~Brendon's POV~

Ryan and Dan were already close. Close as in Ryan talked and scouted with Dan more than he did me. I sat in a hotel room next to Gerard. Spencer was at the window while those two were out, yet again.

"Any news on Frank?" I asked Gerard. It had been a few days since he had been hurt, and Gerard was staying relatively quiet.

Gerard nodded. "Stitches... And care... They had to sew him up somewhere moving, like a car." Gerard had a hurt tone in his voice. He shook his head as he looked at the floor, "We can't even go to a hospital. We're that campaigned against that we have to resort to back seat surgery?" Gerard looked up at me with slight disbelief. "How can people do things like this to other people?.."

I looked down. "And they call us the monsters..." I said softly.

Gerard and I sat in silence for awhile. It wasn't until Spencer alerted us to Dan and Ryan's return that we moved out of our own little worlds.

They rushed in quickly, not seeming to have any new supplies.

"What the fuck?" I asked, looking between them. "Guys, we're running low on shit. We were counting on you to get at least something!"

Ryan and Dan exchanged glances, but said nothing.

"Guys?" Spencer stood hesitantly from his watch spot by the window. He looked a bit freaked out.

Dan turned to him and his lips tugged into a smirk. "Plans changed." He said simply.

I stood up from where I was sitting. Gerard was quick to mimic my actions.

"What the fuck is going on?" I demanded, looking right at Ryan. He refused to look at me.

Dan spoke instead. "This fun little game is over, that's what's going on." Dan said simply. He looked over at Ryan. "Sorry to waste this copy..." He sighed.

I watched in horror as Ryan vanished before my eyes. In his place, stood another Gerard. I looked just next to me and saw panic in Gerard's eyes.

"What the fuck is this!?" He yelled, backing against the wall.

Dan laughed. "Just occurred to me that I never got to show you my gift the other day!" Dan jerked his head in mine and Gerard's direction.

The imitation Gerard turned to us, a smirk on its own face. It's arm shot out, pointing at the real Gerard, who crumpled to the floor next to me. I reached out to catch him, careful not to be the inevitable next target. I guided Gerard to the floor genteelly as Dan laughed again.

"Who the fuck are you?" I demanded once I was sure Gerard was alright.

"Someone who works for someone interested in the likes of us." Dan shrugged, "Not that Lite fellow. He was a nut. Props on getting him out of the way, though."

"We didn't kill him." I said lowly.

"But someone with abilities did!" Dan said, pointing at me. "He was a bad man, Brendon! It's better with him out of the way. Now the true researchers can come to light."

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." I took a slight step back. This shit was endless. What did we do to deserve this?.. And how was I going to defend myself with just a screech?

"Oh, don't you wish I was?" Dan smirked, "We need to be studied, Brendon. It's not like your group would come willingly. So we had to split you up."

"Where's Ryan!?" I suddenly realized that if this Ryan had been a copy, my Ryan still had to be alive.

"Safe." Dan shrugged, "We had our people bring him back from the dead, and I created him a double to lead our people to all of you."

My heart dropped. "So this entire time?.."

"It was never your Ryan." Dan confirmed my thought, "You'll probably be able to see him soon enough, though."

Dan looked at Gerard's copy and nodded his head towards me. My eyes grew wide as I tried to think of an escape route. I had no time, however, before darkness overtook me.

~Patrick's POV~

I'm sure I'm okay. That guy stitched it up good.

Frank showed me the note and I nodded. It had been a few days since what had happened. We had found another hotel, in another city. He had barely woken up after drifting in and out of consciousness for the days after.

Frank took his paper back into his lap and began to write some more. He showed me the paper again after a moment.

Are you okay? I can kind of remember you getting it out of my side.

"I'm fine, Frank." I nodded, "Just took a lot of energy. I'm just glad you're okay."

Frank smiled back at me. He began to simply draw on his paper. I stood up from where I sat next to him on his bed. Pete was sitting by the window while Josh and Tyler cuddled on the floor under one of our extra blankets. Phil was reading a thick book, quickly scanning through its pages. I walked over to Pete and smiled.

"Hey." I said, slipping into his lap. Pete looked at me with wide eyes. We hadn't really been in close contact recently. Our glow was getting dangerous...

"Patrick!" He looked nervous, "I can't control it if we touch..."

I furrowed my brow. I missed being able to touch him. I missed the feeling of him holding me. I hated this separation we were forced to endure because people deemed us as huntable freaks.

"Let's work on it then." I said, grabbing his hand. "Practice makes perfect."

He looked concerned as the blue glow spread between us.

"Just focus on me." I whispered, looking him straight in the eye. Pete nodded, calming just slightly. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. The glow was there, but it did dim slightly.

"You're doing it!" I encouraged, squeezing his hand. A smile spread across Pete's face and the glow actually faltered a bit.

I felt my heart beat speed. If we could control this, we could actually touch without being afraid of being seen. I was so excited.

I was so focused on Pete and the glow, that I almost didn't hear the gasp behind me. What I heard, for sure, was a voice that I hadn't heard in months.

"Patrick!"

I turned around, pulling my hand away from Pete's at the sound of Frank's crackled voice. His eyes were wide, but far away. His breathing was speeding the entire time.

I hurried off of Pete's lap and rushed over to Frank.

"Hey, hey!" I climbed on the bed, holding his arm. "You're here, you're okay!"

Frank shook his head, gasping on air as he seemed to come back to where we were. He scrunched his eyes shut.

"Something bad... The others..."

"Frank's talking??" Pete was already over with a mix of confusion and concern on his face.

I nodded, watching a tear fall from Frank's face. "And not for good reasons."