Chapter 1
"Where am I?" Emily asked the man standing in front of her. She was still getting her bearings. It looked like she was in a hospital room. She looked around again. No, not a hospital room, it wasn't that clean, it didn't smell like a hospital.
"You were in a car crash, a bad one." the man said. He was wearing scrubs, he was a nurse. The gloves he started taking off were covered in blood. Emily was confused. This definitely wasn't a hospital, but there were medical supplies around the room and that man was definitely a medical professional.
"Oh my god, what happened?"
"Your SUV sustained the brunt of the impact. Specifically, you sustained it. Do you remember?"
Emily tried to think back. "No, I-," she cut herself off as she suddenly remembered. The spikes on the road, losing control of the SUV. She remembered both cars coming to a halt before a truck crashed into them. "Wait, yeah. My team." The sheer panic she felt was evident in her voice. She needed to know if her team was okay.
"Take - take it easy, Agent Prentiss. Got you stabilized, but you've got to stay put." As the man tried to calm her down, make her stay where she was, she realized she didn't tell the man her name, she hadn't told him anything. How did he know these things?
"Where am I? This isn't a hospital. I've been in enough hospitals. I know how they sound, how they smell. So where the hell am I?" The man looked behind him, as if to check that they were alone. "You're being taken care of. We both are." The man started to leave the room.
"Wait. What - what does that mean? I don't understand you." Her fear and pain were clear as day in her voice, which she hated. She heard the man talking to someone behind the curtain. "Yeah, she's conscious." Someone else made their way into the room, moving the curtain out of their way.
Scratch.
"Well, hello, Emily." Now it made sense. They knew they were most likely driving into a trap. He released the spikes, he drove the truck that crashed into them. He had taken her.
"Son of a bitch."
"It's nice to meet you too, finally." He smiled down at the brunette, satisfied at her remark.
"Did you grab all of us? Huh? Are we all here? Luke! JJ!" She winced in pain. She desperately hoped someone from the team would answer. As much as she didn't want them to be hurt, at least she would know they were alive. At least she wouldn't be alone.
"No. It's just you. Your team is fine, by the way," Emily felt hope. Yes, that meant she was in even more danger, she was here by herself, but her team hadn't been taken, and they were safe. Scratch smirked slightly, a twinkle of evil in his eyes. "Excuse me. I take that back. The truck I drove into your team did kill SSA Stephen Walker - whiplash, tragic, leaves behind a wife and two children, I believe."
"No." Emily couldn't hold her tears back. Stephen was dead. Because of her. She was the one who hired him, asked him to look into Peter Lewis, asked for his help.
"That's good. Get it all out." Scratch was enjoying this.
"I will make sure you fry for this."
"Will you? Well, maybe you should take a look at yourself first..." Scratch pulled Emily's blanket down, revealing her broken legs. "Because from where I'm standing, you won't be doing much of anything for the rest of your life." With that, Scratch left, and Emily was alone again. She took this time to try to fight back, and remember what she has to fight for, remember her family and all that she would be giving up if she let Peter Lewis win.
"𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯, 𝘌𝘮! 𝘛𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘬!" 𝘗𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥. "𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭! 𝘞𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵!" 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘥. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘨𝘶𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴... 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘯. 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘣𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘦𝘵, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘺𝘦𝘵, 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘣𝘪𝘢𝘯. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘪, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘶𝘱, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥. "𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘵." 𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘶𝘱. 𝘏𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘩𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘣𝘺𝘦. 𝘏𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘢 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘪𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭. 𝘏𝘰𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘙𝘦𝘪𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬, 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘩𝘰𝘭. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. "𝘖𝘬𝘢𝘺, 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦, 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘦." 𝘛𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘥, 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘗𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. "𝘕𝘰! 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘥!" 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥, 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵. "𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯, 𝘗𝘎. 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘭." 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘗𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘣𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴. 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘎𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘢 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘺, 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩. "𝘞𝘩𝘰𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘚𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘌𝘮, 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶." 𝘑𝘑 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺, 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮. 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘑𝘑 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘰. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦. "𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺, 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦. 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶." 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘑𝘑 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘰, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩. "𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵?" 𝘑𝘑 𝘱𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘳. "𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘵? 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦." 𝘑𝘑 𝘱𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘶𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘮𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘥 "𝘖𝘬𝘢𝘺, 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺. 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯," 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘶𝘱𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘣𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥. "𝘑𝘢𝘫𝘦, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶." 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘣𝘦𝘥 𝘑𝘑'𝘴 𝘬𝘦𝘺𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘗𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧. 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥 𝘥𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘬. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘑𝘑'𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘑𝘑 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳. "𝘖𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘑𝘑, 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱." 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘺. 𝘑𝘑 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘧𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺'𝘴. 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘯. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘑𝘑 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮. "𝘋𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬." 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘥. 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘑𝘑 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘺𝘫𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘑𝘑 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘪𝘯. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘤𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘑𝘑 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘺𝘫𝘢𝘮𝘢 𝘵𝘰𝘱. "𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱." 𝘑𝘑 𝘱𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘱𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘨 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴. 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘛-𝘚𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘺. 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥, 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘑𝘑 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘑𝘑 𝘴𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘥. 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘑𝘑 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯. "𝘐'𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘬, 𝘌𝘮." "𝘐'𝘮 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱, 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺?" 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘱. 𝘑𝘑 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘣𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵, 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳. "𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘌𝘮. 𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦, 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦, 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦." 𝘑𝘑 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺'𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴. 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺'𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘴𝘢𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘑𝘑'𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘑𝘑 𝘵𝘰𝘰. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦, 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘱 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥, 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳. "𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘑𝘢𝘫𝘦. 𝘐 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰𝘰. 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦." 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘶𝘱. 𝘑𝘑 𝘵𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦. 𝘐𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦. "𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘦." 𝘑𝘑 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘑𝘑 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰, 𝘪𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵, 𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘥𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘴𝘰. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘩𝘰𝘭. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘵... "𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦." 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘑𝘑 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘩𝘶𝘨. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘰. 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯, 𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦. 𝘏𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘑𝘑 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯.
Emily opened her eyes when she heard Scratch speak.
"Taking a little mindfulness break? Trying to control your breathing? That's smart." He was clipping his nails next to her, the clippings falling into the bed. "It'll keep you sane, and I need you sane. Oh, how rude. Excuse me." He brushed the clippings off of the bed.
"Look, I'm only alive because you want something, so what do you want?"
"Information that only you have."
"What are you waiting for, then? Dose me with your drugs, the ones that make me see whatever delusion you suggest, and I'll tell you want you want."
"Hmm, I would love nothing more than that. Unfortunately, in your current psychical condition, the sevoflurane and scopolamine would send you into a stroke."
"Guess we're at a stalemate then."
"No. I still have drugs than can make you talk, just different drugs." Scratch turned around and grabbed something. He showed Emily the bottle with a slight smile. "This is morphine. This is what is making your life very livable right now. Without this... your body will be on fire, and then you really will tell me everything I want, no delusion necessary."
Scratch left the room again, and Emily was wondering about what he could possibly want, how far he would go to get it, and how long she could take his torture.