Girie

The neon lights reflected in the puddles on the ground as I ran through the dark alleys. Sirens blared in the distance, threatening to catch up at any moment. I ducked into the corner of a wall and a dumpster, pulling out the directory. It lit up in bright blue, showing me the best path to take back to the hideout. The sirens were almost here. Dogs were barking and I could hear the sound of footsteps getting closer.

I stood, aiming myself at the ladder across from me. The rooftops were safer. It happened quick. A shout from the street made me turn, before the bullet was fired into my shoulder. Pain coursed through my arm and across my chest. I hurled myself at the ladder, pulling myself up as best as I could with one arm. The dogs barked from under me, but I was already gone. I rolled onto the rooftop, wincing in pain. They were going to follow me. I had no time.

Stumbling to my feet, I steadied myself before sprinting across the rooftop. The map led me through the winding buildings, until coming to the edge of the city. I was stood at the edge of an old office building right on the edge of the ocean. The instructions were clear. I backed up a bit, holding my shoulder to attempt to stop the bleeding. With a burst of adrenaline, I rushed forward, holding my nose and bracing myself for the impact.

The saltwater stung the bleeding wound, but I tried my best to ignore it. Breaking the surface, I checked the map again. Down. These crazy bastards. I held my breath again and dove under, searching with my hands for anything. A rope. It was slick and worn down, but I clung to it, pulling myself deeper through the crashing waves. My lungs screamed, and my head pounded at the sudden change in pressure, but I continued down. Eventually I reached the bottom, slamming my hand into a hard surface. My bracelet vibrated, and suddenly there were hands on me. They pulled me sharply. The world was going fuzzy, I let out some of the trapped air in my lungs, giving temporary relief. The pressure started to ease up, and I felt my face break the surface.

I was floating in a brightly lit chamber. Hair was plastered to my forehead, and several soaked figures stood around me. They were all shouting to each other, swarming around me and trying to stop my bleeding. I couldn't quite make out their words, the world was fuzzy, and soon it all went dark.

When I blinked my eyes open again, the bright lights were on me. I was dry, and it was mostly silent. Turning my head around to take in my area, it became all to obvious I was in a makeshift hospital bed. An IV was attached to my arm, itchy and cold. I sat up, swinging my feet to the floor and gripping the IV tightly, pulling it straight out. My shoulder was tightly bandaged, and as I attempted to move my arm, there was no movement. No response. Nothing. My right arm was nothing but dead weight. I stood slowly, listening for any movement. The floor was cold on my bare feet as I stumbled around, looking for any of my clothing. Nothing. Every single cabinet was locked tight. Biting my cheek, I poked my head outside of the curtain covering the rooms opening.

It was mostly silent, the occasional footsteps falling in the distance. I moved quickly, darting down the hallway. Only pausing to listen for anyone nearby. A door swung open, to reveal a woman. Her hands flipping through a large stack of papers as she mumbled to herself. Her back was to me, so I took my chance. The door led into an empty office, and she was easy to toss back inside.

She hit the floor with a loud gasp, papers scattering around her. I shut the door, being sure to lock it behind me. I stepped closer to her, and she backed up. I put my finger to my mouth. The ID card hanging from her neck gave me her name, and a way out.

"Vanya." Her eyes lit up in recognition of her name. I almost had to laugh. A girl with a name that meant butterfly so far underground. It was almost to ironic. "I'm going to get out of here alright? And you're going to help me do that." Her eyes flickered across me, pausing for a moment on my right arm, dangling uselessly.

"You're Sloane." She answered. Her tone was sly, as if she knew something I didn't. "Nice to finally meet you." She reached up to remove her glasses, and releasing her hair from a tight bun letting it flow around her shoulders. "You are absolutely right, I am going to get you out of here. You may call me Vanya if you like, but," Her smile was venomous, poisoning my very soul. "you would know me better as Dragonfly."

Realization hit me head on, she was the mole planted here in case anything went wrong in my mission. She rose, quickly discarding her scrubs to reveal the much more useful black bodysuit underneath. Keys jangled as she fumbled in the cabinets, tossing me my clothing and equipment. Without the need for any words, we both understood the plan. Escape with the information we had gathered, and return to home.

Tapping of our feet filled the hallways, Vanya leading the way. She had been deployed here for over a year, so she knew the layout perfectly. Quickly turning into a janitors closet, she began climbing the shelves to a vent cover behind a dusty box.

"How bad is your arm." A screw hit the shelf, rolling into silence.

"Immobile." I watched as she ripped the covering free of the last screws.

"Unlucky." She offered her hand to help me up, before shoving me into the vent before her. "This vent will lead us right outside, I marked the path months ago." Lines in what appeared to be lipstick pointed the direction. Movement was difficult and slow with one arm useless. Eventually the vent widened, occasionally expanding into almost mini rooms big enough to sit up in.

It had been only a short amount of time before an alarm began echoing through the vents. They knew we were gone. Vanya grabbed hold of my leg, pulling slightly back to get my attention. We settled into one of the expanded parts of the vent. She sighed and pushed the hair out of her face.

"We'll have to camp up here for a little while until this dies down, or we'll never be able to get out." I watched her. Something about her was vaguely familiar. It was then that she sighed again, heavier this time. She looked me over again, slower this time, as if I was also familiar to her. Her hands extended towards me in the small space, palms facing up. "I wasn't planning on this so soon, and especially not in this situation, but we're going to be here for a while. Put your hands on mine, I want to show you something."

It was an odd request, but I knew better than to defy someone with a higher ranking than my own. I moved my left hand over hers, and she grabbed my limp hand. A warm rush of air blew over me, giving me goosebumps over my whole body. My fingers tingled, and I could smell fire. The dark of the vent expanded, seemingly swallowing me whole.