Nate DuFort

The only reason they got away with any of this was the fact that the laws were different.

As long as the individual was within the sector when the veil dropped, they were allowed to experiment on them, since those people who survived the veil were changed.

313's origin obviously wasn't within the sector, but there was no way to prove that, and no one was looking for her.

I could only imagine how many others they dragged across the veil and fell to the same fate.

As much as I wanted to live, I couldn't blame her for wanting to take revenge.

I would too.

She watched me from between the trees, in the reflection of puddles, and from the inside of buildings, omnipresent in her spectral form.

I was so ready for illusions that when a pack of wild dogs came out of an open bilko door behind us, I didn't react.

They got closer, their panting breaking off into barking, and Silent Sam spun around with his shotgun and started shooting.

I ducked down onto the ground, forgetting that I'd purchased a pistol for this.

The thunderclap of the gun made my ears ring, and I only moved when he grabbed me by my coat and pulled me to my feet.

His silent glare told me all I needed to know.

"'Sorry,' I said, and he responded with a nod and kept walking, reloading his shotgun."

313 tried to send illusions my way, more dogs, shambling monsters, but each time I got Silent Sam's attention and pointed to whatever monstrosity was there, and he shook his head.

I avoided giant holes in the ground that Sam walked right over.

I jumped over snakes that weren't there and jumped at disembodied screams.

Sam kept hold of me every time I wandered.

He knew he wasn't getting paid unless I survived, and I promised him a good sum.

We passed through the gate into the inner sector where the labs still stood.

The strangeness and danger grew the closer we got.