A wild screeching filled the tunnel. It was mixed with screams and cries of terrified girls. In an instant I had my helmet back on and my gun in my hands. I saw the other members of my team had done the same. Everyone turned to the opening door and the screaming. Our guns all rose in unison.

"Hold!" Theo commanded.

We were lined up, shoulder to shoulder and stood guns ready. The doors continued to grind open. It was a loud horrible sound like metal on stone, old rusty gears shifting. It made the very ground vibrate under my feet.

Sunlight poured into the dark tunnel. I was glad for my helmets tinted visor. But I almost wished the visor could block out the very sight in front of me.

The biomechanical monsters called Grievers were chasing a group of girls. Many of the girls had fallen, some were trying to make a stand. I saw a few pushing one monster back over the edge, using long spears.

I saw one monster use its tail to whip forward and grab a girl. She was dragged backwards with a scream. I didn't wait for Theo's orders. I raised my gun and shot at the monster.

Next to me, Brenda pulled the trigger of her own gun. And all down the line, guns went off. Bullets ripped into the monsters blubbery flesh. Many monsters went down with short circuiting insides and sparking wires. The girls all stopped for a moment utterly confused at the turn of events.

Then the unpaused button was pressed. Grievers screamed and ran at us now too. The girls seemed to dig inside and find another burst of courage and energy. The ones still standing, had a second wind.

As I swept my gun towards the next monster. I saw the ground littered with blood guts and goar. Many girls lay dead or dying.

"Bee! Go, check for any living. Theo and I will cover! Al, you too, Will will cover. Christina- watch our backs. Get the girls this way." I ordered.

I had seen one girl trying desperately to crawl away, but her leg was bleeding and she was shaking so bad she couldn't keep going.

Our team medics ran in. I grabbed one girl who looked okay, just completely dazed. I grabbed her collar and yanked her up.

"Go! Down the hall, go! Run!" I screamed and shoved her towards Christina who was waving a few girls through.

I ducked under a long sharp sword like appendage. I yanked out my long knife and blocked another attack. I lifted my gun and sent a round of deadly bullets into the underbelly of the monster. The Griever exploded in sparking machinery and slim.

I grabbed another girl who was falling. I pushed her forwards.

"Go! Down the tunnel! Go! Run!" I have had another shove and kept going, pulling girls up and pushing them away from death, towards life. One girlat a time. Trying desperately to make amends with the one girl I couldn't save.

I saw a girl with a long machete in one hand and a broken spiere in the other. She was taking on one particularly nasty Griever, alone. She stood in front of a small girl, no older than 10. The little girl lay on the ground, unmoving. The one standing over top of the child didn't see the other Griever coming at her from the back.

I ran towards her. I raised my gun and pulled the trigger, a few times as I screamed in defiance. The Griever roared its wild machine animal scream, as the bullets ripped into it's blubbery flesh. It staggered sideways and crashed into the other one. Sending them both over the edge of the hall and down a huge empty cavern. The blond girl lowered her weapons and looked around.

"Well that was bloody exciting." She panted. She gave me a nod in thanks and then squatted down by the unconscious girl.

"Melody! Come on Love, wake up!"

I skidded to a stop, crouching down as well. I pressed my hand to her little neck.

"She's alive. We can do a better assessment on the Berg. Can you carry her?"

The blond girl, who, now that I stopped to look, was Sonya Isaac. I knew her from before the Trials. We were in the same year, same class. She had gone missing when her dad spoke against the Trials. Her and her brother.

But Sonya didn't know me. She wouldn't remember anything. I felt a sharp pain in my chest. A chunk of my heart was ripped away. We played at recess together. She had come to my 8th and 9th birthday party. But that was a lifetime ago.

She nodded and slid her arms under the girl and picked her up. She was clearly stronger than she looked. I pointed to where Christina was waving girls through into the dark hall. She was shooting at another Griever that was trying to slide down the walls and drop on top of them. Like a giant horrible metal spider.

"That way! Into the tunnel. Go! We're running out of time!"

Sonya nodded and took off. I spun again, making sure there were no others left behind who were still breathing.

I turned again. Theo was charging towards me. I turned towards him just as something slammed into my back. I was sent flying forwards. I landed on my stomach and my head slammed into the floor. If I didn't have the helmet on I would have smashed my skull.

Pain erupted in my head anyways. I cried out. I can see black spots at the corner of my vision. My world teeters and tips. The air was knocked out of me. I gasped, trying to breathe.

My helmet is ripped off, making me feel less restricted, but my lungs still couldn't get a full inhale, my chest hurt, and my head is dizzy.

A dark face appeared in my fuzzy vision. Theo. He had ripped his helmet off, and he was yelling something, but my hearing had stopped working. I blinked a few times. Everything seemed to be moving very slowly, like my head was stuffed with cotton.

Theo pulled me to my feet. He took most of my weight, my feet weren't cooperating. He draped my arm over his shoulder and practically carried me down the hall. Will and Christina covered us. Brenda was helping a girl who looked like death warmed over and Al had another girl in his arms, her eyes were rolling. I tried to focus on where we were going and breathe at the same time. My lungs wouldn't cooperate, I was wheezing and every attempt to inhale seng sharp pains.

I saw guns going off and my team yelling instructions to the shell shocked girls. Theo hauled me past the doors. We were the last. A Griever was following, Will turned and shot a few more times at it, keeping it at bay. Theo set me down and then slammed the back of his gun into the computer.

It glitched and sparked and the doors slid shut, faster than the opened. It was a sudden silence so deep I felt it in my chest. I could hear the heavy breathing of the girls, the snuffles and cries of wounded. My hearing was working at least.

"Ghost Recon Team!" Theo barked. "Check in!"

"Dark Fox accounted for." I wheezed, still trying to keep my head from spinning and catch a proper breath. My lungs are struggling.

"Savage accounted for!" Christina pants.

"Bullseye accounted for!" Brenda adds from somewhere to my right.

"Voodoo accounted for!" Will says from my left.

"Baserker accounted for!" Al adds, he's squatted in front of me. He's shining a light in my eyes, assessing the damage.

"Good." Theo barks, "let's move out. Yoda and the Berg are waiting."

"Wait!" Someone calls from the corner.

"We don't have time to wait." Theo snaps.

I push Al away and get to my feet. I sway a moment. But with my hand pressed to my head I keep my balance slightly.

"I'm sorry, we don't have time for all the introductions. But please believe that we are here to help you. And we will explain everything. I promise Right now you need to trust us."

"How do we know you ain't working for WICKED." A dark skinned girl with dreadlocks asks, she gripping her spear tightly, ready for a fight.

"They took my best friend and sister. They killed her. We're part of a rebel group. Now please we need to move. The building is ready to crumble."

I see her resignation. She has no choice. She looks ag Sonya, theb have a silent conversation and they look back at me and nod. I nod back.

"Fox, with me, upfront. Bullseye and Voodoo, take up the rear. Savage, Berserker the left and right flank. Girls help the wounded. Let's go!" Theo barks more commands and I push my way to the front. He leads us down the tunnel at a jog. Before I jam my helmet back on he looks at me. I can see the concern in his eyes.

"Stop worrying." I wave a hand. "I've had worse." I give him a goofy smile. I definitely smacked my head too hard. The smile slides off.

"Someone has to worry about you." He replies. His dark eyes flick over my face again and then he's looking to the front, jamming his helmet on. His gun is raised and ready.

We've reached the door to the cement hall. I'm right behind him and we lead the group of 20ish girls. I glance behind me and I see them all wide eyed and glassy eyed. All of them look exhausted and broken.

"Come on! Almost there!" Brenda called.

I stumble as I look forwards. Theo grabs my elbow. I grit my teeth, the spinning is getting worse. Almost there. Almost there. Up the stairs and to the Berg.

Theo doesn't wait, but rams his shoulder into the door and back into the room where Paylor's men had taken over and stolen data. Dead WICKED doctors and a few guards lay dead on the floor. A few of Paylor's men were waiting for us. They take one look at the girls and they each grab a girl who needs assistance; one girl had finally passed out. She was swept up and carried. Sonya was relieved of the little girl and carried. She just turned and helped the next girl.

"Come on! We only have a few minutes!"

We ushered the girls up the stairs.

"Yoda...the stairs...we are in..." I yelled into the cons. I realized how slurred and mixed up my words were becoming. I was blinking a lot, trying to keep my vision clear. Definitely getting worse.

I saw Theo turn his head I couldn't see his eyes through the helmet, but I could imagine the pinched look of concern; his lips pulled down in the corner and his eyebrows pulled together. I shake my head, trying to get rid of the distracting mental image.

It wasn't a good idea. I get a sudden dizzy spell and my knees give out. They slam into the steps. I grunt in pain. My world spins for a second. I feel strong hands grab my arm and pull me. I expect to see a black helmet with a bloody hand print. But I see Sonya.

"You said we're almost buggen' there. Come on! Can't leave ya behind!"

She helps get my feet under me. I hear the stomping of our feet on the stairs and the ragged breathing of the girls. I can hear the crashing and roar of fire as the facility burns. Then we're finally busting through the top door onto the roof.

The sun is so bright it hurts. The smoke and fire make it hard to see, but at the end of the building, hovering, waiting for us is our Berg. I can see Paylor and Vince waiting, harnessed in to help stabilize them. They are there to help haul kids up and in.

"Go! Go go go! Move your ass!" Theo is yelling.

He's stopped and waving each person through. I stop and start lifting the younger and injured girls up. I bend down to grab another one and my vision goes black. I get another dizzy spell and I end up crashing. My knees hit the roof. I fall onto my hands. I clamp my eyes closed trying, willing the spinning to go away. It's making my stomach feel sick.

I can't hear anything over the thumping of blood in my ears and the ragged wheeze of my own breathing. The constant hum of the Berg drowns everything else.

I feel hands on my shoulders. I'm somehow rolled over and swept up at the same time and handed over. I can feel the sway of movement. My helmet is pulled off again, I whimper. My head hurts and the helmet hits the bump at the side of my head.

"Sorry my Hija. Gotta get this off."

"Are...are they out? Did we do it?" I whisper.

"Ya Ray...We did it. The girls are free."

"Good. Then...maybe...maybe Hailey can... She can forgive me." I whispered. I felt a single tear slide down my sweaty cheek. I'm finally pulled into darkness.

•×•

I peel my eyes open. But clamp them closed again. It's bright and my eyes hurt. I hear the sound of running water, it’s from a faucet somewhere close. Seconds go by before I see definite edges in my surroundings, the lines of door frame and countertop and ceiling. Table full of medical supplies. I hear a faint beep. It smells sterile.

The pain is a constant throb in my head and chest. I shouldn’t move; it will make everything worse. I see a blue patchwork quilt under my head and wince as I tilt my head to see where the water sound is coming from.

Theo stands in a small bathroom with his hands in the sink. Blood from his knuckles turns the sink water pink. He has a cut at the corner of his mouth, but he seems otherwise unharmed. His expression is placid as he examines his cuts, turns off the water, and dries his hands with a towel.

I only have one memory of getting here and even that is just a single image: black ink curling around the side of a neck, the corner of a tattoo, and the gentle sway that could only mean he was carrying me.

He turns off the bathroom light and gets an ice pack from somewhere in the corner of the room. As he walks toward me, I consider closing my eyes and pretending to be asleep, but then our eyes meet and it’s too late.

"Your hands," I croak.

"My hands are none of your concern," he replies. He rests his knee on the mattress and leans over me, slipping the ice pack under my head. Before he pulls away, I reach out to touch the cut on the side of his lip but stop when I realize what I am about to do, my hand hovering. He hasn't pulled away.

What do you have to lose? I ask myself. I touch my fingertips lightly to his mouth.

"Ray." he says, speaking against my fingers, "I’m all right. Should see the other thing. It's a biohazard hunk of junk now."

I try and smile. But I wince. His dark eyes pull together in concern.

"Your lucky you had the vest. The Griever leg would have sliced you open."

"What...what happened?" I whispered.

"You help save Sonya and Melody. But no one was there to save you. A leg slammed into your back. You have a concussion and a fractured rib."

"But...we got them out?"

He hums. And then kneels down beside the bed.

"Good," I say. "I was too late for her." My hand squeezes his arm. My voice sounds tight and fierce. Anger builds inside me, replacing my blood with bitter water and filling me, consuming me. I want to break something, or hit something, but I am afraid to move, so I start crying instead. I hate crying. But my body does anyways.

Theo crouches by the side of the bed, and watches me. I see no sympathy in his eyes. I would have been disappointed if I had. He pulls his wrist free and, to my surprise, rests his hand on the side of my face, his thumb skimming my cheekbone. His fingers are careful. He moves his thumb absently over my cheekbone, back and forth.

"I don't believe she was mad at you. She knew the truth until they took her memories." Theo says. He says it not to reassure me, but because he truly believes that. I take a shuddering breath. It hurts; physically and emotionally.

"You think it would be a bad idea if I sat up?"

"I'll help you."

Theo grips my shoulder with one hand and holds my head steady with the other as I push myself up. Pain rushes through my body in sharp bursts, but I try to ignore it, stifling a groan.

He hands me the ice pack. "You can let yourself be in pain," he says. "It’s just me here. The doctor left after you were stable."

I bite down on my lip. There are tears on my face, but neither of us mentions or even acknowledges them.

"Where is here?" I ask quietly.

"Right Arm Medical Facility."

"Where?" I repeat. My sore eyes flick around the room. I am in some kind of medical room, it's not as state of the art as WICKED's medical unit, but it's more modern then I would have guessed the Right Arm camp to be.

"Remember how I suggested there's more to the Right Arm then we first saw?" His voice is a controlled even tone.

"Yes." I breath. It's like I'm already holding my breath, waiting for the rug to be pulled from underneath me.

"Well...I was right. The Right Arm is an entire underground city. A true full arm. We're under the Rocky Mountains right now."

"Under... underneath?"

He just nods and my world spins again.

•×•

Sonya. My girl!
We rescued Maze B! A divergent scene and Now...getting into the TMR meat. With a dash of Mocking jay