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~Missing Puzzle Piece

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21 August, 0028 A.V

21:48 (9:48pm)

Sena's long, charcoal hair brushed against the metal door as it creaked open, echoing through a long hallway that it connected with. Audra's shattering breath nearly halted as she took an experimental step outside.

There were doors.

They were metal, with supports on either side. They looked old, which explained the endless creaking of the door.

They lined the sides of the walls like still soldiers, stiff and rigid, not creaking or making any noise. And based on her previous knowledge, Audra knew each door lead to their own Hallway.

The thought chilled her to the bone; families, locked up within each Hallway, and yet Audra was out here, about to escape. Where do the new Known usually go? Into a metal room like this one? Audra was full of questions. She wished she could rescue all of them, bring them with her, take her mother and her sister with her and disappear from the Tower forever.

The thought was all that she would fight for.

"On my mark! Not your own." Sena whispered harshly to Audra, and she realized that she wasn't supposed to have stepped out yet.

You're so stupid! Audra snapped at herself. She flew back into the room, nearly crashing into Eve, earning her a rather miffed look from her best friend. Sena reclaimed the lead of the three teens.

Audra noticed a slight disturbance in Sena's actions. Sena's eyes flew around almost wildly, and her hands twiddled together until she spoke in a rushed voice. "Almost forgot..." She made her way back to the advanced computer hardware systems, then into the drawers. She pulled a larger, dark-colored object from it.

A gun.

Audra knew of guns. There hadn't really been any incidents of shootings, even in the ancient breakout that was years ago. But seeing a gun up close make Audra all the more certain that Sena wasn't joking around. Audra didn't know why she was escaping, and why Sena wanted to help them. In fact, Sena didn't seem to like them at all. Sena loaded the gun with a loud click before sticking it in her back pocket.

"It's only for a just-in-case scenario," Sena reassured the three, seeing the looks on Eve and Audra's faces. Audra glanced at Conan, to see how he was reacting. All she saw was a blank, almost accepting face. That's unusual.

"Let's go, then," Sena said hastily, rushing them to the door, once again taking the lead. "On my mark..." She scarcely waited a beat before giving them the signal, and she took a few tentative steps out of the room. Audra followed with the same caution, feeling Eve's hot breath down her neck just mere inches behind her. She flinched as she heard the earsplitting screeching noise from the door closing.

Audra looked back to see Conan attempting to keep the door quiet, his hands on the door handle. He made a conciliatory face before moving away from the door.

All Sena did was look annoyed. She muttered something under her breath about 'arrogant teenagers' before continuing down the adjoining hallway. Audra followed her as well as she could. But the icy, rough surface of the floor beneath them caused her feet to sting, and she knew she wasn't the only one. Eve and Conan were lagging behind as well.

They had never been given shoes.

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Sena kept ushering them forward through the dark hallway, which was only kept alight by a few flickering old florescent lights hanging from the ceiling every ten feet or so.

The ceiling wasn't very high up; the lights barely got past the top of Conan's head. The walls weren't even four feet apart. The claustrophobic feeling crept up Audra's spine, causing her to shiver.

They'd occasionally reach the end of their current hall, before going down some concrete, single-slab stairs leading to the floor below. Then, their adventure would continue until they reached another staircase.

The small group kept creeping several yards before Sena halted them.

"Officer, 3 o'clock," Came the hushed whisper from Sena. Audra flattened herself against the gray wall, her heart pounding. She'd never crossed an officer before, much less try to fight one. "What do we do?" She asked Sena, her voice nearly cracking in the tension.

Conan scoffed at her. "We fight him, of course." He said with a sudden, unexpected confidence.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Eve responded worriedly. "I mean, seriously. Wouldn't it be easier to-" Her fluttering speech was cut off by Sena.

"Oh, hush!" She whispered. "It'll be easier to be caught at this rate!"

In the dim light, Audra barely could see Sena's face get bright red in anger and annoyance. Never mess with Sena, Audra mentally noted, realizing that Eve was stepping on a line not meant to be crossed with Sena.

"A-alright, never mind then." Eve mumbled almost incoherently, seeming to melt into the wall a little bit.

Audra decided at that moment that Eve wasn't the bravest person in the world.

But she was most definitely the most loyal.

After a long silence, there was a sound of exasperation from Sena. "Any more ideas, people?"

Yeah, how about running away and finding another way out, and avoiding the Officer completely? No hassle. Audra thought shrewdly to herself.

But she instantly realized that might be a death trap; they'd be caught. Immediately. Right now, they were going the fastest way.

"Let's go, then," Sena decided, realizing none of them would mutter anything in retort.

Audra wondered if the Allied sentry was even still there waiting for them, but sure enough he was. Sena turned the corner, into another Hallway, her arms in a defensive position across her body. A shadow flew against her, nearly causing her to fall to the ground. Eve shrieked loudly as Sena fell back against her, and Audra grunted with the effort of keeping Sena and Eve upright.

The officer's armor clung to his body, a jumpsuit that was heavily protected even though it was a quarantine suit. He'd obviously been assigned a more defensive role in the Alliance ranks, because his gas mask's nearly transparent high-tech viewer was less recent, and it looked like it had taken a beating.

The sentry recovered from Sena's defensive blow, shaking his head as if to clear it. He took another heavy swing at her, but his gloved hand slipped away from Sena's waiting palm, causing him to trip and nearly fall.

That was... impressive.

Audra glanced quickly at Eve, making sure that she was all right. Before she could ask, she heard a loud grunt, and a thud that rattled throughout the hallways. She looked down to see Sena standing over the sentry, fists curled together, her face fierce and wild. "Nobody move," She whispered, almost ominously.

The sentry was crumpled on the ground, completely still. His mask had split down the side. The viewer's tech had broken, along with his communicator. "Did you do that?" Conan asked, almost with awe. Sena glanced at Conan quickly. "Yes. Any more obvious questions?"

Everyone looked at Eve expectantly.

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They'd moved on from the sentry's spot, staying in unlit spots for the time being. Upon seeing Sena kick Alliance butt, she'd lost her initial fear of the Allied sentries. Now, the only thing she feared were those annoying times when Conan stepped on her heels. She could feel his icy toes touch her skin, and the uncomfortable feeling sent shivers up her spine.

"Can you stop doing that?" Audra hissed at him, turning around and giving him a death stare.

Conan looked at her innocently. "Doing what?" His mouth curved into a treacherous smirk. His blue eyes bore into hers, giving an intriguing appeal them. They have flecks of green... is that possible? He didn't seem to want to look away, and he forced a staring contest between them that Audra was destined to lose. After agonizing seconds, Audra averted her eyes with embarrassment. Conan chuckled, not even bothering to hide his ego. For Audra, it just made her feel all the more determined to prove him wrong.

"Yes. You were stepping on my heels, " Feigned politeness dripped from Audra's voice. Conan's eyes widened in surprise. "Are you being assertive, Audra?" His icy tone made her cross her arms in frustration. His posh accent made the hair on the back of her neck rise.

Audra chose not to answer his question, and instead looked straight ahead.

Sena looked backwards, not stopping her moderately quick pace. "Stop flirting!" She grumbled back at them, then seemed to turn her head away, seeming to close her eyes in her strides, seeing herself in her happy place, far away from them.

Conan seemed to drop back a few feet from Audra, in a delayed response. He kept the same look on his face for about five minutes- sheer horror. Eve and Audra couldn't help but laugh at him, their snickers reaching an echo throughout the long, narrow hall.

For once, Audra felt normal. What was normal? She didn't know. But if laughing with her friend was considered a little normal, that's as close as she was going to get.

They abruptly reached the end of the hall. The staircase led to the floor below, as usual. All was usual.

Except for the ten officers with guns pointed at the group.

Crap.

Sena pressed her fingers to her ear, and she seemed to be listening to something. "Yeah, no kidding! That's a little late, Cass!" She drew her gun and pointed it at the Alliance officers, a fierce look played on her face. The end of the gun was detailed, like a tattoo, making the gun look like a piece of artwork rather than a weapon.

"No, I don't care how long it takes for a signal to get through metal and cement! I should have been warned earlier!" Her voice was gruff and commanding, shocking Audra.

Sena looked back at Conan, Eve, and Audra. "You three. Behind me. No excuses or questions." Audra filed behind Sena immediately, not even resisting. Sena went back to her conservation with Cass... whoever that was. "Yeah. The Allied guys are all looking at me funny. How long until Lennon gets up here?" She demanded, her voice cracking.

"Okay. You got it."

Sena signed off. She threw a piece of metal out of her ear onto the ground, crushing it with her boot. Is that an earpiece? Cool. Audra always thought those were a little high-tech, even in their more modern day and age. "Hey look, Stoneheads!" She addressed the Allied soldiers in a shrill voice. "I've got backup." Her arrogant smirk told it all- she was completely improvising. This obviously wasn't planned.

Audra took a little peek ahead of Sena. The Alliance officers had their guns all pointed at Sena, but none of them had even chanced a shot yet. Curious. Their dead masks were cold stone walls, staring back at them unemotionally. The austere manner that they held kept even Sena at bay, anxiety fresh in the air.

The tension grew as the two opposing parties stared each other down. Audra heard Eve once again slip into her more confident side of her personality, her fists balled up and tightened. Eve's ready to fight.

Am I?

The question hung in her brain for a few seconds, rattling her. What if I let Sena down? Will she leave me behind? Will Eve leave me behind? What if Conan realizes I'm really not as tough as I look? What if-

A reassuring hand on her shoulder jerked her from her innermost thoughts once more. "You look like you're going to explode," A familiar accent whispered into her ear. She turned her head around to see Conan giving her a beaming smile. "An explosion right now would be highly unfortunate, especially if it's an explosion of thought. Now calm down, will you?"

Audra swallowed down a weird mixture of guilt and amusement. Eve looked at the pair suspiciously, but said nothing.

A brisk, deafening sound came from behind Audra, and all of the Known whipped their heads around instantly.

Two young women stood behind them. Following them were several tattooed, muscled soldiers. Several wore bandannas over their hair and foreheads. Audra had never seen a more rugged group in her entire life. And they were all armed.

One of the women in the front was in complete camouflage- blonde curls wove down her back. In her left hand was a long, deadly-looking machine gun. She just shot a bullet to get our attention, didn't she? To her right was a shorter girl, who had a more kind look about her. She was clothed in regular, street clothing; something rare to find. She held a small pistol. "Hey Sena," She said slyly. "We're here for the party. Oh, by the way? Duck."

A rough arm shoved Audra down to the floor, the concrete scratching her nose and cheek. A split second afterwards, gunfire ensued.

Gunfire was a strange thing. At first, it was a choir- all of the gunshots well-timed and in the same tempo. There was hardly any spaces between each heart-wrenching sound. Gradually, the chorus diminished into a few lasting soloists, until they quieted altogether into a silent finale.

When Audra looked back up after what seemed like hours, only half of the new group was still standing. The two women, the obvious leaders, looked like they hadn't even sustained even a scratch. Then Audra turned around.

All the of the Alliance officers were gone.

It was sickeningly satisfying. She saw their slumped bodies, piled up on one another, and all she thought was of the days that they had imprisoned her and made her fear them. She knew she should feel guilt, how she had caused such destruction and death, but she felt only victory.

Sweet, miserable victory.

Audra looked towards Conan and Eve. By the looks of their bruised and slightly bloody faces, they too were forced to the ground. Sena, too.

"Now, let's all stop looking like this is our first rodeo," The girl who had spoken earlier said icily. Duck, Audra remembered her saying. "Yeah, well you still owe me, Cass," Sena replied, heaving herself to her feet.

Audra followed, with Conan and Eve soon after. Her eyes flickered to the other woman, the blonde. The woman stared back. Unnerving grey eyes stabbed Audra's soul. "What are you lookin' at, kid?" She hissed. A badge sewn on her shoulder flashed into her eyes- Lennon M.

"Nothing." Audra replied, biting her bottom lip nervously.

"Good. Now let's get outta here. For real now."

Finally, they all descended down the staircase, ruffians and all. Audra had never been more confused in her life.