Hello lovelies! I hope you're having a good week (summer is ending soon, after all!). You get this update later than usual (I know I promised it'd be up last night, but I kinda fell asleep on the laptop after a few sentences, so… it was a fail. You get it today, though, so its not that bad, right? ;)

A HUGE thank you goes out to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and anyone who reviewed In My Arms: julizax13, derekandchloex3, DreamDark, xpskl, vampiremom1221, burning (of course! There should probably just be a permanent shoutout to you on the sidebar or something! Thank you for being an awesome pre-reader and always letting me know what you think!:P), cowgirl137 (who says he's yours? ;P), K. Higurashi, JessiKalsPwopa (so glad you're back!), not-so-innocent011, xxStarBrightxx (unfortunately, I am immune to your ploys :P), MyWeirdWorld, suzi1811, Kelsey-Short, RayRayluvs2read, Lilly87, Boat Gal, Lauren94, Surial17, SpencerReidFan89, piercingemeralds2, SongSiren1228,and OF COURSE c.a.a. (who, for some strange reason, actually READ the last chapter when she has 9879598689 books on her 'Read-before-summer-ends' reading list…)! Thank you guys so much for your support! You guys are always so insightful and encouraging, and I don't know what I'd do without you! *Wipes tears and keeps typing because DAMMIT she WILL update tonight!). Sorry about not replying to all your reviews, but I had to make that sacrifice in order to update today (there were 50-something reviews to answer, and I figured that would take as long as writing the chapter, so… I'm sorry, guys! Forgive me?)

Anyways, if you haven't already, you guys should check out In My Arms (please ignore that shameless plug). Also, if anyone has book or movie recommendations for me, I'd be really grateful if you left 'em in your reviews! Book preferences: contemporary fiction, suspense, or paranormal (NO VAMPIRES OR FAERIES OR WEREWOLVES, PLEASE!) fiction, and it doesn't matter if it's adult or YA. For movies: psychological thrillers. ;)

That's all for this now! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Christina has now officially finished reading the awesomeness that is the entire Harry Potter series. (Congrats!)

Christina: *Closes book after reading the last page*
THAT WAS JUST… IT WAS SO… PERFECT!
*Sobs uncontrollably*
I'M GUNNA MISS THEM SO MUCH!

Steph: *Pats her shoulder comfortingly*
There, there! You can always re-read the books when you start to miss them!

Christina: You're right. They'll always be right there on my bookshelf… well, except for the last one. I don't own that one yet!
*Turns to Steph*
Can I have your copy? A brand new one would cost $36 at Chapters, you know!

Steph: *Raises eyebrow*
Who do you think I is? My HP books are never going to leave the comfort of my room, missy!

Christina: *Is upset*
Oh yeah? Well, you know what? YOU DON'T OWN DP!

Steph: *Shrugs*
And you know what? That's okay with me, because I have amazing fans and I can write as much fanfic as I want! And you know what I do own? A copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows! So there!
*Sticks out her tongue, then turns around so Christina doesn't see her eye twitch because it is sooooo NOT okay with her*

Traitors

Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt.

-William Shakespeare

Liz materialized in my cell after a few seconds, arms crossed and eyes expectant. I started off by apologizing, telling her that I was sorry for yelling at her and being so ungrateful when she'd stopped me from—I didn't even want to think about it.

She smiled and told me that it was okay, and – like Tori had predicted – she had already forgiven me for my 'brief lapse of sanity'. "You were really upset. I get that," she said comfortingly, uncrossing her arms. "Just promise me you'll never do it ever again, all right? Or all of this would have been for nothing!" I promised, pinky-swore (I wasn't sure if that one counted, seeing as she was a ghost with no physical 'pinkie' to speak of), and crossed my heart multiple times. When she was satisfied, she sat back and listened as I explained the basis of my plan and went into further detail.

After almost a whole half-hour of relaying my ideas to her, Liz sank back onto my bed and rubbed her eyes. "Chloe, I don't know how to tell you this... Your plan is, well… it's crazy!" she blurted, throwing her hands up dramatically. "We are never going to be able to pull this off! It would take a miracle to-"

"You're… not going to help us?" I asked, amazed that she would turn me down without even thinking it over.

She rolled her eyes. "Of course I'm going to help you! What do I have to lose, right? I was just checking to make sure you knew how crazy your plan is." She smiled at me, easing some of my worries. If she can smile about it, then it can't be as much of a long-shot as I think it is, right?

Right?

She hopped up off the bed and started pacing back and forth in front of me. "We're going to need to be seriously organized if we're gunna pull this off," she told me. She stopped abruptly and turned to me, and I swore I saw the gears in her brain beginning to turn. "Have you told Tori anything about this yet? Have you discussed it with her?" I shook my head. She nodded, then resumed her pacing. "You're going to have to find a way to get enough time with her to explain the plan… then you'll need to do the same with Simon."

My heart sank the minute I heard his name. I'd forgotten all about what had transpired between Simon and I earlier – hadn't accounted for it when I was formulating our escape plan (in which he played a crucial role). It was a problem. A big problem, because we had no room for any errors. Simon had to fully and completely trust me if we were going to pull this off, and based on what he'd said to me earlier, he definitely didn't trust me. I was sure that If I broke into his room in the middle of the night, the last thing he'd want to do would be follow me out the door. He would probably assume the worst – that I'd traded him to the Cabal that was holding his father in exchange for my freedom from the Edison Group.

We had a huge problem, and I had less than 12 hours to solve it, because the only way we were going to escape was to put our plan into action immediately.

"Helloooo? Earth to Chloe! Did you hear anything I said before you zoned out?" She snapped her fingers less than 2 inches in front of my face, effectively bringing me spiraling back to reality.

"Sorry, what?"

"I said, did you catch any of that?"

"Any of what, exactly?"

She sighed and clicked her tongue disappointedly before responding. "I asked what you were planning to do about food, clothing, weapons, etc… and where do you plan on going in the off chance you actually make it out of here?"

"I hadn't really thought about it," I admitted. I wasn't very worried - we could always find food, and clothing wouldn't become a priority for a few days at the least. As for weapons… well, Tori had her repertoire of spells, charms, and casts, and Simon had his; I wasn't very worried about myself either, even though my powers would be useless in a fight – I could always find a knife or some sharp object to brandish in case of an emergency or attack, and if worst came to worse… well, Tori and Simon would just have to continue on without me.

Part of me was appalled with itself for thinking that way, but there was also that other part that was oddly calm about the whole thing. It was better, in my opinion, to go into a battle not only knowing but accepting that there was and always would be that risk involved – that I would never know whether I was going to make it to see the sunrise the next day. And that was why, after weeks of thinking it over (for lack of better things to do), I had become almost… comfortable with the idea.

It's not all bad! Just think: you'll be with your parents and Liz and De—

Stop right there.

I found my voice after a few seconds and replied to her question. "Actually, Liz… I think we'll be okay when it comes to that stuff. What I really need to focus on now is finding a way to tell Tori and getting Simon to trust me again."

Her forehead crinkled in confusion, and she cocked her head to the side in a silent question: Why doesn't he trust you?

"He thinks I'm a lying, black-mailing traitor," I explained. "Oh, and a bitch, too," I added, just for good measure. "He thinks I've gone over to 'the Dark Side'."

"That's pretty stupid of him! Does he really think you'd sell him out like that? I mean, you guys have been close friends for years, haven't you?"

I looked down at the plain white comforter, running my hand over it gently. "I got his brother killed, Liz… he's allowed to be mad at me – even if it is for the wrong reason."

She stared at me, open-mouthed. "Chloe, that's not true! You didn't-"

I cut her off, not wanting her to try and comfort me. She could tell me it wasn't my fault, but it would never change the fact that it was my fault. "I need to talk to Tori," I mumbled, getting up to stop her from continuing.

She shook her head sadly, her eyes filled with concern. "Ok… well, since you haven't picked a location, I'm gunna go set some stuff up for you guys in that forest you hid in last time, all right? I'm gunna get food and clothes and whatever else I can find…"

"Thank you, Liz – for everything." I hoped I sounded sincere to her, because I really was grateful for everything she'd done for me; even if I hadn't said it before.

I crossed the room and knocked on the door for the second time that day.

Just before the door opened, Liz's disembodied voice sounded from where she'd been standing behind me. "I might not answer right away next time you call," she whispered, and I could almost feel her breath tickling my ear. "I need to… check something out."

I nodded, too afraid to answer her verbally in case the guard figured out what was going on and had her exorcised from my room (if that was even possible).

The guard opened the door and asked what I wanted. I told him that I wanted to talk to Tori, and he repeated the routine from last time: he called in to the main office and left information with whoever was on the other end of the line, then stepped back to let me out once permissions were granted. We started walking, and the guard – for whatever reason – tried to start another conversation… When is this guy gunna learn?

"Based on the yelling I heard coming from Simon's room, I'm gunna take a shot in the dark and say telling him didn't go so well?" he asked. I ignored him and crossed my arms, turning to face the wall as I walked in order to avoid his gaze. I felt like a child throwing a tantrum, but since I was being treated like one, it didn't really matter, did it? "You should've let me explain first, kid. We tried telling him about his brother before, but he refused to believe it… when you came in singin' the same song, the kid probably jumped to conclusions and thought—"

"That I was one of you…" I finished, relieved to finally understand the reason behind Simon's distrust of me earlier. It hurt, though – how could Simon believe I was one of the Edison Group's sellouts?

We arrived in front of Tori's room then. The guard bent over the keypad, and I watched over his shoulder as he punched in the code – another vital part of the plan – before holding the door open for me and ushering me inside. I expected another cryptic riddle or mysterious message, but all he said before closing the door was a gruff, "knock when you're ready to go."

Tori and I talked for a bit before I began to explain my ideas. When I was through, she only shook her head. "This is gunna take a miracle…" I opened my mouth to say something, but she cut me off. "I'm in." She winked, then smiled mischievously.

"That's exactly what Liz said," I told her.

She smiled wider than ever before.

After I was sure I'd explained every single facet of my plan to Tori and made sure she could repeat it back to me word-for-word, I knocked on the door and told the guard I was ready to go.

We walked silently for a while, then – for the first time ever – I cleared my throat and spoke first. "Can we stop at Simon's room on the way?" I asked innocently, doing my best to keep my tone light. "I wanna apologize for scaring him earlier…" I crossed my fingers behind my back, praying he'd fall for it and take me to see Simon. Please, please, please. If he didn't, and I wasn't able to tell Simon about our escape plan before the escape, we were royally screwed. We had no way of knowing how he would react, and we would need his help and co-operation if we were gunna bust our way out of this Godforsaken place. Tori's spells were amazingly powerful but also unreliable, so we couldn't stake it all on her – it would be safer for all of us if she had back-up.

The guard shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't take you to see him right now," he said in an oddly robotic voice, leading me past Simon's door instead of stopping and letting me in like I'd hoped he would.

"Why not?" I whined, playing up the innocent-little-girl persona. "You guys already have us locked up here. Why can't I go see my friend?"

The guard glanced around anxiously. "I don't know if I should be telling you this, kid, but… Simon's health hasn't been the greatest lately," he whispered. "After you saw him last time, he got so worked up that his blood sugar spiked dangerously. On top of all that, he forgot to take his needle. If Davidoff hadn't gone to check on him when he did… well, a few more minutes and your buddy would've slipped into a diabetic coma."

My eyes widened in shock and horror. "Is h-he all right?" I demanded anxiously, almost slipping back into my signature stutter. I had never really thought about Simon's condition as something that could hurt him – he was just a normal kid to me, with a little extra responsibility. I knew he was diabetic, but unless something reminded me of that fact, it usually remained at the back of my mind – to me, it was nothing to worry about, because Simon obviously had it under control.

I knew enough about his condition to know that he usually took really good care of his diabetes, and neglecting it like that… it didn't sound like him at all. Why had he suddenly become so lax with his health?

A disturbing thought crept up on me, sending chills down my spine: Could it have been… because of me?

Could I have caused all of that? Had he been so angry with me that he flipped out and forgot, or was it something else…?

Another frightening thought struck me: what if Simon had believed what I'd said? What if, underneath all his anger and refusal to accept what I was saying as the truth, he'd believed me?

Anger and denial: stages one and two of grief.

The temperature of the hallway suddenly plummeted 20 degrees, and I had an uneasy feeling in my stomach as I considered the possibility of what I was thinking about. Did Simon neglect his diabetes purposely? I shook my head, answering my own question. No. He wouldn't! He knows the risks of doing that! He knows he could be seriously hurt or worse if he doesn't—

I swore my heart stopped beating for a second.

Simon – my Simon, the guy who always had a smile on his face and lit up a room with his crooked grin; the guy who always found something to be happy about – had tried to seriously harm himself.

Or worse…

I couldn't even allow myself to finish the thought. I grabbed the guard's arm while making my realization, and my nails were biting deeper into his flesh by the second. "Take me b-back! Take me to s-see h-him," I begged, both my hands and my voice shaking simultaneously. "Please! I n-need to s-see h-him!"

For a second we just stood there like that in the middle of the hallway, staring at each other. The guard had stopped walking - hearing the change in my voice – and glanced at my face, his jaw set. He continued to study my face for a few seconds, and I guess whatever he saw there – gut-wrenching terror, maybe? – seemed to tell him I'd figured it all out. He looked around, then led me back to my door. I almost cried right then and there – why isn't he taking me to see Simon? – as I watched him punch in the combination. The door swung open and he stepped aside to allow me entrance. I brushed past him to get in, but he grabbed my arm just as I crossed the threshold.

He lowered his mouth to my ear. "He's all right," he whispered urgently. "They have him hooked up to a machine that constantly monitors his vitals, so he can't try anything like that again. I can't take you to see him because he's under constant surveillance, but I can check on him for you, see how he's doing…"

"Thank you, so much. You have no idea how worried-"

"I know, kid; I know, trust me. This place… it isn't good for any of you. Innocent kids being treated like criminals… it's not right."

I just stood there, feeling a sudden surge of anger. If he doesn't agree with what's going on here, than why doesn't he do something about it? He could've broken us out himself for God's sakes! I tried to calm myself down by breathing in and out slowly. It worked, but only slightly.

"Thank you for your concern," I said, clenching my teeth. I didn't want to be polite, but Simon was worth more than the satisfaction of yelling at this guard; besides, if I wanted him to check on Simon for me, I had to suck it up and make sure I stayed on his good side.

He blinked a few times. "I'm sorry, kid. I really am."

"Yeah, well sorry doesn't mean much, does it?" I spat, too angry to hold back.

He shook his head and left without another word.

I felt like throwing something.

I forced myself to sleep in order to prepare for the long night ahead.

It felt like only seconds later I found myself standing on that same beach once again, watching the waves grow and tilt inwards on themselves before they finally fell back into the water from which they'd sprung. I just stood there for a while, watching the waves, debating with myself: this plan was a long-shot at best… could I afford not to use all the resources available to me? Could I be that foolish, especially now that I knew Simon was under constant surveillance? Even if we somehow managed to sneak into his room without being caught, there was still the machine that monitored his vitals; if he was disconnected from it, it would probably sound some sort of alarm, alerting them of our escape…

The beach was oddly silent – there were no seagulls calling to each other, no noisy beach-goers – the only thing keeping me from thinking I'd gone deaf was the sound of the waves sloshing over the beach, calling to me, whispering: Come in. Come in and let go. You know you want to…

And I did – I'd made my choice, and I knew what I had to do to get us out of the Edison Group's grasp, even if it was against every moral I had in my entire body.

I waded in just like I had the last time, except before, I'd been afraid - not knowing what lay beyond. This time, I was ready - I knew what was coming. By the time I was waist-deep in the still water, I was beginning to feel a bit panicked; what if the demon created another Derek imitation? I really hoped she'd learned her lesson the last time we'd met in my dreams, because I was in no way ready to see her little Derek-projection - or whatever it was - again. I absolutely refused to believe it was his spirit, and everything in me was telling me it wasn't – but what if she hadn't learned her lesson? And more importantly, what if wasn't just a projection?

Doesn't matter. Whatever it is, ignore it. Your job is to get Simon and Tori out of here, not curl up in a ball and cry every time you see something that reminds you of Derek!

I slipped under the waves and closed my eyes.

Suddenly, I was back in the city-square - except this time there were no spirits hounding me. I was thankful for that, but still a little uneasy – I could feel their combined presence, but it was weak, as if they were being held back and hidden behind a wall. I could feel the throb of energy - could feel their desperation – but it was making me feel edgy, so I tried to ignore it and kept going.

I stopped walking when I reached the spot where I'd stood last time. One I was there, I called out for the demon.

A twinkling laugh and a warm breeze at the back of my neck confirmed that the demon had heard my calls. "You know, you didn't have to walk all this way before summoning me," she whispered. "I'm at your beck and call, child; I would have answered had you called me while you were awake."

I'd already known that, but I'd decided I'd rather summon her in my dreams – that way, if she brought Derek to me, there was a chance he wasn't real. If she showed up with Derek's ghost in tow while I was awake, I probably would've lost it completely…

"Have you decided to accept my offer, child? Judging by your fool-hardly little plan, I'm willing to bet I'm your only fool-proof way out of here… tell me, are my assumptions correct? Do you require my services?"

"Yes," I said simply. "But I want to go over the conditions of our agreement first, if you don't mind."

"Of course," she said. "I would accept nothing less from an American."

I rolled my eyes. "Firstly, you are to ENSURE that Simon, Tori, and I make it out of our cells. Secondly, you are not to attack us. And thirdly, you are to follow every single order I give; no exceptions."

Another laugh, and the disturbing purple sky faded to a beautiful (and normal) sky-blue. "Is that all? I was expecting eternal slavery at the least, dear girl. You are very reasonable, to be sure."

I nodded. "And lastly, you can NEVER show me De—what you did last time. Don't do it again, all right? I'm not kidding around here."

"Why of course! I would never do something that would purposely anger my master!" She sounded offended, but honestly? She was a demon – she probably wouldn't think twice about killing me under normal circumstances, and I wasn't exactly jumping at the chance to let her.

"Do you promise?" I felt like an idiot, but I had to make sure, didn't I?

"A demon's word is their most binding contract. You need not worry about me turning traitor," she assured me.

"All right," I said, getting the feeling that something bad was going to happen and, whatever it was, I would be powerless to stop it. "Wake me up."

I was expecting to see some sort of physical manifestation of the demon – a shimmering light, at least – but the minute I opened my eyes, there appeared to be nothing else in the room except an absurd amount of heat. Who turned off the A/C?

A little laugh, like she was amused by my discomfort. "The heat is merely a show of power. I guess you could say I'm warming up." Another laugh, and I was officially getting annoyed.

"Relax, child!" she whispered. "We'll be on our way once you summon me forth from this prison I've been residing in for so long. Now, quickly! Release me!"

"You talk an awful lot for someone who's supposed to be doing as I say," I shot back under my breath. When she didn't answer, I closed my eyes and imagined pulling the demon out of a desolate jail cell, ushering it out and into the world in order to do my bidding. I'd never returned a spirit to its body purposely, and I had no idea to go about summoning a demon, so I just imagined pulling the demon through a door, pulling it to the other side of the veil that separated our two worlds. I had no idea if I was doing it correctly, but I kept going; I could feel something happening. After a few minutes of this, I was met with some resistance; it wasn't much of an obstacle, and I powered through it.

"Yessss," the demon hissed. "I'm almost free, child. Just a little more… one more tug…"

I kept pushing, and the moment I felt a surge of power leaving my body, the room began to shake. I stopped then, opening my eyes and looking around. I was dizzy and a little light-headed, but I would have to suck it up and deal with it – our escape wouldn't be postponed on account of a headache. "Hello? Are you… are you still here?" I whispered into the dark, feeling foolish. The room was still shaking, and I knew we only had so much time… "I command you to return to your master!" I hissed, shutting my eyes and imagining myself as a vacuum, pulling in the spirits.

I felt a breeze blow through the room, and the shaking stopped. "Well, well, well… you seem to be most adept at controlling your powers, my dear. Most necromancers cannot even summon at your age," she said, sounding almost maternal.

"We don't have time to make small-talk here, in case you haven't noticed. Get me out of this cell!"

No sooner had the words left my mouth than the locks began to open, the mechanical components on the door turning and moving and whatever else they did when the locks were activated. I telepathically thanked the demon, then grabbed the door and pulled.

There was nobody there.

Idiots. What happened to being under 'constant surveillance'?

I'd been expecting my usual guard – been planning on having the demon knock him out or lure him away or something – but it seemed he had the night off… Go figure.

I leaned my head against the door-jamb and did my best to look up and down the hallway, searching for signs that there were guards and cameras watching. I couldn't see any guards, but unfortunately, both cameras were trained on the exits – our only exits.

"Shit!" I cursed, pulling back from the door. "The cameras! We won't be able to escape without them seeing us!"

"One moment, child. I'll be right back."

I felt the demon's energy retreating. A few nervous foot-taps later, I felt her return.

"Did you disable the cameras?" I asked anxiously.

"I need not have bothered," she said. "They'd already been shut off. I tell you, if these Edison Group people had any brains at all, they'd hire someone competent to man the security team instead of the brain-dead fool they have now…"

I couldn't believe our good luck. "Stop complaining, will you? We still have to go bust out Tori and Simon!"

I could practically feel her rolling her eyes at me. "Very well, then. I'm going to go create your distraction."

I could feel her moving away again. "Wait!" I hissed as loud as I possibly could. "Where are you going? You're supposed to help me break them out!"

"You can do that all by yourself, silly girl. I need to go create your distraction, or else you're going to meet with a few very angry guards when you release your angry little friend."

I bit my lip and thought it over. "Very well," I decided. "But you have to wait until Tori's free, or else it might be too early. Got it?"

"Understood. Now, don't you have a job to do?"

I punched in the combination to Tori's door confidently, then stepped back, expecting it to swing open.

It didn't.

Shit, shit, shit!

I grabbed the handle and pulled, hoping it would be enough. It wasn't, and after a few tries, I began to feel a little hopeless. I didn't want to try random combinations – it would take too long, and I had no idea if using the wrong code set off an alarm or something. Instead, I knocked on the door lightly.

I cringed at the echo the action produced – it sounded as if I'd been pounding on the metal door with one of those giant Nintendo-game hammers – and prayed no one had heard. Oh, who am I kidding? Someone in China probably heard that!

Luckily, I didn't have to wait long. Tori's voice could be heard pretty clearly through the door, and at that moment, she was whispering my name. "Chloe? Is that you?"

"Yeah," I whispered back, feeling even more panicked. "I don't know what's going on, Tori! The combo for your door won't work and they probably heard my knock and there was an earthquake and-"

"Chloe, calm down. Breathe. I've got this under control, okay?"

"What do you mean, you have this-?"

"Step away from the door!" she snapped.

I did as she said, standing against the opposite wall. I waited, expecting some incredible show of power – an explosion, or another earthquake, perhaps – but nothing happened. I just stood there for what felt like hours, waiting for Tori to perform some kind of magical miracle and bust herself out.

After what felt like a lifetime, the door swung open and Tori strode out, looking smug.

I stared at her in disbelief, mouth open in surprise. "How-?"

"No time! I'll explain once we get the hell out of here!" she whispered, leading me towards Simon's room. She stopped in front of his door and looked around anxiously before turning to me. "Please, please tell me you know the correct combination for his door," she begged.

"I do. Liz got it for me." I leaned down and punched in the combination, then straightened up again.

Unlike Tori's door, Simon's made a little whirring noise after I typed in the code. A few seconds later, it swung open, revealing a room that was completely dark and absolutely impossible to see into.

"What the hell?" Tori mumbled, searching for a light switch. I grabbed her arm to remind her to stay quiet as we entered the pitch-black room, feeling for the walls so we wouldn't trip over anything. There was a weird beeping noise coming from somewhere inside the room, and the sound of laboured breathing—

Tori switched on the light, blinding us both for a moment.

Once I'd rubbed my eyes and let them adjust, I looked around.

Tori gasped behind me. I was just as horrified as she was, but I couldn't seem to find my voice.

"W-why is h-he…?" she stammered, sounding a lot more like me than I thought she ever could.

I didn't answer her. Instead, I strode over to Simon's bed. I stood there, unsure of what to do – I had been worried, but obviously I'd underestimated the situation – he was connected to what seemed like a hundred different machines and monitors with clamps and needles and those weird little wires with white tape on the ends.

Tori appeared behind me. "What happened to him?" she asked again, her voice steady this time. She leaned over the plastic bar on the side of the bed, looking for an injury.

I debated with myself for a moment, wondering whether or not to tell Tori about what (I thought) Simon had done. Did I have the right to tell her? After all, it was Simon's secret – I would feel bad telling her something he might not want known, especially if I was wrong about what had happened. Maybe he really did forget to take his medication. It might not have had anything to do with what you told him!

The more I thought about it, the more I thought telling Tori should wait… or never happen. After all, Simon and I had been best friends for years; maybe he would talk about it with me one day, but Tori? I highly doubted he would ever be close enough to Tori to spill his deepest, darkest secrets…

Come to think of it, he probably didn't even want me knowing. Just thinking about what I might've done that day if Liz hadn't saved me made me cringe, and I still hadn't told Tori myself – never planned to, to be perfectly honest. I had a feeling that if I told her, it'd always be there between us – something in the back of our minds that we both wanted to talk about but wouldn't dare bring up in case the conversation became awkward. She would probably never look at me the same way – never trust me to make the right decisions in a difficult situation.

And because I knew Simon and I were so alike, I decided to keep his secret.

"He… forgot to take his meds. Passed out or something, but he's okay now," I assured her. "We just have to wake him up and un-attach the IVs and everything else, all right?"

"Sure." She nodded, and something in her eyes told me she knew there was something off about my story. "But won't it trigger an alarm if we disconnect him from the machines?"

"Don't worry about it."

She nodded and set to work, not asking why I wasn't worried. She's either way too trusting or doesn't want to know, I mused. Tori and I worked together to disconnect the machines – Tori was removing the taped-on sensors, while I had the oh-so pleasant task of pulling out Simon's multiple IVs.

I tried telling myself that it wasn't really Simon – just some random stranger I was helping – just like the time I'd bandaged up a very battered Derek. It didn't work, though, and as I tried as hard as I could to be gentle, all I could think was, this is Simon. Simon. And he almost killed himself, whether it was done purposely or not. You almost lost them both.

And that was when I started to cry.

God, when did I become such a cry-baby? I wondered as my vision blurred. I stopped what I was doing, not wanting to hurt Simon by pulling on something because I couldn't see properly. Oh yeah, when my best friend / the love of my life died.

Tori heard me blubbering like a baby and tried to console me without ever taking her eyes off what she was doing. "He's gunna be fine, Chloe! Don't worry about him! He's gunna be back to his annoying self as soon as we get out of here, and then you'll be wishing we left him behind!" I shook my head and wiped my cheek, embarrassed that I was nothing but emotional lately. Once I recovered, I began carefully extracting the remaining IVs from Simon's arm, praying I was doing it correctly.

The ground began to shake as I pulled out the last needle. I finished up, then glanced up at Tori. "That's our signal – they found out we escaped," I explained. "Now we just have to wake him up and get the hell outta here."

"That might be kinda difficult, Chloe. In case you haven't noticed, his breathing was really slow and he hasn't moved at all while we pulled off the tubes and everything; I'm pretty sure he's been knocked out with something stronger than children's Tylenol."

I knew she was right, but that didn't stop me from shaking Simon in a pathetic attempt to wake him just shook her head at me and grabbed one of the leftover IV needles that was laying on the table. "Move back," she instructed, her face eerily calm. I did as she said and backed up, watching as she leaned down and pushed Simon's sleeping form, flipping him over.

"Tori, what are you-?"

She plunged the needle down and left it stuck in, sticking out of the butt of his pajama pants.

The effect was immediate: Simon's eyes shot open and he jumped up, confused - and in a lot of pain, judging by the look on his face. Tori had covered his mouth with her hand to keep him from screaming, and he yanked it off, his eyes filled with hatred.

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?" he hissed, looking from my face to Tori's.

"How else were we supposed to wake you up, jackass? It's not like we had a bucket or anything."

Simon grabbed the needle and pulled it out, wincing. "So you stab me in the ass? Really Tori?"

She shrugged. "Worked, didn't it?"

He mumbled something under his breath, and Tori turned red with anger almost immediately. "What did you call me, you pathetic excuse for a spell-caster?"

"Guys!" I hissed. "We're in the middle of an escape here! Can you save this for another time?"

They both seemed to remember I was in the room then. Simon's face contorted into a cross between confused and remorseful, and he seemed like he was about to say something to me. I hoped it was an apology, but then I remembered where we were and what we were doing, and I remembered that it wasn't exactly the best time. "We need to hurry, guys! The demon's not gunna be able to distract them for very long."

Tori yanked Simon out of bed by his ear, not waiting for him to get up himself. When he tried to complain, she grabbed his medication off the table and shoved it into his arms, then shoved him towards the door. "Let's go! We don't have time to play nice, pretty-boy!" She pushed him out the door after making sure the coast was clear.

We started running, and the demi-demon's voice was in my head, telling me she was leaving now that her job was done.

"What do you mean? You haven't even gotten us out of here yet!" I shrieked. Simon and Tori glanced backwards at me as they ran, looking for whoever I was talking to. When they didn't see anyone, Tori just shrugged and returned her focus to the task at hand: running like hell. Simon, on the other hand, watched me with concern. He'd obviously heard the part about the demon and gotten worried – as I'd expected him to. Derek had told us all about demons when we were younger, and we both knew the number one rule of surviving an encounter with a demon: no making deals. Ever.

Which was why I'd been so reluctant to do so in the first place…

"I've fulfilled my promises to you, child. I have my freedom now, and I am going to use it to leave this accursed place once and for all."

"But you promised to get us out of here!"

She laughed – that stupid little laugh that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. "Foolish child, I only promised to ensure you escaped your cells… you never once mentioned the compound." The sound of her laughing faded, and then she was gone. The building stopped shaking as soon as she left, leaving us confused and unprepared in the middle of the hallway.

"There goes our distraction," Tori mumbled.

"How did you know she left?" I asked, amazed: could Tori have some necromancer blood in her?

"The ground stopped shaking… I thought it was kind of obvious," she explained.

Oh wow… blond moment.

We all stopped running once we reached the door at the end of the hallway. "What do we do now?" Simon asked, his voice still rough from sleep.

"I say we stick to the old plan: hiding and running when no one is looking," Tori suggested.

"Good idea," I said, pushing the door open. "Let's go! The guard's will be here any second now!"

We flew down the length of the second hallway, stopping abruptly once we heard approaching footsteps. "Hide!" Tori whispered, looking for a spot. The problem was, there was nowhere to hide: it was a long, straight hallway, with doors on either side.

I was about to ask where Tori thought we should hide when she pulled open a random door and ushered us inside, closing it softly behind her. She turned around and smiled, proud of herself – too bad she'd led us straight into a trap.

We could hear the sound of two male voices coming from the adjoining room. They were guards – we were almost 100 percent sure. Neither of them seemed to have heard us enter the room, though, so we had a few minutes of safety before they found us… or at least we hoped we did. We need a few moments to collect our thoughts and come up with a plan, but it didn't look like we were going to get them.

The guards' laughs drifted in from the other room, and something about them sounded… almost familiar, as if I'd heard them before somewhere.

"Remember, the necro girl is the only one we need alive. The other brats don't matter," one of them reminded the other, the voice strangely familiar to me as well. Then - so quickly we didn't have time to hide, so silently we didn't even hear him coming – a guard appeared in the doorway, clutching his gun to his chest.

It was my guard.

All three of us froze, muscles tensed and ready for the moment we'd have to attack. The guard did the same, looking from Simon's face to Tori's and then to mine. He didn't say a word – didn't move an inch – but we weren't going to let him go back and report our whereabouts.

I caught Tori's eye and sent her a silent message: We have to get rid of him. Do something! He noticed the exchange and shook his head, putting his gun back in the holster at his waist. Tori and I stared at him while Simon just crouched there, staring down the guard.

No one moved for what felt like years. We all remained in our positions, each of us too afraid to shift our stances in case our movements threw off the balance of the strange quadrilateral we formed. The guard was waiting for us to make our move; I was waiting for it too, wondering why Tori and Simon hadn't done anything yet. Maybe they were waiting for the guard to do something? Whatever it was, it kept us all from moving, even fractionally.

The other guard – I was sure it was the one who'd shot Derek that night – called to our guard from the other room. "Hey, Jim? Ya find anythin'? You been awfully quiet there, buddy!" he called, his southern drawl igniting a fury so deep within me that I wanted to stand up, march over to the other room, kill him myself and drag him back to his corpse until he pleaded for the mercy of hell.

I was sure 'Jim' was going to give us up - waited for him to say, "yeah, I found those stupid brats we were searching for! They were hiding right here, the dimwits!" – but he stayed silent and locked eyes with me instead.

"Didn't find a thing," he called back, eyes on mine – I felt like he was trying to send me a message: This is your chance to get out of here, kid. Go now! Hurry!

The guard in the other room started laughing. "Ya well, Davidoff is a kook anyway! Those damned kids prolly already hightailed it outta here, don't cha think? Know I would if I had half a brain!"

Our guard chuckled half-heartedly, then moved into the room with us and closed the door behind him. "Listen to me. You have to get out of here, now. They have every half-demon and spell-caster employee looking for you kids. You have to leave now or you'll never get out of here. Do you understand me?"

Tori was the first to move. She stood up and pulled us up with her, tugging gently on our sleeves. "Cummon guys," she whispered.

We followed her to the door and stepped out once she's opened it, still in a daze of sorts. 'Why would the guard let us go like that?' was probably running through each of our heads at that point, but only I was able to answer my own question: he felt guilty.

Some people will argue that guilt isn't strong enough to make you change your mind – to change your outlook on life completely – but those people haven't felt real guilt yet: the kind of guilt you feel deep in your stomach, the kind that weighs down your heart until you feel like screaming and confessing will be the only way to relieve the heaviness. Guilt can drive you insane – push you to do crazy things you'd never even consider doing under normal circumstances. I'd been hounded by guilt ever since the night Derek was killed, and I had to admit: my mental state wasn't as stable as it could be. I always felt like I was drowning – like all the air was gone, and I was trying my hardest to take a deep breath. It was the guilt of my parent's deaths that'd haunted me as a child – I had been sure it was my fault, and Davidoff had confirmed my suspicions for me – and the guilt of Derek's death our imprisonments that hounded me now. I knew what guilt could do to you – turn you from an innocent little girl to a monster; transform not only your mind but your heart – and I knew that was why the guard had let us go.

"Good luck, kid," he whispered, just before I left the room.

I nodded once and left, following Simon out the door.

We ran full-out down the hallway, never stopping. We knew from personal experience (our first escape) that there were a few more hallways to go before we reached the exit, but we weren't worried – we were sure we were home free.

And we were. As we burst out of the last hallway and out into the night, we all breathed a huge sigh of relief – well, Simon and I. Tori was still on edge and insisted that we let her cast a few Disillusionment spells to keep us from being seen.

She closed her eyes, and after a few seconds, I could no longer see Simon or Tori. They were there, though – I could hear their breathing, Simon's still a bit labored and Tori's a little quicker due to all the running we'd been doing.

With one last look at the compound where we'd been through so much, we disappeared into the night.

This time, we knew the only way we were coming back would be in body-bags.

A/N: So there it is! A long-ass chapter (took me long enough, right?) for you guys, complete with (awesome?) escape scene and some drama. Make sure you let me know what you thought about what happened with Simon (theories about what happened to him, maybe?) and the guard helping them escape! :)

BTW, if any of you have read Incarceron, lemme know what you thought of it!

Anyways, 30 reviews and I'll post the next chapter along with the link for the outtake (Derek and Tori's walk to the city). Sound good? (Please guys? It's 8000 words long! Leave me some love, won't you?)

REVIEWW!