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"The Healer's Touch has been made legal. You have to run!"

My mind went blank. I was panicking. This didn't just affect me, but Lily too. Ash had seen her. We were doomed. 

"I- I have to go. Bye," Mia got up and ran out.

"Rita? Are you alright?" Lily asked.

"Damnit, Lily! Why did you have to heal me in the middle of the street?! I told you not to! Now we're both going to die," I shouted at her.

"I'm sorry..." 

She was sobbing. I told myself to calm down. Why was I getting angry at her? It wasn't her fault. She was just a kid.

"No, I'm sorry... It's not your fault, Lily. But we have to get out of here. Just do as I say. Stay here and don't go anywhere."

I went to the room of one of the wardens. Thankfully, she wasn't there.  It was the first day of the month - payday.

I looked inside her bag. There was a bundle of currency notes. Thank  god she didn't receive it in her bank account. I couldn't take debit or credit cards. They could be tracked. 

I took a backpack lying in the room and put the money in it. There wasn't time to go to the kitchen to take food. Besides, there would be people there. It was too dangerous. 

I went back to my dorm. I checked a drawer near my bed. The rune was there, intact. I put it into my pocket. 

Lily was sitting on the bed. She was crying. "Hey, it's fine. I'm here, nothing's gonna happen to you."I told her.

"B- but you said we're going to die.... Am I going to die?"

I hugged her. "No, Lily. I promise I won't let you die. If it really comes down to it, I'll use the Healer's Touch on you."

"No...that means you'll die, right? I don't want you to die, Rita. I love you."

"Lily, I love you too..now let's go. We have to hurry.

I ran into the corridor, holding Lily's hand.

I put on the hoodie I'd grabbed earlier. I tried to walk past unnoticed, but someone shouted, "Hey you! Where are you going with that bag?"

I looked behind me and saw the very warden I'd stolen from. Of course she recognised her bag!

"Lily,run!" 

We broke into a run, swerving around the corners. I climbed down the stairs two at a time.

Lily almost fell but I caught her. I looked behind again to see the woman a bit farther away, but still coming behind us. I was almost at the gate now. 

But my heart sank as I saw people in suits standing at the exit, probably looking for me.

Shoot!

I looked around. I could climb the walls but Lily couldn't. I looked at the people standing there. 2 men and 3 women. 

All of them looked pretty strong. And that's without their powers. I didn't stand a chance with any of them even in a one on one fight. I was trapped. The warden was almost upon us, shouting and screaming.

Ugh, I'm trying to think here! Couldn't she shut up?

I climbed the wall and sat on it. I held Lily's hands and tried to lift her. Why was she so heavy? I pulled and lifted her with all my strength. She put her one leg on top of the wall, then the other. Once she was sitting on the wall, I jumped outside. Then I pulled her legs and held her in my arms. 

By the time I put her down, the warden was telling the people in suits about us. I ran before they could catch us. We reached an intersection. We turned left. There was an alley on the right side of it. 

We ran through it, to see the worst possible thing: Perilanters. 

How had they got here? Oh my god. They were even more horrible in flesh than in the photos. One of them was a humanoid, but with claws instead of arms. 

Their flesh was rotten, eyes and veins bulging out. Their claws and teeth were covered in blood, corpses littered beneath their feet.

What do I do!? There was no way out. We tried to run back, but these monsters had astonishing speed. They blocked our way. I fingered the rune in my pocket. I had deposited mana, my magical essence ever since I was a kid in it. 

Mana was simply the energy that one had within them. It was also found as a fossil fuel. But it was a quickly depleting resource. I wanted to save the rune for later, but at this rate, there may not be a later.

I held it in my hand, trying to harness its energy. It formed as an orb in my hands. I aimed it at a perilanter which lunged at us. I released it at the perilanter with all the force I could muster. It made contact with one of them and exploded. Harmlessly. 

What?! The mana I'd been saving up for years! Useless against them. It was another reminder of how weak I was. Desperation filled me. This was it. Lily was pulling my hand, sobbing. This was the end for me. But I had to at least try to save Lily.

Suddenly, two men in suits entered the alley. The people who were tailing us! Good, maybe they could help us. But they were taken by surprise. On seeing the perilanters, one of them began shaking. The perilanters that had been concentrated at us turned towards them. 

They immediately ran back. The perilanters responded to their movement and killed both of them in one swipe. Their blood splattered on to us. Their bodies began spasming before finally being still. I forced Lily to look away. Their faces reminded me of mom, of that day. 

But this was our chance to escape. The perilanters were devouring their corpses. They were distracted. Lily was crying loudly. I covered her mouth. "Shh! Let's go!" I whispered. We were almost out of the alley when one of the perilanters saw us.

Shit. We tried to run, but it scratched Lily's arm. "No!" I jumped in front of her. The perilanter's claws slashed at my stomach. Blood started gushing out. I gasped out in pain and shock. Lily screamed. "Run! Lily,run!!" I yelled at her. She hesitated, then ran.

But she wasn't safe. She was infected. The perilanter had scratched her. I'd just delayed her death. Lily was all I had left....why her?! What did she do to deserve this?! Why was I so weak? 

I clutched my stomach, trying to heal myself. I'd nearly healed it, but the perilanter's claws were almost on my throat. My consciousness was ebbing away.

Just then, the same burning feeling engulfed me. Scorching heat, burning me. Darkness. I blacked out.

I woke up on the road. My clothes and hands were blood soaked. I felt a piercing pain and looked at my stomach. The wound was still there. But it was mostly healed. I touched it and winced, then completely healed it. 

It was then that I remembered. The perilanters! Where were they? I looked around me.  I covered my mouth. What the hell?! The perilanters were lying on the ground, covered in burn marks. 

In the whole area around me in a 50 metre radius, the trees, plants, walls, buildings, everything was burnt to the ground. They lay in ashes. It was the same sight I'd seen all those years ago. 

He had struck again.

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