Elena

I put on my clothes in a haste, gathering my hair in a ponytail in frenzy, my fingers brushing over the bruised area on my neck, making me wince. I ignore the emptiness I feel in my chest as I finish getting ready, all of my motions being almost robotic. After Seth finally left my room early in the morning, I took a shower and almost scraped my skin till blood, wanting to remove the feeling of his touch on me.

When I leave my room, I run toward the cellars where Harry and the rest are, wanting to make sure Seth is going to let them go. As I run out of the building, multiple hands grab my arms, pulling me back, almost making me stumble. A few soldiers surround me, my eyes glancing at them in both anger and confusion. Seth soon enters the circle, a smirk making its way on his lips.

"Ah, I've been waiting for you. What's the hurry, sweetheart?" He asks, raising his eyebrows.

"I wanted to make sure you'll honour your deal," I say, tugging my arms from the soldier's grip, but they won't budge.

Seth rolls his eyes. "Oh, right. Well, let's get this over with then." He motions for the soldiers to remove their hands, freeing me.

My eyes widen slightly, relief washing over me. "You're letting everyone go? We need to make sure the children have a way of transportation back-"

"Children? Nobody said anything about children," Seth tells me flatly.

I frown. "What do you mean? You said you'll let everyone go!"

"Yes, I said I'll let all the prisoners go. Prisoners as in those three morons locked down there."

"You can't do this!" I step toward him so there's barely any space between us, my eyes glaring into his. "You will let everyone go!"

"Of course I can, sweetheart," he mocks, earning a few chuckles from the soldiers around us. "You're in my territory now, this is where I give commands. You're lucky I didn't rip his heart out the moment he dared to come to my base, I was waiting for you."

"You knew I will come," I say and release a sarcastic laugh. Of course, what a better way to lure me than to use my weakness against me? I didn't know Harry has been captured before coming here, but those children were reason enough.

I won't let it happen. I won't let him keep them here, turn them into ruthless monsters with little to no remorse. I don't even want to think about all the methods used to train them, my gut twisting at the thought. Alex and I went through it all when we were brutally separated from our parents. We were six years old and our parents were deserters, people who had decided the army life was not for them, especially since mum gave birth to the two of us. 

It was a clear day, one of those where the sky was a beautiful shade of blue, with a few white clouds scattered over it. Our group had just moved away from the Eastern territory where we had been staying for as long as I could remember, finding a sanctuary in the desolate city. We found a complex of empty buildings, still standing tall and proud after years of being bombed and unkept. One of those buildings had become our new home, an empty, dirty flat serving as our shelter. It wasn't much, but it was enough, especially since it wasn't a permanent solution. Our parents had been planning to leave the country for a while now, trying to find the perfect opportunity. 

"Mummy, can we go out and play?" Alex tugged at the sleeve of her shirt, making her look down at him, a beautiful smile appearing on her lips. 

"No, baby I'm sorry, but it's not safe," she replied. "Maybe we can all go later."

"You always say that," he said with a pout. "We've been in here for days. We want to play outside."

Hands suddenly grabbed my waist from behind, making me squeal in surprise. I giggled as I looked at my dad's brown eyes, resembling Alex's. "Let them have a few minutes of fun," he said, cradling my small body in his strong hands. "Ellie will make sure Alex doesn't hurt himself, right?"

"Right," I said proudly, turning my head to Alex and sticking my tongue out at him playfully.

"I don't need anyone to take care of me," Alex complained, then proceeded to trip over his own feet and stumbling to the ground. 

It didn't take long to persuade our mum to let us leave and we ran outside, laughing and chasing each other around, skipping over the cracks in the pavement where the grass was peeking out. A few heads turned our way, the guards who had to make sure to alert everyone when danger was approaching so we could hide while our parents fought with the enemies. We were too innocent to yet comprehend the real dangers of the world, the war that was our reality. But we were about to learn it, and in the most brutal, inhuman way.

It all happened so fast. In one moment, Alex and I were chasing each other, making sure to stay close to our building like our parents had instructed, and in the other, we were lying on the ground. I remember feeling like every bone in my body had been broken, my head dizzy. Alex was lying a few metres away from me, the smoke and cloud from the grenade that had exploded near us limiting my vision. I screamed when I saw his unmoving body, calling out his name desperately.

I was in the middle of running bodies, grenades dropping all around me, gunshots whizzing past me. I found a moment of courage and stood up, running toward my brother. When a man in ugly brown uniform approached him and picked up his small body from the ground, I yelled, lurching at him, hitting him with my fists. A pair of rough hands suddenly grabbed me, lifting me up as I screamed and trashed, calling out for my parents, my yells getting lost in the chaos.  When I saw my father running toward us with a weapon in his hands, I extended my arms toward him while tears slipped from my eyes, sobs making me cough.

He had aimed the gun first toward the man running away with my brother, shooting at him, but I was unable to see if he had hit him or not. I was too busy trying to pry the mean man's hands away from me, wanting to run toward dad and seek comfort in his arms, hoping he would protect me from the horrors I had to witness. The man holding me suddenly looped his arm around my stomach while using the other one to shoot at my father, making me scream and angrily bite the skin of his arm. He groaned and instinctively let me go, my body falling on the ground, the harsh cement scraping my already wounded skin.

"Elena!" Dad yelled, running toward me. I picked myself up from the ground and began running toward him, watching as he lifted his gun and aimed at someone behind me, his gunshot getting lost among the other ones echoing all around me. I was scared, hoping my mummy and brother were okay. As I reached my dad, he quickly picked me up in his muscled arms, holding me pressed tightly against him, showering my head with kisses. "Listen to me, little one. I need you to help me and run into one of those buildings and hide. Is that clear?"

I blinked away my tears, managing a small nod. I had always been disobedient, but I wanted to help him and listen to him now, I was terrified. "Where is mummy?" I asked quietly, wanting to run to her. A flash of pain crossed over his features and he clenched his jaw, closing his eyes for a few moments as if he was in severe pain. I was trying to understand why was he like that, was he maybe hurt somewhere? Was mummy hurt? It was later that I found out she died.

He gave me one last kiss on the top of my head and set me down on the ground. "Run, Elena. Now!" He lifted his gun and shot behind me, pushing me away toward the buildings. I froze as I watched him move, effortlessly avoiding bodies on the ground and shooting at the enemies, striking them one by one. I noticed the man who had taken my brother was now lying on the ground, unmoving. I couldn't see my brother beside him, but I was hoping he was somehow safe. 

I remembered what had my dad asked me to do and my little legs started carrying me away, but a stubborn part of me kept pushing me to turn around, searching for him and Alex. My eyes were nervously trying to find his black hair and tall frame, a smile appearing on my face as I saw him with crying Alex in his arms. Instead of running toward the building, I started to run toward them, happiness washing over me despite the situation. My whole world had suddenly crashed as I saw a soldier shooting at my dad, hitting him somewhere on the side more than once, making him fall down on his knees with Alex still in his arms. Alex screamed and I ran faster, wiping my tears as I finally reached him, sinking down to my knees beside him. 

"B- blood," Alex stammered in shock as he looked down at dad's blood on his hands and attire. His small body was shaking."Daddy?" 

"Dad?!" I yelled, shaking him frantically. "We have to go, come on!" 

His eyelids opened to the half, his hand coming up to touch my cheek. I tried not to look at the nasty wounds on his chest and stomach, my gag reflex almost kicking in at the sight. "Elena, listen to me," he said. "They will take you away so I need you to be brave, honey. Always be brave. Take care of your brother, I know you can do it." I began crying, tears leaking from my eyes one after another. "Promise me you'll go the first chance you get. Promise me you won't become like them, Elena. I need you to run as far away from this as possible."

I threw my arms around him, my face hiding into the side of his neck. Alex was awfully quiet beside me, being too shocked to register any of this. When I pulled away, dad's eyes were open, focused on me. It took me a few seconds to realise there was no light in them, a loud scream ripping from my throat. I began shaking his body, calling out his name, but to no avail. I was unable to process the fact he was gone. Strong hands suddenly grabbed me and my brother, separating us from our father's body while I trashed in their arms, trying to grab his hand. The man holding me began walking away and I peered over his shoulder, watching my dad lying on the ground, the distance between us increasing. 

"I promise! Dad, I promise!" I managed to yell as tears ran down my cheeks before being shoved inside a vehicle and the door slammed shut.

"Take her away," Seth orders, making me give him a horrified look. "You didn't actually think I'd let you see him, right? I'll let them go like I promised, but this is where I draw a line, sweetheart."

"No!" I shout, fisting my hand and turning sharply, delivering a strong punch at one of the soldiers reaching to pull me away. As he recovers from the shock, I immediately begin fighting another one while the third one grabs me from behind, trying to restrain me. "Seth!" I call out, watching him turn his back on me. "Seth, don't do this!" I struggle against their grip as they pull me away.

    
Harry

It's been hours. Hours of nothing but darkness, hours of being surrounded by strong brick walls of the darkened cell in this damn base. Liam and Niall have cells beside mine, but I'm unable to see them due to walls separating us, not metal bars like the ones in Hazard. I've lost count of how many steps have I made, unable to sit down and wait for someone to release us. Seth hasn't made any attempt to talk to us yet, my anger only growing, the feeling of inability to do anything while being here making me want to punch a hole through the wall. 

When I hear a faint sound of footsteps approaching, I immediately run toward the bars, hoping it's that bastard so I can finally demand to release those children. Disappointment courses through me as a random soldier arrives, silently unlocking my cell, making me look at him in confusion. "What's going on?"

"You and your mates are being let go," he informs me flatly.

"What? He's letting us go just like that?" I ask and waste no time to walk out of the stuffy cell, seeing Niall and Liam do the same thing. We all exchange confused glances. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," another soldier replies. "What you need to do now is get in your vehicles and get the hell away from here." 

"What about the children?" I demand. The three soldiers standing in the hallway ignore me, waiting for the three of us to go. Why would he let us go just like that? It makes absolutely no sense, he must be planning something.

When they captured the three of us, they forgot to check if we had any mics with us, leaving me connected to Hazard and Tori at all times. Even now, she's waiting for my approval to send the troops at Seth if needed. They would be here in less than twenty minutes if it comes to that. I want to avoid it at all costs because the losses from our part would be great, making us vulnerable and unable to defend ourselves if someone was to attack us in that state. I know Seth or even Ace would take that chance and finish us off, leaving only the two of them in this war. Actually, three, if we count in my mother. Funny how that has managed to slip my mind for the past few hours.

A rumble of many voices yelling above us catches my attention, realising there's something serious going on outside. The soldiers exhcange worried glances, making me worried as well. If they don't know what's going on, it could mean there's some kind of attack in the progress. I try not to panic and jump to conclusions, Tori wouldn't send the troops without my permission.

Before we can exit the building, the sound of hasty footsteps can be heard from the hallway, followed by Elena appearing around the corner, holding two guns in her hands pointed at the soldiers. My eyes widen as I stare at her, shocked that she's here. Everyone falls silent for a few seconds as Elena and I make eye contact, exchanging words without actually saying them.

I grab the soldier closest to me and punch him straight in the face, barely feeling any pain in my hand since I'm used to it, surely breaking his nose and making him unconscious. Before the other two can react, Elena is standing right behind them with the guns aimed at their hands, clearing her throat to let them know not to try anything.

"Take their weapons, go on," Elena orders us as the three of us stand still, still surprised by her sudden appearance.

We make sure to take away all their weapons as the soldiers glare at us with their hands raised, unable to do anything. Elena swings the gun and hits one of them in the back of his head, letting him fall unconscious on the ground. Before she can hit the other one, Niall stops her by wrapping his fingers around her wrist, taking the gun from her.

We all look at him in confusion before he swings his hand and hits the soldier himself, his body joining the other two on the ground. "Yes, that felt so good." He moans, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Psycho," Elena and I mutter at the same time, our eyes meeting for a few moments before I frown and look away.

"Take their jackets so you don't draw too much attention to yourselves. There's a mess outside, but I don't want to take any chances," Elena says, tucking the guns under her belt.

I realise it's a smart suggestion so each of us removes our jackets, replacing them with the brown ones quickly. "Ugh, brown is not my colour," Liam comments, looking at the black jacket sadly. "I'll miss you."

"Let's go, there's no time to waste," Elena tells us and turns around, running toward the exit as we follow her quickly. I still don't know how or why is she here, reminding myself to ask her later. I shouldn't care, but I can't help myself.

When we leave the building, my eyes squint as they adjust to the light of the day. The sky is grey, indicating there's yet another rainy weather ahead of us. Vortex soldiers are running around frantically, some of them forming groups as if there's some kind of news to be told. I wouldn't care in any other situation, but anything that happens to this base affects those children I'm trying to save.

"Vortex is under attack, that's why no one stopped me," Elena explains.

"Shit," Liam, Niall, and I chorus at the same time. 

"Listen to me now, I have a plan. They keep all the newcomers in that building-" she motions toward a building settled not too far away "-and if we hurry now, there's a chance we can leave almost unnoticed. There's four of us and eighteen children, but two vehicles will be enough considering we'll take the big ones, their capacity is about ten people and they have impenetrable exterior."

"You're- that's. . . wow," Niall says.

"H?" Tori's voice comes through the earpiece. "Louis is currently in Wildfire with Ethan and guess what? He said their leader has sent almost hundred troops your way."

"What?" Liam, Niall, and I say at the same time, exchanging widened looks.

"I hope you can get the hell away from there because it's about to get real ugly," she says. "Be careful. Especially you, Niall. Remember there are diseases transmissive with blood, so be careful where you get it on you."

"I'm a pro at this, don't worry," Niall replies with a small smirk. "Time so spill some blood."

"What is it?" Elena asks.

"It's Wildfire," Liam tells her then looks at me. "Damn your mum sure did us a favour."

My eyebrows pull in a deep frown as I shoot him a glare. "Let's just go, we're losing time. I want to avoid the attack."

"Since Wildfire troops are coming from the West, everyone has probably been called to come and defend the base. That leaves the northern border with Hazard basically unprotected, so we should have no issues there," Elena says. "The only problem might be if someone follows us."

A smirk makes its way to my lips as a feeling of excitement rushes through my chest. "I've taken all the precautions, there are dozens of my troops all over the border just waiting for my command, which means we have protection in case someone follows us."

The four of us exchange smiles, momentarily forgetting about the events from yesterday with Elena. I can't let myself think about that now, especially since she's very useful to me at the moment. Elena motions for us to follow her as she slowly heads toward the building where they keep the newcomers, constantly glancing around in case someone sees us. The soldiers running past us either don't care about us or they notice brown jackets we're wearing, making none of them suspicious.

Everything is going more than great at the moment.

When we reach the building, the soldiers keep getting in and out of it, probably taking some measures to protect the children since the base is under attack. As Elena quickly steps inside, the three of us follow her, moving down the hallway which leads us to an area that looks like a lobby, with numerous passages to our left and right.

Elena wastes no time to take a turn into one of the passages and we follow her, but I throw a few looks over my shoulder in case someone is following us, noticing that all the soldiers seem to be busy and frantic because of the attack, making that a perfect distraction for us. When a soldier comes from a direction opposite of ours, Elena is quick to disarm him, grabbing his head and pulling him down while lifting her knee, hitting him in the face a few times repeatedly. She drops him on the ground and glances at us over her shoulder, motioning for us to keep following her.

"I'm so in love," Niall says jokingly, making all of us groan.

After a few seconds, we finally come to an end of the passage, a hallway with doors waiting for us. There are two more soldiers in it, but Elena and Liam quickly take care of them, their unconscious bodies falling on the ground.

"Since they've arrived recently, they haven't been sorted anywhere yet and all eighteen should be here in these rooms. Go through each room and bring them here, and I'll direct you from here," Elena explains.

"Someone should stay here and watch in case someone comes," I say.

"Oh oh, I will!" Niall exclaims, lifting his hand. And this is the guy that kills people in cold blood.

"Let's go then," I say and Liam, Elena, and I begin entering the rooms one by one. Most of them are empty, but when I open the ones filled with children, my heart almost bursts with joy at their elated faces when they recognise me.

We lead all of them outside where Niall is waiting for us, the fact we've managed to find them still not sinking in. I begin counting them, my smile growing wider with each number. Two arms suddenly latch around my waist and I look down, seeing Alice's brown eyes peering up at mine as a huge smile settles on my lips.

"I knew you'll come for us, you promised," she tells me and smiles widely.

"Hey, what are you-" a soldier yells as he comes through the hallway we used to come here, but he is unable to finish his sentence since Niall puts a bullet right through his skull.

Alice hugs me tighter and buries her face into my shirt, the scene obviously terrifying for her. "It's all good, Little Dove, don't worry." I stroke her hair, looking at Elena worriedly.

"Running now, cuddling later, let's go!" Elena says, ushering us to move. "We're heading that way, it's going to lead us to the training ground which should be empty now. We can use it to reach the garage and the vehicles."

I don't get a chance to say anything nor try to find Tommy as Elena starts running, all the children following her, leaving Liam, Niall, and I to take care of any potential threat behind. We run, saying encouraging words to the children to make them run faster and ease some of the fear they must be feeling. When we exit the building, a wide open patio with various training stations awaits for us.

"Someone needs to come with me to take the vehicles while the rest stays here with them," Elena says.

"I'll go with you," Liam says and steps forward. "I'm so going to die. . ." he mumbles as he follows Elena, leaving Niall and me to guard the children.

"Thomas?" I say, searching the small crowd, trying to find a pile of his dark locks.

"H," I hear him say and relief washes over me, especially when I see him wave at me, a small smile on his lips.

Niall starts patting me frantically, making me look at him in confusion as he points toward the building, a group of Vortex soldiers running toward us with weapons in their hands. Adrenaline shoots through me as I take out another gun, aiming them at the soldiers at the same time Niall aims his.

"Everyone stand back!" I order, glancing at the children who have piled close to each other, fear in their eyes. The oldest one can't be more than fifteen, my heart clenching at the thought of one of them dying.

"Oh, and you might want to close your eyes and cover your ears, okay?" Niall tells them gently then focuses on me, his gentle expression gone. "Aim at their heads."

When I look at the approaching soldiers and weapons in their hands, I realise in what kind of danger these kids are, anxiously glancing to the side, hoping to see Elena and Liam coming with the vehicles, but there's no sign of them. "Everyone, run!" I suddenly shout, motioning for them to go in the direction where Elena and Liam went in hopes they'll meet them halfway.

Just as they begin running, Vortex soldiers start piling on the patio as Niall and I shoot at them one by one, their bodies dropping on the ground. Bullets start whizzing at our direction and we break into a run, trying to avoid getting shot. Relief washes over me as I see Elena and Liam driving toward us, the tires screeching against the cement as they stop the vehicles, jumping outside and starting to usher the children inside.

I shoot behind me as I run, noticing how the number of soldiers has increased, their guns being directed at us as Niall and I shoot at them. I watch as Elena suddenly runs toward us, throwing a bomb at the soldiers chasing us, an explosion erupting a second later. Some of the children scream and I turn around, seeing more dead bodies on the ground, only a handful of soldiers left.

"Go, drive!" I order Liam as I watch him usher the kids inside the vehicle, slamming the door shut and circling around it to enter it. He presses the gas pedal and drives away and I internally pray he reaches Hazard safely. I anxiously glance at the other vehicle filled with the remainder of children.

Elena makes her way toward me, grabbing my shoulder as her chest heaves, her hazel eyes looking into mine. "Harry, you and Niall go, I'll stay and take care of them, they're not allowed to kill me."

"You're not coming with us?" I can't help but ask, a frown on my face being in contrast to what I really feel.

"I never planned to come," she replies. "Just go!" She pushes me toward the vehicle and I reluctantly start running toward it, looking at her over my shoulder as she looks over hers, both of us keeping eye contact with each other for a few seconds.

Niall is beside me in seconds, hitting the soldiers one by one as Elena takes out another bomb, throwing it at them, buying us enough time. A bullet suddenly grazes the skin of my leg, making me stumble and fall to the ground, a grunt leaving my mouth.

"No!" Niall shouts, immediately crouching down to help me up. "Nope nope, not happening, you're not dying, come on!"

I lift my head, watching as Alice jumps out of the vehicle and starts running toward me, my eyes widening in horror as I glance behind me, seeing a few Vortex soldiers shooting at us while Elena is busy trying to take them all down, some of them going past her and making their way toward us.

"H!" Alice calls out, a worried expression on her face as she approaches me as fast as she can.

"Alice, no!" I yell as I stand up, starting to run toward her, waving at her to turn around as bullets fly through the air. "Go back, Alice go-"

I watch as her small body suddenly falls on the ground, a blood stain forming on the front of her shirt.

. . . .

a/n: earlier update because you're all amazing, thank you for reading! x