Author's Note: Thank you to everyone reading. Please keep commenting and voting.

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The room was dark, but the lights from the screens had cast shadows across the floor. Shai sat on the ground with her legs crossed underneath her and Jasper was lying down beside her. His hands were locked under his neck.

Mikko had been running around the room furiously for the last couple hours. There was always something new he had to attend to on every screen. Shai and Jasper were in the middle of the room so they were out of the way. Jasper tried sitting in Mikko's chair before he was quickly pushed out. So they stayed beside it.

Jasper had his eyes closed but Shai was too hypnotized by what was on the screen. Multiple photos of Tegan as a child surrounded them. Some screens were a series of numbers and letters she didn't understand. Other screens were just full of letters and she had gotten Jasper to read them out to her, but he couldn't even pronounce half of the words.

"How long do ya think he'll be?" Shai whispered.

"Don't know," he whispered back. "I don't even know how long we've been in here."

Shai looked up at the window to see it was covered up with a thick layer of yellow paper. She knew the sun was still up, but she couldn't judge how much time was left until Curfew.

She let out a deep breath and ran her fingers through her hair. She was getting impatient waiting for Mikko, and not knowing what he was doing made it even more frustrating. The images of Todd being whipped or hung were all that she could think about. Tangling strands of her dark hair together was all she could do to keep herself occupied.

"I've got it!" Mikko shouted out. Shai's lips lifted into a smile and Jasper sat up. "I always knew this program would work. I can shut down their entire security system for as long as I want and they'll never know it's me."

"How's that going to get Todd out?" Shai asked him.

"Tegan, Shoe. We are focussing on Tegan first and then I'll help you go find your friend. But what I'm thinking is that if the security is down you'll be able to go right in and pull Tegan out and bring him back here."

"What about the Officers?" Jasper questioned him.

"Ah, I forgot about those bastards."

Mikko crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the screens. He bit his bottom lip and tilted his back before snapping his head back up and letting his eyes grow wide.

"I've got it again! We'll just knock them right out. Well not us but you two will," he told them.

"So you want Jasper and I to attack every Officer in that camp?" Shai asked sceptically.

"This is a rescue mission, not a suicide mission. I have a little recipe for a sleeping gas. You just roll a couple of these canisters into the camp and everyone will be unconscious."

"Great plan, but won't we be unconscious too?" Jasper asked wryly.

"Wow, you really don't learn anything in the Slums," he said. "There's something called a gasmask. Basically you just put it on and then you've become immune to the gas. It has no effect on you."

Mikko ran across the room and opened the door. The light from the hallway poured in and he left. Shai and Jasper both got up of the floor and followed him. Her legs were sore from sitting for so long.

The noise of the cupboards slamming was audible from the hallway. They walked into the kitchen to see Mikko opening every cupboard and then slamming it shut again. He pulled out jars and plastic bottles labelled with letters and numbers. Mikko ran out of the kitchen and down the hallway. A thumping noise meant that he was going up the stairs.

"What does that say?" Shai asked Jasper.

Jasper picked up a glass jar and squinted at the label.

"Cho," he said trying to pronounce it.

"That's not a word," Shai said pulling the jar out of his hand.

"Well there's a C an H and an O. There's also all those little numbers between each letter. A twenty-five, a thirty-five and a two. Do Brighties normally spell with numbers? Because my mom never taught me that."

The thumping noise came again and they knew Mikko was running back down the stairs. Shai quickly put the jar back down before Mikko noticed that she had touched it. He walked into the kitchen and set down a box full of metal canisters down on the counter. He pulled one out of the box and unscrewed the cap off of the jar.

"You're going to need one of these tonight," he told them.

"We're goin' into the camp tonight?" Shai asked. There was great excitement behind her voice.

"No, not yet," he said. Shai looked disappointed, but Jasper looked relieved. He stood behind her so she wouldn't see that. " Two Rats walking into a camp will draw attention. You'll be shot before you can release the gas. You two are going to need disguises. What I want you to do tonight is to go out after Curfew and release this gas. You need to find two Officers that are passed out and take their uniforms. Preferably have them be your size, it makes this whole process easier."

Shai could see the sun setting in the window behind Mikko. There was only about an hour before Curfew came.

"Do Officers ever come out this far?" Jasper asked.

"Hell if I know," Mikko said. "I may be curious, but even I wouldn't risk a gun to the forehead to see if anyone cared to visit me.

"I'd suggest that you two get a bit closer to the Market. Not much because then you'll risk getting caught and I didn't spend my entire day trying to figure out a way to get you killed. I have better things to do with my time."

He reached his hand back into the box of metal canisters and pulled out two masks. It was black and there were two large circular glass openings for eyes. There was another large circle over the mouth and nose. A black piece stuck out of the jaw.

"These are what's going to stop you from taking that little nap with those Officers. For cautions sake, once you release the gas don't take it off until you get back here. I don't want you passing out half way home and ruining the plan."

Shai picked up one of the masks and examined it. It was a lot lighter than she had expected and she saw Jasper picking up his. Mikko handed her the canister and showed her what to do when she needed to open it.

"I'll see you again in a couple hours," Mikko said as he left the kitchen. They heard the door to the room full of screens close.

"We should head back," Jasper told Shai.

"Yeah," she mumbled.

They walked down the cluttered hallway and outside. The air had already started cool off as the sun was quickly setting. They walked to their house and Shai started digging through the pile of clothes that she had brought down from upstairs.

"You sure ya want to do this?" Jasper asked her.

"Of course," she said pulling a large black sweater out of the pile. "If you don't want to go I'll be happy to do it alone."

Shai looked up at him and smirked.

"I'm coming. I just didn't know if you wanted me to go alone," he told her.

She started to laugh and shake her head. She pulled the sweater onto herself and began pulling her hair back into a ponytail.

"You should know by now that I don't need you to do things for me."

"Of course," he said wryly. "How could I forget?"

Shai looked at him to see he was smirking at her. She kissed him quickly and walked into the kitchen. Jasper quickly riffled through the pile of clothes and found another sweater. He pulled it over his head and followed Shai into the kitchen. She was looking through the food he had gotten from the Drop Off and lined up along the counter. When walking back to the house, he noticed that the plastic box was still sitting at the end of their lawn. It confirmed Jasper's suspicion that no Officers came out this far.

"We probably should eat somethin' so are stomachs don't give us away," she said.

Jasper reached past her and grabbed a can. Shai had ignored it because she couldn't read the label on the can. Jasper had examined the top of the can before opening up the drawers underneath the counter. The metal of the cutlery clanged together as he searched through the drawer. He finally pulled out a knife and stabbed it into the top of the can. Juice ran onto the counter as he continued to cut the lid off. He peeled the lid back and Shai sat up on the counter.

Inside the can was orange blobs floating in a liquid. Jasper went back into the drawer and pulled out a fork for her and one for him.

"What is it?" she asked.

"The can says peaches. It's a type of fruit, so I was shocked when I saw it in the box. Brighties are never willing to give up stuff like this," he told her.

Shai stuck her fork into one of the orange blobs and put it into her mouth. The taste exploded in her mouth and it reminded her of when she had first met Riley and he had given her an apple. She hadn't thought much about Riley since Todd's arrest, but she assumed he told all of his friends that Jessica had gone back to Wickerford.

Neither Jasper nor Shai talked as they ate. The peaches were so much better than the watery soup they were use to Darla or Lynn making. They watched out the window as the sun was setting. When all of the peaches were gone from the can, they passed it back and forth so they could drink the last of the juice. Shai wiped her mouth with the back of her hand once they were finished and Jasper threw the can into the sink.

"There's a shed out there," Jasper said pointing out of the window. A tiny metal shed sat in the back corner of their yard. The roof had caved in and the walls were covered with rust.

"So?" she asked.

"So I'm thinkin' that maybe we should go see if there's anything to use as a weapon in there," he said.

"Good thinkin', let's use a shovel against a gun," she said wryly.

"Why not? We are relying on a can of gas to save our ass."

Shai rolled her eyes at him and slid off of the counter. "Let's see then."

She walked to the back of the kitchen and found a small staircase that lead down to the back door. Unlike the stairs leading upstairs, these ones were still in tact. The door let out a terrible screech as Shai opened it. They walked across the dry dead grass over to the shed.

A locked through the handles kept the two doors shut. Jasper tried yanking on it, but it was rusted and even if they had a key it wouldn't open. He walked along to the side of the shed and spotted a hole. The small jagged hole came from the rats eating the metal.

"I'll get in there and look," Jasper told her.

Shai couldn't stop herself from laughing and he looked at her oddly.

"What's so funny?" he asked her.

"You," she said continuing to laugh. "You ain't goin' to get through that small hole. I have to do it."

"Fine," Jasper muttered as Shai got down on her knees. She couldn't stop herself from still chuckling as she tried to crawl through the hole. The sharp metal scraped her back as she tried to squeeze her way through.

A terrible smell hit her nose and as she looked down she saw rat droppings surrounding the floor around her.

"Yeah, wonderful idea," Shai yelled out to Jasper.

The setting sun was the only light inside of the shed. The roof had caved in the middle, so light up everything around her. She couldn't see the other side of the shed, but there was enough room for her to move around.

"Why the sarcasm?" he asked her.

"This place is covered in shit," she told him.

"Ha! I bet it ain't so funny now," she heard Jasper say.

Shai mumbled a couple curse words to herself and got up off her knees. She turned around to see a couple of hooks along the wall. Shovels, pitchforks, leather straps, and an iron bar hung from the hooks. Shai walked across the soiled floor to the wall. She pulled the shovel and bar off of the wall and threw them through the hole.

"How're these?" she asked.

"Good," Jasper told her.

She went back to the wall and grabbed the pitchfork off of the wall. The sharp ends of the tool would be good to use as a weapon, but she knew it would be difficult to carry around. She still threw the pitchfork out of the hole. It could be a useful weapon to have inside of the house.

She got back down onto her knees and squeezed her way through the hole. Jasper had the iron bar in his hands and was moving the weight around from hand to hand. Shai brushed her knees and hands on the dead grass to get the rat droppings off of herself.

"You had fun?" he asked wryly.

"Oh yeah," she said getting up off the ground. "I can't wait to go back."

Shai reached down and picked up the shovel and pitchfork off of the ground and started walking back to the house. The sun was quickly setting and she knew that in anytime it would soon be dark.

The back door let out that awful screech again. Shai dropped the pitchfork onto the small table in the kitchen.

"I thought we could leave it there for protection," she told Jasper.

"Okay," he said.

They waited in the house until it was dark, and then still waited some more. They walked aimlessly around the house waiting for time to pass. When they both agreed it would be a good time to leave, Shai slipped the canister Mikko gave her into her pocket and grabbed the handle of the shovel. Jasper had a tight grip on his bar. Shai noticed that he was always standing in front of her, like he was trying to protect her. She rolled her eyes but said nothing.

Being out past Curfew was something Shai had never done, or at least had done on purpose. Her eyes were not use to the dark and she had difficulty trying to adjust. Only the outlines of objects were visible to her bad vision. She tried to listen for the noise of any Officers, but it was silent. Jasper's and her breath was all she could hear, and it made her feel like it would give away their presence. She tried to slow down her breathing, but that just caused a pain and tightness in her chest. Neither of them dared talked to each other.

As they came closer to the Market, Shai became more alert. There would be more Officers patrolling the streets because there was a greater chance of them finding a Rat.

"All night?" they heard a voice.

No one was in sight, but the sound of footsteps had started to echo up the alleyway. Jasper grabbed Shai's arm and pulled her behind the closest building. There was a large metal staircase leading to the top of the building, and they squeezed in behind it trying to stay out of sight.

"Yes, all night. How long did you think Curfew lasted?" they heard another voice say.

"Curfew never felt this long," the first voice whined. "Normally I just eat and then sleep until it is light out again."

"Well, Curfew has just started so you better get us to it."

Jasper pulled his mask out of his sweater and Shai did the same thing. She pulled the mask over her head and it felt tight and uncomfortable. Her hand was tightly wrapped around the canister and she pulled it out of her pocket. She listened carefully as the their voices came closer.

"This is going to be such a boring night," the first Officer continued to whine.

"And the night after that will be, and the night after that," the other Officer said.

They walked past the alleyway. There were just two of them as they were still quite a distance away from the Market. Shai and Jasper watched as they walked by. She got up and walked quietly and quickly over to the corner of the alley. Peering around the corner she watched as the two Officers walked away.

Her heart jumped when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She quickly turned around to see Jasper in that same terrifying looking mask that she was wearing. He lifted the iron bar that he had brought from the shed and then pointed at the Officers walking away and the canister.

Shai shook her head because she knew what his idea was.

He threw the iron bar down the alleyway across from them. It let out a loud noise as it hit the ground and rolled down the street.

"Did you hear that?" the whiney Officer said as he turned around on his heels.

"Yes, I did," the other Officer said pulling the gun off of his back. The whiney Officer did the same and they quickly hurried down the street, back towards Shai.

She twisted the cap off of the canister and rolled it out towards the Officers. A sharp hissing noise was made as a cloud of white formed in the air. One Officer was quickly on his back and his arms started to spasm. It wasn't long before the next Officer was down on the ground beside him, his arms and legs have a quick spasm too before his body remained still. Shai looked at Jasper to make sure that his mask was working too and that he wasn't twitching on the ground like the Officers. He was fine.

She peered back out onto the street to see it was still empty. Jasper began pulling one of the Officers back into the privacy of their alley, so that in case if more Officers showed up they wouldn't see Jasper and Shai stripping them. Shai grabbed the other Officers hands and dragged his heavy body into the alleyway.

They quickly started stripping the clothes off of the Officers as quickly as they could. Shai cursed herself for not bringing something to carry all of it in. Her arms held the clothes awkwardly, making it difficult to leave as fast as she hoped they could.

They raced back to the house. The articles of clothes threatened to fall out of their arms the entire trip back. When they got back into the house they dropped the uniforms on the table in the kitchen and peeled their masks off of their faces. Shai wrapped her arms tightly around Jasper's neck and a smile spread across her face.

She knew now that Todd was getting out. Mikko's plan was going to work and Todd would be free. Her only fear now was that Tegan was dead, and they would have to spend all of their time searching for him. There was no possible way for an Archy to go undetected for that long.

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