Alisa didn't trust the metal-hammered kids on the other side of the spikes.

But then again, she really had to take a leak, and there was no way she was unveiling her lady parts anywhere near those blood-soaked skewers. Plus, she would take glowing eyes over soiled pants and embarrassment any day. Besides, the silver-eyed girl seemed quite incapacitated, kneeling at her companion's feet and clawing at her face.

She's gone mad.

And indeed, mad she looked, eyes wild and expression full of fear. Perhaps she had been beautiful once, evident by the soft curls of snowy white travelling down her back and the faded glow to her mocha skin. But her lips were ragged and cracked, like she hadn't drunk anything in a long while and had been chewing on them to compensate. The expression on her face was twisted into something haunted, as if something was hunting her down and had never stopped.

Alisa had never seen anyone with glowing eyes before. At her side, Cheng Xin was backing away, as if afraid the girl would explode and kill them all. Jada growled, her matted fur standing straight up on her back---dogs were excellent at sensing danger, or at least unease.

Steel-tipped toes at the ready---she really wished Red had just given her the gun---Alisa dropped into a crouch and slid under the spikes. Her body was a twisting panther, lithe and graceful. She hugged Jada tighter to her chest, burying the dog between the safety of her generous breasts; she did not want the metal to even scratch her beloved pet.

Cheng Xin was not quite as graceful, dropping onto his hands and knees and crawling beneath. Red followed suit, cheeks flushing red against his pale skin. Alisa was soon on her feet, staring the strange boy and girl down. The male---Lennox---was obviously in charge. He towered over her by at least a foot, the finest pillar of boy, no, man, that she'd seen in a long time. The girl---Becca---seemed quite under his control.

"Oh, please, she doesn't look very nice," the girl whimpered again, as if afraid her companion hadn't heard her earlier plea.

"Hush," he repeated. Then, looking down at Alisa, he said, "Would you mind losing the glare? I'm sorry. It's making Becca nervous."

She's probably deranged. "She looks like she'd be nervous even if I smiled," Alisa sneered. Cheng Xin, having gotten up, set a placating hand on her arm, telling her to keep calm. The call of her impatient bladder was getting more insistent by the second, almost too much to ignore.

Lennox smiled calmly, the grin lighting up his face in rows of perfect white teeth. Alisa envied him. She'd always wanted straight teeth like that, but her front two incisors had decided that they didn't like each other and wished to move apart when she was twelve. The gap had more or less remained ever since. "It would make your pretty face look nicer, at least."

Alisa went rigid, back stiffening and jaw clenching tight. Don't be more than a pretty face, Alisa. Men don't like smart women. They won't care for you. If you're more intelligent than them, you'll never be loved. Her father had always warned her to keep herself attractive and sweet. She'd always gone running to Nina after his talks---his second wife, wed after he'd discovered that his first had been locking their daughter inside the kitchen cupboard daily. Alisa had always felt closer to Nina than either of her biological parents. Nina prided intellect, and it had been Nina who had taught her to wear her IQ like a badge of honour.

Just have a pretty face and smile, darling. Let your brother be the brains of the house, her father had always insisted.

Lennox's words were like hearing her father on a broken record player---distorted, but the message was still clear. "Shut up," she growled. "I don't know who you are, so stop acting like you can tell me to play nice whenever you wish."

"Li---" Cheng Xin started, his tone full of worry. His voice snapped through the haze of anger in her mind, forcing her to calm down and breathe. She couldn't think when she was mad, and she needed her intelligence in those trying times. It was a good thing her twin was her clarity.

"We mean you no harm, I promise. We're all in this maze together, and we'll never get out if we decide to kill each other first. What are your names?" Lennox asked, his voice placating. Becca whined from the ground. He placed a hand on her head, stroking her hair. The gesture was meant to be caring, Alisa assumed, but it looked more like a show of dominance---as if he was establishing his status as his comrade's master. Dangerous was the first word that came to Alisa's mind---he was a wolf in sheep's clothing, she could see it in his eyes.

"I...I'm Red," Red stuttered, face pale as a ghost. Cheng Xin followed his lead, introducing himself with a quick, sunny smile. When Alisa kept her mouth shut, her twin gave the shiny duo her name. She glared at him, but her brother seemed happily oblivious.

"Alisa," Lennox mused. He drew out every syllable of her name with an amused lilt, as if it was something quite fascinating. "That's a beautiful name." His smile turned coy, a flirtatious undertone taking over his voice. Alisa clenched her fists and counted to ten. She tried to quell the call of her bodily functions, choosing to focus on controlling her insistent bladder rather than Lennox's honey-soaked words.

She had to get out of Vanguard, and fast.

The passage ahead was dim, barely enough light available to fuel Alisa's mind. She hated that the President knew her one crippling fear, hated that he appeared to have tailored the maze to overwhelm her completely. Her vision had finally adjusted itself to accommodate her remaining eye, but everything seemed to be leaning to the right. She couldn't see much around her, relying on her other senses to carry her through.

Becca led the way---although Alisa wasn't sure how much they could trust an insane creature like her---with her marvellous seeing ability, glowing eyes flashing like diamonds in the dark. Lennox was by her side, a hand on her shoulder as if to remind her who was in charge. Alisa already hated him---he'd struck her as a bit of a chauvinist from the start, and he seemed to have no qualms about flirting with her.

Cheng Xin and Red trailed behind, engaged in some sort of conversation. Her twin was funny when he wanted to be. Red was guffawing his skinny ass off; Alisa resented how the two of them could act like old friends, laughing and joking even when standing face to face with death---as Vanguard surely was. Jada nuzzled her bosom, whimpering as if sensing her discomfort.

Alisa was stuck in a death trap with her dog, her twin, a cowardly geek who thought he was an alien, a madwoman, and a possible pervert. She didn't like her chances of survival.

She'd already dealt with the earlier embarrassment of pissing in a dark corner while the rest averted their eyes---although she was pretty sure Lennox took a peek or two at her ass. That, coupled with listening to Justin Bieber and losing her eye, should have been enough torture for the week---no, the year. Still, she knew it wouldn't be that simple. Nothing ever was.

Her life hadn't been simple since the day they'd ripped her from her home. She remembered it too well: the government---loan sharks, all of them---had stormed her father's house and demanded him repay the loans he'd borrowed. Her father had instantly fallen on his knees and begged for mercy. They'd shot him without hesitation. Nina had been caught in the crossfire too, shielding Alisa and Cheng Xin with her own body. Although the President had still taken them afterwards, Nina had saved them from death.

So lost in thought was she that she almost didn't hear Becca's shout of despair, the girl falling to her knees once again as she screamed, "Look out! They're coming!"

Alisa had barely any time to register the fact that they'd walked into a room before the first arrow flew at her.

Steel-tipped and gleaming with malicious ire, it sparkled untarnished and glowed like a plume of moonlight despite the near-pitch blackness of the room. It whistled over Becca's bowed head---straight at Alisa's face. It didn't look anything like the arrows Lennox had displayed earlier; those were wooden---mere children's toys sharpened to a point. These were birds of prey. It sailed just past her cheek, leaving a scratch that throbbed with a dull burn.

"What the---" Lennox started, looking surprised for the first time.

The ceiling opened up, and arrows rained down.