Cipher Code {complete}

Chapter Fifty Seven: Dust Ablaze.

Issac and Philip stumbled out of the twin's workshop hand in hand, soot and ash clinging to their lungs as they pulled the collars of their new shirts up against their noses.

They had set the crumbling building on fire like they were asked and now they stood by it and watched it burn.

"They didn't need to do this," Philip let out a series of coughs, wheezing as he spoke. His face was darkened by the rain of ashes as the flames rapidly consumed the building. For a moment he cherished the warmth, and the next he pondered where the oxygen fueling the blaze was coming from when the fog still surrounded it.

Issac shot him a worried glance.

"They did," his fingers dug into their newly mended uniforms, the folded cloth trapped under his arm.

"Take it as a show of commitment." He pulled his friend back as the fire expanded, the tongues of flames now grazing the toes of their boots.

"They can't come back if we fail." Philip said sullenly, letting Issac drag him deeper into the forest behind him. His eyes never left the fire.

"Then it's better not to waste anymore time," Issac slipped off his linen shirt and passed it to a dazed Philip.

"Don't breathe in too much of the fog." He warned the younger man sternly.

"O-Okay." Philip diverted his gaze from the shirtless captain and played with the material of his shirt. "I never knew we could actually breathe the fog."

"We can't." Issac answered, his voice soft. With every breath they took they were suffocating, even without knowing it. It was still a wonder to him how Esau and Edythe could take in so easily.

Philip looked up to see his friend only in his underwear and heat rushed to his face. He shut his eyes and looked away. "Just. . . Just hurry up and get dressed."

Issac let out a hearty chuckle, not at all bothered by his friend's embarrassment. "If this is how you are now I wonder what you'd do when we start living together."

Philip mumbled something incoherent in reply and Issac laughed again.

"Don't worry, I'm decent." he said.

"Okay, let's go." Philip said, suddenly out of breath.

A hand steadied him before he could trip on his feet and he found himself lost in the storm in Isaac's eyes.

"You have to change too." The captain hissed, his voice a bit muffled by the mask of his uniform. "The fog is poisonous, you know that."

"But—"

"You'll freeze to death and I don't have any more supplies to keep you alive."

Philip stilled. It was true that Issac had emptied the storage space of both their Chain nets to try and stop him from bleeding, freezing over and dying. If the captain hadn't stumbled upon the workshop both of them would have frozen to death.

It was the first time Philip doubted the chip that scientists claimed could cure anything. His gaze fell on his pale wrist.

The chip couldn't detoxify whatever poison was rushing through his body and for the first time in a long time, technology couldn't save him.

But. . .

Already, warm fingers were tugging his shirt away, exposing him to the cool weather.

"Iza," he shivered, his arms raised to his chest as though he could shield himself from the elements. "I'm already freezing!"

"Quite the nonsense you're pulling today, Phil." Issac pulled the uniform over the reluctant soldier's head. "Those children are probably mocking us this very moment."