Klaus had ideas. So many ideas. Most of them had no planning and were likely to end with him dead, so he figured he'd put a hold on those for now. But because he decided to be wise, he wasn't sure what else he was supposed to do.

Klaus did not have the means to break into facilities and stage break-outs. He did not know what places he should target. He did not know when raids when or where raids were planned for. He didn't know anything at all.

There wasn't any way to get solid information. He wasn't sure how to use rumors to his advantage yet. They have him something to go off of, but not enough. Maybe he should've been more friendly with the Elites when he had the chance - maybe he could have had someone feed him information that way.

Klaus settled for hanging out around areas where Hunters were known to linger. Nothing had happened while he was there. It was a good thing, but it also left him feeling useless. How was anyone supposed to get anything done when they were totally solo? Sure, he was helping out a bit, destroying every Republic vehicle he saw, but in the long run, it didn't feel like he was doing anything but costing them money.

Briefly, he considered getting in touch with that bastard, Ian. He might be able to use him to get back in touch with Aria, but apparently, Aria had told him she was already with Klaus. It might endanger her. She wouldn't have lied to Ian if she considered him safe, right?

Klaus chewed the plastic straw that came in his glass of water.

A woman met his gaze from a table over, looking at him like he was an idiot. Klaus stopped chewing, and pretended he'd been sipping his water the whole time.

Maybe he should start interacting more with the Enhanced around him. He'd probably get better information that way instead of just eavesdropping. It couldn't be too hard. He was good at making friends when he was still in school.

While he was lost in thought, the woman from earlier shoved something into his hand as she brushed by him. He looked down at the crumpled sheet of paper, half expecting a number. Instead, his own face stared back at him.

It wasn't even a sketch. It was an old photo of him. He supposed a description of him was enough to go off of, but he hadn't expected to be recognized so easily. Shit, shit.

Klaus scrambled out of his seat and hurried after her before she could get too far, calling, "Wait! Hold up, please!"

The woman stopped when she was outside the building, turning around to face him. She looked to be a few years older, but he was never good at gauging stuff like that anyway. They all probably looked a little older than they were with the constant stress. All he knew for sure was that she was pretty - eyes a startling shade of green against dark skin and brown hair that fell in ringlets around her face.

"Stop hanging out in public areas. You're begging for someone to turn you in. Do you think nobody's recognized you? They were talking about you a few tables over, they're just not willing to turn over someone to the Republic."

He was at a loss for words, caught between gratitude for the warning and feeling a little defensive. "Thanks, but I'm not sure how else to get news."

"News on what?"

Klaus gestured between them.

She seemed to understand. "You're risking your safety for news on what's going on."

"I didn't know about this," he said of the wanted flyer in his hands. "And I don't have anyone I'm in contact with to keep me up to date."

The woman still looked at him like he was a fool, but something in her eyes seemed to soften with understanding. "You shouldn't tell other people you don't have anyone looking out for you."

Right. That was probably smart. It was probably exactly why Aria lied to Ian about being with him.

He laughed sheepishly. "You're probably right."

"You should at least try disguising yourself," she said. "Hide your face or something."

"I'll do that."

She walked away while Klaus was still trying to figure out how to thank her for the advice.

He turned the flyer to ash before leaving.

Ever since, Klaus was seriously on edge. It was like living in a fishbowl. He couldn't shake the sense that someone was watching him all the time, even when he knew it was just his nerves playing tricks on him. He'd gotten jumpier than usual - every little noise made him stop, and he couldn't help but check his surroundings all the time, paranoid that someone was closing in on him.

The constant anxiety made him miss the cabin more than he liked. It felt like a betrayal to himself and Aria, but he did feel safe there once. If he went back, he knew he wouldn't feel that way anymore, but that didn't stop him from missing it anyway.

Klaus waited a few days before showing back up at that bar again, and this time he did try to blend in a little more. His favorite red sweater had been swapped out for something darker and a hood was pulled over his head. The same woman still caught his eye and hers went wide before she laughed, making her way over to join him.

"Is this better?"

"Barely. You're hopeless. Get a scarf or something to cover some of your face."

Klaus nodded. It wasn't like he could brush off any advice in a situation like this.

There were rumors about the Republic torturing random Enhanced off of the streets for information about the Elites. Klaus was sure that this was probably already happening, but word about it had gotten pretty loud when the number disappearing seemed to grow. He was hoping for information about the sort they were grabbing or where they were going missing from.

"Have you heard anything about it?" he asked her.

"They're dead," she said. "One of their families got word from some girl. She brought them the news with a pin or something."

It was stupid, a long shot, but Klaus' head perked up. "A girl?"

"Sounds like the same one from the rumors lately, but there's no guarantee. You know what people are like. They'll make things up for fun."

"What are they saying? Why does it sound like her?"

"I don't know," she said. "That's just what people are saying."

"But why? Does she look like the same-"

"I don't know, Klaus. I just told you it's all rumors. They're just saying it's the woman. No reason as far as I know. Could be that she just has dark hair or it's that she's a woman. I'm starting to wonder if she's even real. What's it to you anyway?"

"It's interesting."

"It is," she said. "You started showing up around the same time rumors of her did."

"Weird," he said.

"Weird," she agreed, but she didn't push for answers.

They ran into each other at the bar whenever Klaus was there. If she did not join his table, he would join hers. She wasn't a good source of information, but she was nice company, even if she was cynical. It was nice to have someone to talk to.

Two weeks later, the woman went missing.

Two weeks later, he finally learned her name from a bartender.

Kat.

-

Klaus started to follow rumors recklessly. It was stupid, and if Eli or Alex were around, they'd have whacked him upside the head. Aria would've probably looked at him all disappointed. At that point, he'd probably start rethinking things because something about disappointing Aria stung and the other two would hit hard enough to concuss him. But they weren't around, so that didn't matter.

There was no word about Kat specifically. One day she was there, the other she wasn't. Like Klaus, people figured she was caught by the Republic.

He started talking to people, asking after the others who vanished, but there wasn't a common thread between them. That was when he started getting reckless - following news without evidence, trailing after Rebluic vehicles whenever he saw them, and lingering outside wherever they stopped.

That was how he got himself shot near a facility.

Pain seared through his abdomen as he staggered back from the force, hotter than any fire he could conjure. He managed to pull one between himself and the soldiers shooting at him, but he couldn't keep it up, not with how his mind blurred.

His breath hitched as he moved as quickly as he could. Everything seemed to blur around him as a rush of adrenaline surged through his veins, leaving him dizzy and disoriented. The metallic taste of blood and fear lingered in his mouth.

Keep going. Keep going.

He had to stop with the fires - they were weak and they gave away his position while draining him of whatever energy he had.

Don't stop.

Klaus slowed to a stagger when his vision began to flicker, clutching his bleeding gut, and collided with a stoic young man about Kat's age in a narrow alley.

"Watch where you're going," the young man said, annoyance etched in his voice.

"I... I can't... they're after me," Klaus gasped, his words strained through pain.

The young man's gaze flicked to the approaching Republic soldiers around the corner, his expression shifting from annoyance to calculation. Without a word, he grabbed Klaus by the arm, his grip strong, and pulled him deeper into the shadows

"Stay quiet," he ordered, his voice cold but decisive.

Klaus nodded, too overwhelmed to protest, as he watched the young man assess the situation with a calm intensity. There was a certain competence in the way he moved, a quiet confidence that made Klaus think that the guy could help him stay alive.

Klaus clutched his bleeding side, feeling the warm stickiness of blood seeping through his fingers. "I need... help," he managed to say, his voice weak.

The young man glanced at Klaus's wound without emotion. "You're not going to last long if you keep bleeding like that," he remarked, as if Klaus didn't know that. "Come with me."

With surprising strength, the young man helped Klaus to his feet again, supporting most of his weight as they began to move. Klaus winced in pain, leaning heavily on the stranger.

"What's your name?" Klaus asked, trying to make conversation to distract himself from the pain.

The young man didn't answer immediately. "Doesn't matter," he finally replied, his voice devoid of emotion.

Klaus gritted his teeth in pain. "You could at least be nice enough to lie. Give a fake one."

The young man met Klaus's gaze with a cold stare. "Does it matter?" he replied indifferently. "You can call me whatever you want."

Klaus scoffed, feeling a surge of annoyance. "Fine then, prick," he muttered under his breath.

The young man seemed unbothered. How annoying.

Klaus couldn't help but draw an unusual parallel as he limped along. The stranger's cold demeanor and indifference were eerily reminiscent of Aria, but with a hefty dose of rudeness and arrogance mixed in.

"You remind me of someone I know," he managed, his voice strained. "If she was an asshole."

He was ignored again. Guess he didn't care if he was insulted. The guy was like a brick wall.

Regardless, he decided to swallow his annoyance and focus on staying upright. Klaus couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was something about the stranger's attitude that rubbed him the wrong way. Maybe it was just the situation and Klaus' blood loss making him unusually irritable. Whatever it was, he decided to suck it up and focus on staying on his feet.

"Where are we going?"

"There might be someone I know who can help."

Author's Note

My choice of hobby, course of study, and career are amusing when you consider that I am dyslexic to the point of having my own Bella Thorne ad.