Virus

Thirteen

"Sara we can't assassinate Nita, her people love her."

"They don't now."

"Yes they still love her. The still want her to lead them. The city won't survive without her!"

"I don't give a damn! I don't care if this city survives this damn war! I care about Jasmine! And now she's dead and I want to justify her! You should too!"

"I do care about justifying Jasmine. But not like this. Murder is not justice, it's selfish. Anyway, I'm going to go to the Runners chambers. I have to talk to Amberley."

And with that, I left Sara in the dorm to do her plotting, and asked the guard to let me through the door.

"Mayor Juanita doesn't want anyone back there right now. Come back some other time."

"My child is back there. You can't force me to not see my child," I lied.

The guard signed and punched in the code.

I slipped through the doors and he closed them.

I sprinted down the hallway to the Runners chambers. Fortunately showering hour had passed.

Amberley sat on her bed, staring at a photograph in her hands. I slowly walked over and sat next to her.

"Hey," I said.

"Hey," she echoed, sniffling.

The picture was Nina. That's all I could make out from the angle.

"I just wanted to thank you for saving me-."

BOOOOM!!!!

Everyone looked up at the door. Smoke billowed in through the doorway.

I shot up and grabbed the two automatics of the weapon shelf and ran into the cavern.

Butterflies (as in Mick Hollers soldiers) were swarming the cavern from the elevator.

I slung one rifle over my shoulder and fired at them with the other.

They didn't hesitate to return fire. I ducked back into the tunnel to avoid getting shot. All the other Runners joined me at the mouth of the tunnel. Then I remembered it.

I ran into the chamber and found the button General Vladimir gave us on my bed.

I clicked it repeatedly, to show that something bad was going down, and then returned to the tunnel.

All the Runners had already started battling the Butterflies.

I watched as Max to a bullet to the head. Simon screamed in agony and slashed open Max's killer with his axe.

Dharma and Kelso were slaughtering the soldiers with their blades.

Slowly I creeped to the middle of the battle, where the armies met. I cleared a path through the Butterflies with my bullets and ran into on of the next tunnel. It was labelled MILITARY.

I slammed on the door with the butt of my gun. A soldier opened it.

"Get out here!" I screamed. At my command, all the Topeka soldier came pouring into the cavern to join the battle.

Guns smoke filled the air and the soldiers gunned down the enemy. I gathered Dharma, Kelso and Amberley.

"We need to get in the city and warn them," I hollered over the gunshots.

They all agreed and we charged down the tunnel. We stopped at the nursery.

"I'll defend the children," Kelso said and before anyone could argue, he disappeared in the nursery.

Dharma, Amberley and I charged down the tunnel toward a group of Butterflies connecting a bomb at the foot of the door. Amberley stopped to aim her bow and Dharma and I changed forward.

I fired at them. My bullets sparked against the steel door.

Dharma and I weren't even close when an arrow went into the head of one of the soldiers.

"Blow it!" One of them screamed.

Everything blurred after that. Smoke and pieces of stone surrounded me. I saw the two door fly into the polis, as if in slow motion, and watched as the befuddled guards were flung across the room and killed when they landed.

That's when everything came back. I turned around and saw the remaining army of Butterflies charging down the tunnel. Amberley was now by my side.

I took both the automatics and unleashed on the Butterflies. My gunfire illuminated almost the entire tunnel.

They dropped like flies. Most of them charged ahead, meeting either and arrow or a bullet. Some of the wiser ones stopped and returned fire. Dharma charged through the moving Butterflies and started slaughtering the ones who'd stopped. The Topeka military and the remaining six Runners joined her.

Soon the tunnel was littered with dead bodies. But at least all the Butterflies were dead.

I dropped both rifles at my sides and fell to my knees and weeped. The tears came soft and flowed down my face, cutting lines through the ash that had collected on my cheeks.

I quickly regained myself and went to find Sara. She was just outside the door.

"Kelly!" She screamed. I tossed her one of the rifles.

We didn't even have time to hug.

The two wooden door swung open and a something rolled in.

"GRENADE!!" One of the soldiers screamed.

The doors closed again as the grenade began spewing gas into the polis.

The gas quickly filled the entire polis and creeped down the tunnels.

The edges of my vision slowly turned black as the gas surrounded me. Finally the grogginess consumed me. It was all over now.