Ali didn't waste any time running back to the house to grab her bags. Her baby-her little Abigail was tucked tenderly under her arm as she sprinted. How could she have been so stupid? She should have escaped the second she realized what Abigail carried on her wrist-something that quickly became more than just a burden.<br/><br/>Someone pounded at the door. The babe was startled. She whimpered lowly as Ali slung the next bag on her arm and tried to comfort her, whispering reassuringly to her words that she wouldn't be able to understand. The pounding persisted.<br/><br/>"Look, we just want to talk to ya for a sec, alright?" one of them called from the other side of the door, "We don't want any trouble. Boss will get angry..." Ali bit back a reply and carefully got out of the window just as the door had busted down. She ran for her life and Abigail's.<br/><br/>"Hey! Get back here! I mean it, lady!" the man shouted after her. And pretty soon it wasn't just one man. Oh, it was quite a crowd that had arrived in such little time. Ali was beginning to tire quickly with the weight of the luggage pulling her down. She wanted to cry, but she couldn't do it now-not while her baby was in danger.<br/><br/>Oh, if only she had John back in her life! Then this could have gone down so much easier and they could have been living happily together in a life outside a city that remained ignorant against the truth of its tyrant.<br/><br/>As she made way towards the boundary, she finally saw them-three people waiting for her. They weren't dressed in military uniform, but somehow, she knew she was going to be able to trust them.<br/><br/>And she did. They journeyed to their campsite successfully and during it, they had only made one stop-to bury the child Ali had wanted to save.<br/>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br/><br/>"Look, fellas, I don't see what the problem is!" He inched closer to his fellow labor workers as they moved away from him. One of them called an emergency number. "It's me, guys! Ya know, big 'ol Cairo?"<br/><br/>"Yeah, well, you're not one of us now," one of them hissed. Cairo continued to stare at them with pure puzzlement.<br/><br/>"I'm not sure what you"-<br/><br/>The door abruptly opened, revealing a few men in black and they were carrying pistols in each hand.<br/><br/>"Alright, boys. Which one of you is it? This better not be some kind of a cheap prank." And then all the workers pointed to Cairo. One of them raised his fist so they could see. Now he understood.<br/><br/>"Y-You guys..."<br/><br/>One of the men moved forward, all the while examining the fresh mark on his wrist.<br/><br/>"So it's you this year, eh?" he smirked, "Krov's got a nice place set up for ya, buddy. Come with us and we'll get"-<br/><br/>And Cairo kicked him in the chest, knocking the gun out of his hands, and the man collapsed into his fellow soldiers. He then proceeded to escape the warehouse and made it to the outskirts where four people eagerly waited his arrival.<br/><br/>"Oh boy am I glad you guys are here!" he grinned at them once he had arrived. A blond woman shushed him and grasped his hand and began to lead him through the boundary and to the site.<br/><br/>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br/><br/>Krov was in an unexplainable cheerful mood.  He was humming-actually humming- to himself as he filed the paper work on his desk until one of his soldiers intruded. He smiled at the soldier almost a little too sweetly.<br/><br/>"Well? I take it that the hunt went nicely this year?" Complete silence. The smile soured. "...Right?"<br/><br/>"Uh... sir," he said nervously, "I'm afraid I have some bad ne"-<br/><br/>Krov slammed his fists onto his desk, not even caring if the impact bruised them or left a dent.<br/><br/>"AGAIN? You mean to tell me that you couldn't perform such a simple task AGAIN?"<br/><br/>"B-But sir, it's not our fault! We just"-<br/><br/>"You just what?" Krov asked more calmly. He leaned closer toward his soldier. "You couldn't even catch an INFANT! Surely, you must not be doing anything wrong, right?" He stared more intently at his soldier. "RIGHT?"<br/><br/>The soldier had no choice but to bow.<br/><br/>"My apologies, General Zondas." Krov sighed aloud and relaxed his shaking hands.<br/><br/>"Just...bring me the sacrifice next year-and I expect no screw ups!" The soldier nodded obediently and left the room.<br/><br/>Krov rubbed his temples. He was sure there was a migraine coming on. Curse those sacrifices for getting away... They had caused enough trouble around the town than imaginable! The Gods were angrier than ever. He was sure of it! That was why day to day for some years this town was under more chaos than ever. Criminals were finding ways to break free, people were dying off due to extreme fevers and the winters were becoming harsher.<br/><br/>But that was okay. Once he'd finally rid a sacrifice (if not all of them), the town would finally be free to live-under his rule, that is.