We are back on the hub. I won't say that it's nice to be back here, but I will say that it's great to be out from the facility once again. Not that I have anything against this vehicle. It's just that every time I am on this mode of transportation, we are running away or escaping from them. Being on here just brings back all the bad memories when all I want is to shut them away forever.

I close my eyes and rest my forehead against the cool glass window, feeling the exhaustion starting to take over. The adrenaline that was coursing through my veins must have worn out. I'm not only tired physically – as I have not managed to get more than an hour's worth of sleep a night back at the facility – but emotionally as well.

I'm just sick and tired of running away all the time.

For once, I just want to stand my ground and fight. To tell all of them that I'm not merely some puppet that they have made. That I'm not merely some pawn in one of their games. That I have a mind of my own and that I have the right to live my own life, seeing as they have already failed us as projects.

But that is not really an option now, is it?

It's either this or that. It's either I stay and endure the endless experiments that they have lined up for me or I keep running away. Again. Everything never fails to come back to those two options. It's not like I can fight back after all. We're greatly outnumbered, so doing such a thing would be foolish, and it's more than obvious that they have more resources and better technological advancements than we ever will.

We wouldn't even stand a chance.

I let out an exasperated sigh, my eyelids fluttering open. I regretted my decision to open my eyes the instant I do so. My eyelids slowly but surely grow heavy and begin to shut on their own accord. I haven't enough strength left to keep them open.

I hadn't even realised how tired I actually am.

"Here," someone – more specifically, Wil – whispers into my ear.

He lifts my legs off the ground and onto the empty place to the left of me. I feel him take a seat to my right and bring my head down so that I'm lying on his lap. I can feel my body starting to relax instead of my muscles cramping up like in the awkward position I was earlier.

I know I should tell Wil about what I had learned in the records room back in the facility. He deserves as much right as I do to know. After all, this 'project' comprises of him as well and not only me.

Maybe later, I tell myself.

I suck in a deep breath of air and exhale, my whole body relaxing. Wil rests his hand on my head, like a protective older brother, and I feel comforted by his touch. It's almost like all my worries disappear with it. My eyelids are so heavy now that even if I tried, I cannot open my eyes.

"Miri."

"What?" I say groggily, my voice barely audible.

Can't they just let me have a rest for a couple of minutes? Is that really so hard to ask?

"Miri. Miri."

"I'm up! I'm up!" I cry, my voice raised and annoyance thick in my voice. I push myself up into a sitting position, my hands up in surrender.

One of my hands ball up into a fist and I rub my eyes sleepily. I yawn and my eyes start to water but I swipe the tears away before they even had the chance to fall.

"Can't you just give me some peace and quiet for a while? I'm exhausted," I comment, stifling yet another yawn.

My eyes wander up and they lock with Aries's. He lifts his eyebrow in confusion, as if to ask me what was going through my mind, as if I were crazy. I return it with an equally puzzled and bewildered expression.

"Umm... Miri, you have been asleep for hours," he answers, sounding unsure of himself.

"What?" I exclaim, covering my mouth with embarrassment after, my cheeks starting to tinge with a light shade of red.

I did not even realise that I had fallen asleep. Am I really that tired? Perhaps the weariness from all the countless sleepless nights and deep thoughts from the past years have finally caught up with me.

"Sorry about that," I say sheepishly, breaking the awkward silence that was starting to settle, rubbing my hands uncomfortably, my eyes darting all over the place, landing on everything and anything except for Aries.

"It's fine," Aries replies, shrugging nonchalantly as if to prove that it isn't such a big deal.

I nod, not knowing what to answer. Realising that I was not going to voice anything else, Aries starts," Key wants me to tell you that we are just making a quick stop at Firewire to get the both of you some fake IDs."

Surreptitiously, I steal a glance at Wil. His eyebrows are knitted in confusion as are mine. I'm rather sure that the same question is running through our heads.

Isn't faking our identities practically impossible?

"The both of you are—Let us just say that most will not be able to access your information file and leave it at that," Key answers promptly, as if reading our minds.

I guess it makes sense to a certain extent, considering they would not want the rest of the world to know about their failed project – since they keep us so hidden —but nevertheless. I did not know hiding information files from prying eyes is even possible, but then again, I do not know much about the system.

Fake IDs, on the other hand. If you pass those through a scanner, wouldn't others know that it is not genuine? Especially since it would not be registered in the official registry. Perhaps it's just for show. I wouldn't know. Key works in mysterious ways.

Wil places a hand on my shoulder. I look up and our eyes meet. "Let's just go," he says, clearly questioning it as well.

I sigh, shrugging, complying with his request and I stand up, brushing the imaginary dust off my pants. We follow Key out of the hub and onto the grand Firewire Port. I honestly didn't think I would be back here again.

"Wait here," she says in a commanding tone before disappearing back into the hub, perhaps to inform the twins of something. I assume that they are not following us on this peculiar and seemingly useless endeavour considering that they did not come out of the train with the three of us.

I wonder what is so private that Key could not tell the twins when we were all in there. But then again, who am I to question privacy?

"What do you think Key hopes to achieve by getting some fake IDs for us, Miri?"

My ears perk up at the sound of my name being called and I promptly turned my attention to Wil. I shrug dramatically, as if to prove my point," I don't know."

Wil opens his mouth to say something but thinks better of it the moment Key steps out of the train. Neither of us heard her swift and soundless exit from the vehicle. The only reason we knew she was out is because she walked up to us.

Key really knows the best times to interrupt, doesn't she? So much that I do not think I would be very surprised if it turns out that she's a telepath of some sort. After all, she also always seems to know what is going through my mind.

She walks past us without saying a single word. Wil follows her immediately. I hesitate, only for a brief moment, suddenly confused by what was going on, before collecting myself and hurrying after the both of them before I lose sight of the pair.

The blinding white light from the flash of the camera shines directly into my eye, causing black spots to momentarily appear in my field of vision. I will myself to endure it for just a second more before blinking rapidly, determined to rid the spots. The whirring sound of the printer echoes throughout the nearly bare room as I step away from the white wall and stool and serves as the photography area.

"Here you go."

Key hands me a small card, just slightly smaller than the size of my palm. I examine the card, which is now known as my identification card. It consists of two basic elements. A photograph of myself and a small, silver coloured microchip. Aside from the picture and the microchip, the rest of the card is an elegant black. The card catches the light that shines from above us and gleams.

"That microchip," Key starts, pointing at the said object," is what stores all the information. Clearly, it's fake. After all, we wouldn't want anyone tracking you down that easily. You are known as Kitria and Aiden respectively to the public. You should be fine with going through basic scanners and such, so long as they do not search you up on the DataBase. That should not be much of a problem, considering no one ever does that anymore as it is troublesome."

Kitria and Aiden. These names are peculiar, not ones people would normally hear. I hope they would not attract too much unnecessary attention. I also hop that I can remember those two names. It should not be that hard, am I wrong?

"Oh, and do not use them unless direly necessary. Those are just used as a cover, since the government has recently implemented the use of identification cards for convenience purposes," Key adds.

Up until now, I still wonder why Key is so willing to help us?

What's in it for her? It's not like we can offer her anything. We're already helpless as it is. She does not benefit out of this and honestly, she doesn't seem like the kind of person who would do things just because it is the right thing to do. There must be a reason. I just have yet to figure out what it is exactly.

Key turns to the man who helps us with the IDs. His dirty blonde hair is overgrown and it partly covers his eye. His chin has a stubble, making him seem haggard and tired, almost like he has not slept in several days. His navy blue polo shirt is wrinkled and his light grey pants reaches just below his knees. He is bigger than Wil several times fold and he is really tall, taller than me by at least a head and a half. His emerald eyes seem glazed, like his mind is somewhere far away, with dark circles under them, a clear sign of lack of sleep, and his expression is stone cold.

"Thank you. I'll pay you back soon, R, I promise."

"How can I be sure?" he replies, his voice deeper than I had expected it to be.

"You know me, R. Since when have I gone back on a promise?"

He grunts, nodding. "You know how it is. I will come to you when I need a favour done."

Key nods curtly before turning away. She opens the door and we exit the room, that is practically bare of everything except for a camera, a computer sitting atop an office table and a couple of chars.

For the first few minutes, I trail quickly behind Key though in front of Wil. I steal a glance at him. He is looking on the gravel below. The gravel creates the pavement that we walk on. I slow my pace and wait for him to catch up with me.

"Hey you," he says when he does, the dazzling smile on his face seems so convincing that for a split second, I almost believe that there isn't a single worry in the world, that everything is perfect. Merely moments after, however, the burden of our situation comes crashing down on us and I nearly frown.

Instead, I force a smile onto my face. "Wil." I pause, contemplating how I should phrase my next sentence. "What are we going to do?"

He lets out a sigh, giving me a sad smile. "I am still trying to figure that out for myself, Miri."

As we continue our journey back to the hub, the gravel crunching under the soles of our feet, I could not help but wonder if anything in our lives can be real, just for once.

Hey guys. Thanks for being so patient with me. I'm sorry for not posting earlier. I was really busy this week. :( Anyway, this is up now. I'm also sorry if this does not live up to your expectation. I'm having a terrible case of writer's block. Nevertheless, I do hope that you have enjoyed it. I shall go back to reading my book now. Bye guys! Have a great week ahead.

PS Anyone wants a dedication?

PPS Enjoy a cover of Pompeii by Bastilles done by The Fu Music. :)