Unlucky.

  Our little Bug has always been unlucky.

  I hope you understand now.

  I could give it anything and the story wouldn’t change,

  grieving the day I'll take the choice away,

  And now that day is today.

  They'll never understand, but they'll always fight with their heart and their mind.

  Even if I gave them a chance to choose.

  But it's too late to make that choice now.

  We climbed aboard the train,

  “So, what's the plan then? He asks.

  “Juno, I don't think there's any way we can destroy it all.” He looked at me, a scarf covering what skin the mask didn't. There wasn't anything to see in him.

  “So what then.”

  “You can still get off the train, you don't have to come with me.” he pauses thinking about his options.

  “Rich has the plague… he has months at most, Will probably does too… Laura, May, Ella… I… I’m scared. He stares through the floor, I move over to sit beside him.

  “There's not a cure, there's never going to be a cure.”

  “No, there's not.”

  “Do you think they made the wall on purpose?”

  “I don't know.”

  “What happens if they get through the wall?” We sit in silence for a moment as we both realize how easy life was a matter of hours ago.

  “I’m going to end this.” He looks at me, sadness, acceptance.

  “...ok.”

  “Are you coming with me?”

  “I don't think I have a choice.”

  We hear the sounds of the train stop, but the world isn't quiet this time.

  This place is buzzing alive and angry.

  The doors are shut tight and the floodlights fall over the woods lighting the flicks of ash and snow. The train stops, this time until morning.

  lights scan the iced metal of the tracks.

  As we jumped down between them and began moving towards the walls, there's no mistake this is a fortress now.

  And I'm sure they wouldn’t try this hard for a couple of unruly children.

  “This way.”

  Juno leads the way around the side of the building,

  Craning his neck up into the smoke he gets a foothold in one of the window beams and does so one after the other, as if he's done this a hundred times before.

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  he reaches down to help me up,

  offering me his hand.

  I take it.

  Climbing up to the top where the fire billows out, reaching down into the chimney slick and angling out towards the seating, slowly Juno climbs shifting their weight down the funnel reaching around the edge letting go, as he falls pulling himself away from the embers below. He’s safe.

  I can’t breathe, I can't see, I can't get a good grip.

  But down is the only way out at this point. I followed the shining clean metal from where the rubber on Juno’s shoes had scuffed the caked ash. I reach my hand fully underneath grabbing onto the seam with my good hand bent in on itself,

  and let go,

  trying to claw my other hand underneath for just a bit more support.

  but I got lucky falling onto the cold clean floor,

  the rooms empty and dark, except for what is left of the embers.

  I use what's left of my strength to pull myself back up as I notice light from one of the windows.

  “This way it connects to the kitchen.”

  I follow him, the rooms empty. A few lights flicker back and forth as the spotlights follow our shadows, not that they'd notice.

  “It could be in any of the storage rooms. There's one at the end of each hall once where there is the luck of the draw.”

  “Lets hope you're luckier than I am.” the door squeaks as we get back into the hall keeping our heads down and moving quickly. Voices and footsteps can be heard down the way where we were living on borrowed time and have been for a while.

  We arrive at the first door and begin gently pulling at the locks. My hand quivers and shakes.

  The cold,

  The pain,

  The prion.

  Too late to matter at this point.

  “Hello, Bug. Weevil.” We turned around to see a large burly man, Mantis.

  “No spider I see, you must bite harder than we thought. Maybe Tick is a better name for you. Don't worry, I’m not upset, in fact I'm happy you didn't take my advice. I've got big plans, you know. Here, a gift. I don't need it anymore, Weevil.”

  He tosses a key ring over his shoulder to Juno… to Weevil, as he wanders away.

  I watch him leave and every part screams to stop him.

  Juno slots the key into the door.

  Swinging open the door to see rows of beds most empty but a few holding the sick restrained to the beds, IV’s flowing into their arms the spots on their faces still visible but clearer healing and scabbing over. Antibiotics must be what's protecting them, and they knew about the prion, they were the ones that told me. What do they think they're doing, what's the plan here. Juno stands frozen staring into the room, his lungs clipping and his breath shaking. I take the keys from him and start down the hall opening door as voices continue to approach.

  Before I realize I hear Juno's voice call out for me, before I hear the other voices call for him, I turn to see Juno getting pulled into a fight.

  My teeth lock and blood fills my mouth.

  They know.

  I turn and begin to run down the hall to the next room to the next door. There's only two more. A single gunshot echoes down the hall.

  The bitter taste of life holds me, my body beginning to refuse my orders.

  Once a god to them a mere tyrant now,

  my hands begin to trash, my knees begin to buckle every moment I stand so close to where it wants me to take it,

  it becomes more alive.

  The woods, the only thing to contain it when my body can no longer.

  The rooms all begin to look the same as my mind forgets anything that mattered to me. I’ll find them. I have no choice.

  A cold room, an empty room. I follow it to a few barrels against the back wall, this is it.

  The voices flood the hall,

  Bug drags every barrel to the middle of the room toppling them over one on top of the other. The smell of salt fills their lungs then ash and the sulfur,

  the others are easy enough,

  but these humans are so lazy.

  And the earth has fought me every step of the way.

  I care not what's ‘natural’.

  But I fear it's too soon.

  I grappled hold too quickly, oh this is so childish.

  I begin crashing what hands I still have to that door.

  There are others sure but I need more time to convince them,

  it doesn't matter a mere setback,

  we are eternal unlike you little one.

  Bug pulls the lighter from there bag once white now red covered in blood

  their blood

  they pull it close hands cradling it,

  such a useless thing an empty lighter is.

  A spark