Departure

Jack said as he followed behind Jason. "Wait! Hold on a second! What is the problem?"

Jason continued walking toward the main room and said. "You erased my scars." 

Jack said. "Yeah but how is that a bad thing?" 

Jason stopped walking and said. "One of them was the brand on my back." 

Jack stopped walking as well and said. "The brand? You mean your clan brand? Why do you want it?" 

Jason looked down at the ground and said. "I changed it. I gave it a purpose." 

Jack asked. "A purpose? What do you mean?" 

Jason replied. "It represents my whole reason for living."

Jack said while confused. "What? What are you talking about?" 

Jason looked back up from the ground. He made eye contact with Jack and said. "That doesn't concern you." He turned and walked away from Jack. He walked towards the main room of the building again. 

No sounds could be heard from behind Jason. No footsteps and no voices. 

Jason looked over his shoulder as he walked toward the main room. He saw Jack standing in silence as he stared at the ground. Jason looked away from Jack and looked forward again as he thought. "This is goodbye." 

Jason arrived in the main room. It was still empty like before. Any signs of the Shadow Corp soldiers were still nowhere to be found. 

Jason walked over to a spot where the body of a Shadow Corp soldier once was. A spot close to the center of the room. He raised his foot over the spot and then slammed his foot down into it. 

The wooden floor cracked beneath the weight of Jason's foot. The broken wooden floor revealed a secret compartment. 

The secret compartment was square shaped. Each side was about one and half meters long. The inside of the compartment looked the same as the floor it was hiding beneath. 

Inside of the secret compartment was three items. There was a long scabbard for a sword and a short scabbard for a dagger. The third and final item was a backpack. All three of the items were covered in dried up blood.

Jason thought as he stared at the dried blood that was covering the three items. "So, Shadow Corp really was here. The bodies must've been moved." 

Jason grabbed the two scabbards from the secret compartment. He strapped the long scabbard to his back and the short scabbard to the left side of his waist. He thought, "I'll need to get these cleaned." Jason then grabbed the backpack from out of the secret compartment and put it on his back. 

Jason sighed and thought. "Time to go." He looked around the room and spotted something that immediately got his attention. The thing that had got his attention was a picture. 

He began to walk towards the picture as if he was in a trance. He walked towards the picture and thought. "I don't think that was there before."

Jason stood next to the picture. He grabbed the frame of the picture with both of his hands and lifted it off of the wall. He looked to see what was behind the picture and sighed as he said. "I see. So, that is what it is." 

Behind the picture was a hole in the wall. It was the same hole which Jason had created when he slammed Thomas's head into the wall.

Jason put the picture back on the wall. The picture covered up the hole again. The hole once again remained unseen. 

Jason turned away from the picture and began to walk towards the door of the building. The same door which he had gone through before to go outside. 

Jason stood in front of the door. He put his right hand on the door handle and was just about to open the door when he suddenly heard something. 

He heard footsteps from behind him. He looked over his shoulder and saw Jack run into the main room. 

Jack had an unconscious Thomas slung over his left shoulder. Jack said to Jason. "Wait up, Jason! We're coming with you!" 

Jason said over his shoulder. "No." He looked forward again. He opened the door of the building and stepped outside. 

Jason quickly walked across the concrete that was right by the door of the building and then began walking across grass. He heard grass crunching beneath his feet as he walked. 

Jason suddenly stopped walking. He could still hear the grass crunching. He turned and looked behind him. 

Jack was following behind him with an unconscious Thomas slung over his shoulder. 

Jason looked at Jack with a blank look and said. "What are you doing?" 

Jack stopped walking and said to Jason. "Following you obviously." 

Jason said. "Oh okay." He began to walk again and then suddenly stopped. Once again he could still hear the sound of grass being crunched. He turned around and looked at Jack again. 

Jack said. "What?" 

Jason said with a blank expression on his face. "Why are you following me?"

Jack asked. "Why wouldn't I follow you?" 

Jason said with a confused look on his face. "Huh?"

Jack asked. "Who else am I going to follow?" He looked around at the surroundings and then looked back at Jason as he said. "You're the only one out here." 

Jason said while annoyed. "I don't care. Go away!"

Jack said. "We're all going to the same place though." 

Jason said while annoyed. "Huh? 'We're all going to the same place'? You expect me to believe that? What are the odds of that actually being true?" 

Jack replied. "Come on. When have I ever lied to you before?" 

Jason stared at Jack with a dumbfounded expression. He looked at Jack and then looked at Thomas who was slung over Jack's shoulder. He looked back at Jack again and said while dumbfounded. "Are you serious?"

Jack put his right hand up and did a "hold on" gesture as he said. "Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait! That isn't what I meant to say."

Jason turned his back to Jack and said. "Enough of this." He began to walk away as he said. "Quit wasting my time." 

Jack said from behind Jason. "Hold on a second! How are you going to get there?" 

Jason stopped walking and thought. "Is this really the same guy from before? Why is he asking such a stupid question?" Jason turned around and looked at Jack as he said. "What do you mean 'how'? I'll take the train." 

Jack shook his head. "You can't." 

Jason said while confused. "What do you mean I can't?" 

Jack explained. "A notice was sent out a week ago. Everyone in this area had to evacuate. All surface railways leading to this area have been cut off."

Jason said while shocked. "What?!" 

Jack said. "I've been wondering this since yesterday, Jason, but I was too tired to ask. How did you get here?" 

Jason narrowed his eyes as he looked at Jack and replied. "I could ask you the same thing. How did you get here?" 

Jack remained silent and Jason thought. "The railways have been cut? I suppose that makes sense. I've been wondering why this place has been so empty since I first got here." He looked over at Thomas and Jack as he thought. "The only thing that doesn't make sense is those two. Why are they here and how did they get here?" 

Jack said. "I took the official train." 

Jason replied. "Didn't you just say the railways were cut?" He narrowed his eyes and said. "So, how did you take a train then?" 

Jack shook his head. "No. I said only the railways on the surface were cut. The underground railways are still intact." 

Jason thought. "What?! Underground railways? I've never heard of them before. Is this how the military travels?" 

Jack said. "I'm guessing you don't know what the underground railways are?" He smirked ss he said. "Which means you didn't take them yourself. So, now it's time for you to answer my question! How did you-?" 

Jason cut Jack off and said. "The underground railways! Take me to them!" 

Jack looked surprised at Jason's sudden outburst and said. "What? Why?" 

Jason said. "If this area has been evacuated that means the Eastern Front has been moved again, hasn't it?" 

Jack replied. "Yeah. But, why do you ask?"

Jason remained still and silent. He seemed like he was frozen in place. 

Jack chuckled. "Ah I see now. You're afraid of the SG, aren't you?" 

Jason said. "No. But, I'd also rather avoid him. Where are the underground railways?" 

Jack chuckled again. "Are you sure? The government uses them." 

Jason smirked. "Yes. What could possibly go wrong?" His smirk faded and he regained his serious expression again as he said. "Where is it?"

Jack replied. "I can only show you."

Jason sighed and said. "Fine then. Lead the way."

Jack walked ahead of Jason and Jason followed behind him. 

Jason sighed as he walked and thought. "Looks like I'm going to have to take these two with me after all."