The unpleasant reality of what we had done met our ears.

The deaf and blind Pied Piper officers writhed on the ground, most moaning, or yelling, or mumbling to themselves.

They were discovering the horrifying extent of the damage we had dealt to them.

A part of me hoped they wouldn't have to spend the rest of their lives deaf and blind, but another part of me couldn't forget all the teenagers that had died, that wouldn't be able to return home to their families.

These Pied Piper officers didn't deserve any kind of pity from me but, despite how much I wanted to hate them, all I felt in the wake of having prevailed over the officers was a dreaded sense of responsibility.

I had to be wary because the officers still had their machine guns; a few of them hugged their guns in the dark the way a child might hug a teddy bear.

Walter and Sophie emerged from the darkness, Sophie from the left, Walter from the right.

"Worked like a charm," said Walter as he approached me.

He patted my shoulder and then spat on one of the officers.

"That's what you get ye' bastards," said Walter.

"Look," said Sophie, joining my left side, "If we stay here they'll send more, we need to get out of here."

"Where?" I said.

"I think I've figured out a way," said Sophie, gesturing over her shoulder.

"There's a sewer grate," she said, "I think it's big enough for us to crawl into. If we follow it away from here we might find a way out of here. The water has to lead somewhere."

"Aye," said Walter, "Tha's an idea. But we should make sure there's no other way out first."

"Okay," I said, "But we can't leave the officers here on their own."

Walter narrowed his eyes.

"You wa'?" He said, "Who gives a crap what happens to them?"

"I do," I said, "We did this to them, that makes us responsible."

"Ya' mad," said Walter, shaking his head in disbelief, "They did this to they'selves. These bastards jus' got what's coming to them."

"I get it," I said, "But I can't just leave them here knowing the thing Adam and George have become the–"

I struggled to say the word which I had come up with out loud, "--the Amalgamation they've become. If that thing finds these officers then it'll kill them."

"You don't know that," said Sophie, "It could just be trying to find a way out of here just like we are."

Sophie clung to my elbow, "Burgess," she said, "Please we don't have time to waste on them."

Was I being stupid? I certainly felt stupid. I was exhausted too. So much had happened to get us to this point and yet escape from the Pied Piper officers, from the facility, and from the underground complex we were in still felt so far away. What madness had taken hold of me to make me think I was somehow responsible for these officers?

I needed more time to think.

Sophie and Walter moved off into the dark. Minutes past. During this time the officers continued to moan and whimper, some moving about helplessly on the ground before stopping, realising the futility of their situation.

"Please," said a pained voice in the dark.

It was one of the Pied Piper officers. One of the younger ones, looking no older than twenty-five. His eyes were fixed shut and he had his head raised just a little.

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"Please don't leave us here," he said, each word from him sounding off, I could only guess, because he could hardly hear himself speak.

"We're not going to leave you," I said, before I could think better of saying it.

"Please don't leave me, I'm sorry, please," the officer continued.

"We're not," I said, "It's alright."

But the officer continued pleading for us to stay with him. I realised then that he couldn't hear my responses. He was begging for help without any idea that anyone was nearby listening to him.

As afraid for my life as I was, I could still understand the incredible nightmarish fear the officer must have felt too.

It was about ten minutes later by the time Sophie and Walter came running back.

"There's no way out, no doors or gates," said Walter, "The sewer grate or back up the elevator seems t' be the only options. And I ain't going up that elevator again."

"We'll go through the sewer," said Sophie, "I think with the dam so close it's reasonable to think there'll be some way out."

I was silent throughout this discussion.

"Burgess?" said Sophie, but I could hardly hear her because of how loud my own thoughts were. I was trying to think of some way to abandon the officers in a way that I wouldn't regret for the rest of my life, that is, if I were even able to live beyond the nightmare we were in.

"Burgess!" Sophie snapped from my left.

She slapped my shoulder hard enough for it to sting.

Her face in the darkness was red and furious.

"Now is not the time to have a heart, Burgess!" she yelled, "We have one goal: getting out of here. Now I'm telling you to stop fretting over these officers and to come with us now. Or do you want us to die too?"

I was stunned. I didn't know what to say or do.

I had been prepared for Walter to kick up a fuss about sticking around to make sure the officers weren't mauled to death by the Amalgamation, but not Sophie.

It was happening again. Why was it happening again?

"It's your choice, Burgess," said Sophie, putting a hand on my shoulder where she had slapped it before, "I'm getting out. Now. If you want to stay, that's up to you, but I'm getting out."

She looked past me to Walter.

"Walter?" she said.

"Aye," he said, "I'm not sticking around for these bastards."

"P-please," the officer on the ground continued to mumble, "I'm sorry, p-please."

I hate you, I thought, I hate you so much.

This thought wasn't directed to any of the officers. It wasn't even directed at Sophie or Walter.

It was directed at me.

All I had to do was do what any normal person would do. Just leave the officers to the fate that they had brought upon themselves. We had defended ourselves against them and they weren't our problem anymore.

I had every right to go with Sophie and Walter, to flee the horrors of our situation, to get to safety.

"I can't," I said in a pitiful voice, "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I did."

"Well yer not going to be live long if you stay," said Walter, "But that's your business. I'm gettin' out."

Sophie's gaze lingered on me for several moments. I could see she was fighting her own internal battle. Would she stay in the dark with me to defend these officers who didn't deserve our help, but needed it? Or would she do the sensible thing and get out of the underground complex whilst there was still time to do so?

"If we find a way out we'll try and wait for you," she said, "Please don't take too long."

I nodded.

"Good luck," I said.

Sophie nodded, a sense of defeat hanging heavy over her.

"And Sophie?" I said.

She lifted her head up.

"Yeah, Burgess?" she said.

"Thank you for everything," I said, "I'd be dead right now if it wasn't for you."

Sophie looked a tad bashful. She forced a smile.

"Don't mention it," she said, "Don't take too long, okay?"

"Okay," I said.

Walter patted me on the back and mumbled "Don't make this place yer las' stand. They're not worth it."

And then he left, following quickly behind Sophie. I watched them sink deeper into the dark.

Enhancing my hearing a little I tracked the sound of them lifting the sewer grate and climbing down the hole.

What small sense of security I felt from having them with me sunk away. I could feel even more distinctly how much it meant to me to have them by my side through all the horrors we had faced together in such a short span of time.

But I had made my choice, and they had made theirs.

About a minute after Sophie and Walter had left I moved over to the officer who had stopped begging to be helped. He must have figured nobody was around to hear his pleas anymore.

I moved over to him, squatting down, and put a hand on his shoulder.

The officer flinched, and for a moment I feared he might reach for his gun. But after a moment his gloved hand found mine and gripped it tight enough to hurt.

"Oh thank God," he said, "Please help us, please."

"I'm here, I'm here," I mumbled, despite him not being able to listen to a word I was saying.