I push the events of yesterday to the back of my mind as I prepare for another day of research. Like Roman said, I need to be more careful at work. After I am showered and dressed I fix myself some cereal and think hard about the Twins and my mother.

"Good morning." Roman says, interrupting my thoughts.

"Morning." I reply, feeling the tension forming in the room.

"How did you sleep?" he asks, pulling up a chair and fixing himself some cereal.

"Very well." I say, hoping he doesn't think it was because of him.

He smirks, to my dismay, nodding slowly.

"I think It would be good for us to find the person who us running that website today. After work of course." i say, sipping the milk from the bowl.

Roman just stares at his bowl. "And Here i thought we could have a normal conversation in the morning." he says, clearly aggravated. "I'm not mad, you're just always so gung-ho about all of this." he explains.

"Someone needs to be." I respond, looking him up and down.

"No. We don't." he retorts, picking up his bowl and walking into the living room.

"What is your problem?" I ask, throwing my hands up, but not leaving the table.

"You." he responds, turning on the t.v. and turning it up.

I run my fingers through my hair. I do not want it to be like this everyday. Arguing and then making up over the fact that the sexual tension between us is unbearable.

"You don't have to help me then." I say, loud enough for him to hear how annoyed i am.

"I do. There are plenty of things I'd rather do though." He yells over the t.v.

"We're gonna be late for work." I say, grabbing my bag and walking towards the door.

I stop at the door, looking at my fingers while Roman is getting himself together for work. I understand that he wants to savor our freedom, if that's what you can call it, but I have a mission and I won't stop until I find my mother. Roman brushes past me, I can feel the anger in his body movements.

"Do you want to get left?" he calls from down the steps.

I sigh, locking the door and catching up to him. His face and body are both rigid, he walks with a purpose. His bun is messy from the rushing that he did in order to get away from me. Though I am engulfed in my own problems and concerns, I am not so far gone that I will ignore the silent plea of a man that just wants to live His life without complication. Today, I am that complication and I intend to right that wrong. Soon.

"Remember what I said. Don't do your research on these computers." he scolds, as if I'm a child.

"Okay." I reply flatly.

I straighten out my Bed, Bath, and Beyond shirt and head out to the bed section for more training. The day flies by, business is slow and I have retreated to my thoughts. The ringing in my ear returns with a vengeance and i writhe in pain atop one of the memory foam mattresses.

I close my eyes, trying to numb the pain. It's only been a few days since we escaped and the injuries are still very fresh. My mind is going into sensory overload as I try my hardest to fight off the pain. Images flash across my eyes, forcing me to relive the final moments of our escape. Roman is falling... So far...

"Angel do you need to sit down?" that familiar voice from my manager pulls me out of my memories, but the pain remains.

I open my eyes slowly, my hand plastered against my ringing ear. "I just need to take a break." I whisper, feeling so drained from that whole ordeal.

My manager nods and lets me pass, I probably look like shit and he feels sorry for me. At least 'they' told him that we had an accident so he can cut us some slack. I turn on my heels, feeling my heart stop immediately at what lies ahead of me.

"Aaron?" I whisper, wondering if my mind is playing tricks on me.

The man At the far end of the store seems like a mirage At this moment, or, more like a ghost. A ghost coming to haunt me in the name of the Revolution. All the breath leaves my lungs as I stare, hoping it will go away. I blink fiercely and upon returning my gaze to the end of the store, he is gone. I wipe the sweat off of muy forehead and continue my trek to the break room. Opening my locker, I dig in my bag to find my pain pills. They're prescription so They're strong.

"He wasn't kidding. You don't look good At All." Roman's voice is like music to my ears right now as he slides his body next to mine, leaning on my locker.

I throw the pills back, sipping from the water bottles that they provide the employees.

"Just some pain. Nothing serious." I reply, not wanting to get into a conversation about my illusion at work.

"If something is going on, I want you to tell me. Don't keep secrets." He says, his eyes filled with concern.

"It's just my ear." I reply with a small smile.

His expression tells me he doesn't believe me, but he won't press the subject. I've got enough to deal with.

                                                                  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~·~~

The impatient tapping of Roman's fingernail against the metal table is all that has occupied my strained senses for the better part of an hour.

"You dont have to stay." I assure him. He didn't even want to come.

"I'm not leaving you alone." He quickly replies, keeping eye contact with the passing civilians.

"He hasn't replied yet." I say, watching the screen as if I will miss His email.

The 'he' that I am referring to is the owner of the website that revealed the Twins. My anticipation has finally died down and now I just want to go home. I swivel in the chair, facing a suspicious looking Roman.

"Let's go home." I say, yawning.

He nods, standing quickly and pushing His chair in. As I am about to log out of my email I see a new message in bold at the top of my inbox. I click it promptly, my heart racing with newfound anticipation. The subject line is blank but inside of the email is just a name.

Johnathan Crenshaw.

I type frantically, asking the who, what, where, when, why, and how of that single clue, hoping this guy isn't making this into yet another game like the Twins. After a few moments, I realize that is all I am getting tonight so I just log out. I take a deep breath, a million thoughts running through my mind as I am walking home with Roman. Who is Jonathan Crenshaw? Why was that the only clue he have us? Was he also in the Sanitorium?

                                                        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The soft fabric that covers our couch is whisking me off to my dreamworld. A world I would much prefer over this one.

I finally fall into the clutches of REM and find myself at the top of a building, alone. The wind brushes against my face, creating goosebumps all over my body. Grass surrounds me and this place is both familiar and foreign to me. I walk to the edge of the building, staring at the bottom to see what I can find. A mote surrounds the building. The water is blood red and murky, making my skin crawl relentlessly. I take a step back from the edge, fearing being engulfed in those waters.

"Fearless leaders." A haunting voice calls from behind me.

I turn slowly, my body rigid and cold. I shiver where I stand at the sight of Aaron just feet away from me. I stand, hoping he doesn't come near me.

"I was a necessary casualty." he says, his Russian accent is thick and shakes me to my core.

The wind blows more furiously through my hair, almost pushing me towards him. Blood begins trickling from a spot on his forehead until a gaping hole appears in the middle of his head, his face covered in fresh Blood.

"You're not real! This is just a dream!" I scream, covering my face with my hands.

He laughs loudly, frightening me even more. "A dream? Hah! You killed me. My blood is on your hands." his voice booms through my attempts to exit the dream.

I feel my face getting sticky so I remove my hands from my face, and I begin hyperventilating at the sight of Blood dripping from my hands. Aaron's laugh haunts me as my sanity slips from my deep red fingertips. I sink to the ground, covering my ears as a loud shriek escapes my lips, begging for mercy.

My nightmare fades into nothing but a quickly beating heart and beads of sweat that dot my forehead accompanied by an apparent dip in my bed courtesy of Roman. I gaze at him in the darkness and he doesn't approach me, he just stares.

I feel my eyes welling up with the fear of falling back asleep to relive that massacre and the realization that I actually killed someone. Aaron died at my hands.

"Don't let me fall asleep. Please." I choke, covering my face with my hands, too overwhelmed with emotions to say anything more.

Roman drops his head, sliding himself up the bed and joining me under the covers.

"Roman please. I need you to keep me awake!" I beg, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand.

"Shh. Lay down." he says, pulling me close to him.

"I killed him. I killed Aaron and now he is haunting me! I'm a murderer... I'm a murderer..." I whisper, never believing that this could be my life.

"Shh. Stop. Just hold onto me. Just feel me. Don't think." he whispers in my good ear.

I obey, forcing those thoughts away momentarily in order to sink my body into Roman's. I wrap a shaky arm around his strong bicep as he pulls me into his comforting chest. I pry my puffy eyes open long enough to glance into his dreamy eyes. There is such a comfort and vulnerability in his eyes that physically relax my whole being. He can take me from crying my eyes out to rocking me like a child, making me believe, even for a moment, that everything will be okay.

His gaze never falters, but I bury my face into his chest, clutching his skin as if he will float away. Once I have cleared my mind, there is peace in the valley yet again.

To be continued...