I fled down the maze of streets with Shir by my side. I figured that if I just kept running, I would eventually recognized the street corner that lead to Dante's mansion.

Malvin and Veera were chasing after me and I could vaguely hear them calling my name. They were telling me to slow down. Yeah right.
I was assuming they were dragging Jeremiah with them but I didn't bother to check.

He has to be okay... I thought to myself. He has to be.

I ran straight to the security desk without hesitation. There was the same man from the night that I'd been there with Jake. He was slouching in a chair and reading a magazine.

I impatiently patted Shir on the head and she let out a massive roar. The guard nearly jumped out of his skin, finally taking notice of me.

"Let me in!" I screamed at the house, knowing Dante was probably watching from a monitor somewhere.

"You wanted me here!" I bellowed. "I'm here."

The guard swore behind his glass box and suddenly gates opened. We ran inside before the others could follow.

"Jake!" I yelled, the moment that I was through the door. "Jake!"

Seeing the house this empty, made it look a whole lot bigger. I didn't even know which way to go. Where would he be? Maybe in the room that I'd stolen the podium from? That would be poetic.

Then I heard the screaming.

I sprinted into the next room, following the noise until it got me to where I needed to be.

Dante was there sitting on the couch. His hand was resting on the table, curled around his drink. All I'd seen was the back of his head but he appeared to be watching the one side of the room tentatively.

But instead of a flat screen television, Jake was squirming around, bound by his feet and arms to the centre of the wall.

I rushed over to him without hesitation. I was so closed to reaching him. So close to touching him again. Realistically, I knew there would be obstacles in the way. I'd predicted that someone would stop me but I was surprised at who had been the culprit.

Jake pulled at his chains and yelling wildly. Shir grabbed my shirt with her mouth and tugged me back just before he could get a hold of me.

I watched in horror as he continued to rattle around like a lunatic.

Pure anger.

The man I loved was standing in front of me like an animal, ready to bite me for a daily snack.

I jerked backwards, wide-eyed.

"Jake."

His hair was messy and he didn't seem to recognize me at all. More importantly, his eyes were flashing an intense colour of gold. I'd seen beauty in his eyes before. They'd even inspired me to love my own unique glow. But right now the gold was fuelled by anger and it scared me.

Eventually, I turned to Dante.

"What did you do to him?" My voice was cold as ice.

Dante didn't move.
He didn't even speak.

His face was hidden by the shadows and I stepped forward to get a closer look. Where was his malicious retort? Why wouldn't he speak? Surely this was the moment that he'd been waiting for?

After a moment, it finally clicked. The podium dropped right out of my hands , slamming loudly into the wooden floor.

Dante's pupils had faded into a dull mute colour and his body was immobile.

When I saw the drops of blood trickle down from his eccentric sequined hat, I realised that he was nothing but a corpse.

His body was simply an empty shell.

I'd never seen a dead body before.
And here was one right in front of me, haunting me from beyond the grave.

I'd been so preoccupied, that I hadn't noticed a woman step into the shadows of the room. She'd done something new will her hair, hiding her curls into a tight bun but I'd recognise that wicked smile a mile away.

Alluna.

"You did this!" My nostrils flared. "You killed him!"

"Yes I did. " She wagged her finger in front of me. "And as it turns out, you're next on my blacklist."

She held a gun and pointed it at Shir.

"Send the lion away." She growled. "Or I'll shoot it."

I stepped in front of Shir and held out my hands. "Okay. Don't touch her. She's gone."

I bent down to whisper in Shir's ear, patting her lovingly to calm her down.

"Shir, I have to do this on my own. I'll be fine. Go help the others outside."

She pouted.

"Go."

Eventually she licked me across the face and reluctantly turned around, disappearing out the door. I watched her go before fixing my attention back to Alluna.

"Happy now? It's just you and me."

"Well that would just be boring."

On cue, Malvin, Veera and Jeremiah appeared at the entrance. I was wondering what had taken them so long.

Soon after, I noticed that they had the sharp end of a sword to their throats, I understood. The guards restraining them were two buff men and I realized that they must have been dealing with their own drama. The guards looked ridiculously strong and Veera's angry struggles were no match for the men holding her down since they obviously spent their lives in the gym.

"Swords? That's a little retro even for you, don't you think?"

"Those swords are imported from... oh I don't know, some unusual country, sharpened by the best blade smith in the world. At least, that's what Mr Groove told me, before I killed him."
She beamed. "I wouldn't touch me if I were you."

"What did you do to Jake?"

"I simply made him obedient again." She shrugged. "What good is a weapon who can't follow orders?"

I had to fight very hard to restrain myself because every part of me wanted to charge at her and end this once and for all.

"If only you could see yourself." I shook my head. "Karnoi aren't the animals, you are."

"Really?" She smiled wickedly. "Have you seen your boyfriend lately?"

I gave her a look of thunder which only seemed to amuse her further. "In fact, you look rather wild yourself at the moment, Miss Creed. Perhaps you should take a second to compose yourself."

I minute would be all it would take to kill you.

The anger boiled in my chest. 

"Oh I am wild. But not because I'm Karnoi." I stared her down. "Because I'm human."

I spun around, marching up to Jake.

I knew my eyes were glowing again. It had gotten to the stage where I could turn it on and off like a light switch. I looked Jake right in the eye and power oozed out of me.

I heard Malvin call my name but I ignored him. I stopped so close to Jake that he could have reached out and strangled me if wanted too.

But he didn't.

Instead he watched my eyes in awe, remaining still.

"You know who I am." I turned back to Alluna. "You said we're connected. You had to have known that would be stronger than whatever you've done to him."

"And you can't possibly think I'm that stupid." She retorted.

Jake grabbed me by the throat and began to close in on my windpipes.

"I've been studying Jake for the past fourteen years, Miss Creed and when he was in the cryonics program my mother studied him and her mother before that. Do you really think I don't have my own means of controlling him?"

I clung to Jake's hands as they tightened their grip. I was literally hanging with my feet dangling off the ground, as he held me up. I gasped for the little bit of air that would go in.

"Let me ask you a question, Miss Creed." She approached me, curiously. "If you had to choose between yourself and your friends, who would you save?"

I couldn't respond because I was too busy gagging and coughing. Dots appeared in the corner of my vision and Alluna was starting to blur into a misty shadow.

It was nearly over.

"For goodness sakes Jake, loosen your grip so the girl can answer the question."

I felt my feet touch the ground and suddenly small puffs of air entered into my lungs. It didn't feel much better but it kept me alive.

"Your answer."

She was so close to me that I'd even considered biting her myself. Maybe I should have let Shir stay after all.

"I'd save them."

She laughed wickedly.  "Such a martyr."

Jake pulled me by the throat again and I coughed as it seemed to hurt more this time. Tears burned in my eyes. I couldn't control them anymore. Alluna walked in circles back and forth with her arms resting behind her. There was no denying how much she was enjoying this.

"Who would you choose between yourself and Jeremiah?"

She pointed backwards to the man standing in the door, imprisoned the same way as my friends.

I scratched at Jake's hands and  ignored Alluna's ludicrous questions.

"Answer me, Pacem or somebody else will end up like Mr Groove."

Jake released me again and this time, I collapsed onto the floor with a massive thud.

"Jeremiah betrayed you didn't you? He turned in the man that you love."

Even in my blurring vision, I could see how pale Jeremiah had gone.

"Who would you save, Miss Creed?"

I choked, gasping around and hitting Jakes hand pathetically as he tried to scratch at me.

"Answer me, Pacem!"

"I'd-" My words turned into a cough and a tear formed in my eye.

"Come on girl, I don't have all day!"

"I'd choose me!" The words came out without fully processing.

Alluna smiled satisfied with the answer.

Then she pulled out her gun and shot Jeremiah straight in the head.

I laid there in darkness to afraid to open my eyes.

"What's the matter, Pacem?" I heard Alluna's voice whisper in my ear. "Are you beginning to understand what a monster you are? You killed Jeremiah. You killed Mr Groove when you stole from him. You're a beast just like the rest of them."

I finally opened my eyes and allowed myself to stare at his limp body. The guard who had been detaining him had disappeared. All that was left was his face staring back at me, so afraid, so alone.

Just like Dante's.

Suddenly I couldn't breathe. Couldn't move. 

How could this be happening?

This was supposed to be the part that I came to the rescue and everybody walked away perfectly intact. I'd told Jeremiah that he'd get what was coming to him. This was not what I meant. He wasn't supposed to die.

Had I wished his fate on him?

Who knows if Jeremiah and Dante would be the only ones to die today?

"You chose yourself. You let them die, Pacem." Alluna continued.

There was so much blood.

"But you pulled the trigger." Malvin's voice had surprised us both.

Usually Malvin just observed these types of situations but his words had come out so stern that they were hard to ignore.

Alluna looked at him impatiently.

"Malvin, the grownups are talking."

"You're the monster." He continued. "You're the evil one."

She rolled her eyes. "Ignore him. He does like to ramble on sometimes."

"He's right." My voice cracked. It didn't seem very threatening at all anymore. "This is your fault."

Jake jerked in his chains from behind again, causing me to jump. A part of me had allowed myself to forget that he was there.

"Pacem." Malvin knocked me out of my thoughts that were swirling around wildly in my head. I looked at him, took a deep breath, and nodded.

"W...What did you do to Jake?" My voice came out stronger this time.

"You are very fixated on him, aren't you?" Alluna sighed. "You see, any 'connection' that you think you have is circumstantial. It's like a magnet; it can always be broken with a stronger force."

"What force?" I managed to get out.

Surprisingly the voice who answered wasn't Alluna's.

"Me."

Who is this mysterious stranger?
Only one way to find out....