(2) Why Do I Care?

Red lights spun outside the window, causing flashes in the living room, as the ambulance stopped by the front door. Peter put it in park & got out first. His partner, Hesam Malik, caught up to Peter as they reached the open door.

"Might be an attempted murder."

"Murder?" Peter instantly thought of Sylar. A moment later, he silently berated himself. What would Sylar be doing here even if he was on a killing spree?

"A stabbing," Hesam went on. "Two guys. One girl. You know the drill."

Lover's triangle. Definitely not Sylar. Peter forced himself to stop thinking of him so he could focus better on the task at hand. "We just need to get the survivors out. The place is a crime scene."

They entered to find two young men on the floor. Both bleeding & lying in a massive pool of their mixed blood. Each attendant went for one of the victims. Peter found his work was done before he could do anything for one was already dead. He pulled out a white sheet to cover the body, then went to his partner's side to help him set up the IV & get a stretcher ready.

"Where's the girl?" Peter asked.

"Locked herself in the bathroom," Hesam said. "Cops will want to question her."

"She won't do anything until she calms down," said Peter. "We should leave in two minutes. Think you can finish here?"

"Yup, but hurry, Peter."

Peter quickly went to the door & knocked on it. He heard her scream in fear. "I'm one of the medics. My name is Peter. You can come out now. It's safe!" The door opened a crack. Peter flashed her a quick smile. "Hi there," he began, suavely as if he thought he was Captain Kirk. "It's alright. You can come out."

She noticed his uniform & opened the door wider. "Is Jason alright?"

"I don't know yet," said Peter. "Only one survived. I covered the other body. The cops should be here by now. Go to the kitchen to talk to them there."

She slowly made her way to the kitchen as Peter hurried out to the ambulance & got into the driver's seat while his partner finished securing their patient inside. He was soon joined up front.

"Alright, let's go!" Hesam said. There was no need as Peter had already jumped on the gas & taken off. "Peter? I don't think he's going to make it."

"Yes he will!"

"Whoa, where are you going?" Hesam asked as Peter swerved off the main road.

"Short cut," Peter said. "Found it yesterday."

"Are you sure?"

"Very sure!" Peter was suddenly at the hospital & the next thing anyone knew, they were unloading their patient & half way through transferring him into the care of doctors.

"How did you know that little alley was even there?" Hesam asked once they were let off & had gone for some coffee.

Peter just sent him a crooked smile. "Believe me, you don't want to know."

"Yes I do," said Hesam. "I know there is something going on with you. Something weird. Has been for a long time."

"Nah, you're imagining it," Peter tried to move away.

But Hesam finally spoke his mind. "I've been your partner for a while. I've noticed you do stuff. Sometimes you move really fast. Like, you're just gone. A while ago, every patient we ever had ended up better than expected. I noticed how you had touched every one of them. Then that girl jumps off the Ferris Wheel the other day. You were there with some other guy."

"Wait what?" Peter gasped.

"I saw you with some friend of yours on a YouTube video," Hesam insisted. "It's only a few seconds but I think you both were watching her." He pulled out his phone & showed Peter.

It showed two guys walking together, stopping to watch something & then it swung over to Claire the moment she threw herself down. But there was no denying it. Peter could clearly see himself in that video for a moment & worse, Sylar also was on film. If Claire got her hands on this, Sylar would be ruined & never get his life back or meet Peter's special person who would keep Sylar sane. "Oh I need to make a call," Peter whispered to himself, thinking of Micah who had a telepathic link to machines. Micah could tell any machine to erase this clip.

"I've been hearing some stuff about that carnival," Hesam said. "They could do some strange things there. Then that earthquake destroyed it, but some say it was two guys who made the earthquake. Do you & your friend know anything about that?"

"Just passing through," Peter shrugged not bothering to mention that he himself happened to be one of those guys shaking up the ground. He had taken Samuel's earth shaking power to push the carnival owner down. "As you say, it's a carnival. Who knows how many acts they have? With the technology today, anything is possible." Peter decided then & there to thwart Claire any way he could, even if it meant she would kill him. "That girl jumping off, fake as well no doubt. You can do anything on film. I'm not too worried about it." He brushed it off, silently worrying over it so much that he was getting a headache.

"Alright," Hesam leaned back in the seat. "What were you two looking at if not a girl jumping off a Ferris Wheel?"

"Just fixing up the carnival lights," said Peter.

"Carnival lights," Hesam echoed in disbelief.

"Yeah Gabriel, that's my friend there, had put some up earlier," said Peter. "Only to come out to find the whole place in shambles. We were just staring at the mess. All of Gabriel's hard work, ruined. I'm going to get some more coffee," he went on in an attempt to change the subject. "Have you seen Emma around?"

"You got the hots for that girl, haven't you?" Hesam teased. Peter just glared at him. "Come on Pete, I know you. The guy with a different girl every month. Emma's turn now?"

"I do not have a different girl every month!" Peter defended.

"Bullshit," Hesam scoffed. "You're a regular Captain Kirk. Who's the last person you nailed?"

On a matter of technicality, that last person Peter nailed just happened to be Sylar, but it wasn't in a good way. Peter had used a nail gun to crucify Sylar to a sheet of plywood for killing Nathan & to top it off, the third nail he had shot into Sylar was rather quite indecently placed, but he didn't want to mention any of this to Hesam, or anyone else, for that matter; especially since it had happened right here at the hospital, high up in a construction zone of a new wing. "You're an idiot," Peter grumbled, making Hesam laugh. "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to refill my coffee."

"You do that," Hesam said, laughing harder than before.

"Officially throwing him under my ambulance," Peter complained as he walked away. He refilled his cup, turned & slammed into none other than Emma Coolidge, dumping the hot liquid all over her breasts. "Ohhhhhhhh my God!" Peter exclaimed. He made sure she was looking at him. "I am so sorry!" He over pronounced each word so she could read his lips as he reached out & grabbed every paper towel within reach. Without thinking, he began patting down her chest area with handfuls of paper towel. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see his stupid partner put his stupid face in one hand as he stupidly laughed through his stupid fingers. Peter shot him a dark classic 'pissed Petrelli' glare, all the while still dabbing away at Emma's scalded breasts.

Emma pushed Peter away & stepped into a small bathroom. She quickly tossed her shirt aside, grabbed more paper towel & soaked them in cool water before placing them on her burning skin.

Peter stood by the door, thumped on it a few times & started saying, "Emma, I'm really sor ... " He suddenly remembered. "She's deaf, you idiot!"

Emma opened the door a bit. She sounded out one word rather forcefully & clearly. "Jack ... et!"

Peter pulled off his dark blue Paramedic jacket & slipped it through to her. He mouthed the word sorry. Emma closed the door for a moment, then came out wearing his jacket while carrying her white coffee-stained shirt over one arm. Peter made the sign for the word sorry.

Emma put a hand up & signed back with: it's okay, never mind, before heading back to the coffee station. Peter gave her some distance to fill up & leave before going back to try refilling his own cup again. Once it was filled, Peter turned once more & this time, he took out Hesam! Fortunately, Hesam was still wearing the thick blue jacket so he did not get burned, but it was still soaked & stained now.

"Goddammit, Petrelli!" Hesam huffed, hurrying to the same washroom Emma used not even a moment before.

Peter tossed his empty paper cup out. "I'm not having any more coffee." He looked towards the tables to find Emma beckoning to him. He came over, hands held up. "I'm not drinking any more," he said slowly, keeping his eyes on her face. Her eyes were slightly down, reading his lips. She looked up at him, then turned away, snickering. Peter sat down across the table from her. While she was still laughing, he texted Sylar.

"Some days, I wish you did manage to kill me. Having one of those days right now."

"What happened?"

"I just took out Emma & my partner with coffee." Peter answered back. He sent another text explaining it. "Had my hands all over her boobs, too. (a shocked face icon followed this) Didn't even think. Now they both probably want to throw me under the ambulance."

There was a long moment before Sylar texted back with a simple "(a face palmed icon started this) Stay the hell away from me, Peter. You're literally starting to scare me! (a row of laughing icons followed this)"

Peter tossed the phone onto the table, muttering out loud, "Yeah, great friend."

Emma was staring at him. She signed a question: from the carnival?

Peter nodded. "That's Gabriel. Known him for years."

Emma signed slowly for him since he was still learning: I have never seen you with him before? Was he ever here?

"Once, last year," said Peter. He glanced around before switching to sign language, surprising Emma with his skill all of a sudden: In the construction zone up near the roof. I ... I crucified him.

"What?" Emma replied in her even monotone voice. She stared at Peter, surprised & confused. She thought the two men were always friends & Peter was not known to be violent. Little did she know.

Peter looked at his phone on the table between them, then glanced up at Emma before back down to his phone once more. He picked it up. Emma took out her own phone & they resorted to texting. No one could hear them now & no one could read hand signals from across the room.

"Why?" Emma texted.

Peter tapped for a while before clicking send. "There's no easy way to tell you this, so I'm just going to say it. Please don't freak out! Give me once chance to explain alright?" He noticed Emma watching him. She nodded so he tapped out some more text. He tapped so fast to get it over with that he started skipping the space button. "I nailed him forkillingmybrother."

Emma slapped the table top with her hand, gaining Peter's attention. He looked up at her, slowly shaking his head & mouthing the words 'don't freak' at her.

Her lips formed one word: Sylar.

Peter closed his eyes for a moment. Looking at Emma again, he held up a hand. "Calm down," he said slowly, pointing at their phones. "Let's go back here?"

Emma glared at him before bending her face to the phone, tapping furiously. "You sent Sylar to me? You are friends with him?!"

Peter waited for her to look up. "This will take a moment. Just wait but please read it all!" He started typing again. It was over a minute before Emma got the message & it took longer for her to read it.

"Yes & no. Sylar is the corrupted power. Gabriel Gray is his own worst victim dealing with it. His power was force-developed. It made him go crazy. It is a type of soul searching ability. He can look into you, see an ability, find cancer cells & aneurysms & can pull them out & remove them, even tell when someone is about to go on their menstrual cycle & watch an embryo develop into a baby. It can be quite fascinating if used correctly. It yearns for knowledge. It is a very strong urge, hard to control. I have had it myself once but no one knew & no one tried to test me on it to see what I would do. If he had been left alone & his power allowed to develop naturally, none of this mess involving Sylar would have happened. Gabriel has been trying to stop many times & I have seen a future where he succeeds. I'm trying to guide him towards that future. It will save a lot more lives, including his own. There is someone who does not exist right now who will keep him sane. I'm trying to figure out how to get that person. As to us being friends all of a sudden, I know just the other day, I was once more talking to you about wanting to kill Sylar for killing Nathan & hoping to find & stop him some day soon. That other day, to me & to him, was several years ago. We got mixed up with Matt Parkman. He can trap you in your worst nightmares. He did that to Gabriel whose worst nightmare is ending up alone. I took Mom's power & saw in vision that Sylar would save you. I went after him, took Matt's power & entered Sylar's mind to pull him out. We were stuck there for a while. An hour in the real world was like a year in the nightmare. We got out barely in time to come save you. During that time, I saw the man slowly recover himself as he had no connection to his abilities & no one else to kill. I intend to keep that man the way you saw him at the carnival. That was Gabriel who saved you while I held Samuel down, not Sylar & if I succeed, Sylar will never hurt anyone again. I know it's strange, even dangerous, but doing this will end the killing sprees & save everyone else. It's the only way! Also in that time, I practiced all the signs you taught me."

Emma reread it more than once before tearing her eyes away from the message. "You are crazy!" She finally spoke.

Peter put the phone aside & turned to signing things out: It is crazy I know, but think of everyone who would be spared from his attacks if I can keep him the way he is now.

Emma signed back with: that's a very big if, Peter.

"I know," Peter acknowledged, speaking & signing at the same time. "I've got to find out how to bring that one Gabriel needs into existence. Don't tell anyone right now. I need a little time. Please?"

Impressed with your signs, Emma started with hand signals before adding her voice to her own gestures, "But you are still crazy." She got up to leave.

Peter realized suddenly, he was going to lose her. He followed her, grabbing her arm to stop her. "Emma, if I abandon him now, he will go back to being Sylar. Just wait a bit."

"I have a power, Peter," Emma spoke again even though it was a bit hard for her. "It uses sound as light & calls others to you, like a siren. Something Sylar could use. You should stop him, any way you can, but I can not be with you. It is too dangerous if he has an accident & kills me. You understand?"

Peter knew she was right, but it was hard letting her go. "I know," he sighed, putting his hands around her face one last time. "In all of us Specials with all our different abilities, you just had to be the proverbial mermaid, didn't you?"

"I'm sorry."

"So am I," Peter petted back her hair. "Uh, sorry about that coffee." Emma laughed softly in spite of everything before turning away & walking briskly down the hall back to her office. Peter stood still, watching her leave.

In a few minutes, another doctor brought back his paramedic jacket. Peter took it just in time as a call for ambulances rang out. He headed for the parking lot. He asked Hesam to take the wheel instead this time as he couldn't focus well enough to drive at high speeds into a scene right now. Peter wondered if he would see Emma again. She was not in the same line of work as he was. She used to be a secretary here but before that, she had been a doctor & recently, she had returned to that field. Emma would still come down to the ambulance lunch room to visit him, but that was most likely over now.

His gut feeling was right. Emma did not return to visit him. Peter went through the next few days throwing himself into his work as before, doing two or three shifts at a time. He & Sylar still drifted into each other's apartments like they had done while stuck alone with each other & so far, there were no more scalping murders. But Peter still held out hope he could find the one whom he needed for Sylar but had no idea how to bring that person into existence yet.

The only luck he had was that Claire had gone back home for the moment, all the way back to California. He could see her being broadcasted sometimes, if he bothered to tune in, but so far, she worked in her area to bring the knowledge of people having super-powers into the public eye. Peter knew it was only a matter of time before she would move eastward. He did not yet know what would cause them to go their separate ways or turn her Villain but he felt that such an event was inevitable now.

But the thing that currently bugged him was Sylar. The killer used to have an unhealthy attraction for Peter's young niece, not just for her power but also her well-shaped body from being a cheerleader all her life. Sylar had been something of a 'yandere' about her, but now it was like Claire didn't exist for him. He had stopped talking about her completely & never bothered with her program. Peter eventually got up the nerve to ask Sylar about Claire but all Sylar said was that it had been a long time since he had stalked her & no longer had any interest in her. It left Peter wondering if that was a good thing, or a bad thing. He had a feeling that Claire was the key to the whole thing that would fix Sylar for good, but it seemed like they didn't even exist for each other any more. Peter often felt as if he had done several steps taken forward, while thinking about fixing everything, but then sleepwalking back again. He was back to square one as his high hopes of saving Sylar were crushed, once more.

Peter focused on his job, picking up more shifts than he should. He kept himself occupied to keep his mind off Claire, going for over a day without sleep at times. His mother yelled at him. His partner yelled at him. Sylar eventually threatened to kill him if he didn't stop to take a break or at least take the Regen before something happened.

"No thanks," Peter put his hands into his pockets to avoid touching Sylar. He felt a piece of folded paper there he didn't remember putting in. "I need the speed so I can get there faster if the ambulance gets stuck in traffic. Hesam can drive it while I run fast. Do you know how hard it was to find Edgar after he took over the carnival from Samuel & moved it? Took me ages!"

"Your hysterectomy isn't for another four months," Sylar replied. "You can take Regen for now & swap it out before the surgery. If something happens to you & you don't have the Regen, you could die. Or I could lose it on your sorry ass & kill you."

"I'll be fine," Peter said, ignoring the somewhat empty threats. "I don't intend on dying on you any time soon. How are you doing, anyway?"

"I'd be better if I wasn't worrying about you so much," Sylar complained. "It was easier when I wanted you dead."

"You'll be fine this time, I know," Peter assured. He glanced at his pager. "I better get this one & then I'm done for a bit. I've picked up too much overtime after this & the hospital isn't going to allow more until next week."

"So a day off & then you're right back to it," Sylar rolled his eyes.

"Pretty much," Peter said as he opened the door & sped out, causing a soft wind wafting through Sylar's apartment. He arrived a moment later at Mercy Hospital & went inside. In the hallway leading to the ambulance parking lot, he paused for a moment to read the note. It was from Emma, telling him not to overwork himself. Peter sighed in slight annoyance but put her last note to him in the drawer of the main desk in the office near where the ambulances were parked to take home later.

"Always the over-achieving Hero," Sylar muttered to himself as the door slightly closed in Peter's wake. Considering the super-sonic speed that Edgar had which Peter was currently on, it was highly plausible that Peter was already near his ambulance several blocks away before Sylar's door even had time to fully close. Sylar soon went out to eat, then went to Peter's apartment to wait. He planned to make sure Peter took that day off.

It was another long noisy night. Sylar stretched out across Peter's bed, trying to sleep. It had only been a couple of weeks since that strange day & both were still trying to get used to a full city. When he suddenly woke up, it was late the next morning. Peter still hadn't returned.

Sylar waited a while more before attempting to call Peter but there was no answer. Lunch time came & went but the medic did not return the call or show up at home. Sylar suddenly turned & marched out onto the balcony. He flew away to the hospital, landed in the back & walked in, looking for Peter. It was as if he had walked into a war zone.

The hospital was busy with a surplus of patients being brought in one after another. Sylar looked over the ambulances, but didn't find Peter among the other attendants. He slipped quickly through the halls, lined with gurneys on one side, each with someone on them & soon found Emma among the doctors. She turned right into him as he came to her.

"Where is Peter?" Sylar asked slowly, making sure she saw him.

"I do not know," Emma backed away.

Sylar grabbed her arm & made her look at him once more. "He did not come home. What happened?"

Emma glanced at the patients as if looking for a way out, away from him. "An accident," she told him at last. She went on to say that a massive pile up involving vehicles on an overpass & down on the road below had been caused by an ambulance out of control. She had not seen Peter for a while either & no one had heard from him or had any contact. Emma stepped back from Sylar once more. "Peter is currently listed as missing, but he might be ..." She could not finish.

"No," Sylar shook his head. "I will find him!" He turned away from her & entered into the confusion of misplaced gurneys & scurrying doctors.

Sylar moved through the new patients just arriving, looking for Peter. He did not bother to check the previous ones or the morgue here yet for Emma would have had a record of it if Peter had been here before now. But try as he might, Sylar could not find Peter anywhere. He looked through the hospital for over an hour, waiting on each ambulance as it came & went. But the rush died down without any news of his enemy-turned-friend. Sylar headed outside & flew away over the city once more. Somehow, he just knew Peter was in that mess.

The accident was easy to locate with the black smoke billowing up. Sylar landed behind a group of rescue workers. If Peter was alive, this would be where he was. Sylar Shape-shifted to look like one of the medics & moved into the safe zone looking for Peter. He came across one ambulance that was on its side but it was not from Mercy Hospital. There had been three ambulances involved, two were from Peter's hospital. After a thorough search, Sylar realized that Peter was not here with the other medics & rescuers.

His next move was to go to the other hospital that was now taking in survivors. Peter might have been brought in there instead. Sylar Shape-shifted once more, now as a doctor instead of a paramedic, & grabbed a nearby white coat. He slipped through the sterile halls, checking lists for the Petrelli name while scanning over anyone brought in. But there was nothing for him to find & by now, Sylar was, oddly, beginning to worry. He knew Peter had Edgar's speed, not Regen. He kept telling himself that Peter could easily use his speed to run away but at the same time, he knew Peter wouldn't just disappear unless something was wrong. Sylar's options were dwindling down to one thing. He left the hospital, returned to the area of the accident & headed into the smoke. Peter had to be in the pile of rubble.

Sylar came across half an ambulance from Mercy Hospital. It was dangling over the edge of the overpass. The front end was down below in the fires raging through the smashed cars. The collision had happened on the overpass, sending cars off the edge to the road below & causing more crashes. Sylar quickly touched the part of the ambulance that was still hanging on to the broken railing. He had Clairsentience, an ability that told the history of who or whatever he touched. This was not Peter's ambulance. Sylar moved through the wreckage, feeling more than seeing through the dense smoke. It took a while to go through & quickly touch everything he could, trying to find Peter's trail.

From above, Sylar could see down into the highway below. A burning pile was right under him. To the side of the road, he could see a row of covered bodies. He dropped down, the ashen air covering him. He slowly walked over to the rows of white sheets. Quickly, he slipped one hand under. Death didn't bother him. He was Death in human form. He let the ability rise up through him, whispering to him. This was not Peter. Sylar moved to the next one & the next.

It took him all day to go through everything he could touch. He returned that night to Peter's apartment, half-expecting him to be there, hoping he would be, knowing he wouldn't be. Sylar jumped at his own reflection as he saw himself in the hallway mirror. He was black, covered in soot & ash from the billowing smoke of the wreckage that had involved over a hundred cars.

He used Peter's shower, then went to the living room & sat down on the couch. The TV was still covering the disaster. The black smoke was slowly dissipating, but cleanup couldn't even start until the fires were completely out. He fell asleep on the couch late in the night.

He woke up too late for breakfast. Checking the TV that was still on, he could see that the commotion had died down & cleanup was well underway, but there was still no word from Peter. Sylar knew that if he survived, he would stay to help. But Peter wouldn't leave everyone hanging either. Sylar had tried calling Peter earlier yesterday but with no answer or return call. There was a possibility Peter had lost his phone in the mess & just didn't have time right now & Sylar clutched at that thought like a drowning man grabbing a lifesaving rope.

He couldn't understand why. He had wanted Peter dead since the day they first laid eyes on each other. This ridiculous friendship between the killer & the medic was unexplainable. But though he tried to not think about it, the fact that Peter had not taken Regen was firmly lodged in his head. He refused to accept it & late that afternoon, Sylar was once more Shape-shifting to make himself less noticeable as he went through first Mercy Hospital & then the other one down in the center of Manhattan, checking over the rest of the survivors for Peter. There were few left to find & none were the one he was looking for.

It was another late night for Sylar when he went back to Peter's apartment. He insisted on using this one in the off chance Peter did return. This time, he didn't sleep at all & he spent the next day alone in the apartment. Sylar only stepped out once for something to eat but found that for the first time in a long time, he wasn't all that hungry. Sylar lay back on Peter's couch, trying to fight off the reality that Peter was mostly like not going to come home. Sylar wasn't ready to accept that yet.

It was another sleepless night.

Sylar stood silently in front of the main entrance to Mercy Hospital the next day, Shape-shifted to look like someone else. He knew Peter was not among the survivors. It was time now to check the morgues. He quietly went inside & moved quickly through the corridors. He found the list for the morgue & skimmed through it. Petrelli, Peter was not there. He knew it might not mean much. There were several Janes & Johns that had been too charred to be recognizable. There was also the other hospital to check. But not seeing the name listed among the dead offered Sylar some strange relief. He went inside & headed for the trays to check all the unknowns by touch. Each time he slipped his hand inside a drawer, he expected to find Peter & go home in a few minutes after finding his answer.

But the minutes turned to hours & Sylar went through the whole morgue without locating Peter. He walked out into the night & switched his likeness back to himself as he walked the short way to Peter's apartment building. Washing his hands, Sylar was starting to feel slightly confused. Was his friend alive or not? There were two other places Peter could be if he wasn't. The morgue at the downtown hospital, or perhaps a pile of ash if he had ended up in the middle of the rubble under the pass. But if he had survived, where was he?

Sylar was finally able to crash a bit that night, though he didn't sleep for long. He spent the fourth day after the accident, looking through the morgue of the second hospital. It was a longer, harder job for most of the unknown dead ended up in this one. He returned to his lost friend's apartment empty handed & by now, Sylar was resigned to the fact that Peter had to be dead. This brought on another problem for Sylar.

Without Peter, Sylar knew he would slip up & lose control. He would go back to killing. Peter had been his only hope, the only one who had an innocent view of him despite everything Sylar had put him through. The only one who had any faith in him not only getting control of himself, but also hanging on. No matter what, Peter had always been there for him, until now. It hit him hard & sudden. He was alone for real now. His nightmare was now his life but it had come alive in a most peculiar way in the loss of his worst nemesis. He wavered on the floor & went to his knees. Without Peter, Sylar was just a killer. He stayed there on the floor for a long time, feeling light-headed. Since it was an emotional shock, his Regen didn't pick it up so he had to wait for it to pass before getting up again.

As dawn came, Sylar took one last look around the apartment. His eyes fell on the mantel over the fireplace. A long shard of glass that had some red staining on the sharper end was perched on a small stand there. Sylar touched it with one finger. It was the same shard of glass Sylar had tried to kill Peter with so long ago when they first met. The stupid idiot had kept it! Sylar took it down, wrapped it & put it into his pocket. The glass shard was the only thing he would take from here. He supposed Angela would want the rest. She was probably waiting for him to leave so she could come in safely.

Sylar left Peter's apartment for the last time. He walked this time, slipping down streets he used to stalk people on. He passed by more than one place where he had killed someone & left their body but he barely registered what he was seeing. Peter was gone & somehow, some way, Sylar missed the medic's presence. He was used to having Peter around & only Peter, being stuck together for ages. Even if it was just a mind warp, it still held some meaning.

But now the loud bustling city closed in on him. Sylar reached his door, found something taped there & pulled it off as he went inside his own place. He looked around the small space, deciding to leave this behind as well. He no longer liked the city. Too loud & busy. At the same time, it felt empty. Peter no longer walked these streets with him.

Sylar ran one hand through his hair. "Why do I care so much about that damn medic? I wanted him dead barely a month ago, remember?" He shook his head & went around to find his wallet & a few other things to take. He put his phone on the table next to the note he had yet to read. He could be tracked with that thing on him. Sylar wanted to leave everything behind & hang on for as long as possible for Peter's sake but he could only do that if he got out of the city & soon. The urge to kill someone was already growing strong again. He checked the pocket where the long glass shard, stained with Peter's blood, rested, slipped the case for his glasses into the jacket pocket he put on, then glanced at the old Sylar watch, forgetting it didn't work for a second.

The old Sylar watch still bore a long crack over its glass surface & its insides were dented. He could fix it easily but he left it like this as a reminder. This was the watch he had been working on when he made his first kill. It gave him his killer alias. It was like a scar of something that he could easily become if threatened or cornered. A monster! He headed for the door, remembered something else & went back to the table to get the note.

Gabriel, there is someone in the hospital in downtown Manhattan looking for you. She lost her phone in the accident & doesn't have your number anymore, so called me at Mercy Hospital to send you the message. She is in room 307 of the fourth floor waiting for you. She says you can help her.

Emma

Sylar stared at the note. What woman would still have his number in her phone? He didn't feel like helping anyone either. He had to leave soon. But Peter would have gone to see her. Sylar rolled his eyes, wondering for the umpteenth time, why he cared about what Peter would think of him.

High Hopes by Pink Floyd, covered by Nightwish