Noah woke up as he had done for the last four days, unsure if any of his dreams or nightmares were clues or simply remnants of a bad night's sleep. Seeing as how they would drift off minutes after he had woken up, while the two dreams he had had about Doctor Evans and Sullivan's death were still fresh on his mind, Noah supposed that he was just struggling to sleep.

He followed through his usual morning ritual, marking off the days on the calendar that had been haphazardly sellotaped back together, before staring into the mirror in his bathroom. He was looking healthier every day; when he lifted his shirt, his bruises were fading. The marks on his face were going too. Gingerly, he slowly peeled off the white patch against his eye and stared at it with his one remaining. It was strange – with his eyelid closed, other than a slight concave in the skin – it looked as if there was nothing wrong with it. When he opened it, he could stare into the hole where the eye had once been.

It was a strange experience.

Noah had started noticing effects now that he was in Hearthome. He would sometimes veer off when he walked, he would go to grab a glass of water and his hand would go in the completely different direction. The doctors that had treated him warned him that something like this was going to happen, but Noah was finding it quite a bit of a struggle.

He was also finding it a struggle to wrap his head about the list and that it was happening all over again. He had somewhat come to terms that it was happening and even wasn't feeling too shocked over the deaths of Doctor Evans and Sullivan. He suspected they might be haunting his frequent nightmares, but otherwise he was able to go day-to-day, keeping himself going, just like always.

Strangely, his fear and apprehension of the day not being a real day seemed to have disappeared somewhat since the List started. It was as if being on the List gave him something to think other than the usual reflections on what his reality truly was. When he had his breakdown – waking up and seeing the day was not the one he had marked – that really had hurt him.

Robyn had been spending the last couple of days in the library, searching (fruitlessly, Noah suspected), for information about the company Jason worked for. If she could find information about that, it would be good to know, but the chances of them leaving any trace in Hearthome of all places, where they clearly had some semblance of control, was slim. Noah had been spending his days inside his own dorm room, finally picking up the dusty books that were sitting in the corner of his room.

They had been selected when he had first arrived at Hearthome, as recommended reading to help with his thoughts and encourage him to think about something other than his own mind, but Noah had always put reading the books off – after all, why read a book if the actual action of reading was never going to happen in the first place? Learning meant nothing if the day was lost.

It was the same for this day: Noah prepped the pillows on his bed against the wall, sat down, and simply read.

And it was nice.

Losing himself into these worlds that Doctor Evans had chosen was wonderful. In fact, it made him wish he would have listened when he first arrived. Who knew that what the doctor suggested would actually have been useful? Noah couldn't help but smile wryly to himself at the thought.

But at his read, a thought occasionally slipped into his mind. The request that Jason had been talking about from him, John, and Lily. Noah himself hadn't really spoken to John who as always kept to himself, and after Jason had said it could wait, Noah wasn't certain whether he ought to seek the man out or wait for Jason to seek him out.

That indecision had remained for the days that had passed since, but Noah had finally decided to go seek out Jason in the administration building. He wanted to know whatever it was Jason wanted to ask, and he wanted the distraction. If he could be useful, that would surely help.

The afternoon was approaching as Noah finally made a move after finishing the third book from his shelf. The temperature was now warm, although the blue sky was still cloudy, and the storm had fully passed. There was still the occasional puddle but otherwise it seemed the weather was getting much better than Hearthome had seen in a little while.

As he walked across the yard, he was nearly bowled over by Paulie, an orderly Noah had little interaction with. His face was a mask of shadow and what looked like serious anger or perhaps fear? Whatever the case, he disappeared around the corner of the dormitories, muttering to himself.

"Noah."

Noah turned to see Jason walking down from the administrative building. He was dressed more casually than he had been, in a simple button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. The dog tags were still visible though, tucked under the collar of the shirt. A pair of reflective sunglasses covered his eyes, glinting from the sunlight. It was strange to see him dressed in anything other than the black garb he and his people wore.

"How are you?" Jason said, clapping Noah on the back in a surprisingly hearty manner. He leaned close to Noah's ear. "Just pretend I'm a doctor checking on your eye if anyone asks." Drawing back away, Jason steered Noah away from the direction of the administrative building and towards the Rec-Zone. "It's time to ask my request of you."

"Alone?" Noah asked. "Where are your guards?"

"Staying put at the administrative building. I told them I didn't want them scaring the residents in the Rec-Zone. Berlin put up a little bit of a fight but well," Jason flashed a surprisingly charming grin. "I am their boss at the end of the day." The grin disappeared as soon as it come. "Anyway, we're going to go find John and Lily. Come, come."

Jason led Noah through the entrance to the Rec-Zone, into the bustling crowd within. "Take a look around," Jason whispered. "Take in what you see. Does anything look odd?"

Noah was confused, but followed Jason's instructions. He cast his gaze across the busy Rec-Zone, starting at the cafeteria near the entrance. A lot of people were seated, finishing off their lunches. Noah spotted Owen sitting at one of the benches, no doubt waiting on Penelope who was ordering food from Morris' station. Noah was happy they were eating by themselves. He and Robyn had been eating with Penelope and Owen recently, but Noah had noticed that he and Robyn seemed to take the attention away from the friendship that Owen and Penelope no doubt had. Across the cafeteria he could see a few residents hanging about alone by the walls. The mute Gracie was scribbling away on a piece of paper, sitting amongst many different drawings that surrounded her on all sides. Gracie was someone who had been in Hearthome nearly as long as Noah himself. There were other residents that Noah recognised who he saw on an occasional basis who lived on the same hallway as him, and there were two orderlies on either side of the Rec-Zone: The blonde and pale Nadia with bright lips and the heavy-set Dave were on duty.

"What am I looking for?" Noah asked.

"Nothing in particular. It's a good habit to keep eyes open," Jason's head wasn't particularly moving but Noah could tell he was scanning the room himself. "Ah, there's Lily. Weird, she's not with John." He looked to Noah. "So I'm told John is at Cynthia's hair salon. Can you go find him, and I'll go get Lily?"

"…Okay." Noah nodded, still utterly confused. Jason headed off in the direction of Gracie and her multitude of drawings before turning away and heading to the back of the Rec-Zone.

He opened the door into the back hallway just as another door opened a couple of doors down and a couple of voices were heard from the doorway – one clearly John, the other belonging to a woman.

"It's been good working on you John. I haven't had a job quite like that in a long time. Not aching after that?"

"Five hours is nothing. Passed by in the blink of the eye."

"And you're definitely happy with it?"

"I'd tell you if I wasn't."

"True, you're nothing if not honest. Your wonderful reviews of my music tell me that much."

"Country is just a bunch of people pretending they're God's great gift. Who wants to hear about cattle ranching and pig farming and whatever the hell it is they sing about."

"I'm not going to argue with you again, I know I'm not going to win that fight."

Noah was actively surprised at the tone of John's voice. He hadn't known John for very long, but he knew enough to know that John was surly, gruff, and generally didn't show much emotion. Even when he had offered his help to Noah in that hallway, he hadn't seemed particularly energetic. But his voice now was almost foreign in its happy tone.

"…This was good for me, Cyn."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I'm… not the easiest person to talk to."

"Well, we talked for five hours, John. It seemed pretty easy to me." There was a light feminine chuckle. "But I know what you mean. I may be a hair dresser, but I'm also an orderly. Like I said when we first met, I care about the residents of Hearthome. I'm glad I could have helped in some way. Come back in a week, same time, and I'll tidy you up again."

"That would be… a good thing. Thank you, Cyn."

"See you again, John."

"See you."

Noah watched as John backed out of the doorway with a wave, his long gangly frame moving with almost a pep in his step. As he turned, Noah couldn't help but be surprised.

John was smiling widely, the left hand side of his face lit up with no sign of sadness, irritation, anger, or the other myriad of downbeat emotions Noah had seen on John's face. His mouth was open to a grin, his eye was crinkled at the corners, and his eyebrow was high as John smiled.

The smile was so strange on John's face that it took Noah a moment to even recognise the two other differences of the tall man. One was that his face was entirely clean shaven, and his scarred right-hand side was entirely on display, from chin to forehead. Noah could make out every detail of the vicious burns spread across John's face.

The second was John's hair. There was no hair covering his face and it was swept completely backwards, falling in a curtain to just beneath his shoulder blades. With his hair styled as it was before, Noah hadn't realised the length of it. However, it wasn't just that which was surprising, it was that the right-hand side of John's hair was dyed a shocking blue at the roots, fading into orange as it curved over his head, and brightening up to yellow and finally ending in white ends. It was as if the right-hand side of his face was basked in fire, stark against the pure black of his hair on the left side, with no colour to it at all.

The smile froze on John's face as he finally saw Noah and for a moment he looked like a schoolboy caught doing something he shouldn't. The smile slipped away and the familiar taciturn face returned.

"Noah," John nodded.

"Hello." Noah said. John walked over, the right side of his hair flickering like candle-light, the permanent stretched skin of his skeletal mouth gleaming. "I… Um… Jason wanted to tell us his request. He's gone to get Lily."

"Huh." John blinked, confused, and looked around the hallway. "She's not here… I didn't even realise." Then his eyes narrowed to behind Noah. "Speak of the devil."

Jason slipped in beside Noah silently, and Noah felt the cold of Jason's fingertips against the nape of his neck. Just like that Lily appeared – she had obviously walked in front of him without his knowing. She was standing in front of John, simply staring, no words coming out of her face as she took in John's new look.

"Sorry, I was a little longer than I thought-"

"Hey, sorry I didn't wait for you, lost track of time-"

Both Lily and John stopped, their words interrupting the other. Lily seemed almost embarrassed, while John's expression was a little more complicated for Noah to decipher.

"That's impressive, John," Jason said with a nod. "But I need to talk to all three of you now I've got you. We can talk about frivolities later. Come, follow me."

The strange silent group walked down the hallway towards the end of the special rooms at the back of the Rec-Zone. Jason took the lead, practically side-by-side with Noah. His hand was still on Noah's neck and Noah had a creeping sensation that it wasn't just for the benefit of being able to see Lily. He was holding him almost protectively, like a toy he didn't want to lose. Behind them was John and trailing a little behind John was Lily, who was almost dragging her feet.

Jason led them to the final door and all four of them filed into a cupboard full of brooms, mops, cleaning fluid, and various other janitorial equipment. Jason closed the door, took off his glasses and leaned his back against it, using his foot to pull a step-stool underneath Noah, motioning him to sit down. Noah sat, Jason's touch lightly on his neck. John leaned against the far wall, arms crossed, scarred face staring at Jason, while Lily sat down cross-legged in the corner, her gaze bouncing from John to Jason as if she couldn't decide what was more important to focus on.

"Cozy," John said.

"Private," Jason replied. "Look, I've been putting it off. I've been… hesitant because of the mental health implications of what I am going to say. Johann suggested that the sooner I tell you the better but… Hearthome is a hospital first and foremost. In particular you, Noah, who is directly a patient, as opposed to John whose case is a little more special. The last thing I want is to cause any issues in your recovery and recuperation when it comes to up here." Jason tapped his head.

"I was going to look for you today anyway," Noah said, his voice somewhat muted in the constrained environment.

"Did you have a vision about Imogen?" Jason asked sharply.

"No, no, I was going to ask you about the request," Noah said. "I haven't had any clues or anything yet."

"Strange…" Jason sighed, looking around the room. "Imogen Banks hasn't been seen since her first session with Johann four days ago. I know she has a… history of attitude, but she hasn't returned to her sleeping quarters as far as anyone else can tell."

"Maybe she left Hearthome?" Lily suggested.

"Not possible. She couldn't get through the gates even if she tried."

"You guys certainly are keeping us all penned up here," John said. "Where's your entourage?"

Jason sighed. "Look. In my line of business, trust is a very important thing. I trust my companions. They have sacrificed personally for me, and my life has literally been in their hands. They are family. But I need to keep this request of mine as much of a secret as I possibly can, and on further reflection, I cannot be certain that the administrative building is safe. I think it was a good thing I delayed my request until now."

"So hit us with it," Lily said. "Stop beating around the bush."

"Fair enough." Jason leaned forward and looked at each of the other three in the room, to Lily, to John, and finally to Noah. "Hearthome has been infiltrated by a group of seven people."

"The masks," John said simply, his hand absently going to his chest. "It's about time you talked about them. What do you know?"

Noah had heard a lot about the masks from Robyn. He knew what had happened that night with Sullivan, when they had taken Ollie. Noah was just grateful that Robyn hadn't got hurt.

"The Department has had their suspicions of infiltration for quite a while. Hearthome is valuable to people that mean the Department ill will. I cannot go into the specific values so do not even attempt to ask me. Let's just say that Hearthome is home to weapons that enemies could want."

"Weapons?" Lily narrowed her eyes. "What kind of weapons?"

"The kind of weapons that can allow a simple group to take over entire countries," Jason's voice was grim. "It's one of most highly regarded secrets of the United Kingdom's branch of the DHP. The Hearthome Psychiatric Hospital was built as a… distraction, so to speak." He looked to Noah. "Don't get me wrong. It is what it says it is. Hearthome is truly a hospital, who truly wants to help those who need it. Hearthome does great work. A psychiatric hospital just helps deflect away."

"So this group wants the weapons and have infiltrated Hearthome for that?" Lily asked.

"That's what we suspect, yes. Now, these were only hints and rumours. No major moves have been made. That was, however, until you were taken by them, John. They allowed members of their group to be seen by residents and orderlies alike. They were sloppy. We know what they wanted, though, don't we?"

"Information about the List," John said.

"And I think you already know why that is important."

John nodded. "Somebody on the List is a member of the group, is that right?"

"That is highly likely, yes," Jason nodded.

"Wait." Noah spoke up, finding his voice. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean, Noah, is that somebody on your List is part of the people in masks who took Ollie, Imogen, and John," Jason said seriously.

Noah paused, thinking about the weight of this statement. The people on the List were slim to begin with, and with two of them dead, that left only Banks, Penelope, Ollie, and Robyn. None of them could be part of this group, surely. From what Robyn said, they were violent and crafty.

"Now here's where the matter of trust comes in," Jason said. "I cannot trust any of you entirely. However, I have my reasons to tell you. I am taking a gamble, a chance. It is entirely possible that one of you is one of the masks and I am setting myself up for a very large fall. I am choosing to trust you to some extent for particular reasons. John, your physicality simply does not match any of the masked men – and we know the general size of all seven – and you past as a public performer lends credence to that fact. You came here for reasons that seem entirely unrelated. I can be relatively certain, due to your capture and for these reasons, that you are not suspect. Noah, I am choosing to trust you because of your past as well. You have survived a List before, so it wouldn't make any sense for the group to kidnap John if they already had the answers John could give them."

"Hang on," Noah put up his hands. "Let's go back a second. Someone on the List is part of this group who took people. I mean… it can't be Imogen and Ollie because they were taken. It's not me. That leaves Robyn and Penelope. Are you saying that one of them is one of these masks? And they attacked Robyn, so…"

"Is Penelope a suspect in this group?" John asked the question Noah didn't want to.

"You don't understand. They all are. There is no hard evidence for anything, John. You were the only one physically tortured. Imogen and Ollie may have been puzzle pieces in more ways than one. They could have been acting. By all accounts, Robyn was grappled by one of them but then thrown to the floor."

"She isn't one of them!" Noah was surprised at the emotion in his voice. "And besides this is the last thing we need to worry about. I don't know when I'm going to get another vision and the list is-"

"Trust me, I understand the importance of the list." Jason raised a hand to stop Noah. "Everything may be linked. The fact of the matter is that this list, your list, Noah, should not be possible."

"…Doctor Evans said something similar…"

"As we all know, there are certain rules regarding the list. Back when we were the DSI, it was one of our biggest mysteries. We solved that mystery. We stopped the deaths that was happening because of the list. Or at least, we thought we did."

"Ah yes, the big thing you're not telling us," Lily rolled her eyes. "It would be easier to tell us the whole story."

"Trust me, it really wouldn't. The thing is…" Jason let out a sigh. "The… thing responsible for the lists and the visions was dealt with. So with you having another vision, and with their being another list… it could mean that some aspect of this entity still remains. Perhaps it has been in hiding, who knows. I do not think it is coincidence that it happened when it did, to who it did. Here's what I suspect. I believe there are two forces at play here. This group that name themselves after the Sins and whatever aspect is creating your vision, Noah. I suspect that the masked people, who's naming alone strikes major worry for my organization due to the implications, may have been targeted deliberately by the aspect working through you, Noah."

"You think that the list happened specifically to target the group?" Lily asked, clearly interested in where the conversation was going.

"I do. This is all baseless theory but I have my reasons for this suspicion. You see, I don't know what the weapons that are hiding somewhere in Hearthome are, but the Department has its own suspicions on what these weapons are. It is possible that the weapons are the reason for you having a vision when it shouldn't be possible."

"So just get these weapons and find out?" John said. "It sounds simple."

"Not quite. There are only two people who have access to the weapons. Both of whom are outside of Hearthome."

"So get them in."

"Again, not so simple. Hearthome is under lockdown. No one is being allowed to leave or enter. Myself and my team included. In order to find the weapon and the potential reason for you having a vision, Noah, we need to rid Hearthome of its invaders so that we can bring in the people who can access the weapons."

Noah closed his eyes. His brain was hurting. This was a lot of information that he hadn't been ready for and sounded particularly complicated. He should only need to be worried about the List, but now he was having all this nonsense about weapons, and people being suspected of being in an enemy group, and being trapped in Hearthome. It sounded like far too much.

"So what are you asking of us specifically," John said.

"We need to know of the identities of the seven sins, the seven masked people. We need to capture them so that the Department can imprison them for their crimes. I cannot simply go around with my security team scaring the people of Hearthome and causing issues for those already struggling mentally. This is a very sensitive situation. I decided to choose two residents who has the highest chance of not being one of the masked people. It is an added bonus that you are here, Lily, as well."

"I just…" Noah shook his head. "I just can't Jason. I need to worry about the List, I need to—"

"Please, focus on the List, Noah, that's my request of you. Focus on saving the people on the List. I do not want anyone else to die. While you are doing that, I want you to learn more about the people on the List, really learn about them. You'll have regular meetings with Johann to talk about your mental state and to update us on your progress. We can do some research on our end but we are certainly limited with the lockdown imposed on us."

Noah just nodded. What else could he do? It was like being drafted for a war he wanted no part of.

"John, I would like you to find Conner Shepherd."

"What?" This seemed to take John by surprise. "Why? What's he got to do with anything?"

"The people in masks are exceptionally smart. Their identities have remained hidden for a long time. It is unprecedented for the Department not to know these kind of things. Conner Shepherd is a very smart man. He has his issues, he has his past, but he is a top-notch investigator. It is clear that the group knows this as well, and made sure he was out of the loop. I am going to let two of my security team take you outside of the Hearthome Hospital gates and into the grounds within the main walls of the area to find Conner. He will be hiding somewhere and I need you to find him."

"Why me specifically?" John seemed confused at his role as well.

"Conner came here due to a deal with us. However, he does not like us. We need an intermediary. I cannot let Noah outside of the hospital as he is a patient. You, however, can."

"What about me?" Lily asked. "What can I do?"

Jason looked surprised. "I would assume you'd help John?"

Lily smiled awkwardly. "Actually, I think I would be more use around Hearthome. With my… unique… presence, I can keep an eye on people who think no-one is watching." She looked at John. "It would probably be good for us to have a little break from each other, right? I mean… the both of us completely lost track of time and spent five hours not even thinking of one another. I saw that smile on your face. I'm… not sure I've ever seen you smile like that." She cleared her throat and turned to Jason. "So let me help around Hearthome."

"If that's what you want, then I can certainly make use of that asset. I'll have you stick with me for now and I'll introduce you to my team. John, if you come as well then I'll pick the best two to go with you."

"Stop." Noah spoke up. He could feel his thoughts struggling to comprehend what was going on. "Just… Stop. You're asking me not to trust people?"

Jason nodded sadly. "Yes, exactly. I am asking you not to trust anybody. Anybody in Hearthome is a suspect until proven otherwise. The doctors, the orderlies, the residents, anyone. Anyone you talk to, anyone you see, anyone at all. If they are on the list, they will get desperate, so you need to act normal and save who you can where you can. Wait for your next clue and we can work from there."

"Don't… don't trust anyone?" Noah put his head in his hands. "I have spent… so long… trying to convince myself that conversations were worth having. And now… in the last week or so, I have been able to talk to people other than Robyn and Doctor Evans… I am learning more about Owen and Penelope and now you're saying that I have to throw that all away? That I need to have conversations in order to suspect people, rather than have conversations in order to get to know people?" Noah looked at Jason. "How can you ask that of me? How is that fair? I shouldn't even be a part of this."

"The injury Imogen gave you was life-threatening, Noah. I made sure your life was saved."

Noah narrowed his eyes at Jason. "So you're saying I owe you?"

Jason nodded and for the first time Noah found the kindness gone from his eyes, to be replaced with a cold certainty of a man who had to do a job even if he didn't like it. "Yes, you owe us, Noah."

Noah pulled away from Jason's touch and Lily instantly disappeared. He looked at John and then to Jason. "I think that's really disappointing. I think all this stuff with this group and weapons and stuff is something you need to worry about on your own. All I care about is making sure the people on the list are safe. I refuse to help you. I refuse to suspect anyone. You talk about trust, but I don't even trust you." With that, Noah stood up and stood in front of the door. "Please let me leave."

Jason sighed, nodded, and stepped aside, allowing Noah to leave to try and control his overworked mind. He could not focus on anything other than the list. That was what was important. Everything else was just white noise.

However as he stalked through the Rec-Zone back outside, he couldn't help but feel the eyes as if they were watching him, and every face he saw suddenly seemed an enemy, with a knife to his throat. Noah's pace grew faster and faster, paranoia seeping in despite his best efforts otherwise. How dare Jason do this to him, how dare he ruin everything Noah had tried to so hard in seven long years to try and fix.

"Hey!" Noah looked up sharply. There was Robyn, holding her camcorder, with a large book under her arm. She was smiling, her eyes beaming. Don't trust anybody. Somehow her smile now looked threatening, her eyes full of malice, not good humour. Noah grit his teeth and could feel the fragile bonds he had put on his mind start to crumble. "Noah?" Noah did not respond, just pushed past the surprised Robyn and practically ran back to the dormitories.

A/N:- So some big ideas introduced here but I hope to manage them sensibly and patiently. We're probably at roughly the half-way point at an estimate.

As Jason says, no one can be trusted. There are seven members of the masked people running about Hearthome and here's a fun fact: All of them have appeared within the story thus far! We know one of them is Paulie, so one down, six to go.

I will be on break for a week, and will return on Monday 13th to continue the tale, as things will start to ramp up. We've had a little bit of done time, it's time for the list to reclaim its spot.

While you wait, consider who are your main suspects, who can we trust? Anyone? That's the question.

See you next week!