Gaines's POV:

I wandered the halls of the laboratory, looking around. I needed to find this man named Malachai, whoever he was. According to the people outside of my room, he had my memories. I was insanely frustrated, having my memories taken away from me in the first place, but even more so now that they were lost. Seemed pretty irresponsible of whoever worked here, if you ask me.

I picked up my pace, trying to stay away from any voices I heard. They'd probably just send me back to my room without giving me any answers, or even trying to help me. Now that I thought about it, I really hated these people. Telling me to trust them? Nah.

I decided to try and find the main entrance. Maybe the person working at the front desk could tell me who, and where, Malachai is. It was worth a shot, at least. What other choice did I have?

The hallways were silent, so I started to sprint. Keeping my footsteps to a quiet, steady beat on the floor, I sped around a corner. Unfortunately, there was someone around the corner, being just as quiet as me. I tore straight into her, nearly knocking her down. She gave me a look of outrage when she saw me.

"What are you doing?" she snapped. I saw that she had long silver hair, draped over a large black coat. Her thin lips, coated in red lipstick, formed a sneer. "I couldn't hear you coming."

"I could say the same about you," I replied without thinking.

It could've been a dangerous thing to say, if I had run into anyone else, but this lady cracked a grin. "Alright, fair enough. What are you doing running around the laboratory, anyway? Why are you in such a rush?"

"I'm looking for this guy named Malachai, actually," I blurted out. "Maybe you know him?"

Her gaze hardened, and her eyes widened with fury. "What do you want with my brother? He's hurt enough as is."

"Oh... er... sorry, I don't want to hurt him," I stammered, realizing I didn't know what to say. How could I explain this? "I... I think he might have taken my memories, actually. I heard someone..."

"Your memories?" Her voice was high-pitched now, and she started to scramble away from me. "What's your name?"

"According to a scientist," I admitted, a sinking feeling in my stomach, "my name is Gaines. I just don't know much else."

She stared at me for a long time, glaring at me. "I shouldn't be helping you, you know. There's a reason why your memories were taken. You're a criminal?"

"A... criminal?" I gasped.

"Yep," she sighed. "This is your punishment, I guess. Punishment for something that happened decades ago, and was never solved."

"Well, I'm not a criminal anymore," I protested. "I can't remember a thing. Plus, what are they even planning to do with me? With my memories?"

She shrugged. "I wouldn't know."

"Can you at least let me talk to Malachai?" I begged her.

She stared at me for a while longer, an almost cruel smile flickering across her face. "We'll see about that. Why don't you come with me?"

Spark's POV:

You just want a drink of water, I told myself. You're not here to escape this place, not at all. Just a drink of water.

I figured I was getting close to an exit, where I could disappear into the night and find my family and friends again, and escape from this terrible place. Everything was silent, for the most part. I figured it was pretty late, after all. There might be a few guards on night shift, but the majority of the workers would be asleep at this time of night.

And then, suddenly, I heard voices. I stopped in my tracks and pressed myself against the wall, listening intently to the conversation.

"Punishment..." a woman was saying. "... never solved." Her voice faded in and out, definitely pretty far away.

"Well, I'm not a criminal anymore!" the man's voice was much clearer, and it sounded like they were getting closer to me. "... planning to do to me? With my..."

I edged slightly nearer to the voices, but ducked into an empty room. Something was going on, and I was intrigued, but I did not want them, whoever, they were, to see me.

"Can you at least let me talk to Malachai?" the man's voice, once again, was much louder and clearer. I stiffened at the name, realizing what this was about. Or at least part of it. Who was talking?

"We'll see about that. Why don't you come with me?" the woman asked, a faint laugh behind her voice. I didn't know what she was talking about, but I didn't like her tone. Whoever was with her shouldn't be trusting her.

I peered out of the doorway as they passed by, desperate to get a glimpse of who it was.

"Eris?" I gasped, stepping out and gaping at her. "Deviser Gaines?"

"Deviser?" he asked, frowning at me, while Eris looked horrified.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed in a hushed voice. "It's the middle of the night! And you're not even allowed in the laboratory!"

"Do we trust him?" Gaines asked her, which greatly infuriated me.

"You trust me," I growled, adjusting my glasses. "You don't trust her."

"Excuse me?" Eris snarled, stepping menacingly toward me. "You're the one breaking in, aren't you?"

"I'm not breaking in!" Figuring that I wasn't helping anything, I lowered my voice. "Listen, I don't want to fight with you, and it's not that I don't trust you, really. It's just that you're sided with Galena, and they, well, did some terrible things just now."

She rolled her eyes, folding her arms. "Galena did something terrible? Yeah, right. I'll hear you out, but I know it's just going to be some petty excuse."

I was outraged, but I acted like I was fine. "Listen. I was outside right now, with Cypress. We were going to get help from a leader. And then this guard comes out of nowhere..."

"Okay, stop." Eris's fists were clenched now. "I'm sorry, but you sound really stupid. Getting help? With Cypress?"

"I was getting help," I continued, desperately trying to stay calm, "for Malachai."

She fell silent, and Gaines's eyes flew wide. "Malachai! The person who has my memories!"

"Not anymore, unfortunately," I muttered. "He was attacked, and Cypress and I knew about it. We were running all over the place, trying to get help. And you know what one of Galena's scientists did when they saw us? They blamed us for what happened."

"If Galena said you did it," she said steadily, backing away from me, "then you did it. No questions asked."

"Galena isn't the perfect place you think it is!" I was almost yelling at this point.

"It's true," Gaines muttered, and we both looked at him in surprise. "They promised that they'd help me, but all they've told me is my name. They told me to wait around for them to come back. They don't care about me, do they? Or they wouldn't have taken my memories."

"You trust me, don't you?" I pleaded, knowing that the only way I would get out of this is if I had support. "I would never have harmed Malachai in any way. It's Galena who was lying."

"Galena. Doesn't. Lie." Eris was livid, her face almost as red as her shirt.

I knew it wasn't her fault. These words were being spoken by what Galena had implanted into her brain. It wasn't her. "Look, Eris, you'll need to accept this, okay? Do I look like someone who'd be capable of that? I never even knew who Safire was until today. How could I have possibly helped her?"

Eris started to shake, but Gaines cut in. "I believe you, whoever you are. Do you think you can help me get my memories back?"

"Yeah, I think I can. Let's just go, okay?" I started to walk past Eris, and Gaines followed me.

"Oh, no way!" She grabbed firmly onto our wrists and held on with all of her might. "You are not leaving! Not if you were brought here!"

"Keep your voice down!" I prayed that she could hear the urgency in my tone. "Listen, Eris. I'll help get revenge for your brother, I'll help..."

"You're a liar." Before I could stop her, she turned around and began to scream. "HELP! SECURITY! ANYONE! THEY'RE TRYING TO ESCAPE! COME QUICK!"

Immediately, shouting arose, and I heard people from all ends of the laboratory begin to run.

Now I really was dead.