The next few days passed in a blur.

Part of me was glad that the experiment had failed so drastically, the University in Seris technically owned that formula. Now I could start again, adjusting the values I had memorised to make something that wouldn't cause the mice to starve themselves to death. And I wouldn't need to ask for the University's permission to save my mother once I had gotten it right.

I only really left my lab for two reasons: to eat and to shower. And even showering I didn't see the point of doing very often, I was in a controlled environment and was mostly sedentary, it wasn't like I was sweating everyday. Once in two, sometimes even three days was usually enough.

Food on the other hand was an issue. If I stayed hungry for too long, it affected my concentration. So I often combined eating with my other mandatory task: making sure my mother was okay.

I'd call my Ma just as I would head to the cafe to grab something to eat. If I was lucky I'd have a conversation with her, although most of the time, she stared blankly at the ceiling while I talked.

The sole highlight of this activity was catching glimpses of Eli sometimes. She'd perk up at the sight of me, a dimple on her left cheek as she'd wave at me ... or maybe Oskar, that man was like an annoying tail I could not get rid of. He followed me everywhere except inside my living quarters and my lab.

"Don't you sleep?" I eventually lashed at him. I had stepped out of my lab at three in the morning after a particularly long stretch of brainstorming, tired and hungry. And the man had come whistling from behind me, out of nowhere.

Oskar skipped along to my side, his faded combover as sharp as ever, "Don't you?"

I would have told him that I looked like someone who hadn't slept in a while, but talking required effort I currently didn't possess.

"I think I know what your issue is," he continued, slapping my back so hard I nearly tripped over my own feet, "you pretend to be a grump, but you're actually lonely."

"Insightful," I growled, marching a few steps ahead to avoid Oskar as much as I could.

"I've heard you talk to your Momma," he went on, matching my pace with little difficulty, "and I hear you talk to the rodents, you can be nice when you want to."

I didn't bother gracing his idiocy with a response.

Oskar sighed, "I mean, I'm pretty sure you think you're smarter than us—hence the arrogance. But I also think you've had shitty luck with people all your life."

I paused, my annoyance taking a sudden backseat. Part of my thesis dealt with redirected aggression and how it impacted not just the patients, but their family too. Oskar had done nothing but try and be friendly, it wasn't fair of me to constantly belittle him, "I didn't just have shitty luck with people," I told the man, "I had shitty luck with life itself."

"Your Momma's been sick a while, huh?"

I nodded, staring unfocused at the floor, hands in my pockets, "Nearly twenty years now." The doctors had said she wouldn't live another ten, but she proved them wrong. She always did things at her own pace, and forcing her to hurry only made her more stubborn about it. Of course, she'd apply that obstinacy to dying too.

Not that I complained, I needed her to pull another year. I  know I'd said this a million times but I was almost there, she needed to hold on just a little longer. And then everything would be normal again.

"Damn!" Oskar let out a low whistle, "That's most of your life, no wonder you're so pissy."

The twinge in my gut returned, like the crack of thunder, "I'm not pissy!"

My bodyguard beamed at me, a very pronounced twinkle in his eyes, "Say that again, but nicer."

"Shut up!"

His laugh echoed across the circular courtyard, the running water from the fountain being the only other sound in the still night.

It wasn't by any means a clear night though, dark clouds still hung above us and the hot air smelled stale and salty. But there was no wind tonight, as impossible as it was.

We made our way to a cafeteria called "Cafeteria," which, despite its imaginative name, was the only one open all night. Spruce flooring greeted us, along with a two-toned navy and white wall. A man stood at a counter to our left, behind a glass display box mounted on a teak unit. This late at night the display only contained sandwiches, a variety of pastries and coffee.

Coffee was the real reason I was here. Four shots of espresso could keep me running for another six hours at least. I could drain it down with something high in protein and fat and I was good for a day.

I sat down in the corner most table, with my back to the rest of the cafeteria when Oskar began his incessant criticism again.

"That's a lot of meat," he said eyeing the extra layers of ham, beef and pepperoni my Ploughman's sandwich. He sat with his arms crossed across me, with no food at all. And while I preferred to face the wall, he sat facing the world.

I was going to tell Oskar to go sit somewhere else so I could eat in peace. I had every mind to tell him off, but I'd barely opened my mouth to do so when a different voice did it for me.

I caught sight of the lab coat and yellow scrubs first before the scent of orchids, "Oh shut up, Jones." Eli drew a chair beside me and flopped on it, with a very loud sigh. She had a sandwich of her own, only it was leafier.

"Your sandwich barely has any—"

"Shhh!" A tomato was shoved into Oskar's mouth, "Stop talking!" Eli turned back to her food, "I've just had two intense surgeries." She took a giant bite out of her sandwich, "I've been on my feet for nearly fourteen hours," she continued between mouthfuls, "I don't need crap from you."

I snorted into my coffee, which Oskar caught and glared at, but said nothing.

"You're a neurosurgeon," I then said, realising more and more how incredibly wrong it was of her to act like my General Physician for the sake of a man who had no knowledge of the medical world. Despite his title.

Eli nodded, her eyes ablaze with passion, "Still a resident, so when I say I had a surgery—" She took another giant bite, barely chewing and hastily swallowing before speaking again, "I really mean Doctor Camden had a surgery and I was there to assist."

I smiled, her black waves were tied in a high ponytail today, and I could see both sides of her head were shaved to an extent. Her face on the other hand was completely clean-shaven, unlike the last time. I tore away and stared back at my black drink, not wanting to come off as a creep.

"I felt really sorry for the second guy," Eli continued unaware, between giant bites, "he was convinced that a DBS would cure his Alzheimer's, we told him it doesn't work like that." She shrugged, "But he was some rich prince that was willing to pay and the Director never says no."

My head snapped up at the acronym, "DBS?" I echoed, "Deep Brain Stimulation?" But more importantly, why was Riquebourc accepting and rejecting surgeries? I didn't voice that concern out loud, it just made me dislike the man a little more. He may have given me a job but he had his fingers in way too many pies.

Eli turned to me, beaming, a dimple highlighting her left cheek, "You know what it is?"

I nodded, "They recommended it for my mother at one point," I admitted, "but we decided not to go ahead with it." I swirled the wooden stick in my cup needlessly, "The statistics weren't very optimistic."

"Oh ..." The smile faded just as quickly as it had come, "I'm sorry, what does she have?"

If anyone would understand what my mother had, it would be Eli, but I didn't want to go into it in detail. Talking about it made it real. Made me realise Ma was right. That my mother was dying. "It's an atypical form of Parkinson's." I didn't look up, "It's aggressive," I added, "and comes with an army of other fatal diseases."

An uncomfortable silence followed as I picked at my half-eaten sandwich, having lost what little appetite I had. I could see the two furiously yet silently gesturing at each other out of the corner of my eye, but I didn't care anymore. The hospice would ask me to put Ma in palliative care again, like they had been every day for a week now.

I pushed the plate away, draining the last of my caffeinated sludge, "I need to head back to the lab." And I walked out of the double doors without so much as a goodbye.

There was still no wind when I left the cafeteria, hands in my trouser pockets, lost in thought. Oskar was a few feet ahead, still rambling about something I was no longer listening to.

I had barely passed the row of terraced houses when it happened.

A hand wrapped around my mouth and I was pulled into a dark alley. My hand immediately went to my pocket, to my trusted ballpoint but it was slapped away with a "Shhh!" I could smell the flowery, fruity odour before my eyes adjusted to the dark. Before I saw how close she was to me.

I was pretty sure my face radiated enough heat to fry an egg. It's a good thing it was so dark and that Eli was too busy craning her neck to catch a glimpse of Oskar.

I used both my hands to pry hers off my mouth, "What the hell?!" I whispered as harshly as I could manage.

"Shh!" she repeated and then after a moment added, "quickly before he notices." And my hands were seized again as I was dragged down the dark alley and out to a promenade.

"Wait—" I snatched my hand back, finally invoking a much-needed pause, "What are you doing?" I don't know why I was still whispering. I was too far from Oskar to worry about the amplitude of my voice, but it felt like the right thing to do.

"Rescuing you," she declared, with a mischievous glint in her eyes, "unless you want Oskar around again?"

I stared back down the alleyway, "Not really." He wasn't a bad person, but he was just ... too much.

"Thought so." She smiled again, but it wasn't bright and radiant anymore, it was a sadder smile, "You need to let loose doctor, you're going to work yourself to death."

"Ah!" I found my hands in my pocket again as I grinned, "So this rescue is actually an intervention."

Eli's smile turned brighter again, she skipped to the wooden planks bordering the deep body of water, "Did you know the water here is about ten feet deep?" She dipped her toe, "And it's always warm enough for a quick dip if you can swim."

The last time I'd been near a body of water was when Billy Larkin had introduced me very intimately to the toilet bowl in high school. "I can, but no thanks," I told Eli.

She clicked her tongue, "Shame." And intertwined her fingers in mine.

The night was too dark for either of us to see colours properly but I turned a deep shade of scarlet regardless. She tugged my hand playfully and I registered far too late what she was doing.

She yanked.

"No—Wait!"

And let go.

I yelped as I skidded headfirst off the promenade and into the water below. My head may as well have crashed into a block of ice. The water was not warm. If anything, it felt like I had been thrust into the very clouds.

I pulled myself up to the surface, gasping for air. It still felt like I was in a bucket of ice. My arms, legs and even my chest cramped. It hurt to move. It hurt to breathe.

I forced myself out of the water and back up onto the edge of the promenade, "You ... suck ... Eli Young," I declared in between trembling gasps of air. I wrapped my arms around myself, shivering from head to foot, shaking all the way to my cramped toes.

Eli was still clutching her ribs, tears streaking her pretty, oval face. She was laughing so hard I was quite certain she hadn't even heard me. But she caught me glaring daggers,

"I'm sorry," she panted, still holding her sides with one hand as she offered the second.

I reached up but grabbed her elbow instead.

Her eyes widened, "No please!"

Too late, I had already tugged with all my might, tossing her straight into the body of water as she had done with me mere moments ago. Eli's scream was louder, her voice cracked a little too, but it was cut short very quickly once she went under.

I snorted. I wasn't going to lie, it was a little funny when I wasn't the one plunged underwater. I attempted to clean my foggy glasses in the meanwhile, but my wet clothes only made it worse.

She emerged almost immediately, gasping and coughing, "Oh that's not warm!"

"I know." I extended a hand to help her out, but pulled away the last second, "If you drag me in again," I warned, "I will drown you."

Eli waded towards me with a giant grin, but she didn't climb up. Instead, she placed her arms on the wooden platform and rest her chin on them, still grinning, still staying in the freezing water, "Admit it," she said, "this got your mind off the bad stuff."

I chuckled and and extended a hand again, "Sure," I said dryly, "got my mind off life itself for a minute there."

Eli hopped onto my side, "Yeah a dip in the ocean does that."

"Ocean?" I turned to the incredibly still body of water and then to the mass of clouds above it. There was something about the impossible in this place. But perhaps the water wasn't directly part of the open ocean, maybe it was enclosed by land somehow, even if it stretched as far as the eye could see.

I frowned, almost certain I could make out a steeple in the distance near the horizon. Was that part of the island too? The people here were religious so a church made sense. It was the only thing that did.

"Forget about it," Eli's voice had gotten a little higher, which didn't make a lot of difference. It was still deeper than mine. Besides, I was too distracted trying to make out the rest of the church in the distance. "Theo!" She cupped my face with one hand, thrusting it away from the clouded building and towards her instead, "Forget the church!" Her large grey eyes stared so profoundly into mine, wide and fearful. Her breath, short and jagged, "Please!" What was she afraid of?

I should have asked her that, but for a moment the only thing that mattered was her gaze, "Okay." My voice was a little louder than a whisper as I tucked a stray hair behind her ear, "Forgotten."

Eli's cheeks turned a deep shade of pink as her hand snapped back to her side. I might just have imagined it though. There was barely any light to see the bridge of my nose clearly, let alone the colour of her cheek.

Yet neither of us turned away.

My stomach lurched at the intensity of it. At the way her face tilted up towards mine. The way her grey eyes had gotten rounder. I found myself wishing I had another excuse to touch her face again, that I had another strand of hair I could tuck.

"You two are dead."

Eli flinched, breaking eye contact first. She looked up at our new visitor and then away. Far too quickly.

I wasn't in as much of a rush. It was hard to look away from her. When I eventually did, I could make out Oskar looming over the pair of us. It was too dark to crack his expression, but the growling made it very clear how he felt. I stretched an arm which the hunk of a man grabbed to help me onto my feet.

"Why the hell did you go for a swim with your clothes on?!" he then demanded, wiping his hand with the back of his trousers, "Are you nuts? Do I need to protect you from yourself now?"

I patted my bodyguard's shoulder, "I'm going back to my quarters for a bit," I told him, turning around to catch one last glimpse of Eli. She was still sitting, still staring at the unmoving ocean.

"I swear, if you die of pneumonia—"

"Good night Oskar!" I called loudly, cutting him off before he could yell some more. I wasn't really going to sleep after a four-shot espresso though. It was a lie. My second lie of the night. I wasn't going to forget about the church either.

Something was very off about this place.