I KNEW WHAT WAS HAPPENING the moment I walked into the operating room. Mrs. Walker was laying down on a bed in the center of the room, bright lights flashing down on her. The room was not empty and I looked down each side of the hall before entering the room for good. Closing the door behind me, I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down. All of this was risky and if I got caught, there was no way I could get them out of here. Multiple IVs were attached to her arms, different colored fluids making their way into her bloodstream. One of them was keeping her asleep and I needed to get the needles out of her.

"How does this work?" I asked the few doctors that were still in the room. They looked me up and down before turning their attention back to their patient.

"Briana, what in God's name do you think you're doing in here?" Leonard asked, strapping wires to Mrs. Walker's head and temples. "You know this room is off limits until the procedure is completed. Dr. Stanley's orders. You, of all people, should know what will happen if you disobey him."

"Tell me." I said through gritted teeth. "How. Does. This. Work?" I stood in front of the door to block their only exit. When none of them moved, I reached into my back pocket, retrieving my weapon and pointing it at the four doctors.

"What are you—What are you doing?" Trisha squeaked, holding her hands out in front of her as if they would protect her from the weapon in my hands.

I held a strong, fierce expression while meanwhile, I was terrified. I had no idea how to use this weapon but none of them knew that. For all I knew, the safety was still on and I had no idea how to undo that.

"Tell me how it works!" I screamed, waving the gun around to frighten them even more. "Now, dammit! Tell me now!"

When no one said anything, I pulled the trigger multiple times until I heard four bodies hit the floor. Cautiously walking across the room as if someone was still watching me, I studied her appearance, my heart aching at the sight. She looked much paler than she did when I brought Amira in to see her and Mr. Walker. Her lips were extremely dry, numerous cracks and splits forming on the skin. Her once beautiful blonde hair was now tangled, dry, and dull. I ran my fingers along the side of the bed before quickly moving into action. I started removing the IVs, Mrs. Walker still out cold in the process.

"Come on," I whispered as I broke the IVs, spilling the colorful fluids on the floor with the blood of the doctors I just shot. "Come on, you have to wake up."

I waited, listening to her quiet breathing as I urged for her to quickly awaken in my limited amount of time. I grabbed the chair closest to me and moved it towards the door, placing the back under the doorknob to buy myself some more time. Anyone else who tried to come in would have trouble and that would give me enough time to think of another escape route.

Another chair sat in the corner of the room—a wheelchair. I rushed towards it and rolled it by the bed's side. Mrs. Walker remained unconscious and I frowned, examining my very small arms and the muscles that were barely there. If I tried getting her off the bed without her help, I was going to end up dropping her. I placed my hands on top of my head and started pacing the room. I had to try. Mr. Walker was depending on me. I told him to give me a few days and it had been a few days. His wife was going to be reunited with him and I was going to make sure of that.

Even if I managed to drop her in the process, I needed to try to get her in the wheelchair.

Sitting the gun off to the side, I hesitated before looping my arms underneath her shoulders. I pulled her sideways and kept the wheelchair where it was with my foot blocking its path. As she slid off the bed, my heartbeat quickened and I hoped for the best. I moved slowly and relief washed over me when she landed in the chair, her body leaning forward a bit. I pushed her gently and frowned when her head hung back as she remained unaware of what was happening around her.

People were banging on the doors now, probably wondering why they heard gunshots and I flickered my gaze toward the noise. I glanced down at Mrs. Walker. Her eyes were open, staring blankly back at me with an unreadable expression.

"Where...Where's..." her voice slowly trailed off as her eyes fluttered back close, slipping back into the unconscious state she was previously in.

I barely had time to react when the doors of the room suddenly broke open. The gun remained on the operating table and I grabbed it, turning around and aiming it at whoever was about to stop me from completing my mission. Mr. Walker stood there with his hands in the air, a very calm expression on his face and a very frightened one on Amira's.

"Lucas—" I breathed.

"Harry," he corrected me and frowned at the sight of his wife. "W-What the hell are you doing?"

I walked forward, pulling him and his daughter inside of the room and closing the door back. He rushed over to his wife and held her face in his tatted hands, worry and concern clear on his features. Amira stood right behind him, looking up at the woman who was supposed to be her mother.

"What happened?" he asked. "Why is she like this?"

"They were performing the procedure on her when I first arrived."

"They...?" Lucas, wait, no—Harry rose to his feet the moment he noticed the dead bodies on the floor. His jaw tightened and he reached behind him, pulling his daughter close to his side. Her eyes never left me and I gave her a small smile. In all honesty, I missed having her around me all the time but I knew she would be back with her parents and I was proud.

"You did this," he murmured.

"Yes," I nodded my head. "I had to do something. If I didn't, your wife would've been gone forever. How did you know I would be in here?"

"You told me where to find you."

"What?"

"When you came to the room that night and told me about the pills. You told me that I would know where to find you."

My eyes widened in realization, "You took your pill." He shrugged his shoulders. "And it actually worked?"

"You mean to tell me you had no idea if they actually worked?" he demanded, his voice rising a little.

"Anyway!" I clapped my hands. "We have to get the three of you out of here. We don't have much time. I've got the chair. Get Amira."

He obeyed, scooping his daughter up in his arms, and I got a hold of the wheelchair. We hurried out of the room and down the hallway to where the oxygen masks were being held. The door to the storage room opened and I froze in place, Harry bumping into me and a small gasp escaping Amira's lips. When the woman stepped out of the room, most of my fear washed away and I smiled.

"What the fuck took you so long?" she asked as we got closer, her black hair bouncing on her shoulders and her blue eyes filled with slight anger. "I had to block this room off for hours, Bria. You told me you would've had them together way before now."

"Cassandra," I patted my friend on the shoulder. "I got them together, didn't I?"

"Cassandra?" I heard Harry whisper from behind me.

She raised an eyebrow and looked him up and down with her bright, devious eyes. "Do you know me?"

"You...You were..." he stopped and when I looked at him, he was looking at the wall beside him.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Dr. Stanley told us that everyone in our other life didn't exist. He said he made them up but she was there."

"Me?" Cassandra let out a snort. "Me of all people?"

"There's no time to explain. We need to get the masks and get to the car."

"But of course," Cassandra smirked. "Be right back, ladies."

Harry scoffed, "Do I look like a lady—"

She slipped back into the storage room and I heard a box being moved around. My grip tightened on the wheelchair and I was constantly looking around to make sure no one else was around. Everyone was usually at lunch around this time which made it perfect. There were sometimes a few stragglers but I would take care of them if need be. Cassandra stepped out with the masks and handed two to Harry, one to me, and kept one for herself.

"Now, let's move."

The parking garage was easy to get to. Cassandra and I knew this place like the back of our hands and it only took us about five minutes to get to the garage. The polluted air had been sucked out of the garage and replaced with filtered air, making it easier for us to breathe. Cassandra approached the vehicle first and unlocked the doors. Not only was she supposed to wait for me at the supply closet, she was also supposed to get the keys to one of the vehicles.

"Put your masks on." I said, putting Sydney's on for her. "The air isn't safe once you leave this garage." Cassandra pulled her mask over her head and I helped Harry and Amira with theirs.

"There are only four masks." Harry said, looking at me frantically. "Why don't you have a mask?"

I smiled weakly at him, "Because someone has to stay behind and cause a distraction."

• • •

Bria smiled at me and raised a hand to squeeze my left shoulder, "Because someone has to stay behind and cause a distraction."

The words took some time to process in my mind. None of us needed to stay behind. We could have all gone now and we would have all made it. Why would she even think of such a thing? I looked over at Cassandra but her expression was blank as if she knew all along Bria was not going to make the trip. She, in fact, was going to stay behind and risk getting herself killed.

"No," I shook my head. "I can run back in there and get you a mask—"

"Harry," she squeezed me even tighter this time. "You'll get caught if you just go running back in there. Think about your wife...your child. Don't go risking your future for someone you barely know. Cassandra knows the outside world a lot better than I do and she knows how to keep you safe. I trust her more than anything, as should you."

"You say I barely know you but you've helped my family in more ways than anyone I can remember. You deserve to live, too, Bria."

She let go of my shoulder and backed away a little, "This was never about me or my happy ending." Her smile widened and her eyes became glossy with tears. "It's always been about you, Harry, and your happy ending. Your family should get the happiness you all deserve. But just make sure to give your wife the other pill, all right?"

"Okay, but—"

"Now, go."

"Bria—"

"Go!"

Cassandra had already placed Sydney in the car and by the look on Bria's face, time was running out. She smiled once more at me before pulling the gun out of her pocket and shooting at the tires belonging to the other cars. I moved fast, putting Amira in the back with her mother and jumping into the front seat. Cassandra turned the key in the ignition and my heart threw itself against my chest as the vehicle roared to life.

"Are we really just going to leave her?" I asked, not even bothering to buckle my seat belt at this point. "After everything's she done, we're just abandoning her?"

"We don't abandon anyone," Cassandra muttered as we rode out of the garage. "We make sacrifices. I'm sure you know a thing or two about that, hmm? I know about you and your wife and I'm sure you know about it seeing as how you took Bria's pill or whatever the hell it was. Things weren't exactly working out between the two of you, were they?"

I sat back in the seat and looked ahead at the road ahead of us.

"Oh, don't tell me the pill didn't work."

A lump formed in my throat, "No, no, it worked."

I ran a tired hand down my face and tried to avoid the fact that Cassandra would look at me every now and then as if I was going to tell her what I did...what I was going to do. She already knew and there was no point in me explaining myself. Hell, now that I thought about it, I had no idea why I thought about ever doing that to Sydney. She was too kind to have something like that happen to her.

Growing up in a dysfunctional household, getting constantly beaten and thrown around like I was nothing, my mind was not quite right as I got older. My mother kicked me out before I was eighteen and made it very clear she wanted nothing to do with me. It took me years to come up with enough money to be able to rent an apartment and get a used car.

When I first met Sydney, or Gwen, it was by accident. I was in the middle of arguing with my landlord about my rent and when I swung my fist to hit him, I hit someone behind me and that someone turned out to be a woman. I was quick to apologize, of course, but her surprised squeal caused a tall, broad man to run out of the apartment she was previously in. It turned out she was visiting her cousin and by the looks of it, she was probably helping him pay his rent. I occasionally saw her after that and it was obvious she had money. Lots of it. Either she had a really good job or her parents did.

That was when the idea sparked in my head.

I had been struggling to live on my own for so long.

If I got the girl, I would get the money that came along with her.

When I offered to walk her to her car the first few times, she turned me down and I knew it was because she deep down thought I was trying to rob her. Eventually, she gave in and let me walk with her. We exchanged numbers and I called her that evening. She was very talkative and she liked to talk about anything. That girl could discuss the simplest thing for more than two hours if you let her. After our fourth phone call, I finally asked her out on a date.

I stuck to the plan, introducing her to my parents even though they wanted nothing to do with me. I was introduced to her parents and I made a good impression, asking all the right questions and giving all the right answers. Everything was going perfectly. I would propose to Sydney and almost a year after, I would file for a divorce and get half of everything.

But after we were married, Amira came along.

And after Amira came bad air.

Sydney's parents were two of the many victims who died from inhaling too much polluted air and with their bodies went their money. Their bodies were frail and were unable to handle the toxic air. My family was struggling and there was no way I could divorce my wife. I would barely get anything and I would rather struggle with Sydney and Amira than on my own.

When Sydney told me about volunteering, I went along with it because there was nothing to lose. We literally had nothing. I thought about the benefits for my daughter and how she would never have to struggle like I did.

I knew the risks.

I knew there was a chance Sydney and I would die.

But it would be worth it.

"I know a place that's not too far from here that we can stop at for the night. We leave again as soon as the sun rises. Gotta keep moving."

Cassandra's voice startled me, causing me to wince slightly and turn my head to look at her. She was humming to herself and tapping her fingers against the steering wheel, swerving slightly as she drove down the road. I looked back at Sydney and her eyes were still closed. Amira had her head on her mother's lap and her eyes, too, were closed. A frown appeared on my face as I studied my wife's face. She had no idea why I was truly with her.

Why Lucas was truly with Gwen.

I had to keep this from her. There was no way I was going to divorce her. Sure, Lucas was only with her for the money but I was someone different. Lucas died a long time ago and he was never coming back. My name was Harry and I was going to treat my wife like the beautiful doll she was. I sat back in the seat and pinched the bridge of my nose.

However, I would be lying to her all over again.

***

I just love plot twists, don't you? (;

Two or three more chapters left before the epilogue.