Terran's group tried to escape the collapsing buildings, which were falling like dominoes behind them. Spike pulled them at top speed as the sled slid too far to the right. Captain Bard yelled, "Hold on!"

Terran threw his body over a stripped-down Tessa to protect her as much as he could. Even a justle could reopen her wounds. Terran had a nut in his stomach, but he learned from Heather's lunatic driving that all he could do was close his eyes and hang on.

Then Sil squelched, forcing Terran to open his eyes. "Sil, what is it?" At first, Terran thought the bird had difficulty holding on until Sil pecked him hard on the shoulder. "Ouch." His hand instinctively went for his wound… That was when he saw it.

"Sir, I don't think we're going to make it," Terran yelled.

The Captain looked back to find a wall of debris that came borrowing toward them. "Crap, we're almost there too," he cursed, his eyes searching. "Okay, here's what we're going to do. Mr. Collins, when I tell you to make a barrier. Can you do it?"

"If there's enough dirt or plants, something to work with."

The Captain interrupted. "Believe me, there will be plenty of that soon."

Terran swallowed. "Yes, Sir."

"Good," Captain Bard said, Staring straight ahead. Hopefully, it'll be enough. Come on. Come on." Captain Bard gritted his teeth, searching. Then he pointed. "There, Spike, go that way!" The dog howled and ran faster as the Ruined City gave way to a vast green area—a park. "Mr. Collins. Now.

Terran jumped off and rolled to a stop just as the sled stopped abruptly. He could hear Captain Bard, "Mr. Francis, help me." Trying to flip the sled to the side. On the other hand, Terran was digging his hands into the dirt. His eyes brightened as he felt the ground respond. Suddenly, a dirt wall climbed up and curved back just as the debris storm hit.

His hands trembled as Terran pushed forward, his knees digging into the ground, trying to keep the wall from breaking apart. Then the pressure depleted, but he wasn't willing to let go.

He felt hands clapping down on one shoulder, and Sil jumped onto the other. "Mr. Collins, Mr. Collins, it's time to let go." Terran looked up to see an unbelievable sight. The Captain was patting his shoulder. "Everything is going to be fine."

With relief, Terran allowed the dirt to fall to the ground.

Terran looked around, confused. "But…" There wasn't as much damage as he thought there was.

"Lucky we just caught the tail end of it," Captain Bard continued. "But we wouldn't have survived without you. Good work."

Sil nuzzled Terran's hair. "Thanks, you saved us." He mumbled, still in a daze. Then he remembered something. "Tessa! Is she okay? Did she get any dirt in her wounds?" He was about to rush over but realized that his hands were dirty. Shaking them a bit, the dirt fell off like water as he ran. Terran moved to Tessa as the sled was flipped back, and Wallace gently placed her back on as Terran checked her wounds. "She seems fine." Terran sighed in relief.

"But the sleds are broken, and the supplies are scattered everywhere," Wallace said. How are we getting out of here?"

 Wallace was right. One side of the sled was sparking at the bottom, skidding against the ground. Plus, assembling the supplies to see if anything was usable would be a pain.

Terran ignored him. That wasn't Terran main provocative. His proactive was doing everything he could to save Tessa's life, and that battle was only just beginning.

"We're not," Captain stated as he picked up a few things and placed them back on the sled, but his eyes kept gazing upwards.

"But…" Wallace argued, but Spike came right in the boy's face. His chest rumbled with a growl. Wallace went pale. "But Tessa," he whispered.

"Mr. Collins?" Captain Bard asked.

"She's stable enough, but we need to find a safe place soon," Terran answered as he felt Sil hop down and land on Spike's back. The wolf grumbled a little but didn't seem to mind.

Captain Bard walked ahead and waved his hand toward the massive tree with what appeared to be a maintenance building next to it. "Don't worry; we're here. So, let's get moving, everyone."

They went down as soon as they gained access to the Maintenance building. They found a room with couches and a big table in the middle. Terran called out. "Wallace, bring Tessa here." Clearing off the table.

Wallace placed her gently on the flat surface, holding her hand while Terran inspected her wounds. Then he searched through his med kit. Thankfully, everything inside looked relatively undamaged. He mumbled., counting on my fingers. "What do I need more? Alcohol for disinfectant. My Rosemary mix will help with pain and the inflamed areas…."

"Terran, what are you doing? You're going to use your power to heal Tessa, right? So why are you hesitating?" Wallace demanded desperately. "Just do it already."

"It's not that simple. If I heal Tessa just like that, Tessa's body might not take the strain and go into shock. Or she might have an adverse reaction. So many things could go wrong." Terren explained, feeling how clammy her skin was, and sighed. "What she needs right now is blood. How are we going to get that?"

It was a good question. Terran, being a Lumeye, ruled Terran out. The Captain couldn't either because he was infected with Vine. So, the only one left was Wallace, who knew if he had the right blood type.

Terran was looking for his journal, trying to find a solution. Although not ideal, maybe he could find something that naturally helps Tessa's body produce more blood.

"Closer than you think," Wallace replied, rolling up his sleeve.

Terran looked up, surprised. "Wait, we don't know if you have the same blood type."

Wallace stated with a little bit of bitterness. "Tessa's father wanted a bodyguard who had the same blood type as Tessa's in case of emergencies."

He paused, not knowing what to think. "Smart, I guess?" As Terran took out the blood transfusion equipment. However, the Lumeye boy couldn't help but mumble under his breath. "Rich people are crazy."

***

Jule and Kay were miles away in a residential area. They had heard a loud explosion quite a distance from where they had just come from, but that was none of their concern.

Right now, they were looking for something.

Then Kay suddenly stopped.

"Is this it?" Jule asked.

"Over there." He pointed to a house up ahead. It looked like any other house, just as rundown and decrepit as the rest of the city—except for orange and blue paint, Nomad colours.

Jule stepped forward. "Let's go."

Kay grabbed onto her hand. "It's not good."

Jule's eyes were filled with steel, but behind that was sadness. "I know."

***

Underground Base

"Get moving." The guard pushed Rachel and Stella into a room with a wall of computers. "Behave if you don't. I have no problem putting that child into one of those cells." He smirked. "She wouldn't last a second, and I would be the first to place a bet. You and I both know that it be easy money." He left with a laugh.

Rachel shuddered and tightened her grip on Stella's shoulders.

They had to go down the room of cells, and more than a few were filled… something she didn't want to consider. When they went past, they clashed at the door to get to them, growling like animals.

"Hey, I thought we're not supposed to touch the kid," hissed the other guard.

"Shh, don't tell them that!" The first guard hissed out.

"Plus, do we have the luxury to mess around." The other scolded. "A big cat is making a ruckus outside. That's why we had to move them here."

The first guard grumbled. "I get it, so stop talking."

Rachel's eyes lid up as she Looked down at Stella, and she had the same look. "Va," she whispered.

"Shh." Rachel glanced at the guards, but they kept chatting away.

"All right." Spirits lifted a little. Stella spoke up, tapping a couple of buttons. "I can use these computers if I have the time…" There was doubt in her voice.

"Only if you have a chance," Rachel advised. "And if you do, do this…." Then Rachel whispered in the young girl's ear.

Suddenly, the wall began to open… and a whole other room was revealed.

Stella swung her hands up and turned toward Rachel. "That wasn't me!"

Rachel stilled as she kept staring into the next room. Her face turned pale.

"Rachel, what are you staring at,"

When Stella began to turn around, Rachel grabbed her and blocked her view with her body. "No, don't look!"

What met her eyes was nothing a young girl could see. "Hey, stop that. I want to see." Stella pulled away from Rachel, trying to get a better look.

That was when Stella screamed.