Translucent (Solangelo AU)

6. Don't Let Them Find You

The rain came down in giant buckets, soaking through every single layer of clothing I was wearing and making it stick to my skin. Suddenly, the fact that I was wearing white irritated me even more, if that was even humanly possible. My wet hair kept falling into my face causing additional droplets of water to drip down my back and turn my bones to ice. Soggy shoes pounded on cement, matching the loud drumming of my heart in my chest. Yells came from every direction, but they were muffled by the downpour. Hopefully the unfortunate temperature was as much an obstacle to them as it was to us. We were, quite literally, running out of time.

I glanced towards where Will ran in front of me and tried matching his pace; he was a much better runner than I was. Although, he appeared to be in the same situation as I was. His wavy hair that still glowed yellow was curling around his neck and his skin glistened in the streetlights. I tore my gaze away, fighting the burning in my veins.

The air only grew foggier as we willed our legs to carry us, the density making everything harder to see. Alas, trying to navigate your way through a storm while being chased by an army of men isn't very ideal. We dodged bullets, escalated buildings, jumped rooftops, but they never gave up. That wasn't what worried me though, the entrance to the tunnels was still a good distance away and I felt about ready to pass out. If it really came to that, I hoped Will would have the good sense to continue on without me.

"We're almost at the gates!" he yelled, his voice barely audible as he pointed at something that I couldn't quite make out.

"Will—" I gasped out as my brain whirled and the world turned blurrier than it already was. "I c-ca—" I stopped running to try and catch my breath, placing my hands firmly on my bent thighs to stop them from shaking.

He stopped once he noticed I wasn't following and glanced worriedly at our exit before trudging up to me. "I have a plan," he informed me, crouching down so we were levelled, "we just gotta get there, all right?" He placed a hand on my shoulder and stretched the other one to me, hoping I would take it so we could not die. "Please, Nico," he pleaded, his desperation seeping through. "We're almost there, you just need to get up."

I slowly nodded, knowing he was only trying to help, but I still felt like a horrible burden. I really wished he hadn't tried to rescue me (it would've been easier on everyone, honestly) but, damnit, was I glad that he did. So I dug, for him, for myself, for Bianca, I reached deep inside the well of my form and extracted all the energy I could muster, my teeth clenching in the effort. Will had a plan, all we had to do was get past the gates and everything would be okay from there. We would escape the Creators and the Scientists and we would go somewhere we didn't have to live in fear and all I had to do was get to the gates.

I could do that, yeah. I'd been running my entire life, why should I stop when I need it the most? So, I shook out my anger and my exhaustion and my doubts and replaced it with pure adrenaline.

I bolted past Will, ignoring his hand and his confused expression and I simply ran. He was running, too. The crazy boy with the wild hair and the reckless personality, the one who was completely blinded by selflessness and the utter need to help others just for the satisfaction of knowing that he may be making a difference, however slight. The one who sacrificed everything to help a mere stranger, an acquaintance at best. The one I had studied many times from afar but whose name I had never known. I didn't know him, but he was the most familiar thing in my life.

The gates swung open as it sensed us nearby, which meant it would do the same for the guards that were still hot on our tails.