Sitting on the back of the pickup truck, shaking, Riley finds herself still among the living. Gray is a few inches away from her, his hand moving her hair out of the way as he inspects the red mark on her neck. 'Well, you're still alive. So...' 

She begins to add to his statement as soon as he pauses. 'He didn't come to kill me. He came to scare me. Right after he injected me he said 'I can get to you, anytime, anywhere'.' 

He gently releases her hair as he straightens his composure. 'He spoke to you? Did you...?' 

'I didn't recognize the voice. It was a man, that's all I know. I didn't see him, he wasn't familiar.' Her voice is still shaky, halting her to take a moment and breathe. 'Is that possible? All this time I thought it was personal, but what if it's just some random lunatic doing all this?' 

Desperately she looks at Gray, then gazes away, knowing he doesn't have the answer either. 'Well, if he gave you a shot without wanting to kill you, then we need to be ready for another... episode.' 

'Meaning I'm going to pass out and hallucinate my worst nightmares again...' Right when she realizes she couldn't possibly feel any worse, when her strained mind reaches its limit, Gray takes her hand. 

'Riley, I've been watching you go through this, and I know how you feel, so I realize I'm asking a lot from you. But I really need you to consider what I'm about to offer.' As she looks at him she feels as though suddenly his walls have come down and she's staring straight into his soul. 

'I have a cabin, near Denver. It's remote, quiet. I could take you there, I could keep you safe.' Gray offers. 

'I'm not running.' 

'It would only be for a little while...' 

Absolute in her decision, she cuts him off. 'If I run now, I'll never stop. I'll never be safe, not until I see this through.' 

Staring down at the hands he can't let go, Gray experiences a sense of fear very new to him. 'In that case, until this guy is behind bars, I will not leave your side again.'

∾

Warmed by the lighter's flame as he bends his head to spark the cigarette between his lips, Milo almost loses his balance on the edge of the boardwalk. He manages to grab hold of the lamp post next to him just in time. Inhaling deeply he gazes at the half empty bottle of vodka taunting him as it sits on a bench. The early evening tide rolls out underneath his feet, headed to slowly swallow the beach. As it gets darker Coney Island's lights become more prominent in the distance. 

The cold look in his eyes, hiding the underlying pain, reflect in the water as he looks down over the railing. He's successfully managed to drink until he didn't feel anything anymore. Now when he closes his eyes the image of his dead friend has become vague, gradually disappearing. 

As he clenches the cigarette between his teeth he stumbles to the center of the boardwalk and raises his hands to the sky. 'Well, buddy, can you see me? You looking down from up there, watching me get more fucked up by the minute? You can't just leave me behind!' As he screams at the clouded night sky the cigarette slips from his mouth and falls through the cracks into the black sea. 

His drowsy mind catches up to the anger and he snatches the bottle off the bench to further drown his sorrows. But the booze have lost their power and in frustration Milo slings the bottle towards the coast. Swiftly it circles through the air before rupturing into a million pieces on the wood boards. Panting desperately he stares at the destruction. 

He then reaches and grabs hold of the lamp post, hanging onto it as he leans over the railing and breathlessly stares down. 'Why couldn't it have been me?' he whispers to himself. 

'Milo?' Having responded to a desperate text message, Gray is now stepping over the glass splinters as he looks at his broken down brother. 

The familiar voice is met with a sarcastic grin. 'Well well, managed to tear yourself away from your epic mission to see your baby bro, have you?' But when Milo looks at his brother the grin disappears as he spots Riley standing a little further behind. 'Or not...'

'Milo, just... step away from the railing.' Holding his hands up Milo faces his brother. 

'Relax, I'm not going to hurl myself off this miserable little promenade. We're past the suicide attempts, remember?' Despite the sarcasm in his voice, Riley realizes instantly that Milo isn't joking. 

At the sight of shock in her face, Milo angrily takes a few steps towards her. 'Why are you here?' he sneers at her. 

'Milo...' Gray's calming voice has no effect as Milo outright ignores it. 

'You know, I looked the other way when you broke Aaron's heart. But if you think I'm going to let you sink your teeth into my brother you've got another thing coming.' 

'Milo!' Gray grabs the sleeve of Milo's black leather jacket and pulls his attention to him. 'Stop!' 

'I can't believe you can be this blind, Gray! She's using you! The minute you cease to be useful she'll have you locked up and forget you ever existed!' 

Pained to see Milo is such a state but also hurt by his cruel words, Riley tries to defend herself. 'I wouldn't. I'd never do that.' 

Gravely staring into his brother's eyes, Milo ignores her and prays for Gray to understand. 'I can't lose you again, I won't survive it.' 

As Gray pulls him into a firm embrace, Milo finally releases the waterworks he'd been holding in. 'You won't, I promise.'

Twenty minutes later, with Milo safely passed out in the truck, Gray catches his breath as he tries to figure out his next move. Though he'd never admit it to anyone, he's feeling a little in over his head. And already disappointed in himself for having lost focus while trying to protect Riley, thus forgetting his brother. 

Even now, as he tries to clear his mind he's distracted once more by Riley standing in the distance, on the edge of the boardwalk, staring out into the ocean. She must be waiting for it, he realizes. Waiting for the moment the Glow kicks in, and she loses control again. 

But she's already lost it, the killer has taken all control. It's strange. These rich kids, like he used to be, but has come to hate over time. Somehow they've become important to him again. At first when tasked to take out spawns of the elite, Gray found some karmic satisfaction in it. Like the revenge he'd always wanted to exact on his parents. And when Riley found him, he really wanted to hate her. He tried to. 

He glances at his brother, who has fallen over in his drunken coma and is now lying flat across the front seats. As he looks at Milo's face he decides that once he's found the killer and put all this behind them, he's going to really take the time to help his brother. Milo needs help, it's long overdue. 

Turning his head back towards the sea, Gray finds himself staring at an empty space. Blinking once, he searches the edge of the parking lot. 'What the...?' Spinning a full circle his eyes peer down every inch of the surrounding area. 'Riley?!' Looking back at the spot she was standing only a minute ago, he suddenly realizes what happened.

∾

Rainfall accelerated to a violent degree has begun crashing down on the truck. Riley's eyes open, as if they closed only a moment ago. She doesn't remember getting in the truck, nor does she remember Milo getting out of it, but he's not there anymore. Is it happening again? Is this it? How can she tell? And what if it is real, what if the killer only gave her an empty shot to confuse her and knocked her out so he could take Grayson and Milo? 

Her mind is racing with possibilities. But the longer she stays in this truck by herself the more frightened she gets, so she finally decides to get out. 

The single step out of the vehicle lands her in the middle of a fierce wind pushing her against the side of the car. She can barely see through the earth shattering showers. 'Gray!' 

As she shouts in random directions she can feel the water streaming heavily down every inch of her body. 'Gray!' Through the flooded fog, squinting in an attempt to see better she spots a figure in the distance, standing at the end of a dock. As she tries to run to it she is met by the storm blasting her in the opposite direction. 

The struggle seems to last forever, but finally she appears to be closing in. Treading onto the dock, she is almost washed away by a wild wave crashing into her. But as she looks at the figure ahead of her, standing fixed in place despite the dire weather, she recognizes the army green jacket. 'Gray!' 

He turns around as she nears herself to him. His face remains motionless, almost vacant, as his eyes register her presence. 'Gray?' Her voice cracks. Subsequently, her heart stops as a sharp blow soars past her and hits Gray in the chest. 

Looking down, Gray reaches for the hole in his skin to touch what should have been blood, gushing out of him. Instead it's a thick green liquid, glowing on his hands as he gazes up at Riley. 

'No!' Screaming, she leaps forward, only to see Gray fall backwards, disappearing into the black mass. 

Suddenly the rain dissolves, the wind freezes, and the waves come to a standstill. It's as if time has stopped. In the now perfect silence, Riley can hear a gun cocking behind her. The image of Gray sinking into oblivion is all she can see as she turns around to face her enemy. 

The dark figure, hiding all but his glowing green eyes behind a black mask, has made his return and is now pointing his weapon at her. Distraught she looks into the fluorescent eyes. 

'Why?' 

Her desperate question is answered by a pulled trigger, a loud bang and darkness.

∾

The sight of Riley lying on the bed wrapped in a towel, still unconscious, is somehow mesmerizing to Grayson. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he stretches his arm along his pulled up leg as he keeps a close eyes on her. Occasionally, the expression on her face changes, indicating what she must be feeling while submerged in her nightmare. 

When her eyes slowly begin to open, the first thing she sees is a star filled sky overhead. Through the apartment's high ceiling window, what appears to be the winter's first clear night is shown. A little confused, gradually picking up on where she is, she moves her head in Gray's direction. 

The second she sees him her eyes widen and she jumps up. Not thinking, led by impulse, she throws her arms around him and squeezes tightly. Unprepared, he blinks once or twice before carefully embracing her. As Riley's mind clears more and more she becomes aware of her abrupt hug, but fights off rational thought, realizing how good it feels to be held. She almost doesn't want to let go at all, but countless thoughts begin to flood back and force her into reality. 

Having ended up partly in his lap, she carefully repositions herself on the bed as she looks at him. Unsure how to proceed she nervously touches her hair, only to realize it's wet. After which she sees the towel still clinging to her body, and feels the dampness of her clothes. 'What happened?' 

'Well, when you passed out you were standing right by the edge and...' 

Shocked, she interrupts him. 'I fell in? Into the ocean?' 

He nods. 'I had to jump in after you.' 

'You did?' As she says it she sees his hair, in the same half dry state as hers. 

Forcing himself to pull away from her, Gray walks over to the closet and pulls out a clean shirt, throwing it on the bed. 'Here, put that on.' 

As she reaches out and grabs it, she watches Gray shuffle towards the hallway. 'Milo's in the living room, sleeping off the vodka on my couch. I better go check on him.' 

As he leaves the room Riley remains motionless on the bed for a while and evaluates her life. What a mess it has become. Only a few months ago she was happily living her student life, attending college, working part time at a coffee shop, spending time with friends she now hasn't spoken to for over a month. They must think she abandoned them to return to her rich family. 

As a teenager she'd always felt this life among corrupted wealth would kill her, now it really might. And as things gets increasingly difficult, Riley forces herself to remember why she started this. Thinking of Carrie stuck in that nut house, her whole life taken from her, the blinding urge to try and fix it returns. 

It doesn't matter how hurt she gets, it doesn't matter if it kills her, Riley is dead set on avenging her sister. Whether it's love, or the need to make amends, there is no letting this go.

'Can we leave him behind like this?' Riley asks, glancing at a senseless Milo sprawled across the brown leather. She picks one of Gray's jackets off the coat rack and reaches for her purse as Gray raises himself from the couch. 

'It's late, where do you want to go right now?' He asks. 

'There's no time to waste, and I can't sleep anyway. Let's finally get some answers.' 

'The safe house was a bust, what do you suggest our next move is?' 

Riley hesitates for a moment as she gazes into Gray's concerned eyes, noting how much the way he looks at her has changed. The sarcastic, angry façade he had created for himself has crumbled. 

'I know how to find out where the gang is... but you're not going to like it.'