Wednesday

7:42 PM

2.278 inches

Ethan slept during two hours after eating. As soon as he fell asleep, Jayden sat at his table and started checking out evidence. The ARI held against his face, he decided not to use any kind of environment this time: If Ethan suddenly woke up he would be able to notice it and hide it as fast as he could – He really wasn't in the mood to start answering questions about himself. They really needed to focus on the kid.

Unlucky, he found nothing. Absolutely nothing. Worked during two whole hours and didn't find a single lead to go on! He had checked the Origami Figures, the shoe box and still had nothing! He had taken his glasses off to relax when Ethan woke up.

"Hi there! _Norman greeted him_ Did the pain stop?

"Yeah, I think so…" Ethan yawned and looked at the clock – 6:30 PM "Have you been waiting for me to wake up?"

"Well, yes, I thought I should since we're going to open the next Origami Figure yet today."

"Wasn't it boring?" Ethan smiled and got up, heading to the bathroom to wash his face "To stay in here doing nothing, I mean."

"Nah, I actually had a lot to work with! This case is a really complex one…"

"Oh, you had your files back at your car?" Mars asked, not seeing any sign of it around here. Jayden smiled.

"Yeah, kind of."

They left the motel around 7 o'clock and went back to the police station, Ethan right behind Norman, who headed directly to Blake's desk. He seemed furious and he became even worse after he saw them.

"Oh, the little fellas finally came back! I was about to leave without you but then I realized I would probably get myself hurt by doing so."

"You surely would." Norman told him, challenging "Shall we?"

They headed to Norman's office and got the shoe box which had been left with Captain Perry, "just in case" – At least that's what Blake said -. This time, Ash didn't come in and only Blake, Norman and Ethan were at the room. There was an awkward feeling In the air after the morning's events, but no one said anything about it.

Jayden picked up the second Origami Figure, a Butterfly, opened it up and read:

"'Are you prepared to suffer to save your son?'" Ethan trembled after realizing the presence of the word suffer. "'The Old Powerplant on Embarcadero Street'".

"The old Pico power station?" Blake questioned "I thought it was abandoned."

"It's pretty far from here…" Ethan commented, remembering time was running out.

Jayden said nothing, lost in his own thoughts. Would it be safe to go with Ethan? Wouldn't that be putting Shaun's life at risk? Again, the killer never said he wasn't allowed to help. Maybe he wanted him to be tested too... But why? He never had any children or wife: His life was nothing like Ethan's. Even with his addiction, he doubted the killer knew about it. Then why did he allow him to help?

He felt a hard slap against his face and turned around to see Blake looking at him:

"I'm talking to you, you fuck!"

Jayden blinked in confusion and stood up. Blake left the room, expecting him to follow.

"Go on, Ethan! I'll catch up" He said and Ethan left, weirded out and kinda remorseful for letting Blake hit him like that. It hadn't been big deal but still…

Norman looked at the box. It wasn't safe to leave it here yet anyone would notice if he just got it. He decided to leave it in there for now, but something told him it wasn't a good idea to leave it here at Blake's reach…

He made his decision and left.

( - - - )

Now, 7:42 PM, 2.278 inches, they finally reached the Pico power station. Only two cars this time, the three men – Ethan, Carter and Norman - at one and three policemen at the other along with Ash (He strictly denied staying at the same car as Jayden). The place was pretty fucked up and really was abandoned. Ethan felt chills run down his spine.

"The wall is down that way!" He said.

Blake headed towards the large gate and tried opening it, as if he didn't even hear what Ethan said. It didn't work.

"There's a Butterfly at the wall!" Ethan said and Norman nodded "Do you think it will lead us to the entrance?"

"Probably! We should surely check it out!" Norman said and approached the figure. Blake and the other policemen were still trying to open the door and Ethan kept staring at the fallen wall; he put his glove and glasses and analyzed the image.

Nothing.

"It's useless, Lieutenant. The gate just won't open."

Blake sighed, bored for having to talk to or even look at the insane Mars and Jayden, but turned around only to find them climbing a part of the wall which was down.

"Hey!" He called, running after them "What the heck are you doing?"

"We're surely not playing basketball, that's for sure!" Ethan said, already at the other side, and smiled. He had had enough of the Lt. and he could tell Jayden also did. They stared at each other, holding they laugh.

"Watch your fucking mouth, Mars!" Blake told him, but he didn't care. Jayden had already reached the other side and now both were heading to the entrance. Blake and the other policemen followed, peeved.

Ethan tried to open the door: It was also locked.

Shit.

"Há! Didn't manage to open the door, I see!" Blake exclaimed, victorious. That was exactly the thing Ethan didn't want to hear.

"Why don't you try to open it while we check out for another entrance around here?" Norman asked, seeing another Butterfly image heading towards the condensers.

"Sure, whatever!" Blake answered and approached the entrance door, babbling about Jayden's sunglasses during the rain. Ethan seemed to find that weird too but didn't question him.

Walking together, Ethan and Norman headed towards the condensers. They were still active and were surrounded by grid wire meshes. Seeing it was heavily teared, they made their way through it and found themselves staring right at them.

"It seems you're not afraid of Carter Blake anymore!" Norman commented, smiling. Ethan laughed.

"Yeah! I'm already tired of listening to him babbling around… How do you even stand it?"

"I don't." He answered and saw another Butterfly next to a door. "Ethan, look!"

They approached it and opened the door only to find themselves inside a small room with a hatch inside. Both men looked around, looking for something useful – An entrance, to be more specific – but it seemed the killer would manipulate them once again: Opening the hatch would lead to the only way out.

As Ethan tried to open the hatch, Jayden started searching up for clues. There was absolutely nothing, once again. Damnit, no one could be that smart, could they? Even with the ARI, this was difficult, more than he'd expected it to be!

A strident sound told him Ethan had opened the hatch.

"A tunnel…" He whispered to himself. Ethan looked through it, trying to see something.

"It's way too dark! Can't see a thing!"

It was when he noticed the matchbox.

"He left it for me to use…" Ethan said and lighted a match, using it to see what was inside. It didn't help for the tunnel was too deep.

"Am I supposed to enter it…?" Mars asked himself but before any of them could say something, a voice called outside.

"Mr. Jayden!" A policeman called as they left the place "Lieutenant Blake wants to see you… Both."

"Did you manage to open the door?" Jayden asked, to what the man nodded "And did you find something in there?"

"That's exactly what he wants you to see."

Both followed the policeman to the place. They entered it and their first reaction was to jump back, a sudden feeling of death floating in the air. The place was totally empty and gave access to another room, also empty. Blake stood in there along with his men, all of them staring at the same thing.

A body. A body inside what seemed to be another tunnel. There were also a lot of rocks over the floor which indicated they had taken them off before finding it.

"Dead by blood loss." Blake announced "At least that's what it looks like."

"Was he… Crawling inside it?" Ethan asked, thinking about what they had just found.

"This… This is just insane!" Blake burst as Jayden analyzed the body "Listen, I don't know why he's been doing this but this killer must have a pretty fucked up mind! I mean, just look inside the tunnel! Broken glass! He made the man crawl through broken glass! I don't know what kind of substance he used to attach it to the ground but for God's sake!"

Norman opened the victim's hand…

He closed his eyes, everything as clear as water to him. Ethan panicked after seeing the matchbox in the Agent's hand.

"Wait… Do I… Do I have to cross it crawling? Wha- T… This is ridiculous, I would never survive it! This man died trying to save his son; that can happen to me too!"

"There's gotta be another way in!" One of the policemen exclaimed but Jayden went against it.

"I don't think so. If the killer wants the father to cross through broken glass in order to finish the trial, he won't be able to do it other way!"

He rubbed his hands against his face, thinking about this man's agony and how much pain he had suffered. To die being unable to do anything to save your own son…

"I'm gonna do it!" Ethan announced suddenly. Jayden turned to face him "I… I may die in the process but I've got to at least try!"

Jayden stared at him, amazed. Even though he was scared he still felt determined to go through it. He would have to face fear, pain and despair alone and yet he was ready to do so. There was something about him… Something about him that Jayden envied more than anything…

He had courage to face his fears. Something he would never have.

"What?" Ash intervened "You can't do that, Mr. Mars! It's way too dangerous!"

"I'd do anything to save my son!" He said and turned to Norman, looking for confidence. That he surely saw.

"Just one thing…" Norman started saying "Your cell phone has the loudspeaker functionality, right?"

"Yeah, I… I think so."

"Very well then!" He said and took his glasses off, in order to face Ethan, eye to eye "I want you to turn it on and put it in your pocket since you'll be holding the matchbox in your hand. That way we'll still kept contact and you'll be able to tell me everything you see in there, ok?"

"Ok, I… I understand" He said, giving Norman his number and testing it out. As soon as it worked, they shared they last look before Ethan entered the tunnel.

"Do it slowly! And be careful!" Norman reminded him.

"If I don't get out alive… Will you…?"

"You can be sure of that" Norman reassured him and he entered.

The pain was instant. It felt as if sharp razors were cutting him all over as the pain spread through his arm, legs and body. It was way too dark, he couldn't see a thing and the tunnel was so narrow that he felt like something was strangling him. He lighted a match.

"The match flame, of course!" He spoke to himself "It indicates where the fresh air comes from! All I have to do is follow the wind!"

Outside the power station, Blake, Norman and Ash kept trying to find another way in, something they could work with, something that would actually help! Jayden's cell phone had its loudspeaker on and he could hear Ethan's moans as the glass kept on tearing his body.

"Ethan, can you hear me?" He called, hoping he would listen "How is it going?"

"I… I'm doing it slowly, b-but…"

"Do not rush!" Norman ordered "If you do, you'll cut yourself even more and we don't want you to meet the same end as Jeremy Bowles' father did."

"Was he… Jeremy… Bowles' father?"

"Yes, he was. But that's not important, focus on what you've got to do and keep on going ahead!"

Ethan lighted another match. There was a Butterfly drawn there: That's where he was supposed to go!

"Did you find anything?" Ash asked Jayden. They were walking around the station, trying to find something else, maybe even another door or something.

"Nothing at all…" He sighed. ARI wasn't too much of a help under all this rain and he was making sure his cell phone didn't get wet or else it would stop working and he couldn't lose contact with Ethan now of all times!

"I-I found it…!" Ethan whispered. He listened carefully "The exit… I-I'm gonna do it…!"

"Do not rush" Norman kept telling him. It didn't take as long as he had expected… Still, it surely would have if he had entered the tunnel they found first: Probably the reason Jeremy Bowles's father died. A too long passage, blood loss, nowhere to go…

"He did it!" Jayden announced and Blake approached him "He found the exit of the tunnel!"

Ethan's breath was a mere sound under all that rain. Still, he had never felt anything like what he just had. He felt against the floor, bleeding and rolling in pain, still feeling victorious. It was when he got up and saw there was only one way out.

"There's… Another tunnel…" He spoke.

"Another?" Norman asked in confusion.

"It… It doesn't have… Broken glasses or anything, but… It is the only way out and I… I surely don't wanna go back. I'm gonna go in!"

No one said anything. He had made his choice.

Fighting against the will to sit in there and wait until the pain stopped, Ethan got uP and slid down it. It was even smaller and he feared getting stuck but that didn't happen and he fell once again. There was an electrical sound and, after finally getting up, he felt as if his heart had suddenly stopped beating.

"Ethan…" Norman spoke, trembling by the mere thought of what the man was getting through, merely capable of focusing on his job and just trying to realize if the man was ok "What's… What's that sound?"

Ethan didn't say a thing. He couldn't. His throat suddenly felt dry and his body acted against his will to move, leaving him in there, just staring at the many live electrical condensers standing in front of him, a Butterfly on the wall at the other side of them.

"Live electrical condensers? Are you kidding me?" Jayden exclaimed, feeling a heavy feeling of fear fall upon him. If they could find the generators, maybe they could deactivate the condensers and Ethan would be able to pass through. Thinking about that, he kept on walking, his ARI trying to find something.

"The… The spaces are different. I think I can go through some of them easier than others…" Ethan said and saw a door labeled "Coward" "Wait, there's a door over here…"

"A door? Do you think you can get out through it?"

"It's labeled 'Coward'… Guess… Guess it is a way out."

Jayden smiled. If he could get out, they surely could come in.

"Well, then, what are you waiting for? Go through it, that way we'll be able to go in and help you out!"

Ethan smiled in answer to that thought. But then he remembered…

"Working alone may be harder in the beginning, but working with someone will make the ending even harder"

Hell, he was right! It was his son not theirs. The killer had already seen Jayden; he would surely prepare something for him. He would test him somehow, just like he was testing Ethan but he didn't deserve it. All he was trying to do was to help and Ethan would make sure he didn't get hurt on doing so.

"Ethan, are you there?"

"I…" He started. He didn't know what exactly to say "I don't think I should."

"What? C'mon, we'll try to help you out!"

"You'll try but you can't!" Ethan said, emphatic "This is something I have to do alone. I'm sorry."

Norman said nothing, still in shock: He would have never expected someone to deny help in such a place, in such a context. Ethan was surely the bravest man he had ever known.

"Wish me luck." Ethan said.

"Wait, Ethan! I want you to analyze each one of these condensers carefully, got that? The slightest wrong move will give you an electric shock! Stay calm and, no matter what happens, remember I'm here with you!"

He knew he couldn't help physically, but he would still do his best to maintain the man confident. Just being able to talk to him would be enough.

At least, that's what he hoped.

Ethan approached the electrical condensers and analyzed each one of them. Moving as slow as he could, he started moving through them.

"Sir! We found another door down here!" A policemen announced and Blake approached him. It was at the other side of the station, farther than the entrance.

"Hey, Jayden!" Blake called "There's a weird sound here…"

Jayden approached him and gasped: They were in front of were Ethan was.

"Ethan, I can hear the condensers! We're near you" He said and waited. If they could only open it…

"Uff…! There goes one of the condensers…!" Ethan said, with joy, after managing to go through without getting shocked. Norman smiled.

"There's gotta be a way to open this thing!" Blake exclaimed trying to open it in vain. It was just like the gate, way too old and rusty, too hard to open. He kicked it, only to make noise for the door didn't move.

"If he's inside it, how is he gonna get out?"

Norman jumped, scared.

He had just heard Ethan scream.

"Ethan? Ethan, are you ok?"

His whole body started aching, his heart beating too fast as each electrical currents went through it, a sudden burst of adrenaline making him feel queasy.

"I-I… I…!" He tried to speak, but couldn't. He was way too nervous to do so and his mind wasn't cooperating with him.

"Stay calm!" Norman told him as Blake and him men kept on trying to open the door "Stay calm and breathe slowly! Don't beat yourself upon it, just stay put!"

But Ethan couldn't afford himself to wait. He couldn't wait, he wouldn't allow himself to rest, not even for a few seconds. He blinked, trying to focus and went through the next condenser.

"We can't open it!" A policemen said "The other door was pretty easy to open but it is as if this one were as good as a new one!"

The killer would make sure no one could get in through another way other than the tunnels, of course.

"Ethan, talk to me!" Jayden asked him, worried. He needed to know if he was ok, he couldn't die now that he was so close!

"I… I-I just got through t… The other condenser…! O-Only two more…! Only two m-more…!" Ethan whispered to himself.

And then he felt another burst of electrical currents through his mind and body and fell on his back.

"Ethan? Ethan!"

It was too much for him to handle. Ethan laid on the floor, trying to calm himself up, trying to think positive but nothing seemed to work. He was going to die here, he was going to die and his useless body would only serve to remind of how he failed to save his own son, the person he loved the most in the world…

"Ethan, talk to me!" Norman was actually giving him an order. He was panicking, he couldn't have possibly died, could he?

"I…" Ethan started, tears of pain and sadness rolling over his face "I'm not gonna make it… I-I'm not gonna make it…!"

"Ethan, please…" Norman started, trying to calm himself down. Geez, he had to keep control for God's sake! "Listen to my voice. Listen only to my voice!"

Ethan closed his eyes, listening. He felt so scared but not for him… All he wanted was to save his son, to act like the father he used to be when Jason was alive… He… He couldn't miss this opportunity… Still...

"I want you to think about your son, Ethan" Norman said, trying to get his attention "How was your relationship with him?"

Ethan swallowed hard. He didn't understand why he was asking this but answered, not seeing any hope for him:

"After… After Jason's death I… We lost it… H-He felt lonely without his brother but… No matter how much I tried I couldn't ease his pain… I stopped being the father I used to be…"

"And do you love him?" Norman asked, nervous under the man's trembling voice.

"I love him more than anything in the world…!"

Norman closed his eyes. The conviction in his voice, everything… He couldn't let anything happen to this father. It was his duty to protect him, he wouldn't give up!

"He needs you, Ethan" Norman started to say "He needs you more than anything now. And he also loves you. He understands what you're capable of and I'm sure he believes you're gonna save him!"

"But I won't… I-I can't…"

"If your own son believes you can, then I'm sure you can! You're not the strongest man of all, but you're a father and only that can make you able of showing what you're really capable of!"

Ethan opened his eyes, his heartbeat slowly stabilizing…

"I told you: No matter what happens I'm here for you!" Norman reassured him "And I'll stay here until you get out, no exception!"

"But why, Norman? Why?" Ethan asked, trying to understand. He had such a faith in him... But did he actually have a reason for it?

"I promised you, didn't I? I'll make sure nothing happens to your son or to you!"

Ethan got up.

"It's… Good to have you by my side, man."

"Until the end."Norman said and smiled, happy for being able to put some confidence into Ethan.

He moved slowly, still weak and trembling, but thinking about Shaun. Jayden made him see that he still had the chance to be the father he once was and he was going to fight for that. If he, somehow, didn't make it…

Jayden would do it for him.

"Only one left…" Ethan whispered and Norman held his breath "I'll… I'll have to jump through it."

Jayden closed his eyes. Behind him, he didn't notice how everyone stared at him suspiciously while he spoke to the man.

"Are you with me, Norm?" Ethan asked.

"I'm with you!" Norman answered and he jumped.

Complete silence.

"Ethan?" Norman asked, barely breathing, trying to hear anything "Ethan?"

There was no answer. However, if he had got stuck, he would surely have heard it, right? He called once again.

"Ethan, please, answer me!"

…

"I did it…!" Ethan announced at least and both men felt their body relax. He had done it, he had managed to get to the other side!

He hurried up and got the memory chip. Placing it into the cell phone – Therefore losing contact with Jayden – he waited until the loading screen disappeared.

"Shaun… The water level has risen again…" He whispered to himself and didn't fight against the tears. There were still three trials waiting for him and they had to act fast if he wanted to have any chance of finding his son alive!

He kept walking through a long corridor until he saw a door. There was a key hanging on the wall next to it and, fighting against his body which kept trying to make him fall, opened it.

The policemen were standing there. And so was Jayden.

"Norman…!" He called and fell forward being held by the Agent before he could touch the ground.

"I knew you could do it…" Jayden told him relieved and helped him to the car. He was in a really bad shape and had lost consciousness, probably after realizing he didn't have to fear being left behind...

"You two seem to get along real nice, uh?" Blake said, sarcastic, and smiled.

"What are you insinuating?" Jayden asked.

"Well, I don't know… You helped him to his house and suddenly he calls you by your name instead as if you were long known friends. Funny, isn't it?"

"I'm supposed to understand people by their feelings. They're humans, just like us, something you don't seem to understand."

"Humans need to deal with fate alone. Only then they'll be able to live life by themselves!"

Norman stopped for a second, a reminder of his past knocking onto his head and he said, staring at the floor:

"No one deserves to live alone."