Chapter 40

Fire

As I tried not to lose consciousness and be aware of what's happening around, I could hear everyone's scream and help. They are all in panic and I was here trying to make myself okay. The arena has left with no one but me all alone. From the screams, the next thing occurred was the explosion and it's like they were bombing every wall of the building to get inside. I don't know what's coming for us, it could be another group who's trying to sabotage and ambush everyone but on my head, the only thing could do anything cruel were the High Council.

I force my upper body to move equally to my lower part but I don't have enough energy to stand up. The trigger from my tracker was becoming worse and worse. It is like every time it hurts me, the more the pain I'm getting and I think it's not good. The more I resist the pain, the numbness you feel wouldn't help 'cause it will make you more fragile. And that's how I feel now.

"Help..." my voice were weak to call it out loud, no one would even hear me among the loud noises outside. It's all on me now.

The army passed through the arena, they are now holding their weapons. Guns, combat weapons, and riot shields. And I've also seen a grenade in one of the army belts. From what we have experienced yesterday, we come again into an event where it takes another life and death situation. Whether we survive it or not.

"Call the medics!" I've heard the other member of the movement panicking and leading the other to a safer place. I was about to raise my hand and get her attention but she immediately runs off to the other hallway. I reach my neck and touch the tracker in it if I could just send a message to whom sending messages right to me, I would but it doesn't.

For a second, I have thought to calm myself amidst the chaos happening. I close my eyes and help me to turn everything in a peaceful manner. I took a deep breath and do it for a few times until I no longer feel the panic and fright on my body. And when I did that, I open up my eyes and slowly arise from the ground. I don't know how it works but it helps.

I need to find everybody. Cha... Brighid... Barry.

Just in time when I got out of the arena, an explosion occurs in the hallway. The ashes pulverized the hallway and make it fuzzy. I cough when I inhaled it and so I covered my nose and mouth to keep it away from breathing inside. Even my sight couldn't be distinguished where the way is, I just use my instincts to locate the noise of panic.

"Dilly!" I heard a familiar voice along the way, "Dilly! Oh goddamn, where the hell is you?!"

I bound to meet Manny on the way, I couldn't see his face clearly because of the ashes in the air but I could feel the tension in his body. His hands are shaking, his voice is worried.

"W-What happened, Manny? Tell me!" I said, hold both of his shoulders, shaking him. "Focus, Manny. Tell me what happened here."

"Dilly and I are just cleaning up things together and after that, when they the explosion comes in we got separated. I don't know where to find her... I know she's afraid now, I gotta find her. They might have killed her if they find her..."

He was about to get away with me when I hold him tighter in his shirt, "who are they, Manny? Who the hell were you talking about?"

"The High Council army, Dylan... they're here." He shoved my hands on his shirt and turn his back on me, "I gotta find Dilly." He said and run towards the opposite hallway. He was eaten by the thick smoke and his shadow vanished from the view. As I turn my back, I froze on my feet when I heard another explosion coming from that hallway. I heard him scream. "Dilly!" he shouted at the top of his lungs until he was no longer heard.

I run before the thick pulverized ashes get into me. As I turn on the left hallway, I duck down the ground and cover my head. There were still voices around and they were shouting for help. I don't know where to go, I don't know what else I can do. I'm totally not familiar with the building. And this is what I'm afraid of.

"Commander, this way!" I heard a voice, and it's coming from a man and I think he's part of the army of High Council. They bring their own Military inside the field and they wanted to ambush everything. And by the moment of realizing what's happening, I remember what Brighid told to me.

They will kill everyone they saw at their sight. Whether the person has potential in their land, no matter what the person can do, if they bound to meet you... you'll be dead.

I barely saw the line of High Council Military barging entering the room. They use a battering ram to forcefully open the door. When they finally reach the door, one by one they enter and raid the room. I hide at the corner, hearing them from the distance, I just couldn't bear to take any action but they were armed and in just one shot, I could be dead.

The next thing I've heard was the screams and yelling for the help of the young people inside. I don't know how many of them inside but there are too many voices. Too many dreams will get lost by the cruel arms of the High Council.

"Fire!" The Commander ordered. I stopped a beat when I heard it. It is like the world had stopped and everything goes in fast forward when I listen to the continuous shooting of their weapon into the innocent young people who just came into the process to survive but ended up murdered. I close my eyes, covered my ears with hands. I couldn't just bear to hear all those weapons killing young people. I can't imagine being in their position. A silence has surrendered after that frantic moment. I took a deep breath, tears run out in my eyes.

I have just witnessed how the High Council can manipulate everybody. With just one order, they could end everybody's lives.

"Move out!" the Commander ordered and every last one of them left the room. When in time there's no one around, I slowly walk into that specific room that they raided. I was just at the doorstep when I found all of them lying down, covered by their own blood on the floor. I turn my back and I couldn't look at them dead. They all come here for one reason, to have a better future but they took that chance away from them.

They stole one thing that can't be restored.

I run into another hallway. I have no idea how many of High Council Military was send off in the field or they just busted us in the building and they targeted every member of the movement? If that's the case, how did they find us? How the High Council find their way to the movement's hideout?

When I'm walking through the smokes, someone held my foot below. I immediately kneeled down to look who it was. I fix her hair covering her face and to my surprise, I saw Cha. She's injured.

"What happened?" I asked her, concerned about her condition.

"I-I was just running from the Military... they've been shooting everyone and then the explosion comes. My head hurts, I couldn't even handle the pain of my back. I think I just flew and hit the wall... I don't know... I don't know..." she mumbled, sobbing.

"Can you get up?"

She shook her head, "I don't think I can..."

"I know you can... you're fighting for your sister, right?" her face lights up when I say that reason on her. I know that she's fighting for the justice of her sister and she couldn't give up at lie down on the ground wishing that the justice of her sister would come but if she didn't stand up and fight for it, nothing would happen. "For your sister, right? You would?"

She nodded, "I would do anything for my sister."

"I know you would."

She helps herself to move and I hold her carefully standing up on her feet again. "Now, we fight." And her fighting face just shown.

I held her hand on my shoulder so she could keep up while we're searching for the other survivors. As we come across the hallways and passed by some doors. We're still hoping to find the others safe and alive.

"Do you know where Barry could have everyone safe and secure?"

Cha thinks of it for a moment. She nodded afterward, "As everyone panicked earlier, he didn't gather all his people to come at the bunker—where a room that was intended for safety and security purposes but I know where a place he could be hiding..."

"Where?"

"On his own office." She said.

We didn't waste our time as we immediately find our way to Barry's office. We encounter some Military along our way but we make sure that they wouldn't see us. As when we see the door of Barry's office, we look sideways if there is an enemy lurking around. Both of us run towards Barry's office when there's no sign of Military coming.

I pounded the door to get us in inside, Cha keeps shouting Barry's name. The door open but we didn't expect we'll see Brighid inside. She hastily took us inside the room and when I look around, she was alone. And there's no Barry around.

"Where's Barry?" I asked her while putting Cha on a chair.

"I don't know..." she said, shaking her head. "I don't know where everyone goes, I just run towards his office and locked the door. I just thought I could be safe in here."

"They were barging in every room," I said, "it is not safe at all..."

"Whatever... I just needed to be a way of them... it is not safe anymore."

"I know... I have seen it." I said, and sighed, "I saw Manny, he's finding Dilly but ended bursting with the explosion... he died finding his friend. That's the cruelty of High Council ... and we can't do anything about it."

"And what does the movement for? So we just let them killed us all?" Brighid said, "they ambushed us like what they did to my parents. The funny thing is, we're just coming into the second month in the field and they almost killed every participant. It is like they don't want any new people to be part of them..."

"I think not Brig," I said and they both look at me with the creased forehead, "I think it is not an ambushed attacked. I think they just knew about the movement and they planned for it."

"H-How... how can you say that, Dylan?" Brig asked.

"His tracker." Cha uttered, "they found us because he still has his tracker."

"And I'm sorry for that to happen..."

"No, it's not your fault." Brig said, "it is Barry's decision not to pull out your tracker and look what the cost of it. But in the first place, we already risk everything and it's not just his fault but by everyone. I'm afraid to say that 'cause everyone wouldn't agree with me but as far as I can see, the movement has been weaker and weaker every day as the High Council were building and growing stronger. We are far from what they can do."

I turned in silence 'cause I know what she's feeling about this movement. The risk of gathering all the member of the movement and by keeping me here. Not that long when someone knocks and followed loud pounding on the door. We some in silence as we expect that it is the Military but somehow, it was someone particular to us.

"Open this fucking door! This is my office!" It's Barry.

The three of us were in shocked and hesitated to open up the door for him but on the latter I decided for myself to do it but hastily, Brig hold my arms and stopped to do it.

"It is a stupid thing to do, Dylan... just don't," she warned.

"I know it's stupid but we're a team here, Brig, right?" I said and move her hands out of my arms. "I'm gonna open the door for him..." when I face the door and reach for the knob. We also notice that he was with someone. And there we heard another voice coming from a man. As I recognize it. It is coming from the man who was staying across my room. And I think he's beating Barry off. "I gotta help him."

"Wait, Dylan!" Brig called me.

I shook my head, "no, please don't try to stop—" but I didn't get to finish what I'm saying when she finally come closer to me, reach my face and lock her lips to mine. I was a bit shocked for a moment she did that. She pulled herself out of it and pushed my chest away from her. I shake my head to get back on senses.

"Now, go save Barry." She said, smirking.

I nodded, determined—and I don't know what just happened.

Holding the knob, I took a deep breath and immediately open it and get outside of the room. I found Barry on the floor, struggling to move. When the guy notices me, he runs towards me and jumped on me. We landed on the floor together, he's heavy and I never thought of that. as I try pushing him off of me, and when I get the chance I kicked him as much as I can.

"Who are you? Why are you doing this? Are you part of the High Council?"

He smirked, helping himself to stand up. "You will never know."

When he's coming back at his feet, I immediately thought of something. I just teach it earlier and when my eyes got into Barry's belt, I grab it. As the perfect timing, he was gonna attacked me when I lash him out with the metal buckle of the belt and he got dizzy, kneeled back on the floor. I move closer to him and put the belt on his neck and tightened it as he started to resist it. Few minutes of struggling when he passed out.

I fall back and chase my breath. I attended Barry and help him, I was about to carry him when he speaks of something, "what are you still doing here? Why didn't he find you?"

"W-what are you saying?" I couldn't keep up to what he's saying. "Hey, Barry... I'm gonna carry you back to your room."

He shook his head, "it's too late..." he mumbled.

"Yeah, it's too late." When I looked back, I found him standing on his feet and the belt on his hand. He's spinning it on air until he extended it and lunge on my face. I lose Barry on my arms as we fall on the ground. My head hurts and it's bleeding when I touch it. "You're gonna die here with your dreams, Dylan..."

But the next thing happened, a shower of bullet continuously hit his body. He falls on the ground, covered by his own blood. The next thing had happened was Barry telling me something.

"He's here, Dylan..." he muttered to his last breath.

I keep shaking him, "Barry... wake up." I said, trying to speak out even though my system is already weak. "Barry... your fights not done yet..."

And when I thought of another Military coming on our way and to murder us, it didn't happen as I expected. He removes the mask on his face and I couldn't believe what I saw. But I think I'm hallucinating again. My head hurts and I'm not thinking clearly.

The pain was dominant. And I'm just taking all of it.

"Hey there, brother. You're gonna be safe from now on."

I hope I will wake up that everything didn't happen at all... I just hope for a better future.