We ran for a long time. Two whole minutes. It was probably more, honestly, I didn't have a clue. Melina and Joel and Peter came with us. Yay? I don't know. No one tells me anything. Anyway, everyone was holding hands and sprinting and I was somewhere near the back holding Millard's hand. For some reason there was a horrible pain in my side. It hurt like hell. Seriously, of all times it chose to show up. I knew it wasn't the normal pain you get when you've been running a while, because this pain started back when Horace began reciting Melina's entire history for us. This pain was different than running pain, too, and it made my thoughts swirl and black spots cloud my vision. I tripped slightly and almost lost my balance, but stopped myself just before I fell.

"Are you alright Y/n?" Millard asked, sensing that I had almost face planted.

"Yeah," I said, "I'm good." That was a lie. I was actually in serious pain right now, but I didn't want him to worry. I didn't need to add something else to this list of worries that my friends already had.

We all climbed up the ladder at the tomb and out into the cathedral, and Bronwyn slammed the lid shut behind us. That wouldn't hold them for long.

We ran out of the cathedral and into the city, where bombs fell with loud, rattling crashes all around us. Smoke rose into the sky and curled in evil shapes around burned buildings and crumbled structures. It was a horrible sight.

"We need to find cover," Jacob said, "An empty house to be safe." Ah. Understandable. He grabbed Horace's arm. "Choose," he told him.

"Why me?" Horace complained.

"Because I trust your random guesses more than my own." we all do, buddy.

Horace's face scrunched in concentration, then he pointed toward a house. "That one," he said. If you say so my dude. We opened the door and went inside, and the first thing we heard was a voice.

"Who's there?" it said. A girl's voice- I think?
"You were supposed to pick an empty house!" Jacob hissed.

"I'm going to hit you very hard." Horace replied. As if he could. That kid wears a whole-ass monocle.

"We aren't thieves or Germans or anything like that!" Emma said to the voice, "Just here to take cover!" She walked forward, "We're coming to say hello, don't shoot us please!" Ah. So reassuring.

We turned a corner in the hall to see a girl holding a lantern and glaring at us. She looked to be around twelve with short, wavy hair and an angry face.

"If you don't leave, I'll scream and... My father will come running with his... guns and things!" she threatened. Bitch try me.

"Who's there, Sam?" asked a small voice coming from somewhere further down the hall.

"Only some children," the girl- Sam- replied, "I asked you to keep quiet, Esme."

"Are they nice?" the other voice said- Esme- ignoring Sam's retort, "I want to meet them!"

"They were just leaving." Sam said, glaring dangerously at all of us. Emma glared.

"We're staying here for a bit, that's that." Alright girlie. Barging into people's houses.

Sam finally seemed to give in. "Alright," she said, "But try anything and I'll scream and bury this in your belly." She held up a butcher knife. Mwahaha. Child's play.

She led us down the hall and into a large bathroom with a tub filled with water, and a little girl smiling and playing in it. I immediately wanted to adopt the child.

"This is my sister, Esme," said Sam. Yeah, I kinda connected the dots there.

"Hullo!" Said Esme, "Bombs can't get you when you're in the bath, did you know that?" she said, smiling and giggling.

"It's her safe place," Sam explained.

"Where are your parents?" I asked, my voice concerned. Sam looked away.

"Father's fighting bad people in the war!" Esme exclaimed, giggling. I love childhood innocence. I wish I had some.

"And your mother?" Jacob asked Sam.

"A long time dead." Sam replied.

Suddenly, a bomb shook the bathroom, and Esme began crying. No one was able to comfort her, not even Bronwyn.

"Esme, you're safe here." Sam said, a worried look in her eyes. Horace tried shadow-puppets, Hugh tried making funny faces, etc.

Then Enoch tried.

Which was very unexpected.

"Look here," he said, getting a clay man out of his pocket and setting it on the bathtub rail.

"Go on," he said, and the homunculi began to cartwheel around. Esme laughed and watched the clay man with interest. Holy shit Enoch, you grew a heart.

Another bomb shook the bathroom, and the entire house. "They're here!" Jacob exclaimed. Crap.

"Run!" We sprint out of the bathroom.

"We can't just leave them!" Bronwyn exclaimed. Sam and Esme looked at us with confusion.

"Yes we can!" Emma exclaimed, damn. Okay, "They'll be alright- they aren't the ones the hollows are after!"

I gave them one last glance of regret as we ran outside. "LOOK!" Someone exclaimed, "MINE! IT'S A MINE!" I looked up to see a small, slightly flat object floating down with a parachute attached, like the sponsored items in the Hunger Games. Except this wasn't a good sign.

"GET DOWN!" Jacob shouted, and I fell to the ground covering my head with my arms as it landed, almost blowing my eardrums. I could feel they were bleeding, and I had a few cuts on my face and arms. I could tell by the metallic taste of blood in my mouth.

After a minute or so, the bangs and booms subsided but I lay still for a minute, and there was almost complete silence. I didn't think I was dead. Was I dead? I don't know anymore. This wasn't how I expected dying would feel, though, because I could still feel the pain of the cuts on my face and the blood trickling down my forehead. I coughed, opening my eyes slightly. I looked up to see smoke surrounding me. I was still on the ground outside Sam and Esme's house. Glass and debris were sticking out of my sweater. That's when I realized, the sweaters were bulletproof. What a coincidence.

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Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, I will be posting more either tomorrow or later, love y'all <333

*I hope you liked the meme, I'm going to start doing those, just cuz.