I felt a sudden pressure on my cheek and opened my eyes. Blue was crouching next to me. He was still talking, but I didn't care. I closed my eyes only to feel another uncomfortable feeling on my other cheek. I groaned and opened my eyes. This time Blue had a paper towel in his hands. He placed it on my head and I all I could feel was warm water trickling down my face. I am not sure how long this continued. I would try to fall asleep and Blue would slap me awake. His face was stoic and cool as usual. In another life, he would have been a good doctor.

*~*~*

I woke up to the sound of sniffling. I was surprised because I knew the sound wasn't coming from me. I made sure to keep my eyes closed as Blue took a shaky deep breath. It was strange to hear a man cry. Especially, from someone who I kept perceiving as calm and composed. I knew Hal would never cry, but I also knew that Hal wasn't real. I let Blue express his true feelings for another minute before "dramatically" stirring awake. I made sure to leave my eyes closed until the last possible second so, Blue would have time to put himself back together.

When I finally opened, my eyes, Blue looked like a complete mess. His chocolate hair looked like it was brushed through too many times by his hands. His silk tie was loosened and the top of his crisp collared shirt was unbuttoned. I looked away embarrassed. Blue's "disarray look" made him appear even more attractive than before. I noticed Blue placed his blazer on my lap, probably to keep me warm, and I decided it was best to stare at it until I got used to him.

"Fucking hell, Lux!" He let out a heavy sigh. "I thought you bit the dust and left me here to suffer. Blue's hands were shaking and I tried my best to ignore it.

"Sorry," I said wiping sweat off my forehead with the back of my hand. "Next time I'll make sure to let you know I'm about to die before hand." I tried to grin, but Blue made me think otherwise. He was no longer shaking and his brows were furrowed. I looked away and traced my fingers in between the cracks of the tiled floor.

"That's not funny Lux." He was back to its stern demeanor and my gut twisted.

"Sorry," I muttered not looking up to meet his gaze. We didn't speak for a few minutes and I waited patiently until Blue's breathing relaxed before opening my mouth again. "Did anyone try to come in while I was out?" Blue nodded.

"A few, but I told them I was disinfecting the stalls and that seemed to keep them from shaking the handle like madmen.

I bit my lip. What do I say? What do I do? I just want to go home. What would my mother do if she saw me again?

"Hey!" Blue waved a hand in my face. "You okay?"

"Define okay." I said trying to stand up. I got a blood rush and had to use the wall to support me. When the world stopped spinning, I took a deep breath and looked at Blue, who slowly stood up and watched me skeptically. "Do you... Do you think I could ever go back home?"

He pushed his sleeves up and sighed. "No, your mom would be forced to report you."

"But what if she doesn’t?!"

"But what if she does?" Blue crossed his arms. "She had no problem bringing you to your appointment."

"That's different!" I felt a pang in my chest. My mom would definitely keep me if she could! "My mom had to report me she-

"What's stopping her from reporting on you again?" Blue cut me off. I opened my mouth to rebuttal, but I had nothing to say. He was right. My mom didn't think twice of sending me to my death. She was doing her duty for the community, just as she had for Phoebe and my father.

*~*~*~

The lobby outside the bathroom was empty, but the T.V. still flashed our faces and a woman, with a monotone voice and a dark, mauve suit, told civilians to go home and lock their doors.

“No one is permitted to leave their homes until the health inspectors deem it safe to go back out.” She pressed her lips together into a tight smile. She was outside. She was susceptible to our infection.

Blue kept trying to push me back into the bathroom. He wasn’t sure if it was safe to come out yet, but after swatting his arm away several times, he gave up and just let me follow behind him. His body was crouched as he passed by each cubical. His efforts to be lucrative were pointless though, because it was obvious the regular employees were not going to stick around to catch our cold. I wasn’t sure if I was trying to be brave or just trying to get caught, but what I did know was my back was hurting and crouching in the shape of a crooked cane wasn’t doing it any good. I stood up straight, feeling a few of my bones crack in the process, and walked passed Blue. He stared at me with mix of confusion and annoyance on his face, but when he realized there really was no point in trying to stay quiet, he stood up and walked a few paces behind me.

“Atta girl, way to take some initiative.” I saw Hal smirking in the reflection of one the glass walls that made up the lounge and I couldn’t help, but grin back at him.

“What are you so giddy about?” Blue asked. His blue hues replaced Hal’s and I shook my head.

“Nothing… We should split up, see if we could find one of those shoots.” I said looking around skeptically.

“No,” Blue stated and I stopped to turn around. “We stick together.”

“If we split up, we could cover more ground and find the shoot faster.” I offered.

“What if one of us gets caught?” Blue said crossing his arms. Why was he being so difficult?

“Then the other one runs away and heads toward the ruins.” I said turning away from him and walking toward the staircase.

“Do you even know where the ruins are?” Blue said following behind me.

“…No.” I sighed. My hand pressed against the metal bar of the stairwell door, but it was Blue who opened the door and left the office before I did.

“Good. So, we stick together. Besides if you decide to suddenly die again it’s better to have me around.” Blue said as we walked down the stairs.

“What, are you going to keep slapping until I stay conscious again?” I unintentionally rubbed the side of my face with my palms.

“Hey, my methods may be unconventional, but at least you’re alive.” He looked down and smirked at me. Whether I wanted to or not, I couldn’t control my lips from breaking into a smile.

“Thanks.” I mumbled looking into his eyes, but Blue wasn’t looking at me. Well, not my face anyways. I could tell he was looking at my neck and I swallowed hard while pulling my hair over my shoulder to cover my neck. We didn’t say anything to each other until Blue opened the door to the fifteenth floor.

“It’s another office.” Blue said shutting the door and heading for the next floor.

“Was it empty?” I inquired not moving.

“Looked like it.” He said already down the first few steps. I rolled my eyes and followed behind him.

“So why aren’t we going in?”

“Because I don’t want to waste time going in a room that has no exit.” Blue’s tone was becoming more agitated.

“How do you know that one doesn’t have an exit?”

“Because the last floor didn’t have one. We are fifteen stories off the ground. It would be pretty stupid to have a shoot on every single floor.” Blue was suddenly very bitter and I furrowed my brows. Had I said something wrong?

“I was just-“

“You were just asking pointless questions.” Blue snapped.

“What’s with you?” I froze on the step and gripped Hal tightly against my chest.

“Nothing. I just need to get out of here.” Blue started to pace in the stairwell. He looked like a tiger in a zoo.

“Don’t just stand there,” I heard Hal’s voice echo from the bottom of the stairwell. “Do something!”

“I know.” I said out loud.

“What?” Blue asked looking confused.

“You’re right,” I started. “There is no point in searching all these floors for a shoot. We are going to have to go back to the eleventh floor.”

“Are you crazy?!” Blue said wide-eyed. “You’re the one who said we should go upstairs so we wouldn’t get caught. And now you’re saying we should go back down and risk losing our heads. I don’t understand you.”

I rolled my eyes and tried not to groan, although it would have been pretty fun too. “Look, I am proof that the cure doesn’t kill you right away. If we get caught there might be a chance that you could survive too.”

“What about that boy?” Blue countered. “He literally shriveled up and died right in front of us! So, don’t stand here and tell me that when we get caught there might be a way for me to survive.” Blue’s chest heaved and I knew it wouldn’t solve anything if we were both angry. I took a deep breath before speaking up again.

“We don’t have any other options and if we are lucky, everyone went home, including Wanda and those men.”

Blue looked down at the stairwell for a while before opening his mouth again. “Fine. We go. But the first sign there might be anyone else down there, we are finding another way out.

“Deal.” I nodded. I stuck my hand out for the boy to shake it, but he just fixed his tie and walked down the stairs.

*~*~*

Luckily for us, the courtroom was empty. Blue did his best to keep his head down and walk across the room without getting distracted. I on the other hand, looked around and took in every aspect of the room in a new light. I wasn’t supposed to see the other side of the door that I was now standing in front of. I wasn’t supposed to see any other room for that matter. Something churned inside me, the way it did when I lied to my parents when I was kid.

“Spooky, isn’t it?” Hal said grinning. He was talking from one of the portraits on the wall. Hal was wearing a judge’s gown and sporting a pair of old fashioned glasses. I nodded in response. “But it feels good to break the rules, doesn’t it?” Hal’s Cheshire grin grew wider and I felt the knot in my stomach unwind. My own lips began to part into a smile, when Blue popped his head back into the room.

“I found the shoot.” Blue said excitedly. I turned to face him. “Hurry up, before we get caught.” I ran toward the door, but looked back at Hal one last time before leaving the room. Hal gave me a wink as his face was replaced with an older Latino man. I slammed the door behind me.

Blue grabbed my hand and practically dragged me across the hallway. I briefly saw the big arrows pointing me back into the courtroom as I was yanked into what seemed like a supply closet. I was abhorred by the state of the “room.” My hand instinctually covered my nose and mouth. The scent of death lingered in the air and I did everything in my power not to throw up.

The walls where painted white with a simple sign that read: If infected should secrete any fluids, please wear gloves when cleaning up after them. There was a mop and bucket in one corner of the room as well as a small wooden table with gloves by the back wall. The room wouldn’t be complete without hand sanitizer attached to the wall closest to me. By the sanitizer was a metal shoot that could barely fit a person. I stood in front of it, clutching Hal tightly against my chest.

“Is it safe?” I asked taking a peek inside the vent. It was pitch black and I bit my lip unsure if this was a good idea after all.

“Not sure,” Blue answered honestly. “But I’ll be right behind you, so don’t worry about it too much.”

“Okay,” I nodded stepping inside the shoot and sitting down at its edge.

“You’re going to want to scream,” Blue said pressing his hands against my back. “Don’t.”

~*~*~

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Please remember to like and comment! It really helps me out =] Fun Fact: Donald Duck's middle name is Fauntleroy also Daisy is actually the sister of Donald's brother in law. Daisy's brother had married Donald's twin sister Della, and together the two had three sons. Huey, Dewey, and Louie.

(Source: Wikipedia)