I begin walking towards the chaos.

"Autumn!" Hannah cries, rushing to my side and grabbing my arm. "You can't just walk in there!"

I yank out of her grip and fade into invisibility. She smiles, then does the same. Annette sighs, then walks ahead of us. "I can tell Leane that something is going wrong. She put me in charge of helping to make sure her plan went smoothly."

Hannah's fingers wrap around my arm, and we both follow after her sister. We easily weave through people shooting, Annette pretending to defend herself with balls of electricity. I can tell she doesn't want to hurt anyone, but she does have to duck a few times. For the most part, we walk around the back part of Leane's army once we get close to it. Finally, we have to weave through people, but they all give Annette adequate space.

After a while, Annette finally taps Leane on the shoulder. She had been doing nothing but barking orders, hiding behind her trained people with guns. She smiles sweetly at Annette, not a drop of physical blood on her hands. She wears a body tight black suit, just like everyone else. That's where the similarities end. She has a tablet in hand, and on it I can see Derek's face. Glancing around, I realize some of the people fighting for Leane used to be fighting for my cause. Anger burns within me for everything I've lost because of her. Everything that's happened because of this evil woman. My fists clench as Annette places a look of distress on her face.

"I'm sorry to bother you, Leane, but I'm afraid we have a problem back by the burning ice creamery," Annette lies smoothly. I see what she's doing and grin.

Leane's eyes narrow. "Why haven't you taken care of it yet, Annette?"

Annette's lip twitches at her harsh tone. "Well, it's Autumn. You said to lead you straight to her without harming her, yes?"

My eyes widen. What? 

Leane smirks. "Oh. Very well done, Annette. Take me to the girl. I'd love to finish her off already."

Annette weaves her way back to the ice creamery. The whole way, I try to think of how I'm going to deal with Leane. Kill her? Destroy the button? Both? My thoughts and emotions are a mess as we finally arrive in front of the burning ice creamery, which causes my gut to wrench. So many memories all crumbling to the ground.

Leane glances around, frowning. "Where is she, Annette? Pull out your gun to defend me!"

Annette obeys, and I feel Hannah detach her fingers from my arm. I stop breathing as she materializes in front of Leane, anger burning in her eyes as she pulls out her gun. 

Leane narrows her eyes. "Put your gun down at once! Do you know who I am?"

I laugh humorlessly, materializing. "Yeah. You're a selfish, power hungry woman who started a war for her own purposes!"

Leane pulls out her gun and points it at me. "You!" She glances at the two girls also pointing their guns at her. "You can't take me down like this!" She glances down at her tablet right as Hannah snatches it from her and hurls it towards the burning building.

I feel a barrel pressed against my back. "You need any help, Leane?"

Leane smirks. "Definitely, Derek."

"You traitor!" I hiss at the enemy behind me. "You're such a coward, not even man enough to face me after all that you've done. Yeah, just shot me from behind. It's just like stabbing me in the back, just taking it up a notch!"

"I'm just doing what's best for me, Autumn. The world will be a better place without you in it."

I grit my teeth, glaring at Leane. "You know where your other partner is?"

Leane grins. "Jeremy? Making sure everything runs smoothly, of course."

It's my turn to grin. "Oh, you're wrong. He's actually tied to a chair right now. He can't escape because the restraints stifle his abilities."

Leane narrows her eyes at me. "Liar."

"No," Derek sighs. "She breached your base, Leane."

Anger burns in her eyes. "Shoot her! Shoot her right now, Derek!"

Leane digs in her pocket, and I watch as Hannah and Annette turn to point their guns at the person behind me.

"Shoot her, and we shoot you," Annette challenges.

I abruptly duck down, taking Derek by surprise. His bullet flies over my head, and I hear two other guns go off in unison. Turning around and standing up, I notice that Derek lays on the ground. He bleeds from both his forehead and his chest. I smile at the sisters in thanks, then turn back to Leane. She holds a button in her hand, and presses it without warning. I lunge for her, but she points her gun and shoots. Not me, but Hannah. A scream comes from me as I watch her lifeless body fall to the ground. Turning to Annette, I watch as she cries for her sister. She doesn't notice as someone walks up behind her and shoots her. Another scream escapes me as I glance at both of their lifeless bodies.

I turn to Jeremy and glare, ducking as his bullet flies right over my head. "How did you get out?"

He smirks, then aims to fire again. "Someone untied me, obviously."

Glancing around, I notice that everyone is in a zombie-like state. Anyone who doesn't have a Chip seems to either pretend or be shot on the spot. My stomach twists as I take a step away from Jeremy and Leane. My body begins to shake as Leane grins.

"KILL HER!" She screams.

I curse under my breath as people, my own allies, begin walking towards me. I notice Aubrey, Avery, and Eva, all with their guns pointed at me. My heart plummets to my feet, and I notice that Jeremy has stepped away with a smirk. Anger consumes me. I won't let people I care about, people I love, be controlled by this maniac. A scream escapes me as I lunge, tackling Leane to the ground. Time seems to slow down as I fumble for the square blue device, the one that I need to destroy. I hear a gunshot and feel a searing pain in my arm. Ignoring it, I take out my gun and point it at Leane's forehead. Both of our breathing is labored.

Leane glares at me. "You never give up, do you?"

I smirk. "Never. Give me the device, Leane."

She shakes her head as blood from my arm drips onto her face. It makes her look more deranged than she actually is. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch Jeremy's gun pointed at me. Smirking, I lower my gun to Leane's chest. I watch where Jeremy's laser points, then choose the right time to roll to the left. The bullet hits the button, causing it to spark and shatter into a million pieces. Leane shouts as everyone, even her soldiers, blink back to reality. 

Leane curses, glancing to Jeremy then back to me with a scowl. "Kill her, darn it!" She glances to her soldiers. "Don't forget who's in control here!"

Their guns go from being pointed at me to being pointed at Leane. My friends rush forward, and Leane seems to contemplate her options. Finally, she snarls at me, waving her gun in my direction.

"Jeremy, if we take her out, we win!"

In a flash, someone materializes beside Leane and punches her in the face. Eva smirks, as blood gushes from Leane's nose.

"Come on, Leane. We'll win next time. We can't win if we're dead!" Jeremy huffs.

Leane nods to him, and they both disappear. Gasps of surprise echo around me, and I start to ponder the whole 'do you really think this city is all there is' thing at Jeremy said. I feel myself being pulled into someone's arms, and by the smell I know it's Cody. My arm throbs, and I feel a stinging in my side. A bullet must've grazed me there. My mind feels like it's on overdrive, like it can't process all that's happened.

I push away from Cody, whose eyes widen at my injuries. I almost sigh in relief at the sight of Aubrey and Avery, both standing side by side. They seem a little beat up, but alive. Bleeding, but alive. My vision swims, and my exhaustion catches up as my adrenaline fades away.

My eyes pop open, and I realize I'm back in my old room. If I close my eyes, if I just stay here, I can pretend everything's okay. But, what is okay anymore? Glancing down, I notice that my arm has been bandaged. Grimacing, I bring a hand to my side. Flinching, I realize someone must've bandaged that as well.  I drag myself out of bed, hissing at the pain in my side.

"Autumn, you're awake! How're you feeling?"

I glance to Molly, who stands in the doorway, and smile softly. "A bit sore, thanks."

She smiles back. "My mom patched you up. You should be fine. You're lucky, you know."

I shrug, pushing myself to my feet. Ignoring the pain, I walk to Molly. "Where is everyone else? Are they okay? What's going on? Have Leane and Jeremy been spotted?"

Molly holds up a hand. "Too many questions. But, everyone's fine, but Leane and Jeremy have disappeared. There's no sign of them in the city. People are trying to rebuild what was lost. You really saved people this time, Autumn."

I shake my head, taking another step forward. "It's not over yet. I didn't stop it, and I didn't kill Leane or Jeremy. They're still out there, and they're going to plot and execute."

Molly waves a hand, and steps aside so I can pass her. "Autumn, you need to rest. Get some water and food into your system. You need to stop worrying. It's not going to do you or anyone any good!"

Ignoring her, I walk down the stairs and into the kitchen. Immediately, my mom envelopes me in her arms.

"My brave little hero, I'm glad you're okay," my mom whispers into my hair.

I smile, recognizing her perfume. Pulling away, I stare into her eyes, which have bags under them. Looking to my dad, I sigh in relief, realizing Eva, Cody, Aubrey, and Avery are with him. Then, my eyebrows furrow as I step away from my mom.

"Where's Hailee?"

Cody grimances. "I'm sorry, Autumn. How're you feeling?"

Tears prick my eyes, but I don't allow them to spill. Many people have died, but at least I have this many alive in front of me. "I'm fine, but I'm ready to end this."

Avery sighs. "It's not going to end for a while, Autumn. We just need to relax while we can."

I walk over to my dad and embrace him, then Cody, then my friends. After, I pour myself a glass of water. As a take a sip, I allow myself to smile. "Alright, we relax for a bit. Then, we make sure Leane and Jeremy pay." 

_____

This book is 89,675 words. Oh my gosh, this is the longest book I've ever written and I'm so proud of it! Thank you to everyone who's supported it and me. I can't wait to plan and then write the third book! Please leave your feedback, good or bad (but not rude) or constructive, about this book! I hope your enjoyed and I'd love to know your thoughts on this ending! It's definitely better than the ending of Removed. But I also can't wait for Removed to be published! I still can't believe it! See you in book three, whenever I post that. It'll probably be a little bit for me to plan it a bit. Plus, now I need to go over this draft of this book and make it the second draft and I've been super busy with school and driving school. I'm trying, guys! I'm trying to finish this series and write my new book Give Me a Sign and a short story for an anthology I'm going to be a part of. Please be patient. I'll hopefully have more time once driver's ed ends on the 28th. See you guys later, and maybe check out Give Me A Sign!

-Sarah