I pushed the fuzzy blanket away from my torso and sat up, using the back of my hand to wipe away the sweat clinging to my face. It was both hot and cold, and I felt clammy and achy as if I was about to catch a cold. I could still see the last remnants of my dream glued to my eyelids, the images fading, but the screams just as loud. James appeared leaning on the door frame, sleep still dragging heavily on his eyes. "You alright?" he asked, trying to chase away the sleep by dragging his hand down his face. "I thought I heard you crying."

My eyes fell to my lap, embarrassment tinting my cheeks. "It's fine," I mumbled, "Just a bad dream."

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked, crossing the living room to sit on the couch near my blanketed feet, which I pulled to my chest as I wrapped my arms around my awkwardly bony knees."It might make you feel better."

"Um…" I opened my mouth to speak, but the words got clogged in my throat.

"It's ok. You don't have to if you don't want to." James said, smiling gently at me as if I were a timid wild animal that might run off if he approached it the wrong way.

I shook my head quickly, my small hand darting out to grab his arm before he got up again. "No, I… want to. It's just…"

"Difficult?" he offered. I nodded. "Was it about what happened? In Chicago?" he spoke the next words softly, carefully.

I hesitated, biting my lip nervously, before nodding slowly. He nodded in understanding, sinking back into the cushions of the couch as he pondered over his next words. "James?" I asked, nervous about his answer to my question. He turned his head to look at me, silently telling me to go on. "Have you ever killed anyone before?"

He sighed as if he were expecting me to ask that and was dreading it. "Yes. I have."

My eyes widened, not expecting that answer. "Did you… feel anything?" I asked.

"I… felt a little guilty. Not nearly as much as I know I should have, but…" he paused, squeezing my briefly before standing. "It gets easier with time, kiddo. Just try to move past it. Try to get some sleep, ok?"

"Ok." I yawned, flipping my pillow over to the cool side before settling back down.

"Oh, and Jade?" James paused in the doorway. He turned back to look at me, and suddenly he was much older than his nineteen year old self.

"Hm?" I sat up, looking down at myself, my brows knit tightly in confusion. How did I change clothes so fast? Where did these come from? My hair tickled the base of my neck when I turned my head to look at James again. "What…?"

"Try not to beat yourself up too bad over what happened with Jay, ok?" he was smiling, but it was the sad type of smiling, the kind of smile you give your loved one you knew you wouldn't see again.

I stood as the memory of what I'd done hit me, nearly knocking me breathless as I stumbled to get off of the couch, to get closer to James. "James, I—"

"Shh…" he hummed as he wrapped his arms around me comfortingly. My tears stained his dark t-shirt, and I held him tightly, afraid that he'd be gone if I let go. "I know you didn't mean to. I love you, kid. I have to go now." He said and pressed his lips to my temple.

"No, wait, don't—!" I cried, but he was gone.

My eyes felt puffy and I couldn't breathe through my nose. My clothes clung to my body like a second skin as if I had taken a dip in the river right before I fell asleep. Sitting up, I realized two things: I had fallen asleep on a random rooftop downtown, and I was soaking wet. There was a dark spot that silhouetted the shape of my body against the light concrete of the building beneath me that had dried from the previous night's rain.

A cough suddenly ripped itself from my sore throat violently, and I sunk back down onto the wet surface, unable to conjure the energy to get up.

"Alex?" a voice sounded from somewhere nearby, and I gave a groan in response.

I forced my puffy eyes open and turned my head to watch the blurry oncoming figure. Just as things melted into darkness, I felt myself being picked up, that voice nagging at my conscious, trying— to no avail— to bring me back to the world of the living…

When I woke up, I felt tired. Ironic, considering I'd just spent a good amount of time sleeping. I'm not sure how long, but I could tell it'd been too long: my muscles felt sore from lack of use and old sickness, and I could barely sit up. I forced my feet over the edge of the cot and shakily rose up into a standing position. I looked around in the dimly lit room and noticed with a start where I was. The cave-like room was still the same as the last time I was in here, only it seemed a bit warmer.

"It's about time you woke up." Cat's voice startled me, and I nearly jumped out of my skin. I spun on my feet to face her, but my head spun with me and I nearly lost my balance. "Careful. I was just starting to think you weren't going to wake up."

I stared dumbly at her for a moment, taking in her appearance: she wore her normal body suit, but surprisingly, she didn't have the mask on. She was pretty, full lips and almond shaped eyes, but they were easily forgettable if you didn't know specifically what you were looking for.

"I know I have a pretty face, but you don't have to stare." She said, amusement dancing across her features.

My cheeks flushed in embarrassment as I realized I had been staring. "Sorry. How long was I asleep?" I asked and winced at the sound of my voice; it was hoarse and faint, as if I hadn't used it in days.

"About three days. You hungry?"

My stomach chose that perfect moment to make itself known. My already red face turned a shade darker, probably nearly matching my hair, and I grinned and nodded. "Hehe… yeah, I guess."

Cat nodded, turned, and headed towards the stairs, and I hesitated before following after her. We went upstairs into the cabin-like house that hid the underground training area. I crossed the small space to the wooden table as she locked the door that we'd just come from. "Do you live here?"

She walked over to the cabinets, opening them to look at the canned goods. "No. I stay here sometimes, but not often. Do you prefer soup or chili?" she asked as she looked over her shoulder at me.

"Chili, if you have crackers." I said after a moment of thought.

She peeked in another cabinet, grinning when she pulled out a box of oyster crackers. She got the can of chili out, opened it, and put it in a boiler on the stove to heat up. She sat the box of crackers on the table and leaned against the counter while we waited. "So, what do you do, Alex?"

It took me a moment to realize that she'd used my alias, "Officially, I'm a hacker. But I like to do parkour."

"Interesting. I've never met a parkouring hacker before. Most hackers I know aren't even fit." Cat said with an amused smirk.

I laughed. "Yeah, well I normally don't tell many people about the parkouring bit. I just say I work out; it's a lot easier to explain. And I don't know many other hackers who're fit, to be honest, except—" my words got stopped up in my throat, held there by the growing lump of tears.

I looked over to the stove, looking for a distraction. "Are you sure you're not burning it? I think I smell it."

While Cat turned to check the chili, I swiped at my eyes, silently chanting to myself, Don't think about it, don't think about him…

"Well, Cat, what do you do?" I asked, forcing him to the back of my mind.

"I'm a cat burglar, of course." She said with a sly smile over her shoulder as she got two bowls out of another cabinet.

I snorted and rolled my eyes. "Well, obviously, but you must have a cover or something."

She paused and gave me another smile, "Smart. Let me guess, you have one as well?"

I nodded, opening the box of crackers as she gave me one of the bowls. "Yep. What is it?"

"It's only fair if you tell me yours first." She said as she sat across from me with her own bowl.

I shrugged, accepting this as I dumped some crackers into my chili. "I technically own a computer business, getting rid of viruses, installing protective software, stuff like that. It's a home business, of course, but it keeps my ass covered from the cops."

"I might need your help with that." Cat said with a smirk, reaching of the box of crackers. "I do office work during the day. Nothing too exciting."

"Hn." I nodded, not able to say much else with a full mouth. After a moment, I swallowed and sat back in the chair. "What, your computers acting up there? Sure, piece of cake."

We chatted a bit more until we finished with the chili. I took both of our bowls to the sink and began washing them. "You know, Cat, I don't know how to thank you. It was stupid of me to fall asleep in the rain…" I let my voice fade off, realizing I'd said too much. I didn't think I could take it if she started asking questions...

"Why were you out there, anyway? Trying to catch a child or something?" She asked jokingly, but the small smile fell from my lips at the impending question.

I could feel my face tighten as thoughts of what I'd done came surging to the surface, threatening to break me. "I-I'd rather not talk about it." I winced as my voice cracked, but I was glad I was facing the counter, turned away from her sharp eyes.

I could feel her staring at me, eyes drilling a hole into the back of my head. I swallowed uncomfortably and shifted my weight, folding the dish towel across the divide between the two sink basins before turning to face her. "Look, I…I need to get going, Cat. Thank you for watching out for me, really." I said, a small smile making its way onto my face.

"You sure? It's pretty dark out there, kind of dangerous for a woman this time of night, don't you think?" I could see the humor in her face, along with a bit of… worry?

I shrugged, making my way to the door. "Maybe, but I think I'll be fine. See you around, kay?" I opened the door, but stopped as Cat called my name.

"That isn't your real name, is it?" a sly smirk found its way onto her lips.

I blinked owlishly for a moment, thrown off, before I gave her an odd sort of smile. "No, but Cat isn't yours, either, is it?" and with that, I slipped out into the night.

A/n: Ok, guys, I'm done with my little break from this. I knew it wasn't going to last very long, I just love this too much. I found out how I wanted this story to end, too, so I'm satisfied now. I was going to add more on here, but I'll make the next chapter long to make up for it. I don't have much else to say, so I'll see yall later. Feedback would be appreciated, thanks!