I wake up slowly, still drowsy. I'm on a hard surface, and even though I'm awake, my eyes refuse to open.

What underneath me? I move my hand slightly, feeling a solid exterior. I hear a groan and freeze, eyes flying open to see white ceiling above me.

Last night comes to mind, reading and then being carried to Zero's cot and drifting off to sleep.....wait a second, that must mean the thing beneath me is Zero.

Slowly, my head turns to see what my hand was just feeling.

I come face to face with a bare chest, and quickly snatch my hand away, falling all the bed with a small, surprised yelp.

Why is his chest bare?? Did he take off his shirt?

Zero sits up, panting, his face with a slight red tint to it, like he was holding his breath.

"I'm sorry, Zero, I didn't mean to. I-" I'm cut off when Zero reaches out and grabs my arm, pulling me up and back onto the cot. He wraps his arms around me and pulls me close, letting rumbles out of his chest.

I tense up, feeling extremely awkward to be embraced by a huge muscular and naked chest.

I push his face, which has gotten nearer, away and stand up. "What time is it?" I ask, yawning.

Zero points to the clock outside of the window and I feel myself freeze again. It's nine o'clock, which means it's an hour past the time Mrs. Clark said I would stay. Is my dad back yet?

I turn back to Zero, a panicked look in my eyes like he might hold the answer even though he most likely has no idea what's running through my head at the moment.

He pauses, his head cocked to the side like he's listening to something. And then he points behind me, towards the glass wall, and I turn around just in time to see Mrs. Clark step out of the elevator.

I smile, giving Zero a thumbs up.

"I think it's time I leave," I start to say, and Zero's eyes widen, not a good sign, so I rush to continue "But um, well, I'll be back really soon. So please just stay put for now." I say quickly, praying that I don't get turned into a sack of potatoes again.

Zero let's out a huff, but it sounds like he agrees, although a little reluctantly,s o I walk over to the door, swiping the card and exiting while Zero watches me the entire time from his cot.

"So how did it go?" Mrs. Clark asks eagerly once I've left.

"It was......fine." I say hesitantly, and her face goes sour.

"Fine? I sent you in there for information, and all you give me is fine?" She asks and I cringe. "Maybe you were right. I should find another person for this-"

"No!" I say, cutting her off. I'd hate if another person like Sylvia was hired, and I still haven't gotten the chance to ask Zero about the connection, now that I know he can understand and speak English...well not that I've heard him speak it, only through my head.

I take a deep breath, racking my brain for something. "Zero has more powers than changing temperature." I blurt, hoping it's true.

"Oh?" She says, raising an eyebrow.

I nod slowly, wondering what I just got myself into. "Yes, but he won't show you."

"And how did you find this out, Ashley?"

I shift from foot to foot, my mind racing. "I felt it through the connection. He's holding back something."

Mrs. Clark nods thoughtfully, tapping a finger on her clip board that never leaves her side.

"I'll look into it. Anything else happen?" She says, focusing her eyes back on me.

I shake my head, trying my hardest not to turn red when I remember how we slept together. "No, that's it."

"Oh really? It doesn't look like it." She comments, and I curse her observational skills. "You forget that I was monitoring you the whole time. I saw everything."

I flinch, grimacing at the thought that one, she was watching the whole time, and two, she saw everything.

"I never thought you'd be that type of girl, Ashley." She finally says, a little icy bite to her tone.

What the heck? What does she mean 'that type of girl'?

"I put two beds in there for a reason."She continues, her gaze unwavering, The more she talks the angrier I get. When did this conversation get so messed up and awkward? Oh, that's right, when she accused me of being 'that type of girl'.

"He moved me." I grit out. There's a pause, and then a sigh.

"It's in the past. Now, out of curiosity, are you going to the Braun celebration?"

I blink in shock. Is she talking about the annual employee party?

The Braun party is a celebration for all the scientists, guards, personnel and etc. to celebrate the year of hard work. I did not go to last year's because I'm not really one for parties, and I usually have no friends to go with. Peter always asks me to go, but I'm not sure about just going with him, not to mention the fit my dad would throw.

"When is it?" I ask.

"On Saturday. We rented a nice boat for the venue."

Saturday. That's in three days. Should I go? It'd no doubt be awkward......then all of a sudden an idea pops into my head.

"Can Zero go?"

Mrs. Clark blanches, her face twisting up in surprise. I look over to the room and see Zero sitting on his cot, watching us. Can he hear us?

When he sees me looking he nods, and my eyes widen, before I wipe the expression off my face and turn back to Mrs. Clark.

"That's a unexpected question, Ashley. I don't think it would be wise to have Zero out in the open like that."

"Please." I say, the cogs in my head starting to turn. "Zero knows next to nothing about our world. Maybe if we show him the party, let him be free and have a good time, he'll want to work with us more."

She sighs, shaking her head. "It still doesn't seem worth it enough to risk everyone's safety."

I take a deep breath, preparing myself. "I'll go to the party. I promise not to leave Zero's side for a second, and I'll work with you to collect more information. Just please, let Zero have this."

There's a few seconds of silence, and I stay utterly still, refusing to interrupt her thinking. Finally she scribbles something down on her clip board.

"Fine. But if anything happens and he escapes, we'll resort to our only information source left."

"Which is?" I ask, thinking I already know the answer.

"You."

I shiver at the threat but nod. Zero being at the party is my chance. No doubt he's going to have every guard in the area watching him, but there's still going to be plenty of oppurtunity to pull him aside and get some answers about his ability to speak English. Him enjoying the party is an added bonus. it' be nice if he could have some fun, for one night party instead of locked inside the cell.

I'm confident this is the right thing to do, and with an excited wave at Zero, I head to the elevator, ignoring the slight cry of protest my ears pick up. I did tell him I'd be back soon.

Peter still isn't in the lobby even though its the next morning, and I glance at the trash where his note is, before hurrying home.

I slam through the front door of our house, breathing heavily from jogging most of the way there.

"Dad?" I call out, storming through the house. I pause when I hear a car pull up In front of the house and I run to the front door, yanking it open to find my dad coming up the driveway, wearing a nice suit and tie instead of his usual lab coat, looking like a business man instead of a scientist. It takes me by surprise for a second, before I throw myself at him, hugging him tightly.

"Woah, Ashley, nice to see you too."

"How was the trip?" I ask, pulling away from him and following him into the house while he starts undoing his tie.

"It was good, the official just wanted to do some paperwork, but I did have a nice meal in a restaurant by the ocean. Maybe I'll take you there for your birthday."

"Sounds nice." I say, leaning on the kitchen counter while watching him take off his coat and hang it up in the closet, trading that coat for a lab one.

"Yes I apologize for not telling you before leaving, but I didn't think you'd react this way." His eyes narrow suspiciously as he glances at me.

I shrug finally, averting my eyes to the floor. No way am I telling him about the little experiment I conducted with Mrs. Clark last night. He will most likely find out about it anyway, but hopefully I won't be around when he does.

"Look, dad. Mrs. Clark has been telling me some things, and I wanted to check if they were true." I start off, deciding to chnage the topic from me being suspicious.

His face grows tight at my words, his voice strained. "Okay."

"She said you were looking to shut down Experiment Zero." I blurt out, studying his reaction. Annoyance flutters across his face and he rolls his eyes.

"Mrs. Clark needs to mind her own business, but no, I'm not trying to shut down the whole Experiment, I think it would be best though to let Zero go back home, wherever that may be in the Bermuda Triangle."

"How would the experiment continue without him?" I ask, following him to his room as he takes off his shoes. It's not that I'm against sending Zero home, but isn't he there only piece of evidence that there's something more out there? What else does my dad have up his sleeve?

"I have everything covered. It may be a little more....okay a lot more work, but I already have plans to send teams out to study the island-"

"Dad!" I cry out suddenly, disbelief coating my thoughts. His face dawns on horror, like he just realized what he said.

"No, Ashley, I didn't mean it like that-"

"Mom died on one of those teams. Most of the teams don't even return. You know it's too dangerous. Now you want to send out more?" I say, feeling something similar to betrayal as

"Ashley, just listen for a second. We can afford better equipment and use Zero as a temporary guide."

I picture it. My dad sailing on a boat towards an unknown island, Zero being let free but also being forced to take strangers to his home.

"No! You can't!"

"I can do what I want, Ashley." He says, annoyed. "You aren't the boss here, you don't make the decisions."

"But I.....You........Ugh!" I let out a little scream of frustration at the end, before storming to my room and shutting the door, locking it.

The second the door closes I realize my eyes have started to water, and I frantically rub at them, desperately trying to dry them.

I can't be crying over something like this, I'm too old for it, but flashbacks of Mom's funeral come to mind, the empty coffin used for symbolism since we didn't have her body. I remember the husk of a man my dad had turned into after her disappearance, the way he buried himself in his work. I think that some part of my dad refuses to believe that she is dead, that she's still out there, maybe even on the island, surviving.

My dad doesn't try to come talk to me, which I guess is a sort of blessing. I need some time to get myself together. I don't know how much time has passed when suddenly there's a knock on my window.

I immediately jump off the bed and scramble away from the window, freezing and silent as I view the dark figure standing in front of it, opening my mouth to scream. Suddenly though, the figure look all-too familiar.

No, it can't be.......

"Ashley, are you okay?" Dad's voice comes from outside the door. He must have heard my wild scramble off the bed.

"I'm fine. Just tripped." I respond back.

I hold a breath, waiting. Silence, and then, "Okay, goodnight."

I don't reply although I'm glad he didn't push to resolve our earlier conflict, my focus back on the window. Grabbing a sharpened pencil off my desk just in case it isn't who I think it is, I approach the window and peer out. Nothing's there. Did I imagine it?

I let out a huff of air, turning away from the window, only to find Zero there, looming over me.

I curse, about to crash into the window as I stumble backwards, but Zero grabs ahold of me, reeling me into his body. I drop my pencil as he rests his head on top of mine, lightly squeezing in a hug.

I immediately push him away, and he relents after a moment, taking a step back.

"Zero!" I whisper yell. "What are you doing here? How did you get here? Am I dreaming?"

"You're not dreaming." He says fluidly, his voice a deep baritone.

I blink.

"Yep, I'm dreaming. Because there is no way I just heard you say a full sentence ." I say, shaking my head.

He shakes his head back, almost looking disappointed. "You said you wanted answers. I'm here to give them." I still can't get over the fact he can talk after his all consuming silence.

I look over at my desk and the old clock sitting on it. "You realize it's midnight, right?"

He nods enthusiastically. "It was the only time I could escape."

"Escape? Zero, how did you escape?"

He digs into a hidden pocket of the grey body suit he has changed into since the last time I saw him and pulls out my key card. The key card I had lost earlier and had replaced.

I gasp, snatching it away from him. So this is where it went off too. I debate for a few seconds, contemplating the pro's and con's of turning Zero away, or letting him talk.

Finally, I sigh, going over and sitting on my bed. I pat a spot next to me and he sits, looking around the room with curious eyes.

"Okay," I say. "Explain."



Hello, readers! While writing this book I curled up on my couch with lemonade and music playing. How do you guys like to write? Comment and vote! So far, the story has been slow going, but things should be getting intense in a few chapters. This chapter has been edited. See you next Update,

Dangeroustoken