Astra's Pov She craves a cigarette. Astra knew that smoking the real paper cigarettes besides the electronic ones was a better deal. She's become addicted to them, which kind of relieves her; it's a different feeling from the usual grief, revenge, or hatred from herself that she feels. Astra craves a cigarette because not only is she addicted-but the others have escaped. The last coordinates were in a camp, and as the Officers had arrived, it was empty. Not a trail, nothing was left to track. Her own mole had figured out how to take his tracker which was very impressive. She doesn't hold any ill will, though. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she had a small hope that they would escape. Astra knew her character was difficult to understand, and really her priorities were getting twisted. Thought she wanted the System and the Testing to break in pieces and finally be destroyed by her hand, her concerns for her last living daughter was making it more difficult to see it
Celia's POV They sneak around the area, Celia on the ground, and Tomaz flying in the sky. Celia is flanked by Nova on her left, and Jonathan on her right, Tessa bringing up the rear. She had explained to both Nova and Jonathan that this was it. This was the fight that would either finish them, or finish the end. "People will die." she had told them both, making sure she locked eyes so they could see how serious she was. She waited to see them flinch, or to back out, but they nodded their head in unision, accepting their fate and their consequences. In a way, Celia was disappointed; she hadn't wanted them to agree so quickly. She wanted them to think about it like the humans they were. Not like the killing machines they were becoming. They were nearing the entrance, a single guard at the gate. Celia motioned for Tessa to take him down, her nodding as she quickly knocked him unconcious. This seemed too easy. Why did they have only one guard at the fr
Astra's POVThey're coming in faster than Astra would like, ordering Lu to leave wherever Rogers was holding her hostage. Lu tries to tell her that she had no idea where she's at, before Astra hangs up, focusing on the cameras again. She sees two Officers drag off the boy with wings, taking him to the hospital side, and Astra frowns. Whatever those Officers have in mind, it isn't part of her plan. She then sees Jonathan run after them, lights flashing, and if the cameras had audio, she'd probably hear the sound of him beating on them. Jonathan emerges with the boy with wings, supporting his weight as he runs back the way he came. Other Officers burst into the scene, rushing to evict the intruders, their taser sticks flashing brightly. They have no guns this time, only sporting the volts, as though Astra does want them captured, she wants them alive. Rogers is out of the picture and the Higher Ups are too busy scrambling to perfect their Main City. Astra was callin
Celia's POVThere is a moment of clarity as Celia leans against the destroyed remains of a car. Tessa is next to her, trying to stop the bleeding in her forearm, and she ties it off with a scrap of her shirt. The Officers, most of them, are dead, some of them crawling away without limbs. The rest of the group finds this small bit of nothingness going on to regain a bit of energy. A lot of damage has been done, and they're not even in the building. Hell, Celia isn't even sure if Jonathan, and Tomaz are alive or not. Nova looks exhausted, as she sits on the ground, keeping a look out for more Officers. It's quiet, goosebumps running up and down Celia's spine. They should be done. This should be it. But deep in her bones, Celia knows better. One moment, Celia is dreading for the worst, and the next, Lincoln is standing next to her, looking ashamed and small. Celia gives him a questioning look, too tired to use words, but Lincoln lets out a breath he had be
Astra's POVShe doesn't expect Jonathan to get up from the ground in an attempt to hit her. But Zomb is there in an instant, pummeling him into the ground. With a flick of her wrist, Astra turns around as Officers escort her down the halls. The other scientists were indeed cowards; Astra had been the only one to stay back to see this project through, and not in the way they were intended. She decided to do it her way. Main City would crumble; Testings would burn. Astra needed as much help as she could get, and she needed compliance. From Jonathan, from the others, and from Celia. Astra was tired of fighting, of having Officers fail her at each way. So it was up to her, and dammitt, if getting things done her way didn't sound appealing, she didn't know what else did. Astra hummed, and said nothing as the Officers barricaded into the destroyed remains of a lab, not seeing shadows join in with them.Celia's POVThe small group of four snuck in while the o
Astra's POVShe had won and deserved it. She stood there gloating, her arms crossed over her chest. Jonathan, and Tomaz wouldn't die; she needed them for a plan bigger than themselves. So Astra turned towards the fight, watching in silent glee. The Officers locked the door, pressing a button that would make the covering of the wall go down. Astra could see everything. Then something jumped on her, almost causing her to topple on her back. She shouted out, but the Officers were gone, and it was just her and the thing that attacked her. When her vision cleared, her heart dropped into her stomach. It was two of them; they had somehow manage to sneak in the office glaring at her with such venom in her eyes, she felt goosebumps run up and down her spine. But Astra was ready, and she gripped her weapon in her pocket before the tall one jumped her, hands out to strangle her. Not wasting another minute, Astra dropped her weapon in front of the girl, the gl
Astra's POVAstra is always prepared, even when she's running inside of the building. She pulls out a small metal square from her pocket, clicking it on. Tiny metal legs springs out as it forms into a cube, a small light emitting from the bulb. It chirped as it found a route for escape. Astra followed close behind, trying not to wince from the dust on the floor, and her lab coat which was dragging along under her. She had to escape into the other building which held some key equipment. Silently, she was already making a plan a, b, and c. Whatever would go wrong, she'd adjust to it. She'd adapt and make another plan. She wouldn't be like that cocky bastard, Dr. Rogers. You always had a plan for the things life threw at you. Once the scouter turned a left corner, it beeped twice before turning back into its original form. Astra pocketed the metal square, pushing opened the vent cage, and shimmied out of it, her glasses falling off her face. Those were just for sho
The groupWhen Nova and Tessa find the collapsed form of Celia, stepping around two very still bodies of what looks like Caia, and Zomb, Tessa places a finger under Celia's nose. She's breathing which means she's alive and Tessa relaxes, Nova, and Tessa each grab one of her limbs, careful as they head into the room where he door looks broken in. There's a faint trail of blood and feathers, and Nova can see some movement going on in a closet. They set Celia down, Tessa wandering off and snatching up a thin blanket. She drapes it over Celia, who is sleeping still, and Nova goes over to the door, breaking the handle in her hand. When she enters, Tomaz is on his feet, wings spread out, eyes traced with anger and defiance. One of his eyes is swollen shut, and his lip is curled over his teeth When he sees that it's Nova, his stance relaxes, wings dropping down to his sides. The eye that's normal brims up with tears, and he steps to the side showing the broken form