Sometimes, books were useless. Sam had learned that the hard way. All his searching in the library had been completely of no use. Defeated and drained, he'd gone back to the hotel, determined to try again the next day. But once he'd entered the lobby, lady luck decided to shine her light down on him. A group of men in golden robes were in there, checking in.

On a whim, Sam struck up a conversation with them, asking them about their religion and temples. Though at first they were weary of a random tourist approaching them, Sam's use of minimal hindi words convinced them he was serious about learning about their customs. So they let one of them handle the formalities while the others filled Sam in on the religious purpose of their travels and how the rituals worked.

Sam nodded, consulted the conversation guide he'd gotten from the library and asked more questions about gods and legends. And, whoop-tee-do, there was such a thing as Shiva's Golden Earing, except it was a far-fetched legend. Of course it was, it always was. But supposedly, the stone was kept in a sacred temple on a tiny island off the coast of a small town called Vedaranniyam. It was good enough for him. It was at least a lead.

He was just saying goodbye to the monks when Jerry came out of the elevator.

"Oh, you're back?" he said, surprised. "I was just coming to get you."

"Yeah. The library was useless. Get the others. We need plane tickets."

"Um, excuse me?"

Sam rubbed his eyes and could almost hear Jerry planning how the next part of their journey would go and how he'd force rest on everyone first. Which was just fine, except they could do that on the plane or train or whatever they took to get to their destination. He was indeed exhausted, but too tired of dragging everything out. It was about time they moved out.

"Yeah, we need to get to a remote little village somewhere on the eastern coast because that's the most likely place the stone could be. Could you just go tell the others?"

"You need sleep."

"I'll sleep on the ride." Sam dropped to one of the armchairs in the lobby and pulled out the map of India he'd taken from the library.

Jerry hesitated for a moment, but turned tail and headed back upstairs. Sam raised his eyebrows in surprise. He'd definitely expected a lecture. With a shrug, he returned to the map. Maybe Jerry was growing as well.

It took the others about a half an hour to get back down with all the luggage. By that time, Sam had already secured plane tickets to Chennai and train tickets to get further south to Vedaranniyam. They'd figure out how to get to the island once they got there.

"So, off again?" Kay asked, dropping a folder on the table in front of Sam.

"Yeah. I've talked to some monks and there might be something to this Shiva legend. What's this?" He rummaged inside and found some handwritten notes.

"Snitch Gravel's research on the jewels."

Sam's face shot up, his eyes widening. "What?"

"You heard her," Kyle said. "The girls took a little detour and snatched them from the big man's office."

"When did this happen?" And why wasn't he aware that was even an option?

"About an hour ago," Jessie answered casually as if they hadn't just humiliated all of them with their stealth skills. "But we'll tell you all about it on the way to wherever it is we're supposed to go now."

Sam's mind buzzed with the need for an explanation, but Jessie was right. They could discuss this on the plane and he could finally understand why, how and since when. So he just nodded and retrieved his rucksack.

"We should call Angie before heading for the airport. If she's here, I want her to come with us." As heartbreaking as it was, Sam really didn't want to leave her behind. If she hadn't found Tom by now, there was no chance she would. And since she hadn't called him, he guessed she hadn't. His hand unconsciously went to his pocket, only to find it empty.

"Ah, shit!"

"Sam!" Jerry said immediately. "Why are you swearing in public? For no apparent reason," he added warily.

"Of course Angie didn't call me. I don't have my phone anymore. Thanks, Kyle!"

"Hey, not my fault. Your stupid call," Kyle shot back.

"Irrelevant," Kay said, before Sam could tell his big brother to shove it. "Angie's phone is out of order. I tried calling her as soon as we got here."

A weight dove into Sam's stomach. They had no choice but to leave her here, because, in truth, he didn't even know where to start looking for her. But he couldn't. He just couldn't abandon her.

"Sam, she might not even be in Delhi," Kay said quietly. "And if she won't find anything, she'll probably just return to Chicago."

But would she? Without Tom, would Angie still stick around? She did have school and her job there, but could she handle it? Could she face Sam every day when he looked just like the guy she loved and could never have?

"Let's finish this and focus on everything after, how's that?" Jessie said reasonably.

Sam nodded. "Yeah. Let's go to the airport. Even if we'll have to wait for our flight, there's no point hanging around here." Plus vending machine sandwiches sounded healthier than all the food he'd seen or smelled so far.

The others agreed, so they headed for the exit. The moment he put his foot out the door, Sam jerked back. Pain radiated through his head, from his temple down to his ribs and his lungs emptied of air. He couldn't breathe and his head pounded in a dizzying rhythm. What the hell was happening? He hadn't hit anything, he was one hundred percent sure. He knew where he was, what he was doing, yet his vision had gone dark except for a growing white light that seemed to swallow up everything. There was no reason for that light to be there except if...

The light was real.

"Jerry, what the hell?" He opened his other eye and shoved Jerry away.

"Well, sorry," Jerry mumbled putting away the small flashlight he'd been pointing in his eye. "You just fell over on the sidewalk. I thought you were catatonic or something."

"I'm not catatonic!"

"Are you going to finally admit it, then?" Jimmy asked, his arms crossed over his chest.

Sam looked up at him. The others looked worried, but Jimmy appeared to be annoyed for some reason.

"Admit what?"

"That Tom can't be sending you messages from beyond the grave," Jimmy said.

Ah, crap. The expression on every face changed from worried to hopeful. The thing was, Sam was starting to feel it too, this time. Because Jimmy was right. There was no other explanation for it. And maybe hope didn't have to be a bad thing.

He opened his mouth to confirm that it could be, that maybe there was another reason for the pain, the numbness, the depression, but the words never left his mouth. Kyle turned away from him, frowning, looking to the street. His gaze followed a black SUV for a moment, then, without a word, he sprinted away into traffic.

"Kyle!" Sam called out. "Where are you going?"

A blue sedan braked to a sudden halt right before running Kyle over. He didn't care. He just slid across the hood like an action hero and pulled the driver out. Before Sam could even get to his feet, he shot after the SUV.

"What on earth is he doing?" Jerry asked, his voice high and hysterical.

Jimmy on the other hand ran into the street as well and hailed the nearest cab. He motioned for the rest to follow and they all piled inside, luggage and everything, while Jimmy instructed the driver to join the chase. Sam was grateful when the cabbie didn't protest and hurried to catch up. It was impossible. Whoever was driving the SUV must've noticed they were being followed because they sped up.

Kyle didn't give up, but rushed even faster through what seemed impossible traffic. Fortunately, all the vehicles jumping out of the way also made room for their cab.

Sam kept his eyes on the blue car, trying not to wince or have a heart attack every time his brother came close to crashing into something. But Kyle had a real talent when it came to squeezing through infernal traffic, one that his target didn't have.

The SUV braked as a rickshaw cut it off, coming out of a side street. Kyle avoided the impact and shot around the black car, finally overtaking it. Before the SUV managed to dart off again, Kyle turned with a screech and stopped the car sideways, blocking the entire street. He got down and strode towards the SUV.

The door to it opened as well, and Sam's heart skipped a beat as his stomach plummeted to the ground. Eye Patch jumped down, pistol already out and pointed. He said something to Kyle, but he didn't even change his pace. Under Sam's shocked gaze, Kyle reached Eye Patch and slapped the gun out of his hand.

The cab screeched to a halt and Sam scrambled out just in time to see Eye Patch making a run for it towards a narrow side street. Kyle chased after him and Sam followed as fast as he could, leaving anyone else to deal with the driver.

Sam reached the entrance into the alley just as Kyle caught up with Eye Patch and rammed him against the wall. The alley was incredibly narrow, maybe three feet wide, and pretty dirty. Three kids were kicking a ball around nearby while a woman was putting up laundry.

"Go inside," Sam mumbled, as he passed the kids. He wasn't sure if they understood, but he didn't like where this was going. Kyle had pinned Eye Patch against the wall by pushing his forearm against his neck, and Sam knew his brother well enough to tell that the tension in his body and the chill bouncing off him were not good signs.

"I'm not telling you anything," Eye Patch spluttered.

"Really?" Kyle asked with polite interest. "I guess I'll have to think of a way to make you talk, then."

Eye Patch let out a rough laugh. "Like what? You don't even have a gun."

Kyle reached out behind his back and took the gun out of a holder strapped to his belt, which had so far been hidden by his t-shirt. He stuck the barrel under the man's chin. "I beg to differ."

"You're not going to kill me." The tremor in Eye Patch's voice turned his conviction questionable, and Sam couldn't blame him.

The frown on Kyle's face made goosebumps erupt over his skin. Sam had never seen him like this and never wanted to again. His brother seemed to grow in size, and there was a darkness to him that Sam sensed but couldn't explain. It was like looking at an animal and knowing it was dangerous, about to attack, without any means to know for sure.

"Keep telling yourself that," Kyle growled, digging the barrel deeper into Eye Patch's skin.

The man swallowed heavily. "I'm not telling you anything. Your brother's probably dead anyway. I just ran him over and that Chevy of mine ain't no toy car—"

Kyle removed the gun and pressed his forearm against Eye Patch's neck again, strangling his following words. "My brother? You mean Tom's alive and you tried to kill him?"

"Kyle, stop."

Kay's voice rang through the alley, making Sam jump. The scene in front of him was so weird, he'd completely lost himself in it, unable to speak, react, rejoice at the confirmation that Tom was alive. Or at least had been. But Kay snapped him out of it, and he suddenly realized that having Kyle spreading Eye Patch's brains on the wall was probably a bad idea.

Kyle turned towards them, his eyes hazy, dark, chilly. Sam shuddered against his will. Kay let out a whimper, but steeled herself and took a step forward.

"Let him go," she said, her voice soothing as though trying not to spook a horse.

Kyle didn't answer, just narrowed his eyes at her which made him look even scarier if possible. But Kay didn't back down. She took another step and reached out her hand.

"Come on."

Sam had no idea what was happening. Letting Eye Patch go was probably a bad move, but snapping Kyle out of this crazy killer state felt a lot more important. They could manage with the little information they had. Though it wasn't like he had a say. It seemed to be a battle between Kyle and Kay. Or between normal Kyle and... this.

For a few seconds nothing happened, then Kyle let out a sigh, and loosened the pressure on Eye Patch's windpipe. He wheezed as he drew greedy breaths. He'd only managed to take two before Kyle punched him in the liver and left him sprawled on the ground.

"You heard the asshole," Kyle said, marching towards them as if he hadn't just scared them half to death. "He just ran Tom over so he should either be around here or at the nearest hospital."

Sam shook his head to snap out of it and took the lead again. "I think the hospital is a safer bet. I'll just ask for directions."

Kyle nodded and all of them headed for the main street. Sam watched him as he wrapped one arm around Kay and bent to whisper in her ear. He was back, but the impression he'd left was a lasting one.

"Are we ever going to talk about this?" Jerry whispered from Sam's right.

"I'm not sure if I want to," Sam muttered. It was a problem, a huge, scary, uncomfortable problem. But right now, finding Tom was his top priority.

So he stopped someone on the street, asked for the nearest hospital, and they all headed that way. It took them barely ten minutes to get there and find Billy sitting on the bottom step of the stairs leading inside.

Sam froze, unable to wrap his mind around how convenient all this was. All this left his mind once Billy spotted them and got to his feet. His walk was careful and calculated, as though he wasn't sure how to best use his feet.

"Thank God you guys are here!" Billy said, hugging them all in turn. "I was keeping lookout though heaven only knows what I was supposed to do if I actually saw anyone."

"What happened?" Sam stuttered. "Why didn't you call us? I thought you were dead."

"Give me some credit. I just woke up from a comma. Like, this morning."

Sam rubbed his eyes, his head pounding, his heart beating too fast for comfort. This was messed up. So, so messed up. "Tom and Angie?"

"They're inside," Billy fortunately answered. "I have no idea how bad off Tom is..."

Sam didn't really mind. Anything was better than dead. But the pain was still there, the darkness... why? Why had he gone all crazy if Tom had been alive all along? He couldn't focus on it now. He had to go in, see Tom, make sure he was really there. See Angie. So he followed Billy inside, zoning everything else out.

🌟🌟🌟

Yay, the team is reunited! Finally. And right in time for some action. Not sure if I did the chase scene enough justice, but I hope you still enjoyed it.

So, new goals, new destinations. Time to kick this baby into high gear and race towards the ending that is not very far off.

Hope you're still having fun. Don't forget to vote and maybe leave me a comment. Thanks for reading.