Icarus watched from his high perch as Ace was skewered in the leg by yet another raven. He looked on in horror as his brother fell down to his knees. The beasts continued their assault, tearing into Ace while he was still alive. His screams ripped through the air and up into the opening in the wall of the three story building.

With trembling eyes, Icarus sat helplessly as the rabid beasts devoured his brother. In mere seconds all that remained of Ace was a mere skeleton, almost as white as the clouds in the sky. He buried his face in his hands, unable to look at his brother's remains.

Finally gathering himself, Icarus looked up from his hands, but something had changed. He was now in the center of the ring of dead Ravens. Only a few feet in front of him was his brother's skeleton. It was in the same position, kneeling on the ground. As he rose to his feet, the skeleton did the same, making him jump back in fear.

With each rigid movement, the bones of Ace's skeleton clacked together, creating an unsettling sound. As the reanimated corpse beelined for Icarus with sonorous steps, he grew even more still. In only a few unstable strides, the skeleton stood face to face with Icarus. Unable to move, he was forced to stare into the black abyss that were its eyes.

The pair stood unmoving in the ring of dead creatures for what seemed like an eternity. Icarus couldn't break eye contact but also couldn't find the strength to move away from his brother's remains. The skeleton moved first.

It raised its sole left arm and placed it upon Icarus's shoulder. The skeleton then leaned in until its head was right next to his ear.

Impossibly, the skeleton somehow spoke, its voice low and raspy. It was only a sentence. Only three words.

"You...are....WEAK."

His mind went blank.

"ACEEEEEEEEE"

Icarus sat up in bed with a start. Drenched in sweat, he looked around his concrete bedroom. He had been plagued by the nightmare for the past three days, each time Ace died a painful death, and each time Icarus was forced to watch. This was by far the worst one. The skeleton had never spoken before.

He desperately wanted to believe that his brother was alive but deep down he knew that it was but a foolish dream. It didn't take an expert to imagine what the beasts were going to do to him once they arrived at their nest.

As his gaze drifted around the room, his eyes eventually fell on the empty bed a few feet away from him. The only keepsake of his brother rested on the mattress. It was a humble silver coin.

Getting off his own mattress and walking over to the other bed, he picked up the small silver disc. Turning it over in his fingers, he once again examined the coin. On one side was the letter D with a slash through it. On the other was a different letter that had been scratched off entirely. He couldn't read it.

The coin was a relic, hailing from the era before the arrival of the Interlopers. Thalia had always said she found it tucked inside the blanket that came with Ace's infant self.

Sighing deeply, Icarus placed the coin back down on the mattress and got up. He put on a white button up shirt and faded black overalls. He then tucked the pant legs into his boots and laced them up. He felt ready.

Walking into the kitchen, he couldn't be more happy that his loud scream from earlier had not woken any of his siblings. It was early in the morning so the Sun was still rising, bathing the room in golden light.

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Being the first one up, he felt obligated to boil some water and get breakfast going. Grabbing a pot from the counter, Icarus placed it beneath a spigot that sprouted from a storage tank mounted in the wall. He looked at the water levels which were indicated by a gauge on the side. They had about 2 weeks worth left. Not much time left before they needed to turn on their generator and refill... He flipped the switch and water filled the pot.

He set it on a single burner and waited for the contents to boil. Still in a daze from his nightmare, he barely noticed the passage of time and the furious bubbling soon rang out rhythmically .

Walking over to his backpack, he took out the ration pack that he and Ace had stolen from the supply depot only a few days prior. The memory made him grimace, but he rummaged around in the pack taking out various canisters which housed different foods.

Ripping them open, he tossed the pills into the pot. Having done the hard part, Icarus simply had to wait for the water to be absorbed. He took a seat on a concrete stool and looked at the golden rays of sunlight that were leaking through the cracks in the ceiling. Only a few minutes later he heard the sound of footsteps and turned his head. Thalia was there.

Taking a seat next to him, she spoke in a kind but stern voice.

"Today is the day Rus. We were slightly delayed because of my injuries, but we can not allow your brother's sacrifice to be in vain. After breakfast, we will be going to our district's exposure facility. You all will be ready when the beasts return."

Icarus silently nodded an affirmation.

Seeing his response, Thalia rose from her seat and called out to the other children in the orphanage. Before long, the rations finished and the children flooded into the room. The seven of them ate in silence.

It would take longer to recover from Ace's absence.

*** One Hour Later ***

The now seven occupants of the orphanage made their way down a slum street. Unlike the other dirt roads of their district, this one had a road made from polished stone. The buildings that lined each side of the street were atypical to the normal slum domiciles and were instead made from large walls of granite as opposed to concrete. Most of the buildings even had chimneys.

The people that walked through the street were all wearing white coveralls with a colored tab over there shoulder indicating there occupation. The government inside the city sent more than just the Sentinels into the slums. To support them, medical personnel and scientists were also attached to the units.

The workers gave the orphanage children strange looks, but didn't give them any trouble as they made their way down the street and to the Sever Exposure Facility.

Looking around, Icarus couldn't help but shake his head in disapproval.

'What'd I'd expect? Of course the the street controlled by the government looks like it doesn't belong. The clothes these freaks are wearing are pristine, not a lick of dirt on them! Hell, even the street is spotless! '

Sensing his agitation, Thalia spoke. "We've already passed the security checkpoint. Behave yourself."

Grumbling internally, Icarus just stared at the ground as he continued forward.

After a few more minutes of walking, the group arrived in front of massive white dome. Its size was so great that it could have fit the entirety of the scrapyard within its boundaries. Two imposing curved black stone doors acted as the entrance to the building. Almost as if to welcome them in, the double stone doors opened on their own.

Before the group stepped through the boundary a violent shockwave exploded from inside the dome, shaking the street outside.

'What the?!'

Icarus and all his younger siblings ducked as soon as they felt the rumbling. Looking around, he noticed that not only Thalia, but all the government workers on the street were unperturbed by the furious explosion. The fear of the orphans garnered strange looks from the workers, but they continued to go about their business.

Icarus looked to Thalia for an explanation but she simply pointed a hand at the door.

"You'll see. I would suggest you all prepare yourselves."

Gathering their bearings, the orphans stepped into the darkness.

In front of them was a single gray desk, flanked on both sides by two sets of black doors. The desk was occupied by a man who was clearly a Sentinel. His armor was scratched and dented. Noticing the groups entrance, the Sentinel put on an unnaturally wide smile. Thalia walked up to the desk.

The guard posed a question.

"Exposure Treatment?"

She nodded silently, prompting him to continue.

"Excellent! You'll be the first people in days to have undergone the treatment! Just step right through these doors! If any of you are already Notched, then make sure to stay behind the red line! I don't want to clean up your remains!"

Holding the uncanny expression, the man then gestured to the doors on his sides.

With a nudge from Thalia, the group walked through the door on the left. As they passed the guard, Icarus noticed the smile in the Sentinel's face twitch.