"What are you doing in my room?"

For a minute I had forgotten that I was wearing a disguise. I tried to even my breaths. He doesn't know who you are. Just stay calm. 

"I...uh..." 

The guard stood up. I took a step back, hitting the door. "Do you need my help? What's wrong?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat and shook my head. "I'm looking for my patient's room. I guess I took a wrong turn and..." 

"Don't worry." The man came closer. He smiled warmly.  "A simple misunderstanding. Here, I'll show you to the hospital rooms."

He put his gun back in his belt. I opened the door and walked down the hall. The guard slipped in front of me. I stared at the square of his back, now feeling relieved. He believed me. And though he was steering me away from my path, I would be able to get up there soon enough. 

The guard stopped in a hallway. The doors either said "occupied" or "vacant." He stared at me expectantly. I scanned the doors, growing nervous again. Could I just walk in one? Or was this the moment that my act was over?

"Thank you," I said. The guard nodded. He continued to wait. With an exasperated sigh, I scanned my card and opened an occupied door. 

I leaned on the door and listened for the guard. His footsteps decrescendoed. I waited for him to return and for him to call me out as an imposter. He never did. 

With a sigh, I tore off my mask. The air had grown warm inside of it. I went over to the small bathroom and splashed water on my face. I needed to calm down. If I kept being as stiff as I was, then I was going to be caught. Then again, I had made it this far. I didn't realize that the disguise was going to work this well. 

"Kat?"

I slammed the water off. I could see a man sitting up in the hospital bed from the mirror. He rubbed his eyes. My breath hitched as he turned to look at me.

"Jerome?"

Whatever had happened to him since I had last seen him seemed to have really taken a toll on him. There were large scabs littering his forehead and chin. His lips, though I assumed were worse a few days ago, were swollen and chapped. His cheeks were sunken in so that the skin was pressed against the bone. There was a distant look in his eye that made me feel like he was caught in a daze. Even in the poor condition, he still was the man who had helped me escape the Eradication.

I nearly ran to him. The sight of a familiar face overwhelmed me with joy. When I stopped at his bed, however, I didn't know what to do. Was I supposed to hug him? I didn't know him well enough to do that. I just stood at the side of his bed, hanging my arms awkwardly. My delight was replaced with confusion. What was Jerome doing here? He had disappeared during the Eradication. Hadn't they killed him?

Well, I guess not. He wouldn't have been here if so. 

"Je suis si contente de te voir," he said. I blinked. Because of my translator, I used to always know what he was saying. Now I didn't have it. I sighed. He couldn't help me. There was so much that I had wanted to ask him, but I couldn't do that when we couldn't understand each other. 

Jerome smiled and slipped something out of his ear. He handed it to me. I smiled, easily recognizing it as an earpiece. I slipped it into my ear. 

"I thought that you could only hear Officer Kurk," I said. 

"You never knew? A lot of people managed to hack them. Oh, Kat, I'm so happy to see you."

"I...me too." 

I just stared at the man. I had been convinced that everyone from the Eradication had been eliminated. Why was he here—in a hospital bed? 

"Is Stella alive?" It was a silly question. She had been taken far before Jerome had. I couldn't help but think back to how she had risked her life to save Tilly. She was one of the only people I had met who cared more about others than themselves. She hadn't cared about winning. She cared about meeting people and making sure that they had a chance of surviving. 

Sure, she had done that, but Jerome had risked his life to help me and my friends escape. If he was still here, then was there a chance of her being alive?

Jerome was silent for a minute. He contained a pensive expression. We sat in silence for a moment as he stared in the ceiling, lost in thought.

"Well, if I'm honest with you, I don't know if it was a dream or not. No, it couldn't have been."

"What?"

"Yes, I saw Stella. She's here." 

I clutched tightly onto the bed frame. Was it true? Was Stella alive? If so, then everyone was. I twisted my skirt with my fingers. I couldn't believe it. He had to have been imagining it. Besides, there was no way that he had left that hospital bed. 

"When did you see her?" I asked. Maybe she was in another hospital room. If so, maybe she was in good condition. If so, then she and Jerome could help me. 

He shook his head. "Oh, I don't remember. Yesterday? Last week? No, I wasn't here last week...Oh, yes. Two days ago. She came to my bed and told me that she was alive. That they all were." 

"All?"

"Yes. I'm not sure why they would do that, but she said so. She told me that they were all training. They train day and night, she said. In a few days, I'll be training, too."

"Who told you that?"

"The nurse. She said that I'll be able to in a few days."

I shook my head. By all, did that mean that everyone from the Eradication was alive? What were they training for? I clutched my pounding head. I wished that I never came and saw Jerome. He had only made me more confused. "I...I don't understand. I don't understand any of this."  

Jerome groaned and sunk under his covers. His head rested on the pillow. "Hurry. You have to leave. The nurse will be here any moment."

I nodded. I slipped my mask over my face and headed to the door. It was better if I left. I was here for Aster and Tilly. I couldn't derail my plan, or I would never get out of here. 

"Good luck, Kat." 

I closed the door. I hung my head and sighed. If only Jerome was strong enough to come with me. This would have been easier if I had someone to help me. Especially now that my mind was clouded and confused. Jerome couldn't have been telling the truth. Maybe he had been hit over the head too hard. He wasn't feeling well. You can't trust it. Just keep going. 

I walked down the hall. I needed to go upstairs and go to the camera room. There I could find where my friends were. 

I found the stairs quickly. Heart pounding, I took my first step. 

A door opened from behind me. 

I froze. I couldn't hear a sound. There weren't any footsteps or even a voice. Even so, I was too scared to turn around. A door had definitely opened. That's the only signal I needed to know that I had been caught. 

"You've finished with your patient already?" a voice said. It was the guard who had led me to the hospital rooms. My hand clutched tightly on the rail. I closed my eyes and searched for something to say. I couldn't find anything that would help my situation. Instead, I continued walking up the stairs, picking up my pace.

He spoke louder. "The cook had told us about a suspicious nurse." 

Us. I made it up to the fourth floor and ran. 

Happy Tuesday! An on-schedule chapter for once? What? 

All jokes aside, it looks like Kat has been caught. Uh-oh! What is she going to do? Do you think that she's going to be able to escape? If so, will she escape with Aster and Tilly, or leave them behind? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

If you enjoyed this chapter, make sure to vote, to comment, and to share this story with your friends. Try to vote for this chapter with your bed. Stay awesome. 

This song is called Ghosts That We Knew by Mumford and Sons. I hope you like it!