That evening, as Quinlan had promised, the black car arrived outside Mia's apartment as soon as night fell. Mia was relieved; had she been alone with her thoughts any longer, her mind would have descended into a dark place again. She needed to get out of there. She made her way out onto the street, but this time there was no one there to take her hand. Mia carefully followed the sound of the engine and slowly made her way towards the car. The girl watched Mia from inside the car and scoffed silently at her unfortunate condition, purposely not getting out to help her. When Mia finally found her way into the front passenger seat, the car sped off abruptly, turning a tight corner and throwing Mia against the side of the door. Mia could sense the deliberateness of the driver's action. She felt nervous; but Quinlan knew this girl, and Mia trusted that he would not put her in danger.

"You must be Malaika," she attempted to make polite conversation.

There was no response.

"Ok…" Mia muttered to herself. She thought for a moment that she should introduce herself, but then decided not to bother. "So, you want head south; take Linden Boulevard all the way to Elmont…"

"I know where I'm going," the girl snapped. She had a deep voice and a strong accent, which Mia could now be sure was African.

Mia sensed her hostility and decided to stay quiet. The rest of the drive was in an uncomfortable silence.

Upon arriving at the facility, Mia was surprised to find Ephraim already waiting outside, opening the door for her as soon as the car pulled up. She wondered if Quinlan had told him she was coming.

"What are you doing out here?"

"I'm here to pick up my order," Ephraim smiled as he helped Mia out of the car. "Oh, I didn't mean you."

He walked around to the back of the car and opened the boot; inside were several duffle bags and cardboard boxes full of things. He picked one of the bags and walked over to Mia, and hung the strap over her shoulder. She let out a slight gasp as the sudden weight of the bag pulled down on her. She quickly readjusted herself. Ephraim smiled at her somewhat adorable reaction. He then picked up another bag and a large cardboard box, and then tapped on the driver's window. "Hey, some help with the bags?"

Reluctantly, the girl got out of the car and picked up the remaining things from the boot. The three of them made their way inside.

"So what's all this?" Mia asked once they were inside the elevator.

"Well… I'm moving in!"

"You're going to stay here?" Mia asked, her eyes wide with astonishment.

"I can't risk going back and forth. Besides, I need to be where my work is."

Mia did not say anything, but her expression showed great concern.

Again, the elevator stopped on level three. The doors opened into the foyer, facing the mezzanine that overlooked the lobby. On one side of the foyer was the doors to the laboratories in the East Wing, and on the other side was the West Wing, comprised mostly of meeting rooms and lounge areas. Ephraim lead the way towards the West Wing, where the atmosphere was more welcoming than the sterile laboratories in the east. He appeared to be well acquainted with the place already, as he walked into a lounge area with a cafeteria and a few sofa suites. He dumped his belongings on one of the cafeteria tables.

The girl did the same, throwing Ephraim's bags carelessly onto the table, and then turned to leave. But just before she walked out the door, she suddenly stopped and looked at Mia. "You," she called to her. "Your eyes… they are a burden for everyone." Her heavy accent and the way she emphasized her words made it sound harsh and vicious… but perhaps she meant it that way. She glared at Mia before proceeding to walk out of the room.

Mia stood there stunned by such a cold and unwarranted attack. What disturbed her the most was the truth in those words, that forced Mia to confront her feelings towards her limitations. She quite often felt weak and useless, but the last thing she wanted to be was a burden to anyone. She felt angry for a moment, more at herself than at the girl, but she quickly subdued whatever emotion those words intended to arouse. She recomposed herself.

"What's her problem?" she asked Ephraim.

"Ah, don't worry about her; she's just a kid," Ephraim brushed it off.

"A kid?"

"Oh yeah," Ephraim realized that Mia would not have known. "She's like, what, sixteen? You know, probably got the whole teenage angst thing going on."

"Oh." The immaturity of her behaviour suddenly became apparent to Mia. "So who is she?"

"I don't know. She came with Quinlan. She usually never says a word to anyone except him. But hey, you managed to get a few words out of her," Ephraim teasingly nudged her. "You must be special!"

"Yeah, specially hated," Mia muttered.

Ephraim started to unpack his bags. As he pulled out his bottle of whiskey, he felt a sense of shame, and glanced at Mia, reassuring himself that she could not see. He looked at her, and then at the bottle in his hands. For a moment, he thought he could smell it; his senses tingled and he felt an urge rising. Just open the lid and take a swig; she won't even know.

"Ephraim... " Mia's tone suddenly sounded serious.

Ephraim tensed as he reactively held the bottle close to his chest, almost hiding it. He looked at her and suddenly felt as though she had been watching him. The thought seemed absurd, but a man without a clear conscience was often cursed with the feeling of being watched; paranoia is the guilty man's punishment.

"I don't think this is a good idea," Mia continued.

"What do you mean?" he asked nervously.

"I mean you moving in here. I just don't think you should."

Ephraim's nerves eased. "Why not?"

"I don't know. Just this place… I mean, you saw what happened to Doctor Price."

"Mia," Ephraim sighed affectionately as he put down the bottle and walked up to her. "What happened to Doctor Price is…" he stopped to rephrase. "I'm not running the same sort of experiments here." He put his hand on her shoulder. "This place is safe, and I got everything I need here. I can come back to the city for the rations, just like Doctor Price did. It'll be fine." He looked into her eyes and gave her a reassuring look, but then realised he could not persuade her with his eyes like he could with other people. "Besides, you're gonna drop in to check on me, aren't you?" he smiled.

Mia smiled reluctantly, but the smile soon faded. "So where is he? The body…"

Ephraim did not expect her to ask this so suddenly. He hesitated a little. "Fet and I put him in the freezer." He realized how callous it sounded.

Mia simply nodded. "We'll bury him when we have a chance." Then with a deep breath, her mood lightened. "Well, I'm going to make use of the showers here. The good thing about this place is it runs off its own water system."

"You need help getting around?"

"Eph, I spent six years of my life here," she smirked. "I think I can manage."

Ephraim returned to the lab as Mia made her way to the shower rooms. Now the place was clear of any threats, it felt somewhat safe, but certainly not comfortable. The eeriness of the large, empty building was just as unnerving as previous night.

Mia's boots echoed loudly on the bathroom tiles as she walked down a row of empty lockers towards the showers. She went to the same shower she always used; the one on the far end; the one that felt the most hidden. She reached in and found the hot water tap on the wall, and turned it. The pipes in the walls chugged loudly, then after a few seconds, water came running out of the shower head. She held her hand under the water, hoping it would turn warm. For a while, it was ice cold, but then slowly, the sharpness of the cold eased into a gentle warmth.

Mia let her large, heavy coat drop to the floor and then she slipped off her boots; the tiles felt like ice beneath her bare feet. She paused for a moment and felt a sudden anxiety. She nervously looked around behind her, listening for anyone's presence; there were no sounds and no moving shadows, but still she felt uneasy. Finally, reassured of her privacy, she slid her jeans to the floor and stepped out of them, then pulled her sweater over her head, and then hesitantly removed the rest of her clothes. She stepped into the stream of running water, jolting at first at the forgotten sensation of warm water on her skin. But soon, the pleasure of the sensation took over and she closed her eyes. Her tension eased, and her troubles washed away with the water as it ran down her body. As she stood there with her eyes closed, focusing on the warm sensations on her cold skin, he suddenly entered her mind. It was not any thought in particular; it was only vague. For a moment, she felt as though she could picture him. But in the mind of a blind person, pictures were a different thing; they were not visual or material, but they were a sound, a voice, and a feeling; a soul.

She did not understand why he often invaded her thoughts, and it scared her that she felt drawn to him; not in a way of attraction, but in a way that she felt safe around him, comfortable even, and it was rare that she would feel comfortable around anyone. She enjoyed the sound of his voice, but also, in many of their silent moments together, she felt like he understood her.

A man who can understand the demons in my head must surely have ones of his own.