. . .

"Ahโ€”"

"Ah?"

"..Can't they just track the train we're on right now and make it stop?"

. . .

"Oh right.. They can do that."

"We can't catch a break!"

SCREECH!

Everyone froze down as they felt the train come to a stop; perfect timing. Curiously, and suspiciously, they all looked around, slowly getting to their feet as Ashlyn gave them a look. "We need to get off the train."

And with that; here they were, laying on the damp grass as rain poured over their bruised and beaten bodies. Ashlyn landing on her side as she let out a train of curses, Taylor on one side of her groaning, and Ben on the other who just laid there silently. Logan.. the poor boy was close to breaking his spine as he landed on the hard ground, a smaller screech leaving his lips as he caught himself. And Aiden.. he just laid on his back, sprawled out on the grass as he faced the sky, yet had his eyes closed as he tried catching his breath. Then there were the remaining two; Rylee and Tyler as they trampled over eachother when falling, cursing one another out as they landed on each other. Tyler had his leg thrown over her stomach, while the girl let out a groan as she attempted to push him off. "Get off of me you mammoth!" Tyler just cursed, barely able to push himself up as he threw a glare at the brunette. "Can't you see I'm trying, woman?!"

"Well try harder!"

"Shut up!"

. . .

"..So what now?"

We hid in the trees while they conducted an impromptu train search.

After hours, they started the train back up again, and we hopped back on.

"Ahโ€” don't leave me here!" Rylee cried out as she began sprinting along the moving train, almost tripping over her own feet as she desperately tried to reach the hand that was rraching for her; while Tyler just kept throwing curses at her to keep running. "Then run, dumbass!" With one last push of her legs, the girl grasped his hands that were out for her- as the boy grasped her wrists and hoisted her up onto the cart. The brunette girl breathed heavily as she felt her legs burning; but the fact that she was safe up there numbed any and every pain she felt. She threw a small glance to the boy sitting next to her, whose hands were gripping onto anything he could find to keep himself balanced up; and threw him a small nod, as the train sped off.

We got off again when the train started to slow down for it's next stop,

snuck onto a different train,

hid in the cart during the night to avoid the horde of phantoms,

and finally made it to a small town the next day.

We used the money Alex given us to get a phone, and to get supplies.

Now we've finally made it to a dingy motel where we can clean up and rest for a moment.

"..I'm starving."

The quiet voice of Taylors rang in the silent room, as the exhausted kids were all eaither half asleep or just staring off into nothing. Ben sat at the table with his face burried in his arms, Taylor laying on her stomach on the bed with Ashlyn resting next to her; and on the edge of the bed sat Aiden. On the ground laid the three others; Logan, Tyler and Rylee. The boy with the glasses looked to be asleep, but in reality he was just struggling to keep his eyes open any longer.

"Let's get some rest first.. then we'll go find something to eat."

"I'm also hungry though.."

ASLEEP.

"Already?!"

Burrying herself into a sleeping bag, the brunette girl laid on her side. Her hair was a little bit more wavy than usual, since it was still wet from the washing earlier. She was just staring off into nothing, barely able to keep her eyes open. The ground was uncomfortable, but it was the best she felt in a while. Safe for the moment, and surrounded by her friends; her family. By her side, Tyler was laying on his back with his arms under his head, just looking at the ceiling. The two of them were close, only the sleeping bag seperating the two from touching.

The twin had turned his head to the side as he heard the rustling of the sleeping bag, watching as the girl shifted from side to side; trying to find just a tad bit more comfortable position. Rylee already had her eyes closed, a small frown etched onto her face as she tossed and turned; before a warm embrace enveloped her. It was nothing weird, but coming from Tylerโ€” yeah, maybe its a little weird. Her eyes fluttered open, watching as the boy scooted closer, slipping half of his body inside the sleeping bag right next to hers; placing an arm under her head, and another around her. The brunette girl raised a brow at him, and as usual, he just scowled. "Get some rest, idiot." And without a thought, she just shrugged her shoulder, placed her head back on his arm; and went to rest. But no, the girl didnt sleep; and somehow, even with all the exhaustion creeping in, she couldnt. But she pretended to.

. . .

"..Well, that's that then. Someone set the phone timer for three hours."

"I will."

"Scoot over, fat ass."

"Hey! What did you justโ€”"

"Fat ass, blondie!โ€”"

"Stop bickering you two."

. . .

"Sorry."

Aiden threw the brunette a glare, a scowl on his lips as he turned back to his food. Not looking at the girl, Rylee just stuck her tongue out at him, before getting smacked on the back of the head by Ashlyn who sat next to her. The seating was simple, on one side it was; Ben, Taylor and Tyler, and on the other side it was; Logan, Ashlyn, Rylee and Aiden. "Has Alex messaged back yet?" The redhead asked as she sipped on her drink, looking at Logan who was eating right next to her. "I keep checking.. but there hasn't been a response yet."

"Alright, let's figure out our options of transportation since we've figured out where we are."

"Fill me in when I get back, I gotta use the restroom."

. . .

SCOWL.

SIGH.

It was silent in the restroom; and knowing that no one else other than Aiden was in there, Rylee walked in. It would be weird, but having a strong feeling he didnt really go there to use it; she went it. She wanted to talk; and she knew for a fact that they wouldnt have any other spare time to talk after leaving this place.

"Hi."

"Woah?! Ryโ€” howโ€” when'd you get there?"

"..you're hiding something."

???

"..I am?"

"I know because I haven't told them either.. not even Ash."

"..and I assume it's the same for you, since you didn't sleep earlier. About the dreams where there's a version of myself," She continued washing her bruised hands with ice cold water, the feeling bringing her a sense of peace even when she knew she was watched. Not only by Aiden, but the version of herself she wished she never saw; leaning out of the reflection of the mirror. Its hands gripped the edge, hair a tangled mess as it leaned closer and closer to her, before disappearing. "trying to kill me."

. . .

"..Yeah, I've been having 'em."

"I thought it was just a result of what we've been through and me dying. I didn't want to bother the others with it if it was just nightmares, since I'm sure we all have them. But if you're having the same ones as me.. then we should probably let the other know." The brunette girl just gripped the edge of the sink, looking down at the water still flowing as she listened to the blonde speak. "Yeah, that was my thought too, especially since they've been getting more frequent."

But in reality, I didn't want to tell anyone. Especially not my sister, Ash.

It has been too much for all of us, and there's a lot on everyones plate. It would be just another bother to deal with, and I don't want the others stressing out.

I don't want to tell them what has been going down in my head ever since the appearing of these 'nightmares.'

The struggles, the urge to do things I know I wouldn't be able to take back once done.

I'd rather deal with it alone, by myself, than bother the others with my problems.

So I stayed silent.

"..another thing is, I think I figured out something about how we heal in the phantom dimension." Rylee spoke up as she stood infront of the sink, adjusting the cap on her head as she put up her hair into a ponytail. "My scrape, on my arm in the beginning only took a day or so to heal, while Logan's took over a month. But after everything I experienced.. and went through, it took forever for my stomach to stop bleeding everywhere, while it only took a week for you. If it's our souls or whatever that's walking around that place, then maybe instead of physical recovery, it has to do with our mental state. I took forever to recover because dying.. took a big mental toll on me. But you.." The hard look on the girls face softened a tad bit as she turned her focus towards the blonde, her hands limp by her sides as she spoke. "..you didn't care about dying at all, did you?"

"Even from the beginning, youโ€”"

"Wow- So you do have a brain! Or something- how'd you use that pile of mush there to think of such things? I didn't know you could do such things-"

"Aiden."

. . .

"You're getting head of yourself, though. I liked the rush but I didn't want to actually die."

LIAR.

"You probably have a point though, I wasn't as scared and I got over it quickly, so how fast we mentally recover might have something to do with how fast we heal. We should go tell the others."

2 days ago.

"Those backstabbing sons of- when I get my hands on them. And those crazy kids, I swear I'm gonnaโ€”" Jasmine raged as she supported herself with her cruthches, one arm bandaged up; wearing a scowl on her face. "That's all you've been saying for hours. It's getting to be grating."

"Yeah, well, why aren't you upset?? It's grating that you're so calm about it! I'm your sister, you jerk, I was shot!"

"And you survived, did you do what I told you?"

"..Yeah."

"Then the kids will be caught soon enough. They'll have too many eyes on them to hide. And in the meantime, we have other things to focus on now that the government lackeys are too distracted with the facility being damaged."

"That's the kid's blood, right?"

"Yes."

"You've already injected it into the infected before, nothing happened."

"Those other kids didn't have a connection to the phantom dimension like Ashlyn and Rylee did at first, even though they do now, correct?"

"Yeah.. They were the ones who ended up dragging them in, I guess. That's never happened before though."

"Then, it possibly created a push and pull effect, a paradox that allowed them to begin opening rifts. What do you think would happen if we tried to recreate that with her blood and the blood of an ordinary person?"

"What took you guys so long?"

"Aiden had diarrhea. I could hear it from the womans restroom right next to it."

"I did not!"

. . .



Might be a bit cringe?????