I backed into the darkness of the room, hoping that whoever opened the door wouldn't find me. Though I had been determined to get out earlier, I wanted to do it on my own terms. Thinking about getting led to wherever the guards were planning to take me made a pit in my stomach.

It would give me the higher end if he approached me in the darkness, anyway. My eyes had adjusted fairly well after being in here for so long. If I could catch him by surprise and somehow knock him out, then I could escape from there.

The plan immediately wilted as a hand clutched my arm and started dragging me out of the room. I slid my feet across the floor and tried to pull away from the guard's grip. His hand clutched onto me tightly.

"Where are we going?" I blurted.

The guard didn't look at me. I didn't think that he was even going to respond until he said, "Leaving - now. Hurry and put this on. Good."

The man practically threw a bag over my shoulders and pulled me over to the side of the helicopter. I looked at the unconscious body lying next to my feet. "What-"

The guard opened a door. I staggered back. The sight of trees blurring into the green from under me brought my head to spin. I wanted to step back further. The guard put his hand on my shoulder and lurched me forward. I looked back at him nervously.

"Jump."

"I don't want-"

"Jump."

I looked down again. My heart skipped rapidly. I could feel the guard's stare digging into my back. With a sigh, I bent my knees.

A groan came from behind me. I turned. Another man had replaced the other's place. The guard who had been with me before was now lying on the floor, breathing steadily. I look away from him, shocked. One moment he was standing, and another he wasn't. What was going on?

"Are you okay?"

The guard tore off his glasses. I couldn't help but smile when I saw his eyes. I felt like I hadn't seen the familiar, friendly eyes in what felt like forever. "Marcus..."

Marcus closed the door. My head felt clearer now that I couldn't see how high up we were. I slid the bag off of my back, allowing it to drop right next to the motionless guard. Marcus led me over to the very front of the helicopter, where I found Hiram to be the pilot.

"I'm going to drop off in the empty plain nearby," Hiram told Marcus. "You can unload and then we'll head out."

We all sat in silence for a few minutes. Hiram did as promised and landed in an empty field. I sat back in my seat. If I would've walked a little further, would I have ended up out of the forest and here? Had I been too impatient? Had I just needed to wait?

Marcus and Hiram left to the back area. I stayed in the front. From the window I saw them dragging three or four unconscious guards into the grass. Once they had emptied the helicopter of anyone else, the two men came back in. They approached me.

"What...what's going on? Why am I here?" I asked. "Why are you guys here? I mean I've never been more glad to see you guys, but...wait, why do you have that?"

Marcus had slipped a blade out of his belt. He walked towards me. I couldn't help but back away.

"We were ordered to take you," he responded. I backed up further. My back was pressed against a wall. "But Hiam and I had other plans. We're here to get you out of this mess, Kat."

"But first," Hiam added, "we have to take out your tracking device."

That was news to me. Tracking device? When did I get that? I couldn't recall ever getting one before entering the Eradication. I got one before the Pestilention, sure, but that one had left through my bloodstream quite some years ago.

"How do you think we were able to find you so easily?" Marcus asked. I shook my head. I didn't really think that they had found me easily. I mean, how long had I escaped for?

My stomach grew heavy. Two days. They had found us in two days.

"The one from The Pestilention never turned off," Hiam said. "If you want us to not get caught from here, you have to let us help you get rid of it."

I didn't know what to say. I didn't know what to think. They had been able to track me for two years now? No wonder Marcus had been able to find me so easily during the car chase. No wonder they had managed to find people who hadn't competed for twenty or even thirty years.

The trackers had never left. We had never stopped being runners in this horrible game.

Marcus stepped behind me. With a sigh, I pulled my hair over my shoulder so that the back of my neck could be accessed. Marcus warned me in advance before cutting my skin. I gritted my teeth. The pain came sharply and yet dialed down to a throb in a few seconds. Marcus pressed a material on my neck before standing in front of me.

Between his forefinger and thumb was a small, hardly visible object. It was immersed in red, but I remembered seeing it years ago before it had been placed into my neck. Shivers crawled down my spine at the memory.

Marcus opened a window and threw the object. It hid amongst the blades of grass. It was like it had never existed.

After the we lifted back up into the sky.

It was quiet again. I tapped my foot anxiously. What would've happened if I would have just waited with Aster and Tilly? Would we have made it out of the woods? Or would we have made it into a helicopter like the one I was in right now?

Aster and Tilly. I had forgotten. "Marcus...are my friends here, too?"

He shook his head. My heart sank. "I'm sorry, they were picked up in another 'copter. They're probably at the Pestilention right now."

"Then we have to go get them."

The words slipped out of my mouth before I could even think. It seemed reasonable, though. Marcus has managed to get me out of this situation. Surely getting Aster and Tilly wouldn't be any more difficult.

Hiram looked at Marcus. Marcus shook his head. "No. We're going somewhere else."

"Where?"

I didn't get a response. I shifted around in my seat restlessly. There was something that they were hiding from me. I chewed on the inside of my lip. If they weren't going to tell me where we were going, then I felt just as much of a hostage with them as I did with the other guards.

"Fine." I stood up. Marcus looked at me, startled. "I'll go get them myself. I know where the parachute is, after all."

"You're not going to do that."

He sounded shocked. He acted like I actually wouldn't.

I started walking to where the guard had led me earlier. The pack was still resting on the floor. I picked it up and slinked it around my shoulders. I didn't know how far the Pestilention was from here, but surely the helicopter had alleviated a couple of miles from my trip. I could be there in a few days if I walked fast enough.

"Kat, stop."

"I have to get them," I said. "I have to."

He shook his head. "It's unsafe. You're going to die out there."

"I mean, I've told myself for quite some time now, and look where I am."

"I'm being serious."

"So am I." I turned towards him. Marcus was a good inch away from me. He had put his glasses back on, potentially trying to scare me into changing my mind. It wasn't working. I was just as motivated to leave with or without his shades. "I'm going. Now."

Marcus's fingers curled into fists. He began walking back and forth, huffing under his breath. I crossed my arms. I had seen him angry enough times to know what he was doing. He was trying to calm down. It usually, however, didn't work, and it left me in the position of dealing with his tantrums.

He opened his mouth to speak but decided against it. Instead, he clutched my wrist and started dragging me back towards the front. I growled in frustration. "Let me go, Marcus."

"No," he seethed through his teeth. "We're not going to the Pestilention. We're going to stick with my plan so that we don't have to worry about death or my stupid job ever again."

I thought back to what he had told me years ago. You have to help me get out of here. "Please. You can go, but I need-"

"If you go back there, then I'll go back, too," he said. We had stopped walking by then. "Even if I don't want to, something will make me go back for you. I can't have you ruining my plans like this, Kat. Let me be free. Let me be happy again."

My heart ached for Marcus. He was truly an imprisoned man awaiting his freedom. I had, though doubtfully, promised him this years ago. I had sworn that I would help. This wasn't how I expected to do it, though. Aster and Tilly were facing who-knows-what back at the Pestilention, and I was just going to leave? There was no way that I could do that.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

Marcus's eyes glowered. He released my arm. Then he went to the front and shouted to Hiam, "Change of plans. We're going to the Pestilention."

A small smile escaped my lips. Marcus didn't even look at me as he stormed past me and into a separate room. He slammed the door shut behind him.

Sighing, I went over and sat next to Hiam. He was pressing something into a screen. It recoordinated his destination. A large dot blinked. That must've been where my friends were.

"Am I doing the wrong thing?" I asked. "Going to save them, I mean."

Hiam shook his head. "Something told me that you would do this. And I think that Marcus knew, too."

I looked down at my hands. If he did, then why was he acting the way he was? He knew how much Aster and Tilly meant to me. How could he find what I was doing irrational?

Hiram looked at me. "Go talk to him. He has probably calmed down by now. Besides, I think there's something he wants to tell you."

I stared at him, confused. What would Marcus need to talk to me about? It was funny to assume that he wanted to talk to me after what happened, anyway.

Even with the doubts, I stood up. The curiosity was tugging at me. Hiram didn't tear his eyes away from the sky. I gave him a slight smile before leaving and heading to the back room.

Happy Wednesday, everyone! Sorry that this was a day late. There were details that I had forgotten to add yesterday so I postponed until I could complete it. And here it is, in its full beauty! :P

Why's Marcus so angry? What's the plan that he's continuously mentioning?? Find out in chapter 4!

If you enjoyed this chapter, make sure to vote, to comment, and to share this story with a friend. Stay amazing.

This song is called Timshel by Mumford and Sons. Enjoy!!