Down the hallway from where Kate had been, a small crowd was gathering at the door of another exam room. Doctors, nurses and even a few parents and cops had heard about the phenomena occurring inside and were trying to squeeze in for a look. Kate, her mother and Ginny had all followed Dr. Hillbrand as they were anxious to find out what could be so interesting.

Inside the room Kate saw one of the girls she had tried to communicate with back at the station. It was the blond wearing the same red and white skirt and top as Kate had seen herself wearing in pictures. Now she was wearing a bland shapeless gown of some type, it looked used and worn. It tied in the back loosely with slightly frayed strings. Kate was alarmed to see that wires were attached to the girl, pouring out through the gown and connecting to a machine that beeped rhythmically. The girl was jumping up and down, her arms raising and crossing over her head then flapping back down to her sides over and over again.

"Dr. Hillbrand! Come in, you have to see this," a younger looking doctor called excitedly out to his mentor. "This is Sadie. During my exam I started to realize something was odd about her heart rate and started to test it. Her heart rate is exactly 80 beats per minute, no matter what. Even after enduring fifteen minutes of strenuous activity, it hasn't raised a single beat."

Dr. Hillbrand stopped observing the girl and turned his attention to the beeping machine. "It must be malfunctioning," he said, taking his stethoscope from around his neck and nodding to a nurse. The nurse grabbed a blood pressure cuff off the wall and joined him.

"Stop the jumping jacks for a moment sweetheart," the nurse directed. Seeing Kate in the crowd though, Sadie kept right on jumping. Kate locked eyes with her and could hear her questions and answer her although neither girl was speaking aloud. It was the first time anyone had spoken back to her using their thoughts but Kate could not let this revelation distract her, the communication seemed to take a good deal of focus. Together, they decided that stopping was probably for the best. Sadie slowed her jumping and gradually stopped.

Dr. Hillbrand frowned; the girl was not breathing heavily or showing any signs of exertion at all. He checked her pulse, her blood pressure and listed with his stethoscope. Everything was perfect, too perfect, as if she were the healthiest person on the planet and the most resilient as well. It just wasn't possible and yet here it was in front of him. He ordered a similar test to be performed on all of the kids.

"Did I do something wrong? They seem upset," Sadie thought.

"I don't know. They are starting to realize we are different from them, different than the people they think we are."

"Are we? Are we different I mean? They keep calling me Sadie, I can't seem to recall . . ."

"We certainly are different; that I am sure of. We need to figure out why and how, and fast, before they do. I'm sensing that differences are not tolerated well here. I'm going to check on the others." Kate left the doorway and started back down the hallway, trying to steal glances into the other exam rooms as she went.

*** *** *** *** *** ***

Chief Tanner had made the difficult decision to start calling the parents of the kids that had not yet returned. The medical staff had given him the privacy of one of the exam rooms and promised to return as soon as they could with the x-rays they had just performed on his wrist. His secretary sent him the names and numbers that needed to be called by texting his phone. Methodically he placed each call, telling the already grieving parents the startling news that came with many questions and no answers. There were tears, angry outbursts, name calling and even one incidence of fainting. The Chief took it all on his broad shoulders and when he had finished the final call he sat down on the bed and did something he had not allowed himself to do in several years, he cried.

Maybe the emotions were helped along by the throbbing pain in his wrist, the incredibly long night he had just endured or perhaps it was just the sadness and bewilderment he had helped inflect on these already troubled parents. The cause wasn't important; the tears were a dangerous gateway to over empathizing with the victims and losing the ability to do his job effectively. Weakness. He didn't deal well with weakness.

The tears were just starting to subside when he realized he was being watched. First he got the cold creeping feeling that someone was standing behind him, then he heard the shuffling of shoes and finally, he turned to see Cole Parks standing in the doorway. Barely a boy anymore but pretty far from being a man yet, Cole had about as much life experience as the Chief guessed anyone could have by sixteen. His father, and only living relative of known whereabouts, was as mean of a drunk as you could get. There was certainly not any legitimate money coming in to pay the bills, so it was no wonder Cole was constantly sitting around the station in handcuffs. Not only was stealing necessary for his survival and anger born into his blood, but the station was probably the closest thing Cole had to a home. It was a safer home, anyway. There was a reason they hadn't known he was one of the victims right away, no one had bothered to report him missing.

"Cole. I didn't see you there. I was just . . . did you want something, son?"

The chief wasn't expecting an answer, Cole's cold expressionless demeanor hadn't changed any from the last time he saw him early that morning. The kids not talking, it was the eeriest goddamn thing, and he really wished they would knock it off.

"Haven't found your old man yet, but I'll let you know when we do. Not that you probably care. How the two of you have managed not to kill each other yet I'll never figure out." The pain in his wrist suddenly flared up, and he winced hard. His fingers felt numb, not a good sign. "I really hope you don't have this super strength your girlfriend seemed to return with, for a kid that likes to solve things with his fists that can't be a good idea."

He couldn't be sure, but he thought that Cole had given the slightest hint of recognition when he said the word "girlfriend." It was his eyes, instead of hanging there lifeless they seemed to glint and tilt upward briefly. Or, it could have just been the light. He had caught Cole and Kate making out in her second hand Jeep, parked at the end of a dead-end street over near the abandoned train tracks just a week before the disappearances. He didn't have the heart to tell her father who clearly had no idea. Even after they disappeared, with so many other kids missing it didn't seem like any good could possibly come from Sellers knowing about it. He already hated Cole as it was.

Instead of answering, Cole crossed the room and stood in front of the chief. Normally he had the good sense to show at least a fragment of fear when confronting the chief, the only person he seemed to respect enough to fear, but not right now. The boy stood just inches away, and reached out his right hand towards the broken and now very swollen wrist Tanner was cradling.

Tanner instinctively jerked backwards out of the boy's reach. "What the hell," he uttered, leaning further back. He searched Cole's face for some sign of malice, but found nothing but the now routine deadpan expression staring back at him.

"Don't be afraid of us, we aren't here to hurt you," Cole said, his voice flat and just as lacking in emotion as his dark eyes.

Tanner immediately wished that Cole had stuck to not talking. Things were making less sense by the minute. Cole took another step towards him, this time making contact and taking the chief's wounded hand in his. The moment Tanner gave in and let the boy take hold of him, waves of warm comforting vibrations swept through his body. For ten seconds he wasn't worried anymore, he didn't feel the searing pain anymore either. It would have been nice enough to stay in this state forever but as soon as it had started it was over already. Tanner realized his eyes were closed, and slowly opened them, blinking into the harsh exam room light. The unsettling confusion was starting to sink back in, but the pain didn't return. He spread his fingers which had feeling again, wiggled them and turned his wrist in circles. Grateful or not, this was going to be a hell of a thing to try to explain when the doctor returned with the x-rays.

Kate entered the room, took Cole by the arm and after staring intently into his eyes for several moments, led him out of the room. The chief wasn't sure what to make of it, but it certainly wasn't the strangest thing he had witnessed that day.

*** *** *** *** *** ***

In the hall the two kids were arguing, although anyone walking by would never have suspected. They walked slowly, side by side, their feelings betrayed only by Kate's tightened lips and slightly creased forehead.

"If you know something, you need to tell me, now." Kate glanced quickly at Cole after making the demand, but then averted her eyes, resisting getting caught up in that silly feeling she had experienced for him back at the station.

"Something went wrong with your little experiment. For some reason we're all disorientated and our memories aren't completely segregated from our host's memories. It's making us walking zombies, good job." He smirked, albeit only slightly.

"Experiment? Mine?" Kate was confused although the fuzzy memories were starting to filter through and got stronger with each new piece of the puzzle she found. As she had suspected, she was the leader or sorts to this group of addled beings. That's why she was worried about them and drawn to protecting them, they were in her care.

Cole let out a heavy sigh, "This is getting old, here, let me try to fix you." He reached out and touched her face, letting his fingertips linger along her jaw line. His touch was more like a caress, his body remembering more than his mind the feelings he must have for her.