The sight of Janine diving under the water broke the trance. Spinning on his heels, he ran back towards the camp. Once there, he desperately tried to block his mind from Janine. He knew she'd be back at the camp soon, and he planned to be back in control by then. He mentally recited mathematical equations.

The squared root of 169.23 is... what have I done? The co-sign of the radius of...how could I have just stood there? I reacted like a sixteen year old boy completely lacking control of his hormones. He sat down on a rock, staring aimlessly towards the woods. Janine is going to kill me, he thought.

See? Already they are being split apart, the second being stated proudly. Your experiment is a failure.

The first smiled knowingly. Wait and see.

Janine stepped out of the lake, searching for him. She found him back at camp, upset, confused, and his mind full of mathematical equations. Confused, she slipped on her shoes and headed towards camp, picking up some fruit for dinner along the way. The closer she came to camp, the more her head hurt. She finally had to direct her thoughts elsewhere.

She walked into camp, trying to keep her thoughts from Egon. She smiled, holding up fruit.

"I brought dinner," she announced.

He turned, his face a mask of control, his thoughts a jumble of emotion.

"Guess what? I found out the lake is the perfect temperature for a bath," she said. Better to let him believe she had no idea she'd seen him watching her.

He frowned, not quite believing what he was hearing from her.

"Just be careful," she warned. "There's wildlife out there curious about us. One poked it's head out while I was out there. Scared me until I saw what it was."

He raised an eyebrow, smiling wanly.

"An animal," he said, obviously not believing her. She nodded, taking a bite of her fruit.

"I went diving into the water, and when I came back up, there was this thing that looked like a deer," she smiled, sheepishly. "I felt pretty silly."
He scanned her face looking form some knowledge that he was there and she looked back, the picture of innocence. Finally, he relaxed. "I could use a bath," he admitted.
She nodded solemnly. He smiled, shaking his head has he walked past. When she felt him reach the limit for free thought, she relaxed, letting her thoughts wander.

The second being watched the two struggle between what was obviously an unspoken attraction between both, and the other three friends determined to find out where the other two were. The being smiled. It was time to distract the experiment.

Peter was sitting at Janine's desk, slowly falling asleep. They were only taking emergency calls, pushing the less urgent calls back. All their free time was spent trying to find out where Janine and Egon were. It was going on a week and there was still no word. They refused to believe they were dead.

"Peter."

Peter sat up, suddenly awake. The firehouse was gone and Janine was standing before him wearing the same outfit she was wearing when she was abducted. Peter had never been so glad to see anyone in his whole life.

"Peter, help us," she said again.

"Janine!" he stood up, rushing towards her. She stepped back.

"Don't," she said. "If you touch me, I'll disappear."

"Where are you?" he asked desperately.
She shrugged. "I'm almost ashamed to say it looks like paradise."
"Paradise," he said dryly. "Are you guys hurt?"
She shook her head. "No, but I don't know how much longer that will last. There are dangers out here we can't protect ourselves from."

"Describe where you are," Peter said. "Maybe Ray can find out where you are exactly and get you two out of there."
Janine's face brightened. "Where we are, there are lush garden, exotic fruit, and a waterfall by a lake," she shrugged. "Like I said, paradise." She looked behind her, then back to Peter. "I'm fading. Help us Peter, please."

Peter looked up. He was back in the firehouse. He stood up. Janine had managed to contact him somehow. He had to tell Ray what she told him.

The second being smiled. That would motivate the three friends. This experiment would not succeed.

Over a week had passed since they were stuck in this place without an escape. Egon sighed, scratching his head absentmindedly. He'd almost forgotten what styling gel was like. He'd finally settled for just raking his hair out of his face, and wishing he could get a hold of a hair band.

At least he didn't have to worry about facial hair. Earlier that week, he'd found a discarded claw sharp and flat enough to use for shaving. He didn't want to know what kind of animal had claws like that, but he was grateful it was lying around...that was until Janine had found out he had it and claimed it as community property.

He sighed. He wasn't used to being this non-active. He was always in the lab back home doing something. He was tired of constantly reciting equations and he was tired of hearing the same songs Janine sang over and over in her head.

He and Janine were starting to get on each others' nerves. The other day, she told him she knew enough calculus to pass any class. He'd snapped back that he knew more trendy songs than he'd ever wanted.

He glanced towards the direction of the lake. Janine had gone there earlier for private time. Ever since that one time at the lake, she now told him when she was going there, which was good -- he didn't want to stumble onto that situation again. Not because he didn't find Janine attractive; far from it. He was very attracted to her. And that was dangerous. They were alone in a paradise, knowing each other's thoughts. He had no idea when they were getting home or even if they were going home.

He recalled the day they arrived here. The four of them had just returned from a bust and he was by his locker, stripping off his jumpsuit, knowing full well Janine was sitting at her desk, watching him. He knew when she watched him; her eyes glazed over slightly, and her face carried that far-away look.

Secretly, it thrilled him to know he was being watched. It never hurt anyone to be admired. He knew Janine felt strongly for him, but in truth, he was scared. He'd never been in a long-term relationship. The few he had ended quickly and abruptly. And usually more painfully for him than his partner.

The slight brush against his mind alerted him that Janine was on her way back. Quickly, he dropped his free thoughts and brought up the barriers he had constructed earlier.

Janine walked into the clearing, glancing briefly at him, then went towards the fire and started drying her hair. Egon frowned. That wasn't like her. She usually made a comment when she came back. Lately it had been about his calculations. He watched her, her back to him while she dried her hair. Something was troubling her.

Janine was drying her hair, her heart pounding. She knew he was watching her, but she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of turning around and looking at him.

Her nerves were frayed. Over a week of fighting her feelings and trying not to think about him. All it was getting her was a short temper. She was tired of hiding her thoughts from him. She was tired of singing stupid songs in her head. She wanted... no, scratch that, needed to daydream. She missed fantasizing about him while he was talking to her. She missed her dreams at night. She missed the off-colored comments she made under her breath.

I want my life back! she thought angrily.

Neither moved. Janine knew she thought that too loudly. It was too clear in her head. She heard the bushed rustle, and turned around.

Egon was gone.