----3 weeks later----
It was hard to sleep this past night. The flashes came so frequently in her dreams, flashes of things that only had meaning in a time she wanted to forget. She had been trying to convince herself that that's all they were, old memories resurfacing for no reason other than that she was stressed out and that the anniversary of her escape was approaching. But a small part of her kept saying that they had to do with now and that they were a warning.

She was beginning to believe that inner voice, beginning to grow certain that what she had suspected from the start was true and that she had been stupid to have allowed it to drag out this far. If she left now they would know, and they would find her. She remembered being told that no one could run without leaving a trail; it was one of the scare tactics they used to stop she and her companions from trying to flee. Escape was difficult but it was possible (she wouldn't presently be in this position if that wasn't true), so not only did they try to physically prevent it but also they tried to mentally and emotionally discourage it. In any case, she knew that if her suspicions were correct she would be found rather quickly and that this time she would have no one to whom to run.

She shook her head as she pulled herself around and planted her feet firmly on the floor, lifting gently off the bed and padding over to the small suitcase in which she kept her clothes and what sparse belongings she saw need to carry. She was being ridiculously silly. Years of sorrow were simply causing her to make too much of a small coincidence.

In any case, there was now sufficient trust when it came to Max and so the time had come when she was ready to reveal some things. She inwardly tensed slightly at the thought of finally giving in, once again taking stock of the consequences that might befall her if she was indeed correct. Sense told her that it wouldn't make any sense for them to play that game; but they certainly were cruel enough to at least think of doing something so hideously ironic, to punish and to hammer into her mind that she belonged to them and that she was not to disobey, ever. Max probably wouldn't even realize what had been done...no, no. She was over-analyzing. Everything was safe and she was in good hands.

Her protector entered seconds later, smiling and carrying a bag of groceries. Things had started off rather rocky but now Max and Deleana were fairly comfortable with one another and it wasn't so bad. Not bad at all. Of course, such familiarity didn't change the fact that Deleana was now incredibly nervous, still mulling over whether or not this would be the day that she would begin to tell her harrowing tale.

"Hey, Dee," Max greeted cheerfully. The cheer left when she met Deleana's eyes, though, distant and anxious. "What's wrong?"

Deleana gulped, then decided to throw caution to the wind and go for it. "I...I'm ready to tell some things. SOME. I...can't tell everything. Not yet, anyway."

Max felt her pulse quicken and forgot the bag, which remained securely in her arms as the woman became the focus of her undivided attention. "Go on..." she prodded.

"Well, I told you I made a mistake, right?" she began. Max quickly nodded, so eager, so ready...what if she was just waiting for confirmation, and then... No, stop it. She's just doing her job for Eyes Only. Deleana shut her eyes briefly, took in a deep breath and willed herself to continue. "Okay...about, oh, 20 years ago, I needed some money. Well, my mom needed some money...I did it all for her, you see. Anyway, I wanted to help her but I didn't want to go out and get myself a job because I wanted to be able to stay in college. So I did some searching, and...I came across this program, and I thought 'well, here's something I can easily do while studying' and I signed up. I mean...they said, they said that all they needed was for me to come in for biweekly check-ups. Half a million dollars! And I'd just have to come for some check-ups for about a year."

The rate of Max's pulse had doubled in speed as the woman talked, her complexion paling as she rapidly began to connect the dots. It couldn't be, could it? This couldn't be one...one of them... "Ch...check-ups? Why?" she stammered.

"It was...they said it was just a medical experiment," Deleana explained quietly, at the moment too caught up in her memories to notice the change in Max. "They used to have those, you know. They'd pay you to volunteer." And then she noticed, and she felt her suspicions welling up and she was afraid and she had to scream at herself to keep calm. "Why...why are you so pale?"

Max laughed nervously and wanted for the first time in at least two weeks to escape the room and the tension, and then her strength drained from her and her arms gave out and the bag succumbed to the ministrations of gravity, its contents spilling out over the floor. "Heh, clumsy me," she choked and then she bent down to clean up her mess, taking the opportunity to tear her eyes from the woman and work at collecting her thoughts. Her hair slid off her neck and bounced around her shoulders but she didn't notice, or if she did she didn't care.

But now she was exposed.

Now there was no more wondering or worry because it was true what had been thought, and the small black mass was right there and the numbers were as plain as day and there wasn't any more dwelling on the fear because there couldn't be. Deleana lunged for the bedside table, scolding herself for having been so stupid. She grabbed the gun, without thought, without care, except for herself. Survival was important and survival meant eliminating the enemy like she had been eliminating them for over a decade now.

"Don't move," she implored forcefully.

Max froze, the significance of her now parted mane suddenly coming to her attention and she moved her face barely an inch, only far enough so that out of the corner of her eye she could see the gun. There had been something wrong all along and she had dismissed it...she scolded herself for having been so stupid.

"Now I don't care how revved up you are," Deleana spat, "you so much as twitch from here on out and you're dead."
*******

Post.Script: Oh I'm so excited, you guys. I'm probably getting as much into this as you are...I even couldn't help myself and I wrote the first chapter of the prequel, hahahahdlfkajfa. I can honestly say that I've never created a character I've loved to write as much as I love to write Deleana.

Anyway (though I'm sure the majority of you have figured it out by now), everything will be revealed in chapter 6, my friends. And we'll see who speculated correctly...