A knock on the door breaks through the silence, forcing the pair of us apart. Reece grabs his gun, his relaxed expression replaced with alarm as he turns to face the door.

"Move behind the bed," he orders, and I slink away from the table and dart across the room, ducking behind the side of the bed.

Reece inches toward the door as my heart thuds louder, so loud that I'm certain whoever is on the other side can hear it. He opens the door a fraction before opening it further, a sign that whoever is on the other side of the door hasn't been identified as a threat.

"Hey," chirps a familiar, nasally voice I recognize as the guy from the front desk. "I just remembered I forgot to tell you checkout is at ten."

After muttering something to the boy, Reece closes the door and rests his gun on the bedside table, giving me a weary look that mirrors how I feel. This is how it's going to be now, us always being on edge, always looking over our shoulder or being afraid of a knock or a sound, because this is the price I–we–have paid for my freedom.

"What happens now?" I ask, because I don't think I can take running any longer without knowing what's next, or else it will feel like I never made it off that treadmill.

Reece flops onto the bed and for the first time, I notice the dark circles that formed beneath his eyes. "First thing in the morning, we'll head toward the cabin," he says, switching on the television. "For now, why don't you take a shower and eat something?"

I nod, about to head into the bathroom when a familiar image flickers across the tv screen. It's a picture of a missing girl last seen a month ago, walking through a park. The headline at the bottom reads, Third Engineered Girl Goes Missing.

"What's wrong?" Reece asks, but I don't tear my eyes from the screen. I can't.

"I know her," I whisper. "I've seen her before."

Reece looks confused. "Where?"

I continue to stare at her for a few seconds longer, remembering the way those blue eyes had looked. "She's the dead girl I saw in the Marine World labs." When I turn back to Reece, his face has paled considerably.

"She was one of the genetically engineered babies from twenty years ago," he mutters. "That's the third missing genetically engineered girl in three months. That can't be a coincidence."

I carefully lower myself back onto the bed, my hands gripping the sides."Why is Marine World doing this?" I utter. "Why are they kidnapping genetically engineered girls just to chop them up and mutilate them?"

"My guess is that they don't want to waste time raising genetically engineered babies to experiment on," he says. "Easier if they can just kidnap the ones already grown, instead."

I shake my head, the bile already making its way up my throat. "Her poor family," I whisper when they finally appear on the screen. "They have no idea she's dead."

Tears prickle my eyes, and Reece quickly positions himself next to me on the bed, pulling me into a hug. After a few moments, I pull away and head into the bathroom, taking out my contacts before stepping into the shower.

For the first time in a long time, I allow myself to sob uncontrollably. It feels as though I have spent a life time holding in my emotions, and now I couldn't stop even if I wanted to.

By the time I come out, Reece is shirtless and fast asleep on top of the bed covers, causing something in my chest to tighten. He looks peaceful now that his face is relaxed, no sign of agitation or worry plaguing his features. His breathing is soft, the way Crystal's used to be, and the familiar sound offers me an inkling of comfort through the dark.

Still, the thought of sleeping next to a man has me frozen in position, and even though I know he isn't Jackson, I can't squash the terror slowly making its way through my system.

The cool air blowing in from the vents makes me shiver. Slowly, I crawl into the space beside him, holding my breath as I stare at the silhouette of his back. I can just make out the outline of a drawing on his shoulder blade, some kind of bird with its wings spread mid-flight. I study it for a moment, feeling somewhat relieved to have him next to me.

As the night stretches on, I find myself inching closer, until finally his warm body is pressed against mine.

Hey readers! Hope you enjoy! 🧜🏽‍♀️🧜🏿‍♀️🧜🏻‍♀️

Anyone feel bad for poor Asia and Jewel still stuck in Marine World? 😢