I'm up and on my feet before the footsteps have reached the halfway point. The lights have remained off, telling me it's not the Mars coming down to question me, again. Unless they're trying a different strategize that involves the dark.

"Where is she exactly?" a young, definitely not Mrs Mars voice asks.

"Not much farther from here," a more familiar voice says right before a flashlight appears at the bottom of the stairs.

My heart skips a beat when I see who it is. Sam holds her wrist up, letting her chip illuminate the space, and behind her is Blake. They smile when they see me, breaking into a run until the edge of the glass cage. "Emma," they breath. "Are you okay?"

I nod. "As well as I can be."

"Now you'll be even better, cause you're rescue team is here!"

"You two?" My gaze flicks behind them to Sam.

They shake their head. Their green hair flying with the movement. "Just me. I roped her into helping for a little bit."

Sam is now directly behind Blake, staring up at me. "But I went to them, to ask them to save you."

"You did?"

Before she can respond, Blake spins around. "How do we get her out of here without setting off an alarms?"

"I thought you were the smart one," I say with a smirk.

They spare a glance at me. "I am. But currently we're under a time limit and I'd like this to be as easy as possible."

Sam turns away from us, and walks over to the control panel. "It'll be one of the buttons over here. I'll be able to scan my chip to control it but..." Her gaze stays on the panel instead of finishing her sentence.

"But what?" I ask, folding my arms over my chest.

"When they look later, at the logs, they'll see it was me who last pressed the button. That I was the one who let you out."

"I think it's worth it," Blake says.

My gaze drifts to the floor. As much as I want to be saved, to be let out, is it worth Sam facing her parents wraith? They haven't shown any harm to their children, but they also aren't around much. "Blake... is there anyway to override the control? Make it seemed hack?"

They turn and look at me. "Well... yes, but Sam doing it will save us time."

"If Sam shares her chip code, will you be able to hack it faster? Without leaving a trail back to us or her?"

They mull it over but eventually nod. "Yes, I could do that. But-"

"Then do it."

They glance between me and Sam, before shrugging. "Alright, let's get to work then."

I lean against the glass, watching as Blake attaches theirs and Sam's chips together with the console. A screen popping up before them. Their fingers fly across the screen. I guess this is why they were hired into the agency so young.

My skin prickles, as if someone is watching me. I follow the feeling until I've locked eyes with Sam. Her green eyes are filled with worry. She glances at Blake, then down to the cord before walking towards me. She only makes it a few steps before the cord starts to pull.

Blake looks up from their work and frowns, but doesn't say anything as Sam has stopped. She's halfway between the two of us.

Part of me wants to walk to the edge of the glass, to close the distance between us. But even if I were to do that, there still be emotional distance. She betrayed you. Dances over, and over again. It's on replay as she stares at me.

When it feels like her gaze will poke a hole in me, she looks down at her feet. "I'm sorry."

I cross my arms, hoping I look like I don't care. Hoping I look angry, but indifferent. "For what?" I ask, because there could be a million things she could be apologizing for. The one I want her to admit to though? I want her to apologize for breaking my heart.

She takes her time looking up at me. I can feel it as her gaze sweeps up me, until she's staring into my eyes. "I'm sorry for everything."

And maybe it's not the words I wanted to hear, but it holds them. I can hear what she's piled into that one word.

"I-"

Whoosh!

The door between us slides open. Blake jumps up with a fist pump.

Sam hurriedly blinks before turning around. She yanks the cord out of her chip. "We have to get you two out of here. There's no way they're all still talking."

"Right, right." Blake starts reeling the cord to them. "Emma, we're going to have to hold hands and stay as quiet as possible."

"Wait, what?" I step out of the cage. Somehow the air feels different out here.

"That's how we'll share the invisibility. I have it built into my chip. But it can't conceal noise, which is why we have to stay quiet."

"Oh." I stumble as I walk past Sam, to get to Blake. When our hands connect I can sense Sam turning away. When I glance up her hair is settling back into place. "You two will be able to make it out?"

"As long as Val is at the front door and leaving we should be able to. You'll have to hold the door open until we're out though."

"My Aunt's here?" I ask.

"And how will I know when you're out?" Sam asks, ignoring my question.

"You won't. You'll just have to hope."

With Sam leading the way, we leave the basement. Blakes hand is warm in mine. It's a soft comfort to know I'm not alone. That my Aunt wasn't going to leave me there. There's also shock mixed in there. From Sam. Is it really possible that she was the one who asked for my rescue?

The door slides shut behind us, the only noise from it is a soft thud. Sam doesn't stop as we walk past her parents office, then the living room. As we get closer to the dinning room, voices start to solidify.

"Thank you for your time." My heart soars as my Aunt's voice reaches my ears.

"Thank you for giving us this information. We'll make sure to pass it onto Emma," Mr Mars says.

My heart sanks. What news could they have to tell me?

"Samantha?" We all freeze as Mrs Mars exits the dining room, her husband and my Aunt behind her. "Weren't you in the kitchen?"

"I just had to use the bathroom."

If her mother suspects anything, she doesn't show it. "Very well. Can you show Val out please?"

"That won't be-" my Aunt starts.

"Nonsense," Mr Mars says, clasping a hand on her shoulder. "Samantha doesn't mind walking you out." His gaze slips to his daughters. "Does she?"

After a moments hesitance, Sam speaks, "Of course not."

Mr Mars lets my Aunt go. "It was lovely seeing you, Val. I wish it were under better circumstances."

My eyes widen while my Aunt nods. "So do I."

Blake pulls me back against the wall as the Mars exit the dining room and start to their office. When I look back at my Aunt I find her staring right at me. My breath hitches. Does she know? But then her gaze flies to Sam just as fast.

"Will everything be alright?" she asks.

Aunt Val nods. "Everything will be fine."

Sam nods. Out of the corner of her eye, she glances at me. "Let me show you the way out."

"That would be lovely. Thank you."

We make our way down the hall, Sam at the front, my Aunt in the middle and then Blake and me. My stomach does flips as the door gets closer. Is escaping really this easy? Will we really be able to make it out before Sam's parents notice I'm missing?

The next thing I know, Sam's opening the door.

"Thank you, Samantha," Aunt Val says as she exits the house. Sam nods.

As Blake pulls me out the door, I can feel Sam's eyes on me. As if, even without seeing me, she knows where I am. When I turn my head to look at her, her gaze is on me. Her mouth is turned down in a frown, and her eyes look wet.

Will she miss me?

A yank on my arm pulls me back. The door shuts behind us as I turn to face Blake. "We have to get into her car. Now." That's when I notice my Aunt standing beside a hover-car. Her eyes thin as slites as she stares at the mansion behind us.

"You think they know I'm gone already?" I ask. Fear slips into my voice.

"We don't want to stick around and found out."

I nod and we take off, sprinting to my Aunt's car. Once there Blake drops my hand, and the invisibility. They throw the door open and jump in.

"It's good to see you, Emma," Aunt Val says, a smile on her face.

"I'm glad to see you too," I say before getting in.

She closes the door behind us before walking around and getting behind the wheel. Aunt Val doesn't waste a second before we're high-tailing it out of there.

With a quick turn I watch as Sam and the Mars house disappears from view.