A/N: Thanks for the reviews:

NG: I hope you'll also like this chapter and I also hope you'll update your fanfic 'Survival' soon :-)

Thanks to my other, but anonymous, reviewer. Do you have a better summary for this fanfiction, since you had to convince yourself to read it. Suggestions welcomed.

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Chapter 2

"Good work, Jarod." Sydney laid his hand on the boy's shoulder, before he looked up to the glass door, where Miss Parker stood. She was leaning with her back against the wall next to the entrance. "Seems someone is waiting for you. You can go now."

Before the psychiatrist could turn away, the boy stopped him. "Emm, Sydney. I have a question."

"What is it, Jarod?"

"Do you know, who gives the orders for the sims, Sydney?" Jarod looked directly in his mentor's eyes.

"The Tower does."

"And who is the Tower?"

"Few people who are running the Centre. The Tower's chairman is Miss Parker's father, Mr. Parker." Informed Sydney, confused about the boy's sudden interest in that subject.

"So, Mr. Parker knows about all sims and projects and their purpose?"

Hesitating a second the doctor answered. "So it is, Jarod. … Why this question?"

Jarod shrugged "Just so. I just wondered." With that the boy turned around and went to the door and his waiting friend.

When he opened the door and saw Miss Parker's face, he knew she had heard every word. He gently took her by the arm and led her away to a vent entrance. They crawled some metres into the small tunnel and the girl sat down.

Jarod sat next to her. "You heard what Syd said."

She just nodded and swallowed hard. After some minutes she finally began speaking. "Yesterday evening, at home…. Daddy and I were watching News on television… and they brought pictures of hundreds of people dead or injured… because of an explosion of a fireworks warehouse somewhere in Mexico…. They showed the corpse of children of the school next to it and their mothers crying. I said how sad that is, but Dad just answered that's how the world is… and that those incidents would antagonize the world's overpopulation." The girl looked up, tears streaming down her face. "And Daddy's eyes were cold, when he said that. …. How can someone say something so cruel, Jarod? And really mean it?" Sobbing she hugged her legs, burying her red face in her knees.

Jarod watched her for a moment, her desperate tears saddening him. Then he reached his hand out to her and began gently stroking her back, unable to say anything to comfort her.

Minutes past and her sobs subsided to mere whimpers. She looked up and her red and puffy eyes met the pretender's ones. Her voice was steady and emphatic. "Dad is able to order the sims to kill people. … Who is my father?" She desperately searched for her answer in the boy's brown eyes, but found only sadness in them. The brunette knew, this particular sadness was always evident in Jarod's eyes, even when he laughed. Normally she would look the other way, pretending to not see it – but now she couldn't turn away from her only friend in the world – not any more – not after what her father had done.

Her hand reached for his face, cupping his warm cheek. "You miss your parents, Jarod, don't you?"

Immediately his eyes searched his lap. It was the first time Miss Parker had mentioned his parents, his soft spot. His voice was unsteady, almost cracking. "My parents are dead." Jarod was surprised to feel the girl's hand slip down to his chin and slowly lifting his head. He was even more astonished to see her former tear streamed featured plastered with a light promising smile.

"Who, told you this? Sydney? The Centre? Have you seen their dead bodies with your own eyes?"

Jarod slowly shook his head.

"Then, why do you still believe they are dead? Maybe it's a lie. A lie like everything else here at the Centre." Miss Parker's smile grew, when she saw something new in his eyes – hope.

Jarod watched the pretty features of the girl before him and pondered her words. Something inside him felt lighter than ever before. It dawned him that she might be right, that the red haired woman he sees in his dreams was still alive – somewhere out there in the world.

The brunette saw many different emotions creep on the boy's face, then noticing his jaw tighten, she knew he had something in mind. "Jarod, what are you planning?"

Cautiously the young pretender began crawling down the dark tunnel, deeper into the viscera of the Centre, signalling Miss Parker to follow him. When he finally reached a place he considered as save from the secret ears and eyes, that were hidden everywhere, he sat down and whispered in a low voice, Miss Parker had a hard time to even hear. "I'm going."

"Going?!" Her puzzlement disappeared from her features and her eyes widened, when she understood the meaning of his words. "You are leaving The Centr-" Before she could finish her sentence, his hand was over her mouth.

"Shhh. Whisper." Jarod removed his hand, since she had calmed down from her shock. "Yes."

"But you can't… where are you going to go?" She felt panic rise in her body, her stomach began to hurt. "You don't know the world outside the Centre."

"Then I will learn the world to know." Jarod kneed direct in front of her, roaming her face with his eyes. "I'm going to search for my parents."

"But…"

Recognising some of the many emotions on the girl's features as fear and worry, he wanted to make her understand his decision. "Parker, I helped killing people, innocent children and their parents. I'm not going to help the Centre murder more. I can't stay here."

Deep in thought the girl turned away, facing the metallic wall of the vent. After a while Jarod could hear a light 'When' slipped from her lips.

"Soon." Considering the sim schedule, he knew he must escape before next week's end. "Next Thursday. Then The Tower will have its weekly meeting and Raines would be out of view for at least 9.30pm. Syd usually leaves between 7pm and 7.30. So I would have two hours to get as far away from The Centre as possible." He saw her shoulders stiffen and placed his hand on one of them, but she remained starring at the wall. Sighting he moved closer and slung his arms from behind around her body, feeling the same she felt. "I don't wanna leave you, but I have no other choice. …You showed me already so much. I want you to know, you are my best friend and I will never forget you."

Not wanting to see her cry again, Jarod moved back and crawled down the duct. Only some metres in the tunnel he suddenly felt something grasp his ankle. Confused the boy turned around, only to see Miss Parker's grip at his foot. When his eyes searched for hers, she answered in her best confident voice. "You are not going to leave me behind."

"What?!" he scowled himself for his loud outburst and gazed bewildered at his friend.

The brunette slipped closer to the pretender, no tears evident on her face. "I'll come with you."

"But…"

"Are you saying you would leave me in my father's care – in the hands of a killer." Her voice cracked and her eyes were glittering, as she said the last word.

He eyed her face for a moment, seeing the resolve and pain, that made his heart ache. "OK. But you have still time to reconsider."

"There is no reconsidering."

Jarod thought for a moment and crawled down the opposite direction. "Come, Miss Parker."

"Jarod?!"

"We have to find Angelo. We can't leave him here in Raines' hands."

A smile appeared on the girl's face and she followed him.

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The last days had past like nothing and it already was the evening before Thursday. Jarod was now glad to have Miss Parker on his side and helping him. It made some things much easier to have someone smuggling almost everything needed into the Centre.

The three of them sat in their favourite place around a map of Blue Cove. The pretender moved one of his fingers from one spot of the paper to another, telling the plan once again. "Angelo and I will escape the Centre through the vent system at 7.50pm. The way to you will take us approximately 20 minutes. You will leave your father's house at 8pm and walk to the meeting point at Oak Drive. From there we'll go together to the bus station in downtown and take the coach to Cleveland that departs at 9.03pm. Don't forget the money, the bag with the clothes and food and the DSA player."

"I still don't get, why you want my Dad's DSA player, Jarod?" Miss Parker frowned and Angelo's gaze wandered from one of his friends to the other and back.

"Just take it." Somehow he didn't want her to know about his little stop in the Centre DSA archive in the time between 7.30 and 7.50. "If something goes wrong and we won't make it to you until 9 pm, you have to go back to your house, before your father comes home from the Tower meeting."

"Understood, sir." Miss Parker saluted, but couldn't oppress a grin. It was the third time that day he had told her that. She watched him folding the map and handing it back to her. Immediately she plunged it in her skirt's waist band and put her sweater over it. She gave both boys one last look, before she turned to leave the vent. "Good luck. And don't be late."

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A/N: If you want to read about their escape and Jarod learning to know the world outside the Centre, then PLEASE REVIEW. Reviews make me happy and when I'm happy I'll write…