My world is full of crime, full of corruption. That's why it is up to teams such as mine to capture the criminals and bring them to justice. For how long I have done this, I cannot remember. It's hard to keep track of things that have happened in the past when the days have such an unusual schedule. Our days in this world Restart if things sometimes aren't accomplished. It's odd, the way it works. Often times, the day Restarts after a mission my team was trying to carry out to capture a criminal has gone wrong. Missions had become my life, and it they were the sole thing that I lived for. What else was there to do if I could not help to make my world pure again? That is the hardest part about having everything, my world that I so love, come crashing down.
~

As I walk down the hallway, confident, eager voices greet my ears. The voices buzz about our mission, a Restart, as we call it. It has been tried before, to defeat Cindrus, to incarcerate him, but it has never happened. That is just one of the disadvantages to living in this world. It can treat you well; shower you with gifts – gifts worth enough to benefit a queen! But it can also hinder you, can drag you down.

Halfway down the hall one of the bodies turns and trots over to greet me. Jasper, with his dark hair and pale complexion, looks like he spends virtually all of his time inside – which he does. He is the genius, the engineer, of the team, and we would be nowhere without him.

“Raegan! Erryfing all right?”

“I’m well, Jasper,” I reply. It’s true, my reply - I am well, but “erryfing” is not all right. Walking side-by-side, I insist once again on correcting him. “’Everything’, Jasper, not however you’re saying it.”

With a shrug and a grin, he slings his arm over my shoulders. I’m not always as nervous as I am now, but seeing as what is to happen today, with the mission and all, I’m not going to be as care-free as normal.

Finally at the group, the laughs and giggles turn to whispers. Our compound is not bugged; the other girls, Jasper and I have just fallen into a habit of whispering. In a way, you could say that it keeps us on our toes, but then again, that’s just an excuse to cover up our fears.

“We know what we have to do,” a comrade murmurs.

“This is going to be the time that we finally succeed,” encourages another.

A confident mood sweeps the group and it shines light on all of our hearts. This burden of Cindrus that we have carried for so long may be gone today. His means of defying the law and poisoning the minds of our neighbors must stop.

Jasper, who must have broken from the group without notice, suddenly returns with a stony-faced expression. “We’ve got a manifesto from Cindrus, girls. Check out the screen.”

A television to the right lights up and Cindrus’ face fades in. Hatred lies in his wrinkles, fire and agony buried in his eyes, and darkness in his heart. Not meaning to, everyone suddenly huddles closer together, as if he is here, as if he can see us. Cindrus begins with a cold laugh, a chuckle so dark in intention that it creeps into your bones and turns your body to ice. It’s scary, and nothing else can describe it.
“Children, children, children; you may wonder why I am here, even bothering to take any sort of pity on you folks. There is no reason, beyond the goodness of my soul.”
Like you have a soul.
“My empire of thieves and criminals is getting stronger by the minute. Your miniscule forces are nothing compared to the numbers I have at my disposal.” Cindrus pauses a second to tilt back his head, and to close his eyes; then he leans forward, eyes open, staring into my soul.
“You,” he spits, "are nothing. In this word, you mean nothing to our kind. Your work is useless, and the work I do to deter you is, frankly, a waste of time. Your team, whatever it is, captained by Raegan and the supposedly clever Jasper, is bound to fail.”
A gasp rises up from the huddle of my team members. Who says that Jasper and I are the captains? The team has always been a group effort, and we all know that if we have anything to say to one another, we address the whole group. Jasper and I are the only people who really are addressed by names. Does that mean that we are in charge?
A glance at Jasper ends my questions. He is blushing, his whole face and ears steadily turning pink. Am I the only one who has never noticed this?

As if Cindrus has our reactions planned, the fiend slaps a smug look on, and crosses his arms, now apparently relaxed.

No, I tell myself. This is how he wants you to feel. Questioning yourself, that’s not you, it’s Cindrus. Cindrus is manipulating you, Raegan. The team will fail if they feel uneasy. Are you going to let him accomplish that?

“No,” the growl rises from my throat, from my heart, and takes control. With a turn of my heel, I am now facing the group. “Are you going to let him control us?” My voice is shaky. I cannot have that be. “Are you going to let him control us?” I say again, shouting this time. “HE is the person to be afraid of; Cindrus is doing terrible things to this world! If we are going to listen to a petty manifesto sent in because he cannot muster the courage to talk to this team – OUR TEAM – in person, then WE are the ones who deserve to be punished. Will we let that happen?”

“NO!”

“Let’s go, then, team.”

Jasper raises his arm in a triumphant gesture, and we all close our eyes tightly. We are ready. We can defeat Cindrus. This is our job; this is what we are meant do to. As always, we Blink away, traveling instantly to The Field, where our mission has taken place so many times already. My nerves wash away and are replaced by confidence. I know that this time on the mission, things will be different.

At The Field, Jasper is no longer with us. He will be in a remote location, monitoring our activities. My team is alone. Our weapons, vests, and wits are the only protection against a common enemy.

Apparent immediately is the fact that something does feel different about the mission this time. The air feels still – much too still, like the breeze is gone, which is indeed what has happened. A member to my left slips on the grass, which is wet, like never before. How…?

“Raegan,” a girl says, “What’s that sound?”

In unison, we tilt our heads, searching for “that sound”. After a few seconds, it becomes evident. A blasting noise of such a strange frequency, at least from our distance away, is nearing our location. Closer and closer it comes, until I know for sure what it is.

“Ambush! Remember your duties! Go, go, go!”

I should have known that we would end up like this. See, just because the day starts over doesn’t mean that the events have to carry out the same way. Mostly, they just do, and we haven’t ever questioned it. Jasper had overlooked it, I had overlooked it. Everyone had just been ignorant in their haste to carry out their jobs that the thought of a different attack never drifted through our minds.

Running across the field and trying to keep track of your team at the same time are difficult, especially if you want to stay alive, but my main priority is keeping the team alive. It's what I intend to do, even I die trying. Although, when the black S.U.V. comes around with Cindrus' face poking out a window, my vows seem too severe.

There is an agonizing yelp as the first is shot. She goes down and tumbles forward, and will not be able to walk again. Pulling out her weapon, she fires upon Cindrus' brigade, and at one point, meets my eyes, causing me to stop.

As I open my mouth to speak, barrels slam into my back in the form of running, frantic, firing girls - though young ladies is most likely a more suitable term. Their cries of distress sound as though they are muted, and I snap out of my trance. I have to keep going. This is a mission, one that everyone made promises to keep going on with.

On the downhill chase, what seems like more and more of my sisters-in-arms are felled. The odd thing is, Cindrus and his men aren't shooting fatal blows. Do they mean to? Whatever it is that they are aiming for, the men obviously aren't reaching their goal, for the shots continue. As one side continues the shots, my girls fire back, and it's etched deeper into my brain the possibility that the shots fired by the girls are meant to get me through.

New life springs into my bones, and it spreads throughout my veins, to my chest, all over, until I'm running more fiercely than before. With each member of my team, each friend that goes down I get another level of protection. My surroundings have gone virtually numb, and all I can do is follow the instructions of those who have always taken instructions from me.

I'm still running when a run-down farm comes into sight, along with the obstacle of a junkyard full of abandoned tractors. There's one girl running beside me, keeping pace, and the moment I look over at her is when I'm shot. My left shoulder jerks sickeningly forward, and a warm sensation starts spreading down my side and back. The only thought I have is Blood before that too goes numb and I no longer care.

"Keep going!" my sprinting companion shouts. It's the last thing that I hear from her before she, too is rocketed to the ground by a bullet, leaving me by myself. I must be the last one.

Past the barn, I am forced to dodge the rusted mass of tractors to stay alive. Some I simply run in between, others I jump over. Soon, I run into a tractor that leaves me no choice but to climb over. With my adrenaline still pumping, I run straight over the metal structure and stumble only the least bit.

By this point, the pain in my shoulder is nothing. The sheer will to survive has erased all thought from my mind, and past the tractors I can finally see a break, a salvation coming in the form of a thick row of trees. Past the trees is a vast forest, into which I can disappear and Blink out of. I pray that I survive long enough to get to that point. Puffs of air come out in wisps beyond my face, and they are coming so quickly that I try to begin to register what is going on.

How could I have run this far? I have to have been crazy! If I thought for one second that I could escape Cindrus and his band of criminals... Adrenaline was the only thing keeping me alive. The only hope that I have left now is a quick death, but first, yes, first, I will run as far and as fast as I possibly can.

Through the fog at the entrance to the faraway forest is a shadow. Although my arms are pumping and my heart is racing, I still know who it is. Jasper is waiting for me, waiting for me so he can blink us away. What if he was shot?

"Jasper!" I scream breathlessly as I emerge from the tractors. "Jasper!"

All he can do not to be knocked over my embrace is to stand with his back against the tree. Awkwardly, he puts his arms around me but releases within seconds.

It seems, for the moment, or few seconds that we have here at least, that I have outrun Cindrus. In the past few minutes, I have run a thousand miles, and rest, with my eyes closed, to catch my breath. Stopping is a mistake in itself, for it gives me time to think, and as the horrible thoughts come to me, it also gives time for shock to settle in. Fluttering eyelashes give way to wide, saucer-sized eyes; I grab Jasper's collar and begin to shout and panic.

"Jasper, we must go back and retrieve the survivors! The girls could still be alive out there and if we don't save them, no one will and they'll DIE!"

"No!" Jasper yells back. "You're in shock, Raegan, we can't go back for them!" Now, Jasper is the one with a hold on me - his nails are steadily digging into my wrists. "You're the only one left, and by going back, you will die, and all that the other girls sacrificed will be for nothing, nothing!"

I want to scream back that he sounds like Cindrus, that he's the reason that we failed, the reason that everybody didn't get through. Even though I may not believe what I would say, it's better than having to blame Cindrus for killing the team. Jasper makes the right decision, though, and Blinks us away before I can rant anymore.

Later, I wake from surgery to the call of Jasper's far-off voice and unsteady hands shaking my bad arm. The pain is severe; I want to fall back into my slumber. I do not want to experience the piercing needles in my arm, or the wicked remembrance of the mission gone wrong. I want nothing to do with any of that, but wake up anyway.

With my body propped up on my good elbow, I take a good look at Jasper. As soon as I see his face, I instantly want to look away. The tear-tracks and the puffiness of his eyes indicate that he's been crying. I have a good guess at the reason behind his misery, but with a mighty shove, the thought is pushed to the back of my mind. In reality, I must seem very weak, but to me, on the inside, the building blocks are being put back together, and at the same time, I am being put back together along with those building blocks.

"I need - I need to show you something." The words slide over me and leave a feeling of dread behind. What did I expect? "Let me help you out, Raegan," Jasper offers once more, taking my hand in a gentlemanly manner and supporting me as I clamber out of the infirmary bed.

"I guess I should say that I’m sorry for how I got so mad back at the woods."

Jasper doesn't answer, just drops his hands to his sides. With a little nudge, I slide my hand into his, and he leads me away. It's impossible to keep track of just where we travel to, down hallways, across corridors, through hidden passageways. But when Jasper ends at one certain corridor, I recognize it immediately. He drops my hand once again and drags his hand through his messy, dark hair. I stand frozen in place, rooted to the spot, while Jasper paces the hallway. I do not dare interrupt him.

"I haven't been able to stay away from this place, Raegan."

"Jasper…”

Merely a nod of his head gives me all the answer I need. On the screen where Cindrus' message was displayed is footage of the Battlefield, live, but something about it doesn't make sense. There are still bodies lying on the ground. How? Jasper is at my side and opens his arms to me as I begin to sob restlessly, but I don’t understand – it feels as if the mission was ages ago.

“Raegan, the day didn’t Restart. Today is a new day.”

“What do you mean?”

I already know what he means, and the question that came out of my mouth is simply a feeble reassurance. Whatever the idea I have in my head is, it cannot be true. It cannot be true.

“Our world, this, this stupid game that we played – it’s over.”

It’s over.

It’s over.

It's over.

It's game over.