It's the first night I've slept in peace. No nightmares or visions from Setrakus Ra. It's a nice change to allow me to recover from our battle, but it almost feels weird and out of place. It's strange not having to see the pendents of the three fallen Garde or the ugly, glowing scar on his neck. No threats or warnings about my loved ones in danger or anything like that. Just me and my thoughts. You'd think that'd be a good thing for me, but it's not.

I roll over and stare at the ceiling of the hospital we're staying in to recover from the battle at Dulce Base. I check the clock on the wall, it's four in the morning. Even though I'm being left alone by Ra, I still have tonnes of things that are keeping me awake. The Garde, the fact that Blake and the guy we're calling Michael have not woken up from their comas, my promise to Agent Noto and the fact the U.S. government is working for the Mogs. I doubt they've had time to track us down yet, the Garde messed up their base pretty badly, but we can't take the risk. I want to keep going, find the Garde and get my chest back. I know exactly where I hid it, just outside of New Mexico. We'll have to snag it before we leave the state.

We...

That's the question about whether to bring the two new passengers along. I have no idea of what to think of Agent Noto. I haven't seen him . The nurses told me he took three bullets in the "mugging" and that all of them had been removed. He's in a different room in recovery, but unlike the others, he been conscious these last few days. The more I think about it, the more worried I become. I can't tell if he's secretly communicating with the government, planning my capture, torture and eventual slaying. Will they bring me before Setrakus Ra? I can see him for real this time before he kills me. The damn coward, he won't even meet me face to face and instead enjoys hearing me scream and be tortured by images in my mind that I can't destroy. I ball my fists up and punch the air. I have so much I want to say to him personally before I...

I push back the sheets and walk across the room to the window. This been my perch for the last few days, I watch all the cars coming and going and read every single person's mind that enters this building. I want to know if they have any connection to the incidents or government or look too pale for comfort.

There were a few close calls though. I saw some patient that was being led by a nurse go by our doorway. They were deathly pale and I followed them down the hall armed with my whip, my rubber and steel ball. I watched carefully as the nurse put him in bed and hooked him up to a machine. When she left, I approached him. I sighed in relief when I saw that this sickly man was a cancer patient and in no way was mean or threatening. He was frail and skinny, a far cry from a Mogadorian. I watched him for a while, watching him struggle every time he tried to breath and I felt guilty for ever thinking he was dangerous, he can barely breath on his own without the help of a machine. I read through his thoughts and saw that he was ready to die. He had no one left to care for and no other reason to stay, but apparently his body was still clinging on. He reminded me so much of June, the lady that I had met 6 months ago and who died in my arms after a Mogadorian got to her. She knew her end was near and now that I think about it, it ended the suffering. She was glad to die, she shed her sick body and was now free to go wherever the dead go. It was the same for this man, but I couldn't help it when it came to crying. I was there when June died, when Annie died and Blake's mother and the other Garde. I was them in their final moments, their last seconds of life before they faded from this world. These are people I made connections with and I heard their last thoughts before they passed on. I kicked myself multiple times for doing this, I should have always listened to Annie, to make the pain less for when the time came to say good bye. This...thing I have, the connections I make are a curse.

Suddenly, a there is a sharp knock on the door, interrupting my thoughts. I walk over slowly, whip raised in case of an attack. I grip the knob firmly and let it open.

It's only Agent Noto.

"Hi" I say softly, relieved it's not who I thought it was.

He doesn't respond at first, he looks scared, exhausted even. There are dark circles under his eyes and he's shaking. He's very pale, almost whiter than the hospital smock he has on.

"What's wrong?" I ask, peering down the hall to make sure there's nobody near by.

"Things have changed..." he says in a choppy voice.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"The...the lies he told us..."

"Who? Setrakus? He'll do that to you." I say. Right now I don't really have sympathy for him. It should have been obvious a long time ago, but the fact that he's wisened up about the Mog's promises means there's hope for further allegiance. Better late than never I guess, but the fear in his eyes tells me this is not an "I told you so moment." His thoughts are so jumbled and panicky that I have trouble processing everything.

"W-We have to get out of here RIGHT NOW!" he whispers. "We are being tracked and everyone around us is in danger!"