"It was the badger again. It was doing something. It was destroying something that I couldn't see properly. And it was getting angry and angry but something was weird about it and I can't put my finger on it exactly. Just that maybe it did look familiar and that maybe it was one of the kids of the FAYZ but I certainly couldn't name it." Caine said. He was on his feet, moving slowly around of the room. He wasn't as badly hurt as he had originally thought, and while everything still burned and ached, he was able to move. Moving actually helped in some way. Much like when he first woke up.

"So that's all you dreamt about? The badger?" Diana pressed. She was dressed in a cotton long sleeved blouse and a knee length denim skirt and a pair of blue sandals. As she added some plain earrings and a necklace she turned to face him.

Caine hesitated then moved over and stood in front of her. It was weird now that she was taller than him, and her body was physically two years older, but somehow that didn't seem to register to either of them. Especially not when Caine leaned forward and kissed her on the lips, wrapping his hand around the back of her neck and holding her in place. Diana shut her eyes and kissed back, reaching to touch his chest. Then she pushed him away slowly and smiled slyly.

"I have work."

"You don't even like it." Caine snorted.

"So? I need to do it. Otherwise we don't get money." Diana shrugged. "As it is, if Sam doesn't remember his own job he's going to be fired soon."

Caine stared at her and snorted, shaking his head. That judging look felt like a slap and Diana resisted the urge to say something snarky to him about his death keeping him from doing anything.

"When we were in the FAYZ, you never dreamed of settling down in a lousy job you hated. So why the hell are you doing it now? Huh?" Caine scowled. "People from the FAYZ should know better than anyone else not to waste life doing something they hate just for rent on a poor apartment. You should know better than anyone to live life to the full, including finding your dream job."

Diana scowled and went to walk passed him but he grabbed her and kissed her again, forcefully enough to hurt her arms where he was squeezing. Then he let her go and sighed, shaking his head.

"Fine, just hang on and wait for me to get ready." Caine sighed.

"What?" Diana blinked.

"I've been stuck in the house for ages now. I'm coming with you to work." Caine said, changing slowly from his jeans into a pair of shorts and the white vest they had wrapped the lizard in.

"No you are not!" Diana snorted.

"Yes I am."

"Good luck with that." Diana sneered, heading for the door. "You won't get very far this time."

"If you don't let me come, I'll stick my head out the window and scream until someone looks up and sees me. Maybe Ripley will be wandering passed..." Caine smiled at her.

Diana openly glared at him. He continued to smile and shrugged his shoulders. Diana took a breath and calmed herself down, but she knew Caine too well and knew if she did leave him here much longer then he would start screaming and bringing attention just to get some fresh air out in the open.

"You said it yourself. You work at that place because hardly anyone goes there and those that do don't know the FAYZ well enough to identify you. Or me for that matter." Caine shrugged. "I could stay in the corner, have a drink, and give you some company."

"My boss won't go for that." Diana said, but she doubted it.

"Sure he will." Caine shrugged. "Just get me some sunglasses, maybe a hat and some shoes and we can go. When do you have to be in?"

"Soon." Diana grumbled. "I have the afternoon shift today."

"Okay then. Let's get the stuff and go."

Diana sighed but knew better than to argue. And part of her would like Caine to be there for some company. Normally Landy didn't even hang around for very long meaning they could have some time alone together in the cafe.

She went into the main room and ignored the others who were all sat around, writing down more on Astrid's laptop about what they knew. Diana went straight into Sam's bedroom and came back out with one of Sam's baseball hats supporting a team she never paid close enough attention to identify, a pair of dark sunglasses and a pair of his old shoes. She went over to the side and grabbed the tissue box before returning to her bedroom and giving it all to Caine, making sure to stuff the shoes so they fit better and he would hopefully not stumble as much.

"What's she doing?" Kevin frowned, watching Diana pass.

Sam shrugged and looked back down at the list Astrid was making in her lap.

"How do I look?" Caine asked, pulling the hat down slightly over his face.

"Like a homeless man." Diana nodded, looking at his too-big shoes, his uncombed hair and the clothes that – while fit – still seemed out of place.

"Perfect! Let's go!"

"Now I get to convince Sam to let you go. What fun." Diana mumbled as Caine walked to the door ahead of her. He still moved stiffly and it might make him stand out but hopefully not too much.

"Where are you going?" Astrid blinked, looking up as Caine headed for the door.

Diana sighed and shrugged. "Caine's coming to work with me."

"Work!" Sam gasped. "I completely forgot about work! Oh man! I'm dead!"

"Uh... Sam..." Edilio said awkwardly. "Uh... That call... I'm sorry man."

Sam slouched down. He buried his face in his hands and moaned loudly. Great. They had just lost a chunk of their income. And that had been his favourite job he had ever had. It was the perfect place, the perfect job, at the beach helping fellow surfers and maybe getting his own surf in every now and then when his shift was over with the sea salt filling the air and a gentle cold wind around him.

Diana watched for a moment before she figured the best thing for them to do was to get out of there while they were too distracted to stop them or yell at them. She opened the door and dragged Caine out, shutting it carefully and leading him down the long stairs to the bottom. He couldn't move fast but the fact that he was moving at all was pretty good considering how badly he had been injured. Slow and steady.

Eventually they made it to the bottom of the stairs and left the building. It was a good thing that the sun was up and the temperature was high. Caine didn't look out of place dressed down with sunglasses and a hat shading his face. Diana hurried beside of him, holding his hand and guiding him the long way she took to avoid people around through the alleys towards Coco Mix. She felt bad for Sam, who was loosing a job, but at the moment all she could think of was keeping Caine from getting caught by anyone.

As they approached Coco Mix, Diana paused long enough to wonder how they were going to handle this. Hopefully Landy would head out like he normally did but he didn't yesterday and so he might not today. Diana hesitated and turned to Caine.

"Wait here for ten minutes, count it in your head, and then come in. I should be serving by then and you can order what you want and sit down." Diana explained.

Caine nodded and watched her head inside.

Diana didn't react when Landy passed a sarcastic comment about her clothing like he always did. She marched straight into the back room and put her things away as she quickly as she could, grabbed the apron and done up her hair so it was out of the way of her face. Then she was back out around the corner and wiping it ready to serve drinks and food. Already she was boiling over and having trouble breathing properly in the stuffy shop.

A few minutes later Caine stepped in, keeping his head low as he walked over and casually ordered lemonade before he went and sat down in the very corner of the shop out of the way, a shadow casting over him where one of the lights no longer worked and hadn't been changed since.

After a few moments of mopping up the already dry and clean counter, Diana watched Caine before she turned to Landy.

"Are you in all day again?" Diana asked, trying to sound casual but snarky like she normally was. It was hard trying to act normal when you were actually trying.

"What's it bloody matter to you?" Landy growled.

"I was just curious." Diana grumbled, glaring at the counter that she continued to wipe.

Landy snorted. Diana began to rearrange the counter though she didn't need to. Normally she didn't even do nearly as much work but her nerves were eating at her and she felt the need to stay busy. They spent the next hour of Diana scrubbing at a clean surface, Caine sipping lemonade and angrily watching and waiting for Landy to leave, but instead Landy was on the counter, feet up, scratching himself like a pig.

Finally, just when Caine was about to need another drink, Landy stood up and headed for the door.

"Are you going?" Diana asked, hurrying around the counter.

Landy paused and frowned at her. "Yes. I'll be back later. Don't leave until I get back."

"Got it." Diana said, turning and scrubbing the counter yet again.

Landy stared at her, snorting before he left the building, slamming the door behind of him. As soon as he was out of sight Diana turned and hurried over to Caine.

"This place is horrible!" Caine snapped. "It's hot! It smells! And your boss made me want to throw up."

"I know but it pays." Diana shrugged.

"Can I get another drink? Maybe some lunch?" Caine said, standing up slowly and grinning. "Why don't we both eat? Make a date out of it?"

Diana smiled and went around the counter. She came back with two sandwiches and two flapjacks though neither looked especially nice, they were still edible. She made them each a drink, two plain flat warm cokes. She would have liked to have a tea or maybe even a hot chocolate but the hot drinks here were absolutely terrible! They were even worse than the fizzy drinks they were about to have.

They sat down facing one another and began to eat. It was weird but nice. They hadn't even actually been a real date before and this was as close as they were going to get. Diana normally had breaks like this, especially since no one ever came shopping, but it was better now that she had some kind of company. Especially when the company was Caine.

"So this place gets no customers then, huh?" Caine smirked.

"No, it gets a few." Diana explained. "How else would it stay open? But nowhere near enough to make a profit. I think Landy does something else in his spare time or he won the lottery or some kind of inheritance that goes along with it."

Caine nodded and ate his flapjack first. He couldn't bring himself to get used to the beautiful tastes of food again. Then he sipped at his drink and smirked at Diana. "So... If I remember correctly you always said you wanted to be a girlfriend. You never really had a career in mind."

Diana sighed. "Caine, don't start. I work here for a reason. I don't like it but I accept it. So why don't you accept it and let it go."

Caine shook his head. "Sorry. I just feel I dragged you down and I don't want to do that anymore."

She laughed loudly and smirked. "Please don't be this guy. It really doesn't suit you."

She stood up and walked around the counter again, flicking through the food for something lighter and healthier to nibble on, but Coco Mix wasn't exactly known for its health.

Just then the stores phone rang.

Caine watched Diana walk around and pick it up. He couldn't hear Landy on the other line but he could hear Diana snapping at him and pulling faces at whatever it was he wanted her to do. Caine couldn't understand how Diana had turned into this girl. No, he could. He saw the transformation slowly through their time together in the FAYZ. She started out as the bad girl, but then slowly became someone consumed by guilt and the need for redemption. And now she was the push over who was too afraid to do anything more than hide away in a lousy job. It was sad.

When she hung up she slammed the phone hard and turned, throwing her cloth down beside of the sink. She turned around stamping her feet on the ground and heading from the room.

"What is it?" Caine called.

"Landy wants me to rearrange the whole of the bloody storeroom. That is going to take all day and it doesn't even need to be done. He just wants me to do it because he loves pissing me off."

"Maybe you should quit?" Caine asked innocently.

"Just... Stay here." Diana growled. "And keep your head down."

She stormed from the room and into the back. Caine was left alone, sipping at coke and picking at an off-putting sandwich while he waited.

G*O*N*E

No one knew what could cause plants to poison someone while growing under her skin all along their bones. They had no answers for her, or her family who they eventually called in to find her in this sorry state on the hospital bed. They had deemed that she was not contagious but that didn't mean they had any more ideas about her condition or how to save her. But just because she was in a coma didn't mean she couldn't hear everything that was happening around her. She could hear the doctors talking, she could hear her parents crying, she could hear the nurses gossiping as they cleaned her body or fixed one of the many tubes that were attached to her body or through her nose or mouth. Sinder had never liked hospitals much, like normal people they reminded her too much of how badly damaged you were, but now she felt even worse because she could feel everything too and she could feel the tubes up her nose, down her throat in her arms or attached to her head, or to her finger that was monitoring her heart beat. That was another horrible part. Her own heart beat was constantly in the background in an infuriating repetitive sound that kept her from being able to relax because it just sounded so damn loud right beside of her head and for some reason part of her was just waiting for it to fall into a single long tone to say she had died.

She had been there for a while now and so far even she didn't understand what had happened to her though she was terrified beyond belief. Well she did know sort of what happened. Sinder knew that she had been bitten by a butterfly and that it had turned her arm green and then she had fainted from shock. Only after she had fainted her body had refused to wake up even after she had told it to. And then she had found it hard to breath. By then Sinder had been taken to hospital and she had been hooked up to the heart monitor and something that helped her breath, all the while hearing and feeling everything around her. She had felt the cold, the warm, the itches and the stings. And she had felt then cutting into her arm and finding the plants growing inside of her. She had felt them too. They had been what caused her to feel itchy.

Sinder had not actually been in the hospital for very long. She had been entered and she had stayed over night and been there for most of the morning the next day. It was impossible to tell when she had fallen asleep and when she was awake unless there was someone else in the room talking because even in her sleep she heard the beeping sound of her heart. Only the next day did come and she was feeling just as miserable, unable to move or do anything as they took more samples of the plants from inside of her arm and took even more blood. She was more upset than she was scared. Like so much had happened and she just couldn't bring herself to be afraid of it anymore. Part of her just wished death would come so it would end and she could sleep forever without having to hear the constant natter of her own heart right in her ears. Plus she wouldn't have to worry anymore either. Silence and peace came with death...

They all seemed to just be taking different things from her. They even took a urine sample, hair samples, and any other DNA sample that they could get from her. Her parents hadn't left her side since they had first shown up and were there, even when she was going to the toilet which was embarrassing. Her mother held her hand; her father was standing beside of her mother, unable to sit and kept pacing the whole time he was there. At first when they sat beside of her they told her off, even if they weren't sure she could hear them they took time to tell her off for leaving without telling them.

Then they had seemed to grow tired of shouting at her and lately they had been talking to her more miserably and calmly, begging her to wake up so they could forgive her properly.

And then she woke up.

It was quite confusing when it happened. She woke up but something else happened to her at the same time as she woke up. The only way she could describe it was that her mind broke. She woke up, her breathing picked up, the itching left her body and she felt good but then her mind began to break. She felt cold and sick all at once; she shivered and didn't react when her parents began to call for her as soon as they saw she had woken up and opened her eyes. They tried to talk to her, and the doctors came running in and tried to talk to her and asked her questions but she couldn't respond to them. She couldn't do anything. Her mind was broken. She knew what was happening around her, she knew what they were saying and asking her but she didn't register it in her mind because all she could think about was that something in her mind had broken. Something had snapped inside of her when she woke. Someone had broken her.

Someone had broken something inside of her.

Someone had broken a part of her.

G*O*N*E

It could feel him now. It could smell him. It was meters away from seeing him. It wanted to see him soon or It would go out of Its mind searching because now It was just so close. It was sure that what It was searching for was a human being now. A male human being. It knew that much at the very least. It was a human and it was basically waiting for It to find him. It moved straight down the street in daytime. Normally It slept during the day but It was so close It couldn't sleep now. It was going to find him today before the sun went down and It lost him again and was forced to start searching all over again.

It saw the building where he was waiting in, no longer moving, just waiting there, waiting for It to find him. Maybe he really was waiting for It. Maybe that was what It was searching for. They were searching for each other for some greater purpose. The building was small but the door was easily pushed open and soon It was stepping into the hot area of the room, immediately noticing the stuffy smell of the inside but not caring because he was there. It was a horrible place but he was in there still waiting for It.

Caine sighed and put his feet up on the table, slowly so as not to upset his sides. He leaned back and wished he could get through to Diana and make her see sense about what a terrible place this is. She had stuck by him through so long; she deserved to have some kind of joy in her life now it was over and they were forced to be normal people.

It was then that he noticed the dog. He recognised it vaguely but he couldn't name the breed. It was black, brown patches on its chest and on its nose around its lips, and quite skinny in the legs and tight in the body. It was the kind of dog that was used in the police force. Police dogs... it was a kind of police dog... Doberman? That was it. It was a large Doberman dog.

The dog walked into the shop and began to walk straight over to Caine. Caine quickly set his feet down and stood up, walking around the table and frowning. Since when could dogs just walk into shops. Yeah the door was easily pushed open but dogs didn't just enter shops like that, did they? He wasn't sure how he felt about it. He didn't like dogs. He didn't hate them either. Mostly they were annoying and he hadn't been exactly sad when most of them had been eaten in the FAYZ. But he wasn't afraid of them or anything.

Only something was off about this dog. It was watching him closely and slowly making its way towards of him like it had serious thoughts on its mind. Its eyes were unblinking, it didn't growl or bark. It just walked towards of him with wide eyes. Caine moved around the table and opened his mouth to call for Diana but decided against it. If this dog was dangerous he didn't want to put Diana in danger.

"Good boy?" Caine said, slowly walking around, not knowing what else he was supposed to say.

The dog stepped forward, still staying silent. It seemed so fascinated by Caine that it couldn't even bring itself to speak.

"Stay? Sit? Down?" Caine guessed. His fear was leaving as the dog didn't seem to be threatening. It was just acting weird and annoying.

Then the dog barked. It was surprisingly loud and made Caine jump in shock. He blinked and heard Diana call but didn't listen to what she was saying. Fear was back now. He didn't have any powers that would help him. He was weak. He was pathetic. And this animal was dangerous. He saw its teeth.

It jumped forward. Caine ducked down to the side and hit his shoulder against the wall. Everything hurt again. His shoulder, his head thumped and his ribs burned but he forced himself to move because now the dog was growling at him. It didn't know why. It wasn't sure what was happening. It just knew that now that It had found him, It felt the urge to attack him. It felt the urge to hurt him because if It hurt him then It would be free... It knew that if It pushed him then they could be free together. It was weird, but It knew all this like It knew It had to breath.

Caine hurried towards the back room, meaning to warn Diana and maybe lock themselves in together. Then it would give them a chance to find something to fight back or maybe there would be a phone in there to call animal patrol to come and collect that crazy dog. Only before he could get there his ribs burned and stalled him just long enough for the dog to jump and slam the door shut just as Diana was about to leave with a frown on her face.

"Hey!" Diana snapped. "What the hell!" She banged her fists on the door but it was stuck due to the automatic lock and the keys were outside on the counter. "Caine! What's going on?! Is that a dog?!"

Caine had no time to answer. He crawled away from the dog that approached him slowly with a growl and struggled not to seize up in pain. And then he was being lifted off the ground.

The dog was still standing by the door, out of reaching distance of Caine yet some invisible force was lifting him up off of the ground. He was being held in mid air, some invisible hand holding him but he couldn't see or even feel it around his body. Caine looked down and saw the dogs eyes were trained on him as he lifted higher and higher until he was sure he could reach up and touch the ceiling. He struggled but he couldn't lift his arms away from his body and he was starting to feel light headed due to the pressure from his head wound and being lifted into the air. He kicked and shouted but Diana was stuck in the storeroom and they were alone anyway.

"Let me go!" Caine snarled. "You stupid dog! What are you doing?!"

The dog barked and growled, watching him. Caine kicked his legs and tried to pull his arm free from the invisible hold around him. He was finding it hard to breath but luckily there was no longer any pain in his side or shoulder while he was being held up by nothing. But his head was still swimming and he had no idea what this dog was going to do to him now he was at his mercy.

This was his power. Caine knew that now. This dog had his power and he was using it against him. It was just like with Sinder, which really did prove that it wasn't just dead animals that came back to life; it was anyone with the power. And he had no idea how he was supposed to beat this animal! Sinder had been killed with fire, but Bette had been killed with a smack around the head. So what would kill this dog?

He had to think! He wasn't an Astrid The Genius but Caine had his own brains. They had gotten him further than most people had ever gotten and they were going to get him out of this. The problem was that he knew nothing about either Sinder or Bette and so he knew nothing about their powers that he could link with his and this dog. He had no idea what to do and that alone was frustrating him.

Suddenly Caine got an idea. It was a crazy idea, random and he was probably wrong but it was the only idea he had.

But first he had to figure out a way to get down.

Caine turned and glared at the dog. If this dog was really him, then maybe this would work. If it did work then it was going to cause him pain but at least it would get him down.

It worked. They stared at one another, neither breaking eye contact and Caine refused to so much as blink even when his head began to pound even louder. The dog was insulted and angry by the way Caine refused to back down in the same way Caine would be angry. It was angry at the disobedience and the lack of fear while demonstrating Its powers and threw Caine against the nearest wall. The pain was horrible but it wasn't the worst and Caine quickly managed to stand, running towards the counter. He jumped over as the dog raced around and followed him.

There wasn't much behind the counter. Caine grabbed a nearby tea cup and threw it at the dog. The first cup missed but the second hit it right on the head, stunning the dog and causing him to pause for a moment. He paused long enough for Caine to crawl and push himself up against the counter, gripping the cabinet handle with one hand and the other gripping the counter above him. He couldn't move anymore, he was at the end of the wall and the only other place to go was up and over the counter. Caine tried pulling his legs up as close to his torso as he could but the pain was crazy. He felt tears in his eyes but quickly blinked them away, breathing stiff short breaths because deep ones hurt his sides, and waited.

The dog growled, crouching and glaring at him where he half sat half lay on the ground, gripping a handle and the counter above his head.

"Come on you piece of shit bitch." Caine snarled; his breath weak due to pain. "You dirty trampy mutt."

The dog growled but still did not jump or attack. It continued to watch him.

"You really are a bitch." Caine sneered. "You're a frightened little pathetic mutt!"

Caine smirked and laughed just as the dog pounced for him. Caine waited just a second before he pulled open the door. The dog hit it hard, cracking the wooden frame. It stumbled back a few steps before righting itself and ready to jump the door over on top of him. Only Caine had moved by then, leaning around the door and shoving the dog inside. It wasn't a quick or graceful move. The dog wasn't exactly small and so didn't go all the way in at first but it was confused long enough for Caine to slam the door on it. The door caught its tail and paw but it made no sound to show it was hurt.

It made plenty of sounds to show it was angry, however. Caine propped his feet up on the opposite wall, pushing with as much strength as he could afford to spare with his back against the door, holding it trapped inside. He risked breaking his legs but it was the only way he knew how to keep him trapped. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe this wasn't going to work. Maybe his theory was wrong or this was just the wrong way to go about it. But then trapping it, even if this didn't work, didn't exactly have a downside.

Caine loosed his hold just long enough for the dog to snatch its tail and paw out of the way before he had it trapped again. He could still hear Diana shrieking and screaming from inside of the store room, banging on the door with some heavy object that was slowly chipping away splinters but there was nothing he could do for her.

The dog inside the small cupboard was tearing apart at the boxes and bags of biscuits and cookies in its rage that had been stored inside. It didn't even notice that it was trapped at first but when It did It froze. The space was small and dark but that wasn't what bothered It. What bothered It was that It was trapped. It didn't like being trapped. It didn't like feeling trapped. It struggled against Its new cage, Its new prison but there was no way out. Even when It did beat at the door, he was there holding it shut so he could not escape. The boy had him trapped. He was trapped. Trapped. Trapped.

The dog's heart beat rose until it was like a drum in his chest, racking against his ribs so loudly that his head began to ache. His skin was cold under his short fur and he felt his canine body shaking terrible hard as the walls began to close around him and he had no place to escape to. He had flashes from a previous life. A life in the FAYZ. A life where he had been taken down a mine shaft, where he had been trapped there until It was done with him and even after he was allowed to go It still had Its hooks in him and he was still trapped. Trapped.

The dog lifted its head and howled out its anguish and pain and fear. Mostly fear. Actually it was only fear. It wasn't in pain it could only feel fear from being trapped.

It was then, when it threw its body around in the small space and its heart was beating faster than ever before, that the heart beat stopped suddenly and the dog began to burn and melt into a black puddle of ash.

Caine was still leaning against the door when he felt a cold chill. It dribbled over his body; left him shivering and frozen. It streamed down his throat and swirled around his lungs. It filled every part of him just as he felt the black puddle seeping through the cracks of the cupboard. Caine jumped to his feet to avoid touching it and leaned against the counter, still shivering and feeling like his body was turning icy.

"It worked?" Caine whispered, opening the cupboard as a flood of black liquid and ash rinsed from the wooden surface, staining the floor as well as the cupboard itself. "It worked!"

"Caine! What is the hell is happening! Let me out of here! God damn it! Caine!"

Caine looked up to where Diana was still banging against the wooden frame of the store room. He looked back down to where the dog puddle was still growing. Then he looked down at his body that was still blue and shivering from the ridiculous cold. He swallowed and tried to ignore the cold that was still covering his body, assuming it was nerves from nearly dying and killing his own animal creature. Or even discovering the truth before Astrid The So-Called Genius. He lifted his hand in front of him, meaning to guide himself towards the door so that he could let her out but instead the door was ripped from its hinges and thrown across the room.

Diana shrieked and fell back as she watched the door hit the opposite wall and collapse, cracked and broken in several places. Caine blinked in shock and the cold leaked from his body, replaced by warmth once more. He took several seconds, staring from the broken door to his hand and back again as Diana stepped from the store room and looked over at him in complete shock.

"I..." Caine whispered. A grin split across his lips and he fixed his eyes on Diana. "I have my power back."


36) What do you think is wrong with Sinder now?