* * *

Whenever Sarah closed her eyes, the headstones were waiting for her. But something had been lost when she saw Robyn’s fake grave.

It didn’t feel like closure. It didn’t feel like anything except pain.

The door opened, and the sister in question stepped into the room. Robyn looked appropriately guilty, like the time she’d been caught selling Sarah’s colored pens to her classmates in third grade.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked as soon as Robyn closed the door behind her.

“It wasn’t something I could tell you, not like that. I wanted to tell you when the time was right.”

“Well, it’s too late now.”

“I know. Pegasus shouldn’t have done that.”

“He was the only one who told me the truth, Robyn! You were gonna throw me out and be done with it!” Sarah shouted, curling up when her chest hurt. “Were you gonna leave me out on the street near the house? Or was I gonna wake up one day and find myself at aunt Ruth’s like nothing happened?”

“No, it’s not like that. We’re getting a story together.”

“And then you’ll get rid of me.”

Robyn sighed. She seemed to understand the problem now. “You have a chance I don’t, can’t you see that? You’re alive!”

“So are you.”

Robyn shook her head. “It’s not the same. I can’t go with you.”

“You were planning on ditching me and you weren’t even gonna tell me. If you think I’m gonna let you do this, you couldn’t be more wrong.”

“I really can’t go with you. Even if I did, we’d have to hide for a very long time, maybe forever.”

“I don’t care. I’m not going anywhere without my sister.”

Robyn winced. “Don’t throw away your only chance at a normal life because you’re stubborn.”

“If I’m going back home, I’m not doing it alone. You sure as hell are coming with me. And if you’re not going anywhere, I’m not either.”

Robyn shook her head. “I can’t leave here, Sarah. I wish things were different, but I can’t.”

“Was this what you meant when you said your biggest flaw was following through even if you changed your mind along the way?”

“Yes, I follow through no matter how I feel about it.” Robyn took a deep breath and let it our slowly. “I want to get whoever did this. I wanna make them pay.”

“Robyn…”

“We got someone from the local New Nation cell that attacked our house that night. Depending on what he tells us, you’ll be closer to going home.”

Sarah glared at her. “Is there a home left?”

The question visibly shook Robyn. “I need to go… look at some stuff. I’ll see you later.”

Robyn left like she was making a hurried escape, but Sarah didn’t object. They would have continued to argue if she’d stayed.

Sarah also didn’t want to think about the cemetery anymore, much less about Robyn’s lies. There seemed to be way too many of those.

But now that Robyn was gone, Sarah realized she should have asked again for something to pass the time. She was sure they wouldn’t allow her access to the internet, but a book would do. Hell, a coloring book would do at this point.

Unwilling to count the tiles on the floor again, she walked around the room instead.

A flash of motion as she passed the wall opposite her bed caught her eye. If she didn’t know any better, she’d swear she’d seen her reflection, but the wall was bare. The only mirror in this place was the one above the bathroom sink.

Intrigued by the illusion, she repeated her movements to replicate the effect. Nothing.

She sat on the edge of her bed and examined the empty wall. There was nothing there, not even a cobweb that might have caught the light with the airflow her walking could have caused.

After countless minutes, the wall seemed to shimmer—or maybe her brain glitched. Her vision blurred, and she blinked repeatedly, but she found she couldn’t look away from the wall. As if it held the answers, as if it would share them.

A rap at the door startled her.

Sarah guessed who it was before Pegasus came into view. No one else knocked.

“Hey, can I come in?” he asked from the threshold.

“Sure, why not? Not like I have a say in anything around here.”

He shrugged, stepping inside. “True.”

Sarah slid further onto the bed. “What brings you to this lovely prison today?”

“I ran into Robyn on my way here. Are you two okay?”

“Are you checking up on me?”

“Actually, no. I got you an appointment to go talk to our shrink.”

Sarah cocked an eyebrow. “And why would I wanna do that?”

“It’ll get you out of this room.” He smiled like he was offering her a treat.

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If it was treats they were talking about, she’d rather have a chocolate cake. “Is this one of those things where I don’t really have a choice, but you’re gonna pretend I do?”

His smile widened. “Yeah, pretty much.”

“Fine.”

He offered her a hand to help her down from the bed, which she politely refused.

As she followed him down the now-familiar hallway towards the elevator, she wondered if the shrink would have a window. She always imagined a shrink’s office should have a window.

“How did you get out of your room the other day?” he asked.

She’d told her sister already. The codes had even been changed since then. “Didn’t Robyn tell you?”

“No, but that suggests it was her fault.”

Sarah laughed. She realized the ease with which she interacted with him had largely gone unnoticed until now.

The elevator doors closed.

His question about leaving the room lingered in the small space. It was a simple enough answer, but she was suddenly reluctant to give it.

Why should she tell him anything at all?

She knew nothing about any of these people except what Robyn told her. Even the person she’d spent the most time with—Pegasus. She knew nothing about him other than that he acted cranky in the middle of the night, liked to smile a lot during the day, and had an odd sense of humor.

The way he talked and joked with her as if he knew her as well as he knew her sister didn’t bother her. Maybe his behavior was an extension of his smiles, something to make him seem friendlier and non-threatening. At least that’s what Robyn said of his smiles.

He met her gaze with a quizzical look. Sarah pretended she hadn’t been staring at him and focused on the little numbers roll past on the elevator.

“What?” he asked, shifting to include himself again in her line of sight.

Despite having decided not to say anything, she answered. “I’m trying to think of an ulterior motive.”

“For taking you to the shrink? I think that one’s pretty straightforward.”

“No, for you being friendly to me, for telling me things you’re not supposed to.”

“Ah, you’re searching for my evil plan.” The doors opened and Pegasus held his arm out into the threshold as he laughed. “Let me know when you find it, because I’m thinking I really should get something out of this.”

Sarah stepped out into the hallway without a word.

This area was different than what she’d seen before. The walls were shades of pale yellow and beige.

Pegasus led her past large double doors that cut off the hallway on either side.

“There’s no ulterior motives,” he whispered as they came to another door. “It’s more a matter of difference of opinions. As for being friendly to you, I have no reason not to be. Also, I’m temporarily banned from the rec room, so I’m bored out of my skull.”

“So, you said you guys pretty much recruit anyone?” Sarah blurted out.

“I don’t think I said anything of the sort.” He frowned. “And that’s not a complete non sequitur…”

Sarah bit the inside of her bottom lip. “If Robyn really stays here, could I stay with her? Could you find me something to do? Something so that I don’t have to leave?”

He led them to what looked like a waiting room, complete with a set of chairs and a couch.

“Your sister wouldn’t want this for you. No one would want this for you.”

“Well, I wouldn’t want this for her,” she said. “But I’m not abandoning her.”

“You wouldn’t be.”

“I’m being serious. If I wanted to stay, would they let me?”

“It’s not that simple…”

“There’s gotta be something I can do.”

“That’s not what I mean. You can’t jump into this without thinking.” He sighed. “You still have some time here. Talk it over with Robyn. Think it over carefully. If it’s only so you won’t be separated, I don’t think that’s reason enough.”

Sarah took a seat on the couch. “And why didn’t Robyn bring me?”

“Most people try to avoid Athena if they haven’t done anything wrong.”

“Does that mean you did something wrong?”

“Maybe. But if you’re occupying her time, that means I’m free.” He straightened suddenly, snapping his fingers. “There’s the ulterior motive!” He grinned. “You were right all along.”

“Are you sure I need the shrink more than you do?”

“Oh, I forgot to mention. Don’t call her that, she doesn’t like it. I have something I need to go do right now. When you’re finished, wait here until someone comes to collect you back to your cell—I mean, room.”

She glared at him.

Pegasus knocked on the door.

“Did you get in trouble for taking me to the cemetery?” she asked.

He shrugged, but the smile was no longer the same.

“How much trouble?”

He leaned against the wall. “Maybe a little more than I was in before. I’ve been breaking more rules than I should lately.”

“So why’d you do it?”

“All we have are the rules, but sometimes the rules aren’t enough.” He smiled. “And sometimes… sometimes we just do stupid things.”

* * *

A paper ball hit Sarah square on the forehead and plopped down onto her statistics book. She looked up to find Robyn yawning.

Sarah tossed it back at her. She aimed for her forehead as well, but it hit her right on her nose. Robyn swatted at the air, yawning again.

Yeah, sure. In what world would Robyn ever be some type of secret agent? Why was she even bothered by such a weird dream?

Sarah chomped on the last slice of apple and crunched along as she read her study notes. One of Jeremy’s notations on the corner of the page reminded her of their earlier chat. “Hey, Robyn, did anybody call me on the landline yesterday?”

“No, why?”

Sarah propped her elbows on her book and blinked at her sister. “Are you sure nobody left a message with you because my phone was dead?”

Robyn started nodding, stopped halfway through another yawn. “Oh! Right, sorry. Jeremy called. He wanted you to call him when you got home.”

“Gee, thanks.”

Robyn grinned. “No problem.”

Sarah bunched up her napkin and tossed it at Robyn’s head.

This time, her sister dodged it. “Be nice to me or I won’t get you a birthday present.”

“I’ve still got an entire month to be nice to you before then.”

“Fine, then you won’t get the really cool present I’ve been thinking of.”

“I’ll take you not messing up Mom’s baking this time as a heartfelt gift.”

“So I put in a little too much cinnamon.”

“The recipe didn’t call for any cinnamon, you lunatic.”

“Nobody appreciates my creative genius.”

“And please don’t cram the top of the cake with a million candles.”

Robyn laughed. “Okay, I’ll settle for the proper twenty.”

Sarah rubbed at her eyes.

“Going to bed?” Robyn asked.

“After this one last problem. But I need my notes.”

Sarah realized she really was tired when her hand missed the light switch on her way into her room. Thankfully, enough light was coming in through the window.

Her notebook sat on her bedside table, propped open with a pencil. Curious whether she’d added anything new, she looked at the marked page. Though mostly illegible for having been written while she was half asleep, she could make out some words.

“A corridor,” she whispered to herself. “Running.”

She couldn’t remember anyone running. An image flashed in her mind of a locked room. That was what she remembered from the last dream.

“Scorpion,” she read. She didn’t remember any scorpions around. That should’ve made some lasting impression, she was terrified of those things.

A man’s voice called her name, and she startled, dropping the pencil. There was no one there. There were no monsters or moving shadows. Certainly it wouldn’t be a scorpion.

Struggling to calm her breaths, she felt around the floor for the pencil, but the floor had been dipped in darkness now. She grabbed the pencil as soon as she found it. With shallow breaths, she pulled the curtain open all the way.

Her reflection stared back at her with dead eyes.

Sarah let go of the curtain and stumbled back, almost tripping over Robyn’s sneakers. Her hand was shaking.

She remembered now. There was a locked room and she was trapped inside. There was shouting, and something on the wall.

Rushing to get to the light switch, she hit her knee on the corner of Robyn’s bed. She swallowed the pain, throwing herself on the bed as she hit the lights.

Brightness flooded the room. A crimson flower blossomed on the empty wall. Sarah sucked in a breath, burying a scream deep inside her throat. There was blood on the wall.

Was she dreaming? She couldn’t tell.

Covering her mouth to stop from screaming, she forced her eyes tightly shut, wishing it would all go away.

Could it even be a dream if she was awake?