A movement to my left makes me recoil in fright. Teddy hands me a roll, his face full of concern. I don't know why he allowed them to keep me. He sat with me in the white-tiled room and promised they wouldn't hurt me if I told them what I knew. He lied. Again.

I grip the blanket to steady my trembling hands. My brain associates him with Jeremiah, a connection has been formed which instils distrust and fear in me.

"You're scared of me?" Teddy asks quietly.

It's a question he already knows the answer to so I don't answer.

A heavy silence hangs between us and Teddy shuffles uncomfortably. "I'm sorry, Cady. They told me they wanted to give you a Birth Brand and help you become part of society. I wasn't aware of what they would do." Teddy's face creases.

I'm not ready to forgive. I'm not sure I'll ever be ready.

A flash of green and gold appears next to Teddy. An Official is attacking. They've come to take me back. I scream, jump up and swing my arm out. The thump of my fist connecting with flesh is followed by the crunch of bone.

A groan erupts from the Officials mouth. I'm about to strike again but Teddy steps in front of me and my hand falters. Annabelle runs towards us and inspects the Official but I realise it's not an Official. It's the man from earlier, Terrell, in a green top. He clutches his nose, blood trickles through his fingers like it trickled down my leg and into the drain. A wave of despair rolls through me and I stagger backwards.

"I'm sorry, I thought you were an Official," I stammer.

The room is spinning and the walls are closing in on me. I'm desperate to get away from the green and gold, the blood, their disappointed faces because I'm not doing what they want. Teddy moves towards me, his hands on me and I'm struggling to breathe, waiting with anticipation of the pain his touch will cause.

"Don't hurt me. Please," I plead.

Teddy halts and I inhale deeply, trying to gather the scattered remnants of my sanity.

"Cady, get back into bed. Teddy give her some space. I'll be back once I've seen to Terrell," Annabelle says quietly as she guides Terrell away and Teddy follows.

I don't need space. I need to see Grey.

Stumbling along the corridors, my bare feet pad slowly along the cold hard floor. I'm already out of breath, my muscles struggling as I shuffle forward, and I have to keep pausing and leaning against the wall. People walk past looking at me in part bewilderment and part curiosity.

Sienna finds me leaning against a wall. "Cady, you should be resting."

"I need to see Grey. Please, Sienna. I just want to see that he's ok."

"Fine, but I'm stating now I did it under duress." Sienna links her arm through mine and guides me along the corridor.

Gazing through a window, there is one occupied bed in an otherwise small empty room. Grey's eyes are closed, his rigid body laying across the bed. For a moment, I think he's dead and of the mix of emotions rolling through me, I'm most surprised by the relief. I'm relieved because he finally looks peaceful and all I can think is no one will hurt him anymore.

The slight flicker of his chest as it raises and lowers causes a greater rush which squashes my previous thoughts. He's alive and I'm desperate to get past the door with its tiny window that's blocking me from Grey. My shaking fingers push the door open.

"Grey?" I croak, walking in.

Grey swivels round. His eyes focusing on me as I approach. My stomach lurches and I try to smile but my lips are quivering. He frowns and for a moment, I think he's forgotten me. Is this why they've kept him away? He's so traumatised he's forgotten who I am?

"Grey?" I say, taking another step closer.

His face contorts as a battle of emotions crosses his face. He stands and rushes towards me, his hands lift then he stops himself. He takes a shaky inhale, closes his eyes and steps back.

"Cady, get out of here." His raspy words hit me like a punch to the gut and I stumble backwards.

He opens his eyes. His face is blank, lacking any emotion. Every scene I had imagined of us reuniting, none ended like this. I expected tears, sadness, even anger and resentment. I didn't expect indifference.

"Go now," Grey says flatly.

A strangled sound bubbles up in my throat and I run. I run away from Sienna calling my name and away from that room which at first represented promise but now holds only a vacuum void of emotion.

Weaving in and out of rooms, I ignore the stares of people and continue until I stumble across the cupboard I hid in on my arrival to the Labour Camp.

Closing the door, I sink to the floor, tuck myself into the corner and gasp for air as I force myself to ignore my shattered insides. It doesn't work. The way I feel now is worse than when I thought Grey had been killed by Officials.