This one is also short like much of the others. The ending approaches! Now that it is getting serious, the end is growing close. If I were to predict how many chapters were left, I would say maybe two or three.


The air was stiff and toxic seeming as the group stepped out of the spa building. They all looked depressed and spooked. It was most evident on the faces of Max, Kai and Sumi. Even though they knew someone had been purposefully hurting them, the words and memories still stung.

"What are we going to do?" Sumi asked, arms were crossed down at her stomach, but in a hurt kind of way. Her eyes didn't sparkle like they usually did. Instead, they seemed hollow. Her shoulders were sagged down, as if they were too heavy to pick up. Max walked over and put an arm around her.

Kai tried to stand tall and look powerful to show strength to the rest of the team, but it was still evident on his face that he was also spooked. They just stood in the middle of the sidewalk, all trying to gather some strength.

"Why would they hurt any of us and what makes their research that important?" Toki let her black hair fall in front of her face so that no one would see the tears gathering in her eyes.

Hana cast her grey eyes up at the sky. Her pale skin glowed from the eerie light of the full moon. "They have reasons for their actions, I have no doubt. Even if they are actions we don't agree with, they must seem reasonable to them. Even Tyson, who was always a pain, was quiet. He kept his eyes glued to the ground.

They made their way back to the hotel and dragged themselves to their hotel rooms. They were unlocking the doors when Ray paused. "We had reservations to The Dish Diner, but you girls can go if you like, I don't think we feel like going out tonight."

It took a moment for the girls to realize what he was talking about. "Oh," Sada said with a pained look on her face, "We don't feel like going out either." They said their good nights and walked into their rooms. They separated the two beds between the five of them. Toki grabbed a spot by the phone and eyes it nervously.

Yumi, who doesn't really talk much, finally spoke up. "Are you okay, Toki?"

Toki looked at the phone a while longer and sighed. "That call I got yesterday was about my father. He has gotten very sick and I am worried about him. They said they would call if anything happened."

"So you are nervous that they'll call with bad news?" Hana asked. Lately, it had been hard for her to keep her face mostly clear of emotions. She was getting stressed, making it harder for her to look calm.

Toki nodded.

Sumi climbed into one of the beds. She was so emotionally exhausted, that she fell asleep almost right away.

Sumi looked all around her. She was once again surrounded by darkness. "Am I back in that machine?" Sumi asked looking around.

"Sumi?" She turned around to see Max standing behind her. He also looked concerned that it might be happening again. "Do you suppose that those freaks found a way to reach us in our sleep?"

"No, I think that the machine just had an affect on us. It is strange, though, that we are all sharing a dream. As they were talking a enormous picture appeared in front of them. It was of Max, in front of a dead body, crying.

Sumi was the first to react. She had a look of horror on her face. "What is this about?" She turned to look at Max. He looked at his feet in shame.

"That's my sister…Maria. I convinced her to take a dangerous shortcut home with me and some guy shot her." He continued to stare at his feet. As if on cue, the picture dissolved and one appeared. It began to move like a movie would. It showed them what happened.

Max dropped to his knees and began to cry. Sumi knelt down next to him and placed a hand on his back. That memory faded out of view and another appeared. It showed Kai's memory of his house burning down, and his parents along with it.

"That was when my house caught fire, and all I could do was stand there and watch." He didn't fall to his knees. His eyes seemed glued to the pictures playing in front of him. Soon his faded as well and another came.

It showed the picture of a young red head as she pushed with all her might at a boulder, but it wouldn't budge. Soon a truck came by and destroyed the boulder and the person under it. Max and Kai looked in horror from the memory to Sumi.

"This is your memory…isn't it?" Kai asked. He didn't need an answer. The look on Sumi's face said it all.

She buried her face in her hands. "That was my mother. I was too weak to get the boulder off of her in time. Once she had been crushed, she looked like some kind of monster. I'll never forget the look of horror on her face, and the retched form after. There was blood all over me," her muffled voice sounded tortured.

"I all three of us have memories that haunt us…" Kai said. With that the final memory faded like the others and they were left in the darkness.