“You can discover what your enemy fears most by observing the means he uses to frighten you.”

-Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

He was obviously deranged and that’s all there was to it. He was caught, trapped like the rat he was; yet he was laughing at them as though they were the ones who had been snared.

“This is beautiful,” he managed between coughing fits. “It really is.”

“What are you driveling about?” Parker snapped disgustedly at him.

“I’m overwhelmed,” he continued as though he hadn’t heard her speak. “You know, I never had any solid evidence about the two of you...” He leaned forward as a deep cough shook him. Scarlet stained his lips and teeth as blood filled his mouth. Mia wiped the blood from his chin with her hand. At length, he went on, “I just had this feeling… And I was right.” He started to laugh again.

Jarod shot a questioning look at Parker. He wasn’t quite sure what the other man was rambling about, but from Parker’s murderous glare he knew that she did.

“You know, you two really do make a cute couple,” he fell back on Mia who did her best to make him comfortable. “But here’s what I can’t figure out- why you,” he pointed a shaky finger at Jarod, “set her up with Thomas. That was a stupid thing to do. Not that it matters now since he’s dead.” This struck him as uproariously funny and he chortled until he began to cough again.

Parker, however, was not amused- she was furious that he would dare mention Thomas’ name, much less laugh at his tragic demise knowing full well what a pain-filled memory it was for her. Her hate for him soared.

Jarod’s heart ached for her and his own anger toward Lyle wormed its way to the forefront of his mind. However, he knew they couldn’t let emotion get the best of them or Lyle would surely win. And there was also his newest victim to think of- Jarod wasn’t about to let Lyle take another soul down with him. He put a restraining hand on Parker’s hand that gripped her gun, which was aimed at Lyle’s heart.

“Miss Parker, the girl…”

Parker’s tunnel vision of her sibling cleared and she saw the cause of his warning. Mia sat as close to Lyle as she could without being in his lap and was leaning her upper body across him making it impossible for Parker to get a clear shot at him.

Mia’s heart was racing nearly as fast her mind. She was desperate to get him out of there, but it seemed an impossible feat and his inane rambling was not helping. She couldn’t understand why he was talking like he was.

She leaned in close to him. “Bobby, please,” she whispered in his ear. “Please stop provoking them.”

“I’m not afraid of them any more.” He turned his attention back to his sister and the Pretender. “Soooo…” he grinned at them.

“We just gonna stare at each other or what?”

Mia stared at him disbelief.

Is he crazy? What is he doing?

Come clean, fess up, tell all, spill gut… Off the veil- stand revealed… Show the cards, bring it on, break the seal…

Jarod stepped slightly ahead of Parker once she lowered her weapon.

“Like it or not, Lyle,” he said advancing on the pair at the end of the corridor. “This is it.”

Lyle gave him as a much of a sneer as he could. “You’ve said that so many times before. You’ve had so many chances to get your revenge on me, but you never do anything. Forgive me for not having much confidence in you this time.”

Jarod fought to remain in control of his emotions and the conversation. “It’s time you started telling the truth, Lyle.”

“And if I did?” Lyle rolled his good eye skyward. “How would you know what the Truth is? How would you know that the Truth

wasn’t another lie and that lies aren’t the Truth? You’d have to take my word for it wouldn’t you?” He snorted contemptuously.

Jarod bit back a growl of abhorrence. His gaze darkened considerably. “I wouldn’t be so flip, Lyle. You’re hardly in control of anything anymore.”

He didn’t say anything immediately. That evil grin was still plastered to his face. His right hand slowly rose to Mia’s face. He trailed the back of his hand down her cheek. Without thinking, Mia took his hand in hers and kept his hand cradled against her cheek. He raised his chin slightly and locked gazes with Jarod.

“I control her.”

Jarod took a deep breath and addressed the girl. “Mia, come here.” He held his hand out to her. “Parker and I will take care of you. Come on, he can’t do anything to you.”

She stared at him with wide eyes. “But you can do something to him.” And she stayed where she was.

Jarod had been in many difficult and life-threatening situations before, but this seemed somehow more thorny and dangerous. He exhaled quietly wondering how to proceed with Mia. Timing was essential he knew; too soon and Lyle would hurt her, too late and the same would happen. Of course, he had other issues with Lyle and he hoped that as he pursued those avenues Mia would be enlightened enough to trust him over Lyle.

“Looks like she doesn’t like you,” Lyle over-enunciated the words. He wrapped her hair around his hand, entwining his fingers in the strands. “Too bad.”

“What have you done to her Lyle?” Jarod demanded taking a step closer. “What is Project Heptagon? Did you torture her like you did me?”

Mia was indignant with his accusations. Lyle sensed that she was about to say something and put a silencing finger to her lips.

“I had nothing to do with Project Heptagon,” he responded acrimoniously. “I didn’t even know that the Seventh Member Project

was a part of a larger project.”

Jarod shook his head in brusquely. “I don’t believe you.”

“Yeah, and I don’t care what you believe.”

“Desperate times call for desperate measures”… Jarod didn’t know why those words came to him in that moment but they did.

He turned back to Parker who was watching the altercation with distracted interest. Feeling his strong gaze on her, she looked up quizzically at him. His hand was extended out to her. At first, she didn’t understand what he wanted, then it dawned on her- he wanted her gun.

She hated for anyone to breathe on her gun, let alone handle it. However, she gave no argument to his request and handed it over.

She stepped closer to the Pretender and fixed her frosty glare onto her brother.

Generally any type of weapon felt awkward in his hand for the purpose of such devices repelled him. Yet some circumstance inevitably warranted their use. Oddly, the gun felt comfortable in his grip, especially when it was aimed at Lyle. Pushing down the guilt of the sinister feeling the weapon invoked in him, Jarod took several steps toward his nemesis with the gun trained steadily on him.

Mia moved to shield Lyle from Jarod, but Lyle held her firmly at his side. He could feel the heat of her irritation with him in her breath; irritation because he was not allowing her to do what she wanted.

Jarod advance on them further with an expression of grief, anger, and hatred.

“It’s time to tell the Truth, Lyle.”

Ladies and gentlemen- Step right up and see the man who told the Truth…

Lyle was unmoved by the Pretender’s threat. “And what Truth would you like to hear, hmmm?”

“I want to know about Project Heptagon.”

“Jarod,” Parker pressed close to him. “This is pointless- you can’t reason with a monster.”

Though she spoke in hushed tones, the acoustics of the corridor carried her words to Lyle. He turned his attention to her.

“Funny you should mention that, Sis.”

Parker turned on him. “What’s so funny about it?” she inquired dryly. Her eyes sparked fire.

“Because you are absolutely right. I am a monster,” his mouth twisted into a bitter grin. “I am their monster.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Jarod wants to know about Project Heptagon. Well, here we are.”

Let on, load off, confess, cast off… At the mercy, the cat is out- drop the disguise… Spit it up, spit it out…

Jarod and Parker exchanged suspicious glances. Jarod cocked the gun.

“We’re listening,” he told the other man.

“You’re looking at Project Heptagon,” he said as though that much should be obvious. He struggled to stand up despite the gun that was aimed at him. “Or a part of it anyway. Mia here,” he pulled the girl out from behind him and presented her to Jarod and

Parker as though she was a trophy, “is the only successful product of Raines’ little venture: the perfect assassin. On the surface, she’s sweet, innocent, and a perfect little angel. But here’s the clincher- there’s an artificial personality buried inside thanks to Raines which can be programmed at will with an injection of the Serum. Nasty little bugger that sub-personality,” he glanced at the other two making sure he had their attention, “Remorseless killing machine it is.”

“You said we,” Parker pointed out. “What’s your role in all this- Programmer, Executioner?”

Lyle gave her thin smile. “Don’t you see? Mia’s the Seventh Member- I’m the Sixth; an experiment gone awry.”

With that he fell silent and refused to expound on how the experiment had failed.

And now, what you've all been waiting for, I give you: He who Suffers the Truth…

Parker watched as the scene before her unraveled very quickly with assiduous interest. She had deliberately chosen not to take an active part in the argument that was in full swing. Argument wasn’t a completely accurate assessment she observed bemusedly.

The fight, if that what it could be called, involved Jarod yelling at Lyle who was mordantly taunting and provoking him while standing in fixed position against the wall. Mia stood close to Lyle as another silent observer.

Parker turned her gun over in her hand absently stroking the handle. She had retrieved it from Jarod who she knew wasn’t going to use it anyway. Besides, if Lyle tried to run she wanted to be the one to stop him dead.

The argument escalated and just as it hit its peak, Jarod’s tirade was abruptly interrupted by an enraged shriek from Mia who jumped in front of Lyle. Small and wiry, she was hardly a match for the Pretender; however, she was larger than life in her fury.

Under her impaling black glare, Jarod unconsciously backed away from her several steps.

“He is telling you the Truth,” she challenged him. There was titanium edge to her tone.

Jarod was taken aback by the defense of Lyle. Clearly, Lyle had brainwashed her into believing that he was the virtuous one. His indignation rose as he thought of the unknown number of young girls who had suffered at Lyle’s hand because they had trusted him. Jarod refused to allow that same fate to befall Mia, even if it meant removing her from Lyle’s possession by force.

Mia, however, was not interested in being saved. She jerked away from him when he tried to touch her.

“Mia,” Jarod’s kind eyes were wide with distress, “Mia, you don’t know the first thing about Lyle. I do. I’ve seen the horrors of what he’s done, both for the Centre and for himself. He’s just using you. He doesn’t deserve your concern.” He addressed the man behind her with wintry indifference. “Tell her the Truth.”

“No!” she exclaimed. “You don’t know the first thing about him! They created Mr. Lyle. They made him who he is. I saw the file.

I read it for myself. You need to the file for yourself!”

Jarod blinked. “What file?”

“The file for the Sixth Member,” she said shortly. “It’s in the air shaft inside of Raines’ office with my file. You Truth is there.”

She retreated to Lyle who seemed relieved to have her by his side again. Mia glared at Jarod and Parker. Jarod remained still.

Parker moved in next to him, staring hard at her brother with mixed emotion.

“But that would mean…” Parker’s voice trailed off with uncertainty.

“Yes,” Mia retorted dryly. “That would mean that Bobby was a participant in Project Heptagon and an unwilling one at that.”

“But you were the only Project member to survive.”

“No,” she corrected the other woman. “I was the only success. The first five members died, but the Sixth did not.”

“How’s that possible?” Jarod stipulated.

Mia rolled her eyes skyward as though exasperated that she had to explain. “The Serum was corrected after the fifth trial failed, but it wasn’t perfected. The Serum didn’t suppress the Primary personality like it was supposed to and during simulations with the Sub-Personality, the Primary resurfaced. There were complications and the two personalities became intertwined.” Mia paused to catch her breath and she could tell by the look on their faces that they still didn’t fully comprehend. “Don’t you get it,” she went on. “All of seven members were supposed to be like me, but it didn’t happen. Five died and Bobby got royally screwed up in the process. Thanks to Raines, he now has to take injections of the Serum for the rest of his life.” She turned on Jarod and addressed him directly. “That’s the horror I’ve seen. I’ve seen what happens to him when he doesn’t take the shots.”

Obviously, Mia firmly believed every detail of her tragic story. And it was a sad tale indeed, but experience warned Jarod to be cautious as the chronicle could be nothing more than a cleverly fabricated lie concocted by Lyle.

“That may be,” Jarod replied diffidently. “But that’s no excuse for the things he’s done.”

“I didn’t say it was,” she returned crossly. She stared at the floor for a moment. When she looked back up at Jarod, her harsh expression was somewhat alleviated. “Look,” she took a deep breath as she embarked on what she knew to be a touchy subject.

“I am so sorry about what happened to your brother. I really am. And you're right there is no excuse for it.” She saw the pain surface in his countenance; her heart ached for him almost as much as it did for Lyle. She nearly reached out for him, to offer some comfort, but she refrained knowing that Lyle would see such a gesture as an act of betrayal.

He couldn’t meet her eyes as he tried to quell the anguish that rose in him. “How do you know about Kyle?”

“Bobby told me.”

Jarod lifted his tear-filled eyes to Lyle. His breathing was raspy and heavy. “How dare you,” his voice shook with quiet fury. “You had no right to discuss Kyle with anyone!”

“Boohoo,” was Lyle’s only comment.

The Pretender lunged for him but the girl blocked his path. His clenched fists trembled with the tension that invaded his body and his teeth ground together in irritation. His attention returned to Mia. “Did Bobby also tell you about his wife? His dead wife” he lashed out without remorse.

She looked stricken. Her sympathy turned to hostility. “I know all about Shei Lin.”

Surprise registered in Jarod’s countenance, but quickly vanished. “Did he also mention his fixation with young, Asian girls?”

Parker watched with morbid curiosity as Lyle jerked to attention at this comment. He actually appeared nervous.

A change came over the girl who went from a seraph to a banshee instantaneously. She shrieked at him like an enraged parakeet.

“I know more about him than you do! There’s nothing you can tell me that I don’t already know!”

In a flash, Jarod had her pinned to the wall by her shoulders, eye-level with him and ready to call her bluff. “Listen to me!” he growled. “I’m trying to help you- stop fighting me and listen! Did you know that Shei Ling was murdered… by her husband?”

He wasn’t being cruel, rather trying to shock her into reality since nothing else was getting to her. However, the reaction he got what not what he intended. A look drifted into her eyes that gave him the distinct impression that she did, indeed, know much more about Lyle than he did. Internally, he shivered.

Her voice was tightly controlled and very low when she answered him. “You don’t know that. You can’t prove anything. You don’t have any evidence.”

“What. Did. He. Tell. You?”

A peculiar smile fell over her face. In a singsong way, she answered, “I’ll never te-el.”

Unconsciously and certainly unintentionally, Jarod intensified the pressure on her shoulders until she cried out. Her cry brought Lyle physically into the melee, which also drew in Parker.

Lyle staggered forward unsteadily ignoring the searing pain that inflamed his every move. He practically fell onto Jarod when he attempted to pull the Pretender off of Mia. His action, though klutzy, was so sudden that it triggered an instinctive response in

Parker. She raised her gun and took aim at her brother of whom she now had a clear shot.

An indistinguishable din of voices filled the small passageway as the four different personalities collided in a head-on collision.

Finally, Parker had had enough.

The sudden sound of a gun discharging replaced the ruckus.

When I was younger I thought the world circled around me… But in time, I realized I was wrong- my immortal thoughts turned into just dreams of a dead future… It was a tragic case of my reality…

Time froze for a brief moment. Three sets of eyes turned to stare at Parker and then at the hole where the bullet had pierced the ceiling. Slowly, she lowered the gun back to waist-level; her face was as grim as death.

“That’s enough,” she stated flatly. “Back over to your corner, Lyle.” She motioned to the corner with the nose of the gun.

Lyle backed away from Jarod, but did not fully comply with her orders. He braced himself against the wall and stood before her in defiance. “Leave it to Dad’s perfect Angel to save the day.”

“Leave it to Dad’s perfect demon to destroy the day,” she shot back without hesitation.

“And that’s how it was meant to be.”

She swore at him. “Start talking sense, Lyle.”

“Make me.”

“Don’t tempt me.” She lowered the gun a bit. It was not that Parker was incapable of compassion for her brother, she was merely wary of such concern. For it seemed that whenever she did begin to feel sympathy for him, something always came to light that showed her exactly how misguided her feelings were. Better to be overly cautious now and find later that his claims (and Mia’s) were true, rather than not be and end up regretting it.

He eyed her contemptuously. “These roles were decided for us from the moment we were born, probably before,” his words slurred slightly with exhaustion. “You are the loved one and I am the whipping-boy.”

“If you really were apart of Heptagon, then it’s unforgivable what they did to you,” she replied sincerely, yet still on guard. “But you can’t keeping use the past as an excuse; you have to assume responsibility for your actions.”

His head bowed slightly and breathing became labored as his strength faded. “So noble,” he grunted bitterly. “It’s easy for you to stand in judgment of me when you lived the perfect life.”

“My life was far from perfect!” she snapped back, irate. “My mother was murdered!”

“So was mine!” he shouted at her. Winded and unable to sustain his position, he slid back to the floor. “Only I never knew her! You don’t know how lucky you are- you know that at least two people in this miserable world love you: Mom and Dad!” He was forced to stop speaking and spit blood from his mouth. Mia was by his side again, protectively standing guard.

Do you think you're indestructible and no one can touch you? Well, I think you're disposable… And it's time you knew the truth cause it's just one of my lies!

For the first time, there was silence in the corridor. Parker was stunned by Lyle’s outburst; stunned by his loss of control of his emotions; stunned by his admission. Lyle was furious with himself for losing his cool and tired… tired of everything.

Having had the chance to significantly calm down and regain his composure, Jarod was able to think clearly. He glanced between

Lyle and Mia and Parker. No one moved.

Finally, Lyle turned his head and pressed his face into Mia’s back, stifling the scream that tore from him.

Why does my life have to be so small? Yet death is forever and does forever have a life to call its own? Don't give me an answer cause you only know as much as I know… Unless you're been there once… Well, I hardly think so…

Jarod inched close to Parker. Silently, his eyes searched hers. He was either asking her something or searching for something; she didn’t know which and he did not voice his thoughts.

She shifted, uncomfortable with his close proximity. As she did, the lapel of her jacket crackled to life. Jarod looked at her quizzically.

“Parker?” Sydney’s voice surmounted the static. “Parker, are you all right? What’s going on?”

“Everything’s just dandy,” she reported acerbically. “Just having a little chat with Lyle and his pet.”

“Is Jarod with you?”

“I’m here, Sydney,” the Pretender verified himself.

“Have you found anything,” Parker cut in.

“No… Broots is still searching, but Parker…”

“What?”

“Raines’ men have returned.”

“Any sign of Raines or my father?”

“No.”

“Keep watch out, Syd.”

She cut the connection and turned to Jarod. “We need to get out of here.”

Jarod glanced at Lyle and Mia. “We can’t leave her.”

“If she won’t go, I see no reason in forcing her. Let her stay with him.”

“I can help her,” his eyes pleaded with her. “I know I can.”

“How?” Parker furrowed her brow. “Help her what?”

“If I can get a hold of that information on Heptagon, I can create an antidote to the Serum. I know I can.”

“I’m sure you can,” she muttered. She wasn’t thrilled about the prospect of remaining in the sub-level any longer. She didn’t want to be trapped by Raines’ goons.

“Please…”

“Five minutes,” she told him. “You’ve got five minutes to convince her to come with us. Starting now.”

Her hands trembled as she smoothed his matted hair back from his forehead. He was drifting in and out of consciousness now, slightly delirious. She was worried, tired, confused, and afraid. A tear escaped down her cheek.

Jarod stepped as close as he dared to her. Her head jerked up sharply as he knelt down several feet away and she eyed him

cagily.

“Mia.”

His face was gentle and his eyes tender; his was a trustworthy face. And she wanted to believe him, but there was a conflict of interest.

“Mia,” he said again. “I’m sorry for yelling at you earlier. I shouldn’t have.”

She shrugged and looked away. “S’okay.”

“I want to help you.”

“I don’t need help,” she said quietly. “I appreciate it, but I’ve got Bobby.”

Jarod gritted his teeth. “If he really has told you so much about himself, doesn’t it bother you just a little bit? Aren’t you just a little bit concerned?”

“The past is the past. People change.” She didn’t sound as confident as she had earlier and she didn’t meet his gaze.

Jarod caught her hesitance, but did not press her on it. He smiled slightly. “I remember you now,” he said.

She gave him a funny look but said nothing.

“You waited on me at the DT-UT,” he went on. “You showed me how to put together a s’more.”

Mia’s eyes lit up. “Yeah, yeah, sure,” the corners of her mouth turned up. “I can’t believe you didn’t know what a s’more was.”

“I never had a chance to discover them,” he said with a tinge of sadness in his voice. “I never had the chance to discover a lot of things, things you take for granted.”

“Like what?”

“Like ice cream, bubble gum,” his smile broadened slightly. “Pez.”

She wrinkled her nose rather than giggling aloud. “Why not?”

“Because they wouldn’t let me,” his expression sobered. “There were a lot of things that the Centre wouldn’t let me do and a lot

of things they made me do.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Me too.” He paused then added. “It doesn’t have to be like that for you though.”

“What do you mean?” she asked skeptically.

“You have people who care about you. I met your co-worker Kaylee.”

“You did?”

“Yes. She wanted me to find you and ask you to call her. She’s worried about you.”

“Oh.”

“You have a family out there, Mia. A family who loves and misses you very much.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Yes,” he insisted. “I know you can’t remember them, but they exist. I met your grandmother and your brother, Mario. You have a sister too.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Mia…”

“No,” she met his gaze with an intense look in her eyes. “I really don’t. Not anymore. Maria committed suicide four years ago.”

Jarod looked perplexed. “You remember then?”

She sighed. “Not everything. Bits and pieces. I can’t recall much of anything that happened after Maria’s funeral.”

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I know how horrible it is to loose your family. I’m still searching for mine. But, Mia, yours is out there and they want you back.”

The child-like expression in his eyes drew her to him and in some ways, ways she could recall anyway, he reminded her of her beloved brother, Mario. She felt Lyle stir next to her. Absently, she wrapped her petite fingers around his larger ones. With the back of her free hand she rubbed her eyes wearily.

“But what about all the terrible things I’ve done. All those people I k…”

She was white as death, distraught over the evil deeds she had been made to carry out- Jarod knew she had a good heart and spirit and it made him more determined than ever to get her away from Lyle and the Centre.

“That wasn’t your fault,” he assured her. “The Centre used you. You had no choice. You’re not responsible.”

She was quiet for several seconds, staring at her fingers that were entangled with Lyle’s. Finally, she spoke again.

“How can you be so forgiving of me and what I’ve done, yet be so condemning of Bobby?” her voice was calm and even. There was no trace of anger in it, only sadness. “We’re were in the same situations, just our outcomes were different.”

The weight of her words hit him like a ton of bricks- there was some validity to her statement. “You’re right,” he conceded. “But, Lyle still knows the difference between right and wrong and chooses to do wrong anyway. You don’t have that choice.”

“I still don’t think you should hold a double-standard. If I’m not a fault for what I’ve done, then I don’t think Bobby should be either. But if you are going to hold him responsible then you have to do the same to me.”

Jarod stayed still; he’s hit another roadblock with Mia- it was obvious she wasn’t going to budge on this.

Parker leaned over and whispered in his ear. “Three minutes and counting.”

Jarod leaned forward slightly. “Mia, I can reverse what they did to you.”

For the first time she seemed truly attuned to him. “You can do that?”

He nodded enthusiastically. “Yes. I mean I’ll have to get the files you mentioned and go over the DSAs, but I can create the

antidote. I’ll help you get away from the Centre and arrange it so they’ll never find you or your family. They’ll never be able to use you again. You can have a normal life.”

“You can do that,” she said again very softly. She wanted more than anything in the world than to forget everything that had happened recently and remember what she’d lost. His offer was more than a little tempting, but…

“Will you do the same for Bobby?”

Jarod blinked. Truthfully, he hadn’t given such a matter any consideration, but now that he thought about it...

“I’m not sure that can be done,” he disclosed tentatively. At her disappointed frown and withdrawal, he hastily added, “What I mean is it may do him more harm if his psyche is really that tangled. I don’t have enough information to make a judgment one way or another.”

“Oh.” Her eyes were filled with enormous sadness. “You said you could make it so the Centre could never find me. When you say the Centre,” she bit her bottom lip almost afraid to finish her question, “do you mean Bobby, too?”

Jarod sighed. “Especially Bobby. Mia, I know you don’t understand or don’t want to understand, but he’s dangerous. You’d never be safe if you maintained any contact with him. I can only do so much. I’ll create the antidote, but you have to leave everything connected to the Centre behind.”

Her lips pressed tightly together as tears spilled silently down her face. Hugging her knees close to her chest, she rested her chin on her arm and closed her eyes. She felt Lyle tighten his fingers around her ever so slightly.

“Mia,” Jarod caught sight of Parker impatiently tapping her watch, letting him know that time was running out. “I know you have a good heart and want to help Lyle. But don’t fool yourself into believing you can change him. He’d ended up pulling you down to his

level.”

“But how do you know unless you try?”

“He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you. Have you ever heard that before?

She nodded.

“Then do you understand what I’m trying to tell you?”

She lifted her chin. “Yes, and you’re probably right, but…”

“But what?”

“But how long have you been looking into the abyss?” It was a rhetorical question, but one that begged to be asked.

The question struck a chord with him and he knew she had a point. However, he would have to dwell on that at a later time. He stood and stretched out a hand to her.

“Come on,” he cajoled. “You deserve a second chance. And so does your family.”

She stared at his extended hand, struggling with her quandary. Strangely, his hand seemed to get closer and closer.

He was not oblivious to what was transpiring and what Jarod was attempting to do. He saw her indecisiveness as well and decided to make her choice for her.

His abrupt rise startled her. He seemed to have caught a second wind of strength.

“Get out of here,” he told her cruelly, tossing her hand to the side.

She stared at him in shock as he tottered out of her reach. “What? Bobby…”

“No,” he commanded piercingly. “No. Don’t call me Bobby- it’s Mr. Lyle.”

Mia turned desperate, imploring eyes to Jarod who saw this as the perfect opportunity to leave. She turned her back to her when he did nothing.

“Bobby, please don’t do this…”

He turned his head to the side so that his face was obscured by shadows.

Don't go...

I tried to kill the pain but only brought more… I lay dying and I'm pouring crimson regret and betrayal… I'm dying, praying, bleeding, and screaming… Am I too lost to be saved… Am I too lost?

“Spare me your pity,” he said darkly. “You’ve made your decision. Go on, leave with him.”

“I haven’t made any decision yet.” She pushed herself away from the floor and straightened up. “Don’t tell me what to do!”

He grunted scathingly. “You never told me that you had met him before. You were planning on going with him all along! You lying Delilah, hypocritical little...”

“That’s not fair!” Mia cried in disbelief. “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t know who he was! If I had I would have told you.”

In the shadows, his face twisted in agony, but the agony was not from a physical pain.

My God- my tourniquet- return to me salvation…

She attempted to get closer to him to try to read his expression, but he refused. Every time she tried, he would either move away or push her away. She ran her hand through her hand in frustration, then glanced over her shoulder at Jarod and Parker.

“Bobby, please,” she said in a hushed voice meant for his ears only. “Talk to me. I- I don’t know what you want from me?

Sometimes it seems like you want me around and sometimes it seems like you don’t. Which is it? What do you want?”

He knew exactly what he wanted to say to her, but either stubbornness or arrogance prevented it. Instead he spat, “I told you- it’s Mr. Lyle.”

“Stop it,” anger was seeping into her voice. “You owe me some sort of explanation! I’ve followed you without questioning; I’ve done what you’ve asked. At least tell me why you suddenly don’t want me anymore!”

“You would’ve gone with him anyway! It was only a matter of time!”

Do you remember me lost for so long? Will you be on the other side or will you forget me? I'm dying, praying, bleeding, and screaming… Am I too lost to be saved… Am I too lost?

“You are so full of it!”

He turned his slightly as to see her better. “You want the truth?” his words were laced with derision and malice. “I never wanted you. Never! It was just a game- I got what I wanted. And now I don’t want you.”

Her jaw dropped; he might as well have shot her in the back. Was Jarod right? Had Lyle been using her all along? She felt sick. It couldn’t be true; she refused to believe it.

He raised his chin to meet her disillusioned gaze. His expression was hard and merciless, but his eyes betrayed him.

Don’t go…

My wounds cry for the grave… My soul cries for deliverance… Will I be denied? Tourniquet my suicide…

I still remember the world from the eyes of a child… Slowly those feelings were clouded by what I know now…

She felt numbingly cold and there was nothing that could warm her. She stood between the two men with Parker edgily looking on.

On one side, she was being offered her life back; a life that, up until several days ago, she did not know had been taken from her.

On the other side, well, she wasn’t quite sure what was on her other side, if there even was another side.

She felt certain that Jarod was who he claimed to be and the safe decision, the practical decision, was to go with him.

But what about Bobby?

Where has my heart gone? An uneven trade for the real world… I want to go back to believing in everything and knowing nothing at all…

She wasn’t completely sure of what would happen if she went with Lyle. He had made no promises, offered no assurances, or pledge of security. He was volatile and carried a lot of baggage with him. He was a dangerous risk to take.

Maybe too dangerous…

I still remember the sun- always warm on my back… Somehow it seems colder now…

“Mia,” Jarod took a step forward. “We have to go now.”

She looked back to Lyle. “I-I…”

“You can’t really be considering staying?”

She blew her bangs from her eyes. She looked up at him, pained and torn, but decisive nonetheless. “You believe in helping people?”

He frowned. “Yes.”

“Do you believe in second chances?”

“Yes.”

“I believe that, too.” She swallowed hard still in conflict and completely unsure if she was doing the right thing. She stepped towards him. “The easiest and probably the smartest thing to do would to be say yes to you.”

He looked hopeful.

“And,” she continued, “the most difficult thing would be to go with Bobby.”

She took another step forward and reached for the hand he had extended once more. “Sometimes the right thing is the hardest to do.”

She grasped his hand tightly. Their eyes locked. Jarod inhaled a shaky breath. “I hope you find your family, Jarod.”

She released his hand and slipped out of his grip. She turned to the spot where Lyle had been moments earlier. Her heart dropped to her feet when she realized that he was gone.

Where has my heart gone- trapped in the eyes of a stranger? I want to go back to believing in everything…