Joshua:
Everything had shattered for me. I was sitting on the road holding my friend’s dead body. He was gone. My mate was gone. I sat there feeling useless. I could not do anything for them.
Then I saw the curly hair Clementine. The crusader who not only saved herself and her squad mates but everyone she had ever been surrounded with. I began to wonder if I was ever going to be better than her.
It struck me when I watched Yorick, Haiden, and Troy step out of the subway station. It hit me hard, but I realized they had Oriana with them. Since she was not with them now, I suspected she was hiding in the subway. The Alphas seemed like they were back in their bodies. Their emotions looked raw.
I already carried Jack by then, and I slipped away from their sight. Once Mira and the others started to scream that I was gone, I went back into the subway station and locked the door from inside.
However, when I looked around, I did not see Oriana. She was supposed to be here.
"Oriana," I shouted, clenching my jaw. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢
"Come out. I will not hurt you. I need your help," I told her, taking deep breaths.
"Listen, I am not one of those, I just wanted power," I explained, but she was nowhere around.
Then I realized that if she was not here, she must have gone ahead in the subway because I had not seen her walk out. I began to carry Jack’s body again and followed the empty area, moving as fast as I could. His body had become stiff, cold, and heavy.
After about ten minutes, I reached the end. When I reached the door, I saw it was locked from inside.
So where was Oriana? Had she come out? Had they left her here? Had they killed her? What had those three Alphas done to her?
These questions burned inside me until I heard blood‑curdling screams from the other side of the door, and I realized it was Oriana. They had locked her out.
Without thinking twice, without even considering what I might find on the other side or what kind of creature had terrified her enough to scream like that, I put Jack down and opened the door.
As soon as I stepped out, I saw strange winged creatures dropping from above and attacking her. They were only scratching her for now, but they had hollow eyes and long beaks, almost like bats but human‑sized.
"Get away from her!" I yelled, pulling out a knife as I rushed toward them, slashing at them and making them squeal. As they did, they flew away.
I looked around briefly and noticed the area was far darker than the north we knew. This side of the north looked burned down. Everything was charcoal black, or maybe it was just the effect of the night. There were no lights, nothing. This part looked like a place struck by disaster, unlike the other part.
"Joshua, please untie me. Please. It is unfair how they left me here tied to this pole," she cried. She was scratched up and bleeding, and patches of her hair were missing from her scalp.
I took a deep breath, looked around anxiously, and then moved toward her. I untied her, and the moment I did, she collapsed to her knees.

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