The ambiance in the facility had degraded drastically over the following weeks.

The bloody walls and tiles had been cleaned but it didn't mean they had disappeared from minds, and 'I' wasn't the only one to have nightmares for days.

Employees had been globally traumatized by the recent events, some leaving the floor they were working in, others going into breaks.

An entire psychological ward had been created on the first floor, but it would be a long long work.

However, experiments had to stay in the 2nd floor, and they had special sessions for them, which were also interviews about the event to figure out what they actually knew.

Before all this, 'I' was a gentle boy, naive, curious, eager to learn.A boy that would be pleased and thankful easily, a happy one that thought he was the luckiest kid in the world. Now, there was always this feeling of profound sadness and asthenia marking his traits. He wasn't smiling anymore, was always frowning, lost in his thoughts.

How could he when he couldn't sleep, when the image of 'R' and his last words were haunting him. When the adults around him weren't able to face him, like how Ms Miller's forced smile. He had heard the woman crying in her office one day she didn't know he was here.

With all these depressing feelings around, it wasn't really easy to breathe and he was suffocating in this atmosphere.

It wasn't all, now the world he had always known was stranger to him. The certitude he had had been shattered before by 'R's words and actions, and all this repercuted on his relationship with Father.

Father...what was he really thinking? In hindsight, he realized the scientist didn't really seem more loving than Malsinger. Well, more gentler, but still distant with them.

He had never understood him to begin with, yet he trusted him so much, like if he was his sun.

The brunette had become wary of him and was always terrified to be in his presence, because he feared he would suspect him to know the truth.

But they had to go to their check-ups and eventually today, he was in his company, as he had always.

'I' tried to avoid his gaze, and refused to take his hand, but Father didn't look surprised. In fact, he smirked at this, saying nothing and letting the kid do as he pleased.

It's only when they arrived before the MRI room that he suddenly start speaking :

"You want to go outside as 'R' told you, right?"

Only one sentence, one simple concise question which startled the child. Round amber eyes went up to face the adult's piercing one and he noticed that Father seemed..playfull. It was the first time he had seen such expression on his usually impenetrable face.

'I' stared at him even when he broke eye contact to turn his back, letting the surprised boy in the hand of the neurologist and the MRI technicians.

xxxxxxx

Back to his room, 'I' had remained silent, concentrated.

Their short exchange had made the copper curl boy remember about the "conduit" that 'R' was talking about. He didn't know what it was, where it was, but from what he had understood...it could be a way out of here.

"Big brother 'I'? Are you okay? " asked 'P'. The tiny albinos wasn't really worried but intrigued, as his brother's face had lit compared to before he went with Father. He was actually happy to see 'I' getting out of his gloomy looks and curious about it at the same time.

They both looked at each other and if the older boy seemed to hesitate, he finally confessed, inviting him to sit near on the bed and whispering to his ears by fear of the cameras.

"'P'...You remember what 'R' told us.? He talked about a conduit. I want to find it."

The red eyes widened at the idea, and an excited smile soon plastered the little one.

"Oww, we are going outside?!"

"Shh 'P'! Quiet! The adults mustn't learn this…"

'I' disobeying was something so surprising that the 5 year-old frowned. The brunette regretted immediately having talked to him. Not that 'P' wasn't a great confidant and couldn't keep a secret, but he was too innocent yet to be involved.

'I' loved his brother the most, as well as 'R' did for 'C', and since the death of the 2 others, his goal was to protect him and may be...Free him. But he couldn't put him in danger or else, they might be separated and he wouldn't stand it.

That's why he paused, faced the pale kid and put his hands on his shoulders before telling him in a serious tone :

" 'P'. Listen ok, it is very important. Very very. The conduit might be our way out here, to see the outside, but I don't know where he can be and if it goes to the right place. If you find it, you have to tell me and….I will be the one going first, alone."

The small child grimaced at this and started whining.

"But I wanna go with you…"

"I know, me too 'P'! But it's too dangerous! What if they punish us if we fail? You don't want to be punished don't you? That's why I will go first to explore and be sure everything is ok. But I will be back for you, I promise!"

'P' nodded slowly to this, but deception was painted all over his face, breaking 'I's heart a little. He had never talked to him like this before, they had never argued about anything.

The slightly longer arms hugged the albinos tightly, and 'I' whispered.

"I promise you 'P'."

xxxxx

Eventually, his baby brother made up his mind and took his mission at heart. 'I' had shown him what a conduit's entrance looked like, as there was one in their room. But that one was unattainable.

So they searched, with more or less consciousness, each time they were to walk outside of their room and especially in places where the deceased boy had been.

Which was hard since the security had been enforced and some halls and corridors had been closed, like the toilet where Malsinger's body had been found.

And by security enforcement, it seemed there was now always a pair of guards before the room they were in.

There were two rooms that were the most likely to contain the passage : the Playroom and the Study room, as they had been common to all the experiments.

But even when they had more free time to search, they didn't find it. All the entrances they were finding were too high or small, and 'I' was starting to be desperate to find it after all, as one week had passed since then.

In all evidence, the conduit wasn't in a segment they were allowed to access, and with the guards and the agents that were to monitor them, there was no way they could sneak a little without being noticed.

The depressive appearance 'I' was displaying didn't escape Ms Miller's look, and one day, she invited him in her small office as she would sometimes when she wanted to talk in private.

Normally, it happened when she was making them official testing for the study. Sometimes, she would even offer them some drinks, let them draw.

That day, it was to cheer the boy up.

'I' sat at the usual place, on the wooden chair, one of the only one he ever saw in his life. The room itself wasn't made for an office, but the teacher was put there and she had to adapt it herself, making it cosy, odd looking compared to the rest of the building. There were more stimulating objects from the exterior, wall of a deep green, even some posters and photos of Ms Miller's family, along with a lot of papers, toys and other trinkets that were gifts.

Even the air sensed differently here, like a mix of old parchment and paint.

'I' really enjoyed that comforting place, and entering it did make him relax, although he wasn't sure he could trust Ms Miller.

She seemed however so honest and clueless sometimes, he wondered what she actually knew about all this.

The brown haired woman with a ponytail sat on the other side of the office, smiling gently to him and started to speak.

"How are you feeling 'I'? I know it has been quite difficult lately, and sad. I'm sad too, I can't even imagine that 'R'...did what he did.."

To his relief, she seemed to think his low morale was only due to the murder cases. Well, she wasn't completely wrong, but he was passing through this more than she was thinking. He didn't correct her though, looking down at his feet.

"You know..for me you are all like my second children. I wished I could invite 'C' more often here, like I did with you, 'R' and 'P'...If I can do anything for you, just tell me and..I will try to convince the administration to do so."

How he wished it was this simple! He so wanted to ask if they could go visit the outside world, but he couldn't phrase anything. He had to keep it a secret, even if he hated to hide something to the sweet woman who had seen him grow.

Seeing he was still silent, Ms Miller tried another approach :

"How about I make you a good hot chocolate like you love it? Don't move from here, I'm bringing a cup for you!"

She stood up, and exited the room, passing the security agents who closed the door, leaving the kid alone. He knew she was going to the employee's restroom and that she would take about 10 minutes to do so, so he stood up and started looking at all the funny objects, at the same time trying to find something useful.

And suddenly, he found it. It was just right there, the entrance to an old conduit just above a shelf he had never noticed before.

The place was indeed from the ancient part of the batiment and hadn't been restored. It was high, but it seemed possible to climb the shelf to access it.

Heart pulsing in his chest, the amber eyes went to the door before the child rushed to there, starting to climb the decorative shelf with precaution not to knock down objects on here.

Being smaller than 'R', the conduit's entrance arrived at the level of his head and shoulders.

The fence was originally fixed with four screws, but there was only one remaining.

With hurry, the boy grabbed it with his finger and tried to remove it, but it was still harder than he thought.

No, he couldn't fail there, right? Maybe in this place he would find something to remove the screw, even if all sharp objects had been removed….

But he wouldn't need that, as the brunette found the trick : he had to actually slip it with a little strength to lower the fence.

Here it was, the exit. He would almost cry at his discovery. Maybe 'R' had waited for this special occasion with Ms Miller to remove the screws, and slide into it.

Though, it would be quite narrow for the big guy.

Now that he had discovered the entrance, 'I' replaced the fence as it was, and got down as fast but discreet as he could. He had taken too long to actually go in there, and Ms Miller was to come back in one minute at most.

The occasion wasn't now….but it would come soon.

When the woman came back, 'I' was having conflicted feelings about nervousness and excitement he tried not to show. Fortunately, she wasn't as sharp as Father to detect lies.

"Here! Hope I wasn't too long! Be careful, it's still a little hot!"

He accepted gratefully the hot cocoa chocolate and finally smiled back at his teacher, as he was celebrating his success.

Now, he couldn't wait for the next time!