My fingers are cracked.

My back is breaking.

My heart is drowning.

But she's ok.

MJ is ok.

MJ?

Michelle?!

Peter didn't get any sleep that night. How could he? All he could do was just hope that he was wrong. Hope that MJ and Terrance were right about the whole thing. But what would he do if they were wrong? What would he do if Iisan was the one who was right?

What if Ned was dead?

Students may be harmed.

Wish me luck!

Ned never came back.  He never would.  And that was the truth.  Dr. Braunt knew this.  Dr. Braunt had planned this out and now Peter was scared and alone. At least he had MJ, but she wasn't listening to him.

"You look like a zombie." MJ remarked.

"Ned's gone." Peter dated with hollow eyes.

"He probably got up early to pee."

"No MJ. I've been awake this whole time." Peter look at her with a pale face.  "He never came back."

MJ didn't move. It was obvious she was currently trying to come up with a way to counter his bold statement of truth.  But her expression alone told him she knew.  She figured it out.

Peter glanced across the large vacant seeming room to where Iisan and Terrance sat on a mat together. They were talking, and judging by their body language and expression, Peter knew exactly what they were saying.

"Did you even try to sleep?" MJ finally said.

"I couldn't." Peter retorted. "I just... couldn't."

"Because of Ned?"

"What do you think, MJ?"

I think that the author keeps getting distracted while writing this but leaving the writing bloopers in the chapter on accident last time was actually kinda funny so now I'm gonna keep doing that and ruin your reading experience all in one foul swoop.

"What do you think, MJ?"

"Geez I'm sorry that the author is literally distracted as fuck right now and can't think of something for me to say."

"What do you think, MJ?"

"Sorry." MJ frowned. She looked at her feet. "I shouldn't be..." she twisted her fingers in the single sheet on her mat, "well... if you can't sleep tonight, you're welcome to use my shoulder as a pillow."

Peter couldn't take her comment softly. He couldn't accept anything at all. All MJ wanted was to find a way to put him at ease. But Peter was already too caught up in the turmoil of Ned's disappearance, nothing could dissuade him.

Peter just stared at his feet, running his hands through his hair anxiously. MJ sat next to him but he barely noticed her. He felt as though the world around him was caving in and spinning. He was falling in his own mind, slipping through the cracks of insanity and a lack of sleep.

The door opened.

The only door to the gigantic room opened, and Dr. Braunt's assistants stepped inside, ringing a little bell.

"I guess it's time for breakfast. Do you have a watch?" MJ asked.

"No." Peter shook his head. The assistants had confiscated all their personal items last night. All they had with them were the clothes and books they'd brought along. At least MJ had her sketch book.

Students began filing out the door. Some dragged their feet, still barely just waking up. They were led to a dining hall, the same hall they'd eaten in yesterday. There were servers who placed their breakfast on the tables so that the kids could serve themselves. And as before, Dr. Braunt did not show up.

Peter sat down with MJ. He had hardly spoken a word to her. Then again, he could hardly get himself to speak.

Someone sat down on the other side of him.  Peter glanced over to see who it was, and nearly fell out of his chair when he recognized them. It was Iisan. He didn't say a word to Peter as he sat down, but something about his presence gave Peter the impression he was trying to tell him something. He was saying something without speaking at all.

I know you know.

Peter grabbed a roll of bread. He didn't want to eat but MJ forced him to do he obliged. It felt odd in his mouth. Food wasn't appealing to him at all. His appetite was nonexistent, and his throat felt swollen.

Terrance sat down next to Iisan. Peter was finally able to see what this boy looked like. Contrary to the tall Asian boy dressed in all black, Terrance was a shorter tan blond with freckles and a vibrant appearance as if his very smile itself was glowing. His curly light colored hair was a polar opposite to Iisan's straight black hair. But what Peter noticed that he must have missed in eavesdropping on their conversation the night before, was that Terrance was completely blind. He even had a guide dog with him that Peter swore he hadn't seen at all last night or on the bus ride there.

"Peter?" MJ sounded so quiet.

"Hmm?"

"Take another bite." She urged. "You need to eat."

"I'm sorry." Pet set the roll down. "I'm not hungry."

"What about your girlfriend?" Iisan asked. For a second, Peter thought he was talking to him. He looked over at him, and to his relief, Iisan was talking to Terrance. Figures.

"You know." Terrance replied.

"But like... what are you going to do about it?"

Oh my god what am I hearing? Peter's thoughts screamed at him.

"I can't do anything. If she-" Terrance cut himself off.

"You can just tell her. And then- break up with her? Right?" Iisan said with hope in his voice.

Are they in a cult-

"I can't." Terrance sighed. "Who knows what she'd do if I did. And if she finds out..."

"I know why you're scared of her, but, you don't have to be." Iisan mumbled.

The signs are there. But the signs are not there. What the Hell am I overhearing?!

"I love you." Iisan whispered to Terrance.

He's cheating on his girlfriend. What. The. Fuck.

"I know." Terrance smiled. "When we get back home, I promise I'll confront her. Ok?"

"Good."

Iisan slipped something into Peter's pocket. Peter nearly flipped out, ready to beat up this significantly taller male for touching him. But the glare Iisan shot at Peter was enough to make his heart stop beating out of pure fear, so he clammed up.

"Hey, Faith?" Iisan raised his voice so that a boy on the other side of the table could hear him.

"What do you want?"

"Here's your pen back."

"Wait don't-"

Iisan threw the pen, striking Jason (Faith) square in the forehead. Though the pen was small, somehow it had hurt Jason.

"You're a bitch." Jason groaned.

"Proudly."

"One day, I'm scared I'll find you burying Jason in your yard or something." Terrance chuckled.

"Perhaps that day will come. I hate that stupid-"

"Good morning everyone!" A new voice entered the room. It was Dr. Braunt. "I hope you slept well!"

Where's Ned you son of a bitch? Peter thought aggressively as if Braunt would somehow hear it.

"I still have some prep work to do before we visit the animals, so today we'll be working in the gardens." Braunt then began to go on about the science of botany. All the while Peter wondered where Braunt had his Ned's body.

———

After breakfast, Dr. Braunt took them to his massive botanic gardens. They were giant domes filled with jungles of plants.  They were truly stunning, but not enough to distract the edge of Peter's state of mind.

He'd assigned them some tasks which they proceeded to do for the next few hours. Peter felt like his body was on autopilot, his mind completely ignoring the present. By noon, however, he finally seemed to be at ease.

That is until a girl interrupted that peace with a horrible scream.

"OH MY GOD! NED!"

Peter jerked his head around so fast his neck popped in pain. He was on his feet, scanning the area with his eyes to see who it was. It was a girl from his class, and she looked like she was about to faint. He and his classmates rushed to see what was going on. Her eyes were glued onto something he could not see.

It was Ami. Ami Write.  She stood weakly before a cluster of shrubs she'd been tasked to uproot for samples.  But in the bed of shrubs, wasn't just root samples. Ned's dead body lay—his mouth stuffed with dirt and skin dried with blood—half hidden in the bushes.

It was obvious someone wanted Ned to be found.

Peter felt like he was going to throw up. He'd been imagining it all night but now, seeing it in reality before his eyes, he couldn't believe it. He was shocked. But why? Hadn't he known? Hadn't he been trying to tell MJ?

Quietly, Peter slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out the paper he remembered Iisan had stuffed in there without a word. With trembling fingers, he opened the slip and read what it said.

Dr. Braunt is going to kill Michelle Jones.

A/N
It should be impossible for me to still be sick after so long. Maybe I'm dying. I can't breathe my dudes. I was laughing earlier and then straight up stopped breathing for a few minutes. My lungs hurt so bad, I'm pretty sure it's cause of all the coughing and shit. I'm kinda cranky cause I wanted to go skiing this weekend but of course, I can't. I'm fevering, dying, and depriving myself of air. Farewell dear reader, this may be the end for me.
Tell my Spanish teacher I still hate him.
-Peter