"How are you feeling?" Mrs. Brooks sat on the hospital bed beside Nym, brushing back her hair. The room felt far less empty than it had when she woke up.

Nym looked up at her. "I'm alright," she said quietly, but she didn't feel much like talking. She'd already written whatever she'd had to say down in her journal. Scribbled it out across a few pages, then torn out the ones that were just emotional ranting.

None of the nurses had asked questions, they'd just come in and out, checking on her from time to time. Nym paid them little attention. She'd given little attention to anyone since they'd left the lobby. Neither her nor Kirsi had said a word on the walk back to Nym's room, and that same silence still filled the air.

"Alright, well, tell us if anything changes. We're here for you," Mrs. Brooks said softly, her fingers still threading gently through Nym's hair.

Nym nodded a little and looked over at Kirsi, who was curled up in a chair, leaning against her father. Nym could see both of Kirsi's parents were somber if not a little disturbed by the what they'd seen, but they were keeping themselves collected.

Nym looked away as she heard Kirsi starting to cry again. Curling onto her side, Nym tugged the thin blanket up to her chin again. She wanted to hide under the blanket and not come out. This felt exactly like the night Cormac died, only now it was hundreds of people. 

Mrs. Brooks rubbed over her back some and Nym sighed a bit, focusing on the motion. It reminded her of her own parents. She remembered all the nights when she ended up sick and her mother would sit there, holding her and rubbing her back until she fell asleep.

She missed them. She missed the normality and the day to day life; the good days, even the bad days. Those days were gone now. Life spiraled in a tailspin, the ground rushing closer with every second.

Biting her lip, Nym felt tears well up in her eyes. She pressed her face into the pillow and tried not to cry.

"Miss Seaver, I have your dinner," said a nurses voice after a moment. "When you're done there a few people here to talk to you, alright? Although...if you're not up to it I can tell them to come back later."

Nym lifted her head an inch and saw the nurse walk over to set down a tray of food before pausing for an answer.

"No, it's alright," Nym said softly and managed a thin smile. She rubbed her eyes a little. Had it really been that long? It felt like only a few hours ago her and Kirsi had been eating breakfast.

I've probably been out for most of the day, she thought and reached for the food.

"Got it, sweetheart?" asked Mrs. Brooks.

"Yeah." Nym picked up the tray and shifted so she could set it in her lap. She grabbed the fork, realizing she was actually starving. Her stomach twisted as she surveyed the food, her mind turning to all the bodies. Here she sat, well taken care of, and they lay dead.

Her appetite left her, but she forced herself to stab a piece of what looked like chicken off the plate and fork it into her mouth. It felt like it turned to sludge and she barely swallowed it back before grabbing the water to wash the texture out of her mouth.

Setting the fork back down after that, she stared at her food. "I'll eat in a bit," she said, pushing the tray back onto the side table. She needed to get out of this room, away from the blanket of grief. Looking up she waved to the nurse a bit. "I can go ahead and talk to them now."

She didn't know if she was really up to this, but she'd rather get it over and done. 

"Of course, I'll go get them. They'd wish to speak with all of you, but in private." She smiled, then left the room.

Nym pushed the covers off, oddly lethargic. Every movement she struggled to push past the heaviness in her limbs, unsure what to do. Motivation appeared absent from her body, but sitting around would only make it worse. 

She got to her feet carefully and slid on the slippers under the bed. Just about the time, she had them on, the nurse returned again. At the moment, Nym couldn't help annoyance at the woman's energetic personality. Nym resented the energy, but she mustered a smile and turned.

A man and a woman stood at the door, both wearing the formal greys of a government agent with pins that made it clear just who they were. They stood stiff, postured, and firm, but looking at their faces, Nym noted that empathy shone in their eyes.

"These two agents just want a few minutes to speak with you. They're set up in the waiting room if you're ready," the nurse directed.

"I'm ready," Nym answered and stepped to the door. The female agent stepped aside and offered her a small smile before directing her down the hall to the waiting room. They entered and Nym found all the blinds had been let down to keep it quiet. The male agent walked over to one of the chairs and offered Nym the other. Nym noted that the female agent stayed at the door.

Sitting down, Nym looked up at the man.

"You're Nym Seaver, correct?" he asked, retrieving a recorder from his pocket and setting it on the arm of the chair. "If you don't mind, I'm going to record our interview for official purposes. Alright?"

"Yessir," she said quietly and crossed her arms over her chest, looking at the recorder. Official purposes. It almost sounded cold, but she knew deep down they were here to help. This is what the government did; They kept people safe.

"Perfect." He smiled, and she relaxed some, taking a deep breath.

"I'm just gonna start with some simple questions."

Nym nodded, preparing herself. Her fingers dug into her skin as she waited for the first question, unconsciously rocking in her seat, watching the agent. She could feel the woman's eyes on her, and refused to look that direction, afraid to make eye contact.

"What's your birthday?"

"May 4th, 2535."

"Hometown?"

"Minor, Texas."

"Parents names?" He glanced up, and Nym found herself unconsciously cutting her eyes to the side as she answered him.

"Tanya and David Seaver," she whispered. She still hadn't called them, didn't know if she could now. Thinking about it wrenched a pit of guilt in her stomach, though, and she battled tears for a moment, managing to get herself under control by the next question.

"Siblings?"

Nym hesitated, the tears she'd just fought back trying to escape again, but she choked out the name before they did. "Cormac Seaver."

She looked down, gripping her arms tighter. She didn't look at the agent but there was a longer pause between questions as if he seemed to understand that something was wrong. Finally, he spoke up again after a moment.

"Do you need a minute, miss?"

Nym stubbornly shook her head and blinked hard, sucking in a deep breath and exhaling as slowly as she could. She looked up at him, still rocking. "No, we can continue."

"Alright, I'm going to ask you more about the night it happened. The 19th," he said.

Nym nodded.

"Where were you that night?"

"Home, in bed, I'd just gotten back from work."

"Where were your parents and brother?"

"My parents are at a farming community in Austin. I don't know where they were at the moment, but they weren't with me or my brother. My brother was in bed as well."

"Did either of your sleep with your night mask on?"

"He did. I used my tank because I was too lazy to switch over..." Laziness, the only reason she was alive. It was a sickening reason to be alive and she dug her fingernails deeper into her arm, mentally chiding herself. 

"I see. We have in our reports--"

"That my brother is dead," she whispered. "I know, I was there."

A hand touched her shoulder and squeezed gently. "I'm sorry."

She looked up, nodding numbly, but didn't let herself think on it too much. She could see in the agent's face that he understood. He moved to the next question.

"Do you remember hearing any other reports of deaths that night?"

She shook her head. "No, I called an ambulance for Cormac, but that was it. When I spoke with the doctor he said Cormac's death mirrored the death of Mrs. Pryor, the wife of Mr. Pryor, our grocer, who lives down the street from the Shelter. That was only because Mr. Pryor called it in since they live alone. Nobody knew about the other deaths until today..."

"I see. How did you and Kirsi discover the tainted pump?"

Nym felt a chill run down her spine and she had to take another deep breath before she managed to speak again. "I...I went to refill my tank. I put on the mask while I was waiting and the air tasted...bad. Acrid, actually. I can't explain it fully. I thought it was off so I made a run for one of the emergency tanks in our apartment and managed to get there before I inhaled too much of the contaminated air. After that Kirsi and I brought the android we fixed up to the courtyard. He scanned the pump and said it was contaminated. Then...I passed out."

She watched as the agent nodded quietly. "Thank you very much, Miss Seaver. We don't have any more questions at the moment, but we'll get back to you if we need anything else. I'm glad you're safe."

"Thank you," she whispered and watched him turn off the recorder. She wobbled to her feet as he gestured her up and led her to the door. From there they helped her back to the hospital room and asked to speak with Kirsi. Nym bit her lip, knowing Kirsi was a wreck. Oddly enough, though, the other girl agreed to go with them and got up, leaving as Nym made it back to her bed.

Nym waved to her and offered a little smile, silently hoping Kirsi would stay strong. Then she sat down on the bed again and pulled her knees up to her chest. Looking up at Mrs. Brooks she saw the worry etched onto the woman's face.

"How did it go?"

Nym shrugged. "We talked, that's all. They were kind about it."

"Good," Mrs. Brooks said.

Nym looked around the room. "Do you know where 02 is?" she asked, tapping a finger on her arm.

"I don't, but I can go with you to find him if you want. He's the android, right? Kirsi caught us up some earlier."

"Yeah, he's the android. I can go alone, thank you, though." Nym got up slowly and smiled thinly before slipping out of the room. She wandered down the hall, passing a few nurses. Looking around the corner, she didn't see him at the waiting room. Meandering through the front part of the hospital she searched, but all she saw were nurses and government agents.

Eventually, she walked up to one of the agents. "Excuse me, sir."

Cold eyes turned down towards her. "Yes?"

"Do you happen to know the location of the android 02 that was inside this hospital?"

The agent frowned a little but nodded. "Yes, Miss, he's been retained for memory scans. He is government property."

"Oh, okay. Just wanted to make sure he was found. His arm is broken, might need a repair," she said, gesturing weakly to her arm and trying to avoid the man's stare.

"Of course, we'll see to it. You'd better get a move on," he snapped and turned away from her.

Nym sighed but turned back in the direction of her room, frowning.