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Archie was getting shorter. Eli could see it now. He hadn't even seen her panic, so that was good. Nic hadn't even picked up on it. Just Natalie, who gave her one of the chillest "nah, I got this" waves she'd ever seen. Okay. Yeah. Natalie's got this. After all, she'd survived not one, but [i]two[/i] encounters with Archie's condition. They'd worked well together to stop Archie, in the loading bay. They could do it again. Although, this time Eli would be at the edges of her range for her own safety.

[i]He's not turning. He's got a grip on it.[/i]

She could see it in the way that he held himself. Sort of like the way Eli was holding herself now, too. Tense, but not strained. Focused, but still managing to keep it loose. [i]If he'd seen the look on my face, would he have lost his grip? Would my panic make him lose focus?[/i] She bit her lip and looked away from him as they continued moving. [i]Thank god he isn't paying attention to me.[/i]

She felt Lynn's presence to her side and she looked over at her. Of course, Lynn couldn't see her looking. Eli stared at the spot where her eye should have been. Where it was healing way faster than it should have been. [i]Does she regenerate? Like a starfish?[/i] She turned her face forwards and began to search for the picnic table where they'd see Keaton waiting. [i]You're worried about Archie, and Lynn had her eye blown apart. Who had it worse?[/i]

[b]"You good?"[/b]

Eli blinked, and looked down at Lynn. She pressed her lips together and glanced towards the others. She couldn't just say it outright. It wouldn't be fair to Archie.

[b]"'Cause I've never really had any problems with, like, whipping somebody's ass..."[/b]

[i]Lynn Lynn Lynn.[/i] Eli's panic faded instantly and she smiled despite how shitty she felt. The thought of Lynn fighting anyone at all was amusing. Especially if she was going to fight anyone for Eli herself. [i]Well, apparently she took on Archie too. God, has everyone fought Archie by now?[/i]

She didn't respond, but instead she found herself reaching her right arm over to wrap itself around Lynn's shoulders. She squeezed her closer as they walked in a little side hug. [color=E5D0FF]"Let's just get this meeting over with and go for some pizza."[/color] She murmured.

Looking up from her little companion, Eli finally spotted Keaton. She released Lynn from her hug and gave Keaton a small wave in return. Without waiting for an invitation Eli took up a spot at the edge of the picnic table, and she looked at Lynn as she patted the seat next to her. [color=E5D0FF]"Sit with me?"[/color] To be honest, it felt nice that Lynn would have her back if anything went wrong. She was sure that Keaton, Natalie, Nicholas, or even Archie of all people would have her back too. Lynn's protection just felt a little more comfortable at the moment.

[b]"Phones.[/b]

Eli pulled hers from her pocket and immediately powered it down. She set it back in her pocket, in case Cara still had eyes with the thing off. You could never know, these days. With a deep breath, Eli gave her full attention to her friend. The look Keaton and Lynn shared was interesting. Had they been in on this information together? What had they been doing, on the side?

Oh, so they'd been doing their own investigations. She agreed that the big trouble on The Promise hadn't started until their arrival, but she really just assumed that it was the day that bitch Arianna boarded when everything went to shit. No word to Earth about anything. Eli nodded in agreement. It had been like this ever since she was new to the station. The Promise was an island with no communication back home unless it was to say good things. She was just surprised that they hadn't tried to call the Welcoming Day incident a hoax. They'd fully accepted this mistake, which was an extreme step in the right direction. She still even had the right mind to find D's severed head and hack into it for the footage of the breakout. If only she could find the damn thing. D hadn't been around since the shooting.

[b]"Now, one of the main things we've been looking into is the possibility of there being children on board."[/b]

Eli already knew this. They used to mention it, way way back. When she first boarded she heard the Promise staff say it themselves. It wasn't major news, after younger and younger children began to show signs of the gene. Eli knew that the Promise was where they sent the young children with extreme abilities. Powers that couldn't be contained unless they were in a state run facility. Whether or not they were testing on the children, Eli wasn't sure. Obviously these kids had parents. They couldn't just hand them over to the state and never ask about them again, could they? Of course, they were definitely testing on adults. How else could they have known that the taser would work on Arianna? The fact that Keaton got a job just to look into the shipments to the Spire was actually a pretty smart move. With Keaton's ability, she was definitely good at figuring out what was inside of a box. [i]Mental note, make Keaton's future gifts super vague and multi-wrapped.[/i]

What was crazy about this entire theory was that Lynn and Keaton had found a tagged doll in the woods. It was known to the long term residents that the children were kept on The Spire. How could a doll have gotten to the student campus? Eli's brows furrowed. [i]Why would they give a doll a number, unless the child was numbered too?[/i] They wouldn't keep the dangerous children in the prisons, would they?

The Spire. The Spire. All of their questions were leading to the one place that was practically impossible to get into. Keaton was definitely right about a lot of things, like she usually was, but were they [i]really[/i] experimenting on kids too? Eli looked down at the table and questioned everything about her time on the station. It was pretty obvious now that the Promise wasn't just created for rehabilitation, but were they really sick enough to test on a kid? If they were experimenting, was it to test nullifying tech, or just to figure out ways to contain them safely until they could control their powers?

Eli was totally and completely at a loss. She was always aware that the station was a little twisted. Well, maybe a lot twisted. The fact that this could have been going on since she first stepped foot on the station, since the station was created... It sent chills down her spine. Those chills were then replaced by a burning heat in the pit of her stomach and at the tips of her ears. [i]If this is true, then the world really [b]has[/b] gone to shit.[/i]

[b]"I don't wanna be here anymore."[/b]

Eli's head snapped up and she looked over at her friend. Archie still had some explaining to do to Eli and she didn't expect an apology from him, but his words and tone resonated with her. He was feeling the same way she was, about all of this. The deep pitted rage for his people's suffering. Eli could see it in his face. Even though he might still frighten her, she would feel pretty great to sic Archie on Wrath or whoever else on the Spire was condoning such disgusting behavior. Or on anyone that would intentionally hurt paras.

[b]"Do we know of any way onto the Spire?"[/b]

Eli had been biding her time for almost a month now. Not saying a word to anyone about Packet or the door to the Spire. Now was the chance. While she was worried that it would get them all killed, she could see in their faces that they felt the same way she did about this place. She, who had been there for years, and the friends sitting around her who'd only been here for a fraction of that time. They were all in the same place now. They wanted to take action, and they were determined to get to the bottom of the Promise's secrets. Now was the time for Eli to lay it all out.

Slowly, she rose from her seat so that she would get everyone's attention. This call to act, it made Eli forget about her fears. The shitty feeling inside of her was replaced by a vigorous need to [i]do something.[/i]

[color=E5D0FF]"I know exactly how we can get to the Spire."[/color] She began, looking around at everyone. For the first time in a while, Eli could actually hold Archie's gaze without flinching. [color=E5D0FF]"After the woods... After Arianna, and Radvi's accident. I did some digging of my own."[/color]

She took a deep breath and pointed up at the Spire. [color=E5D0FF]"To get there,"[/color] she said before pointing her finger downwards. [color=E5D0FF]"You have to go below. To the sewers, exactly. I know a technopath. Some guy I met a while back that was drunk enough to spill some information about it. He's... young. Younger than Lynn, maybe? Or the same age. I can't tell."[/color]

She shrugged. [color=E5D0FF]"The guy knows his way around. He showed me the spot, and even told me he could open it up. I was in a rough place at the time, but at least I was smart enough not to do it on my own."[/color] She glanced at everyone's faces, and wondered if they were feeling the same way Packet did in the sewers. [color=E5D0FF]"To get to the Spire is easy. Like doing a cakewalk, or whatever the expression is. Once you set foot on the Spire, it's like a game of Mouse Trap."[/color] She set her hand down on the table and began to walk her finger around it.

[color=E5D0FF]"My source can disable the cameras, if I ask him nicely. That means we can walk around freely, but that doesn't guarantee we won't run into any staff."[/color] She looked up again. [color=E5D0FF]"If we're caught, that's it. Game over. No one will ever hear from us again."[/color] She sighed. [color=E5D0FF]"It's extremely likely that we will."[/color]

She let that fact settle in for a second, before continuing. [color=E5D0FF]"In the off chance we get there, find what we want to find, and get back to the exit, Packet- the guy, can get us back into the ring."[/color]

[i]And that's if the staff isn't already aware that we were on the Spire. If Packet was able to keep the cameras at bay for long enough. If Packet isn't discovered himself and we're trapped. If. If IF IF.[/i]

Eli was driving herself nuts with the possibilities, and she looked at the others and worried that they could see it in her face. [i]Say something, Eli. Share your thoughts with them. Maybe they'll decide against it anyways.[/i] She felt her heart sink. [i]They're going to do it. You've given them a way onto the Spire, and now they're going to risk it.[/i]

[color=E5D0FF]"I... I wasn't planning to go. Not because I was scared of getting caught. Not because I was worried about what I'd find. I wasn't going to go because I thought that if I did find ANYTHING like what Keaton is describing..."[/color] She sighed.

[color=E5D0FF]"It's because I know that I'd do my best to let the world know. I'd probably get myself caught doing it, and there goes my chance of seeing my mom again. Of seeing you guys again."[/color]

Her hand went to her nose and she pinched it for a second before brushing her hair back from her face. [color=E5D0FF]"But... If I have all of you, there's a chance we could actually do it."[/color]

[i]We could die helping our people... together.[/i]