Prologue

Wyatt:

Wyatt stole a glance at Lynn and then the big billboard just above their heads. It was the news, and everybody in the world was probably watching it right then. Wyatt's fingers twitched with the urge to clasp Lynn's hand tightly, tell her that she wasn't alone—that they were all feeling the same thing. But at the same time, he guessed that they weren't. Lynn had known Ailen Koene since they were fifteen. They had met in high school, dated for some time, but then decided to break-up at seventeen when Ailen began to develop his international game, Elite Purge. Then, four years later, at twenty-one, Ailen Koene, CEO of the international gaming industry had gone missing and was confirmed dead with no trace of his body to be seen.

It was a sudden loss for Lynn, and even more so now.

"You good?" Wyatt drawled.

Lynn sniffed, using a finger to wipe away a tear that was threatening to fall before responding with the simple gesture of a nod. He knew what that indicated, anyone who was familiar with Lynn would know by now that if she didn't reply with her voice when asked a "yes" or "no" question, she wasn't okay. It was one of her quirks that Wyatt could never really understand, and probably would never. She was quiet in general, but even more so when she was upset or excited. You could never really tell what she was feeling, even if you had spent your entire life with a girl like her.

"We should go," Wyatt said airily into Lynn's ear when Eli beckoned to the three men who were violently pushing their way through the dense crowd.

Carpshooter's were on the crew's tail again—as always.

Wyatt let out a sharp sigh. The carpshoter's were maneuvering through the parade of people who were praying for Ailen Koene—and fast, he wouldn't have time to wait around for Lynn.

"Move out of the way!" one of them called, practically toppling over a young lady.

Lynn sucked in a breath, without replying, she didn't even open her eyes as the two stood amidst the crowd of people. Glancing around, Wyatt had noticed that Eli and the rest of the crew had already dashed off, leaving just the two of them behind by themselves.

"Listen, I know your grieving, but Lynn, this is not the time. If we get caught—if we get caught like last time, our debt will be even greater. We have to move."

This time, exasperated, Wyatt didn't wait for Lynn's response, instead, he grabbed her by the arm and began dragging her through the thick crowd of people.

"Wha—hey!" she snapped. "What are you doing?"

Wyatt sighed, releasing his grip off of her arm and turned to look at her sternly. "Well, you weren't moving, and whenever I spoke, the only response I received was silence. Listen, Lynn, there are carpshooter's on our tails. Everyone else is ahead, they've probably already run one block out by now. Let's go," he hissed at her imprudently.

Without another word, Wyatt began to push people out of his way to get through the crowd. Only seconds later did he glance back and to his, relief, Lynn was still trailing closely behind him, both determination and sorrow written on her pale face.

Wyatt and Lynn ran a couple more blocks out until they managed to catch up with the rest of the crew who were waiting at a four-way stop intersection.

"I think we managed to lose them," Wyatt said whilst clutching his side. There was a burning pain just below his ribcage from the run.

"What," Kyle panted, both hands on his knees, "took...you guys...so damn long?"

Wyatt and Lynn exchanged looks, both still panting from the sprint. "We got stuck—some people didn't let us through," Wyatt answered reluctantly, his eyes still completely trained on Lynn.

Lynn gave him a grateful glance. Thank you.

Kyle nodded skeptically. And then turned to Lynn. "Lynn, are you alright? I remember Ailen—"

"Kyle," Wyatt shushed under his breath.

"Oh," Kyle replied, "right… Well, crew, let's get a move on, we should get back to the BIG. I left the groceries we bought in the morning there and I'm starving now."

Wyatt laughed, throwing his arm over Kyle's shoulder. "As always," he chuckled.

The rest of the crew nodded and they began down Second St. to the BIG that earlier on in the year, they'd named B16, because it looked like the word "BIG".

Wyatt could barely remember the very first time that they had found it. It was so long ago that it didn't even seem to matter at this point. All that he cared about now was what that he was now in a better place than before he'd found the crew.

Abruptly, a devastating sight met the crew's eyes and a sudden, striking pain entered Wyatt's chest. His arm dropped from Kyle's shoulders and began to sway lightly by his side in a numb lullaby.

No... is all Wyatt could think as the tears began to cloud his vision. His body grew heavy and all that he could feel was complete, utter numbness coursing through his bones.

It's happening again.