Chapter 16

Abel wakes up to Cassandra's work cellphone ringing in the hall. While he doesn't hate the song she picked for it he'd rather not hear it as the first thing on a day off. As he tries to sit up he notices Cassandra clutching him in her sleep, refusing to let go. A strong fit of headache gives him shivers as it starts pounding his head like a hammer.

'Give me a break, I barely had any last night', he mutters to himself in his mind as he manages to crawl out of the bed without waking up his sleeping partner. He walks to the hall as smoothly as he can as not to intensify the waves of pain in his head.

"Willems residence", he speaks to the phone after grabbing it from Cassandra's jacket.

"Abel? Is this you?"

"Linnea? Why are you calling, at this hour? And where did you get this number?"

"It was on a note next to the phone. But that's not what's important right now! Mom's gone!"

"She's gone? How?"

"We woke up to her closing the door".

"I think she's coming to you", Thomas interrupts his sister, "I mean, where else could she go?".

Abel presses his fingers to his forehead. "Just what I needed".

"You two, go to the kitchen and make yourselves something to eat, I'll talk to her", he tells the twins, ending the call before they can answer. He grabs a few tablets of aspirin, barely swallowing one and leaving the rest for Cassandra on her bedside table, along with a glass of water.

He barely manages to get dressed as he hears a knock on the door, followed by a ring on the speaker. He presses the button, immediately switching to the phone to keep the noise to minimum.

"I know it's you, Sila"

"Why did you leave me alone last night? I was lonely."

"You have your kids, you should be in the train by now."

"Oh, don't be so cold."

"You can drop them off to your sister or something, just take care of this."

"And then what? Be left by myself for another ten months?"

"Look, I really, really don't need this right now. My head's pounding like crazy and I'm tired as all hell. I know you can do this."

"Can I at least get a kiss before I leave?"

"A hug."

As he opens the door Sila runs into his arms and almost squeezes the life out of him.

"You smell nice", she tells him.

"Hmph."

He quickly hugs her back, then slowly pushes her away.

"Now, if you don't mind me I'll go back to sleeping my headache away."

"I'll remember this!", Sila screams as Abel closes the door, causing him to twitch as the pounding in his head worsens.

He walks back to bed, relieved to find Cassandra still sleeping there, tucks himself in and manages to fall asleep again.

Chapter 15

Abel refuses to stop running until he reaches their apartment and by the time he's gone up the stairs his calves are burning more intensely than ever. He massages them the best he can and once the pain's mostly gone he walks to their door. He grabs the keys from his bag, turns the right one in the lock and grabs the handle. As he slides the door open he hears the increasing sound of water running and a very bad feeling creeps into his mind. He runs to the bathroom, surprised to find it unlocked.

In the bathroom he finds Cassandra, passed out and slouched on the shower floor, with a stream of water coming down over her from the shower head. He reaches to turn off the shower, twitching slightly as the ice cold water hits his arm. He crouches in front of her, relieved as he hears her breathing steadily. He strips her, carries her to the bed and tucks her in under as many warm blankets as he manages to find, simultaneously making sure she's still breathing.

Once he's sure she wont freeze to death he takes off his damp jacket and throws it on the back rest of a nearby chair. He holds his head between his hands, trying to make sense of the thoughts and feelings spinning inside his head like a storm. Deeming rational thinking useless he grabs a nearby vodka bottle and takes a big gulp, despite his dislike towards most alcoholic drinks. As it burns his throat he almost throws up but once it kicks in he feels slightly relieved.

He throws himself on the bed and tries to fall asleep but gets up after realizing it's impossible in the state of mind that he's in. He sighs and begins picking up bottles Cassandra had brought in. As most of them still contain various amounts of alcohol he sets them on a nearby counter to sort out later. He puts their wet clothes on the balcony to dry and throws the pack of cigarettes he finds on the couch to the trash can.

During his cleaning frenzy he finds a small tape recorder, which he decides to play as he's never seen it before. He plugs in a pair of headphones and presses the 'play' button.

"You're a fucking asshole, Abby", he hears Cassandra slurring, "Leaving me alone like this and not even keeping your fucking promise."

The message is interrupted by loud gulping.

"If I die here you can be sure as hell that I'll haunt you until the end of your fucking life, you hear me?!"

He starts hearing nearly incomprehensible sniffling and whining on the tape.

"Please don't leave me... I can't be here by myself...", and the message ends with an artificial female voice saying "1:24 a:m, today".

He takes off his headphones and sits on the floor, hugging himself tightly.

"I'm all right", he tells himself. Once he calms down he climbs on the bed and eventually falls asleep.

Chapter 14

"Here, use the red key, it's in the small pocket inside".

Abel nods towards his bag the best he can as carrying Sila takes up both of his arms. Linnea digs into it, brushing her thick hair and bangs aside in order to see better, and once she finds the key she opens the door to Sila's apartment. She steps inside and after looking around a little she clicks the light switch.

"Light, I summon thee". She jumps on the couch and laughs. Thomas sits down next to her, careful not to break anything.

"Tone it down, please", Abel asks as he walks towards the bedroom, "Don't wake her up". As a response he hears a low groan.

He lays Sila on her bed and after taking off his jacket he sits next to her, putting his fingertips together and resting his face on his hands. He leans forward and closes his eyes, and thoughts flood his mind again. He thinks about what might happen the next morning, if they get caught at the station or if his bosses find out what he did.

Sila breaks his concentration as she climbs up his shoulder and bites his ear. She lets out a sleepy giggle as he rises his head and frowns towards her.

"Good morning, sevgili, how long did I sleep?".

"Fifteen minutes, maybe twenty", he tells her as he checks his watch.

"I was dreaming about you...", she purrs, shifting closer to him. He moves farther and farther away until he reaches the edge of the bed.

She gets a commanding tone to her voice, "Sleep with me, Bel, I love you".

Abel stands up and walks to the door.

"I can't".

"You bastard, come back here right now!".

As he leaves the room he hears loud swear words in Turkish and the sound of a pillow hitting the door. He wipes his shirt the best he can with his hands as he notices some stains on the sleeve Sila was leaning on. He takes off his shirt to take a better look on the stains even though he already knows what they most likely are and a closer inspection confirms it. 'Blood', he thinks to himself, 'Not good'. The worst-case scenario pops into his mind as he throws the shirt on the floor. He runs to the bathroom and opens the door.

Inside the bathroom he finds more blood than he thought he'd find, most of it in the sink but some on the portable stairs that she keeps in her bathroom and on an opened first-aid kit. In the sink he also notices a sharp piece of glass stained with blood, though he can't find its source anywhere.

Linnea  comes behind him and before he can react she looks into the bathroom. She grows visibly pale, grabbing his undershirt to barely stay on her feet. She tears her eyes away from the sight and buries her face into the shirt.

"Wha-what is that?", she asks, her voice shaking, "What happened?".

Abel turns to her and hugs her tightly. "This here is a sign of you mother's inner demons. She isn't feeling very well and feels as if this is the only way to cope with it. The best thing you can do for her is to keep her happy, all right?".

Linnea nods.

"Good girl. I'll clean up this mess. Another thing, I don't think you should mention this to her, it can only bring her down again. And your brother too, unless you're sure he doesn't freak out or become depressed".

As she walks back to the living room Abel takes the cleaning equipment from under the sink and starts cleaning up the room the best he can.

Once he's ready he heads back to the living room, only to find the twins sleeping next to each other. He grabs a blanket from a nearby closet and lays on them, He then checks on Sila, who's sound asleep in her bed after the tantrum, and sets the alarm clock next to her bed to 6:30. He gets his jacket on himself and starts heading home. After he gets outside he checks his watch, which tells him it's 1:30, and begins running.

Chapter 13

"What's that sound?", Thomas asks as he hears the wailing, "Is someone... crying?"

Linnea opens the last ice cream they'd bought and eats it in one bite. "Hrr, that's cold".

She turns to where the sound's coming and stands up.

"Let's go and take a look".

"You sure?"

"Might as well", she tells him as she grabs his hand and pulls him up, "Since the meeting place wasn't exactly specified anyway".

Thomas nods and picks up their bag. He follows Linnea's lead cautiously but when the crying stops he can't help getting incredibly curious. They pick up the pace until they get to where they think the voice originated from.

The only thing that catches their eye is a woman with her face buried in a man's chest. Her suit jacket and pencil skirt are plain and shades of grey but her legs are ceramic and clearly artificial. The man's wearing a pair of brown suit pants, a black leather jacket and a red scarf.

Linnea recognizes the man as the most likely candidate to be the one who wrote the note but before she manage to say a word the woman kisses him. The man doesn't push her away, though he doesn't appear to want it either.

While they've read about kisses in their books and fairy tales they'd never thought it's something that people actually do. The whole concept of pressing your mouth on another's, let alone touching their tongue with yours, is foreign and absurd to them no matter how they try to understand it. All they can do is stare and wait.

Once the woman stops she steps backwards and slaps the man on his cheek. He barely reacts to it, even when he wipes some blood from the corner of his mouth.

"Did you really have to do that?", he asks as he takes a napkin out of his pant pocket and wipes the blood.

"The signs were clear", she responds, massaging her hand, "You men are all after one thing, and when you get it - nothing. So fucking boring".

"I'm not interested in you, Sila."

"I know you are, just admit it."

The man buries his face in  his hand with a frown on his face.

"I'm gay, Sila. I'm interested in men, and men only".

The woman chuckles and slaps the cheek that she hasn't slapped yet. "Don't you fucking lie to me. I know very fucking well the likes of you, coming to a vulnerable woman, in the end always demanding sex. I should've left you standing on my doorstep you bastard".

At some point of her talking the man notices the twins, as by the time she stops talking the three of them are staring at each other, completely ignoring her rant.

Before she can continue the man whispers "shush" to keep her from talking.

"... Are you the one we're supposed to meet here?", Linnea asks after a moment of silence.

"Yes. My name is Abel. I'm very glad to finally meet you two in person", he answers, "And this woman here, her name is Sila, as I think you heard already. She is your biological mother".

Sila turns completely towards the twins, bursting into tears as she hurries to hug them both.

"I've misses you so much", she cries, "I remember when you were just newborn children... Oh, how you've grown!".

Linnea and Thomas don't know what to say so they decide to hug her back. As the minutes go on they grow increasingly uncomfortable. Right before they try to wiggle out of her arms they hear quiet snoring, realizing that she fell asleep.

"What should we do now?", Linnea whispers to Abel, "Mom, she just... fell asleep".

"We should probably get back to her place. I'll carry her", Abel suggests, helping the twins escape her grip and taking her into a bridal carry.

The way back Linnea asks him why he decided to release them.

"I guess I just got tired of seeing the two of you being treated as lab rats. Compared to the whole wide world out here the four rooms of yours seem so restrictive".

"I doubt that's all". Thomas interferes without any warning.

"Maybe, maybe not. And if there's something else I doubt this is the best time to tell you about it".

"Fine". He frowns, clearly less than satisfied with his answer.

"So, how do you make ice cream?", Linnea asks out of nowhere.

"Well...". The rest of their walk Abel explains, in great detail, the ingredients and steps to making ice cream, also suggesting a few different machines to make it faster and easier.

Chapter 12

"May we sit down? My stubs are killing me", Sila asks as she and Abel get to the station, "unless you have something better to do".

"Do you really have to call them that? Yes, yes we may". Abel walks her to a nearby bar and pulls a chair back for her.

"Yes, I do. I still don't trust you". She snorts as she sits down and starts browsing the menu. She pulls the two-way speaker closer to her from the middle of the table and calls out, "A bloody mary, please. And a glass of water".

Abel frowns on the other side of the table. "How generous of you".

"Don't get me wrong - you're paying".

"I expected nothing less of you".

"What's that supposed to mean?".

Sila grunts and crosses her arms, clearly waiting for an answer. After getting none once the drinks arrive she grabs the cocktail she turns herself completely away from Abel, mutters a swarm of curse words in Turkish and starts drinking.

"You  okay over there?", Abel asks after a few minutes of sipping his water in silence. Her expression doesn't even twitch.

"We should start looking for them soon, it's five minutes 'til eleven".

They rise from their seats and walk around the open area in front of the station. Three minutes into the search Sila abruptly stops and starts shivering, wrapping her arms around herself.

Once Abel notices that she isn't walking anymore he hurries back to her and gets a worried look on his face. "Sila, are you all right?"

"I-I don't know. This is all so sudden. What should I do once I see them? What should I say?". She tears up.

Abel stands in front of her, confused by her sudden outburst. He imagines every possible solution that he can think of but they leave him empty-handed. As a last resort he presses her head to his chest, trying to calm her down. To his surprise, she starts crying.

"I want to go home", she weeps, "Please, let me go home. I can't do this".

"If you quit now you'll regret it for the rest of your life. They're your children, Sila".

She tries to object but the words she blubbers come out in incomprehensibly short parts. All she can do is bawl into Abel's clothing.

Chapter 11

"Look at all the lights, Tom! The sky's so black but it's like in the middle of the day in here! And the buildings! The people!", Linnea laughs as she and Thomas walk around the open area near the King's Street Station. She jumps from one sett to another as if she's playing hopscotch, asking for her brother to join her.

"Come on, Tom! Please!".

"No! We're too old for that kind of stuff!", Thomas shouts, stamping the ground with his foot.

"Fine, fine! One more jump", Linnea yells from across the pavement. She skips once, and as she turns back towards her brother she notices a convenience store behind him.

"Let's go there!", she points towards the store as she hurries to Thomas, "Let's get some ice cream!".

"Is it even real?".

"Well, everything else we've seen in the books has been real so far. It shouldn't hurt to ask".

As they step through the store doors they're greeted with smells they've never experienced before. Walking through the aisles after picking up a basket they pick up anything that seems tasty while staying in the bounds of what they have left.

Their basket is full of different juices and candies once they finally find the ice cream section. They almost start crying as they see how many different flavors there are in the freezer and it's hard for them to resist the urge to just grab everything and run. They pick half a dozen different types of ice cream that they think are the best though they're slightly disappointed that they can't have them all.

Linnea opens the freezer lid but takes a step back as the cold air blows over her.

"Whoa, that's cold", she tells Thomas while stepping back to the freezer. She grabs one ice cream after another and puts them into the basket.

"I think we're ready".

They walk to the cashier  and start unloading the basket.

"Excuse me", she asks the cashier, "if you were to go to an internet cafe how much would you pay for three hours?".

"... Huh? What kind of a question is that?". The cashier thinks for a bit while checking their purchases, "Twenty, thirty bucks at most".

"And what if they'd ask for fifty dollars?".

"I'd call them a fraud and leave, kid. Don't tell me, you paid fifty bucks for three hours?".  Linnea nods.

The cashier starts laughing as he gives them their change, "I guess you could bring them the check and ask for a refund? Maybe? Anyways, good night and thank you for your purchases".

Once they get outside and take their first ice creams Linnea squats and buries her face to her legs.

"What's the matter, Nea?", Thomas asks as he licks his ice cream the first time, "wow, this is really good. Want some?".

Linnea pulls his hand closer and takes a lick, then turns her face back to her legs.

"The guy in the cafe didn't even give us a check. We paid so much money, Tom, we had no idea and he just used us".

"It's just money, Nea".

"It's not just money, Tom. Don't you get it? Do you have any idea how many ice creams you could get with fifty dollars?".

"I guess so. Anyways, the person who gave us the note should be here quite soon so let's eat these fast".

Chapter 10

Abel runs and runs, somehow avoiding any pedestrians and traffic despite not watching where he's going. The whirlwind in his head spins faster at an increasing rate no matter how he tries to stop it. 'I'm doing this to protect them', he tells himself, 'It's too much of a risk'. Cold wind rams against his face and brings more tears into his eyes.

Once he's out of breath he stops and leans against the nearest wall. He takes a deep breath, wipes his eyes and looks around. He recognizes the area he's in thanks to the walks he takes around the city every week. 'I still have an hour', he thinks to himself as he checks the time on his watch, 'I guess I can get a cup of hot coffee since it's only a fifteen-minute walk from here'. He stretches his back and turns to the nearest street sign. 

'Ellen Street 31, that way. Right'. He takes the road to his right and starts jogging, checking every street number that he sees. After a couple of minutes of searching he presses the buzzer on the door with the number '31' on it and waits for a response. 

"Who's there?", he hears from the speaker.

"It's Abel, Sila", he responds, "please let me in". The speaker goes silent.

Abel stands in front of the door for what feels like an eternity. Right before he turns to leave he hears a click from the door.

"Fine. But you'd better have a damn good explanation to come here at this hour".

Sila sits on a platform next to the door as Abel walks in. She leans forward, resting her chin on her right hand, shaking what's left of her legs. She's angry and unwilling to hide it.

"So, what do you want? Hit me, cut me, take my arms too? Steal my children?".

"Sila, please. Calm down. I need your help".

"Bullshit", she curses, then walks down on her hands.

"Please. You have to believe me. I wasn't part of it, I never knew what they did to you. I only found out the day after you left".

She looks at him in disbelief. "You scientific bastards are all the same. Killing and torturing in the name of 'science'. Tell me one reason why I shouldn't just kill you now. I'd do the world a favor". She climbs on to a couch in the living room nearest to the door.

"I freed them, Sila, I freed your children. That's what I came here to tell you".

"Oh, really. Why should I believe you?".

"Because that's the truth. I'll meet them in an hour. I wanted to ask you to get them over the border".

"And you just 'forgot' to tell me beforehand?".

"I'm sorry".

She stares into Abel's eyes, trying to figure out whether he's lying or not. After a minute she finally breaks the silence. "Fine - I'll trust you. For now.".

Abel sighs and asks "May I?" as he points to an armchair next to him. He sits once Sila nods.

"So, what's your plan?", she asks, "Should we trust luck to go without being noticed?".

"I got these for the two of them, the train leaves tomorrow morning. I believe you look similar enough not to raise suspicion", Abel responds as he hands her two passports.

"Of course we look similar, I'm their mother".

"I didn't mean that. It's just that they're... mixed race. Most people from around here would notice that instantly".

"I can see why".

"But where you're from, no one's seen anyone like me or Kato. There, they'd pass for a little paler children".

"I guess you're right", Sila agrees, "but I'm not sure how long it'll last".

"Long enough", Abel assures her, "you'll be fine".

He checks his watch. "I should probably go and get them. We'll return soon".

"I want to come with you", Sila tells him. She practically jumps off the couch and runs to her prosthetic legs that are standing neatly next to the door.

"I'm not sure you should ---".

"I'm coming, want it or not. You can't stop me"

She grabs the legs and wraps them on as fast as she can.

Abel chuckles as he helps her. "Thirty-one and still this stubborn".

She groans as she attempts to stand up. After re-tying one of the legs she manages to stand straight and stable.

"Let's go!", she calls out as Abel opens the door for her.

Chapter 9

"That was great!", Kato tells Abel as leave the hall. After getting a muffled 'mmh' as a response he puts his arm around his shoulder and practically pulls him forward. "You weren't watching at all, were you. You dummy".

"You picked the movie. I'm not into romantic comedies".

"Oh, who would've known?", Kato asks in a sarcastic tone, "Anything you suggested would've either bored me to death or cost me my sleep".

"Let's just go and get dinner, all right?".

Kato gets a concerned expression on his face, "If I had known you'd be this hungry I would've picked a movie that starts at a later hour. No wonder you couldn't concentrate. You didn't even eat anything in the hall". He turns Abel to face him and grabs his shoulders.

"Don't die on me".

"Fine".

Kato chuckles and messes up Abel's hair. After he's told to stop he pulls Abel closer and hugs him tightly.

"I love you, buddy. Never change".

Abel feels slightly disappointed it's nothing deeper but at the same time glad he doesn't have to take the next step. He has a compulsive need to be completely sure about what he feels before he tells about it to anyone else, which makes it difficult for him to open up to anyone.

As he stands awkwardly in Kato's embrace he raises his arms to hug him back but quickly lowers them, deciding against it.

"Oh, the restaurant's over there", he points behind Kato once he clears his mind enough to notice it. Kato lets him free, then grabs his hand and starts pulling him towards the restaurant.

"Now, let's get in there and fill that stomach of yours", Kato pronounces, determined not to let go. Abel smooths his hair out the best he can with his free hand, though it proves difficult without a mirror.

"A tomato salad, please", Abel orders as they get to the counter. Kato asks for a big plate of sushi and after Abel pays for both of them they sit down to the nearest free table.

"A tomato salad? Are you kidding me? A damned tomato salad? You'll starve at this rate", Kato complains, a mix of disapproval and worry in his voice.

"Why not? I've survived on it this far".

Before Abel can protest Kato switches their plates and digs into the salad.

"No buts. Just eat it", he commands.

Once they empty their plates and the waiter takes away their plates Kato begins staring into Abel's eyes with a serious look on his face.

"So, what's the real reason you didn't watch the movie?", he asks.

Abel tries to turn his gaze away, to mutter something vague but can't. The question caught him off guard.

"There's no way it's the hunger. You're hiding something".

He feels the pressure rising and tries his best to keep his plans as a secret.

"Please, Abel. I don't want there to be any secrets between us. You know you can trust me, right?", the look in Kato's eyes turns desperate.

While Abel knows he's just being guilt-tripped he can't help feeling guilty for keeping secrets.

"I'm sorry. I can't." He gets up from his seat and turns towards the doors. "I-I've got to go".

He hurries out of the door and starts running, holding back his tears before Kato manages to say anything.

Chapter 8

"Nea, are you sure this is a good idea? Following a note without even a signature, running away from our home?", Thomas asks as he watches his twin sister Linnea filling her pockets with anything she deems important. She picks up the rest of the candy they'd been given their birthday two weeks earlier, a spare pair of socks for each and the coins she's found lying around over the past few years.

"Sssh, they might be watching!", she hisses, waves him over to help her. He joins reluctantly, grabbing a small box where he keeps anything he thinks is worth something, and glances the clock that can be seen from a small crack in the one-way window. He frowns and throws himself on his bed.

"It's only six-thirty, Nea, we have hours. Couldn't we just rest instead?".

Linnea grunts and throws her pillow at him. "Rest? Now? No no no, I want to explore. There's a whole world outside and I know it's more than what the books tell us. Besides, we don't know how long it takes to get in the station. I don't want to miss our adventure".

Thomas sighs, rubs his head and throws the pillow back at her, following with his own pillow. "Fine!", he spurts out, "... fine. Let's just go before I change my mind". He scuffs to the Eastern door and tries pushing it. As it opens without resistance he startles a little, despite knowing that if the note's to be believed it's open.

Behind the door he finds a  long hallway and notices a sign that says 'EXIT' above the door at the other end and on the floor next to it a closed box of some kind. After he checks that there are no cameras in the hallway he steps into the hallway and walks briskly to the box. Inside he finds two brown t-shirts, two dark blue hoodies and two pairs of black jeans. He grabs the slightly bigger one of each set and gives them to his sister who appears behind him.

"Man, the one who gave us the note has no sense of style. Just look at these", she complains while putting them on. "They all can't wear this junk out there, can they?". Thomas says nothing, instead concentrating on putting on the clothes left in the box.

As Linnea closes her hoodie she notices an envelope on the bottom of the box. She grabs it, opens it carefully and smiles as she sees what's in it.

"Look at this, Tom, look what we got!", she yells, handing the envelope over to him. In it he finds two tram tickets and approximately one hundred dollars in various small notes.

"We're rich!".

Thomas frowns. "I doubt it. No one would leave enough money to make someone rich just lying around". Not caring about the grunt he gets as a response, he opens the door with the exit sign on top of it.

As soon as he steps out he's greeted with a gust of wind so strong it almost makes him fall on his back. He grabs his forearms as he feels the chill in the air, feeling an urge to turn back. Before he can act on it, Linnea firmly shuts the door.

"It's beautiful! There are so many people here, so many flashing lights, so many trees! I wasn't sure if they were real or if they were made up. But now, I can see them! Smell them! Feel them!". Linnea runs around, yelling like a child and taking it all in.

Thomas crouches, puts his hands on his ears and closes his ears. "Too much! This is too much! My ears hurt, my eyes hurt! Let's go back!", he screams and starts crying.

Linnea stops and squats next to him. "It's okay. Let's just find someplace quiet. A library, maybe, I read about those in a book". She gently grabs Thomas' hand and starts following the road until she sees a person walking towards them.

"I'll just ask him for directions, all right? It won't take long", she tells him and he nods. She runs to the man and asks: "Excuse me, is there a library nearby?".

"Yep, two blocks that way", the man points to his left, "but it's closed. What are you doing by yourselves at this hour?".

"Oh, okay. Is there any other place that's quiet and calming here, then?".

"Well, there's this one internet cafe on the other side of the road, it's relatively empty at this hour as most people who go there have already left for today".

"Thank you very much", Linnea thanks the man, rushing back to Thomas.

"I found us a place to go, follow me", she tells him and grabs his hand again. She turns towards the road and as soon as she  sees an opening between the cars driving by she starts running. She hears the man shouting something but doesn't hear what it is.

As they step inside the cafe they're greeted with a foul stink that makes them want to throw up. Linnea deems it to be good enough, as the lights are dim and there's no music anywhere. She checks the price list on top of the counter and decides that fifteen minutes is long enough to calm her brother down. She knocks on the counter to catch the cashier's attention.

"Excuse me, can we get... fifteen minutes?", she asks, unsure what exactly she's supposed to do. The man behind the counter glances at them. "Public or private?".

"Whichever's cheaper".

"Computer five, in the corner over there. five dollars, please".

She grabs a five-dollar-note from her pocket, gives it to the man and walks to the computer with Thomas. As they sit down she asks: "Do you know how to use this thing?". As she gets no answer she presses the big glowing button that seems like the power button. She startles as the monitor in front of her lights up. After finding no other way to interact with it she tries to move the mouse on her right side. She grows increasingly curious as she sees the arrow on the screen move every time she moves the mouse.

In ten minutes she manages to figure out how to use the browser and after finding a search engine she starts reading about computers on the most detailed website she manages to find.

Once she reaches the fifteen-minute mark a pop-up appears on the screen, saying 'you've used your time, please return to the cashier to continue where you left off or press the power button'. She gets up, goes to the cashier and asks: "How much for three hours?".

After paying half of what they got in the envelope she continues her journey on the internet, absorbing any information she manages to find.

"We should start going, Nea, or we're going to be late", Thomas tells her as the pop-up appears again. Linnea sighs, presses the power button and walks outside with Thomas. As soon as they get outside they see a tram with 'King's Town Station' on it. Luckily for them the driver notices them and waits just enough for them to get on. Once they figure out how to use the tickets they sit down and catch their breath.

"I can't wait what happens once we meet the guy who let us out. This is so exciting!". Linnea can barely hold back her excitement.

"I guess. This is really reckless, though, let's at least be careful", Thomas replies with a slight smile on his face.

Chapter 7

Abel drinks some more of his tea-energy drink mix as he reads the papers Kato brought with him. Most of them are mere gibberish, such as half a dozen long, detailed descriptions of different philosophical questions and five complicated math problems that few people of average intelligence could ever solve. In his mind he's already solved the first two of the philosophical questions and memorized the math questions, yet he needs time to put them into words so he reads them over and over, trying to figure out what's the best way to start the answer for each. He also found two torn papers from a coloring book, each picturing a crow, though he set them aside, due to the lack of pencils. From the opposite side of the table, he hears a constant flow of babbling as Kato tells him about the people he's met the past week. He doesn't memorize much of what he's saying, just enough to nod at the right times and answer if he's asked about his opinion. He doesn't mind it, he actually finds it quite calming, but he knows he wouldn't want to be an active part of the conversation.

Once he's done with the questions and problems and colored the pictures with the ballpoint pen he's been using this far he bundles them with a paper clip and puts them back into the folder. Kato grabs the folder from his hands and lets out a loud "Wow".

"You actually filled these out, huh. Every single one? Whoa. I was expecting you'd just hand 'em back to me or something". Kato takes the papers out of the folder, reads each answer carefully and puts them neatly back into the folder. He's visibly both awestruck and amused.

"Lookie here. No inconsistencies, no faults, not even one word crossed out. Amazing", he laughs as Abel looks at him with a confused look on his face.

"What? You thought I'd actually make you do my job for me? That hurts, brother".

Abel's learned enough about how Kato talks in the past years to know he doesn't mean that. He grabs the folder back and hides his smile the best he can.

"I would've done it, though", he swears, looking straight into Kato's eyes, "and you know it".

"You got me. Why else would I have brought this sort of stuff? Philosophy, maths, arts -", Kato answers, his expression suddenly turning serious, "- and animal symbolism".

"You really know me, huh. Who knew?". Abel isn't even trying to hide his amazement.

Kato stretches his neck with a sincere look on his face. "To be honest, the only reason I said I have work to do is that I'd get to spend as much time with you as I could. The people back in the lab are so boring and mean. I'd just want to talk to them, help them, be friends with them. But nooo, the work's all that matters. Sure, I do my part, but there should be more to it".

"Yeah, though Cass gets like that too when she works".

"Is that true? As far as I've seen she's everything but boring".

"You should see her work. She has her own timetables and everything. Hell, she's like the mean version of my mother".

Kato chuckles, then checks the time. "Look at the time, we only have half an hour to get to the theater. We'd better go".

"Yeah".

Kato and Abel leave the coffee shop and run to catch the tram that's already at the stop.

Once they get to the theater Kato pulls the tickets out of his pocket. "Hall three, seats four-fifteen and sixteen".

"We've still got time. I'll go get some snacks", Abel answers and checks what the snack shop in the theater has to offer. He ends up getting a bottle of water for himself, some Coke for Kato and a box of popcorn.

"Hurry!", Kato shouts as Abel gets to the checkout.

"Coming", Abel hisses as he grabs some notes from his wallet, "keep your pants on!".

They hurry to the hall and once they sit down Kato takes off his shoes, leans back and lets out a loud "Ahhhh". He grabs the drink and the popcorn Abel hands him and starts munching on them already when the advertisement rolls.

'This is going to be a long movie', Abel thinks to himself once he realizes he can't get the twins off his mind.

Chapter 6

Cassandra goes through the logs on the main computer on their working area. They describe their test subjects' routines, daily activities and some of  her and Abel's thoughts and opinions on what they're working on. She reads the first ten logs again and again, trying her best to keep her mind off of returning to an empty apartment. While she can't place her finger on it, she has a gut feeling that Abel's hiding something from her. She checks every word, every line that's been written by him in the past few days. In an attempt to keep her stress levels even relatively normal she smokes a cigarette, then another, eventually going through the pack she'd brought with her. As she lights the last cigarette she decides to leave for the day, turning off the computer and filling a cup with what's left in the coffee pot. She keeps the lit cigarette between the index and middle fingers of her right arm while she pours the coffee down her throat and sets it back on her lips once she's out of coffee. She collects the cigarette butts into a trash bin, picks up her bag and jacket and stomps out of the front door.

Once she gets outside she hurries to the nearest solid wall and buries her face in her hands. She feels a mix of sorrow and anger, not sure whether it's aimed towards herself or Abel. Unable to stand straight, she leans to the wall behind her, trying her best to keep from crying. She feels tears on her cheeks, mocking her attempts to stop them. She slumps to the stone paving under her and weeps.

As soon as she manages to cease crying she wipes her eyes and cheeks and stands up again. She feels worse than before and seeks for a way to stop the burning on her face. After finding none she decides to stare at her game console until she calms down and looks normal again. She finds it hard to concentrate on anything, especially a video game, but it's the only solution she could find to keep anyone from seeing her in the state she's in.

After ten minutes she finally starts feeling even remotely like herself again. She turns off the console and checks on the black, reflective screen that there are no sings of her emotional outburst. She notices a liquor store nearby and decides to drop by before heading home. Determined to numb her emotions she buys as many bottles of vodka and rum as she can fit in her bag, along with half a dozen packs of cigarettes.

She opens one of the vodka bottles as soon as she gets off the tram she took that stops near their apartment. She takes a big gulp while walking to the doors and another in the stairs. She ignores the strong burning sensation and concentrates only on getting the door open. Once she's inside she sits lazily on the couch and sets drops bag on the floor next to her. She sets the bottle in her hand on the coffee table in front of her after closing it, digs one of the cigarette packs out of the bag and starts smoking. Switching between smoking and drinking, she occasionally checks how much time there's left until Abel returns home.