True to her word, Alexis called Owen later in the afternoon, and he couldn't have been more relieved.

"I thought you'd ditched me," Owen said as he accepted the call, trying to sound lighthearted, but coming off as accusing instead. "So, uh... GRAILCORP? Can you tell me anything about their security measures, or something like that?"

There was a calculating silence on the other side of the line, then Alexis said, "I have a deal for you, actually."

Owen faltered. "Oh?"

"It's a simple deal, so don't worry about it. Basically, I'll give you everything I know about GRAILCORP headquarters - its security, its layout... pretty much anything relevant that I can think of. And in exchange, you give me information too. But not at that moment - consider it like an investment from me. All I'm asking is that you tell me anything unusual that you saw inside the building. Anything unusual that you heard, too. Especially heard." What could she mean by that? 

Alexis paused. "It's a win-win for both of us. Do we have a deal, then?"

Owen frowned. Something about Alexis' offer still troubled him, how oddly specific it all was. Then, did he really have a choice either? He sighed. "Fine. Deal."

"Swear you'll honor your deal, too." Owen could almost hear Alexis stifling her amusement on the other side. "C'mon, you made me do it."

I don't have time for these games! "I swear. Can you tell me about GRAILCORP now?"

Alexis began laughing, for reasons Owen couldn't understand. "Whatever you want, Owen. Ask me anything. Or should I just spill what I know first?"

"Sure, whatever you want."

She abruptly turned serious. "Right, then. The first thing you should know is that the entire perimeter of the building is videotaped, meaning that they'll easily see you if you scale a wall and, I don't know, break a window. The security is denser on the lower floors, but there are overall security protocols that can be triggered in three different circumstances..."

*     *     *

Owen wasn't sure how many hours had passed since Alexis began explaining things to him, only that by the end, Owen's arm was sore from all his note-taking. Looking at the mess of scribbles on a previously-blank sheet of paper, Owen gave a breath of exhaustion and put his pencil - now nothing but a stub - on the table.

Alexis, on the other hand, sounded as if she could continue talking for days, and almost enjoyed explaining it. "Any more questions?" Owen groaned. This is exactly why I hated high school. And why Alexis would've qualified for being a teacher.

"I... I think I'm fine, Alexis." He glanced at his notes again, barely able to read his own handwriting. "Uh, can I call you if I have more questions later?"

"When I'm not working, sure. So not between nine and five. Nine in the morning and five in the afternoon, if you were wondering." Alexis laughed.

With what remained of his willpower, Owen wrote that down too, on the bottom corner of his paper. "Thanks, Alexis."

"No problem." With a lack of response from Owen, she added, "See you, then."

"See you." Owen ended the call.

Putting the phone beside his notes, Owen sighed and straightened in his chair, looking at what he had written. Restricted stairwell spanning most of the way up the tower, generator room located here, Code Green, Code Yellow, Code Red... guards stationed here and there... fire protocol... Owen frowned, plans formulating in his mind. Alexis knew surprisingly little aside from the first floor, where everyone had access to. I have to improvise, then. He continued to skim through his notes. Soul factory and storage down the stairwell... restricted stairwell only accessed by certain people - factory workers, for the most part...

Gears shifted in his mind. So if I trigger Code Yellow, the electricity gets shut down and replaced by alternate mechanisms instead, which, according to Alexis, makes it easier to break into the stairwell. How do I trigger it, though? There has to be a complete electrical failure for the backup system to kick in, and-

The phone suddenly rang, a trill that jolted Owen out of his thoughts. Alexis, again? He wasn't sure whether the caller was an improvement or not, seeing who was actually trying to reach him. What bad news did the Emergency have this time? Taking one final look at his notes, Owen accepted the call.

"Hello?"

Owen immediately recognized the voice from before. "Hi, Mr. Milano. I've just come to inform you that your daughter is in..." A drop of sympathy fell into her tone. "Critical condition. She doesn't have much longer to live, and we'd like to say that if you want to see her one last time, you should probably do it now. I'm sorry." 

Darkness seemed to swallow Owen for a moment, a darkness that he both hated and embraced. I knew it. "How much longer does she have to live?" An hour? A day?

The voice paused, as if checking to make sure of her information. "Around three days. At most four. We're uncertain right now, since your daughter is suffering from... unusual conditions."

Owen chewed his lip. "I'll be there. Room twenty-four, right?"

"Room Twenty-Four. Gardermount Street." Owen gave a word of thanks and hung up.

In a way, there was no point of visiting Jessica again. Not when there was now an expiry date hanging over her head, inching closer second by second, leaving no room for inaction. Yet at the same time, there was nothing more important than comforting Jessica. Letting her spend her last moments peacefully, loved.

Time seemed a blur for Owen. He was riding away from the apartments, biking through the winter roads, worrying over Jessica. Thinking of his plan, thinking of memories, thinking of what would be lost. He sped closer to his destination, and the clock sped, too. It was now a race against time - something without mercy, only reality.

Before he knew it, he was there at the hospital, walking in. Come to think of it, he had never noticed the clock behind the receptionist's desk before, reading a bit past seven. But now...

"Owen Milano?" The receptionist stood up and smiled, motioning for him to follow. I didn't even say anything. What, did they do that to everybody? Or did they just enjoy watching Jessica die in particular? 

The hallway continued to unnerve him, but now something else did, too. The silence of it all, even the receptionist, who Owen remembered wouldn't stop talking before. Like the world is watching. Waiting. Like the calm before the storm, the gasp of breath before the final act unfolds.

"I'm sorry for your loss," the receptionist said, gesturing to the room and leaving. Anger bubbled up inside Owen, mixed with determination. Everybody else thought that Jessica was as good as dead already? Ha! He would prove them wrong... or he would at least try. 

Room Twenty-Four was hardly any different when he stepped in, only, somebody else was there in replacement of the previous man. Turning to look at him, the person sighed. "I know this is difficult for you to hear, Mr. Milano, but we can't save her anymore. Her condition is something we've barely seen in the past, and there's no way to formulate a cure in time." She lowered her head. "Simply put, she's melting. All the energy that was burning her up before is now melting her. I don't know what other way to explain it, but she's melting."

Owen nodded, frowning and walking over to Jessica. She did look as if she was melting - her skin was not quite the way it was before, yet not completely fluid either. She was crying too, though it only made the skin on her face melt quicker. 

"Dad?" Her voice came out as a gurgle. "You still promised, right?"

Owen squeezed his eyes shut. "I... yes, Jessica. I promised. And I still keep my promise."

Jessica didn't say anything after that, but her expression - or what remained of it - seemed comforted now. Trusting, that Owen would do as he said.

Desperation fueled inside of him. There's no turning back now.

It was time to toss the dice, for a second time.