Nate awoke to the sound of his computer beeping. The sudden sound shocked him.

Nate checked his watch. 10:24 pm. Still night. Stephanie had passed out on the floor after working herself to pices trying to clean up the attacker's mess so as not to leave any evidence. She had spent a good two hours bandaging the attacker's wounds, cleaning up the blood on the floor, and with the help of Mark, she had even fixed up the window.

Even in her sleep, she held the math compass in the hand, playing with the sharp tip in between her fingers in her sleep.

She had changed to much since they had been kidnapped. She was stronger, more independent... A leader. But Nate was worried. Was she being strong to be competent in the situation, or was this not strength at all? What if she was closing herself off to the world? The more he thought about it, the more he realized how much they needed Matt. They needed him to bring back the old Steph. But for now, they might as well use this new version of her.

Mark was sleeping with his back against the closet door. Their attacker hadn't seemed to wake up, but Mark was supposed to guard the door. They didn't need a dead body on their hands if they were trying to be dead. Mark was actually taking this suprisingly well. Why was that? Did someone he knows get taken by the red room people?

Nate went to the computer and checked the website. He had received a message from the owner of the fake ID site, telling them to come to a specific meeting place downtown to get the fake IDs. It said not to bring anyone, so Mark would have to stay behind, but that's good. Someone would have to make sure the attacker didn't escape.

He nudged Stephanie with his foot, waking her up. She looked up at him, then around the room. Nate pointed at the screen. She looked over his shoulder and saw the message.

"Yes! Alright, I'll drive." She said, stealing the car keys.

"Shouldn't we tell Mark?" Asked Nate.

"We'll be back quickly. Besides, the message says don't bring anyone." She said. "Can you walk better now?"

Nate stood up slow, grunting in slight pain. He took a few steps before falling over. Steph ran to help him up, but he could support a bit of his own weight. "I can walk, a bit."

Steph nodded, helping him out the door and out to the car.

Outside, Steph helped Nate into the car and hopped into the front seat.

Driving down the moonlit street, she didn't tear her eyes away from the street. She seemed to be driving out of town, out into the middle of nowhere. She made sure to take the back roads to avoid traffic as well as unwanted attention.

They had gotten to the outskirts of town when Nate finally asked, "We ARE getting home, right?" 

Stephanie gave a soft laugh. "What home? Your dead, remember?"

Nate didn’t understand. This wasn't the Stephanie he knew. This wasn't the Stephanie that ANYONE knew, considering that she now had actual emotions rather than her default, "Disney Princess" emotion.

"What happened to you? Why are you acting so different?" He asked.

"The same thing that happened to you. I was scarred. Just not on the outside." She said.

"Then why are you working so hard to save Matt yourself? You faked your death, gave up your life, all to save him?"

"I can't just leave it to the police and let thease scars destroy me while I sit around in fear. It hurts to leave a scar alone, to focus on the pain. So I'm going to save him myself. The police won't do anything, they'll take too long. And if you're saving someone form an organization that tortures people online, you need to make a few sacrifices." She said.

They eventually got outside of town, far from the city. Standing under a tree, by the side of the road, Stephanie saw a woman, with long reddish-orange hair. She appeared very stylish, for someone who makes fake IDs for a living, wearing a green dress, brown boots, and a blue scarf.

"That's her." She said. "You ready?"

Nate nodded.

"Let's go."