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One

The frigid air scrapedfor a second wind Stopping wasn't an option Their breath beat at ht me, I'd be dead

I turned the corner, running down an alley Footsteps echoed behind me Faster I wrenched two trashcans back into their path A ainst concrete I focused on the mouth of the alley and prayed for a miracle

A black sedan screeched to a stop in front of s ached with the exertion, but I just ed to launchlurched every joint in my body

Keep running Find the light Red means life

Behindthe heels the Castor had forced me to wear for the Prime's birthday celebration I couldn't spare the precious moments to rid myself of the torture devices

Finally, a speck of red appeared in the distance All thoughts of sore feet and desperation evaporated The beckoning light glowed from the porch of a squat, run-down house that looked more like a prewar crack den than a haven for the lost

I kicked up h the pain Salvation drew closer

My pursuers' harsh breathing echoed off the burnt out shells of buildings and trash- strewn streets A weathered poster bearing my own face mocked me fro the bottoan, the hated words I'd repeated so often on radio broadcasts and in speeches to grim-faced prisoners: "Blood will make you free"

Not a soul lurked in the shadows Most huht refuge in the burnt-out cities, but if any atching me from the darkened s, their survival instincts precluded the in Troika business After all, my pursuers wore the telltale black unifor syraphic promise of pain

Not far now If I could just--

Pain exploded on my scalp My head whipped back with the force of the fist jerking back on the ponytail My feet snapped out froround The agony made me wish I'd hit concrete instead

It was Sergei, one of the Prihthis precious riding crop "Got you, bitch" His eyes burned like hot coals Fangs flashed as he panted for breath "Noe can add evading arrest to your list of crimes"

His partner doubled over, trying to catch his breath I didn't know his name, but he had the wild eyes of a lowing red light on the front of the house, now only twenty feet away "She almost made it"

"Al ri" I gritted my teeth and waited for my opportunity "Call headquarters and have them send a rover to retrieve her"