There was no escaping the fact that both Koji and Sam had been awake just about all night. Sam could tell just by looking at Koji that the teenager was nearly dead on his feet. Finally, Sam suggested that they rest somewhere. That was how they ended up in a small park. Sam was determined to be awake if Koji was asleep, so he stayed seated upright on a bench with Koji curled up, his head in Sam’s lap. It didn’t take long before Koji’s breath evened out and Sam could tell he was asleep.

As Koji slept, Sam thought. It was all well and good that they were free of Wellhaven and Dr Brown, but now what? Neither of them knew anyone on the outside. Sam had amnesia, so he had no knowledge of the outside at all, and Koji had been only a child the last time he’d been out of the hospital. So how were they going to find contacts? He had a vague knowledge that to find work they needed identification. That was going to be a little difficult. Well, maybe Koji could get a hold of something. He at least knew who his mom was, but Sam didn’t know anything. Damn, they needed a plan. Maybe they could find some kind of job that didn’t need identification. Or maybe there was some kind of place for runaways they could head to. That would be a last resort. Places like that would probably be notified about missing persons.

Sam yawned. He was tired too, but refused to allow himself any sleep. Maybe he’d just close his eyes. Yeah, he wouldn’t sleep, just close his eyes.

~~*~~

Rhayne headed from her last class of the day to a near-by coffee shop where she was meeting a study group. Since morning, the sun had come out from behind the clouds a little bit, warming the air some at least. It wasn’t a perfect day, but it wasn’t as gloomy as it had been earlier.

As she passed by the small park on the corner of Main and one of the side streets, Rhayne had a strange urge to turn her head. She wasn’t sure why, or what she expected to see. Glancing into the park, she did see something interesting. There, on one of the benches were two young men, one of them resting his head on the other’s lap. Rhayne couldn’t help smiling a little. They looked kind of sweet together. The man who was stretched out was definitely asleep, and she had a sneaking suspicion that the other guy was sleeping too.

With a small laugh, Rhayne turned away, focusing back on her path to the coffee shop. She was a little curious what had made her want to look. The couple had looked normal enough. Oh well, she had probably just seen them out of the corner of her eye, and wanted a better look.

Pushing through the door of the coffee shop, Rhayne saw her study group already camped out in a corner by the windows. They had claimed the overstuffed couches, spreading books and laptops on the table between the couches. Becky and Anne shared one couch, Aaron was in a chair by himself, and Zach was on one half of the remaining couch.

“Hey Rhayne, got you a chai tea,” Zach said, nodding to the cup. Rhayne sat down on the other end of the couch nodding to the chorus of ‘hello’s’ from the rest of the group.

“Thanks.”

“No problem.”

“Sorry if I’m late. Saturday classes are not fun.”

“Naw, Becky and Anne have been freaking out over something they saw on the news.” Zach pointed to the television that sat over by the counter.

“Why? What’s the matter?”

“You haven’t heard?” Becky asked. “I guess you must have been in class all day. You know that mental hospital down the highway?”

“Um, not really.” Rhayne shrugged, reaching for her tea. “What about it?”

“They said on the news there was a fire, and in all the confusion two patients escaped.”

Aaron shook his head from behind his note papers. “They’ve been talking about it since they saw the report. Won’t shut up about it.”

“What if they came this way?” Anne asked. “And they’re dangerous?”

“Yeah,” Becky added. “You don’t get locked up in a place like that unless you’re a danger to others.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it,” Rhayne said. “They probably just reported it to get people to help keep an eye out. The chances of seeing them are really slim. And anyway, you have a cell phone, don’t you?”

“Well sure,” Becky said. Anne nodded.

“Then you can call the police.”

“Just make sure you don’t call the cops because you’re freaked out,” Zach warned. “Be careful or you’ll see escaped mental patients everywhere.”

“And don’t go anywhere by yourself after dark,” Rhayne added. “That’s good advice no matter what. It’ll be fine.”

“Finally, the voice of reason,” Aaron muttered. “Can we get to studying now? I’d like to pass the upcoming test if it’s okay with the rest of you.”

After the study session, Rhayne had to head to work. She was a waitress at Ruby’s Diner, a family restaurant that got fairly busy just about every night. She had to change into her uniform in the bathroom, but she didn’t mind. The job wasn’t horrible. It was hard work, but she got decent tips, and most of the customers were college students because the prices were so reasonable. It was also pretty close to campus, which was another reason she had applied for it.

After work, Rhayne forgot her own advice, and walked back towards her apartment alone. Honestly, she had forgotten all about the escaped patients. Rhayne was used to walking everywhere, and most of the time alone.