Kate could not have known what had exactly prompted her to awaken in the early hours of the morning as an ominous feeling lingered in her body, leaving her lying awake with great trepidation. Tiredly, she rubbed her eyes until she could focus them in the darkness of her room. Sweat pooled at the small of her back, and matted the silk sleeping dress to her skin. Removing the ornate bed coverings, Kate lifted her legs over as her feet then found the plush carpet laid on the wooden floor. She then padded over to the window, glancing outside the window, pushing the curtains to the side with long fingers. Darkness still covered the sky, but the gas lampposts provided her enough light to see that there were shadows running across the street as discreetly as possible.

“Guards?” Kate whispered confused. “It is simply too early for this ruckus…”

Under the streetlight where a guard stood behind him was a large alleyway, and the darkness seemed unnatural at first glance. Kate did not know why she decided to linger on the man, but she couldn’t help her loud gasp as hands from the shadows muffled the guard’s mouth. He struggled, letting go of his spear to extract the strangling hands away. During the one-sided struggle, his neck was bare and vulnerable while the silent assailant’s dagger glinted under the streetlight. The steel sliced his throat quickly as blood sprayed freely and then the attacker lifted the dagger, stabbing it into his thick neck once, twice, and finally a third strike. The guard’s arms fell limp while the cloaked figure dragged the bloody body into the dark alley, leaving behind a smeared trail of blood.

Kate broke out into a cold sweat, stepping away from the window. Her eyes were locked on the scene of the crime. Then the shadow figure stepped out from the alley once more, stripping away the cloak and tossing it into the alleyway. The assailant wore the same uniform as the Helios guard, stepping where the dead guard used to stand. The guard picked up the weapon on the ground, and resumed guard with a grin. Then another figure emerged from the alley, and another.

There were as many as 15 persons emerging from the alley.

Her first thought was to find Charlie. She stumbled in the dark as she reached clumsily for suitable clothes, not turning on the gas wall-lamps for she did not want to be noticed by those people. Her heart was racing, and she gnawed her lips together, trying to control her haggard breathing. She quickly dressed in the dark, using the light from the window as her only guide. She then raced to her door, twisting the golden knob as the hinges creaked loudly.

“Charlie,” Kate frantically cried, pressing against the wall for guidance as she exited her room. She didn’t want to make too much noise, but her cries were becoming louder and louder. “Charlie, where are you?”

The door to her left then opened as Milli emerged dressed in trousers, a tunic, and a cloak. Her thin blade was hidden in an elegant cane while she carried a leather bag on her back. Milli then said, “Follow me, Kate.”

“I-I just saw-” Kate choked out. “A man just died in front of me.”

Milli nodded, seemingly unfazed. She then grabbed Kate’s hands as she led her down the stairs where Charlie was waiting with a grim expression.

“What’s going on?” asked Kate as she followed Milli and Charlie to the entrance of the cellar. They were hardly shaken at all! Charlie opened the door, and inside of the cellar there was darkness. A switch was installed on the wall, and he flipped it up. Then there was light as one by one the wall-lamps lit up brightly. “Do you know something?”

Her voice was screechier than she thought it would sound. It was unpleasant to even her ears, and it was her voice.

“We must go home now,” Charlie said gravely. He held out his hand to his sister. “Come.”

Kate nodded, and took one step on the cellar’s staircase. “Will we be hiding here?”

Milli shook her head and explained, “Your father had this home renovated if the war reached here. He had a feeling this city is not as safe as it preaches to be... There is an escape route hidden in the cellar behind the wooden shelves that is activated by removing a shelf divider. This will lead us to the sewers. From the sewers we will travel two miles east. The route we are taking will lead us to the East Gates, ending underneath an unoccupied barn.”

“I know this is crazy, but we must alert everyone,” Panic rose in her voice as she realized the situation she and her brother were stuck in was one her father would never had wanted. “We can’t just leave, and let these people die. We should help as many people escape as we can, Charlie. Milli.”

“Yes-” Charlie began before Milli sharply cut him off. The look on her face left no room for an argument, locking eyes with her charge.

“You must understand,” Milli began. Her voice was firm, authoritative, and it left no room for discussion. “That you do not owe these people anything. You do not know them. They are not your neighbors. They are not your people. You are not one of them. They are not one of us. This incident will become a memory soon. It will not be tomorrow. Nor next week, but it will become a distant memory. Now we must leave.”

Kate raised her brow at Milli's tone, and she then tartly replied, "Who do you think you are speaking to? I am still-"

A loud, booming sound diverted her attention away as fiery, red-orange light blazed not too far away. Kate could see through the windows that the sky illuminated with bright, white light while the orange haze of a burning fire was lit on the building in front of her home. It was only then screaming and panic erupted as people ran to the streets.

The impenetrable city was burning alive. Her stomach squeezed uncomfortably.

“Charlie, what are we going to do?” Her voice was small. She shook with terror upon watching more explosions in the distance. “People are dying.”

He refused to answer her as he continued down the stairs, each step resounding heavier and heavier in her ears. Frustration boiled under her skin and she grunted in anger at her helplessness. What use could she do if they both refused to agree with her? And then in a moment of pure foolishness and stubborn refusal – Kate ran up the steps, taking two at a time to try to the front door. She would save as many people as she could. She would tell them to follow her. She would do what was right. She would open the door and-

Her waist was harshly grabbed as she was lifted in the air – her breath escaping her momentarily. Her legs kicked and kicked while Kate's shrillness echoed in the cellar and wriggled her arms, pushing and tugging against her brother’s strong arms. “Let me go! Let me go!”

If he wouldn't let her go, then she would not make it easy for him either! Kate laid her arms haphazardly on her brother's head then went limp, making sure her limbs were dead weight as Charlie easily dragged her down the stairs.

“Kate, this is not about doing the right thing,” he said sharply, losing his patience with his twin. “This is about survival.”

He then put her down at the bottom of the cellar’s stairs, and he stared at her with strange empathy. “You can do what’s right, but that decreases our chances of survival. We need to survive first. If you truly feel that they must come along then I will not stop you.”

He pointed to the cellar's door at the very top.

Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes as she huffed in frustration. She got up from the dirty, dusty floor and brushed the dirt off her bottom and knees. She turned away from her peers to give herself a moment of composure first before doing what was the right choice as of the moment. Kate walked over to the shelf, and watched as Milli activated the hidden compartment. The ticking of wheels and bolts shifted in the walls, and the shelf moved to the side, revealing a dark path.

Milli took a metal torch from one of the shelves, and lit the wax wick at the end of the stave. Milli then ventured first into the abyss, lighting the tight passageway with her torch.

"Kate," Charli gently coaxed his sister. "Please."

Kate felt as though her stomach was on the verge of imploding as she followed Milli in front of her while her brother was behind her. She could no longer hear the cries, screams, and the clashing of swords and explosions. Instead the murky dark sewage waters greeted her with putrid smells of shit, rotten eggs, rancid meat, and sourness. The combination of gases alone were noxious. Her nose wrinkled as they walked along the cement walkway while Milli guided them east through the tunnel-like passageway. She held a burning torch in her gloved hands.

Milli decided to break the tense silence. “I apologize for my words earlier."

"No, it was me. I was too caught up in the moment," Kate sighed, keeping eyes ahead. "Thank you. Do you know where we are going?"

"I memorized the layouts of the sewage tunnels," said Milli, taking a sharp right at the fork without hesitation. "I wanted to be prepared to best protect you. If we take this upcoming left corner, we will be four stretches away from the barn.”

Charlie stopped in his tracks, looking behind him. Kate opened her mouth but he hushed her. There were footsteps echoing in the distance coming closer to them. Milli extinguished the flames, and the three of them hid in an alcove too dark to truly notice if you weren't looking for it as the steps became louder and louder.

“I swear I heard a voice coming from this direction, Deemos,” a harsh, over-bearing voice spat out.

“Yale, you’re paranoid – let’s go back.”

The steps were heavy.

And the trio hid in the alcove until they could no longer hear the echoing steps of the strangers, holding their breaths in.