Nick fell backwards against the tree, gasping for air as his hands clutched his throat. Had he really just been shot? He didn’t feel any pain, none whatsoever. Maybe he was already dead and his limp lifeless body was down on the ground below him, devoid of a soul, whilst he was now that said soul. That was the only possible explanation he could think of. He’d felt the cold metal pushed into his neck, he’d heard the gun fire and seen the spray of blood. He knew he hadn’t pulled the trigger.

“You alright?” asked an unfamiliar voice, causing Nick to swing around and see who was there.

A few feet away stood another guard, identifiable by the distinctive uniform, a gun in his right hand poised ready to shoot. Nick figured he wasn’t dead after all, but soon would be. Maybe in the heat of the moment he’d had an adrenaline rush and had managed to turn the gun onto his attacker. No one in Endwise had ever done such a thing. Violence towards each other or anyone in authority was severely dealt with, thus keeping life there relatively drama free.

“I…” Nick began, still not knowing what the hell was going on. It was then that Nick noticed the guard who’d attacked him, lying crumpled on the ground, his life’s blood drained out of a gaping hole in his neck and now puddled on the rough ground. “I didn’t mean to…he was going to kill me…”

How was he going to get out of this situation? He saw a stick on the ground and went to grab it, any weapon was better than nothing, even though he wasn’t trained in combat like the guards were. A bit of broken off tree was no match for a gun though and Nick didn’t hold out much hope for his survival.

“I know, that’s why I killed him” the guard stated, matter of factly as he lowered his gun.

“You killed him?” Nick asked incredulously. Why would a member of the guard kill one of his own? Nick scratched his head in confusion. “Why would you do that?”

“Because I’m on your side” he replied and placed the gun on the ground and kicked it away to show he meant no harm “see?”

“But…you’re a guard?” Nick asked in confusion. Why would a guard turn on one of his own kind? It just didn’t make sense.

“I’m also one of the rebels; you’d be surprised just how high up the ranks we have managed to infiltrate the authorities” the guard said rather smugly “big changes are coming, you mark my words”

“How do I know I can trust you? That you’re not just getting me to admit to shit I don’t even know?” Nick queried suspiciously. He wished Emma were there, maybe she knew this guy. He was claiming to be a rebel after all!

“Does this mean anything?” he pulled out a red rose petal from his trouser pocket. A withering rose petal, but nevertheless it was still the symbol Nick had come to know as the rebels’ emblem. “Where’s Emma?”

“Erm…she’s with AJ...my friend” Nick replied, still bewildered to be talking in such a manner with a guard. A guard who seemed to be on their side.

“Ah, the flashing red?” the guard guessed. “Then lead the way”

“No need” came the sound of Emma’s voice from nearby. “So he sent his guards this far out? How far away are the rest of them?”

“Good to see you Emma, I was beginning to get worried I wouldn’t find you when the tracking device stopped working” the guard embraced her in a big hug, clearly glad to see that she was alright, Emma soon softened and returned his hug.

“Good to see you too Evan” Emma pulled away and held out her hand “but maybe this is the reason the trackers don’t work”. She showed him the clear mark which had once been blue and smiled. She hadn’t anticipated the Luminary sending out guards with tracking devices, so to know that they no longer worked this far away from Endwise was something of a small victory.

Evan took his black gloves off and examined his own hand, marvelling at the sight of it without his timer. “You must be right” he agreed, turning his hand in the early morning sunlight to make sure he was really seeing what he thought he was seeing.

The guard, Evan, filled them both in on what was going on. He was going to go back to the Luminary’s people and tell them that this way was a dead end, that there were no traces anyone had passed through.

“What about him?” Nick looked at the dead man on the ground “what are you gonna say happened to him?”

“There are a lot of wild animals out here Nick; he could’ve suffered a fatal attack…or a nasty fall. Don’t worry; I’ll have a plausible explanation for them all. And it’s not as if the Luminary will care; we’re all expendable as far as he’s concerned” Evan replied bitterly.

They moved the body into a patch of thick overgrowth, covering him up as much as they could and then kicked dirt over the blood to conceal it.

“I guess I should head back” Evan said “don’t want them getting suspicious and sending anyone else this way”

“Stay safe” Emma hugged him once more.

“Yeah, you too. Good luck, I hope you find what we’re all hoping you find” he pulled away, nodded his head to Nick and then walked away.

“Do you really think the Luminary will believe him?” Nick asked.

“I think so. Evan’s a guard; he had to undergo training to gain that position. The Luminary only employs those he considers trustworthy to be guards. It’s just a good thing that Evan is such a convincing liar!” she laughed.

Nick wondered for a moment just who Evan was lying to.