Kyle wondered if knocking Snitch Gravel out would stop him from having nightmares, because he couldn't take it any more.

Three nights in a row the guy kept twisting turning and mumbling, waking Kyle up even when he wasn't supposed to be on guard duty. Their guarding was pathetic anyway and both of them constantly fell asleep on the job. It was bad that he had his own night terrors, but having to listen to Snitch Gravel's was too much for him.

To make matters worse, Snitch Gravel was so out of it from exhaustion that he was practically useless. He'd also fallen silent and their daily progress was pathetic. It grated on Kyle because he was aware he wasn't doing any better and he didn't have all year to explore a jungle with a potential psychopath. He needed to get home.

But Snitch Gravel's anxiety and constant nightmares were taking their toll on him as he began dreaming of returning home and finding that Kay had moved on and his children no longer recognized him.

He jerked awake to a loud 'no' coming from Snitch Gravel and for a moment he was sure the serum would take over and he'd strangle the guy. Fortunately, even the serum was exhausted and unresponsive.

But that didn't mean the moaning wouldn't be punished. Kyle picked up a fallen fruit which he had no idea what it was or if it was edible, and threw it at Snitch Gravel. It hit him in the chest and he jerked awake.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he growled, picked up a rock and threw it at Kyle.

He dodged it. "What's wrong with me? At least I threw something soft at you, asshole. Weren't you supposed to be on guard duty?"

Snitch Gravel glanced around and grumbled something to himself before straightening and rubbing his eyes. "Not like anything happened."

"What if it does?"

He didn't have an answer for that because he knew he'd screwed up. Kyle stood, walked over to him and dropped on the ground a few inches away.

"Look, this isn't working and I wasn't going to push you, but you're driving me insane. You can't sleep, I can't sleep and we're both useless. So spit it out."

"It's none of your damn business," Snitch Gravel said, refusing to spit it out.

"You're making it my business because you're not letting me rest . Which could lead to me dying and I sure as hell don't want that."

"Oh, just grow a pair and rough it up."

The serum stirred, fueled by the frustration and annoyance Kyle felt. "Grow a pair? You're the one who refuses to fix things because you're too afraid to talk!"

There was a subtle movement that caught his eye. Had Snitch Gravel not been exhausted and wildly uncoordinated, his action could have posed a threat. As it was, Kyle caught his wrist before the knife was half-out of a sheath he'd hidden under his shirt. With a quick press to his wrist, the weapon fell and Kyle caught it.

"How many more weapons do you have on you?" he asked, his tone cold. He didn't like this. He'd thought they were done when he took away the gun.

Snitch Gravel huffed. "Like I'm going to tell you that."

"I'm a cop. I know how to do a full cavity search."

Snitch Gravel maybe tried to grin, but it came out as a grimace. "Yeah, whatever. Just slice my throat and get it over with."

If only it were that easy. "Yeah, not going to happen."

He actually looked disappointed. "Why not?"

"You saved my life. I'm merely returning the favor."

Snitch Gravel shook his head, his mouth turned down in an annoyed frowned. "Idiot, I told you that was me repaying a favor."

"Then you owe me one again."

"I don't want to owe you!"

"Yeah, well, you don't get what you want."

"Oh, fuck you, you goody-two-shoes."

"This could've all been avoided if you'd just let me die," Kyle said with a shrug.

Snitch Gravel grumbled again, something that sounded like a lot of swearing combined with cursing his luck and his dumb decisions.

"So what was it, then? What made you change your mind about killing us? Come on, let it out. Unload your soul."

Snitch Gravel huffed. "Is this what you want? To save my soul?"

It was maybe melodramatic, but Kyle saw it as a challenge. Max had always claimed he had a thing for saving people, and not just physically. He'd done it with Kay. Had on some level tried it with his former girlfriend, Cecily Howard, his mother, and Ron. "Why not? Someone has to."

Snitch Gravel let out a sarcastic laugh, but didn't say anything. Of course he didn't. Why would he make it easy?

"So come on, let it out. Why didn't you want to kill us? You've had more chances than I care to count."

"Didn't you figure it out?"

"I mentioned you didn't want to, so I think we did. I'm asking why."

There was a long pause, long enough for Kyle to decide that if he didn't answer, he'd punch him in the face.

"At first I wanted to test you," Snitch Gravel finally said, his tone even. "Torture you a little, make you live in fear. Felt like fair payback for Freider. So I just kept pushing and pushing and pushing until I hit a wall. In France, I didn't care if you lived or died. Afterwards, I just couldn't anymore."

Kyle quirked a brow. "Couldn't?"

He shrugged. "You became proficient enough to really give my men a hard time. You got better at hiding."

It was Kyle's turn to huff. "Please. Our work and schools were public. You could've hired a hitman."

"And where's the satisfaction in that? Besides, I had a lot of other things on my mind. And then..."

Kyle didn't have to ask. He knew what he meant. "Freider died."

Snitch Gravel nodded. "Yeah. And I just didn't care anymore."

He would've accepted the answer if it wasn't such a blatant lie. "Really now? Then what was Japan all about?"

There was a very subtle wince before he said, "A huge cluster fuck, that's what."

"Sam claims you wanted us all together so that you could tell us the truth." The pause his words caused convinced Kyle it was true. "So that was it? You could've done that differently, you know."

"I wasn't sure," Snitch Gravel said, his voice low. "I wasn't sure I cared anymore, that I didn't want to kill you after all and end it."

"But you did figure it out in the end. Which is why you didn't kill us, took care of Kay, didn't punish Tom when he killed Cannon."

"I guess so." He sounded exhausted again, the answers coming faster as he was obviously incapable of filtering them.

"Then why torture us in the first place?"

"That was not my idea. Not my decision."

This was news. Kyle was aware he should keep his own tone even, not show that that information unsettled him in any way, but he was exhausted too, so he wasn't sure he managed to pull it off as he asked, "Whose was it then?"

The question had Snitch Gravel frowning, as if he'd realized he wasn't supposed to say that. "It stays my little problem."

"Isn't it part of the information you want to tell us anyway?"

He frowned again, processing, actually weighing his next words. "Shit," he whispered. "Yeah, this isn't working. I met Millie in high school."

The change in subject felt like a hit to the back of Kyle's head. "Um, what?"

"My nightmares." Snitch Gravel waved his hand impatiently. "Didn't you say talking about them would make them go away?"

"Well, yes, but I didn't expect you to actually listen to me and cooperate." It was beyond weird and a little frustrating since this was most likely a way for Snitch Gravel to avoid sharing more sensitive information. But anything he could get was fine and he really wanted to sleep as well. Even if it meant going back over things he already knew. "Okay, high school. You mentioned that."

"God, I loathed her."

"Wait, what?"

The look on Snitch Gravel's face made it clear that he wasn't making it up. "Yes. She was so annoying, entitled and just... A prissy little princess and I had absolutely no intention or patience to deal with her shit."

Kyle blinked and tried to focus. He was obviously misreading the whole situation. "Really?" Because he was pretty sure he'd ended up in love with her. At least that was what he'd always thought.

"The moron cut the wire of my speakers while they were plugged in. With scissors she'd brought specifically for the occasion. Damn near electrocuted herself."

"Um, okay..."

Snitch Gravel heaved a sigh, obviously realizing his story made no sense and wasn't going to cut it. "My father died when I was in my senior year," he said. His voice was so low, it barely covered the screeches of distant monkeys and birds.

The news twisted Kyle's stomach because he'd never thought about Snitch Gravel outside his evil organization and his desire to end his family.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"You have no idea..." Snitch Gravel shut his eyes and pressed the heels of his palms to them. "I worshiped that man. He taught me everything I knew and I was so sure that he would continue to teach me so much more. And all of a sudden, he was gone and the family... There was no family anymore."

"What about your mom?" Kyle asked.

"My mother." Snitch Gravel let out a bitter huff. "A weak woman, broken down and unable to deal with it. She could as well have died, too. She was of no use to anyone, including herself. She just made things more difficult."

Kyle was unpleasantly reminded of his own mother, but decided to keep that last bit of information to himself and just listen.

"Home was no longer home," Snitch Gravel continued. "It was a bitter hell. I couldn't stand it. So I started staying in school longer and longer. Believe it or not, I was a good student so I was trusted with keys. I ended up in the gym most nights. Blasting music and shooting hoops because at least then I had control. I could make the ball do what I wanted.

"And then she showed up, complaining about the noise and the music and me being there and disturbing her. And after I told her to fuck off, one evening she came with scissors and cut off the wire."

There was a pause and Kyle couldn't tell if Snitch Gravel was annoyed or amused by the memory. One thing he was sure of was the lack of fondness. It wasn't a fun memory. And it made no sense seeing as all he seemed to dream about was that annoying woman.

"Isn't this the same woman you wanted to have kids with?" Kyle asked. "What happened?"

Snitch Gravel bit his lower lip and sat in silence for a moments. His eyelids dropped and he seemed moments away from sleep. "It turned out she wasn't that bad. She fixed the wire so I wouldn't get in trouble. Then we shared a bottle of bourbon and a joint on the roof of her dorm building."

Well, that went an entirely different way than Kyle expected. And this time, the smile on Snitch Gravel's face spoke of pleasant memories.

"We stole the bottle from one of her room mates. And the weed. Girl was packing. And once she'd had half the bottle, she finally opened up. Her own father had died a few years back, so she knew my pain. But unlike me, she still had a mother. A perfect, supportive mother who had given everything to bring her to the posh school, give her her best shot. And because of it, she felt so much pressure to be perfect." Snitch Gravel huffed. "I could understand that pressure. Turns out we weren't so different. Two hurt people trying to make our way through this miserable life."

"So that was it then? You fell in love?"

"I stopped hating her. Didn't fall in love. She hadn't exactly given me any reason to. Being less annoying didn't warrant that. But we fell into a sort of companionship, I guess."

Kyle could relate to that. Even if what he'd had with Kay had always been a little tainted by the fact he found her gorgeous, they'd still been friends for a long time. Looking back, he realized he'd been attracted to her from the moment he drove her home, even if he hadn't picked up on it then. God, he was such an idiot, and those wasted months seemed to be laughing at him now. Now when he no longer had her and there was a chance that he'd never see her again.

"No denied attraction?" he asked.

"That part only came when I saw her in a bathing suit. You see, I offered to teach her how to swim."

Okay, this was a bit of oversharing. "Well then..."

"Oh, she had a garbage sense of fashion. Always wearing some horrid overalls always splattered with paint. She painted. And shirts that made her look like a too large toddler. Her hair was up in French braids... Nothing any sane person would find attractive."

And all Kyle could think about was Kay's suburban mom outfits which didn't compliment her gorgeous body at all. Until she'd started believing in herself and dressing how she wanted. Her confidence had made him fall in love with her. Her kindness and her bravery. His heart ached with how much he missed her. Her and the kids and his life.

"I never could pinpoint how and why I fell for her," Snitch Gravel said, his voice dreamy. "At one point, we were having a fling. The next, she was all I could think about."

"Was it mutual?" Kyle asked.

"I thought so. Looking back...I don't know. I think she must have loved me at some point. I was, after all, a moody brat and not easy to be around. I see no other reason why she'd stay with me for so long."

"How long were you even together?"

"I don't know."

Kyle shifted. His body felt numb and Snitch Gravel's dreamy tone only lulled him to sleep. But the weirdness of the conversation warranted his attention. "How could you not know?"

"You see, we never officially broke up."

And here was the root of the problem most likely. "Then what happened?"

The corner of Snitch Gravel's mouth twitched upwards, but it was by no means a smile. "We were together when I got into the whole mess with the Counters. You already know that from James, so there's no use pretending it didn't happen."

"Yeah, you went to Egypt and found the first jewel."

Snitch Gravel nodded, his eyes closed. "Right. It took a while. Training, the research, the actual expedition. They didn't send us in blind like they did with you in Mexico. They trusted us more than they ever did you. It took months. Of course, I wrote to her. She couldn't write back because she wasn't supposed to know where I am, so there was no return address.

"It didn't matter. I was convinced I'd be back and explain everything. But when I finally returned, she was gone."

The thought was painful and Kyle tried not to feel sorry for Snitch Gravel because it was such a weird feeling. But he could picture it perfectly. The hopeful young man returning to a girl who was no longer there. "Did you ever find out where she went?"

Snitch Gravel shook his head, his eyes still closed. "It didn't matter. She was gone."

"You're telling me you didn't even look for her?"

"I didn't have to. There was no point."

Kyle didn't push. He could sense this was the root of the problem and Snitch Gravel had already shared a lot. Maybe he was not ready for this particular bit of information, so Kyle decided to change tactics.

"Did you ever see her again?"

"No. I'm not even sure she's still alive."

The words plunged an uncomfortable weight into Kyle's stomach. "Then why couldn't you move on?"

"Because sometimes it's the dead that keep you trapped more effectively than any living soul." He opened his eyes. They shone with a challenge as well as curiosity. "Is that enough for you?"

"It's a start. But whether it's enough, only your nightmares will tell."

Snitch Gravel closed his eyes again. "Fair enough." And with that, he fell asleep.

🧭

It took Kyle minutes to fall asleep as well, damning any sense of reason which yelled that no one keeping watch was a bad idea. But after so much time in the jungle, even the animals left them alone.

In his dreams, he saw Kay like he'd done when they met and got to fall in love with her all over again. Even if it was a beautiful dream, it left him with a bitter taste in his mouth because his reality sucked and the chances to see her again were growing slimmer with every passing day.

Snitch Gravel seemed to have rested better as well because he greeted Kyle with a grumbled curse and an order to move his ass because they'd lost enough time.

Since Kyle agreed, he didn't punch him in the face, but instead helped him gather up camp and set off through the jungle in search of the next air vent.

But as his crazy enemy led the way, Kyle's mind wandered back to their conversation and all the things he'd learned. The high school love story only interested him on a superficial level because it drew out the human side of Snitch Gravel. It was the time-line and the implications of it that had his mind spinning.

Where did Freider come into all this? Was he the reason Millie was gone? Was she, this annoying girl he'd first hated, the reason they'd almost been murdered more times than he cared to count? And what about the whole Snitch Gravel persona? Was it an effect of failure after failure or had it been there before?

The news about the Agency was also unsettling. Snitch Gravel's throwaway affirmation that he'd been trusted more than them got to him more than he cared to admit. The fact that Snitch Gravel turned sides made them rightfully paranoid, but what exactly had happened? Was Sam right and Snitch Gravel saw the dangers before they did?

And then there was the matter of the first team. Kyle knew Herrison had been on it, but except for him and Snitch Gravel, who else? He'd never asked before, but now he started wondering. Angie's father? William? And if William had been on it, why didn't he ever mention it?

"Hey, heaping pile of useless," Snitch Gravel called, waking Kyle up from his reverie.

"What?" he mumbled, trying not to resent it too much.

"Don't you notice anything odd?"

"That you've stopped and decided to insult me for no reason?"

Snitch Gravel moved out of the way as if revealing something, except there was nothing there but more stubborn vegetation.

"Don't tell me you've gone insane again."

"Maybe I need some more of your brilliant therapy," Snitch Gravel said, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

"Maybe you do, you crazy dick."

"We were supposed to reach the next vent. But it's obviously not here."

That caught Kyle's attention a lot more than the insults. Ever since they'd started following the vents, they'd all been eastward, at equal distances.

"Do you think the one we passed was the last one?" Though he knew it wasn't. They always checked them to see if there was more tunnel.

Snitch Gravel rolled his eyes. "Do you really need me to answer that?'

"Maybe it's just further away?" Though he didn't see why the distance would suddenly change.

"Why?"

Yeah, he had no idea why. "Look, there are only two possibilities. Either the direction is the same and the distance changed, or the distance is the same and the direction changed."

"You're brilliant, you are." Snitch Gravel's tone however still implied he was an idiot.

"Got any better ideas?"

"What do you suggest?"

"I suggest walking forward since the only other alternative is going back and changing direction."

"You really are an useless idiot." Snitch Gravel dropped on a nearby tree trunk and pulled the map he had out of his luggage.

He spread it over his knees and took out a pencil which he used to draw lines between the places they'd discovered air vents. He wasn't wrong. They'd been heading east, the distance between them always constant. But now it made no sense. They both kept staring at at the map, as if it could provide them with an answer.

"Why did it change?" Snitch Gravel mumbled.

Kyle had no answer and he was really growing tired so he sat down, too. He longed for a time when his muscles would no longer ache, though he knew he was lucky to be alive in the first place. Snitch Gravel kept staring at the map and encircled the location of the shrine. The image now looked like the crude drawing of an unfinished key.

"Maybe it's a key," Kyle found himself saying.

Snitch Gravel raised his eyes, his gaze lighting up with hope. "What do you mean?"

"I mean it looks like a key." When there was still confusion, Kyle picked up the pencil and drew two edges downward to finish the key design.

Snitch Gravel groaned and took the pencil back. "Wow, to think that for a second I thought you might not be so useless. How could it be a modern representation of a key? A childish one at that?"

Kyle just shrugged, his temples throbbing. "Not like they're very artistic or original. They had the same code for every entrance."

"Really now?" Snitch Gravel asked, erasing his drawings. "And what was that?"

Right. He kept forgetting that Snitch Gravel didn't come into the temples with them and didn't know that stuff.

"The crudest representation of the sun. Like this." He took the pencil again and drew one ray from their last air vent and continued to form the sun he'd seen so many times.

He returned the pencil, ready for more scoffing or insults, but Snitch Gravel just stared at the map with a mild frown on his face. He trailed his finger on the lines, whispering to himself.

"If you're right, then the next vent should be three miles north."

"Or south."

"Or south," Snitch Gravel conceded, his eyes still on the map. "Let's go."

"Um, I think it's going to get dark soon." Not to mention that it was drizzling again. He was getting so sick of the weather.

"Are you losing your nerve, brat?" Snitch Gravel asked with a grin.

He was actually exhausted, but he was never going to admit it. Not to that annoying prick.

"If I'm right, you're the useless one."

Snitch Gravel rolled his eyes. "As if. It was just coincidence and dumb luck."

Nah, he was right and Snitch Gravel knew it. But it didn't matter if they didn't find the next vent in the next few hours. They started off, their pace much faster, and an hour into the journey, white spots started dancing before Kyle's eyes. Snitch Gravel seemed to be struggling too, but both of them were too proud to admit defeat.

Night fell upon them, joined by strange noises and more rain. Kyle focused on watching the jungle floor to make sure they wouldn't be stepping on snakes or something. Finally, after what felt like forever, Snitch Gravel stopped and bumped his foot against a small stone perturbance.

"It's here," he whispered.

"Great. Can we sleep now?"

Snitch Gravel hummed, swinging his foot to repeatedly kick the stone. "I don't think there's anything else we can do at the moment. But I was thinking... Since it is indeed the sun, where's the jewel?"

The question set Kyle's nerves on edge. Because he actually knew the answer to that and he didn't like it.

"Most likely in the center," he finally said, his voice as exhausted as he felt. "Which means we can go in here because anywhere else we may try it would be the same distance and just as dangerous."

Snitch Gravel nodded and tuned his gaze to him. "Then yes, we really need to sleep."

If only the night terrors would let them.

🧭🧭🧭

You get history here. Yes, Snitch Gravel can't sleep and he's starting to get desperate. So you get story time and... Was it like you expected? What about how it fell apart and the Agency? There are so many hints (which will be further elaborated upon).

I'm curious what you're thinking right now. Kyle has always been soothing and good at getting people to talk. Apparently he's using it to the fullest. Unfortunately, he's not doing too well himself. He's exhausted.

Hope you're having fun with these developments. We get more interesting crap next week so stick around! Don't forget to vote and comment for support.