//Gang PoV//
"Aaaaah!" One by one, they fell down the chute into a trash pile, escaping the Enforcers.
"What the hell happened back there?" Claggor demanded angrily as he sat up, his breaths coming in heavy heaves as the scene replayed over and over in his head.
Mylo shook his head, staring at the ground in shock now that they had a moment.
"I can't believe we left him..." Mylo's voice cracked, disbelief lacing his words.
Everyone's gaze slowly shifted to Powder. She didn't know what happened and glared back. Her face was still stained with tears.
"It wasn't my fault!" Powder emotionally shouted back. "I didn't pick this job!" She cast her gaze down at the trash, "Orion is still alive..."
"I don't know," Claggor whispered in dismay. "I don't know if anyone could survive that much blood loss."
"You saw what he could do! That was magic!"
"It was?" Vi croaked, believing it somewhat after what she saw. "It hurt him."
Powder defiantly pointed at her forehead. "It can heal too. He healed your forehead Vi!"
"Can it heal those..." Vi trailed off bitterly when she recalled his wounds.
They exchanged uncertain glances before Claggor spoke up.
"Powder, you're saying he's like those stories we've read? The ones Topsiders warn everyone about?"
"Yes, but he's not bad though!" Powder sniffled. "He knew the explosion was going to happen and saved Vi!"
The gang fell into silence. For once, they couldn't argue against Powder. Mylo glanced at her before his gaze returned to the trash. He said nothing, guilt etched across his face as he pulled his legs in close.
Vi's fists clenched. She wanted to scream, to turn back, but Orion's words kept echoing.
Run.
It wasn't betrayal, it was his logic. His sacrifice. But knowing that didn't ease the pit in her stomach. Each of them carried the same guilt in their eyes.
They hadn't abandoned him; they had obeyed him. And that truth stung even worse.
Vi, doubtful as visions of his bloodied face replayed, croaked, "Do you really think he can save himself?"
Powder opened her mouth before uncertainty took hold.
A small breath escaped her, a feeling of realization dawning on her, and disillusionment from her ambitious hope.
They could see her expression, her imaginary bunny ears, falling with depression and her shoulders slumping.
"We should move..." Vi's voice struggled to carry any resolve or determination. "...Vander needs to know."
"Isha needs to know..."
--------------
//Caitlyn PoV//
"Jayce? Jayce!" Caitlyn stumbled to Jayce in the hallway, who had collapsed after the explosion. They had just returned from a local shop after picking up more tools for his experiments.
Her head and ears rang from the blast and Jayce looked injured. Stumbling closer, Caitlyn could hear shrieks and cries of sorrow coming from inside.
'Those sound like kids? A robbery?' Caitlyn thought, slowing her pace and moving cautiously. Her eyes fixed on the door in case someone ran out.
When Caitlyn reached him, she whispered with frantic worry, "Jayce?" as she touched his neck. A small breath of relief escaped her when she felt a pulse. Her eyes scanned him, searching quickly for injuries but finding none, just soot and small cuts from debris.
Inside, the chaos continued. The cries of children grew louder, piercing her ears, making her wince with sympathy, and causing her heart to skip a beat.
A loud rumble shook the ground beneath her and she protectively hugged Jayce's unconscious body.
"NO! GET OFF ME!" Anguished cries echoed out from inside.
Caitlyn breathed out and tried wrapping her arms under Jayce's shoulders, pulling. Despite her efforts, he barely budged.
Her gaze snapped to the blown-out windows, catching hazy figures retreating through the smoke. Caitlyn pulled harder, managing to jerk Jayce away from the door.
"Orion!" A tearful scream echoed through the air, "It's my fault! Let me go!"
"--We need to run!"
She let go of Jayce, standing up abruptly with raised fists.
'I'm not letting you get away! I won't fail twice!'
Caitlyn gritted her teeth, the memory of the Cultivar flashing in her mind. Her injured family, the helplessness, and watching the criminal who paved the way for it to happen escape.
Jayce was hurt. Was she going to let this continue?
With a sharp inhale, those haunting childish voices from inside echoing in her mind, she stepped forward and kicked the door open.
She tensed, ready for a fight if they rushed her, but nothing happened. She scanned the room, fear heavy in her heart with her body shaking from the adrenaline and tension. It was a choice she regretted through fear and embraced with determination.
Caitlyn couldn't believe her eyes however. Charred walls, shattered debris across the room, and at the center, a horrifying sight.
'He's the boy!'
The brown-haired boy from the menagerie and the rooftop lay in a pool of blood, most likely his own.
'UGH' Caitlyn vomited, tears blurring her vision.
Her gaze flicked to the shattered balcony, piecing together the horrific scene. Breathing heavily, she trembled and took a hesitant step closer to the bloodied figure sprawled on the floor.
Caitlyn froze and stepped back in shock as his head turned, his bloodshot eyes locking onto her. A faint, knowing smirk tugged at his lips before his eyes closed again.
'He's alive?! How? With all this blood he should be dead!'
Caitlyn stared in disbelief at the multiple injuries covering his body.
"Someone help!" she shouted, crouching next to him, her skirt soaking in the blood pooled around him and her hands putting pressure on one of his wounds.
'I can't let him die! We need answers!'
The door, creaking closed behind her, burst open as if to answer the call.
Marcus, an Enforcer officer, and two other Enforcers charged into the room but came to an abrupt halt. Their eyes widened in shock at the scene before them. Marcus's gaze flickered with sorrow between Caitlyn's shaken but determined expression, and the bloodied body on the floor.
"He's still alive," Caitlyn stammered, her face pale and voice trembling. Her arms shook as she applied pressure to the boy's side, hands covered with blood.
"Did you see anything?" Marcus asked, his expression hardening as he gently gestured her away. "Step away, Kiramman. Let us handle this."
Caitlyn obeyed, rising slowly and stepping aside without a word.
"I didn't see anything. We experienced the explosion... I saw shadows and they called out a name, Orion."
"Is it this boy?"
"I don't know..."
'Why was this happening again,' she thought bitterly, her gaze flicking back to Jayce as Enforcers attended him.
Raising her hands, Caitlyn felt her heart pounding through her chest. Her vision blurred and shook, unable to contain herself as she vomited again, body shaking.
Caitlyn barely registered the hands that gently gripped her shoulders, guiding her away. Her mind was fogged and the delayed shock finally overtook her senses. The vivid horror replayed in her mind over and over, drowning her thoughts away.
Marcus waved to an Enforcer and commanded, "Get her out of here."
An Enforcer walked past Caitlyn and reported, "He's alive but unconscious."
Marcus nodded sharply and pointed at the boy.
"Find a doctor or an alchemist. This one's alive and we need answers."