Five stared at the shivering teens in front of her, wondering what in the world did they get themselves into. She was almost out of the Central region when she encountered two blobs staggering closer. Then, she realized them to be Seven and the ex-member of Thirteen's sleeper unit, Slate.

She was on her way to meet with whoever she came across and have a talk with them, and these two provided the perfect chance. That was, if she could get them to talk without their teeth chattering first.

The last few hours were spent tending to the frostbite threatening to reduce their hands and feet to stumps. Seven collapsed first, shaking against the bundle of blankets Five wove for him. Slate was equally bad, and if not for the hot bath, she would have lost feeling in her nerves. It was only until half an hour ago did both of their eyes snap open and their bodies bolt upright.

When their eyes landed on her, she didn't miss the slight flinch on their shoulders as they tensed. Did they think she'd kill them when she got the chance? Well, wouldn't they, if the situations were reversed?

She had propped herself on a makeshift stool she built herself made from discarded planks of wood scattered on various floors of this small building. Compared to the fortress, her present hideout looked more residential than institutional. Or it could be a small company, but who cared? As long as there were more than enough working bulbs and intact glass windows, she was good with it.

"Where are we?" Slate slurred, her words clipping at odd intervals with her teeth knocking into each other. She drew the fleece blanket around her tighter, curling into a ball over Five's mattress. The days she spent growing out her hair to make that was a new source of trauma she didn't expect. "What are you planning to do with us?"

Seven groaned, wiggling his fingers. "Be thankful she didn't cut off our fingers herself." With slitted eyes, as if he couldn't open them completely, he jerked his chin at her. "Long time, Five."

"Too long." Five sniffed and uncrossed her legs to lean forward. She steepled her fingers, resting her elbows on her knees. "Now, won't you tell me what happened for you to end up like this?"

Seven cursed, the words too crisp for Five's threshold. "That asshole, Thirteen," he said, clicking his tongue. "He locked us inside a building with thick blocks of ice. Who knows how long we had to hack away at it while the temperature went to shit."

"Did you attack him?" Five asked.

Slate glanced at her, a betrayed glint shining in her eyes. "Don't tell me you're going to side with him!" she protested.

"You did attack him." Five blinked, shook her head, and leaned away, straightening her back. "It's unlike Thirteen to make a move first, especially if his mind is on something else. I seriously doubt he wanted to kill us if we prove we're not out for his blood first."

Seven narrowed his eyes. "Why are you defending that bitch?" he asked. "He's just as bad as the rest of us."

"And yet, he didn't drive a knife into your backs and gave you a chance to crawl out of that freezer yourselves," Five snapped. "The point is, he may be on to something, and if we keep attacking him, he won't get to it."

Slate scoffed. "What if it's to kill us?" She waved a hand in the air, as far as her shaking fingers went. It has been hours since they stumbled on Five, and they weren't still not back to normal. "What if he's designing another sneaky plan to wipe us out in one move? What then?"

"I'll give him the benefit of the doubt," Five answered. Why was she even arguing with two hypothermic people? "Didn't he say he'd save us and none of us had to die? He did his best to make sure all of us made it through."

"And yet, not all of us made it through," Seven interjected. "Are you going to say that about One? About the sleeper unit he sacrificed to get Section H under control? To Slate, whom he promised security, and instead got her only teammate killed?"

A derisive sigh flitted Seven's lips. "And for what?" he continued. "Just so he could siphon off a few abilities for himself? What was the point of that? Was he so discontent with his ability that he had to copy other people's?"

"Hold up." Five raised a hand, halting the boy in his rant. "You know his ability?"

He frowned, confusion marring his features. "You don't?" he said. "I thought you two were chummy? Wasn't that why you're defending him?"

"No," Five answered. Why was she defending Thirteen as if her honor depended on it? Thirteen could go and muck himself for all she cared. Just that she couldn't stand people discrediting others because of their own biases. "How did you know it, then?"

Seven kissed his teeth. "I maimed him when I accidentally tripped his safeguards," he said. "It has something to do with speed. One moment, he's in one place, and the next, he's out of your reach. It's a pain to deal with."

Speed? Was that why Karrel was confused after Thirteen shot her? Before she died, she kept muttering over and over, I was faster. Why would he hide it from them and insist on not using it even as his life depended on it? Something didn't add up, but it wasn't like Five could do something about it now. As it stood, Thirteen still had multiple abilities at his disposal, and upon seeing Slate and Seven's condition, it would be safe to assume one of them was Four's.

How did he even get a hold of a dead person's chip and get it to function well enough to lend him an ability? Five didn't know much about such a thing, but she had every confidence in Thirteen to believe he did. Maybe until now, he still hacked away at those things wherever he was. He wasn't the type to let go of something once he was sucked deep enough.

"After this, can I trust you to not reveal my location to anyone?" Five asked, seeing Slate edge to the rim of the mattress and swing her legs off. "I'll be more than glad to let you go your way."

"Why are you doing this, Five?" Seven demanded. "The announcement told us specifically to kill each other. And yet, you're here, treating us and talking to us."

"The same goes for you two." She nodded towards them. "You could have betrayed each other inside the freezer, but you didn't. You helped each other long enough to keep saying 'we' every time you spoke of each other. And, well...you wouldn't consider teaming up to take down Thirteen if you wanted to kill each other."

Slate and Seven exchanged an apprehensive glance. "I suppose," Slate responded, scooting farther from Seven. Thankfully, it was a large mattress. "What else do you know about Thirteen? We're still determined to stop him from whatever madness he's planning."

Duh. They wouldn't believe anything Five said about Thirteen if they were already committed to their beliefs. She blew a breath and tucked her hair behind her ear. The white strands started blackening at the roots some time ago, forcing her to cut back on her snipping and crafting. "I went back to the command center a while ago," she revealed. "He scrubbed everything and made the fortress explode."

Slate's eyebrows rose. "How did you survive?"

The memory of fire singeing her skin and smoke burning her nose and throat flashed into her mind. By the time she shut the door, the fire had touched the exposed electrical wires, resulting in more shocks spreading outward. She ran for her life, emerging from the sewers and clambering up the metal ladder Thirteen would have used. Then, she watched as flames and bursts of shrapnel and dislodged debris swallow the fortress.

"You mean..." Seven breathed.

Five closed her eyes. "Nothing remained in the fortress," she said. "He brought it down. All of it."

Seven cursed again. This time, louder. He was entitled to it. "In exchange for not killing us and for that piece of information," he said when he recovered from the shock. "Thirteen's ability might be strong, but he's not used to it yet. I bet he was weakened excessively every time he used it. If we have to strike him down, now would be the optimal time."

When Five didn't react, Seven whirled to face her fully. "He's unpredictable, Five," he reasoned. "Are you seriously considering letting him live after he almost killed you? You know about the chips. That's how he tracked us when the pins failed. He's tracking us now as we speak. He knew you were in the command center, and he still did it anyway. How long would you defend him knowing he could kill you for real the next time he could?"

Five opened her mouth then closed it again, looking away from Seven's fiery eyes. He hit every point, and she'd be a fool to admit she wasn't thinking of that every time she woke up in this place. "Fine," she said. Her fingers curled inward over her lap. "Thirteen needs to go. Do you know where he is?"

Slate and Seven looked at each other again, smiles splitting their lips open enough to make Five's gut turn. She didn't like any of this, but if she was to have a chance to talk to Thirteen again, just to figure out what they could do together, she'd take it. Otherwise, she might as well fall into the traps everyone laid for each other.