"We have to go," someone whispers urgently into my ear, shaking me awake.
My eyes shoot open and I wake up with a jolt, slightly panicked at the urgency eminent in his voice. My hand goes to my chest and I feel my heart beating speedily, as it always does when I'm agitated.

"Miri. Miri. We have to go."

I turn towards the owner of the voice, noticing that Wil is no longer beside me. Instead, he stands by the door, holding it open. He stands on the balls of his feet, ready to pounce or dash off at any time. His eyes dart around the room, unable to keep his eyes focused on a single object, alert, watching for any trace of danger.

"Quick," he says in an urgent but hushed whisper, gesturing towards the door.

I jump out of bed, hurrying towards the exit, not wanting to take any chances. I steal a glance at the window. Sunset. I wonder what is so urgent or worrisome that we have to leave immediately. at such an untimely hour. As I go past Wil, his hand goes to the small of my back, ushering me out. I shudder at both his touch and at the seemingly sudden temperature drop as I step into the almost abandoned hallway, empty except for Wil and I. I don't understand how it's possible for the temperature to drop like that. Or maybe it's just me. Probably the latter. I stop in my tracks, not knowing whether to turn left or right.

"Go right," Wil tells me, almost as if he read my mind.

And I do.

My companion follows me closely from behind, closing the door after him. Each step I take is hesitant, not knowing what to expect, not understanding the current events. I turn to Wil and he gives me a look that he will explain everything to me later. I give him a slight nod and continue walking ahead. Soon, I arrive at a fork. Wil comes to my side and guides me to the right. He seems so sure in his decision, in his every step, like he knows exactly where he is going and how to get there. It's as if he knows how to navigate through this maze we're in.

I won't be surprised if he did.

We continue down the path until we reach a brick wall, one that reaches all the way to the ceiling. A dead end. My heart skips a beat, not knowing what to do next. "Wil? What are we doing here? It's a dead end," I ask lamely, confusion thick in my voice. 

I mentally slap myself. Could I have been more obvious? He clearly knows we're at a dead end, Miri, what else could this possibly be? Sometimes I wonder what goes through my head.

He holds up a hand, a silent gesture telling me to wait. He puts his hand in his back pocket and produces a card. My eyebrows furrow in confusion. How did he get that card? Why does he have one while I don't? He presses the card against the brick wall and sweeps it around, almost like he's looking for something. But with a card? Something doesn't add up.

"Wil, what are-"

"Give me a moment," he interrupts, not giving me a chance to finish my question. "Trust me."

I sigh, my hands balling up into fists as a way to release my anxiety as I wait for him to do... Whatever it is he's doing. The sound of bricks scraping against each other drifts into my ears. It catches my attention, for it is an odd sound in a place such as this, and my eyes wander to the source of the sound.

Instead of seeing a solid wall, a narrow exit stands before me. It adds up now. I knew that Wil always knows what to do. The question still remains. How does he know? But that is a question better left for next time. It.'s simply not the right time to ask it, although I still don't know what it is we're escaping from, though I suspect it must be someone from the facility, or, in the very least, someone associated with the facility.

"Let's go," he says, before walking in.

As I enter the tunnel, darkness slowly consumes me, making me feel as though darkness is much more than simply the absence of light. As I continue through the tunnel, this feeling of déjà vu grows. It's like I've been in this situation - or a similar one - before.

And that's because I have.

*

The gears of the vehicle shifts and the door slides soundlessly in place before the whole vehicle jerks into motion. White lights illuminate the inside, reflecting on the two rows of white seats that are against both walls of the vehicle. The doors are on both ends on the vehicle, leading out to a small balcony that allows a passenger to either exit the train-like vehicle or to simply enjoy the outside breeze. Two metal poles stand just in front of the doors, connected by a single metal rail, black plastic hoops hang from it. The walls, ceiling and floor are all a light grey colour.

A moment of silence settles between the people in this vehicle. Wil breaks the silence, asking the question that is on both our minds. "What is this called, exactly?" he questions, gesturing to the space around.

I'm sure we both know that this is some sort of train or vehicle that transports both passengers and cargo around with much more ease than if people were to use the conventional methods, namely walking or running. We have been taught all these elaborate definitions of things, but at the same time, we do not know much, if that made any sense at all.

"This is the hub," Key replies easily, making it seem almost as if she has been waiting for us to ask that very question.

The word sounds vaguely familiar. I've probably heard of it before. "Care to elaborate?" I ask.

She answers without hesitation. "As you've probably already guessed, this is a vehicle. A train, to be exact." I roll my eyes at the statement. She's treating us as if we are children who doesn't know anything. We may have not had much experience but I'm rather sure that we know much more than most other residents of this world we live in. After all, we were engineered that way, to have more knowledge than the average data. "It transports citizens from place to place. People can either travel on the public hubs - for a small fee, of course - or on their personal ones.

"Besides travelling on foot, the hub is the only other medium of transportation. There are other stations along the tracks called ports. Ports are located very strategically for passengers to get on or off the hub. More often than not, those are the only places hubs - both public and personal alike - can stop. There is, of course, a manual override."

She doesn't elaborate on it.

Wil nods his head, a silent gesture, a sign of our appreciation for the information.

"Where are we going?" I ask, mentally telling myself that, unless Key voluntarily gives us more information, this will be my last question to her.

"Firewire Port," she says, "to pick up Aries and Aristelle."

She gives me a pointed look, as if she's waiting for me to add something.

I don't.

Instead, I take a seat. Neither Wil nor Key follows, so I sit alone on the stretch of seats. I press my forehead against the rather cold glass, the material that makes up the window. Water droplets are condensing on the other side of the transparent glass, most likely due to the chilly surrounding temperature. But who am I to know? I haven't stepped foot out there yet.

I watch as a vast variety of landscapes pass by. We go by stretches of buildings and skyscrapers at some points during the journey and, at others, it's just stretches of empty land overgrown with green grass, reaching out past the horizon. The sky is dark. Grim. Almost as if the environment is mourning over something that the rest of us are not aware of. The journey to wherever we're going seems long. I wonder where we're headed to.

I wonder why we're running away in the first place.

"Miri," Wil says, resting a hand on my shoulder.

My eyes drift up, soon locking eyes with Wil. He gives me a solemn smile and I return it with a sad one of my own before sitting down next to me. I shift my body so that I am no longer facing the window, the outside world, but instead, facing Wil. he wraps his arm around my body and pulls me in, hugging me tight. I feel him flinch with every move he makes, making me wonder how badly he is injured. I rest my head on his chest, careful not to touch the wound.

"I just want to tell you to be careful," he whispers into my ear, almost like those words were meant for me alone. "They found us again. At Key's place. That's why we're on the run."

He doesn't need to say who they are. I already know.

I wonder how they always manage to find us, although we've only been hiding in three places since our escape, namely the twins' house, the sewers and Key's place. They managed to find us all three times. I wonder how they did it. I'm almost convinced that they are tracking us either on a computer - or, in the very least, some sort of device - or someone is telling them of our whereabouts. I assume it's the former, though I honestly won't be surprised if either Aries, Aristelle or Key is betraying us to them. After all, they have nothing to lose. I push all these thoughts away before they consume me from the inside out.

"You changed you shirt," I say, my voice breaking slightly, realising that the fabric of his shirt under my cheek is of a different colour, wanting to divert our conversation topic.

He chuckles, ruffling my hair playfully. "Yes, I did. Key gave one to me so I did not have to wear the bloodstained one," he replies, his voice a hushed whisper.

I smile sheepishly at the comment, although I know that it's not meant as an angry one but instead, a playful one. "I'm sorry about that."

"It's not your fault. It's mine. For not looking after myself with more care. For injuring myself." I can hear guilt slowly creeping into his voice.

I put a hand on his arm, hoping that the gesture will comfort him to some extent, even though I know it's not much. "How many times do I have to tell you, Wil? It's not your fault. It was an accident. And accidents happen. It's inevitable."

He sighs, turning to gaze out the window, clearly to avoid talking about it. He runs his fingers through his hair, a motion that he reserves for when he has a lot on his mind. I hope it does not bother him too much. Nervousness grows in the pit of my stomach. A wave of nausea hits me, as it always does whenever I'm anxious. I gag, burying my face in the palms of my hands, waiting for the nausea to fade away into nothing.

"The ride is almost over," Key says, successfully catching Wil's attention for a brief second before he turns to look out the window and at the passing scenery once again. I advert my attention to the ground, biting my bottom lip, not wanting to look anyone in the eye.

Our ride on this hub may be almost over, as all travels have to come to an end, though I know that our overwhelming journey in this world that is so full of mysteries is anything but.

Hey guys! I managed to update on time! Yay! I just wanna say thank you for all the support. I hope you continue supporting me til the very end. :) I know this chapter is slightly shorter than average (I'm sorry) and that it's slightly slow moving (sorry once again. But it'll be that way for the next few chapters). Please bear with me. Tell me your opinion on this chapter and the story as a whole in the comments. Vote and share my story too. Thanks! I have to go now. Til next time guys! Love you all.

PS Anyone wants a dedication? If you do, tell me in the comments :)