seems to be deep in thought. She doesn't answer and just stares at her murky reflection on the elevator's chrome doors. Her right hand planted on the elevator's right wall, supporting her body. I'm wedged between Rafe and Farhan. If we don't get any rest, we'll not be able to make it far on the streets of Belmot. I've never been in Belmot before so I have no idea how strictly they implement curfew in the city, nor how often they conduct search night for that matter.

"We need to get a rest," I say after a long pause.

At that, Rafe looks at me disapprovingly but seems to consider it after a second. Farhan still remains muted at my right side, probably weaving a plan in her head. She's pretty good at it.

With the streets likely unsafe, and the underground swarming with men from Site C, I couldn't make out of a plan as well on where we could possibly stay in for the night once we get to the surface. To add up to the difficulty, we have no clue as well on how far in Belmot we are specifically nor how close we are to Carson City. My head is beginning to hurt, trying to figure out a way to combat the situation. I wish Oliver is here to help us.

"We have no place to stay in for the night," Rafe says. "Farhan?" he adds.

Farhan still doesn't respond, staring straight at the elevator's door. I'm starting to think of her as robot presented with a difficult task, one she's not programmed to do.

"Streets and alley ways are too dangerous. We better find an abandoned place up there to stay in," Farhan starts to speak, her gaze never leaving the door. Rafe looks to her, unconvinced.

The thought of staying in an abandoned house in the middle of a foreign city makes me uncomfortable, especially after having to fight a horde of overlookers once in my very house. Clearly, the chances of stumbling to a bunch of those again is high. With Rafe's pistol lost underground, we wouldn't stand a chance against them should they use their fancy weapons against us.

My train of thought is halted as the elevator goes to a stop. The number 30 is flashed on the small screen at the top of the elevator door. With a loud hiss, the elevator door slides open, parting ways for us to pass through. Farhan sighs heavily.

We reluctantly and cautiously step out into another dimly lit chamber. It's another corridor lined with doors on either sides. I hold my breath as we scan the perimeter. When nothing steers, we decide to carry on.

"Let's quickly check each room," Rafe says already striding towards the first door on the left side before Farhan could even object.

Farhan glares at Rafe but opts to check the doors on the right side thereafter. I sauntered to the end of the corridor and begin checking doors on the left. As I open the first door, I try to feel for the switch on the wall. The moment my hand feels it, I switch the lights on and an office-like room cluttered with a lot of papers on tables haphazardly positioned meets my eyes. It is devoid of any people, and there's no doorway around that would lead to another room. I switch the light off and proceed to the next room, only to see another kind of setting.

Rafe and I finish checking the rooms on the left. Farhan too is already finished on the right side. We all look at each other in horror.

"We're on a deadend aren't we?" Rafe asks in a grim tone.

Farhan scratches the back of her head and then furiously runs a hand on her already ruffled hair. I can see she's losing her composure now too as well having realized that we're currently trapped in the chamber. But something about this doesn't seem right. How can the lower floors lead up to the 30th floor with only an elevator? There has got to be stairs here somewhere.

"There has to be a way," Farhan says, but her tone sounds hopeless.

We all froze in horror at the pinging sound coming from the elevator.

All of our gazes snapped towards it, and I could feel all the colors from my face draining away. The men couldn't have arrived here so quickly.

At the hissing sound of the elevator door sliding open, Farhan shoves Rafe and I into the nearest door on the left side of the corridor. She switches the light on, and we find ourselves in another one of those office-like rooms. There's nothing much in this room as well, just tables and papers scattered all around.

Rafe furiously runs a hand through his hair, panic taking over.

"Now what?" Rafe fumes.

"Let's get the furnitures against the door, quick!" Farhan snaps, hurrying towards the nearest table and forcing it against the door.

"That won't hold it for long," Rafe says.

"Well, what else do you suggest we freakin' do?" Farhan says in visible irritation, her voice raising.

Farhan shuts her eyes, then turns her back and exhales heavily, trying hard to remain composed in order to think more effectively. The last thing we'd wanted is to let panic foil our plans. We've already come so far and possibly even close to Carson City, I won't let Site C put our efforts in vain.

"There's got to be something here we could use," I say, cruising further to the room and inspecting furnitures in a blind attempt to find anything that we could use against the men from Site C.

I'm hoping to miraculously spot a gun amidst the mess, but instead of a weapon, what has caught my attention is the small circular passageway that has been revealed as I wedge open the doors from the big wardrobe on the corner of the room. The passage way is small and compact but small enough to fit one person at a time, and I'm clueless as to where it might lead to, but right now, we're in a pretty tight situation, and this might only be our last resort to escape our pursuer.

"Guys! I found a passageway!" I call out, both Rafe and Farhan snaps their gaze to my direction.

In a few long strides, the two of them stand beside me. Rafe inspects what I just found, looking quite unconvinced, while Farhan eyes it impassively.

"Well, couldn't say we have any other choice." Farhan shrugs.

We all jump at the banging sound against the door.

"Quick! Let's go!" I exclaim.

And just like that, Farhan go down on all fours and has began crawling to the small passageway. Rafe lets me crawl first, and I follow suit behind Farhan. My heart beats faster as I add an extra spurt of effort, crawling quickly without so much as sparing a glance behind me. It's dark and musty inside and it's getting difficult to move faster due to the passageway being compact and circular.

The sound of the wardrobe door shutting reaches my ear, and I start to hear Rafe's ragged breathing as he crawl behind me. The banging sound from the room goes louder, and we take it as a cue to move faster. The table that Farhan has rigged against the door wouldn't surely hold it for long.

The claustrophobic confinement is gradually making it difficult for me to breathe. This is even much more compact and uncomfortable than the passage Oliver and I had taken when we had entered Site A.

"I think I just felt a ladder!" I hear Farhan's voice ahead, albeit I couldn't see a thing for we are all shrouded in complete darkness.

"Does it go up?" Rafe says from behind me.

"Yes!"

A gunshot blares behind us somewhere in the room, and we all flinch. What follows is a louder banging sound and the sound of wood breaking and crashing against the floor. Shit! They're here. This is bad.

"Move!" I snap as we carry on, much faster this time.

My forehead collides with a hard metal, and pain instantly blooms in my head. I curse under my breath. I must've collided with the metal ladder's steps. I grunt as I force myself to climb, my head throbbing in protest. The ladder leads up, and I have no idea how far up we have to go. I take two steps at a time. The clanging sound of our feet against the metal steps and our frantic breathing are the only things audible, and so I couldn't tell if the men have already discovered the passageway.

Frahan grunts loudly as she collides with something ahead.

"What's wrong up there?" Rafe asks.

"I found the end of the passage. I think this is a door, but it's locked!" Farhan says.

I can hear the sound of wood as it get struck by Farhan's fist. I don't think the door would give in so easily.

"There must be a lock there somewhere," I say.

"I'm trying to find it, but I can't see anything," Farhan responds ahead as she continues her attempt to locate the lock for the door, then with a click, she adds, "I got it!"

After unlocking, lights start to flood the compact passage, and Farhan manages to get herself out. I climb up, and she extends her hand down to help me pull myself out. As I climb out, I become aware that we have emerged on a hole on the wooden floor of a room. Windows are rigged on the far end, giving in a view of the street outside, illuminated by a few bright lampposts. We're finally on the surface! We are the only ones here, and judging the poor conditions of the wooden floor with the aged walls having its paint peeled off, I'm guessing we're in a sort of abandoned house.

Farhan pulls Rafe out of the passage. Rafe then saunters to the nearest couch and pushes it over to the passage in order to block the exit. We all take the moment to catch our breaths and digest where we currently are.

"We have to take a pitstop somewhere," Farhan breaks the silence as she start for the windows and gazes at the view outside.

I had been in Creed Holme the last time that I had been on the surface, and now I'm in Belmot.

"Can't we stay here for the night?" Rafe suggests, still catching his breath.

"We're all exhausted, but we can't just stay here. Those men are armed, and if they've found out about the passage, that freakin' couch won't stand a chance," Farhan says as she turns to us and towards the old couch that Rafe has used to block the exit of the passage. "We need to keep moving until we're in a good distance from here," she adds.

As much as I want to take a rest already, I couldn't deny that Farhan is correct. My whole body is practically throbbing especially my head and wrist. I am so exhausted that I find it even tempting to sleep at the sight of an old dusty couch that's basically falling apart in so much dirt.

I saunter towards the window and take that time to study the area outside. There are less building on the streets but a lot of big houses, and most of which also seem to be oddly abandoned. My hunch tells me that we're currently in some kind of ghost town. That or the people in Belmot have terrible architecture.

I start for the door and wedge it open. Cold, fresh wind welcomes me and I am the first to step outside. I inhale deeply, taking in the fresh air. This is so different than the humid and polluted air that they're breathing in Site A. I couldn't picture how the people there have managed to survive for so long with their crappy underground atmosphere.
The street is deathly silent and devoid of people. The authorities must've already conducted their curfew patrol earlier. The limited lampposts that illuminate the road have allowed for more shadows along the sidewalks without lampposts, which we can use to sneak from one house to another.

I tiptoe further on the sidewalk, and when nothing steers, I glance back at the door to wait for Farhan and Rafe to come out. When neither of them show up, I walk back again towards the house.

"Farhan?" I say in a mere whisper as I approach the window—only to quickly duck out of the view into a crouch as I come to digest the scene that has greeted me.

I hold my breath, and my heart lurches into a race. I've spotted Farhan and Rafe still within the house, locked in their position and are currently held at gunpoint by two figures. I could've sworn I've seen no people present there when we've initially emerged from the passage earlier. Or maybe it was too dark for us to realize we've got company.

"Don't move."

I hear a male voice behind me, followed by the clicking sound of a gun safety.

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*clears throat*
Okay, so I know it's been months since I last uploaded a chapter for this story. I got really preoccupied with the university and org responsibilities that I barely had time for my hobbies (which includes writing), but hey! I am back in action! Orgs are  currently suspended so I'll have more time to spare for writing! Heck, my writing ability has probably dulled already, but anyways, feel free to point out mistakes.

New characters on the next chapters. Stay safe ya'll!

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