No escape.

No escape.

No fucking escape.

Xander and I were in a single cell in an otherwise empty room. Everything was sterile and white under uncomfortable bright white lights.

I was trapped. In a tiny cell. With an unpickable electric lock.

I had no weapons. Nobody knew where I was.

And I'd have to face Dick Gold. And let him taunt me while I watched through prison bars. I couldn't die here.

I don't want to die here.

I paced back and forth as far as the small cell would allow me to. Xander sat in the corner unconscious. He still hadn't woken up after being captured.

Maybe he was dead. I really didn't want him to be dead.

With nothing left to do I took inventory of what we had. I had a black tank top and leggings. A pair of black boots (no knife) and a single hair tie.

Xander had a t-shirt, a pair of pants, and a pair of gray combat boots.

So we basically had nothing. We'd have to fight our way out with our bare hands.

"Kate where are we?" Xander mumbled.

I spun and in an instant was kneeling at his side with the air of a worried girlfriend. I didn't like that feeling. But he was alive!

"Gold Order base. I thought you were dead." I said.

"Sorry to disappoint." Xander joked.

I leaned in and kissed him. It felt so good to be in his arms. Like I was safe.

"If you ever die again I'll kill you," I said.

"Trust me I don't intend to. Do we have an escape plan?"

Then the nerves came back.

"Not yet but we'll come up with something. Best case scenario I stab Dick and we run."

I seriously wanted that guy dead.

"I like that plan."

Then we heard the echo of footsteps in the hallway and I pulled away from Xander. We couldn't be seen tolerating each other.

Dick Gold himself walked into the room tailed by a woman I recognized as his daughter from his file. Six guards followed to protect their powerless leader.

I walked up to the bars and stared Dick in the eyes, declaring to the room that I wasn't scared in the slightest. It was Dick, I had nothing to be afraid of.

"Devil, so wonderful to see you again. This time under decent circumstances."

"Dick." I greeted him. "What do you want?"

"Never really liked that little nickname but you were always a feisty one. And why must I want something?" Dick said like an asshole.

Feisty? I'm not a child.

"Because if you didn't I'd be dead. Now tell me what you want so I can figure out how to kill you." I said.

Xander stood and walked up next to me.

"Xander, so glad you're awake. If you'd died you wouldn't be able to tell me your base location." Dick said.

"I'd rather die Gold," Xander said.

"That can easily be arranged. Just tell me where your base is and it'll all be over with." Dick said.

While the boys bickered I looked over to Rachel. My hatred for Gold instantly doubled as my father was standing over me and I was twelve years old and I was bleeding and crying and wanting to die.

Rachel had bruises on her wrists where she'd been grabbed. Her lip was split and her broken nose had recently healed. Worst of all was the look in her eyes.

The look of a tortured soldier who should have gotten to be a little girl.

I turned to Dick, a new anger in my soul.

When he died I'd get Rachel out. She deserved to be okay. And I'd kill every man in that base to save her.

"What do you want Dick. You wouldn't be down here if you didn't want something." I spat.

"Why must I want something? What if I just feel like gloating?" Dick said.

"Because you already gloated now tell me," I said.

Dick paused for a moment and 10,000 ways to kill a man ran through my head.

"Well if you must know I thought I'd tell you a bit about your friend Audrey," Dick said. "You see you really shouldn't just bring random strangers you find in closets into your base."

Audrey was betraying us. She was working for the Gold Order. Why had I trusted her?

"She's working for you then?" Xander said.

"No, I'm afraid it's something much more interesting. Audrey is a genuinely good and honest person. She just didn't realize she's a carrier for the virus.

"You see during Audrey's days with Doc he injected her with a sample of the already competed virus. The thing about viruses is that they have incubation periods, and this one ends tomorrow.

"Meaning tomorrow Audrey will die and the day after everyone she's come into contact with will follow in her footsteps. And since I'm guessing you met her Devil you only have two days to live."

Dick smiled as my existence crumbled.

"I'll get MC-57 before then. Kind of dumb to reveal your plan, Dick." I laughed it off.

"Oh Devil you already know MC-57 won't do anything."

And with that Dick made his dramatic exit and left me powerless.

Powerless.

I would never be powerless again. I wouldn't let him stand over me but he was here. Death himself not just the man but the end of everything I'd built with bloody knuckles and gunshots.

I couldn't be dying. I couldn't die. Not after everything I'd done. Not after everything I had left to do. I wouldn't die powerless and alone.

"Kate. Kate are you okay?" Xander asked.

Somehow I'd ended up on the floor.

"Get away from me. Leave me alone." I shouted.

Then Xander's arms were around me.

"It's okay. We'll find a cure and be okay." He said.

"No, we won't. I'm going to die here alone and powerless. I worked so fucking hard."

"Kate I've got you. No matter what I've got you. I promise I'll never let anything bad happen to you ever. It's going to be okay."

And as Xander wrapped his arms around me I felt small and safe.

And it was all wrong.

I didn't want to be safe. I wanted to be strong.

He didn't get to save me.

I'd save myself.

***

Hello people! Will Kate and Xander manage to get the virus cure before it's too late? Will Kate save Rachel? Will Xander ruin things with Kate by trying to save her? Please vote and comment, I want to know what you think!

-Jade