Alaina woke up in the cramped, windowless room she'd been assigned, an alarm blaring somewhere off to her right. Of course, it was completely dark, and she couldn't tell exactly where the noise was coming from. She vaguely wished she had Cole's night vision as she patted around on the nightstand next to her. She finally found the lamp and ran her hand lightly across the metal, causing it to wash the room in a pale glow. And now that the lights were on, she could see that there was only one other thing on the nightstand: a small speaker that was plugged into the wall. There were no buttons, and there was no way to turn it off. Clearly, it was there to make sure all of the fighters got up in time for the matches.

Alaina laid back in bed and quietly turned off the lamp, not wanting the light to seep into the hall. She sat there in the dark, listening to that infernal alarm. Mercifully, it shut itself off after only a few minutes. Then, she got to listen to the loud voices and feet stomping back and forth on the other side of her door. It seemed to take forever before the noises faded away. Still, she waited a few more minutes, just to be sure. When she'd been told that she should wait until after lunch, she hadn't thought it'd be so hard to judge when that would be. But then again, she'd assumed that the room she'd been given would actually have a window – maybe even a clock of some sort. How foolish of her. Those kinds of luxuries clearly weren't provided to the fighters.

Once the hallway had been completely quiet for several minutes, Alaina made her way to the door. Cautiously, she peeked out into the hall. She didn't see anyone; it looked like the coast was clear.

She quickly nocked on the door immediately to her right. There was no answer. And the longer she stood out in the hall, the more exposed she felt. She tried again.

"Cole?" she asked, as loudly as she dared. Finally, the door opened.

"Morning," he said, stepping out of his own room and joining her. "Sleep well?"

"Not bad." Alaina shrugged as she went to get Jophiel.

The three of them snuck out the emergency stairwell and up onto the street. They were in a small alleyway behind the hotel. Alaina looked around. Unsurprisingly, they were alone. She took the opportunity to tell her friends everything she'd discovered last night.

"I found out who Brandon the Magnificent is." she said.

"Really? How'd you do that?" Cole asked, sounding impressed.

"I talked to one of the fighters. She was quite a fan of his."

"She was?" Jophiel asked skeptically.

"Apparently he's actually quite popular around here." she told him. "At least, in certain circles."

"Then why wouldn't anyone tell us about him yesterday?"

"Because, of course, there's also a dark side to the story."

"Oh, of course." Jophiel agreed.

"It's almost impossible to talk about him without mentioning why he's so popular." Alaina continued, ignoring the interruption. "He built the wall that keeps them safe at night. And most of them are terrified of even mentioning what's on the other side."

"Safe from what?" Cole asked, looking worried. "...What were the sirens for?"

"Zombies." Alaina told him; there was no point in mincing words. She was met with a kind of stunned silence. Finally, Jophiel spoke up.

"You're telling me that just beyond the city walls, there's a horde of... undead out there?"

"That's what I've been told." she confirmed. "They've been staying in this city for years, never leaving for any reason – especially not at night."

"Then we should probably get out of here." Jophiel said softly.

"I agree." Cole nodded. Jophiel looked mildly surprised that Cole would agree with him so readily. Alaina felt the same way, but probably not for the same reasons.

"You want to leave?" she asked Cole incredulously. "What happened to the demon who didn't care if he was arrested and taken to a deranged elven queen? You didn't even care when that scout threatened to shoot you – twice. And you were more than willing to join a pirate ship. But now you want to just leave?"

"None of those were zombies." Cole countered.

"Why are you so scared of zombies? They're undead, aren't they? What's the difference between them and those lost souls you see in the underworld every day?" Alaina asked. Was she missing something?

"In the Underworld, they're fully dead." Cole replied. "Big difference. Besides, the fully-dead don't bite. And even if they did, they wouldn't turn you into one of them."

Alaina thought about that. It was true she didn't want to be turned into some kind of undead monster. And she could only imagine the consequences if either Cole or Jophiel were bitten. An undead demon seemed somehow to be the worst of both worlds. And an angel? What would that even look like? Still, could they really leave this city at the hands of a horde of undead? Alaina felt that, as long as they were careful, they were almost uniquely qualified to help. After all, look at all they'd managed to accomplish together already.

"Why don't we at least meet this Brandon and see what they're up against here?" Alaina asked. Cole hesitated for a minute, not looking completely convinced. So, Alaina continued. "If we don't help them, how would you plan on leaving anyway?"

"Well..."

"Apparently, the city's surrounded." Alaina informed him. At least, that's what Peri had said. And why would she lie? Finally, Cole gave a reluctant nod.

"I guess it couldn't hurt." he mumbled. "Do you know where to find him?"

"He'll be at the fighting ring until the sun goes down tonight. Then, he'll be back in the Cardinal Tower for curfew."

"So we'll be going back there tonight?" Cole asked. "And what's the plan until then?"

"Why don't we take a look at that wall?" Alaina said. After all, they had time to kill.

"Agreed." Jophiel gave a short, decisive nod.

The city was so big, Alaina had been worried that it might take them all day just to get to the outskirts. But that was only because she'd forgotten about those transportation tubes. After a quick check of the map, she and Jophiel found an exit that was only a few streets away from the wall itself; they were there in practically no time.

The wall towered above them, reaching as high as the tallest buildings. Alaina had never seen anything like it.

"What do you think is on the other side?" she asked, craning her head back, trying to get a look at the very top.

"Let's find out." Jophiel said, grinning at her.

"How?" The wall was completely smooth – there was no way to climb up it. Alaina heard a soft whoosh. She turned and saw that Jophiel had his wings spread out behind him.

"You can't do that here!" Alaina said, horrified. "What if someone sees?"

"Well, I plan to be very high up in just a few minutes, so I don't think they'll be able to catch me. Are you ready?"

"Um... I guess..." Alaina said. Jophiel took a step towards her, arms outstretched.

The flight up to the top of the wall was almost as thrilling as those transportation tubes. They didn't go nearly as fast, but Alaina figured that was more due to the extra weight that Jophiel was now carrying. Still, what they lacked in speed they more than made up in elevation; they were much higher than even the tubes, and that alone was enough to get her adrenaline going. She was relieved when they finally made it to the top. Cole landed next to them a few minutes later.

The wall itself was huge – all three of them could easily stand next to each other across its width. Alaina looked over the edge. One side held the giant, sprawling city. But on the other was the vast desert. Alaina was still staring over that side of the wall when the alarm started up, so loud that she almost fell off. Cole grabbed her, yanking her back to safety.

The alarm blared loudly, echoing off of the buildings below. If Alaina thought the noise was loud when she was on the ground, it was nothing compared to up here.

"Sounds like we're under attack!" Cole yelled over the noise. He looked up into the sky, as if he expected something to come flying down on top of him. Alaina rushed to the edge of the wall, waiting to see how bad the onslaught would be. The wall was so thick and so tall, she doubted they were in any real danger. And this would be a great way to see what they were up against.

There was nothing down there.

The whole desert was, well... deserted. Where were the hordes of zombies that supposedly attacked the city every night? Alaina, Cole, and Jophiel exchanged looks.

"What's going on here?" Cole said. "I mean, it's not that I wanted a zombie apocalypse, but... I guess I'd just expected more."

Alaina stared down at the ground below. She couldn't believe she'd actually fell for a story like that! But, she didn't think Peri had been deliberately lying to her – it seemed to be a delusion that the whole city was under.

"Clearly, someone's not telling us the truth." Alaina said.