Hey! Mecoda is back! I was never really gone but I'm back and I have just one thing to say: you guys are awesome! Seriously, you've been so patient with all my stories and so nice about it even though I left you off on an irritating cliff hanger. You guys are all just great! So, here I am, doing this update and I hope with all my heart that you enjoy it.

UPDATE: I am never writing a chapter on my phone again. All the boggling errors I made were just...no. I went through and fixed everything I could catch but if you find anything else review or PM me and let me know. :) Thanks!

Step 11: Put Him Down

I remember that dog, laying his head in my lap, sitting there patiently, dying, trusting me. I had brought him here for his death. Sure, it was to end his suffering but it was still death. He just laid there, happy, not caring, because he thought I'd never let that happen. He thought I'd never let them kill him.

I can feel his pulse slowly fade beneath my hand.

I wonder, did I do enough for him? Was he as happy and healthy as I could have made him? What about all those times he wanted to play and I was to busy? Did that hurt him?

I guess what I'm really saying is that, unlike a human where you can tell them you love them, you can't do that with a dog; you have to show question is, did you show them enough? Did they know you loved them?

(Lionel's POV)

I am wrong

Bang. Scream. Crunch.

I am a monster.

Bang. Bang. Groan.

I should have never been born.

I reach into a den by my feet and pull a screaming Wildling out by the hair.

It screams. It cries. It begs.

I drag her, cast her to the ground.

Bang. She falls silent.

This is my duty. I must cleanse the world of the impurities my parents and others have created.

I hear whimpers from the dead things arms. I step toward the corpse. A pair of eyes look back at me: a cub. He reminds me of myself.

I smile.

I must prevent any future impurities as well.

I aim.

Wildlings and Halflings, they will be no more.

Bang.

Silence...a job well done.

(Sonic's POV)

"Sonic?"

A firm, gloved hand grasps my shoulder.

I don't move. I'm too tired, too hurt, too confused to move. I can't shove the iron scent of blood from my nostrils and the image of dead bodies, bodies that used to be filled with spirit and ferocity, lying limp is carved into my eyelids. How am I to cope with this? How will I get by?

"Amy's at the station," Hound tells me. "She's awfully shaken. How 'bout coming with us. The sight of you will calm her down a bit."

I don't understand. How could the shooters have found them? No one knows where they live: not the city dwellers, not the companies, not even the police!...Not even...the...

...

...

...Lionel.

We led him right to the territory when we set that trap. He even saw the way the Wildling scouts ran when Shadow was injured. The police did know. Lionel told them. I told Lionel.

I whimpered. It was my fault they were dead! I killed them!

"Now hey there, little guy," Hound spoke soothingly, rubbing my back as he did. "Don't you cry. We'll get this all sorted. Then-"

I flung my hand up, clutching Hounds throat. I strengthened my hold gradually, excruciatingly. I lifted my head from my crying position and growled, tears still stinging my eyes. The Sherif gasped for air.

"Put your hands in the air!" Hounds back up screamed.

Two armed men and a Sherif...I could take them.

I flung Hound to the side and started to stand.

The Hound dog gasped.

I stepped over his writhing body to the gunmen.

"Brave," I hissed. "Aren't you?"

"S-Sonic," Hound on the ground behind me.

"Brave enough to march on a Wildling camp?"

The boys shook, their guns rattling in their hands.

"Brave enough to shoot the innocent? The unarmed?"

"Stop...Sonic." Hound sputtered to me again.

"Are you brave enough to shoot me then?! Huh? Can you?!"

"Don't shoot!" Hound yelled.

I looked over my shoulder to see him starting to rise. That bastard didn't know when to shut up.

"Listen. You're making a mistake."

"Am I?"

"We didn't do this!" Hound insisted, rubbing the fresh soon-to-be bruises I left on his neck.

Rage boiled through me. I was about ready to lunge at him for his denial.

I took a step forward before I heard a shot and something connected with my back. My eyes widened in shock. The object was sharp like a needle and making me feel so...so...sleepy. I fell to my knees and flopped down to the ground, hearing these last words from Hound: "how could you?"

I felt something hard and cold beneath me. It was hardly the comfortable bed I had at Amy's house, nor was it the warm familiarity of a den. Where was I?

I was about to open my eyes and stir when I heard a voice beside me.

"How could you?"

It it was Hound, I knew that much, but his question brought me back to the present. I had been shot with something (a tranquilizer, maybe?) and from there I wasn't quite sure what happened. I stayed down with my eyes closed, keeping as still as possible. Playing dead would probably be best for now.

"Lionel told us what was happening," the voice of a younger man, an officer, said pointedly. "What you were letting happen. These women were being brainwashed, raped! You just swept it under the rug."

"They deserved more than they had!" Hound yelled back. "It was one couple that I helped, many years ago and if you could have seen them-"

"I would have been disgusted."

"You would have known that they loved each other!"

Was Hound talking about what I think he was talking about? There were more Wildling-City Dweller couples?

My eyes fluttered open and I turned my head, looking up to see Hound sitting beside and above me. Neither of the men seemed to notice me.

"But there were more cases, weren't there?"

Hound nodded. "Probably. I only knew of the one, though. If I knew the others I still would have done the same thing."

My eyes darted to the other speaker. He was an officer, guarding us from the other side if bars.

I frowned. So we were trapped in a cell? That's a tight squeeze to get out of. Think, Sonic, think.

"I thought you were a good man, Hound," the other officer sighed. "A leader...but I guess I was wrong. You're nothing but a selfish man."

my eyes darted back to Hound. As far as these guys know I've been asleep this whole time, right? Plus, the last time they saw me awake I was still trying to kill Hound. I began to stir, purposely acting groggy as though I was just waking up.

I got up into my knees to see Hound's eyes were wide with shock.

The officer didn't seem any less surprised. "He should still be out!"

I narrowed my eyes when staring at Hound, sending a warning to him.

He scotched away, trying to avoid a fight but I pounced.

As soon as I did instinct hit the officer guarding us, like I predicted. He swung open the door to break us up and I took my chance. At full speed, I catapulted myself at the guard, pinning him to the ground. With a thud his head met with the floor knocking the guy out.

A collective gasp echoed through the room. I looked up. From the hallways, overtop the unconscious guard, I could see officers in pairs of two, locked away in cells. What was going on here?

I stood and glanced around curiously before turning back to Hound. The Sheriff flinched.

Were all these men here for the same reason Hound was? Did this have to do with Amy and me?

I looked Hound in the eye. He stayed firm, not breaking from my gaze but still fearful, as he should be. As far as he knew I could be in psycho killer mode right now. Usually I'd play with that, I'd get as much information as I could, whether that involved being genuine or using intimidation. That wasn't what mattered now, though. There was only thing was on my mind.

"Amy," my mate's name tasted bittersweet on my tongue. "Where's Amy?"

(Amy's POV)

I tried for the umpteenth time to somehow slip from my chains. It took every ounce of control I had not to scream as I did.

"That's a bad idea," Lionel mocked me from his chair beside my bed, not taking his eyes from the record he held.

"Shut up, you sick bastard!" I yelled.

He just frowned. "One day you'll understand."

I grab the barred headboard of the bed and pull, trying to get my ankle out of the shackles. The mettle grinds painfully along my sore pink flesh, tearing it open and allowing a little more blood to spill, staining the sheets.

I hiss in some air through my teeth and close my eyes, forcing back bitter tears.

"Stop!" Lionel orders, grabbing my bound up ankles and glaring at me. "You'll only hurt yourself."

"Why would you care!" I shriek, flailing my arms at his face and kicking.

Lionel sits back in his chair where I can't reach him and shakes his head in disappointment.

"You're a murderer! Why not just kill me?"

"You're innocent."

"So were the Wildlings!"

"You know nothing of the Wildlings!" He roared. "They only care about three things: killing, surviving and breeding. They're like parasites! They wake up, they kill, they eat, they fuck and they sleep. They devour everything in their sight, the multiply. It's sickening."

"Like we're any different!" I screamed. "We've destroyed their homes, their spirits, their rights, all for our convenience!"

Lionel laughed, looking back at his file. The laugh was humourless, dry, seeping with venom from it's very core. I cringed at the sound of it.

Wordlessly he flipped through the pages of his file before landing on a page that seemed to be just what he was looking for. He pulled out one paper and held it out for me to take.

I glared at him.

"What's wrong?" He asked with a small smile playing at his lips.

What's wrong? What's wrong? People were dead and Sonic was who know's where!

"You're a monster," I spat the words like a cobra.

He sighed, setting the paper down lightly in my lap. "I am...by nature we both are."

My eyes darted back to him as he began to stand and head to the door. Not a word passed between us, he just left.

I looked back down at the sheet. It stared back at me temptingly. I reached one shaky hand out to it, raised it high enough to see and started to read.

(Sonic's POV)

This gun, this weapon in my hand weighed heavy in my palm. How could anyone pull this trigger on children? I had a hard time pulling it on this guy, and he was one of the shooters!

I kept the barrel pressed to his forehead and growled.

"He'll talk if we keep him alive," one of the young officers said behind me.

Hound, standing firm at my side nodded. "He's right."

I gripped the the gun harder but still couldn't pull this trigger. It seemed wrong to me that such a short, insignificant movement of the hand should be worthy of taking someone's life.

Throwing the gun down to the ground I raised my foot and kicked it into his face. I heard a crack, the fracturing of his skull as the back of his head hit the ground. Dead.

"That's not as humane," Hound pointed out to me, reaching down and picking up the gun.

"You're right, it's more painful," I agreed. "But there's no honour in equating a person's life to the flick of a finger."

Hound looked at me and grimaced. "I prefer clean kills to honour. Only take life when you need to and do it fast."

I looked ahead at the door out of the basement prison cells and gave a stark nod. Behind me stood a dozen or so officers who, between all of them, had two guns. Behind those doors, on the other hand were dozens more officers with two guns each. Our chances weren't looking good.

"Let's do this fast, men," Hound turned to his boys. "We need to reclaim the station and free any hostages we find. That means officers, women and...a couple Wildlings."

I smile. The idea that some were still alive thrilled me. Maybe Shadow was through that door just waiting to be rescued. I'd never let it go if I came to his rescue. Then I realized, hostages...That deflated me quite a bit.

"Ready?" Hound asked me, turning back around and staring at the door.

I gave a steady nod.

"Then let's get moving."

We climbed up the basement stairs and I felt like we all inhaled a breath for bravery at the exact same moment. Not a sound rang through but that of the door knob creaking with rust as Hound turned it and led us into the station.

Another cliff hanger? I made you wait THIS LONG for another cliff hanger? I know. I'm mean. I'm sorry. :(

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter though. As always, reviews are welcome. I'll try to update faster this time but it won't be incredibly speedy, what with exams coming up and all.

Once more, I hope you liked! Bye! :D