Theyâre not going to make it. They canât. But I owe them at least a fighting chance. I push the door open, and Hannah and Gael look up at me, their eyes wide with surprise.
âAlex, what are you wearing?â Gael asks.
I ignore her question, shutting the door behind me. âYou need to know, the air outside isnât toxic. It wonât kill you or contaminate you. Itâs just as breathable as the air in here.â
âAlex, what are you talking about?â
âThatâs blasphemy!â
âDid you go outside?â
âAre you okay? We should tellââ
I cut Hannah off before she can reach the door. She stumbles back, her eyes wide.
âJust remember. You can breathe outside. Somethingâs going to happen today. Run. Take the kids and run. Go to the workers.â
âAlex, you must be sickâ¦â Gaelâs voice trails off.
I shake my head, adamant. âI canât help you. But run. Gael, you might be able to find your way back to the workers. They could shelter you. Just run.â
I turn on my heel, push the door open, and sprint down the hallway. Their worried voices call after me, but they donât follow.
I donât expect them to. Theyâre not the type to draw attention, and they probably think Iâm just in a bad mood. I have been for a while now. I want to help them, but I canât. Just like Sanoske canât help me.
Itâs every man for himself. We can only warn each other. And I plan to take my warning seriously and survive.
Iâm rounding the corner by the Meeting room when I hear a growling sound. I freeze, pressing myself against the wall.
The growling continues, followed by a screech, like the Earth is being torn apart. I gasp, falling to my knees as the house starts to shake.
Then I hear the first bomb go off, somewhere in the west wing. The servantsâ wing.
Screams fill the air, along with the sound of walls collapsing. The air fills with smoke and ash. Itâs started.
I pick myself up and run toward the west wing. Behind me, I hear the Meeting room door slam open and the Masters rush out, escorted by soldiers. They race away from the flames and toward the main entrance.
But Iâve guessed their strategy better than they have. The second bomb goes off in the entrance hall. The house shakes beneath me, and the air grows thicker.
I wrap the bandage cloth around my nose and mouth and continue my way to the west wing. A siren is blaring, calling all Perfects to the bunkers below the house. I hear the sound of the iron doors being wrenched open.
I push through a group of frantic workers making their way downstairs. I see Hannah and Gael carrying their children downstairs to the bunkers too. They try to remain calm, but their children scream and thrash in their arms.
Everyone is heading to the east wing, to the bunkers. I run in the opposite direction. I run toward the flames.
Screams echo in my ears, but I force myself to ignore them. A third bomb goes off, and now the house is crashing and burning. I trip as I run down the stairs and quickly pick myself up again.
A fire is burning at the bottom of the staircase. I stop for a second. My heart is racing, and my head spins. The siren echoes in my head.
My instincts urge me to run in the opposite direction, to find the bunkers and hide in the furthest corner from the flames. Grinding my teeth together, I jump. I land on my knees, hard.
But I donât have time to stay on the ground. The flames surround me. I remember Sanoske running through them. Breathing through the cloth, I pick myself up and race through the flames.
My clothes donât catch. Maybe theyâve been made not to catch easily. Or maybe Iâm just lucky.
The walls are black, and the upper floors begin to collapse and crash down. Through the smoke, I see the sky. Blue.
I dodge a falling flaming beam and round a tight corner. My feet skid to a stop, and I drop to the ground to avoid being seen.
Before me are ten large figures, dressed entirely in black, walking through the flames, carrying guns and grenades.
Across from them, I see the Masters. They must have doubled back, fled from the entrance, and tried to escape outside. Does that mean they know the air isnât toxic?
They had let the workers and women run to the bunkers when they knew there was a higher chance of survival running out of the house and fleeing the flames. But the attackers had caught them.
Both parties are frozen, just noticing each other. There are some Masters missing from the group, but they easily outnumber the Japanese five to one. Guns are pulled out in seconds. The first shots are fired.
The Japanese are fast, and their aim is better. They are trained soldiers, while the Masters have never fought before. I see several Masters fall before one Japanese soldier does.
In the midst of it all, I know I need to escape. But thereâs no way through their battle. Theyâre closer now. Fighting with fists. I see one Japanese soldier pull a Master to his knees and fire a bullet in his head.
The blood splatters on the manâs chest, but he ignores it and launches himself on another Master. Many have taken off running. The soldiers guarding the Masters have disappeared.
One Japanese fighter slices through a Master with a sword. He twists and spins and stabs, and bodies fall down behind him. My stomach tightens when a familiar stench reaches my nose.
The smell of burning humans. Some of the dead Mastersâ bodies have caught fire. I press the cloth to my face, gagging.
I stay on the ground and crawl along the wall, keeping my head down and moving toward a hole in the wall and the blue sky.
One Japanese fighter is wielding a long stick, while another is crouched on top of the staircase, shooting any escaping Masters.
âSoldier!â I hear someone scream. A hand clamps down on the back of my neck.
Iâm hauled to my feet by a wide-eyed Master. He doesnât even seem to notice Iâm shorter than him. He pushes me in front of him toward the fight. âDo your duty!â he hollers at me.
He gives me a strong push into the heat of the fight. Blades and fists fly in the air around me. My hood is knocked off, and I feel a sharp cut on my cheek.
Before I know it, the Japanese soldier with the sword is cutting down two soldiers and his blade is whistling toward my throat.
âAlex!â
The shout comes from ahead of me. Through the smoke, my gaze meets Ericâs. Heâs quick, lunging at me and shoving me out of the bladeâs path.
I land hard on my back, with him rolling on top of me, pinning me down. I gasp and shove him off.
âGet to the bunkers, Alex!â Eric yells at me as the Japanese fighter with the sword takes on another Master.
âThe bunkers?â I yell back, incredulous. He expects me to run to the bunkers when my broken wall is just a few feet away?
Another Japanese soldier charges at us, gun in hand. He shouts something in a language I donât understand as he lands a sharp kick on Ericâs jaw and aims the gun at me. My heart skips a beat and everything around me seems to speed up.
The sounds of death, the screams, the blood, the flames, and that small patch of blue sky whirl around in my head. The gun is cocked, and the soldier is about to pull the trigger.
A gust of wind hits me, and Iâm knocked flat on my back again as the fighter with the sword knocks the gun away.
The two men lock eyes for a moment, then the one with the gun bows slightly and leaps back into the fray. The sword hovers inches from my face, dripping with blood.
âI told you to run,â the soldier hisses. He reaches down and hauls me to my feet with ease. ~Sanoske.~ He drags me to the broken wall and shoves me outside. âRun!â he bellows.
Our eyes meet for a split second. I see the burning determination in his.
âPlease donât hurt the ones in the bunkers!â I plead.
He stares at me, his grip on his blade tightening.
âDonât you understand? When Albion is in flames, you have no say in what I do!â he growls.
He spins away from me, moving so quickly. He cuts down a few more soldiers. There arenât many left, and a few Japanese soldiers have fallen too.
But theyâre winning the battle, pushing the Masters and soldiers further into the burning house.
I donât have time to see how it ends. Iâm outside now. The house is a roaring inferno behind me, so I donât hesitate to turn and run. The smoke fills the air and burns my lungs, but I keep going. I keep running.