[IC] Elysium

[FaithfulMuse]

The woman listened to what he had to say. What he said was nothing but true, and she was very aware of that fact. She had been a selfish bitch, and she wasn't going to deny that. But if she wasn't, she would get killed. If she didn't do just what she was asked, her screams would be the ones echoing through the halls to remind everyone about what happened if they were being a failure, a disappointment. She wouldn't justify her acts towards the two of them or pretend to be heroic, because she wasn't. She was just trying to save her own skin and to keep her child alive. That was all there was to it, no fighting for a greater cause or greater good. But at the very least, she was able to understand and accept that.

When Matt apologised, she laughed. She simply laughed at him, his excuses, after the sound of boots filled the place. As she laughed, she turned around and continued walking again. "You're only sorry because you did those things to someone who can still be of use, aren't you? If I were useless to you, you would've left me to die or rot away here, or whatever would've happened for as far as you cared. Because that's just the way you are. Selfish. But so am I." She spoke as she walked, leading them to a safer place, away from whoever was chasing them.

[MatthiasAngel]

Matt rubbed his head. He was getting too worked up. Less drama, more moving. Selfish, eh? Well they could all just be selfish together then. She had a point, though. If she hadn't been helpful, or if she had fought them, he would have made a run for it. He felt a twinge of guilt. As desperate as things were, he should know better. Knowing someone's life is in your hands and then walking away was no longer an option. It never should have been.

He watched the halls as they hurried forward. Matt had finally run out of ideas, besides the needle in his belt, and was hoping that one of the two women had something in mind. The sound of boots was starting to fade slightly but it was clear that they wouldn't be able to outrun their pursuers if it came to a sprint. He reminded himself that there were cameras everywhere. Hopping through the front entrance to freedom wasn't going to happen. He sighed quietly in frustration and followed on. The woman was no longer hiding things from them. At least he could trust her.

[FaithfulMuse]

The woman looked over her back, looking at Freya as she walked. "Do you still have that gun you stole?" She asked, at which Freya nodded. "Good. When idea those men gets too close, you shoot them. Not in the head, neck, or anywhere else that would have fatal consequences, but in the leg. If you hit decently, it shouldn't kill them, but make it harder for them to walk and follow us." Without waiting for a response, the woman turned around and continued to lead the way, heading for the emergency exit. Freya simply nodded and placed her hand onto the gun, ready take it and shoot if necessary.

[MatthiasAngel]

The trio headed swiftly forward. Another turn brought them to an EXIT staircase. Matt watched uneasily as the cameras in the hallways swiveled, following their movements. Why hadn't they been caught yet? Something was very wrong. Whoever was in charge was either having trouble communicating with the guards or was planning something, and he doubted it was the first. A trap of some kind, maybe? Fortunately for him, it didn't matter. This was the only way forward.

They reached the exit door without incident. Matt forced it open with his shoulder, letting the two women pass, before throwing one final glance behind him and closing the door. They weren't on the ground floor, apparently, as the scientists was leading them past several floors. She stopped on a flat labeled "1A" and nodded at the door. Matt slid up beside it and looked through the thin pane of glass. One long corridor.

"Step through that door and make a right. At the end of the hallway is an emergency exit. An alarm will sound when you open the door, though, so you have to be fast," the woman explained quietly. Matt nodded and looked at Freya. "You have the gun. Do you want to go first?"

[FaithfulMuse]

While Freya remained silent most of the time, she was glad she hadn't had to use the gun again so far. Not exactly because she felt so bad about hurting people -which, with a job as a rogue wasn't an uncommon thing, after all-, but because she was inexperienced with guns, she had maybe used a gun once or twice in her life until that day, simply because she preferred to use other weapons, ones she felt she was better with and with which she had more experience. Guns just weren't her favourite; daggers were, and she would get hers back as soon as she would get a chance to, but now just wasn't a good moment for that. She would have to come back later when things had calmed down, make sure nobody would see her and get away.once she had retrieved her daggers.

When Matt asked her to go first, Freya nodded and quickly made her way outside, soon followed by the scientist and Matt, although she didn't watch over her shoulder to be sure about that. First she wanted to get outside, and she could always worry about the health and safety of the other two later. As soon as she had opened the emergency door, an alarm sounded accompanied with red flashing light, informing the guards. And after Freya stepped outside, she kept running, doubting the idea that the guards would just give up once the three of them were outside.

[MatthiasAngel]

Matt followed as fast as possible, holding the scientist by the hand and half-leading, half-forcing her through the exit. They were in a wide alley, facing another tall building. The alley dead ended to the left and extended far out towards what looked like a street. He had no idea where they were, but it was definitely a small city. Now what? He scowled in frustration when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw an escape.

A shuttle bus station. They cycled every 20 minutes or so. If they could make it to a bus, they would be safe. He crouched down, checking the Exit door for a camera. He sighed. A heavy white camera was swiveling back and forth. He waited until it was facing the other way, then whispered "Let's head for the bus stop. If we can make it on one..." he paused as the camera swiveled again. "...we can get out of here. We can blend into a crowd of other innocent people. They wouldn't......dare shoot us. Would they?" he asked the scientist.

[FaithfulMuse]

"I don't know if they will or will not shoot. You might be their subjects, but each of us is easily replaced, in the blink of an eye. But I don't see any other options, so we have to take the risk, it's not any different than the rest of your journey will be, both of them have the possible outcome of you dying. As for me, I'll die anyway once they caught me, it's only a matter of time until they do." The scientist said, looking at Matt. She had little hope for the situation, and was still made at the both of them. They had pulled her into this mess. If it hadn't been for them, she'd still be living a peaceful life.

Freya looked at them. "We need someone to go first and test it when a bus arrives. Whatever happens to that person, will tell us if it's safe or not. And considering I ran outside first last time, it only seems fair to me if someone else goes first this time." She said, looking at the bus station for a brief moment. There was a possibility they would get shot, and Freya wasn't exactly eager to go ahead and test it, putting her own life at risk for two strangers.

[MatthiasAngel]

"Okay. I'll do it," Matt replied. Acting before he could talk himself out of it, he rushed for the freedom of the nearby street. He checked his back, watching for cameras, snipers, anything. To his surprise, no one appeared. He wasn't sure if he should be relieved or even more worried. How could these people let them slip out so easily? Especially with the scientist. She would be a liability by now. His head was spinning with questions and fears, but he forced them out of his head and made for the bus station.

He slid into the crowd immediately, mumbling an "Excuse me" to the nearest person whether they deserved it or not. The station times were printed on a large sign, and, reading it quickly as possibly, the next bus would should up in around seven minutes. It would be the longest seven minutes he had ever endured. His heart dropped as he realized he had no money. How would they get onto the bus? Maybe the scientist had some? It was the only thing he could think of. He looked back towards the exit at the two women and nodded, holding up seven fingers. He immediately ducked back into the crowd, taking a seat beside a woman and child.

A newspaper was lying unused on the bench and he snatched it up, feigning interest on whatever was happening on Page A4. The woman kept checking her watch and Matt used every chance he got to sneak a glance at it. He was going to be on that bus. The women would have six minutes to decide if they wanted to join him or try something else and hopefully bring some money. His wallet was...still in his pocket! Matt smacked himself in the head, immediately regretting it as his hand touched the wound. He had a few dollars at least and a credit card. Enough to go wherever this bus was going.

[FaithfulMuse]

Freya looked at Matt and nodded. Seven minutes should be enough time for her to get to the bus station. Starting to walk, followed by the scientist, Freya made sure to look as normal as possible, as if nothing strange was going on. Blending in with the crowd Freya noticed the wallet of the man in front of her, and realised she had left her own wallet at home. Still, she would have to pay the bus somehow... reaching for the man's wallet, Freya carefully took it out of the pocket, took just the amount of money she needed and put the wallet back again.

"Hey, you can't just take someone else's money and-" the scientist started, but didn't finish her sentence. Curious as to why she didn't Freya turned to look at her, just in time to see the bleeding hole in the chest of the scientist before she fell to the ground with a dull thud. Freya cursed softly under her breath and ran the remaining distance between her and the bus station, soon reaching Matt.

"The scientist has been shot, and I don't know who did it or where they are, but the bus better gets here soon." She told Matt, looking at him. It was strange that they hadn't tried to shoot him, yet they did shoot the scientist, but she couldn't care to wonder about that at the moment.

[MatthiasAngel]

Matt turned pale. "She WHAT? She's been-" he stopped, trying to avoid attracting attention. He rubbed his eyes and gritted his teeth in frustration. They were so close! How could this have happened when they were so close to escape? He took a deep breath and opened his eyes.

"Wait, is she alive? You said she was shot, but is she alive? We have to go back." He go out of seat, pushing past others at the bus stop to head for the alley. He glanced down it and saw the woman, flat on the ground in a pool of blood. He could see from where he was that she wasn't breathing, but she might still be alive. He needed an ambulance. Matt turned around to call for help when he saw the bus arrive. He could either escape now and leave the woman, or he could save the woman, if she was alive, and risk death again. Sweat rolled down his face and he considered his choices. He had less than sixty seconds to save a life. Freya or the scientist?

No. He couldn't save them both...on his own. An idea sparked in his mind. A crowd of people were waiting for the bus, less than ten feet from the alley. He ran back and grabbed the nearest person, a male teenager listening to music through earbuds. Before he could object, Matt pulled him to the alley and pointed him in the direction of the woman. The teen's face went pale and his mouth dropped open.

"HEY! SOMEONE GOT SHOT!" he screamed, gesturing wildly towards the alley.

By the time the crowd had turned and the police had been called, Matt had taken his seat on the bus, two rows from the back. He smiled slightly. There was no way the killer would open fire on a group of civilians standing ten feet from an open street. He hoped that the woman would make it, but for now he had other things to worry about. Such as Freya. He glanced around to see if she was on the bus as well.

[FaithfulMuse]

When the bus arrived, Freya quickly paid the driver for wherever the bus would go to and took a seat. She had no idea if the woman had actually still been alive, but she doubted it. The woman had been shot in the chest, which could easily be fatal and with little time to save her life. What Matt had done was a good thing, but still, Freya doubted if it would make any difference.

Freya couldn't help but feel guilty about it. All of this had never been the scientist's own choice, she hadn't chosen to help them in the first place. They had forced her, and as a result she was badly wounded, if not dead, and it was all because of them. If it hadn't been for them, she'd still have her job, be safe and have no worries, but now she might not even be alive anymore.

Sighing, Freya pushed the thoughts aside and got up to see if Matt had been able to get back in time, soon finding him. "So what will our next step be?" She asked.

[MatthiasAngel]

"I only have one lead. His name is Seth and he's an old friend from high school. He was studying medicine and biology and was going for a four-year medical degree in a university. Smart guy. Straight A's. Maybe he can help." Matt tapped his belt, making sure the syringe was still there. "Hope I can find him. If he's still in school, we should be able to track him down at the university."

He glanced at Freya. "If you have a better plan, I'd love to hear it, because finding Seth and asking him to cure me isn't all that promising, because I honestly don't even know where this bus is going. Did you happen to see the route?"

[FaithfulMuse]

Freya looked at Matt and shook her head. "I do not have any friends who could help, nor do I know anyone who could be helpful on this matter. I suppose that our best chance is to find that friend of yours and see what he can do for us." She said, pausing a moment before answering his other question. "I am afraid I failed to see which route this bus will be taking. When I got on the bus, it seemed to be of little importance." She then added. What she had been thinking of, had been her own safety, if Matt hadn't managed to get on the bus as well and guilt. There had been little concern left for other things a moment ago.

Sitting down, Freya hoped that this friend of Ryan would be of any use. Except for her husband, there wasn't really anyone Freya trusted enough to let her perform anything "medical" onto her. She was a rogue, the people she met shouldn't be trusted when it came down to such things.