Amara landed as light as feather and Emery looked at her as if she were an alien. She almost laughed at his expression before noting that this was the first time he had seen some of what she was capable of. The women who had set the charges earlier lit flares, tossing them out into the cathedral-like space, completely open, constructed in a perfect circle. There were several alcoves that led into dark hallways at the outer rim. Emery pulled a map from his back pocket and studied it. 

“Most of these tunnels are unused or full of traps. Hopefully our intel is correct or we’re all gonna die down here,” he winked at Amara. 

He flipped open a compass, walking the circle while everyone watched him nervously. He circled the room a few more times and then confidently stopped at the alcove on the far left side of the room. Everyone gathered themselves and regained formation to enter the tunnel. Amara widened her senses and continued to scan their surroundings as they moved. Joslyns magic could not dampen hers here–she noted this fact for later. So far, the bunker felt eerily empty. As the group continued to move together, the women placed flares every few feet so they would be able to find their way back. Amara hoped she would be able to sense any traps but there was no guarantee. The only sounds that could be heard were the footsteps and the flares sizzling on the ground. The group stopped when they came upon a door. A secure keypad was set into the wall next to it, and obviously none of them had the code.

As the women pulled more explosives from their bags and Amara wondered how much they had stashed away. The two worked quickly at setting the charges on the door and one on the keypad. As everyone else waited for the smoke to clear, Amara could already see what was on the other side. A lab, the lab, where all of The Daughters of Athena were created. Amara did not understand how she knew this, the smell crept into her mind igniting a blurry repressed memory. She pushed ahead of the group but kept up her defenses just in case the room was not empty. After a quick scan she knew no one was there. 

A lab table was set up in the center of the room. Various apparatuses, beakers, and test tubes filled the table. Everything was stuck in time, as if an experiment were abandoned. The women busied themselves setting more charges and the men filled their bags with things from the room. Amara took her time looking around. She sensed something further back into the room and noticed another keypad on the wall. Something was behind that door. Amara sidled up to it, placed her hand on the keypad, and spoke a quiet spell. The door recessed into the wall and then slid open. What she saw brought tears to her eyes.

Rows of incubators filled the room with Daughters all at different stages of development. Some merely fetuses while others, fully grown women being kept in stasis. Amara had never seen the process laid so bare before her. When she was removed from her incubator, it was in a different room than the one she grew in. Seeing it was unnerving and bizarre. If these women had been abandoned, they would most assuredly die down here. It was inhumane–growing people was inhumane, and Amara did not understand why it took her until just then to realize that. She had been deprived of a real childhood, a real life. Reduced to nothing more than a body in a tank until it was ready for government use. Amara did not get to have parents; she had handlers, trainers, and doctors. These bodies, these people, Athena’s Daughters were destined for the same fate. Or at least, they were destined for the same fate. Amara did not know what would happen to them now. 

“I knew Athena was depraved but I did not know they went this far,” Emery blurted out from behind her.

She ignored him as she walked further into the room, wanting to find a way to save her siblings. They were all bred of the same original DNA, they were the only family she would ever have. Each one of them deserved mercy; it was what she would have wanted. Even the fully-grown ones would not be able to survive without the help of the scientists that were once there. Some of the  fully-grown Daughters in stasis had succumbed to insanity from a defect in the growth of their DNA; they would not be able to exist outside of their incubators until a cure was found. Now, such a thing may never be found, and they did not deserve to be trapped there.

Amara had to save them from that fate, not the Sacred Scales, her. She scrambled through the room, unplugging and shutting down every incubator she could. Tears were streaming down her face, which made it difficult to see. As the whirring of the machines stopped one by one, the room grew painfully quiet. Emery placed a hand on her shoulder as an effort to comfort her but Amara slapped it away. She did not need his sympathy, she did not need anyone's sympathy. She sank to the floor, cradling herself as she cried. Amara hated to show weakness but how could she be expected to hide this kind of pain? She was now a murderer, the blood of her siblings on her hands. Mercy or not, she would never forgive herself. 

Shots rang out behind them. Amara composed herself as fast as she could. Emery ran back into the lab and she followed. 

“We’re under attack!” One of the men screamed.

Amara rolled her eyes. It was quite obvious they were under attack without his announcement. They all took cover in various places around the room, taking turns firing shots when the attacker paused to reload. This firefight would last forever if she did not take charge. Amara erected a force field around herself, charging down the hall–she barreled into the shooter at full speed and they both went flying several feet down the hallway. She landed on top of them, and the person head-butted Amara. She fell to the side as her vision went blurry for a moment. Shaking her head, she jumped to her feet, and Amara found herself face to face with another Daughter of Athena. 

In a calculated move Amara kneed the girl in the stomach, causing her to double over. This gave Amara the opportunity to elbow her in the spine, and the girl cried out as she fell to her knees. Amara scrambled to find the gun as the girl quickly tripped her, she smacked her face rather hard on the ground. Amara turned on her back and kicked as hard as she could, striking her in her face. The girl stumbled back, cupping her nose that was now gushing blood.  Amara flipped back over and scrambled across the floor to reach for the gun again. The Daughter jumped on her back, grabbed her hair, and pulled it so hard it was a wonder that Amara’s neck did not snap. Amara tried again in vain to reach for the gun, but the girl grabbed her arms and locked them behind her back. 

“I thought you were supposed to be the best!” The girl said as she jammed her knee into Amara’s back. 

The excruciating pain caused her to lose focus. She had to get out of the arm hold and she had to do it now. Without a second thought, she pulled her arm until she heard her shoulder dislocate. This allowed for her to twist herself out of the girl’s grip, Amara gritted her teeth through the pain. Doing so gave her a chance to push herself up onto her knees with one arm and buck the girl off of her. While she was stunned, Amara snatched the gun from the floor and on instinct, fired two shots into her head. She slumped and just like that it was over. 

“I am the best,” Amara said to her dead body.

The group came running down the hall, Emery helped Amara off of the ground and helped her put her shoulder back into place. He looked at her the same way he had when she jumped down into the bunker. Amara grimaced under his scrutiny, but they did not have time for conversation. They ran back to the central part of the bunker and could see Maiyara breathing fire overhead. Amara hung back and let everyone else ascend the ladder before her. None of them could head off a Daughter of Athena, even if they thought they could. Once everyone was up the ladder or partially up, Amara jumped on as two of the men reeled it in. Gunshots sounded above ground as Maiyara roared loudly. Emery pulled her up out of the hole in the ground, she could have managed on her own but appreciated the help. 

While Maiyara held off whoever was attacking, presumably burning them to death, everyone made a run for the vehicles. Emery fell back behind Amara to provide cover fire for everyone else. She continued to run for the car but heard a yell from behind her. Amara whipped around to see Emery clutching his shoulder that was now bleeding profusely. She grabbed him and dragged him along with her. The door was already open and she threw him in a bit harder than she meant to. He went crashing in the opposite door and yelped. She would apologize later. Once she was in, she slammed the door closed behind her, the driver wasted no time taking off toward New Chicago. 

Adrenaline was still high for everyone but once they were sure they were not being followed, everyone calmed. Amara was busy holding pressure on Emery’s wound. He had been shot and she could sense the bullet was still in him. She squeezed his arm tighter, knowing he was close to passing out. 

“You have got to keep your eyes open,” she whispered into his ear. 

He smiled but did not speak, he had lost too much blood and along with that, his energy. As much as she did not like him, she even had the chance to free herself–yet, she could not let him die. She held him close until they reached New Chicago. As soon as the SUV stopped moving, Amara jumped out, grabbed Emery, and slung him over her shoulder. She had a feeling Joslyn would be able to help. Without a word, Joslyn jogged up to meet them, the blood draining from her face. She did not ask what happened, though she looked at Amara with a hint of blame in her eyes. Another man from the village took Emery from Amara and carried him into a house next to Joslyn’s. Amara wanted to follow but the woman standing next to her held her back. Only time would tell if Emery would survive, but Amara sure hoped he would.