We marched into town like an army going to war.

Except, unlike a brave solider, my knees were shaking and my pulse was vibrating through my ears. I led at the front with Shir, Veera and Malvin by my side. Jeremiah was being dragged behind us in chains that Veera had been eager to hold.

I know a leash seems a little unethical but I didn't care.

My mom used to tell me that the only thing that separated a man from an animal is the ability to show compassion. As soon as you lose that; you've lost your humanity.

But he deserved it.

If something had to happen to Jake, it should be on his conscious. The thing is; I wasn't sure he even had a conscience. So it would be on mine. I was the one who had trusted Jeremiah. I was the one who'd gotten Jake into this mess in the first place. This was my fault.

We were getting close to Ernie's, which is where we'd all agreed to split up. Malvin took my hand and squeezed it.

"You've got this."

I smiled at him shakily.

Then I sucked in a breath and took a moment to compose myself. Eventually, I held my hand up and waited for silence.

"Karnoi will no longer be victims! Today will go down in history as the day that our kind rises up and changes society for the better! Today the humans and Karnoi become equals!"

I waited for everyone to join in and everyone let out a loud cheer.

On cue, Shir let out a loud roar from beside me. The entire group began to running, letting out wild battle cries in the process.

Everyone knew that we were coming.

And the streets empty no more.

Karnoi chanted through the town. They were all singing different songs. I was completely unfamiliar with them but the atmosphere was so powerful that I felt the need to join in myself.

This was an uprising.

The town came alive with sounds.

It was a definite contrast to the usual people hiding away, alone in their houses. The air was filled with excitement.

The streets were congested by people as they moved to where they needed to be. We even saw a bunch of Karnoi make their way out of Ernies and joining in the songs. There had been no sign of danger yet but we all knew what was coming. Alluna would send her guards out as soon as she sense of trouble. The first thing people do when they feel threatened; is fight.

Especially Alluna.

"We need to find Jake." I whispered to Malvin.

We were walking in a group of four (if you count Jeremiah). Our groups had been carefully coordinated so that there were enough Karnoi with strength in each one.

As we walked I noticed that my paintings were still tainting the grey pavements. They had been scratched at and vandalised but they were obviously struggling to get rid of them. I had succeeded in leaving my mark.

"Pacem, you need to lead these people. This is your fight. We'll get to Jake."

"As an afterthought?" I stopped walking and placed my hands on my hips. "He could be dead Malvin."

"And so could all these people in a couple of hours if you leave them to fend for themselves."

"Jake will be fine." Veera assured us.

Jeremiah laughed from beside her and Veera pulled at his chains so hard that he fell to the ground.

"He'll be fine." She repeated. 

Sometimes Veera really freaked me out.

We turned the corner onto the next road and that was when we saw the first sign of retaliation.

A human leapt out in front of us.

I have to admit, my heart jumped a few beats at first but I once I got a good look; I didn't really take him seriously. He wasn't one of Alluna's guards- just some power hungry maniac. What harm could he do to a bunch of people (and a lion) ten times stronger than him?

That was until I saw his axe.

Axe-Guy turned out to be pretty persistent.  He ran straight for me, pushing me against the wall so that he could extend his weapon and get ready for a big blow. Fortunately, before the sharp point could even come close, Shir was on his back.

"Shir don't hurt him!" I screamed.

Axe-Guy stumbled backwards and flung the weapon around back and forth me. But Shir listened to me and kept her fight harmless.

In a moment of bravery, I reached into his squirming mess and grabbed the axe out of his hand while he was distracted. When Shir was positive he was unarmed, she jumped off him and returned to my side.

Everything had worked out pretty smoothly.

That was until Veera decided to join in.

I'd given strict instructions not to lay a hand on anyone. Only defend one's self absolutely necessary. Nobody was going to have any reason to accuse Karnoi of starting the fight today. We were simply protesting for our rights. Unfortunately, Veera didn't understand logic, and she would never follow my orders.

She handed Jeremiah's rope to Malvin and then pounced without warning. Before this poor soul could blink, he was down on the ground and crouched up against the wall. Luckily I reacted before Veera could... do whatever stupid thing she was about to do. I jumped in front of her and held out my hands to protect that man behind me.

"No." I said firmly. "We're not hurting anyone today, Veera." 

"Ha!" She retorted. "He just tried to kill you!"

"Exactly. We're not stooping to their level."

When I was sure Veera had calmed down, I turned around to face the guy, axe in hand. He shielded his face with his arms, pathetically. Obviously he thought I was going to use it.

"Go." I ordered. "And if you try to hurt anyone else; I'll send my lion to find you."

Shir growled.

His eyes widened but he didn't move.

"Go now!"

A moment later, he was on his feet stumbling away. I watched him leave and as soon as he was gone, I threw the axe against the wall, pinning Veera behind it.

"What the hell are you doing?!" She yelled.

"If you have any intention of doing that again, then you should leave right now." She tried to break past the handle of the weapon but I held onto it tighter. "Do you understand, Veera?"

She paused.

"Yes, Geez. I won't do it again."

I looked her in the eye for a moment and then let go.

"We need to begin."

"No more whining about your dying boyfriend?" Jeremiah snapped.

I responded with a glare so strong that even he swallowed in fear.

Luckily, we had already been close to our location at the town's centre. I couldn't really tell where we were though, since all the dull houses carried the same fruitless layer of grey. As we were setting up, we heard a few screams that masked the chanting songs.
They were coming.

I placed my podium down on the ground.

Then I bent down and extended my hand so that it was hovering over it.

Before beginning, I took a moment to concentrate. I hadn't done this in so long, I wasn't sure I remembered how. But the second that I wave my hand delicately around in circles, the colour came flowing out.

Eventually it formed boot and then a leg. I moved with the paint until it was complete. Even I was impressed at the replica of Danielle standing in front of me.

I could barely tell that it wasn't real.

I made several of these clones, sending them out onto the streets to distract our enemies from the real thing. By the time I was done, I was just about ready to collapse. Shir came closer, allowing me to lean on her.

"Are you okay, Pacem?" Malvin asked.

But my head jerked at the sound of another gunshot.

"That's the fifth one." I said.

"Everyone knows what to do." Malvin assured me. "They were probably shooting at another clone."

I nodded.

We had planned this. Danielle and her group were busy covering the town in plants and greenery, whilst others were gathering in public places and putting on a show. The intention was to keep moving so that nobody was in one place long enough to become a target. We needed to show the people that we were harmless. That we would use our strengths for good.

But the battle cries in the distance were only getting louder and I could sense the tension was getting worse and worse.

"Okay, I'm going to started with the paint." I announced.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Malvin seemed genuinely concerned. "Maybe you should take a minute to-"

"We don't have time."

I held the podium gently in my hand. I didn't put it down. I knew I needed to stay connected to it if I was going to have enough power. In the mean time, the rest of the group positioned themselves in a circle around me and Shir stayed by my side.
She could obviously sense that I was a little tense.

I took a deep breath  and the colours returned.

This time, resembling several arms. They slowly reached out and extended themselves to the houses and windows. Some of the curtains opened in curiosity, other purposely closed in disgust. Eventually the hands of colour wrapped themselves like a blanket around the houses. Once they were resting comfortably, they waited in position.

The paint had a mind of its own. Without my order, it made its way down every alley and road. I wanted to connect every house with it. Even though they were technically out of my site, if I closed my eyes, I could see where each colour had gone and the path they'd taken. I could see the shocked reacts on people's faces when the colour reached them. Even in mid-fight, they would stop to watch the paint flow past.

It was working.

I kept going, following the twists and turns of the road. If I hadn't been so focused on the scene, I would have been really freaked out by this outer body experience. But at that present moment, all I could notice was the beauty of it. Even people fuelled with rage and fear couldn't look past it. My art was doing what I'd wanted it to do all along. It was bringing people together.

That's when I heard a loud, painful scream and my eyes opened to giant screen centred above the town, high enough for everyone to see.

Jake was image hovered above me. He was tied to wall, squirming around and he looked like he'd been beaten badly. Bruises covered his body and face and his hair was covering his eyes in a tangled mess.

"You can't have both Pacem." Dante's voice filled the air. "Save your people or save your lover. You have ten minutes."

The paint splattered abruptly to the floor, demolishing the ground with one brutal blow, from my brief lapse in concentration.

I glanced at Malvin who had a very worried look on his face.

And then I ran.

As fast as my feet could carry me.

Will Pacem save Jake?

And will her absence destroy the rest of her community?

Keep reading to find out!