Warning ⚠️: This book contains graphic content. Viewer discretion is advised.

October 16th 2014.

Esther set her bag into the trunk, watching as Joelee leaned into the car to toss in her pillow before she hit her head as she went to duck back out of the car.

"Shut up." Joelee grumbled as she rubbed her now sore head, shutting the car door rather roughly as she headed back inside one last time.

Alyssa stirred from where she lay asleep in the front seat, but went back to snoring softly when no further noise disturbed her.

"I'm gonna miss you, Es." Kent admitted as he walked up behind Esther, rubbing his neck awkwardly as he looked down at the slightly shorter woman.

"I'll miss you too. But we can text so it's okay." Esther said as she smiled at him, shutting the trunk before she turned her full attention to him.

"Hey... Uh... I had a really good time with you." Kent began slowly as he looked down at the ground shyly.

"I did too, Kent. We always have fun, though." Esther leaned against the car as Kent took a step towards her, meeting her pale green gaze now as he licked his lips nervously.

"Yeah. But it's different this year..." Kent's voice grew softer as he gave a hard swallow at Esther's confused expression.

"How so?" Esther whispered after a moment, heart racing now as he grew closer to her.

"Because, you mean more to me than just a friend now... So..." Kent faltered as he leaned forward as though he was going to kiss her but he kissed her forehead instead, causing her face to flush red immediately.

"Here's a kiss. If you don't like it, return it." Kent murmured before he turned and bolted away, leaving Esther to try and control her heavy breathing.

A loud pterodactyl screech erupted from the porch which turned Esther's attention to the house where Nathan and Joelee stood.

"That was SO CUTE!" Joelee exclaimed after she stopped screeching, eyes wide as she grinned like a madman.

"Shut up and get in the car!" Esther yelled as she quickly stumbled towards the car door, throwing it open and basically falling in before she slammed the door shut.

"You chickened out on kissing her." Joelee smirked at Kent who blushed as he looked away awkwardly.

"It's not the right time." Kent muttered before Nathan gave him a fist bump.

"Good effort." Nathan grinned at his friend who shook his head before patting Joelee's head.

"Bye, short one." Kent said awkwardly before Joelee wrapped him in a hug.

"Bye, tall one." Joelee teased in return before hugging Nathan, sighing when Esther's mom honked the horn.

"See you in June!" Nathan called as Joelee ran towards the car, Joelee giving a wave and nod in reply before she climbed into the car.

_-*-_

Present day.

"Nathan?! What's happening?!" Joelee paused as all three girls halted where the boys had been swimming previously, a tall male turning to grin at them as he gave Esther a little wave.

"David? What are you doing here?" Esther asked as she narrowed her eyes at the attractive male who gave her a cheeky wink.

"E-Esther?" A strained voice said from behind David, turning the girls attention to where Kent lay on the ground.

Kent was holding a wound in his stomach, blood seeping through his fingers as he gazed up at the woman desperately.

"No." Esther whispered as she realized that David had a gun which he pointed at the girls with a sinister grin.

"Sorry, love. He was getting too attached." David shrugged as he spit on the ground next to Kent before he cocked the gun once again.

"Now then. Let's get this party started, shall we?" David's almost red eyes flashed in the last of the sunlight as it disappeared below the horizon, leaving everyone in the dark.

"What have you done!?" Esther yelled at David who immediately narrowed his eyes at the woman in front of him.

"He was going to steal you away, love. I had to shoot him." David motioned to Kent with the wooden gun he held, seemingly growing more annoyed by the minute.

"You... You killed my sister! How could you do something like that!?" Kevin yelled which caused David to laugh as he turned to look at Kevin with a large grin.

"You and I both know how much she knew! I couldn't very well let her escape, now could I?" David winked at Kevin who's face was red with rage now as he clenched his fists.

"Ah, ah, ah, love. I wouldn't. I came prepared for this." David said as he turned his attention back to Esther who narrowed her eyes at the male, staring at the wooden gun with hate in her eyes.

"How could you know-" Esther started to say before David cut her off with a scoff.

"I know a lot more than you think love. More than you do." David said which caused Esther to grit her teeth as she struggled to control her anger.

"Esther, you need to get out of here." Kent whispered which made Esther turn her attention to him, tears forming in her eyes at how pale he was starting to get.

"Shut up, mate." David shot Kent again, this time in the shoulder which caused him to cry out in pain.

"Stop it!" Esther exclaimed as she took a step towards them, only for David to point the gun at her instead.

"No, love. He brought this upon himself." David snarled as Esther backed up, tears running down her cheeks as she stared at the man that she had once called her friend.

"If you care about me, you'll stop." Esther whispered, causing David's face to momentarily soften as his eyes swirled to blue for a moment before turning red as he narrowed his eyes.

"He deserves this! He's trying to keep you for himself!" David roared, grip tightening on the gun as Esther flinched away from him.

"You're mine. You love me. Remember?" David took a step towards her, a large smile on his face as he approached.

"We're friends, David-" Esther began before David cut her off, eyes now full of rage as he backed her up against a tree.

"No! We're not friends! You're in love with me! You just don't remember! I did it to protect you but you're free now so you have to remember!" David yelled as he pressed the gun against her head, grip tight on the gun as his breathing escaped in heavy pants.

"Then help me remember. Put the gun down." Esther raised her hands slowly as she looked into his eyes which lightened slightly to an almost purple color as he gazed into hers.

Joelee let out a snarl as she tackled him to the ground, the gun falling a slight distance away from them as she held him down.

"Kent!" Esther ran over to her friend, dropping to the ground next to him as she rested his head on her legs.

"Stars..." Kent murmured as he looked up at the sky with wide eyes, causing fresh tears to fill Esther's as she sniffled.

"It's been so long... Now I know how you felt... That one year... They really are beautiful... I missed them." Kent's eyes fell on Esther before a cough ripped from his chest, his face contorting in pain as he gasped for breath.

"Es..." Kent whispered, voice hoarse now as he gazed up at her desperately.

Esther bent down so she could hear him better and felt a gentle kiss on her cheek, causing her to sniffle before she looked down at Kent who smiled at her.

"Here's... A... Kiss... If you... Don't... Like... It..." Kent gasped as he struggled to breathe, coughing loudly as he gripped Esther's hand for support.

"I'd like to return it." Esther whispered as she pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead, causing a smile to spread over Kent's face before he let out a soft exhale.

"Kent?" Esther squeezed his hand as she stared down into his baby blue eyes but he gave no reply.

"Kent, no... Please...." Esther whispered as tears fell from her cheeks, her eyes glowing white as she tried to heal the male to no prevail.

"How could you?! I trusted you!" Esther yelled at David who simply smirked in reply.

"Is he..." Joelee asked in a soft voice as tears ran down her cheeks, sobbing quietly when Esther gave a slight nod.

"Kent..." Nathan whispered as he turned his harsh glare on David, fists clenching as he took a step towards them.

"Kill him." Kevin said in an emotionless tone which caused everyone to turn and look at him in shock.

"I don't think so. See you soon, love." David winked at Esther before disappearing into a puff of red smoke.

"No!" Joelee yelled as she slammed her fists on the ground beneath her, where David had previously been laying.

"We have to go.... Someone would have heard the gunshot." Connor startled everyone as he came up behind them, causing them to turn and glare at him.

"Did you lead him here?!" Joelee growled as she got to her feet at a startling speed, eyes brown as she glared at the male in front of her with a look of malice.

"No. He was probably following us this whole time. He's the best tracker that The Monarch has right now." Connor replied as he bent down to close Kent's eyes, but Esther smacked his hand away as she did it herself.

"He's right, though. We should go." Nathan sighed as he put a hand on Esther's shoulder, gazing down at Kent with tears in his eyes.

"What do we do about..." Alyssa whispered but Esther shook her head as she slowly stood up, surprisingly not having any blood on her as she put Kent's hands over his wound.

"There's nothing we can do." Esther replied as she began to walk in the opposite direction, tears running down her face as she hurried away from them.

"She's right. Come on." Blake murmured as he spared a final glance at Kent's body before he followed Esther.

"Nathan?" Joelee questioned as they all began to walk away, Nathan not being able to look at her as tears ran down his cheeks.

Joelee slowly reached to put a hand on his arm but he jerked from her grip as he began to walk quicker, avoiding looking at anyone around him as he angrily wiped at his tears.

"He was telling the truth." Kai murmured as he slowed down to walk next to Joelee, gaze fixated on Esther as he spoke.

"What do you mean?" Joelee questioned as she eyed Kai warily, rubbing her arms as she walked as the night began to grow colder.

"The Monarch developed a serum... One to remove memories. They use it on the human parts of a cyborgs brains and sometimes on scientists who learn too much. If Esther were subjected to it... They'd be able to remove whatever parts of her memory that they wanted. It's like tiny robots that they inject through a serum that are then expelled by making the host sick after the memories are once again required. If she was injected with it, they could make her forget whatever they wanted to without any long term consequences." Kai explained while Joelee listened in stunned silence, looking away quickly as she thought over what he was saying.

"Esther could've actually been in love with David... Even though that's forbidden aside from when information is needed. But he seems genuinely upset that she doesn't remember after he tried to jog her memory. They probably removed too much, too many times. It'll probably take a lot longer to get her memories back this time. If you even want that." Kai continued when Joelee didn't say anything, gaze finally falling on Joelee as he spoke in a hushed tone.

"You think she was actually in love with that psycho?" Joelee arched her eyebrows as Kai gave a nod in response, running a hand through his black hair before he released a sigh.

"It's up to you what you do with this information. But I have seen them together, walking around The Monarch without any supervision and that is strictly forbidden." Kai paused as he gazed up at the stars, admiring the lights with an awestruck expression.

"I see what he was saying. I know he was secretly talking about Esther but was using stars as a way to admit how he felt. But stars really are beautiful... I've never seen them before." Kai murmured after a moment, causing Joelee to look up as well, smile spreading over her lips for a moment before she arched her eyebrows and looked at Kai with a curious expression.

"You've never seen stars?" She questioned, realizing why what he had said sounded slightly strange to her.

"I've never seen the outside." Was the only reply she got before Connor cut between the two.

"I know where we can get money for a way out. I had an outside source prepared for when we escaped." Connor told her, causing Joelee's eyes to narrow as she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply to try and calm herself.

"You mean to tell me... YOU HAD CONNECTIONS SET UP FOR US AND DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING UNTIL JUST NOW!?" Joelee yelled, turning everyone's attention to the three in the back of the group now.

"You didn't really give me time to tell you." Connor snapped as he put a sassy hand on his hip, narrowing his deep brown eyes at the shorter woman who looked like she was about ready to break his arm.

"Because I don't give people who murder my friends the time of day. You're lucky we let you come with us." Joelee shot back at the male but he had, had enough by now and was ready to argue for his case.

"If Killian had been the one to kill Brianna And I had been the one to die, you would've forgiven him by now because of the time-" Connor began as he pointed a finger in her face but she cut him off as her eyes began to slowly darken and black veins began crawling up her neck.

"You do not get to talk about him. You do not get to tell me what I would do. It does not matter what relationship I have or had with anyone, what matters is YOU KILLED HIM! You killed Brianna! You are the reason that we lost THREE YEARS of our lives! You stole everything from us! Do you realize that even though you helped us escape, we'll be fearing for our lives every single day?! You might as well have killed us the day that you put us on The Monarch's radar. You signed our death certificates." Joelee's eyes were completely black now as she bared her sharpened teeth at the older male who's eyes were now glowing red.

"I had no idea what I was doing! My memories were of my normal life! How could I have known that they were using me? I am the perfect combination of human and machine, Joe! There was no way for me to see any difference! But maybe it's just easier for you to place the blame on me than come to terms with the reality that if you had acted quicker you could've saved everyone! You're the fastest and strongest person here!" Connor yelled back as he took a step towards her, hands curling into fists as he narrowed his eyes at the shorter woman.

"I forgave you for that, Connor! What I'm not forgiving you for is acting like you're innocent in this situation! You still pulled the trigger! You still didn't have one of your scientist buddies check over your brain for any tampering before attempting a high risk escape plan! You knew that The Monarch has a history of messing with your mind but you still didn't check for bugs!?" Joelee's words caused Connor to falter as his eyes dimmed slightly, fists relaxing as tears filled his eyes now.

"I didn't have time. You would've been stuck there for two more months if I hadn't done it that exact day. They would've been suspicious of the scientists that helped us escape if I had a checkup on that specific day and my preparations stopped me from doing it earlier. The paperwork required for me to enter a lab without first being instructed to do so would take weeks to finish. It could've caused our plan to fail. You would've died by then. Or at least... A lot of people would've. They have a deal with the military to send successful experiments on covert missions and to the frontlines depending on their ability." Connor's words caused Joelee to falter as she listened in silence now, finally accepting that he had something to say that would change her opinion of him as the glow began to lighten in color to more of a honey rather than brown.

"If I could change what happened, I would. I never would've shown up at that camp but you have to understand.... I didn't know. I don't remember anything from any missions I've ever been on! They send me home for a few weeks at a time so that my family doesn't get suspicious, but I don't remember anything about The Monarch during that time. They took everything from me too. I can never have a life with anyone... I can't have a family of my own... I can never escape them... Not really. I'll never be able to forget that I'm not human." Connor's eyes glowed a bright blue for a moment before they returned to normal to show what he meant.

"Cyborgs are illegal for one reason... They're too human. That's why most know you as an android... You were supposed to be destroyed years ago. You're more human than you think." Kevin spoke up after a moment, turning Connor's attention to him, brown eyes filled with tears as he eyed the ginger male curiously.

"That doesn't mean I am human anymore. They took me completely apart... Replaced what made me... Me. They took my memories... My emotions. Everything. All because I was a receptionist at their main facility during the time of my accident. I've lost people too, I understand your pain but you do not get to treat my like I purposely killed anyone when you literally tore Axle's arm off... He wasn't alive when we left. You're the same as me." Connor's gaze flicked backed to Joelee who looked mortified by what he had said, breathing beginning to pick up as she backed away from him.

"I... I killed him?" Connor's eyes widened as he realized that Joelee was beginning to have a panic attack, tears running down her cheeks as she gazed down at her hands in disgust.

"You really didn't know?" Connor took a step towards her, but she quickly stepped back as she shook her head no.

"No... I thought Brianna was just guessing that he was dead... I... I killed him? I... I thought they would have a way to save him... I don't have control when I'm using my powers... Sometimes I don't even know it happens until I wake up..." Joelee covered her face with her hands as she struggled to control her breathing.

"He killed Sam. He deserved it." Kai said in an emotionless voice but Joelee shook her head quickly as she looked up at him.

"Nobody deserves to die... Deserving to suffer is one thing but deserving to die... One life cannot bring back another. I took a life too... I'm no better than Axle now. It's a vicious cycle." Joelee whispered as she wiped her tears away, shaking where she stood leaned against a tree for support.

"You can't honestly believe that. You don't want Magdeline dead for what she's taken from you? Your friends are dead because of her." Kai crossed his arms over his chest as he spoke, voice a lot more harsh now as he narrowed his deep brown eyes.

"Magdeline? The Boss Lady is named Magdeline?" Alyssa snickered before quickly going silent as everyone turned to glare at her.

" Eve Magdeline. She goes by her maiden name... I don't know why." Kevin muttered, rubbing his arms to try and fight the chill that was forming in the night.

"I hate to break this up but we should probably find shelter soon." Blake piped up immediately after Kevin spoke, pointing to the sky which was beginning to form storm clouds.

"We have about an hour. We need to get as far away from... You know... Before we set up camp." Joelee mumbled as she turned and began walking quickly in the opposite direction, not waiting for the others as she weaved easily through the trees.

"If it makes you feel any better... I don't blame you for anything. I know how hard your life has been." Kevin spoke up as he kept pace with Connor, the rest having to basically run to keep up with Joelee.

"It does. At least I have one person on my side." Connor murmured as he turned to look at Kevin who gave him an awkward, reassuring smile.

"You may not remember, but there was a time where you were my friend too... A long time ago. I owe a lot to you." Kevin admitted after a moment, quickly avoiding Connor's gaze as Connor stared at him with a shocked expression.

"We were?" Connor asked as the wind began to pick up around them, thunder rumbling in the distance as they all began to walk faster to gain some distance.

"We were. You'll remember someday, I promise. You always do." Kevin paused as lighting struck across the dark sky, illuminating the forest in front of them.

The group walked in silence, Joelee keeping their pace quick to try and race the storm.

The others were beginning to grow tired once again, breathing heavily as they all struggled to keep up with Joelee.

"Joe! Here is fine! Please!" Blake groaned as he sat down on the ground, not waiting for Joelee to reply as he struggled to catch his breath.

"You're lucky I have military training from my mom." Joelee mumbled as she removed the duffle bag from her shoulder, letting it drop to the ground as she dug through it.

"They had quite a few tarps just laying around and I managed to steal a blanket. They were probably hiking or something because there was nobody around when I found the campsite. Who leaves a trailer unlocked when they go hiking? There was literally so much expensive stuff in that camper." Joelee rambled as she removed three tarps from the duffle, having carefully folded them to be small enough to fit in the overloaded duffle.

" This is as far as we're getting for tonight." Joelee continued as she pulled rope from the bag, securing one of the edges of a large tarp to a tree before securing the other side to a different one to create a shelter of sorts.

"Find me three big sticks so it doesn't just fill up the tarps with water and rip them." Joelee called over her shoulder before she set to work on securing the other two tarps.

Joelee paused to push down on each tarp, making sure they didn't fall down before she set the duffle under the shelter that she had created.

"Is this good?" Nathan handed the girl three large sticks which she examined closely.

"This one is too thin. It'll snap in half. But these two are good." Joelee held the tarp up with one stick, stabbing the other end deep into the ground so that the tarp had a draining point.

The wind sent her hair whipping around her as the thunder boomed loudly overhead, signaling what she already knew was coming.

Nathan handed her a different stick which she gratefully accepted, making sure each section had something blocking any rain from entering from the sides, leaving only one main entry point in the makeshift tent as the rest of the sides were contained by the tarp and a thick group of bushes.

"The wind is blowing from the east so..." Joelee thought aloud as she crawled into the shelter, fluffing the bushes to make sure they would stop the rain from entering.

"The rain shouldn't be able to get in.. Should probably get some rest." Joelee mumbled to her friends as they entered the shelter, Joelee laying out a large blanket for her friends as she took a gray jacket from the duffle, wrapping it around herself before she lay in a corner by herself.

"Do you want to share the blanket? It's cold so we could all share..." Alyssa called but Joelee gave no reply which caused the group to exchange glances.

Joelee watched through a small hole in the tarp as the rain began to pour down around them, making light taps against the tarps as it hit them.

Joelee's eyes remained open as she enjoyed the sound of the rain, the earthy smell relaxing to her but she didn't dare sleep as she rolled over to glance at her friends who all slept in a cuddle pile aside from Kevin and Connor.

Connor watched the rain like Joelee did, eyes distant as he sat off to the side by himself while Kevin lay at the very edge of the blanket rather than being cuddled up with the rest of them.

"You're not a monster, you know." Connor's voice startled Joelee as she rolled over to lay on her back instead, not willing to look at him as she released a low sigh.

"Not yet." Was all she said before she went silent, closing her eyes as she slowed her breathing to mimic sleep.

She didn't want to talk to him. Not yet.

Sleep was the only way she knew he wouldn't talk to her but sleep was impossible to her at this point despite how exhausted she was.

"I know you're not asleep and I don't expect an answer... But, despite what you think, it's not your fault. I know what I said earlier but... Your powers drive your instincts and your instincts in that situation were to protect your... Pack. Because that's what they are to you. They're your family... Our family." Connor spoke in a soft voice, gaze remaining fixated outside where he watched the lightning light up the rather beautiful forest.

"I know you don't trust me. But I'm here to listen. I know something is bothering you and that's why you're not wanting to sleep... That and you don't want them to get hurt while you're asleep." Joelee's eyes opened as she turned to look at him through the darkness, her eyes glowing gold as she gazed at him cautiously.

"I'll protect them." Connor assured her as he met her gaze with his own glowing blue one, eyes showing that he meant them no harm.

The sound of the rain around them was the only thing splitting the silence besides Blake's snoring as the two held eye contact for a moment.

"Is this real?" Joelee asked finally which caused Connor to frown as he realized just what had been bothering her since they escaped.

"Yes. This time it is." Connor whispered which caused Joelee to study his eyes for any sign of a lie.

"When they would put me to sleep... I would dream of this. Escaping. It would always feel so real... The brightness of the sun... The heat..." Joelee paused as she looked away, tracing the scars on her wrists as she clenched her fists.

" The freedom." Her voice came out in a whisper as she said the last part.

"That's why you reached out to make sure the door was actually gone... You thought you weren't actually there." Connor realized as she gently nodded her head to confirm that he was correct.

"You're free, Joe. This is real." Connor assured her which caused tears to pour down her face as she turned her gaze back to him.

"For the first time ever... I wish it wasn't. That they were alive and free... That it was only me that was trapped." Joelee's words caused him to falter as he looked down, guilt rising in his chest as he gave a slight nod.

"Yeah. Me too." He said before going silent, the two listening to the rumble of thunder overhead as they left the other to their thoughts.