The Fifth World

Bo: I don't even bother admiring the scenery. Sure, it's beautiful, but does that really matter? Does that matter when at this very moment the government could be bursting into Janine's apartment and possibly kill her and Cynric?

"Nancy!" I hiss at her, she is about ten metres away from me, her face utterly afraid. I run towards her and when she is within reach I snatch her shoulders in my hands. "What do we do, Nancy? We need to help them!"

She stops me and shakes my hands from her shoulders, "Bo, we can't. You don't understand. If we go back there you'll be killed." She looks around, mainly towards Ash Forest and then she begins to walk ahead. I angrily follow her.

"I don't care!" I say, "I don't care if I am killed. What about Cynric? What about Janine? We can't leave them there!" She is strangely calm.

I scowl at her. From the beginning all I have ever done was like Nancy, she is kind and bubbly and always smiling, now I'm not sure whether I can stop myself from strangling her. Maybe I should just manipulate her. I smile as I consider doing it.

She turns to me, abruptly, and I see a tear running down her cheek, "did you not hear me, half cast? Because of you my brother and my best friend are at the hands of the government. They will be killed when that door is broken down. Killed because they were in contact with you. If I wanted to, I could just turn you in right now. But don't fret, I won't. My brother wants me to protect you and if that is his last wish than I shall fulfill it. Hold your tongue and follow me."

I realise that I have stopped breathing. I stare at her. No more tears fall down from her eyes. She seems angry or frustrated. With a swift movement she swivels around, her blond hair brushes passed my face and then she continues passed Angelica Falls. I obediently follow.

Cynric: "What do we do?" Janine asks me.

I stare at her with wide eyes. For once I am not entirely sure. The pounding on her front door is getting louder. Swords and daggers are being stabbed into the wood; the only barrier between them and us.

"They will use their Angelican daggers, they'll open the door, Cynric!" Janine says to me.

It is true. The government knows almost every spell ever written - some of which are not entirely known by the public. They will get through that door. Or they will give up and if they give up, they will set alight Janine's apartment. Just like they did with my house.

"No," I say to her, "they are going to burn this building down to the ground." It is easier that way. For them.

"They are going to kill us?" Janine asks me.

I shake my head, "they want us to come out, once they have us they will interrogate us to find all of the information they can." I shrug, "after, they will kill us."

"What do we do?"

My eyes fly across the room. The pounding is getting louder and louder each second. I reach into my pocket and feel my Angelican dagger. If I have to use it, I will. Today everything has changed. I will be betraying my entire world here. I am betraying my people. My friends. My family. The only life I have ever known.
I instantly take Janine's hand and pull her towards the south end of her apartment. Her feet are slow, mainly because she in such a panic. Neither of us have been in trouble with the law before and everybody knows... when you are in trouble with the law, you are risking your life.
I quickly open the balcony doors and poke my head out. I hear a shooting sound, swift and fast. An arrow is shot up into the air and is fying directly towards my face. I yelp and move back, pushing Janine with me. I hear the arrow fly into the stone wall of the building, it then falls to the ground. I wish I could glower at whoever shot it at me.

"Christ!" Janine hisses. I look around for any other ways of escape. I then look at Janine. She is so afraid, "It is either here or the front door, Cynric."

"Then we will climb out of the balcony. Have your dagger in your hand. Be prepared to use it, do you understand?"

She nods her head, her long red hair bounces as her hand slips into a deep pocket in her dress. I can see the outline of her dagger beneath the fabric. I analyse her face. It is taking every last bit of energy within her to do this; preparation in raising her hand to her own kind.
I carefully look back down from the balcony, see a gathering of about four men below. They are waiting for Janine and I to appear. I look around again, see a chest of drawers in Janine's bedroom. I run towards them and quickly pull out the drawers and their contents. I can feel the shock on Janine's face but she does not say a word. She knows this must be done. I carry the chest towards the balcony. Janine helps me lift it up and over the railing. It is heavy but we manage. It clatters to the ground and just misses the Angelicans below. We hear them yell vile words.

"We must get rid of them!" Janine hisses at me. I know. I know. I know. I feel my breathing catch up, my lungs scream, my wrist ache.

"We must climb, Janine, there is no time." I say to her, I look at the front door which is about fifteen metres away from us. Several large holes are being punctured through the wood. I can see hands, daggers and swords. This is it, there is no time. "Go!" I yell at Janine.

I take both her hands and guide her over the railing. She is steady but is still in a panic and well aware of the men carrying the bows and arrows below. A hand lets go of the railing and she pulls out her Angelican dagger and looks below at the men. They are preparing themselves. She begins to move faster, my hands still on her arms and elbows just so she is guided across. I climb over the railing too and join her. She climbs across the wonderful carvings in the stone that are on her bulding. I knew these carvings were here for a reason. She struggles but gets a grip on the statues. Some of them are of fierce warriors, all Time Jumpers, Shape Shifters or Angelicans. Others are of animals such as dogs and lions and birds. I look below where the men are. They are aiming. I look back at Janine in worry.

"Faster, Janine, faster!"

I lean forward and into Janine's apartment. They have given up on the front door. The
pounding has stopped. Suddenly there is a deep and dark sound that vibrates across the apartment. It feels like an earthquake. I immediately place myself around Janine, pressing my body onto hers just so she will not fall from the vibrations. If anyone falls, it will be me. My arms are around her shoulders, my stomach against her back. She whimpers a little from being entirely afraid. I hear all of the furniture in front of her front door explode and fly in different directions. When the seconds of vibrations have stopped I hear footsteps in her apartment.

"Janine," I yell once I remove myself from her, "hurry!"

We are on the second floor of a building, climbing on the very small ledges it has - we are an easy target. I look back down again and notice that the Angelican men are not there. I narrow my eyes. They are on the ground, not dead but definitely not in good condition. One has blood running down his cheek from what I guess was a punch. The other has broken his arm. The third clutching his stomach and the fourth... well, holding his crotch in pain. It looks as if someone has beaten them.

Janine looks down, her eyes wide, "what happened to them?"

I see a shadow beside me, something jump, or actually, fly up and land beside me on the wall. I instantly turn around and see a girl. A young girl.

"Felicity," I say, I am speechless.

She stands beside me, her hands comfortable around the carvings, her feet entirely balanced. It is as if she has been a natural rock climber her entire life. She has half a smile on one side of her face as a few of her dark red hairs shield her eyes. I watch her, somehow brilliantly jump around me and across Janine. She is on top of the one storey building's ceiling beside us in a second - the building we have been trying to get to for the last few seconds.

"Take my hand," she says to Janine and holds out her small and youthful hand.

I notice Janine resist, I don't blame her. How can one trust a Thorne? But I think the more important question is... why would a Thorne help anyone other than their own kind?
My attention is diverted towards the ground where I spot a woman running towards the archers. She is dressed in black.
Namara.
She looks up at me, her eyes frightening. I watch her pick up a bow and arrow. Her braids whip at her back as she stands up straight. She holds the bow in place, draws it and releases. An arrow flies directly towards me. I feel a stabbing pain in my leg. My foot slips a little. I grunt, quite loudly. Janine gasps at me, turns to look at Felicity and immediately takes her hand. Felicity pulls Janine safely onto the ceiling of the next building with such speed and strength. Felicity reaches for me, I struggle but take her hand, just as Janine did.