The ruins of Cincinnati held a certain level of brightness during the day. The heaps of turned buildings, torn electric lines, and barren wastelands looked bright and shining. It did compared to the world around the city, at least. The Ohio River was black from contamination and all of the greenery had died out from the attack on the city in years past. The only thing left of the old city, in tact, was a large atomic clock, powered by the sun, one one of the only buildings that remained standing. It stood out, reading “August 02, 2015”. Among all of the quietness of the surface world, the streets were bustling with one little bit of activity. Activity that happened often, but didn't happen often.

Two young people were dashing through the streets of the city, ducking their heads under a fallen telephone pole as they darted through the area. One was a man with short, brown hair. He was dressed in a short-sleeved red T-shirt, a pair of jean shorts, and tennis shoes. The other was a woman with long, black hair. She was dressed similarly, though having a skirt instead of shorts. Both looked to be in their early to mid twenties. Their clothes were torn up from excessive running, and their faces were covered in bruises and dirt. The woman let out a yelp as she fell when they were running past, a loud, buzzing sound directly above them. Her face hit the ground and slid, leaving a cut and a small trail of blood behind.

“M-Ma...ack....Mark!” she cried out, coughing out her lungs in the process. The man immediately stopped, his shoes sliding across the ground. The buzzing was getting louder as he saw the woman on the ground, clearly hurt. “Rachel!” he called out, shuffling his feet back and forth, shuffling over to her. He got on his knees as he started to pull her off the ground, blood slowly dripping from her cheek as her face left the contaminated asphalt. As she was pulled up, her right arm wrapped around his shoulders and clenched onto him. “M-Mark...I think...I think I broke my ankle. I can't...I can't run anymore.”

Mark's head turned to Rachel's. She had a grim, pouty look on her face. He knew that face, just as he knew her. They'd grown up in this area, and together. It was her face of giving up. She looked up, her ruby-colored eyes meeting his sapphire-colored eyes. Her hand reached up and grazed across his cheek. The blood marks on her face were pushed back as she tried to force her lips into a smile. In the background, the buzzing sound was still getting louder, as if something were closing in on the area they were occupying. That, or if something were closing in on them. The two were lost in the moment, both having their minds on something completely different.

Mark immediately pulled himself the rest of the way up, Rachel's arm still over his shoulder. “You may not be able to run, Rachel, but I can. We're almost to the shelter. They won't be able to follow of us anymore, if we can make it there. It's protected from the scanners. Do you think you can make it?” The hand over Mark's shoulder tightened it's grip as Rachel pushed into Mark. “I...I don't know. I hurt...everywhere. I don't know if I can make it there or not. Maybe you should just go witho-” Rachel's miserable statement was immediately cut off as Mark interrupted her, moving forward. “That's not going to happen! I'm not leaving you!”

Mark felt strongly about what he had just said. Whether he had Rachel's permission or not, he moved forward, slowly pulling Rachel with him. “Mark...” said Rachel, feeling the various pains in her body from their continued running. “You left the confines of the shelter to come and find me. You found me, and now we're almost back. I thank you so much for what you would risk for me, but...I'm not sure we can make it. I'm just slowing you down. You need to jus-” Rachel was interrupted again, by Mark's loud voice. “NO! What don't you understand, Rachel? I'm not leaving you. I left the rest of the unit to come up here because I refuse to let you die up here. Please...the Patrol Bots are already after us. We have to move. We can't afford this talking. I'm not leaving you and that's all there is to it!”

Mark could feel Rachel's hand starting to loosen it's grip on his shoulder and he grabbed onto it. This was always like Rachel. She never wanted to be the cause of anyone's problems. That's why she left the shelter, in the first place. She always felt like she could never contribute to anything that anyone was talking about. She spent time, chatting with Mark, but whenever it came to the big meetings about the two sides, she didn't think she could do much. The feeling was thrown out by one of the more assertive members, and she ran off. Coming up to the surface was forbidden by the rest, so no one went after her. No one, except for Mark.

He kept hold of her hand and he started moving faster. “Don't you dare let go of me, Rachel. I'm getting you back to the shelter, where it's safe. You are not giving up now.” He didn't want to see her out of action and gone, but she had a different mindset. “What's the use, Mark? I'm not...useful for anything. I can never contribute to the meetings. Maybe Skyler was right. Maybe I deserve to be up here, where I can't bother you guys. Your plans would be much further along, if it weren't for me. I don't want to bother you...”

Mark immediately stopped and moved Rachel around, holding her right in front of him and looking her in the eyes. His pupils were starting to shake as she gasped when she was moved. She felt his fingers tingling as they held onto her arm. Both their faces were bruised and cut, but they could see the emotion in each other's gazes. “Listen to me, Rachel...” he started, more of his head beginning to shake. “Skyler is a jerk. She just wanted to put you down. You are NOT a bother. Hell, you're the only thing that's keeping me going right now. If it weren't for you, I may not have even been a part of this crazy group of people. I need you with me, Rachel. Why do you think I came up here to get you? I disobeyed direct orders and risked exposure for you. I care about you. I care a lot about you! I...well...I think I love you.”

The buzzing sound was getting incredibly loud, but neither of them realized it, as of yet. They were caught in each other's gaze. Rachel's pupils were starting to shake, too. “M-Mark...” The two of them began to smile at one another when something fell from the sky, and everything went dark...