Chapter 1: Run

Her breath came in short, rapid puffs. Every diaphragm movement made her ribs scream in protest, but she wouldn't stop running. She couldn't stop running. Or else they'd catch up.

The girl took an abrupt turn right off of the path she had been following. She ran straight through the trees, praying to the Goddess that there wouldn't be any obstacles in front of her that she couldn't already see in the dim moonlight. The forest was dense and trees had fallen everywhere due to the typhoons a few days back, but hopefully the fallen logs would slow down her pursuers, as well.

She could hear them. They were coming faster. Run, run, run, don't look back, she thought to herself. Don't panic. Just run. Fly. You've done it before. Come on, you can lose them. This isn't hard, Jill!

Jill shook her head, trying to forget about how much her chest felt like it was going to explode, how painful every step was, how close the predators were getting. Instead, she ran faster. This was it. All or nothing. Escape, or get caught, and it's all over. There was no time to rest and the trees weren't good for climbing. Normally she would have been able to outwit them and scramble up a tree that would only support her weight, but the branches on these trees were too high up.

Leaves and twigs crunched behind her. Still, she didn't look back. She was sure they were close enough to hear her heartbeat and sense her fear, but she kept running. No one said anything; they were all too breathless to even utter a word. She wouldn't put it past them, however, to utter a few grunts. After all, she did call them pigs. Both of the men were chubby and big, but that made them all the more dangerous. She was relatively small. Sure, she had some meat on her, but muscle? Muscle was nonexistent in Jill-land.

The next few moments happened in a rough, adrenaline-filled blur. Jill's worst fears came true, and she suddenly tripped on a log and tumbled to the ground. She had one split second where there was only enough time for fear to set in, and then she was suddenly pinned to the forest floor by something heavy. Pig number one, she thought. The wretched scent of alcohol filled her nose, and the pig was breathing heavily right into her face. She began to wriggle like a fish out of water, desperately trying to escape the man's grasp. But, like the first time she had been caught, he was much too strong. He repositioned himself so that he was able to keep her down without lying on top of the girl, and then smiled so sickeningly that the acid began to churn in Jill's stomach. His bald head shone in the moonlight, and she could see a faint outline of his leather jacket.

Eventually, Jill decided that resisting was pointless, and she let herself relax physically for a few moments. Her mind and emotions, however, were racing even faster than before as she calculated the chances of survival in her head. They were pretty high. That was, at least, until they dragged her to headquarters, where the High Pig himself, who went by the codename of Hawk, or more commonly referred to by the Pigs as "boss", would execute her.

Finally, the first pig, the one that had pinned Jill down, spoke.

"Well," he huffed, "look who we have here. The little brown-haired sweetheart that keeps runnin' away." His contorted smile made the girl sick to her stomach.

Trying to contain her anger, Jill simply glared at the pig instead of replying. His breath was starting to make her sick, and she felt like vomiting right in his face.

When he realized that Jill wasn't going to reply, he smiled even wider, and continued, "Don't got any words on ya, eh? Heh...heh." His laughs were simply airy huffs of breath, and Jill's mind started reeling again.

How to escape, how to escape? Wait until he let his guard down? An obvious decision. Relax until then? Possibly. But how long did she have, and how far would she get before they caught up again? She glanced frantically to her left and right, trying to get a sense of her surroundings. They were on a hill. The log she had tripped on was to her left, so it would be impossible to escape that way. A long, relatively steep slope, about thirty feet, stretched down on her right. A few trees dotted the hillside, and then they thickened up again at the bottom. How could she use that to her advantage? They were just on the edge of it. She could escape. Right?

With these thoughts plaguing her mind, Jill hardly heard the pig when he barked to his companion, "Call Hawk. Tell 'im we got her and we'll be there tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Pig two questioned. This surprised Jill. She hardly ever heard the second one talk. She liked him more for that reason. It meant she didn't have to get a sample of his breath quite as often. His voice was also a bit softer and more pleasant to listen to than Pig Number One's.

"Yeah," Pig one laughed. "I have a few...plans, that I've got for the little pet tonight." He pulled a knife out of his pocket, a sadistic smile stretching across his face, and Jill's mind was sent flying faster than before.

Okay, more calculations, she thought. While death isn't a possibility until tomorrow, that knife looks like it could inflict some pretty gruesome wounds. Which means I need to get out of here before that thing touches my skin. I hate blood...

"You know what boss said," Pig two growled coolly, interrupting her frantic thoughts. "Bring her back alive."

Yes, Jill thought. You, Mr. Pig Two, are my new best friend for the moment.

"I never said anything 'bout killin' her," Pig one chuckled. "Just a few wounds...for the road." He started lowering the knife toward her forehead, and the adrenaline shot through her once more. Jill shuddered when his hot breath wafted into her nose again. It smelled more wretched than a sweaty gym sock left in a room of cigarette smoke. Thinking quickly, she gathered a mouthful of saliva and blood and spat in his face, knowing that it would anger him, which was exactly what she intended to do. Rage makes one blind.

A few angry curses came from his lips, and Jill smiled a bit to herself as she watched him recoil. He leaned backward just enough that some small percentage of his weight left Jill's legs and torso. In that split second, she shifted as much of her weight to the right as possible, and wiggled out from under him. Then, she was rolling down the huge hill, thanking the Goddess that topography was in her agreement that night.

There was no time for recovery once at the bottom. She stood up without a moment's rest, and tried to take in her surroundings in a split second. Angry shouts came from the top of the hill, and knew she only had a few precious moments before the chase began again. A head start, and that was good, but only a small one. Therefore, she was off and running again within the next three seconds.

Thud thud thud thud. Her feet were loud and clumsy, and she could feel the pain race up her legs with each touch of the ground, making her steps amplified to the tenth power. Running and pain, however, had both become relatively familiar things to Jill in the past year, and so she pushed the ache away with ease, finding relief in the adrenaline that still gave her energy.

She allowed herself one glance over the shoulder to get an idea of how far away the pigs were. She was about twenty good feet ahead of them. Just enough space, she knew from experience, to make a quick get away if she could find the right diversion. But she'd have to think fast, because it wasn't much longer before they'd catch up again.

And then, she found it: there was a steep, rocky cliff coming up on her left, and the moonlight was shining on a thin crack in the wall, just big enough for a girl her size to squeeze through, and just small enough to keep the Pigs out if they found her. She made a dive for the cavern, grateful for the four years she had played softball when she was a teenager, and slipped through the crack, finding just enough space to curl up in a ball and catch her breath, even though it was uncomfortable.

Her heart seemed to echo in her ears, and she could feel the blood pounding in the veins in her neck. It was a horrible feeling, but she had grown used to it during the past few months. Running was an everyday thing. There was always something to run from or run toward.

She listened to the outside world closely, trying to ignore the sticky fluid she was faintly aware of that was running down her neck. A head wound was never good. Jill sent a quick prayer of thanks to the Goddess that she found the cavern and a prayer requestthat the wound would be shallow. Then, she set her focus back on the men outside. The first pig was making a wild racket, trying to figure out where Jill had disappeared. The second pig, as usual, was quiet, though she could see his outline just barely through the crack in rock. Jill ignored the ringing sound in her ears as she tried to listen to what the first pig was saying.

"Damn it!" he shouted. Jill flinched as she heard the snap of a tree branch, and assumed that he had snapped one off of a tree in his rage. That could have been my arms and legs, she thought, and a shiver traveled down her spine. "I swear to the Goddess above, I'll get that girl. Have you called Hawk yet?"

When she didn't hear a reply from the second pig, Jill simply assumed he had shaken his head in response.

"Good. Don't. We've still got time before the deadline. Hell, I could do this all year!" A few more moments of silence, and then, "Come on, let's search a bit more, and then we'll head back to town. She won't be that hard to find again."

Jill listened as their clunky footsteps began to fade away into the forest. She hardly breathed until she was sure they were gone. Even then, she didn't leave the cavern. If they were tricking her, she'd be captured in a second. For the moment, she had a safe hiding place.

She had escaped. For a few hours, at least, and days, if she was lucky. But she couldn't keep this up. She needed rest, a normal life again. But she knew she wouldn't get it until the corporation was completely dead. Gone. Poof. But that, of course, would require more exposure of the files. And Jill wasn't sure she wanted to be anywhere near Headquarters again anytime soon.

A sudden exhaustion suddenly swept over the small girl. She stretched out a bit, and decided that the cavern, though cramped, wouldn't be that bad of a place to rest until the morning. Then she'd find a doctor. Hopefully someone in a small town who wasn't at all associated with the corporation. She'd had enough sightings in the past few weeks.

After all, judging by the blood still running from her head, she would probably need legitimate medical treatment for this one, not just a few bandages out of her soiled rucksack.

With that thought, the wave finally won over, and Jill was fast asleep, happily lost in the world of her dreams and memories, if only for a few hours.

• • •

Somewhere in the far off distance of Jill's dream, an alarm sounded.

Her heart began pounding, and she could feel her legs start moving quickly, though she felt like even if she tried running, she'd get nowhere.

Footsteps sounded behind her, and the alarm continued sounding. Men dressed in black flooded from various hallways, all with guns. They raised and cocked them all simultaneously, and fear sunk in, making Jill's stomach feel hollow and heavy at the same time.

Suddenly, a painful stinging sensation hit Jill's shoulder, and she crippled to the ground just as the black blobs of men around her disappeared. They were replaced by blurred white images. Doctors. Everywhere. Her shoulder still stung. And then there was more black, and she was off and running again. The whole time, the alarm continued to sound, whether she was being chased or seeing a rare friendly face. Images appeared and reappeared, blurred together and then separated.

She was left facing a computer screen. A cursor blinked at her, intimidating her, daring her to expose the files. She wouldn't go down without a bang. She wouldn't go down without revenge.

And oh, a bang there was. The images were sent flying again, faster than before. And, though less prominent than before, the alarm still sounded.

• • •

Jill woke abruptly, her eyes fluttering wildly, blinking away the glaze of tears that distorted her sight. Her vision blurred once, twice, until she could see the dimly lit walls of the cavern she had fallen asleep in last night.

Last night. Memories and images came rushing back to her. Slowly, Jill raised a hand to her head, following the trail of dry blood to a cut on her scalp that had seemed to stop bleeding sometime after she fell asleep, judging by the fact that it was no longer wet. She tried sitting up and, though it made her head feel a bit light, decided that she would be able to limp to a nearby town and hopefully get some medical attention, restock her supplies, and then move on to Goddess-knows-where before the Pigs found her again.

Taking a deep breath, Jill flipped over so that she was on her hands and knees instead of her back, and slowly crawled out of the cave into the morning sunlight.

It was so bright outside that she felt a bit like a vampire from old horror movies at first. She recoiled back, shielding her eyes with her hand, and blinked rapidly until her eyes adjusted again. Then, she took a look around. The forest was much less taunting in the sunlight than it was in the moonlight. The trees didn't seem to have outreaching fingers anymore that threatened to pull her in, and now that she could see the obstacles in the light it didn't seem nearly as dangerous, either.

Glancing at the watch on her wrist, Jill realized that she slept in a bit later than usual. It was already eight-thirty, instead of six, which was the time she usually got up.

My body kind of needs the rest, though. She smiled a bit, trying to count how many days it had been since the Pigs had found her and started the seemingly never-ending chase. Three? Maybe four? But still, there had been at least two nights when she got little to no sleep, as every crack of a twig or brush of the wind would send her flying through the forest again in fear that they would catch up.

After taking a long stretch that left her feeling a bit dizzy, Jill searched the ground for a big, sturdy stick that she could use for hiking. Eventually she settled with breaking one off of a dead tree, and then she was off.

The first step was to make it back up the hill, and onto the main path again. She would stay in the trees for cover, but she still wanted to follow the dirt road she had been on before. While it meant being a bit more exposed, she would sacrifice the dense forest trees for a faster route to a town. After all, if her head got any lighter, she wasn't sure she would be able to take a longer route, for fear of passing out in the forest before making it anywhere safe.

The sun was already beating down through the trees, though the winter air was still chilly. A light snow had dusted the ground overnight, but it was nearing spring. About two days ago Jill had realized it was the Starry Night Festival when she was sneaking through a town and watching couples gaze at the stars. Though, this year, she had no one to spend it with and no home to celebrate at. Nonetheless, that meant it was nearly spring, and the cold air would hopefully go away and make traveling easier.

Jill pulled her blue, ripped up jacket tightly around her, shivering slightly. It was probably twenty degrees outside, if that. How she had managed to survive the night freezing in that cavern was beyond her intelligence. Thank Goddess for adrenaline, she supposed. At least, Jill thought to herself, there wasn't as much snow on the ground anymore. Trying to travel in her thin shoes a week before had proved to be incredibly painful, wet, and cold.

She eventually reached the top of the hill, and continued to travel through the forest until she came to the path she had turned off of last night. It was a small, rarely used dirt road, and was probably always traveled by on foot and maybe horse. The last city she had come from had been Mineral Town, which she knew was about twenty miles from her current location, give or take a few. This was the furthest out from any civilization she had been for quite a while, as the Pigs had given her quite a chase and lead her all the way into the wilderness. She had done all right living off of the forest, though. The Goddess had always been kind to her in that way, even though Jill believed She hated her in other conditions, like the loss of her family.

But that was a topic she refused to ponder any further. She had learned that crying did no good, and only running got you somewhere. Thinking could be useful, too, if it was about the right things.

It was around lunchtime when Jill finally found some sort of hope that there was a town nearby. The trees had thinned greatly to the point where there was almost no cover. Two natural walls of rock opened up to let the rest of the path through, and beyond that was a moderately large farm. While Jill was still cautious, she figured that this town, if any town at all, was pretty out in the middle of nowhere, so hopefully no one would have any idea what the corporation was and she could be seen without being questioned of her identity. Therefore, she wasn't as afraid of not having any cover.

She was, however, worried that she wouldn't make it to a doctor without passing out, and so she trudged on. Her brain gradually became cloudier and cloudier, and she was unable to form very cohesive thoughts. Her vision blurred a few times, and she found herself losing her footing a bit every so often. Maybe, she thought, I lost more blood than I realized...

Her breath started coming in short gasps, and she could feel each of her limbs go numb. Eventually, she toppled over in the snow, though she didn't really realize it at first. Some part of her brain made note that she was near a bridge that went over a river, and that she suddenly became cold. Very, very cold. Her eyes snapped shut, and her brain became cloudy.

A sheet of exhaustion fell over the girl, and she was swept away into cold, murky waters.

• • •

"When do you think she'll wake up?"

"Be patient, Marlin. That's the third time you've asked that question and the answer is still the same: I don't know. She's obviously lost a lot of blood and some water has clogged up her lungs. But she's young and she's got a lot of years left in her. She'll be fine."

"But it's been six hours, Doctor Hardy, and-

"Yes, I know it's been six hours. But she is going to be fine. Don't you worry. You gave her CPR soon enough so that she didn't suffer any serious damage from falling in the river."

"And the blood loss?"

Doctor Hardy took a deep breath in, and then replied, "Yes, there was a lot of blood loss. I'm curious as to what exactly this girl has been through lately. But I still believe she'll wake up eventually. I've closed up all of her bad cuts, and the head wound has stopped bleeding, as well. Now all that's left is to wait."

The words all seemed muddled in Jill's brain. She knew what they were probably saying; she had heard the discussions in movies and books enough. There was always someone that passed out and got found. In fact, it had happened to her a few times now. Three times, maybe four? Of course, she had never fallen in a river, too, but still. It was, really, nothing new. So she was able to assume they were discussing when she would wake up, as it was the same in real life as in movies and books. Because she was now able to form somewhat coherent thoughts, she guessed it would probably be soon.

Jill frowned in her sleep. Waking up. She wasn't really sure she even wanted to wake up. Maybe she'd rather die. The chasing and the running were getting very tiring. She was the Jerry and the Pigs were Tom, but she wasn't sure she was nearly as clever as the small brown mouse, and the Pigs weren't as dumb as the cat, either. They were slow and clumsy, sure, but they weren't stupid, as much as Jill hated to admit it. They had their moments of intelligence, because, if not, they were punished. Hawk made sure of that.

The world was gradually becoming clearer as Jill's senses became less clouded. She could feel the warm bed sheets on top of her, and damp hair pressed against her left cheek. Her eyelids felt less heavy, and her pinky finger suddenly twitched. The light behind her eyelids was becoming brighter, and Jill was suddenly aware of the dull ache in her head and how dry her throat was. It was as if she was traveling through a tunnel, and as she drew closer and closer to the light of the outside world, she became more and more alive.

One of the men in the room with her suddenly spoke again. "Why are you so worried, anyway, Marlin? Do you know this young lady?"

The other man didn't reply for a moment. Jill supposed he shrugged. "Wouldn't you be worried if you saw a girl almost drown in a river, too? And I don't want to have jumped in that river to get her just for her to die a few hours later."

Doctor Hardy sighed, and Jill heard a few rattling noises in the background, and then something that sounded like a drawer shutting.

"What are those?" Marlin asked.

"Pain killers," the Doctor replied, "for when she wakes up."

Finally, Jill was able to muster enough energy to let out a groan. It sounded feeble to her ears, but Doctor Hardy and Marlin both heard. A chair groaned on the floor as it was pushed backwards, and Jill suddenly felt the presence of someone standing over her.

"Is she awake?" Marlin asked.

There was no response, but Jill suddenly opened her eyes. The light of the room was so bright compared to the darkness she had been in before that she shut them immediately again, wincing from the pain in her forehead. Doctor Hardy rested a hand on her shoulder, and she flinched away. She had grown used to the idea that physical contact was dangerous and meant she would be hurt soon, and it took Jill a moment to remember that this was a doctor, and he seemed to not mean any harm.

She tried relaxing again, and opened her eyes, preparing herself for the bright light again. It was less stunning this time, and she was able to keep her eyes open as long as she blinked rapidly. Tears gathered in her eyes, whether from pain or lack of use she wasn't sure, and they ended up spilling over onto her cheeks. She wanted to wipe them away but didn't know if she could move her arm quickly enough, so she let them be.

Doctor Hardy handed her a glass of water and two rather large, white pills, and Jill knew they were painkillers. She accepted them gratefully, and drank the rest of the water even after she had swallowed the pills, as it somewhat soothed the rawness of her throat. Once she was done, Doctor Hardy took the glass, and Jill took a moment to survey her surroundings with a critical eye to see whether she was really safe here or not. It was a habit she had picked up just after the first week of being chased.

Two people in the room: the Doctor, who seemed normal enough despite his strange eye and somewhat odd clothing, and Marlin, who looked something like a younger reincarnation of a grouchy Elvis Presley. She was lying on a bed, one of two in the single-room house. Walls made of ply wood, three windows, one small kitchen, two bookshelves, a chest with several drawers, and lots of medical equipment in one corner. It smelled like a mix between red wine and medicine, but not the bad kind of drug-smell. Just normal drug-smell. There was no TV in the house, but an old radio covered in dust rested on the kitchen counter and an even older looking telephone hung on the wall to her right.

For the moment, Jill concluded, she was safe enough. There was nothing too suspicious to worry about.

Doctor Hardy pulled his stool up to the side of Jill's bed and gave her a warm, skin-crinkles-around-the-eyes smile. He was pretty old, but he seemed nice.

"How are you feeling?" he asked gently. Jill's eyes darted to Marlin, who was standing by the coffee table, and back to the Doctor.

Eventually, she croaked, "Alright, I guess."

The Doctor chuckled dryly, and said, "You took quite a plummet there, missy. Rolled down the bank into a river after you passed out. If Marlin hadn't been taking a walk outside you might have died. Not to mention that head wound and all the other cuts you have. What have you been up to lately?"

Jill's brain whirled at his question, not taking a moment to allow herself any rest despite her new injuries. She was assessing the Doctor in her mind while trying to formulate a response. She thought of the Pigs, the organization, Hawk, how she had been running for at least the past year from town to town with no home, job, and sometimes no food. She thought of the pain she had been through, physically and emotionally. She thought of her biggest mistake and her biggest triumph. She thought of the places she had seen and the people she had met, and also the places and people she had left behind.

And she knew she couldn't tell all of that to Doctor Hardy. That would be a horrible, awful mistake.

So, instead, she lied. "I was...hiking. And I came across..." she scrunched eyes shut, as if trying to remember something, and then continued, "a bear. I think. Something big and furry. I don't remember. So I ran...but..." the tears came again, and she was glad. Maybe her lie would be more convincing if she cried. "I tried to find a doctor...and I kept walking...until I found a farm. And then I...I passed out, I think."

Doctor Hardy gave her a long look that she couldn't quite read. Jill sniffled, and blinked the tears away again. The pain medicine was already starting to take effect, and she was grateful that the throbbing in her head had subsided.

She waited for the Doctor to respond, worried that he wouldn't believe her, and even more concerned that he knew something about the organization or was somehow connected to it. With each passing second her worry grew worse and worse, and her heart thudded like a drum.

"I see," Doctor Hardy eventually said. Jill held in a breath of relief. "Well, be glad that Marlin here saw you fall in the river. I think you should probably spend the night here and get some more rest before you even think about getting up, missy."

Jill nodded, though she knew that she couldn't really stay here that long. She'd restock by stealing if she had to, and then she'd be off as soon as she could stand without wobbling. She had learned how to endure pain and keep walking, no matter how difficult, even if it seemed like she'd found a safe haven. After all, no place was safe after a week of staying. She put herself and the people around her in danger that way.

She turned her head toward Marlin, who was turning to leave, and said as loudly as she could, "Thank you. For saving me, I mean."

Marlin nodded, and then left quite abruptly.

"Don't mind him," Doctor Hardy chuckled. "Cranky one, that boy. I've known him since he was just a little tyke. He isn't as gruff as he seems, really."

Jill nodded as Doctor Hardy stood and started shuffling toward the kitchen.

"I bet you're hungry," he chuckled. "How long has it been since you last ate?"

Jill counted the hours in her head. Forty-eight. Two days. Unless you counted the occasional granola bar or wild berries, but those had only been to keep her running. They were hardly full meals.

"Four or five hours," she lied. "I had a sandwich before the...attack. But that was it."

Hardy nodded, and replied, "I see. I'll make you something. Do you like stir fry?"

"Yeah."

They stayed silent for a few minutes. Jill was resisting the urge to fall back asleep, as the sizzling sound of the stir-fry was beginning to lull her back into darkness. Her eyelids drooped, and she wondered how much longer it would take before he was done. Could she take a nap before then? No, napping in unknown territory could be dangerous, even for short amounts of time. Dumb idea, Jill, dumb idea.

"So, what's your name, missy?" Hardy's voice eventually raised her from the trance she had been in. Her mind whirred frantically, thinking of whether to use her real name or not.

"Pony," she eventually said. There was no trance of uncertainty in her voice. Or at least she hoped. "Pony Ryder. With a y, not an i. Kind of ironic, I know."

Pony was actually a nickname one of her old friends had given her, and Ryder was simply something the came up with from the top of her head. But Hardy didn't need to know that.

Hardy grunted. "Pony? That's a nice name," he said. "Unique. Where are you from?"

Again her mind raced. Where, where, where? Somewhere real, somewhere far from here, and not anywhere near headquarters.

"Flower Bud Village," she suddenly replied after only two seconds of thought. Her cousin, Jack, lived there. Or, at least, used to. She wasn't sure where Jack was now. Hopefully Hawk hadn't reached him yet. But it was only a sprouting population a good thousand miles from here that she doubted Doctor Hardy would know of.

"Oh, yes, Flower Bud village, I've heard of that place. Another of my doctor friends, Alex, lives there," Hardy replied. "It's a nice place."

Shoot, Jill thought. Just my luck. Frickin' small world.

"But if you're from Flower Bud Village," Hardy continued, "what are you doing way out here? And why hike to Forget-Me-Not Valley?"

So that's where she was. She had never heard of it before, and maybe that was a good thing. The question, however, sent her brain spinning once again. She eventually came up with an answer.

"Well, I moved out of my parents' house a while ago," she started, "and I've been looking for some place to settle down and maybe get a job. I was checking out Mineral Town and I thought I'd take a hike. But I went a bit far into the forest because I thought I heard a dog crying and I wanted to help it. See, I really like animals. Anyway, then the bear came, and..." she trailed off.

It was a decent story. Just not her story. In fact, it was quite far from hers.

"Ah, so you're out to see the world a bit. I remember those days," Hardy said, the hint of a smile crinkling his face again.

He came back to her bed with a plate full of stir-fry and a fork in his hand, and helped her sit up.

"Thanks," Jill mumbled. She took the plate and fork, and then tried not to eat too fast. Hardy was either an amazing cook or Caroline Ingalls' favorite saying was ringing true: hunger really is the best sauce. Maybe both, because the stir-fry certainly tasted like the best thing she had eaten in months.

Hardy shuffled back to the kitchen to give her some space to eat, and so that he could clean up. Jill watched his movements closely, still trying to decide whether to trust him or not. There didn't seem to be any deadly poison in the food, and he had treated all of her wounds well, as far as she could tell. Besides, that old radio looked like it was never used, and there was no television in the room, so how could he know anything about the file outbreak or have any connection with the headquarters?

Still, that eye freaked her out.

Eventually, Jill set the plate aside and started to feel extremely drowsy again. A small part of her mind wondered if she should ask for her rucksack so that she could use the contents to defend herself if she had to, but she decided that sleep, at the moment, was her most important priority. With that thought, she rolled over, let her defense systems down, and fell into a deep, dreamless slumber.

• • •

A/N: If this is your first time reading my story, just know these two things: I'm completely and utterly strange, and I have a totally inconsistent updating schedule. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Update as of 12/1/12: Changed the author note to this chapter a lot, so if it looks different, that's why. Don't worry, you aren't going insane or anything. :) Also, unlike what I first said, I've now planned like 80% of the story. The other 20% not planned is to keep things interesting for me. It can't be fun only for you guys. ;) Anyway, hope you enjoyed. :)