Mic let out a deep breath
before he made his way to the bathroom. He took a quick shower, the entire time he was unsettled. The feeling that he was being watched grew stronger with each passing second but he forced himself to remain calm.

Sure, they would eventually meet their pursuer - it was inevitable- but for now he had to carry on like every other day.

Whilst Mic went about his everyday hygienic routine, his brother focused on finding out about the two that he sensed were following them. He had already identified the shape shifter. The fact that he still could not penetrate the other boy's mind annoyed him as hell but that was something he had learned to accept. Sure, he could block his telepathy but his other abilities were a different story. It was this thought that Michael found comforting.

With his eyes closed, he opened his mind to others around them. Drawing them in. Whilst he could not see into Zee's mind, he could use the mind of others to see him and his surroundings. He felt another draw him in. At first he didn't understand whose mind he was in but once he realised it, he smiled to himself.

So, they were not all immune.

He toyed with the idea of doing some permanent damage but decided against it. He didn't want to alert them that he was aware of them. He would wait for the right moment. For now, he would use his advantage to keep tabs on them.

He turned as the door opened and watched as his twin walked in.

"Do you want to go get something by the shops?" He asked him.

"The shops? Do you think that's a good idea?" Mic asked him in concern.

He smiled secretively at his twin who immediately understood what he meant although Michael could tell that his brother felt uneasy about the whole thing.

"We'll be fine, don't worry little brother." he told him with a reassuring smile.

"Just promise me you won't do anything reckless." Mic said to him. "I know you can be impulsive."

"Don't worry, brother." Michael said to him.

Ofcourse he knew that in reality, he couldn't promise him that. He knew that most of the time his emotions got the best of him  but that was something his twin didn't need to know. At least not yet.

When he was all ready and dressed they left the safety of their room. The outside world carried on around them as if everything was plain ordinary. In a sense it was. Families were out shopping without a single care in the world.

Mic couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching them. Even as they made their way around the store.

"We could always go back, you know." Michael pointed out.

"No, I'm fine. I'm not going to let my paranoia get the best of me." Mic replied.

"Paranoia?" Michael asked with a knowing look. "Or intuition?"

"You're saying there is someone following us?" Mic asked with curiosity.

"Yes." Michael replied as he wheeled the trolley along.

"What? Why are you just telling me this now?" Mic asked in shock.

"I needed to be sure what we are up against." Michael simply said.

"And now? Are you sure?" Mic asked.

"I'm sure about one of them." Michael replied as he looked at his brother.

Mic immediately understood what he meant even when he said nothing.

"And the others?" Mic asked.

"Just one. I don't know who it is. I can read their mind but I can't sense the person quite yet." Michael replied thoughtfully. "It's almost like - like the person is hiding in the shadows."

"What does that mean? Is that bad?" Mic asked.

"Let's hope not." Michael replied with a shrug. "Hurry. We might need to leave suddenly."

Grocery shopping was a lot harder with his nerves on overdrive. He wasn't exactly panicking and yet his senses were on hyper alert. Much more than usual.

For a moment, Mic almost considered taking up his brother's offer for them to go back to the safe Haven that was their motel room.

Wait, why am I having these thoughts? He asked himself.

Then his eyes widened in realisation as he finally understood what was really going on.

He narrowed his eyes disapprovingly at his brother.

"Don't do that!" He told him.

"Mic..." Michael began but Mic stopped him.

"I don't care what your excuse is." He said in annoyance. "You don't get to control me the same way you do everyone else!"

He let out a sigh of frustration. He hated it when his brother messed with his mind. He didn't fear it, he just hated it. He understood how his brother felt. Understood his desire to keep him safe but it just felt wrong that Michael wasn't giving him the choice.

"You promised we're in this together." He reminded him.

"I know." Michael replied guiltily as he cast his eyes to the floor.

"Then let me help you." Mic said to him gently.

He saw the look of uncertainty, saw the struggle that passed through his brother's face at this request.

He placed a hand on Michael's shoulder in reassurance.

"We'll be fine, brother. As long as we have each other." He said reassuringly.

No, we won't, Michael thought to himself as he felt a stabbing pain at the back of his eyes. The vision threatened to overtake him again but he didn't share these thoughts with his brother. Couldn't.

"Okay." He simply said as he sighed out in defeat, "But if - at any time - your life is endangered I will get you out. One way or the other."

His words held a promise. One Mic understood all too well. He didn't want to dwell on it much though. He figured he would do that when the time came. For now all he had was hope. He needed hope. They both did for without hope he didn't know how they could carry on. Their future was uncertain, if he really thought about it but he chose not to. He chose to believe that they would be okay. That would beat whatever odds were thrown against them.

"Fair enough." He replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

He went back to his shopping in order to ease his mind. His feelings were in turmoil but he did his best to surpress them.

That's when he saw it. It was the strangest rat he'd ever seen. Sure, rats were sometimes dark coloured but this one seemed to be made of darkness. Even stranger, the more he looked down at it the more he felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise up.

He suddenly remembered what his brother had said to him.

It's almost like - like the person is hiding in the shadows.

Shadows?

As he tried to form the words to explain what he was seeing to his twin who was still a few feet behind him, he watched as the rat dissolved into a pool of shadows. The shadow stretched right before his eyes and he saw as it moved towards him and connected with his own.

Startled, he started to move back only he realised he couldn't move. He was glued to the spot by some unseen force.