"Fly?" Felipe said, astounded. "Are you going to sprout wings and carry us out of here, then?"

"Of course not" Eli replied, mildly offended. "We have an escort to meet."

Lillian chimed in "Which is exactly why we should leave him behind, Eli. He's slowing me down."

Isabella could feel the tension in the group rising, and decided she better step in before her brother got angry.

"I'm sorry about my brother. He's just confused- Could you- please-... Explain what's going on...?"

Eli's perpetual smile dropped from his face. He looked sheepish.

"ACK... you're right I would be confused, too... But we don't have time right now. I promise I'll explain once we get out of the city, so could you please stop giving Lily a hard time?"

Eli looked at Felipe, begging with his eyes for his cooperation. Felipe sighed and looked at his sister.

"Bella, what do you think? Should we go with them?"

Isabella considered this for a moment, it wasn't the best idea to trust people you've only just met, but did they have another choice? If they turned down their mysterious benefactors, did they have a chance of getting away from the S.H.G.S.? She supposed Eli and Lillian were the lesser of two evils.

"I think...we should trust them"

Felipe shrugged.

"If you're sure"

Isabella nodded, and Felipe sighed. Eli smiled at them both before fastening his mask back on, and Lillian soon followed suit. With his identity now concealed again, Eli spoke

"Let's go"

Now on their own two feet, the siblings ran after Eli and Lillian, through narrow alleyways and side roads until they reached the city's right wall. In front of them was a large, empty courtyard. Looking up, Felipe saw armed guards on alert, and wondered, for the first time, why they were there. Everyone in the Capitol knew that the city contained the last remaining humans on Earth... Felipe doubted that any natural wildlife would pose enough of a threat to warrant the constant military presence... Then it dawned on him. They weren't there to keep people out... They were there to keep them in. All the more reason to escape, he supposed.

"All right everyone," Eli said, his tone serious "Our escort will meet us here any minute. Be prepared to board"

"We're getting on a hover ship?" Bella asked, surprised "Doesn't the military regulate them? How will we get out undetected?"

"Our friends have it all under control, and besides, they won't follow us far out of the Capitol," Eli said confidently.

"You're 'friends?' That doesn't really instill confidence"

"Trust me," he said. "We've got it all under control"

Isabella just sighed and hoped he wasn't lying. They waited for a moment longer before the shadow passed over them. The hover ship landed in the courtyard, and it did not go unnoticed by the wall's armed guards.

"Quickly!" Lillian hissed.

The four teens sprinted to the hover ship's open hydraulic door and piled inside, and the door gave a satisfying clank behind them. The siblings had never been in a hover ship before and were impressed by its interior. The walls were lined with monitors, which displayed the ship's diagnostics. Fluorescent lights were embedded into the titanium floor panels and small halls branched away from the ship's main bridge. In the captain's seat, a boy with blue hair sat with his back turned to them. This, Isabella assumed, was Eli's 'friend'. The boy swiveled around, and the siblings were able to get a better look at him.

His blue hair covered his eyes, and he was very pale, as though he rarely went outside. He navigated deftly through the ship's controls. Eli and Lillian walk up to either side of him, and when they received no acknowledgment, Eli spoke.

"Hey Gio, how long until we get home?"

The blue-haired kid finally spoke.

"Depends on if they chase us or not."

They fell silent again as the ship lifted into the sky. Eli, apparently deciding that Gio wasn't very good company, walked over to where Felipe and Bella were standing.

"Sorry about him," Eli said with a smile "He gets nervous around strangers"

"I don't," Gio said, defensive.

"So you're ignoring them for no reason?"

"We don't know if we can trust them yet"

"We can," said Eli, with confidence "They're one of us now"