“Del’s not fucking -”

Aura’s knee-jerk reaction further proved why she often wasn’t trusted by the cause with situations like this. It took just a moment though to gain back what little composure she had previously.

“You must have some bad information. Del’s not involved in any of this.”

Guilt began to creep up her spine. Taking advantage of his niceness to cover her ass had obviously landed him on one of the AA’s list, and although Aura always knew it was a possibility, hearing it made it real.

Kieran presented her with an out, one that made the impossibly difficult situation she put herself even worse. While the cause was all she had left, she couldn’t leave if she wanted to. The only way out of the group was to die honorably, or die a traitor. Gregor and others high in the rankings did not have one ounce of trust between them all, and it only made sense to them that if anyone no longer wanted anything to do with the cause, they had to have an ulterior motive. Death was the only way to cover their own asses. And while they’ve taken great care of Aura, she had been on their bad side before. She was unsure if she’d rather be punished again by them or by an officer, but she at least knew the cause wouldn’t harm her family. Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for the AE.

This was the only choice.

Most days, Aura just wished she could [i]leave[/i]. To pack what little belongings she had and to head for the mountains in the middle of the night. Of course, she had heard rumors that it was only more grim out of Apex’s limits, that there is nothing out there for those that try to leave. But other rumors, those that there are groups of people living freely past the mountains. No authority, no enforcers...that was the fantasy that Aura desperately clung to when things got too heated in Unity. 

“So, you want me to rat,” Aura sighed, pushing back stringy strands of black hair from her vision. “You know what they do to rats here, right?”

Remaining seated on the floor, she swiveled around and lifted her shirt to reveal pink scars that resembled lightning strikes down her back. “One of the times that Soren took one of our guys in, he made it sound like I had given them info. The officers like to stir shit up to try and dismantle us…”

Upon realizing that she was saying too much already, Aura’s face landed in her palms and a groan escaped her.

“Guess you got me. But, I need some guarantees.” She straightened up her posture and met his eyes. “If you name me in anything, they won’t hesitate to deliver my head to you in a package. [i]If[/i] I help you, it has to be from an unidentified source.” It sounded ridiculous to be demanding anything knowing that Kieran could throw her to the wolves at any time.

“Second, if I’m figured out, I have to get out of F. I don’t know how much power you have and I don’t care. I’ll need new papers and a new subsection. And lastly,” she took a moment to catch her breath; the heat was growing unbearable whether from her nerves or the rain. Her voice trembled with emotion no matter how much she tried to control it. “I can’t be seen with you, now that I know who you are. Figure out where or how we can meet, and I’ll do it. I’m probably not welcomed back after this, so it can’t be here.”

A familiar feeling of penitence sat like a rock in her stomach, but this was her only option. Or at least, she couldn’t think of a better one.

“I’ll bring you to the west border of F in the morning.  Do we have a deal?”