Charlie felt around, and bit his lip. "Uh... this way I guess." He shuffled to the right, and continued clambering through the shaft, his back protesting at being crammed into such a small space. He couldn't imagine how this must be to Corben.

Ugh. Corben just seemed to set him off, with his stupid glares and his foul attitude and the way he treated everyone.

But to be completely honest, Charlie was jealous. Corben was tall, rich, and always kept his cool. He had adjusted so easily to the kidnapping, just stepped into leading everyone. Why couldn't Charlie have been like that? Why couldn't he be more like Corben?

Charlie shook his head, wrinkling his nose. He was in the lead here and now, and he had to focus. "How you doing back there, Blair?"

There was a slight grunt from behind him. "I don't actually have claustrophobia but if we stay in here much longer I think I'm going to pass out."

Charlie nodded. "Good to know." He shuffled on for a bit more, when suddenly the floor dropped beneath him and he was falling. "Woah!" He landed on his side, and his breath rushed out of him.

"WhA-" there was a shriek, and then Charlie was getting crushed, he couldn't breathe and ow ow ow ow ow.

Blair rolled off of him, and the two teens lay there, staring up at the ceiling, crisply white with the exception of the hole they just fell through.

"Well," Charlie wheezed, still trying to capture some air into his lungs. "Looks like you won't pass out yet."

Blair snorted, then breathed in sharply. "Ok, note to self. Laughing hurts when you just fell from the ceiling."

Charlie nodded, still staring at the hole in the ceiling, a little dark thought poking at his chest. "Shouldn't Corben and Maylea have fallen by now?"

|{}{}{}|{}{}{}|

Juno turned the corner and crashed into Veronica. He fell backwards and hit the ground hard, but he didn't care. She could help Maylea!

"Hey!" Veronica grasped Juno's arm and pulled him back up to his feet, eyes searching his own. "What's wrong?"

Juno took a deep breath. "Maylea. And- and everyone else." He couldn't get his breathing to slow. He couldn't calm down. Maylea and Corben were going to stop falling eventually and he didn't want to think of what would happen then. "Blair fell down a had and then so did Charlie and then Maylea almost did and then Corben caught her and then he told me to get help and- and then he- and then he dropped her and jumped in the hole!"

Veronica rolled her eyes. "He's trying to be a hero. Honestly, they'll be fine. I seriously doubt Corben would just blindly toss Maylea into danger, not after what she told me."

Curiosity overshadowed his fear. "What... what did Maylea tell you?"

Veronica waved the question away. "Just that they knew each other as kids and she still likes him or whatever. I mean, I don't really care." She tapped her band, and the time flashed, and she clicked her tongue. "Ah well, it's almost time for lunch, so I'm gonna head out."

She started to walk away, then stopped to look back at Juno. "Take my advice. Don't get too caught up in the two of them. We have enough to worry about without drama flaring in the group."

And then Veronica was gone, and Juno was alone, leaning on the wall trying to calm his crashing fears.

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The clink of dishes filled Carmen's ears as she stepped into the dining room, pulling her hair into a ponytail. Missus grey was setting out silverware at each of the places at the table, humming as she worked.

It sounded so, so familiar. Carmen could have sworn that she had heard it just recently.

The Missus surveyed the table, then turn to head back to wherever the kitchen was when she saw Carmen. A smile beamed on her face. "Oh, hello darling. Are you feeling a bit peckish now? I wasn't expecting many for lunch today but if you'd like I can whip you up something."

Carmen shook her head. "I just... didn't feel like exploring anymore." She tilted her head. "What song were you humming earlier?"

Missus Grey chucked. "Oh hun, I wouldn't expect you to know it. It's an old street song from ages ago. Haven't heard anyone sing it since I was a child."

Carmen smiled sweetly. "Please? Maybe we can make it more known once we get out of her."

The Missus gave a sad sort of sigh, and she hummed along the tune, singing with a sorrow in her voice in the final line. "-when day come that he falls..."

The familiarity of the song zinged inside of Carmen, realization lighting her eyes. The whistling boy, Veronica singing, the Missus humming as she worked. But... how were they connected?

Missus stopped her bustling. "Everything alright, dearie?"

Carmen nibbled her lip. "I guess I will take something to eat, if that's ok." She wasn't really worried about food. Too many thoughts were swirling in her head as she took a seat, none of them coherent enough to make any sense.

Only one thought kept chasing circles in her head, over and over. There was more to Veronica than it seemed.

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Avery took a deep breath. "Click the next one."

Kai glanced up at him, concern clouding her green eyes. "Are you sure? We don't know what's in these files."

Avery's hand gripped the back of the chair Kai was sitting at. "That's exactly why we need to look through all of them. If there's even a shred of reason as to why we are here and what this "Master" wants to do with us, then I'm all for finding it out."

"And if something ends up like Azalea?"

"Then we push through the emotions. More than anything, I want to go home."

Kai turned to look him in the eye. "Do you though, Avery? Do you really want to go home? To your parents who think you are messed up? To a place where you aren't truly accepted?"

Avery chuckled dryly. "Kai, everyone is messed up in some way. But the point of life isn't dwelling on the people who want to bring you down. It's to give everything you are to the people who love you, and to be loved in return." He took a deep breath. "And there are people waiting for me who I need to love better."

A soft sigh curled out of Kai, and she nodded without saying a word, only moving to click the next video.

There was a man and a woman sitting on a couch, and the woman was crying, her face drawn sadly, the man's arm around her shoulder's.

The person behind the camera shifted, making the video move unsteadily for a moment, before it focused back on the tear stained face of the woman. "I just can't believe he's gone," she sniffed, clutching the hand of the man next to her. "He never showed any signs of something being wrong, or that he would ever run away from home..."

The man pulled the woman closer. "Please just promise us that you'll get our son back."

"Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, we'll be doing everything we can, but I'm sure you have nothing to worry about. It is incredibly common for teenagers to go through rebellious stages and run away from home. I'm sure that Blair will return when he is all good and ready."

The video clicked off, and the two of them stared at the screen. Kai was the one who spoke first. "So."

Avery took a deep breath. "Our parents don't know."

Kai sank back in the chair, starting to shake. "I wonder what they told my parents."

Avery leaned over Kai and startled to fiddle with the computer. "We could find out," he said, eyes narrowed as he scrolled.

Kai shook her head. "Don't go looking for it, Avery. If we find it, we find it. But if we're supposed to be looking for clues, I don't think these VD files are the place to be. Exit out and try something else."

Avery hummed in response and clicked around, nibbling on his lip. "There's a lot of VD's, but there doesn't seem to be any system on his they're sorted. This one is VD273 and the next one after that says VD085." He clicked another file.

Kai perked up. "Hey!" She tapped the screen, green eyes staring at another folder. "This says B27 again. That was the folder we found Azalea's video in! Maybe all of our stuff is tagged with that?"

Avery hummed again, selecting the file, and the computer whirred and loaded up the page.

Shhm.

All of the lights and electricity in the room flicked off in a heartbeat, but not before Avery caught the first few sentances of the file.

I have added a volunteer. I believe they will greatly help the experiment.

|{}{}{}|

"Well?" Corben snapped, shifting his weight. "Are we going to keep moving?"

Maylea bit her lip and thudded her hand all along the walls of the vent. "Charlie and Blair are gone."

Corben groaned. "Well, then find them!" He couldn't keep the frustration and exhaustion out of his voice, and his words clanged sharp and knives against the metal of the vent.

Maylea rolled her eyes. "Don't you think I tried that? There's no passages anymore!" She leaned back and clanged her head on the roof, and she hissed in pain and clanged her fist against a wall.

Corben gave a lengthy sigh. "Fine. Just keep moving forward. This stupid vent must have an ending place, and we just need to find it."

Maylea only sat there, and she could feel every aching emotion from the past twenty-four hours building up un her chest until each breath pained her and her lungs gasped for air.

Corben spat out a curse and tried to press Maylea to the bottom of the vent. "Relax," he hissed when she stiffened at his touch. "If you stretch out and flatten yourself, I can get in front.

Tears stung her cheeks as Maylea melted into the metal of the vent, the coldness of it the only thing keeping her from retreating deep into her mind.

Arms wrapped around her.

Maylea's breath caught as Corben shifted to stretch out beside her and pull her into a tight hold. His warmth and closeness flooded her, and a new wave of emotions crashed inside of her, her tears coming in earnest.

"Shh." Corben petted her hair, murmuring into it as she continued to shake. "Take deep breaths. You're gonna be ok."

Time lost its meaning as she lay they, until her tears were spent and there wasn't a drop of energy left in her. She felt so hollow inside...

Corben was unwrapping himself from her, and a faint glimmer of clarity shone in her mind. He cared. When she needed it, he cared. And he was shuffling down and away the vents and he was leaving her!

A choked yelp left her throat and she scrabbled after him, her knees and back aching from all of the time they spent trapped in this vent.

"We're turning," Corben called back, voice sounding just as tired as Maylea felt. And they crawled. And crawled. And crawled.

And at some point Corben must have found something, because there was a slight yelp, and then he was backing up fast, ramming into her and making Maylea bite back her own cry.

"There's a hole in the vent up ahead. I'm going to check it out."

"Don't die."

The warning was a silly one. Why had she even said that, anyways? Mr. James and the Missus had both promised they weren't in any sort of danger here. And yet...

Something was clanging loosely in her chest, a small sense of unease clinging to her lungs.

"I'll try not to," Corben responded. And then he must have gone down, because she could here him muttering things and the clang of metal, but so very different from the sound of the vents.

"Come on down! It's still dark in here, but it's definitely a room of sorts." Maylea perked up at Corben's summoning, and she shuffled as quickly as she could to reach the who and OH KRIFFIN FRAK SHE WAS FALLING.

She landed with a hard thud against something cool, and pain flared in her shoulder and hip.

A light thunked on, both blinding them, and revealing their surroundings. Corben stood in the middle of a dimly lit room, eyes full of fear.

And Maylea? Maylea was in a glass box.

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No choices today, but that's because I'm trying to weave in some base stuff before we continue!

I do have a couple questions for you, though! We've seen a lot of them fall into groups, who's dynamics do you want to see now? I personally want to shove Charlie and Veronica together just to see what happens. What about you? Who do you think needs to interact more?

And most of all...

What's coming next?