He didn't even register that he was moving until Keaton was in his arms. Dare looked down at his best friend, heart stuttering. "Dare..." Rette's voice was painfully soft, fear dripping from it.

"Sh. It'll- it'll be okay," Dare lied through his teeth. His mind finally came to terms with everything sitting before him, and he gathered his friend in his arms before placing the boy on his bed. Keaton's words rang through his head on repeat, bouncing around his brain: We're not safe. We're not safe. We're not safe. We're not safe. We're not safe. Dare's eyes flicked go Rette, who was sitting with her chin on top of her knees in the corner of the room. Her heart-wrenching sobs, barely concealed by her sleeve, were the only sounds in the world.

"K-Keaton, h-he-he f-f-fell. And-and what did he-he mean?" she stuttered, syllables falling from her mouth in a heap. Dare could only guess what she meant.

"He said we weren't safe." Dare thought it out a moment before remembering bits and pieces of the day: guards whispering to each other, their eyes going dark. More security that usual. Frantic adults in lab coats. "Rette, something's happening to Shaw."

•

She watched as he convulsed with the nightmares, sweat pouring off of him.  Rette wanted to cry; to have an out for all of this emotion.  She settled on digging her nails further into Dare's arm.  If he felt any pain, he didn't show it. She had settled into his embrace who knows how long ago, looking for solace.

The two of them sat in silence for what seemed like forever, watching Keaton thrash. His teeth were clenched, and his muscles strained. At one point throughout the night, he scratched his cheek, drawing blood. Rette had let out a small yelp.

Dare only held on tighter.

We're not safe. We're not safe. We're not safe.

We're not safe.

•

She snuck along the walls of the corridor, hoping to just leave her note and wait in the observatory.

That wasn't to be.

Tyris crouched down to her knees, again, folding her note to him along the crease. A ghost of a smile drifted to her face. Closing her eyes, she pushed the note under the threshold. 

Tyris stood up, wiping dirt off her jeans, and starting forward. 

That is, until, the door opened and a hand caught her wrist.  "Huh!"

•

Dare's eyes flitted between Keaton's sprawling figure, and Rette's terrified stance.  He closed his eyes, wishing on everything that was good that his friends would be okay.  The only people he cared about.  Upon opening those captivating blue eyes of his, something slid into his vision. 

A white piece of paper. 

Dare jumped out from behind Rette, rushing to the door before the sender could get away.  It was so dark in the hallway that he didn't even register what -who- he was grabbing.  "Huh!" 

He pulled the person in, and threw them toward Rette.  He turned to their ajar door.  Releasing a breath, Dare tried to get rid of the little light coming in from the hall, and faintly heard Rette say, "Tyris?"  He felt his eyes widen in surprise, and turned around.

"What the hell-" the other girl started, before she saw Keaton, still trapped in his nightmare.  At once, she was at his side, trying to grab a frantic hand.  "What happened?"

Dare saw Rette open her mouth, but he beat her to speaking.  "He just came in, talking gibberish, and then collapsed."

"But something must've caused..." Tyris struggled for the right word to use, "this."

"We have no clue," Rette jumped in.  "Honest."  Tyris nodded, excepting their turn of events, and stood up. 

"You'll come find me, right?  So I know how he is?"

"Of course." 

Tyris turned away, silent as she opened the door, one thought ever present in her mind:

Keaton wasn't safe.

•

Nix hadn't known how the subjects would've reacted to the situation at hand.  Really, he thought they would've taken it better.  One girl, Jara threw her guts up, and a boy, Martyz, started screaming. 

Huh, the doctor had thought.  Guess everything was worse than I thought.

If he was speaking honestly, this was one of the worst occurrences in the history of Shaw.  And, then, if this was somehow found out by the public, they'd question everything that the compounds were doing. They'd demand to have their children back. And, the subjects could possibly turn on them, on the people that trained them.

They would join the Rebels in bringing down society. No. Nix commanded of his mind. Don't go there. It wouldn't be good for anybody.

He opened his office door, calling for Oralie. "Yes, Sir?" she said.

"How is it?" He didn't have to say more for her to understand.

"It's progressing still."

He let out a breath, showing a break in that perfect composure of his. "As I thought. Thank you." Nix let her be, going back to his work. Pen poised over his page, a single thought, one that didn't seem his own, swept through his brain.

No one is safe.

•

Through the haze and darkness, he could make out a figure, on a bed, trying to battle through something. In a way, just like he was. What is this? A noise - a scream, he guessed - cut through his head, coming from the left. He turned his head, seeing another person straining against restraints. And someone else was to his right, and there was one more behind him.  Five, including himself. 

A new sense of panic gripped him, and he looked down.  He was lying in the same bed as the others, hands and feet tied off, as well.  Now I'm getting freaked out. 

Trying to calm down, or at least find a sense of sanity the others didn't possess, he looked around at them.  Hey, I know them, Keaton thought.  Squad 13 members.  There was Jara, Martyz, Riniya, and... and someone he couldn't see.  He was straight ahead, and so immersed in fog, Keaton couldn't get a good look.  Who's missing? 

Who's missing?  He thought he normally would've been able to figure it out, but he felt as though he'd been drugged.  Like his brain wasn't working properly.  He couldn't name the last two members. 

They were gone from his memory. 

"Keaton..." A soft voice sounded from above.  He tried to look for it, but then felt a strap materialize and wrap around his throat, preventing his head from moving.  It sounded like... who was his roommate again?  He couldn't recall.  Even his fogged up mind knew that was bad. 

Why is this happening?  Why did I do it?  Keaton screamed when a voice that wasn't his came into his mind.  WHO ARE YOU?  WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?  He said to the second voice. 

Of course, there wasn't an answer. 

What are you?

•

The man moved forward, trying to conceal the smirk on his face.  If anyone saw it, he'd be dead.  But there was reason to celebrate.

Shaw Compound, one of the greatest in the country, about to be brought down.  Let the Rebels take them.  He soon found the room he was supposed to meet her in. 

Knock.  Knock knock.  Knock. 

There came a small release of breath, and then a faint click as the door unlocked.  She opened it, a small smile playing on her lips.  "Is it done?" she asked eagerly.

"Yes," he said, excitement in his tone.  "Now we just wait and see what happens.  The destruction won't be long.  And then they're gone.  For good."  He knew he was being prideful, but it wasn't as if he hadn't a reason.  They had been working for months to bring this plan to action.  And now it was working. 

But, he did miss the small hesitance that passed across her face. 

He slid a hand across her cheek, a smile in full bloom on his.  "Just remember this.

"We are safe now."