Druid suddenly straightened with a glazed look before saying, "Hold on to something." Then, with more force, "Now!!!"

A few seconds later, everything trembled violently.

Rachel had to close her eyes to keep out the dust and debris, trying to block out the screams and the cries of pain and fear. It was awful; it felt like being trapped in a cookie jar while a child came along and shook it with all his strength.

She couldn't do anything; what kind of cop was she? Rachel couldn't help anyone, no one, not even herself. All she could do was hold on and pray that it would be over soon. It was so frustrating.

A few minutes passed before she realized everything had stopped; only the whispering of the hurt and fear remained. She looked up only when a giant hand was clasped on her trembling shoulders, and she saw Statson staring back at her.

The big man whispered in her ear, "This is no place to have a breakdown, Girly. Scream your little heart out when this is over. Hell. I might join you, but we need you right now, okay? There are a lot of frightened people here that need us to be strong. You got me?"

Rachel nodded, wiped away her tears, stood up, and straightened her back. "Yes, Sergeant," she said with conviction.

"Good, Girly," he said, brushing the dust off his hat and setting it back on his head.

Statson turned towards Bryson and Druid. "Right now, I don't care if you are blue aliens trying to have a spot of tea in the Stanley Cup. So, if you have a plan. Let's hear it."

"What is a Stanley Cup?" whispered Druid.

"It is a trophy a team receives for being the best at a certain sport. It was quite popular before the war, involving ice and sticks," Bryson said dismissively.

"Ah," Druid said, still a little bit skeptical.

"I am not going to argue with you about the greatest pastime ever created, so what is this damn plan?" Statson growled back.

"First, we need the locations of the cameras," stated Bryson.

"So, you noticed them, too?" Statson asked.

"Obviously," Bryson answered like it was the stupidest question in the world.

Statson grabbed a piece of paper from his hat; it looked like a napkin. He probably took it from the buffet. "Already ahead of you, Ice Boy. I had an odd feeling since arriving. So, I marked down all the cameras I could find." Statson waved his hand around to empathize with the mess they were in already. "Can't say for sure if I've missed any."

Bryson bristled at being called 'Ice Boy.' He looked over the crumpled-up napkin with disgust. "You want me to touch that? Really?"

"What don't like getting your hands dirty." Statson snickered.

"You…"

Druid placed her hand gently on Bryson's sleeve. "Bry, we don't have time for this."

Bryson huffed out. "Fine." He took the napkin with his fingers. It will have to do. Block the cameras for me. That's a good man," Bryson replied condescendingly, using Statson as a shield. First, we need to disable the cameras...?"

He balled up his fists and breathed into them. A barely visible mist settled around his hands. When he released it, It spread until it filled the room.

Rachel breathed in and out. She could see her breath; wonderment crept into her eyes.

This was a Lumeye's power. Magic, Rachel thought in awe.

Then, with a sweep of Bryson's hand, the mist surrounded the cameras, freezing them in its wake.

"Well, that's some nifty trick you pulled off, Ice Boy," Statson said, not sounding impressed. But Statson must have seen it all. "So, do you have another trick, like how to get the hell out of here?"

"If it's just us, quite easily." Bryson indicated to Druid and himself. No one else. "But with these many witnesses...? Hmmm, people," he corrected when Druid elbowed him in the side. "Then, we need a bit of… discretion."

"Come on now, boy, unless you or the Fire Princess knows how to work with stone, then we have some issues." Statson knocked on a nearby stone wall to make a point.

Druid looked delighted at the nickname.

"Yes, that is correct," Bryson said dismissively. "I am not talking about Druid. Do you think that we are the only ones here? Lumeye functions in groups, and we are no different."

"Do we have the time to argue who is Top Dog?" Druid asked, annoyed. "I already sent a message to Terran… he is working on it," Druid replied. "He's positioned outside, so be ready."

"Terran?" asked Rachel.

"One of our backups, he's an Earth Elemental," Druid answered. Rachel wanted to ask more questions, but now was the time.

"Whatever, you do your thing. We will do ours, Girly," Statson called out. He stepped towards the still-panicked crowd. "Ha, you bunch of pansies!" he yelled at the group. "It is time to stop clawing at the door like crazed animals. We are all getting out of here."

A red-faced man, fuming angrily, approached Statson and said, "See here. Do you know who I am?"

"I don't care if you are the leader of the Cities Council. Sit down and shut up because if you don't, I am authorized to stop this madness in any way possible," Statson commanded, his hand drifting towards his gun.

With his eyes moving toward the gun, the man obeyed, putting his hands up. No one else dared to speak. "That is better… you," he pointed to someone randomly. "You help me with the injured; you guide the...." he began directing the crowd; his experience of taking charge was as easy as breathing. Rachel was kind of envious of that.

Rachel helped here and there, getting people away from the walls and assisting the injured. When everyone was settled, she waited, but she couldn't help but jump as Drucilla whispered, "Get ready,"

"Geeze, you startled me," Rachel breathed, brushing her dark brown hair away from her face.

"It wasn't my intention," Druid replied mysteriously. "We must act now, or none of us will survive."

"Okay, um, Druid…? I thought all Lumeye...?"

Druid's finger stopped Rachel. Nodding toward the crowd of people within earshot, Rachel blushed.

"We are not indestructible; we are just different, and we can die very easily," Druid said ruefully, her eyes distant.

"Why are you helping us?" Rachel couldn't help but ask. "Why? As Bryson said, you could have just left. You have no reason to help any of us."

"Yes, that is true, except when my...." Druid paused. "It is time. Get ready. There is a high chance that everything will go wrong. Terran says that the ground is unstable, and the castle is sliding slowly into the sea."

"The sea?? How...?"

"It is happening," Druid interrupted.

"What?"

Then, the room began to shake, just enough to be noticeable. Rachel breathed out, relieved. It wasn't as bad as the last one, but that was short-lived. Suddenly, trees and rocks burst through the wall. They branched further inside before spreading onto the surrounding walls and the floor.

"Wastelands! The Wastelands are coming to kill us!" Someone screamed out. Panic arose again.

Statson yelled over the panic, "Shut the hell up. If we are still alive, we have more than enough time to get out of here."

Rachel turned to Druid. "Terran?"

"Yes." Druid nodded her head in confirmation. "Disguising it as a Wasteland attack smart." She bit her lip in concern. "He can't keep this up for long. He is wasting too much power."

"It's a very idiotic plan. Even someone with an ounce of musical intelligence would know that this is no Wasteland attack." Bryson sneaked up behind them. Startling Rachel. He deliberately made sure that he separated Druid from Rachel.

Druid swept her hand. "In this panicked crowd? Who will ever know?"

"You can," Bryson whispered in a loving tone.

Druid just smiled back.

"In any case," Bryson looked a little uncomfortable, blushing. Ah, that's kind of cute. "Maybe Terran's actions might be helpful."

"What do you mean?" Rachel asked.

Bryson slowly turned toward her, and his look made her feel like an idiot. "Listen, you…"

Okay, it's not cute anymore.

Before Bryson could continue, Druid interrupted. "What he meant was that the Wasteland will come. We need to get everyone out as soon as possible."

Then someone shouted, "Hey, there are cracks in the wall. I see daylight. We can get out!! We can get out!"

Everyone cheered.

Rachel could hear Statson shouting, "No pushing, the injured needed to be helped first...." Statson had to pull back one guy by the collar and yell in his face. "Ha, I've told you no pushing." Eventually, they got everyone out. All that was left were Bryson, Druid, Statson, and Rachel. Even Mr. Chesterfield escaped safely.

"Well, it's time to get the hell out of here." Statson started heading towards the crack.

Rachel began to follow but stopped when there was a nagging feeling that she had forgotten something. "Where is Major Hatten?" She didn't see him going outside like the others.

"Right here." A voice boomed out.

Rachel and the others turned to see Major Hatten and four other guards with guns at the ready. However, what was the most problematic was  Major Hatton himself. "Is that…?"

"A bomb strapped to his chest," Statson's eyes never left Major Hetton.

"He wanted me to die. Is that it? That bastard planned this from the beginning?" Major Hatten mumbled to himself. He wasn't paying attention to them, to anyone. It seemed like he lost it.

Rachel froze, her thoughts screaming, Oh God, we're all going to die!

"If that's the case, then at least I get to kill a couple of thorns in my side," Major Hatten said, looking up at Statson and Rachel with a crazed look. "Oh, and Weatherly's star pets. Too bad, I thought I could have used you." Major Hatten was lingering on Druid when he said that, and it wasn't difficult to comprehend his meaning. Creepy bastard. He turned back to Rachel and Statson. "Drop your weapons. Now!"

At Statson's nod, Rachel placed her gun gently on the floor. Statson followed suit.

"Now, now, don't be hasty." Statson held out his hands, trying to be as non-threatening as possible. "There is no need for violence. We can all walk out of here alive and well." His eyes weren't on Major Hatten but on the guards behind him.

The guards lowered their rifles and looked at each other uncertainly.

Major Hatten laughed hysterically. "If that man wants me dead, I'm already dead. I have nothing to lose. Do you think any one of us can escape from him? Better die here than become one of his experiments."

The guards raised their guns once again.

Rachel looked on in disbelief. What? Are they so afraid that death is the only option? What would scare them that badly?

She tried to concentrate on the madman, but something caught her eye—a guard with cyan eyes.

Eyes that were staring back at her.

What? How? I only know one person with those eyes.

***

Towa

In one of the high-rise buildings, a computer screen went static. "Boss. The screen." A man in front of the computer screen turned towards the man in the suit. "That's the last camera. All of them are static."

"It doesn't matter," the man in the suit answered. "As long as the building goes down as planned, everything else is fixable."

"Did Major Hatten realize you double-crossed him?"

"If he didn't before, he certainly does now. That fool. I hope he likes the present I left for him." He paused. "Right now, I'm more interested in other…elements."