Amara was the only one thrown into a state of confusion. Everyone else seemed to know what they had to do. Lennox had already been swept away.

Amara hovered unsurely amidst the group of people, not knowing what to do. She was eventually swept along with the flow of people. She could hear Lennox's voice in the distance, "Gather whoever you can!"

"Amara!"

Amara turned around, and saw Owen waving his hand wildly, and Azusa was clinging onto the other. Amara tried her hardest to reach his outstretched hand, going against the flow. They managed to lock fingers and Amara relaxed a little.

"You okay?" Owen panted.

"Yes." Amara replied. "Where's...Lennox and the others?"

"Don't worry." Owen told her, squeezing her hand reassuringly. "He told me that if a situation like this ever happened, to look after you immediately. Lennox and the others will be fine."

Amara felt unsure, but she forced herself to believe in Owen's words.

Lennox already had faith that Owen would have gotten through to Amara. Then he had only one more thing to take care of.

"Ken, do me a favour." Lennox mumbled.

"I know," a voice behind his right replied.

"Thanks."

Everyone had assembled right in front of the gates. They could see the huge group of Inhumans approaching.

"Helmets on!" Lennox yelled. "Make sure your suit is right!" He could sense the anticipation and nervousness from his group.

Their faces came into sharper view. Their grey skin stretched over their bones, highlighting every bone structure. Many were halfway between hair fall. Their eyes were bulging but empty and soulless. Their gaping mouths displayed deteriorating teeth. The longer you are Inhuman, the worse your body becomes, because you seize to care for it. Eventually, they would turn to dust, but nobody knew exactly how long it took for something like that to happen. It was merely a prediction.

But the most tell-tale signs were the strange marks around their eyes. The right eye had three blood-like flesh marks around it, two below and one above, and the left eye only had two below it. These were important because usually when a person  starts Converting, they usually don't look too different, except for injured. But these flesh marks allowed them to be set apart.

The moment they got close, Lennox knew that it would be difficult. This was a very, very large group. It felt as if there were three Inhumans to each one of them. The very first lunge had bloodshed.

Amara watched this all with wide and fearful eyes. "No... what's happening..."

Owen was holding his arm up to prevent her from proceeding any further than the entrance to the base. He wasn't allowing her to go to the gate. Amara was oblivious to all the shouting for reinforcements, and soon enough, she couldn't tell if the person who fell was one of them or of the Inhumans.

Staring at the bloody, gory mess in front of her, she couldn't stand it. Her heart was beating out of her chest, as if it was desperate to get away from there. To get far, far away. Her brain played a muddle of memories, none of which made sense. But the end, she could see her own lower body, bloody and broken.

"STOP!! STOP!! PLEASE STOP!!" Amara screamed, as she pushed past Owen's arm and was about to run at them, but Owen seized her around the waist. "LET ME GO! STOP! LET ME GO!!" She was kicking and screaming, scratching and struggling.

"Amara, it's fine! Calm down! You can't go there!"

"Let me go! Please, let me go!" Amara sobbed. "I don't want to! Let me go!!"

"No! I'm not letting go! You'll die!!" Owen shouted, trying to get through to her head.

"I won't!" Amara yelled at the top of her lungs. "Stop it!!" She was pulling his hair, kicking, scratching, doing everything she could to loosen his grip, but Owen was much stronger than her. No matter how much she protested, resisted, he wasn't letting go.

But too much of his attention was lost on Amara. He forgot the younger Azusa, who was clutching the hem of his shirt, not willing to look. She raised her eyes just a little, and the sight seemed to kill her from inside. She broke free from the tiny group, running as fast as her little legs would go.

"AZUSA!!" She didn't hear Owen's yell. She didn't care. He reached her first, still clutching Amara with one hand. He grabbed her forearm. "You can't go further, Azusa!"

"Shut up!" Azusa screamed at him. "He'll die!! Jake will die too!"

"You can't go!!"

Azusa wasn't willing to argue. Instead, she sunk her teeth into Owen's arm, and he instantly let go. She ran away.

"AZUSA!!"

Lennox was lost in the mess of bodies. He couldn't tell whose was whose. A body threw itself at him, knocking him over, and Lennox caught the face with the flesh marks. He held his spear up in front of him, as the Inhuman clamped it's teeth around it. This dissatisfied it, as it was craving flesh, not the metallic flavour. It pressed on, and Lennox did all in his power to push it off.

"Fuck this!!" he yelled finally. Getting both his legs under the body and kicking upwards, he swung his spear backwards, throwing it off him, and somebody else managed to stab it through it's head.

"We can't have you dying, sir," the person said, who turned out to be Jake.

"Like hell I will!" Lennox roared, taking out three with single slash.

"What can I say," Jake shrugged, taking out one that flew over his shoulder, with the intent to bite into it. Lennox got involved with the group behind the three he had just killed. The downside was that they would keep losing numbers, both to death and to Inhumanity. However the Inhumans when killed could get replacements. They can gain, while Lennox and the others could only lose.

Jake turned around, and was instantly overwhelmed. Body after body of many nameless, faceless people threw themselves at him.

"Jake!"

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Jake assured, but they kept coming and he wasn't getting any recharge time.

Then, suddenly, a much higher voice screamed as it came closer.

"JAAAAAKE!!!"

"Azusa?" Jake looked around, but it was that moment that cost him. One Inhuman lunged at the same moment and sunk it's teeth deeply into his shoulder. Jake froze, wide-eyed, and Azusa stopped feet from him.

"Hey, Jake!" Another scream resounded, and he lifted his eyes, which were slowly showing things in a more bloodshot view, as if his eyes were filled with tears of blood.

The second scream was from Alexis. She struck down one beast, and turned to approach him, but somebody locked their arms around her.

"Oy, let me go!" Alexis screamed, and hit the end of her spear against the head of her captor, only to be met by the sound of metal. One of her own. Jake's knees buckled and he fell over, clutching his throbbing head. The flesh around his eyes burned.

"I can't let you go, Alexis," the man holding her told her.

Alexis recognized the voice. "KEN! Let me go! I can still save him! Let me go!"

"You can't. Stop struggling."

"LET. ME. GO!" Alexis tried to use a strong voice, but as she watched Jake's crumpling form, her voice cracked, and tears started to come. "Please, Ken, I beg you! Let me go!"

Ken almost obliged, but his strong arms were still locked firmly around her. No matter how much he wanted to, he shouldn't let go. No matter how much she pleaded, he shouldn't let go.

"PLEASE!"

"YOU'LL DIE!"

Alexis froze as the impact of what he said hit her. Ken closed his eyes. Suddenly, a much softer voice spoke up, and Alexis looked around wildly. The voice was also cracking.

"Jake..."

Azusa took small steps towards him.

"AZUSA! STOP!" Alexis screamed. "Ken, stop her! Stop her! If I can't, you can! Stop her, Ken!"

Azusa was blind and deaf to them. She could only focus on the person who she was walking towards. His crumpled, breaking form. He mumbled something.

"Azu...sa."

"Yes!" Azusa sobbed, now breaking into a run, but just before she could throw herself into his arms, he grabbed her shoulders. All the beasts who were targeting her were instantly met with Jake's back.

"Azusa!" Alexis shouted yet again, and Ken threw her back, and she was caught by Day. "Day, Azusa!" Alexis screamed, but her eyes weren't making sense.

"Azusa," Jake mumbled again, and Azusa felt scared.

"...what?"

"Azusa," Jake whispered, and then he looked up at her, and Azusa could see his twisted, inhumane expression. The tell-tale flesh marks around his eyes. He looked insane. "RUN AWAY!!"

"Huh?" Azusa didn't make any sense of it.

"RUN AWAY!" Jake was shouting, and shoved Azusa away from him by her shoulder. "RUN AWAY, AZUSA!"

The Inhumans were sinking their teeth harder into his flesh, with a stronger desire for the little girl.

"RUN AWAY!!!" Jake yelled, shoving her his hardest, one last time, and Azusa fell back and was caught by Ken. He hoisted her in his arms. He began running in the opposite direction, Azusa cradled carefully in his arms. Jake was still shouting his last advice or her, drawing more and more Inhumans to him, biting into him, pulling him and fighting for him. Azusa couldn't bare to look any longer, and had her head burrowed in Ken's shoulder.

She finally looked up to catch one glimpse of him, and instantly wished she hadn't. Lennox could only turn to the scene at the worst moment. Alexis falling to her knees as Jake's body drowned in the mess of bodies.

***

"Alexis."

"Yes?"

"What was the total this morning?" Lennox asked expressionlessly, as he stared over the large congregation of people below him. They had gathered whoever was healthy enough in the Assembly Room. All the various expectant, sad, or expressionless faces were turned up to him, as he looked right back from the balcony. The only other people on the balcony apart from him and Alexis were Day, Nita, Amara and Owen. Pedro stood in the shadows.

"2,992." Alexis replied.

"And what is the total now?" Lennox asked, with an equally expressionless voice and face as before.

He could sense Alexis hesitate a little before telling him.

"2,782."

Day gritted his teeth as he stared at his feet, fists tightening. His face was hidden behind the shadow of his bangs. Nita, who had her arms folded and was trying to remain nonchalant until this moment, couldn't hide the pained expression on her face as her fingers gripped her arms, and she closed her eyes.

Amara covered her mouth as her face displayed utter horror. She couldn't comprehend how terrible it was. Seeing the reaction of others made it much worse. Her other hand tightened around Owen's, who had his lips pressed together and he looked down as tears silently splashed out if his eyes. The only people who gave no reaction whatsoever and managed to keep straight faces were Lennox and Alexis. They stared silently ahead.

Lennox addressed the crowd. "If you're injured, make sure you get yourself treated. Otherwise, please stay in your rooms. We can't afford to be off-guard."

The crowd started moving out of the exits, and Amara stared at only the backs of Lennox and Alexis, whose faces she could not see.

"Lennox and Alexis are amazing..." Amara whispered. "They're so calm."

Day and Nita turned to look at her, and Day gave her a pained smile. "You're too naïve, Amara."

"Huh?" Amara was confused, and she felt Owen's hand trembling.

"Those two may seem calm and collected," Nita said plainly.

"But at the end of the day, they're still just two teens trying to keep humanity alive." Day finished.

***

Lennox was in his room. He didn't even bother to turn on his light. Day, his roommate, wasn't here right now. Lennox leaned against the door, and then exhaled deeply. His lips trembled, and he closed his stinging eyes.

Don't let anyone see your tears.

His body suddenly jerked, and his legs gave way. He felt nauseous, clamping his hand over his mouth. Black spots appeared in his vision.

Again...

He keeled over and blacked out.

***

"WEAK! WEAK! WEAK!" Alexis screamed at herself, ignoring her angry tears, punching a wall in her room repeatedly. "YOU'RE SO FUCKING WEAK!!"

She saw blood in the wall. Her knuckles had started bleeding. She sunk to her knees as she gripped her hand, knuckles burning. The scene replayed in her head, and she looked at her broken, bleeding knuckles.

"Really..." She gave in to the tears, as her knuckles continued to tingle as she pressed them harder and harder, feeling the pain and hating it, but not crying out. "You're so weak..."

***

"Alexis, what happened to your hand?" Lennox asked her the next day, glancing at the white cloth wrapped around her knuckles.

"Nothing, nothing, I'm fine." Alexis replied plainly, putting more records back in their respective shelves. "What about you? Did you get enough sleep? You could take a three-night trip with the bags under your eyes."

"So-so." Lennox replied conversationally.

The door banged open, to reveal a panting Amara. She looked up at them. "Lennox! Alexis!"

The two of them stared at her, and she continued to look at them. Then both of them gave her calm, reassuring smiles. Smiles that said it's okay.

"Good morning, Amara."