"Oh shit," the vulgar word passes my lips, leaving a bad taste in my mouth.

Treason. My nails dig into the chair, biting the worn cushion. This is treason.

I've heard rumors of these rallies in the Innercity, about fanatics gathering in unexpectant holes in the Outercity, planning to destroy the wall and invade the Innercity. I only thought they were stories to scare people from the Outercity, another story amongst other stories of the horrific and savage lifestyle of Outsiders.

ITF Commons Room invades my thoughts, showing the enlarged tablet suspended from the column, the terrified reporter and the mob of Outsiders, and the one shark mask swimming in the sea of bodies.

What if a gang rally was what started that riot at the Middlecity Wall? I can still see the border guards pushing and shoving the Outsiders back into the city. Only now an horrifying vision stains my mind: myself being caught in the fray.

I need to get out of here.

My body sprang from my seat, abandoning the bartender and his tempting words. It's not like I can get any information out of him without any money. But when I find money, I'll come back. In the daylight.

I duck and slither through the audience of eager Outsiders. Their faces are open to the still preaching shark man. I try to block out every word he says. The less I know, the better. By the time I get back to the entrance of the Flotilla, I am confronted with another problem.

Looking out from the patio, there are three or four different roads leading away from the bar. I scratch my mind for the path we took to get here. No memory surfaces. There is no land mark, no crumbled building, no anything that is different from the other roads. It's all the same. The labyrinth stares back at me, daring me to choose.

Rust. He'll help me.

Although my legs scream against it, I dart back into the bar. Unlike before, I comb through the bodies of Outsiders, no longer afraid of touching them if it means I'll find Rust faster. I do spot some familiar faces, but not Rust. Until I see a lanky silhouette standing toward the front of the crowd, near the stage.

"Rust!" I call. I duck my head when a few people glare at me for interrupting the speaker.

I ignore their looks and move closer to the slender man, but before I can see if it's Rust, the man slips away. I push my way after him.

"Wait," I whisper a little quieter. The man pays me no attention.

He disappears in another room on the side of the stage. I follow him inside.

My eyes struggle to adjust to the dark room, but as they do, I realize I must be in a compartment behind the stage. This must be a type of storage room. There are extra chairs and tables, even a locked cabinet, where I can guess the spare alcohol is kept.

"Rust, you in here?" I squint in the darkness, spotting a dark, human shape in the corner.

I reach my hand out and to touch his shoulder. Hands catch mine and squeeze.

"I told you to stay away, Casket. Don't you care about your pretty face?" Vee's sing-song voice makes my heart stop. I try to wrench my hand away from her, but it only makes her hold tighten. Her jagged nails tear through my flesh. I let out a whimper.

Vee laughs at my pathetic whining. Her high chuckling sends heat up my face and rage in my stomach. I give my hand one sharp yack. Vee's cackling loosens her grip, and my hand pulls free. I smile at my little victory.

I backpedal from Vee, keeping my eyes on her. Black eyeliner is smudged around her eyes. Her clothes are black with holes strategically placed to show off her body. Her pale skin is white under her black clothes, giving a sickly shine.

"I'm sorry to tell you, but this isn't a costume party." I look her outfit up and down. My lips pout, "What are you? The undead slut?"

Vee's playful smile melts off her face. She crosses her arms, "Are you trying to be funny or stupid?"

"I'm far from stupid."

"That's obvious," Vee's sarcasm drips, "why else would you be transferred into the Outercity?" Vee cocks her head.

Her words bite me, and I try not to let it show. I chew on the inside of my cheek instead. Vee circles me. Her black heels clicking the hard floor. My quick wit can only go so far, and I am not looking for another foot in my gut. I don't know if she'll make a scene in front of the crowd of Outsiders, but at least in the bar I won't be cornered.

I move away from her advances. My hand reaches out and feels around for the door handle. "As much as I loved catching up, I've got to get going." My back presses against the door, and I catch a hold of the metal doorknob. It still feels weird to grab the dead thing, but I push the thought away.

I turn knob and whirl around before slamming into a wall of flesh. Hands catch my shoulders before I fall.

"Casket, what are you doing in here?" Rust asks. His eyebrow brunch in concern, but his eyes are still blank.

"Rust—" I gasp in relief.

Rust looks over my head, "Vee?"

Vee is quiet behind me. If she didn't just try to grab me a few minutes ago, I would think Rust is talking to thin air.

"What are ya'll doing?" He asks.

"It doesn't matter now. I want to go back to the OTF." I go to pull away from him. "Let's go—" My sentence breaks off. Rust's fingers dig into my shoulders. I try to move away again, but his grip is iron.

"Why? We haven't even gotten to the best part of the night." Rust's words twist my insides, tying them into a knock as my mind slowly processes what is happening.

My eyes travel over his face, desperate to see something that indicates my security. His eyes are full. The emptiness that usually occupies his irises are now filled with playfulness and wicked satisfaction.

Rust spins me around and wrenches my arms behind my back. Vee strides over to me, her crooked teeth shine through her wide grin.

The fight I felt with Vee desserts me. I am helpless in his arms, limp to the both of them. Headmaster Glinda flashes before my eyes. The phantom touches of her goons start to burn my forearms. Again. I am useless again.

Vee and Rust's exchange of dark smiles promises worse pain than bruised arms.

"Pleas—"

Vee's fist hits me in the stomach, right over the spot where her foot kissed it a few days before. My grunt echoes of the walls. Rust's damp hand muffles my cries. The feeling of his flesh over my lips sends tears down my face.

Vee continues her assault, and I feel every hit and scrape. My body screams against her hands on me, but I am powerless to help myself. She punches my stomach, scratches my arms and chest. Her nails move to my face. I feel my lip bust open.

My muffled cries for help become caught in my throat, and my exhaustion halts any other calls. The pain paints the edges of my vision black. I slump against Rust, and he drops me on the ground.

My vision squints through my swollen eye lid. Vee hovers over me with Rust caressing her braids, twisting them between his fingertips.

"See, I said you wouldn't last the week."

Her foot meets my eye.

Blackness.

***

"H—leave—okay?"

Thomp. Pain. Thomp. Pulsing through my head. Thomp.

My eye lids fight to stay shut, but I push against them. Some muffled words try to penetrate my ears. The thomp, thomp, thomp, of my brain hitting the edges of my skull stops any sound from getting to me.

Darkness and light collide in front of my eyes until it makes shapes. The shapes make up the utility room behind the stage. For a moment, I forget why I'm laying on the floor with aches all over me. Then I remember dark nails, a ghostly white arm, and eyes filled with guilty delight.

I moan.

"Hey? You okay?" The question comes into focus. I become acutely aware that I'm not alone.

I flinch away from the voice, and my eyes snap to the unfamiliar presence.

The man with the cloak kneels beside me. His face is still slightly hidden under his hood, but more of his face tattoo is exposed. The dark line moves farther up his cheek before it disappears in the shadows. I scan him. His hands are fastened by his sides, and his eyes hold pity as he looks over me. His gaze is warm and questioning but not evasive.

But I thought the same thing about Rust and look where that got me.

"I'm fine," I say. I pull my legs under me. My ribs scream with the sudden action and a hiss of pain escapes my lips.

The shark man moves to help, cupping my arms to steady me. His hands burn through me. Rust's and Headmaster Glinda's duo's tight phantom clutches come back to me.

"Don't touch me!" I jerk away from him.

His hands withdraw, but he continues to watch me stand. Each movement burns my muscles and my neck aches from whatever position I was laying in. But with each move I make, I press my lips together and endure it.

The cloaked man rolls back to his feet and taps his legs, visibly uncomfortable, but not willing to leave me alone. Each time he taps his hands at his sides, my impatience spikes. I want him to leave. I want to leave and pretend that this stupid night never happened. Most of all, I want to crawl into my bed in the Intercity and cry.

"Can I help you with something, or are you just going to gawk at me?" I roll my shoulder, holding back the tears. But I can't. Not over this. I can't let Rust and Vee have that satisfaction.

"Are you sure your okay? My territory has doctors. I can take you there and get you checked out."

"I don't need your help." I try to push my aches and pain to the back of my mind. Ignoring the man still standing by me, I limp around him and out of the small room. I try not to notice the man hovering near me, waiting to catch me if I slump over.

He doesn't say anything as I walk back into the bar. Aware of how close he is following me, I keep my back straight and my steps sure. Though my body doesn't understand what my mind wants it to do. My knees try to buckle under me and my muscles tremble with effort.

The bar is almost empty. The large crowd of people chanting are gone, the only strays left are the drunks that can't get their legs under them. The only sober people are workers mopping the floors with dirty water and a man talking to a border guard in the corner of the bar.

My limps freeze at the sight of the border guard and the deserted room.

"Why is there a border guard here?" I whisper.

Th cloaked man follows my sight to the two men. "What do you mean?"

"Did he hear what the shark man was saying? About the coalition?" My eyes roam the place for another exit. I can't be caught at a gang rally. What would mother think if her daughter was arrested in the Outercity? Could Headmaster Glinda still reach me in prison?"

"He isn't here about that. It's just closing time, and they come to help clear out the place." His tone insinuates that this information is well-known, and air returns to my lungs.

"What territory are you from?" The cloaked man asks, still following me to the exit. His presence is starting to become over bearing, and my need to be rid of the stray moves my feet faster.

The night air kisses my face on the bar patio, and my predicament again shows itself with the maze of roads. My hope of getting Rust to help me is crushed, along with my dignity.

"None." I say, trying to remember the way back to the OTF.

"How is that possible?" H asks.

"Listen," I turn to face him and press my lips together. "I appreciate you waking me up, but I don't. Need. Your. Help. Okay?" I use my hands to punctate each word, and look back up at him, daring him.

The cloaked man steps away from me before his whole-body tenses. "It's not safe for you to walk by yourself."

I rub my eyes. "If you really what to help, just point me to the OTF. That would be a great help."

When the cloaked man points toward a road, I take off before he can offer to carry me there.

It's not safe...His annoying deep voice replays in my head.

Yeah, I figured that out a while ago.