I woke up to Rachel waking me up. She was shaking me hard, yet I barely felt it at first. I was so wiped from the trauma we'd been in.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Better now, what about you?" Rachel asked.

"I'm better too now. Still kind of burning with a fever but not like before," I answered.

"My wounds have healed and so have yours," Rachel stated.

She was correct; my wounds had healed, leaving no scar.

"Let's use those bathrooms to clean ourselves up," Rachel suggested.

"Alright, good idea. I found us some clothes too," I added, standing up.

We both walked to the latrine. The showers were open with no curtains. It looked like Rachel had already checked to see if they worked as she undressed. She didn't take long to toss the sole piece of clothing on the floor. I took a moment to admire her body. Her body was so enticing to look at. She gave me this puzzled look before she helped me take off the dirty dress I wore.

"I thought you were over being shy in the bathroom?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah, I am!" I stuttered while turning away, blushing.

"It's not like we haven't seen each other naked before," Rachel stated.

"I know you're right!" I said, feeling embarrassed.

I'm attracted to Diane and Rachel. I didn't want her to know. Not this soon yet, at least. As I didn't know how she would take that. She turned on the water, and we showered. We even had soap to wash with. 'Should we be using soap? Those beasts could inevitably discover us, even when we had been smothered in blood and sweat,' I thought. 'It didn't matter. II would not be foul-smelling around Rachel if I didn't have to.' We helped each other wash each other's bodies and hair. It was an everyday moment in a sea of chaos. These remain the times when I felt like I was ordinary. I wanted it to last longer. We had to find a way out of here. Rachel smelled so good. 'Why am I thinking about something like this at a time like this?' I wondered.

This happened every time I saw one of them naked. I couldn't keep this to myself forever. I wanted her to know, but fear was holding me back. 'What if I told her and something happened to her? What if I didn't tell her and something happened, anyway?' I thought. 'Once we find Kristen and Diane, I'll tell them. That was my plan.'

We finished up and washed the clothes we wore. They were slutty, but it was best to hold on to them for now. The jumpsuits I found were baggy and a welcome change to the skin-tight clothing we had to wear. There were boots I could put on. I had packed an extra set in the four backpacks I'd prepared, along with boots. Rachel had found a few flashlights, enough for two apiece, with a spare set of batteries. We had to make those last. I slung my backpack on with my weapon. I don't think the bullets will help against the creatures we encountered, but then again. These weren't for them. At some point, we'd run into people from DNA Labs. It's a good thing we had two others with us. Kristen and Diane would have weapons when we found them. Other than the rifles, we had a good size knife.

"Let's stay tethered for now," Rachel said, slinging the second backpack over her shoulder.

"Good idea," I said in agreement.

Together, we moved the bunk, blocking the door. Rachel cracked the door, checking the tunnel. She waited several minutes before signaling it was clear. The faint smell of wet dogs hung in the air.

"Let's see where this leads. If it's not good, we'll try the main tunnel again," I suggested.

I led the way, staying close to the wall with one hand touching it. I had a flashlight in my other hand that I had tied some spare rope we had to it and my arm. Silence was our friend for the next few hours. There wasn't much to say. Most of our focus was on our other senses. The space between working lights was getting longer. We passed many rooms like the one we stayed in. Some we explored for supplies. Nothing useful was in any of these rooms. This place must have been some mining operation with the military or some military we were not familiar with.

"You see these strange texts everywhere, right? Do you know what language it is?" I questioned.

"Not a clue. I've never seen or heard of it before. Some words seem to be from our language. Is this text based on ours, or?" Rachel paused a moment.

"Or what?" I asked.

"Or we build our entire language on this distinct language? That's my only conclusion," Rachel answers.

"Wait, does that mean this isn't Earth at all?" I asked.

"It's a possibility. So much time may have passed that we just forgot as a civilization," Rachel explains.

"Then this is that New Earth that we see in the texts everywhere?" I probed.

"It's a possibility," Rachel suggested.

"Wouldn't there be more evidence of this than?" I asked.

"There is. Take where you live. The Texas territories. I have seen that here too. Some of these jumpsuits have them too. Along with some other territories, see look," Rachel said, pointing to the badge on her arm.

"United Kingdom," was what the badge said. I looked at mine, and it said, "United States of America."

"It sounds like the American Union and United Britain," I said.

"That's right," Rachel agreed.

"That's a mind fuck!" I whispered.

"Yeah, I figured you said that," Rachel said, laughing.

"That's not funny cause it is a mind fuck. There is no need to tease me like that!" I mumbled, embarrassed.

"I'm not teasing you. It's just that you're funny," Rachel said.

"Yeah okay, I guess. You better not be teasing me," I mumbled.

I felt the tickling sensation on the back of my neck, and I jumped. Soft laughter came from behind me like someone was trying to muffle their mouth. I turned to see Rachel laughing.

"Do we have time for this?" I asked.

"Sorry, I couldn't help it. You're so cute when you get upset," Rachel cried, laughing.

That made me blush even more, and I swung back around to hide my embarrassment and excitement. 'She thinks I'm cute!' I thought happily. I felt her hands around my waist. She was squeezing slightly.

"I'm sorry we got you into all this. If I or Diane had picked up on the signs earlier, we wouldn't be here," Rachel whispered.

"Don't say that. If you and she weren't with Kristen and me," I paused, not wanting to think what might have happened to us without them.

"I'm a doctor, we're supposed to heal people. Not do the things DNA Labs is doing to you," Rachel whispered.

"It's not just us. It's Diane and you, too. If I hadn't encouraged my sister to walk again, then you wouldn't be here. I was selfish," I admitted.

"That's not true at all!" Rachel cried.

'All this time they'd been strong for us. I hadn't stopped to ask if they had any regrets either. To me, Rachel and Diane were stronger than Kristen and I would ever be,' I thought.

"You're stronger than anyone else I have ever met. You and Diane give us strength," I whispered.

"You know what gives me strength? Seeing you happy and safe. I'll do whatever I have to, to get you and Kristen out of this nightmare. No matter what!" Rachel confessed.

"I won't leave you in this place. You're coming with us! I promise!" I affirmed.

We held each other for a few minutes before continuing. 'I won't leave her behind. I just hoped that Diane and Kristen could find help,' I thought. We'd been through so much already. We would all be free of this absolute hell for a little longer.

After what seemed like a day of walking down this long tunnel, then stopping for rest. We finally came across something new. It looked like some kind of underground highway. It was lit up brightly. More of that strange text was on the signs and walls. 'Where was the power coming from?' I thought.

"What's that say on the sign?" I asked.

"Golden Orchard Tree 44," Rachel said.

"What does that mean?" I asked further.

"Sounds like a place or something. I know what tree means," Rachel states.

"I guess we should go that way. The other way seems like the way back to that other place," I said.

We both started down to our chosen destination. It was good to be in bright lights again. I would rather it be the sun, but this was fine with me. The smell of wet dogs had passed since yesterday, so we might be in the clear. Still, we stayed close to the walls. I kept our pace set at a brisk walk. Fast enough for us to make good time but not so slow enough to keep our eyes on our surroundings. The tunnel had two large lanes with arrows putting the way we were going in the lane over from us. The highway we were in had the arrows going back the way we came. It was a little cold down here, too. 'What was this place, anyway?' I thought, wondering what a place like this was for.

____

A few hours passed by again with no change in our surroundings. I couldn't make sense of the signs I was seeing. They represent some type of indication for something. The numbers looked to be going down. 'Well, that's what I hoped they meant,' I thought.

The last sign said, "6 miles to Golden Orchid Tree 44," Or whatever that meant.

A howl echoed in the distance behind us and froze us in our steps. More howls echoed from that direction. We both gave each other a worried look.

"How far do you think they are behind us?" I asked.

"Could be close and it could be far. I can't tell from the echoing," Rachel said worriedly.

"I think we should start to run. Just in case. We can rest in short bursts. It's better than trying to run an unknown length while being chased," I suggested.

"Okay let's move," Rachel said as she started to run.

I started running close behind her. If those monsters were farther behind us, then we had a chance. We ran for a long distance before stopping to rest for a moment. I looked back to see if we were okay. To my horror, in the distance, I could see a large group racing this way.

"Run!" I yell, starting to run.

"How fast are these things?" Rachel yells.

"I don't fucking know. They will catch us in no time!" I yelled back.

"We're not going to make it!" Rachel shouted.

Up ahead, I could see something. The tunnel had a side tunnel that split off. Above the tunnel, it said, "Welcome to Golden Orchid Tree 44," It was still far from us. That didn't mean we'd find any refuge either. I pushed my legs as hard as possible to get as much speed as possible. My waist yanked me back as I fell over Rachael. She cried out in pain, holding her leg. An arrow stuck her in the left ankle. I reached to help when a sharp pain knocked me backward. Another arrow had impaled my right shoulder.

"What the fuck is this?!" I yelled in pain.

Another arrow passed me, missing just inches from where I had been. I pulled Rachel up, and we limped as fast as we could. She couldn't walk, which looked to be the point. Those wolfmen were hunting us, and they wanted us alive. 'Fuck, they can use weapons!' I thought. There were a few hundred yards left to the entrance.

"We're almost there!" I yelled.

My eyes blurred. "Oh shit, not now! I can't pass out right here!" I cursed myself.

My vision darkened as it was coming in waves. In front of me, I could see a figure. I didn't have to think about what it was. It was that girl called Death.

"Why was SHE here?" I asked.

I couldn't keep my eyes open much longer. If I pass out now, they will get us. Death was reaching out to me. Beckoning me to come to her.

___

The next thing I knew, I was alone in the tunnel. To my disbelief, Rachel was nowhere to be seen. I spun around, looking for her, but even the monsters had vanished.

"What is going on?" I questioned.

I turned back toward the entrance, and she was there. Death was standing there smiling at me. She was wearing the same thing I was.

"What do you want?" I screamed.

"What do you want?" she copied.

"Ah, fuck this shit again?" I cried.

"Ah, fuck this shit again?" She mimicked with her head tilted to the side.

"Can you quit with these childish games? My friend is in danger and I don't have time for this, whatever it is," I shouted.

"Games? What games?" A voice from behind me said.

I turned to see her. It was Death again, but she wore a black dress. The same as the first time I saw her. She stuck her finger in my right shoulder. The same place where an arrow had pierced me.

"You're running from yourself. Quit running and the games will stop," Death said.

"Oh god can you be any more vague than that!" I snapped.

"You know what you have to do," Death replied.

'What does she mean, I know what to do?' I thought. At that moment, I recalled the time they electrocuted my sister during electro-shock therapy. I had forgotten. The moment I remembered, my eyes opened.

___

I could hear Rachel screaming at me. My body stood frozen. She was on the ground, pulling at my hand. I could hear them getting closer. My senses were sharper than before. I pulled the arrow out of my shoulder, causing blood to pour out. My blood ran on the ground under my feet into a large pool. Rachel squeezed my hand in shock at the amount of blood that was gathering. It seemed to come out like a faucet. The pool was so large that it was yards wide now. I held my right hand in front of me. Like in that dark place, the weapon I had created there formed from my blood. Not just one, but many naturally formed around me from my blood. They rose once they formed, floating above the ground.

The sound of the pack of monsters had stopped. I turned to them with a determination that I had never felt before. Anger fueled it, rising from within me. The pack leader let out a loud howl, then charged at me. The floating scythes reacted independently, flying at them at incredible speed. Each cut a small hole clear through the enormous masses of monsters. Some lost limbs in the first wave. I created more scythes, rocketing toward the beast. I had to do this four times more before the leader stopped just yards from me. I had used all my blood up, just having one blood scythe left. The rest of the wolfmen had retreated in defeat.

We stood there staring at each other for an unknown amount of time. Rachel and I didn't say a word while the beast eyed me with intense cravings. That's when it let out a loud howl that pushed me back a step. My scythe of blood lost its form as I dropped to my knees, breathing heavily. 'Fuck this is bad!' I thought.

The beast let out an even louder howl that shattered my eardrums. It held its howl for over a minute before stopping. Then, it slowly turned and walked away. I heard Rachel let out a sigh of relief. We watched the beast walk away until it was out of sight.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"I'm okay, but what was that?" Rachel questioned.

"I don't know," I answered.

"You and Kristen did something like that during the electro-shock test, too," Rachel explained.

"There is this girl I see sometimes when I pass out. Her name is Death," I revealed.

"Her name was Pure?" Rachel said as her face went pale.

"No. Do you know her?" I questioned with haste.

"I've seen a girl called Pure before. She can't be real, can she? I have only seen her in dreams. Her and the other one. One wears a black dress and the other a white dress," Rachel shared.

"There is another one too?" I asked.

"I think so," Rachel said, holding her ankle.

"That has to come out," I told her.

"I knew you were going to say that," Rachel sighed.

"Let me help. Just think of it like this. By tomorrow, it will have regenerated, if not sooner," I assured her, smiling.

She straightened her leg out while I looked for the best way to take it out. There were some medical supplies in our backpacks. It wasn't much, but it should be enough. I took off both the backpacks I was carrying. A quick search and I had what I needed. With scissors, I carefully cut one end of the arrow off. Rachel flinched a little while I made the cut.

"Bite down on this," I said, handing her some rope.

When she looked ready, I braced myself as best I could. This had to be quick and clean. In one motion, I pulled out the arrow. She let out a loud cry. I poured a little alcohol on the wound, which made her scream even louder. I put the finishing touches with a bandage around her ankle.

"You did a good job. Maybe you should have been a doctor," Rachel whispered.

"I don't know if I can do all that. Here, I'll help you walk. I'm guessing those things won't be coming back for a while. Next time, I don't think that will work," I explained, picking up my backpack.

"Did you see how fast the big one healed. He shrugged off every slash from those blades," Rachel pointed out while we stood up.

"Do you smell that?" I asked.

"What now?" Rachel shot back.

"Smells like those pseudo vampires," I stated.

"Not just them. I smell something that smells like those vampires," Rachel added.

"Didn't Cordelia say they were escaping?" I questioned.

"I don't think it's them coming," Rachel said.

"We better get going then. The entrance is up ahead," I replied.

Rachel leaned into my good shoulder as we continued onwards. My wound hadn't healed up, but the bleeding had stopped. I would tend to it once we got to safety.

The entrance was huge and more like a gateway. Someone sealed it shut with no obvious way in. Rachel spotted a smaller door in the middle between the two gates. We went to investigate. There was a keypad but nothing else that we could use to open the doors.

"How are we going to open this? I don't suppose you know anything about locks or hacking?" I asked.

"No, but maybe I can try something. I saw it when I had one of those glass tablets. It was the code for the elevators," Rachel said.

"You think that will work here?" I questioned.

"I don't know, but it's worth trying. DNA Labs has to know about this place," Rachel suggested.

"Makes sense. Let's try it," I responded.

Rachel touched the keypad, triggering a holo-Interface to light up. At least the numbers were recognizable. She inputted the code she had found. The interface binged and turned green. Followed by the door opening inward. We both let out a sigh of relief. I helped her inside the door. Closing it behind us just in case we were being hunted again. Another door clicked open for us. We went through some decontamination protocol that kicked in for a minute before stopping. The next door opened, letting us out in a central terminal.