Author's Note: I'm so sorry! I meant to get this up over the weekend but I was packing up my room then and it's finals week for me this week so I've had a lot of papers to write. I'm sure you've all been anxious to find out what happens so here is a nice, long chapter that will hopefully answer a lot of questions.

Special thanks to acciodanrad9 for her advice and encouragement on a specific section of this chapter. Hope you all enjoy and please review!

Warning: contains mild torture.

Chapter 21

The Color Yellow

Long after his crying had ceased, Keith kept his head on Natalie's chest, letting her stroke his hair. It was so soothing that he almost fell asleep but he couldn't let that happen, he knew almost immediately, not yet.

Eventually, when he started to get a kink in his neck, he eased himself up and Natalie helped him get comfortable against the pillows. Once this was done, he immediately grabbed her hand and held against his chest. Then, he offered her a wan smile and said lightly, "You're stuck with me now, partner."

She ran her fingers through his hair with her free hand. "That's fine with me, Keith."

"Good."

They sat in silence after that. There didn't seem to anything to say or need to be said. A few times Keith felt his eyelids begin to drift close involuntarily and he would quickly shake himself awake. To distract himself, he turned his attention to Natalie's hand. It was different from his own, not only more feminine but in comparison to his own, it looked so…healthy. He had been so focused just daily survival while in the compound that he really hadn't paid much attention to his appearance, mainly because there were no mirrors in the compound. His stomach squirmed uncomfortably at the thought. He knew, of course that he was under weight, given the fact that he could see the bones in his hand but he didn't want to think of himself that way; as a starving skeleton. As a way to comfort himself from these thoughts, he brought Natalie's hand to his lips and kissed it.

As if taking this as her cue, she said softly. "Keith, you should get some sleep."

"No," he replied instantly.

"Why not? You look exhausted."

"So?" He released her hand as he glanced at her. "I'd rather be exhausted than the alternative."

"What's that?"

"Afraid."

"Of nightmares?"

"Uh-huh," he said, nodding. "I just know that once I close my eyes, everything will come back. Maybe even stuff that I've forgotten about it 'cause it was so bad."

She ran her fingers through his hair. "I'll be right here the whole time. You need to sleep, Keith, it'll help you get better."

"I know," he said with a heavy sigh. He kept his eyes locked on her face as he allowed his lids to drift close and he succumbed to sleep.

He was walking along the main street of Lodlin, on his way to Andy's. He had a few hours before work and wanted to start the day off as positively as he could.

And as always, he was hungry.

Keith was lost in his thoughts, trying to ignore his growling stomach when a voice said, "See him, Sarah? He's one of Dad's prisoners."

Keith looked up to see a boy of about Billy's age and a girl who was not much younger, standing to one side of the street several feet in front of him. The boy was pointing at him as if he were some type of showpiece. Obviously their father was a soldier since they were wearing nice, clean clothes; the girl was even wearing a skirt. Keith had to wonder why they in the compound and where their father was since no one except soldiers were allowed inside.

He didn't have time to think about this as he noticed that the little girl—Sarah, was licking her hand and he wondered why until he realized that she was eating an ice cream cone…and his stomach growled louder at this realization.

"Uh-oh," said the boy, noticing Keith looking at them. "We gotta go."

"Why?" asked Sarah as she continued eating her ice cream.

" 'Cause he's got a disease and we could catch it," said her brother impatiently as he tugged on her arm. Sarah yanked her arm away and walked toward Keith.

"Sarah, c'mon!" yelled her brother. "He's nothin' but a gross rat!"

Still, Sarah ignored him and instead looked up at Keith and held out her cone to him, saying, "I don't like the cone. Would you like it? There's tons of ice cream on the bottom."

Keith gave her a small smile as he took it and bit into cautiously, fearing that a soldier would appear and snatch the simple gift from him.

But none did and Sarah grinned up at him and whispered, "I don't think you're a gross rat. I think you look nice." Then, as her brother called for her again, Sarah turned and ran back to him but not before she turned and waved at Keith. He waved back as he stuffed the rest of the cone into his mouth.

It was Selection Day.

The bright sunlight that shone down on the main square was extremely ironic in Keith's opinion. Selection Day was too cruel and depressing to be filled with sunshine.

At the moment, Keith was standing in a long line waiting to be "examined". His eyes never stopped moving as he looked for his friends in the many lines that seemed to merge together into one huge crowd. And as one, they were all very aware of the large train that waited to take those unlucky ones to an unknown fate.

It was only when he felt a tug on his arm that Keith's eyes stopped moving and he looked down to see Billy looking up at him, his eyes large with worry.

"Keith," he said in a small voice, "I'm scared."

"I know, bud," said Keith, putting an arm around Billy's thin shoulders comfortingly.

"What if you get put on the train and I don't? I don't want you to leave, Keith!" Billy cried.

It was obvious that this had been worrying his young friend for some time, so Keith crouched down in front of him and looked into his face seriously. "Billy, listen to me. If I go on the train, you're comin' with me. No matter what happens to either of us, we're gonna stick together, got it?"

Billy nodded, his eyes shimmering with unshed tears. At this, Keith drew him into a tight hug. "C'mon, bud, don't cry. Everything's gonna be okay. You're feelin' all right, right?"

"Yeah…but I'm really hungry."

"So am I, but other than that?"

"I'm okay."

"Good. You'll be okay."

Keith released Billy then, as the line began to shuffle forward. As they continued to move towards the front, however he kept a hand on his shoulder the entire time.

When they reached the front of the line, Keith was first and the soldier gave him the very blunt command of, "Strip." So Keith pulled off his shirt and pants, although unlike his arrival to the compound, he was allowed to keep his underwear on. Then, a large man approached them who looked like a doctor, although whether he was really a doctor, Keith didn't know. The doctor looked him over and then began a general examination; listening to his heart, breathing and having him perform various stretches. As he did them, he would sneak glances over at Billy who was a few feet away from him. He seemed to be doing all right, other than the fact that he looked like he was shaking. Keith hoped this was more in fear and nervousness rather than caused by an illness. Keith tried to concentrate on his own examination and not worry too much for Billy until he heard one of the soldiers mutter, "He's so thin."

Well, who the hell do you think made us so thin? Keith thought angrily. You're the ones who starve us to death!

Soon, the doctor nodded although it gave Keith no clue as to what his fate would be. He didn't have time to ponder this for long as a series of shrill whistles, a signal for the inmates start jogging around the square. This happened during every Selection Day; they were forced run in order for the weakest to be further weeded out. They were not told this of course because everyone knew it was the truth.

As soon as the whistles blew, Keith grabbed Billy and together they joined the throng that was already running. He knew that he had to keep Billy with him while they ran. If he was too slow, he either be trampled or throw onto the train.

Billy didn't say anything until they had run about two laps when he began to gasp weakly. "Keith…I…I can't r-run anymore."

"You have…to, bud," Keith panted back. "You…You have to."

"I—I can't. I…I'm so tired."

"I…know…but, you have to."

Shortly after he said this, he felt Billy release his hand and he instantly turned around to grab him again but was swept away by those running behind him. Keith pushed his way out of the crowd and ran to his fallen friend who had somehow managed to crawl out of harm's way.

"Billy!" Keith cried, collapsing beside him. "C'mon, bud, get up. We have to move."

"No," Billy moaned in reply. "I can't. I wanna sleep."

Fearing that this might mean that he wanted to die, Keith shook him hard. "C'mon, Billy, get up. We're almost done."

Billy didn't reply to this and before Keith could coax him anymore, he was yanked violently away from him as a soldier shouted, "Get back in line!"

"No, he's my friend!" Keith yelled angrily. How could they have no compassion? How could they be so cold?

This protest was met by a sharp kick in his stomach. Groaning and clutching his stomach, Keith staggered to his feet and joined in the still running crowd, praying that that wouldn't be the last time he would see Billy…

Meaningless whispers swirled around his ears as he stood against the wall of the large room, waiting to hear whether the right side or the left meant life or death. Keith tried not to wonder about this for too long and instead watched as the solider questioned the remaining arrivals.

Finally, the last person was sorted and those standing on the right side of the room were led through one door while his side, the left were led through another.

They arrived at yet another large room where more soldiers were sitting at long tables, each with some type of sharp tool and a small jar in front of them. Keith and the others were ordered to sit in front of one the soldiers. Keith could feel himself shaking as he did so, knowing that whatever was going to happen was going to be extremely unpleasant.

And it was.

As soon as he was seated, the soldier across the table from him said, "Pull up your sleeve up to your shoulder, left side." Keith did so and instantly flinched as the soldier picked up the small tool which turned out to be scalpel.

"Wh—What are you doing?" Keith stammered as the soldier yanked his arm closer to him and placed the edge of the scalpel on his upper arm.

"Giving you your number and if you hold still this won't hurt as much," the soldier snapped. He gripped Keith's arm so tightly that Keith gritted his teeth in pain and watched, wide-eyed as the scalpel descended toward his flesh.

And he screamed.

It wasn't just a little pain like a scrape; it was as if the soldier meant to carve out his skin. The single cut was like a stab to his chest and Keith yelled again as the cutting continued. So much so that the soldier grabbed his shirt and forced his face into the table top in order to stifle his screams.

"Please," Keith begged after a moment. "Please, stop. You're hurting me."

"That's the idea, boy," the soldier said from somewhere above him. "I told you that if you held still, it wouldn't hurt as much."

Keith said nothing to this, only squeezed his eyes shut from the pain as the cutting continued.

Eventually, it became too much and Keith reared back in an attempt to get away and force the soldier to stop but he was only pushed back onto the table by another soldier who said, "I'll hold 'im down, keep going."

"Thanks, he's been giving me a lot of trouble," the other replied.

"You're hurting me!" Keith cried as another stab of pain shot through him. "Stop it! Stop it, it hurts!"

"Shut up, boy!" shouted the soldier who was holding him down. "You're only making things worse!"

"Stop hurting me!" Keith yelled. But as he yelled this, he heard a new voice call out, "Keith, no one's hurting you! We're trying to help you!"

"No, it hurts! Lemme go! Lemme go!" Keith yelled, struggling against the soldier restraining him. He couldn't see what else was going on; he had squeezed his eyes shut from the immense pain.

"He doesn't mean to, Keith! Wake up!" Another strange voice called out.

He didn't know what they meant; all he knew was the pain which seemed to be intensifying.

"NO! NO!" He yelled, thrashing his head wildly.

"Keith, wake up! You have to wake up! Please, wake up!"

Then, his eyes suddenly snapped open.

And found himself staring into the extremely worried faces of Natalie and Toby.

"P—Partner?" Keith gasped in confusion.

"Yes, Keith," she said, sighing relief. "I'm here. You're safe."

"Wha--? Where…?"

"You're at the Lab, Keith. Remember? You were shot," Toby informed him from where he stood on the left side of Keith's bed.

Keith looked at him for a few seconds as recognition slowly flowed into his brain. The scene that he had just been experiencing was all a nightmare, it had happened in the past. He had forgotten all about it.

"You were having a nightmare, Keith," said Toby as if to confirm Keith's own thoughts. "Or more accurately, a flashback and I'm sorry for adding to the realism of it. Your IV was low so I thought I'd change it while you were asleep." He added apologetically.

Keith was barely paying attention as he let his most recent nightmare play through his mind, as it was the most disturbing of the three. How could he have possibly forgotten one of the most painful things he had first experienced at the compound? Because it was so painful? Because he had wanted to forget?

Whatever the reason, it didn't matter. He had had a nightmare of it or "flashbacked" to it, meaning it had happened. And because it had happened, he knew that he could never forget his time in the compound.

Almost subconsciously, he slid his left arm out of his sleeve and looked down at his upper arm, near his shoulder.

And there it was, as clear as the day he had gotten it:

C311612

"Is that…?" Natalie began to ask.

"My tattoo," said Keith hollowly. "Everyone got one. It was so they could keep track of us and didn't have to learn all of our names. The C stands for cancer." He added quickly before he began to trace the numbers with his fingertip. He couldn't believe how…innocent they looked, as if he had chosen to get a real tattoo. He shivered at the memory of how painful it had been.

"Do they mean anything? The numbers?" Natalie asked softly, as if afraid that he would be upset at her for asking.

He stared down at them for a moment, considering her question. "Not at first," he answered finally, "but now that I think about it, they do represent something." He pointed to the first number, a three. "The three is me and my parents and how we were just your average family and then when they…died, it was just me." He pointed at the one. "And I was taken to the compound when I was sixteen." He moved on to the next one and six. "And even though I was with people like me there, I still felt so alone." Here he pointed at the one, "until I met you, partner." He finished pointing at the two and as he did so, he looked up and gave her a small, appreciative smile. In reply, she leaned forward and kissed him gently on the forehead.

Then, Keith leaned back against his pillows with a heavy sigh, more exhausted now than when he had first arrived.

"Keith," Toby spoke up then. "I'm going to give you a sedative to help you sleep since I'm sure your nightmares didn't help much."

He didn't answer to this and instead looked hopefully at Natalie. "Stay?" he whispered.

She gripped his hand tightly. "You don't even have to ask. I'm not going anywhere, Keith. Not without you, at least."

At this, Keith smiled as he felt his body relax as yet another needle was inserted into his skin. Except this time, soft welcoming sleep awaited him.

When he woke next, he noticed three things: one was that he had never so rested and refreshed before. The second was that he had absolutely no idea whether it was morning or evening and the third was that Natalie was no longer sitting next to him.

She was lying next to him.

Or at least, she had moved so that she was able to wrap an arm around him and his head was now tucked into her neck. While he was very comfortable around her at this point, this form an intimacy as innocent as it was, was still too much for him. So he began shaking her awake while simultaneously attempting to move her off of him. It took several minutes but eventually he roused her enough so that she was able to take in her surroundings and their position.

"Oh, Keith, I'm sorry!" she cried, quickly sitting up. "I didn't realize I'd fallen asleep."

"It's okay, I—I just wasn't expecting it," said Keith, realizing how logically, there was no other place for her to lie down in his room.

"And well, I wanted to know right away if you had another nightmare," said Natalie. "But I guess I should've remembered how…perceptive of touch you are."

A polite knock halted any reply from Keith and the two of them looked up as Toby poked his head into the room. "Oh, good, you're awake!" He exclaimed happily at seeing them. "Keith, how're you feeling?"

"Better," said Keith truthfully.

"What time is it?" Natalie asked.

"Almost nine the morning," said Toby and he smiled at their shocked looks, "Hey, you two have both had a busy few days. Anyway, you guys up for some visitors?"

"Visitors?" Keith repeated, confused as Toby opened the door wider to allow Natalie's family, minus her father, to enter the room.

"Mom!" Natalie cried, springing to her feet and hugging her fiercely. "Oh, my God, I'm so sorry!"

"Sorry?" said Caroline, "sorry for what?" She looked over Natalie's shoulder at Keith, adding. "It's me who should be sorry." She gently released her daughter and stepped over to his beside and before Keith could say anything, she sat down beside him and said, "I don't what else I can say other than how truly sorry I am. Please, believe me that I had no idea what my husband's job was. I just knew it was for the government and that I wasn't supposed to ask about it. None of us were." The pleading look in her eyes was almost too much for Keith to bear so he said, "You don't need to apologize. You didn't do anything wrong 'cause you just didn't know."

"But I still hurt you, maybe not physically but I still treated you like you didn't matter!" Caroline protested.

"Only because you thought you were supposed to," said Keith. "Listen, Mrs. Anderson, I'm not mad at you. If you want my forgiveness or somthin', okay, I forgive you. But really, it's your husband who did the real crime."

Natalie's mother nodded, looking very relieved. While Keith felt a bit uncomfortable with the whole thing so he looked up at Toby and asked, "So, Toby, what's up with this group you're part of?"

"The Color Yellow?"

"Yeah."

"Well," Toby began slowly as he stepped further into the room, "it's all thanks to Keith, really. After all doctors were banned from practicing from failure to effectively cure the Plague, we all formed secret groups to help those who had gone into hiding." He nodded to Keith as he spoke. "But then, after you guys contacted me on the radio," he continued, looking at Natalie and Zach, "my dad and I started trying to locate everyone that we knew who knew the truth and to form a huge group that would finally get the word out. The problem was weren't sure how to do it. Then, your writings started arriving, Keith. And we realized that you were the only one who could really get the word out and realistically tell about everything that was really going on. So, we started typing up each of your stories." Here, he pulled from his pocket a piece of paper, the same shade of yellow as Natalie's ribbon that she had given him. The black type was stood out boldly against the bright background.

"I remembered your favorite color was yellow, Keith, so it only seemed right that we print your accounts on yellow paper and name our group after it," said Toby. "Plus, we knew it would attract attention." He handed the paper to Keith so he could see the product of all of those nights in Natalie's basement, writing away. He stared, completely shocked at the sheer simplicity of it and how it had changed his life for the better as Toby added, "It's all because of Keith. If not for your wanting to make a change and knowing more than anyone, how wrong the world was, none of this would've been possible."

At his words, Keith peered over the top of the paper at him and everyone else in the room. "No," he replied softly but firmly, "it's because of all of us."

Author's Note: Well, there's the explanation for it all or at least the group that Toby is a part of. Hope you liked it and please review! Hopefully with school ending, I can update sooner next time which will feature Keith confronting Pete and Raff! Once again, let me know what you think!