Wh...where did they go? Nobody just disappeared like that.

'I did,' a voice spoke. 'Didn't I, Roe?'

'Stop,' my conscience roared back. I took a deep breath. It wasn't the time. It wasn't the time to dwell in sorrow. I was just a few feet away from the men who could have known Erin's whereabouts and I let them slip away.

The garbage bin made it possible for me to easily reach to the mesh and the mesh itself wasn't very high. Climbing it won't be too difficult. I looked below on the other side of the wall. Climbing was the easy part but I would fall if I wasn't careful enough on the other side.

My fingers gripped the wire tightly and I pulled myself higher.

"What in the names of Ares do you think you're doing?" A voice said.

It startled me, my grip loosened but I caught the wire before I could fall. A man stared back at me, his eyes both of different shade. My pace fastened and I reached the other side of the mesh. Steadily, I slid down, one step after the other. Once I reached the end of the mesh, I closed my eyes and opened my fists. I hit the ground with impact but it was tolerable. I was fine.

I thanked my stars and turned. The moment my eyes landed on the same creature, I cursed. He was standing on the other side of the wall, now he stood here.

"What are you doing here?" he asked me.

I blinked, unable to reply. He waited patiently, his expression placid.

"Wait, a minute. You...you aren't one of us, are you?" He tilted his head and grinned. "You're a human."

I gulped.

The grin disappeared and he snarled, heading towards me. I stepped aside, reflexively and he stumbled.

"Who do you think you are?" He lurched forward.

I stumbled back, tripping over a stone. The man kicked me, messing with my balance and I fell with a thud. His hands wrapped around my throat as he choked the air out of me. I coughed, my fingers wrestling with his.

"P...Pl...ease," I managed to splutter. "Le...et go."

His fingers tightened. As he growled at me, I noticed his teeth, then his eyes. He wasn't human. He couldn't be.

"Where did you get that from?" He narrowed his eyes.

I followed his gaze to the pendant that was tied around my neck. He untied one of his hands from my neck and slithered towards the pendant. I tried to free my neck from his grip but it tightened. My breaths shortened. He pulled at the pendant hard. I gasped for air. He pulled harder.

My eyelids began to droop.

'You're giving up?'

No. No, I wasn't.

But, it felt like I was. My throat burnt and black dots appeared in front of my eyes. I closed my eyes, trying to breathe and stop the pounding in my head.

Five. Four. Three. Two. O...

He screamed.

I opened my eyes, the weight of the man off me. He laid across me, whimpering. My hands flew to the pendant. It was still intact. I let out a deep breath and hissed in pain when my fingers graced against my skin. They were burning. I gazed at my hands. They felt warm and the nails turned blue, darkest shade of blue.

The pain in my head stopped.

I stood there for a good one minute, trying to get some oxygen into my system. The man lay motionless.

"Hey," I said. When he didn't reply, I slowly stepped closer.

"Hey," I said again and shook him lightly. Trembling, I reached out and touched his neck. He suddenly woke up and screamed. I stumbled a little. His body jerked before knocking out again.

A piece of paper fell out of his pocket. I picked it up, careful to not touch him. It was a blue card with red curves on it. I looked back and forth between the card and the pillar in the centre of the ground. I tucked my jacket's hood up and covered my face as much as it could.

Carefully, I placed the card on the ground next to the pillar and waited. I looked back at the man, afraid he might wake up and pounce upon me.

"Please, please, please," I muttered. "Hurry up."

I felt a force push me into the ground.

*****

My eyes didn't welcome the bright light, squinting. I forced myself to face the light.

A long, narrow gallery ran in front of me to an unseen end. The walls held the shine of gold, which made them look like a mirror. My hands traced the walls and I slowed my pace, taking in my surroundings. In awe I lifted my head and noticed patterns carved on the ceiling, which unlike the walls held hues of blue on the yellow surface. The color ran through the designs like blood in our vessels. The intricate hexagonal designs ended closely near the edge of the ceiling where small lights lit up the whole area, bouncing back and forth from the golden surface.

I was so lost in the beauty that I didn't notice the door that led out of the gallery until I was too close to it. Instinctively, I pulled the hood closer and zipped my jacket. One deep breath and my fingers turned the knob of the door. I asked if I was sure. Before my subconscious mind could have said no, my feet pushed my body further and the door closed behind me.

There were a number of doors just like this one and people came in occasionally. It wasn't crowded. In the corner was an elevator. I gazed a little higher and read a sign - SECLUDED, it said.

Few men that passed me were dressed alike, except their overcoats. I stood frozen on my spot as they removed their overcoats and hung close to the elevator. They, then, walked away, chatting. I just stood there. My heart was beating loudly as fear began to replace the adrenaline coursing in my veins. I had come here. I was inside the place of the men responsible for my demolished-to-ground life. Yet, I did not know if it was the right thing. What if this has been an irrational step? What if they catch me?

I looked at myself and thanked God. Today was my day. I wore brown jeans and black jacket under the white tee.

'It is your day,' I told myself. 'You'll make it.'

I stepped ahead, took a deep breath and walked wherever my feet took me. I pushed the glass doors that led to a heavily-lit large hall. Everyone sat around circular tables in groups, mostly. On the left side was a huge counter that ran down the whole place. Some of the men were sitting at the stools alone staring here and there or sulking.

My eyes were glued to the decor. I just could not help it. The whole place was magnificent. My head was high, gazing up at the roof. Suddenly, I collided with someone. Startled, I looked at the man. It was the same giant who was about to catch me earlier. I lowered my head the moment he looked at me. Muttering a very low, almost inaudible sorry, I hurriedly left his side. It was better if I stayed away from any group. I sat near the counter. I reminded myself why I was here. Not to stare around aimlessly but to find Erin.

"What would you like to have, sir?" A voice asked.

I turned around and saw a man behind the counter staring at me. He smiled, showing his dirty black, cavity filled teeth. I held the urge to scrunch up my nose in disgust. He stood there, waiting for my reply. I was about to open my mouth, when he spoke again, "You know you could remove your hood here inside."

And get caught? No, thank you. I would pass.

A man, who looked much younger than the bartender, came and whispered something to him. He frowned and guided the man to take over so that he could leave. They argued for good two minutes. The man was so nervous to work out here. He kept on saying he was new and did not know. The bartender, however, left without another word. The man muttered something under his breath before centralizing his attention towards me. He tried to fake smile, just like his master but failed. So simple he sighed and asked me for my order.

I shook my head, giving a straight no. He seemed bewildered for a moment and twi, asking me the order again. I shook my head again and lowered down a bit. He sighed and nodded. I thought he would leave but he stayed there, as if this was his position.

I looked at everyone else. Whoever they were, these creatures, they looked fairly human. Right now, sitting with one another, chit-chatting, I couldn't have said they were something inhumane, something that hadn't crawled the surface of Earth ever before.

The bartender spoke, "You seem new here. First time?"

I didn't dare utter a word and simply nodded.

"Mine too."

Silence fell over.

I tried to gulp in the huge lump forming in my throat.

"Do you need water?"

Sighing, I nodded again. He disappeared behind the doors and came back later with a glass. I took it and slightly tilted my head as a thank you. He didn't mind my silence and waited patiently. I drank it all in once. My hood slid slightly. Alarmed, I slammed the glass on the table and pulled the fabric back up.

"Payment," he said.

I sat there, puzzled.

"Do you have your card?"

I took it out and placed it in front of him. He took it back behind the doors and came back in.

"There you go, Centire Gale." He smiled at me and returned the card.

I frowned and examined the card. It was the same; blue and red. Why did he call me 'Centire Gale?'What was centire?

"It's difficult," he continued, "working as a centire here. You're one lucky person. At least they acknowledge you as a centire. He-"

"A MAN DEAD! A MAN DEAD!" A man came in screaming. We all looked at the door where a man stood, panting loudly.

"What is happening here?" The original bartender who had asked me to remove my hood came in. "What are you talking about?"

"Outside," the man spoke, "a man lays dead."

My eyes widened and I slid down the stool, walking towards the entrance. A crowd began to gather around the man, asking him to sit and explain. Somebody asked the dead man's name.

"Gale," the man said. "He's identified as a centire, Gale."

I dared to look back at the bartender who had served me water. His eyes widened and met my gaze. He didn't move and I escaped through the doors.

I couldn't have killed him. He didn't die. I thought he was just hurt or unconscious; but dead?

Pushing back all the thoughts, I looked around for an escape before they caught me. My gaze fell over the elevator and pushed its button. I got in and pressed a random floor number as it started to move up. After a ding, the door opened. The floor was quiet, lid in golden lights. I kept on walking until I came across a room. I opened the door, looking back at the lift to see if anyone was coming. As the knob turned, few voices caught my ears.

"How are they doing?" A voice asked.

"They're better now, sir."

"Could they talk? Did they explain what happened? Who killed the two men?"

"No, si-" He stopped suddenly. I stepped back from the door, headed back towards to elevator. This was as dangerous as the place below. I heard the door open as a man screamed. I turned back and the hood fell off my head.

"What happened?" An old man came out. His mouth touched the floor as he took in my appearance. For a moment, I stopped. I had seen him somewhere. I couldn't place where, somewhere in Wallflower's Deck.

"What is she doing here?" That brought me out of my frozen state and I got back in the elevator as it closed in the man's face.

Tugging the hood back up, I went back to the bar. As I stepped in, they all were snarling at me. I swallowed my saliva loudly. It was the only sound that somehow echoed in the hall along with my thumping heartbeat.

"How did you get in?" One of them asked in a calm voice which was fairly odd.

"From the back, take a right turn. You'll need your card there," a voice spoke from behind me, almost making me jump. I turned to see the same bartender who gave me a drink. My eyes flickered to the back and then to the people. There were not too many behind. I could make it if I am fast.

A man pounced upon me. I ducked, moving to a side. Then, I didn't dare look back and ran for my life. Through the back side, a gallery appeared, then a door. The men were nowhere in sight but their voices were vaguely audible. I look around to see if there was a way to open the door. For a moment, it seemed like a trap that the bartender had set for me. But, I had no other way. Going back was not an option.

I hit the wall in frustration. And something came out of it. It was a small black box like. A message blinked on the screen - INSERT HERE. There was a small space just above the message. The card. I had to insert the card. I fished it out and put it in, my hands fumbling. I waited for the door to open. It did not. The box was asking me to mention a code. I tried the man's name – Gale. The door began to open and white light welcomed me. I shut my eyes.

When I opened them again, I was back in the ground. The pillars were gone and the stars were coming out. Was it night already?

Without wasting any more time, I looked for a way out of the ground. It was surrounded by the mesh from all sides. I decided to climb out of here and tried to spot an area where the mesh was the lowest. It was unequally distributed.

My hands didn't stop or lost their grip, knowing if that happen, my life would be over. Erin's face flashed in front of my eyes. I couldn't let that happen. I fell hard on the other side but the wish to stay alive overpowered the throbbing and I ran. The motel was too far. The men were closer. My eyes desperately searched for a place to hide, for now at least. There were cars parked all around.

A small restaurant came in view. The signboard was half-lit. Without giving it another thought, I walked inside. For a town that wasn't crowded, the place was filled. I finally relaxed a bit as familiar human faces came into view. Somebody bumped into me, muttering something incoherent under his breath. As long as he was human, I didn't mind. I was safe. I stood in a corner, trying to regain my breath and process everything when familiar cold eyes met mine.

The same giant who I met earlier was glaring at me. He came towards me. I stepped back, my back hitting someone else.

I turned around and muttered a sorry to the man who sat there on the stool with a phone in his hand. He just nodded. My eyes fell on a glass bottle that sat on his table. I gazed at the giant who was aware of the surroundings and came slowly. I picked the bottle up, tightening my hand around it. He stood next to me and his hand rose to grab me. I threw the bottle at him.

Someone screamed in the restaurant as the glass shattered. But the giant remained stiff, anger blazing in his eyes.

The man sitting there mumbled something and as I looked into his eyes, I realized he was one these creatures.