"We need to move, now!"

I gulped. My eyes fixed on the truck that was coming ever closer.

They had come for me.

They had come for the Resistance.

I led them to the Resistance.

I had a feeling that this time the VISORs wouldn't be so kind and protect me. This time they were coming in for the kill. I registered Rachel tugging on my arms, the other scouts had rushed over. Up on the skyscrapers, the snipers were waving to us, shouting. We couldn't hear them. They gave up and left, taking cover. We needed to warn the others.

"Run! Tell the others! The WalkTalks aren't connected!" Rachel commanded.

"Yessir," the scouts replied in unison.

And we fled.

This time our footsteps were mismatched, no longer in sync. My breathing was irregular, my stomach in my throat. This was the end.

The truck would have entered the construction zone by now. Dirt tracks would have turned to rough tarmac and the truck would be weaving its way round skyscrapers and debris. The weight of the VISORs would provide momentum and the automated driving eliminated any chance of collision. The VISORs were much more developed than their prototypes. They were perfect.

It reminded me of their choice to protect me when I was falling from the structure on the side of a skyscraper. The VISORs may have been perfect but they weren't cheap and destroying three must have been pretty damn expensive. It would have reduced the cost of re-educating me, my place at the new facility could have gone to someone else. The government may have had a policy on murder but a freak accident? Surely, it made more sense to let me die. Surely.

There was something not being said, another piece of the puzzle. For some reason, the Lower Authority at the very least needed me for something, something big as expense was very much against prosperity. Money was not easy to come by, but it was worth wasting on me?

Behind me, I heard the screech of tires and knew deep in my gut that it was too late.

Then came the whir of an engine and the honking horn.

A robotic voice crackled over the speaker of the truck:

"Stop running. The Higher Authority has commanded you. I repeat stop running."

Rachel and I were at the back of the reconnaissance group, just a corner in front of the truck know. I had to make a decision.

Just as the truck came round the corner of a skyscraper, I launched myself on Rachel and pulled her behind one of the ubiquitous piles of debris everywhere. She looked at me in surprise but had the sense to keep quiet.

Half a second later, the truck zoomed past us and stopped about ten metres ahead. Right where we would be if we had kept on running...

The others weren't so fortunate.

Peering round a pile of bricks, Rachel and I observed as the VISORs piled out of the truck and tased the other scouts. Guttural screams emanated from deep inside them as they were rounded up, hand-cuffed and forced onto the truck.

I watched them as they walked towards their demise, I didn't help or protest. I acquiesced and let VISORs destroy more honourable, good people's lives. It was my fault.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven...

Seven lives, seven people, gone forever.

I wished them dead, that would be the best outcome to what I just witnessed.

"Is there any hope?" Rachel asked, her eyes wide and vulnerable.

I shook my head and I knew better than anybody.

Then it dawned on me.

"Seven people," I said, growing more hopeful by the second, "I counted seven people."

Rachel looked at me in disgust.

"They were good people," she hissed.

"No," I replied, "you're missing the point. There was ten people in total. Ten people in our group! They missed someone else. Another scout is alive!"

"You're right," Rachel said in utter astonishment.

"They must have been behind us, the VISORs would have seen them if they were ahead."

"Who was ahead?" A voice came from behind us.

"Amir!" Rachel cried.

They reunited but...

There was something else nagging at me.

The truck, just then. The VISORs were equipped with top of the range sensors which made for very elaborate 'sight'. They must have seen Rachel and me dive into the debris. It wasn't exactly graceful. But then why didn't they come for -

"Verity!"

In unison, Rachel and Amir shouted at me, bringing me back down to Terra.

"Wha-?"

"We need to go and warn the others still!"

"It's too far, the truck will have made it to them by now. Trust me, I know the area better than anybody. It's too late-"

All hope was lost but I begged for their forgiveness until I was interrupted by a crackle and then some nearly inaudible words.

"Commander Stone? Commander Stone, do you copy? We are in the tunnels. I repeat all demolition, rescue and backup are accounted for. Over."

I looked at Rachel.

They were... safe?

Rachel held the WalkTalk to her lips. Amir and I were deathly silent.

"This is Commander Stone. I - I - I'm sorry but seven scouts were captured by the VISORs and-"

She choked back a sob and I felt my heart crack. I couldn't bear to see her in such pain.

Amir took the WalkTalk.

"Three of us are safe. We will return to the city tunnel now. Over."

***

The mood in the tunnels was somber. No one spoke, only waited for us to arrive in the depressing gloom. No Skyfallians had been rescued and instead we had lost seven of our own. Seven. People. Gone.

I looked only at the ground but felt everyone's stares burning a hole through my skull. They blamed me. I could feel it. I blamed myself too.

It took a full forty minutes to walk all the way back to my compound but it no longer felt like home. I didn't deserve a home and if it wasn't at risk to everyone else, I would have turned myself in and gone back to the facility right there and then.

But I was a coward and didn't do that either. I walked on in silence and didn't meet anyone's gaze for fear of what I might have saw lurking in the depths of their honest eyes.

***

When the doors creaked open again, I felt neither hope nor joy but it was immense fatigue that drained me. I wanted nothing more than to go to sleep. Rachel and Amir both dispersed along with the rest of the crowd.

Suddenly, I was alone again at the doors of the compound. I turned round to face them. They were too big for me to open but also sturdy enough for me to take my frustration out on them. I banged and kicked and screamed. People probably heard but I didn't care. So I bullied the doors until I felt numb.

When I turned round again, Lucas was there.

"I came to assign you a room."

"You could have stopped me, you know, damaging your property or whatever."

"It's not my property and you looked like you needed an outlet."

"It's my fault."

I sank to the floor and hugged my knees; Lucas same and sat beside me.

"It's not. These things happen and it's part of the fight. If you wanted to escape to paradise then you should have gone elsewhere. This place is every bit as arduous as the facilities. If you don't want to stay here, you are free to go."

I looked at my father's eyes, though they were blurred by a tear in my own.

"Why did you come back for me?"

"You have a fire inside you, Verity. It reminds me of someone I used to know. A long time ago though, now, let me get you a room. I imagine it's going to be just as hectic tomorrow."

There was something about Lucas that just made me feel better. His words just hit home and I stood up.

He looked at me expectantly.

"I'm ready."