"Around here?" I asked with false disbelief. Everything her had a bad side to it, it was just a matter of how bad you were talking, and what you considered terrible. But it was there. Even if it was just that Dawn literally felt the pain of the common victimized girl, it would be a nightmare. Imagine feeling Kim's pain... I shuddered, imagining if I could feel the terror in Sondra's heart at the moment.

I smile, not like I wanted to, but it was obvious by Linnis's expression that she got what I have to go through each day. Besides the fact that Empathy gives you the creeps, every time a girl gets attacked, the scared, frightened, terrified feeling they get, I get. Kim's frustration, and over worried she gets everyday rubs off literally on me.

"It isn't like I asked for this Linnis, but I have it now there isn't much I can do about it, but to try my best to make it work, whatever that may be" I was cheerful for a little, thinking of all the good I have done, but got serious very quickly after,

"That isn't what I meant by the very BAD part actually. I know what you are thinking but that isn't close to what I had in mind. You know why Kim always has that...expression on her face each time she stays with me? It is more then she is worried about me..." I sighed quietly, remembering Kim's face.

"She knows the cost of what this...gift..." if that is what you really call it, "I, about a daily basis get attacked, mentally and physically. I really can't explain how it feels like, besides that, it cripples me completely." I cringed again at just remembering, now that I remember myself, it hasn't happened yet has it...? Or at least for today. "Lets just say, for about 2 minutes, everyday, I relive my experiences from my absence at the campus. Images played through like a old school film, flashing over and over..." I trailed off at the end, there wasn't a point in going into details.

"I always saw the lost memories as a gift..." I mused and shivered, uncomfortably aware of the hell in her head. It must have been awful, I reasoned, but shook it off, "Once we get out of here..."

"We...?" We? There isn't a we, none of us have ever gotten away, at least from what I known, none of us had gotten away. Or without something to remember them for. "I really doubt there will be a we, I know the campus well enough they won't let us off that easy. Especially one of us with so much knowledge of the campus."

I sat the bed and looked at the ground for a little bit, before turning my attention to Linnis and said what I been thinking for awhile, "Linnis, I want you to promise me something. This is very important, especially with Kim's current mental state..."

"Maybe it's a silly idea, but I still want that future with Sondra, in a little house of one of Michigan's lakes..." I said quietly when she showed such skepticism in my idea. Yeah, it was silly... but it was a dream that helped see me through. I needed to keep my dream alive. Then, she asked a promise of me, and snapped back to the harsher reality of our abysmal situation, I nodded in agreement, "Anything. Any friend of Sondra's is one of mine, and afforded my total and complete confidence."

I nodded, ya if we can get back to Earth, going back, and having a small little place near a lake or the water, to wake up to the smoothing sounds of the water splashing quietly against the shore is very nice, but I'm thinking way out of what I need to right now. "That would sound nice...be something I would like to happen but I really don't think it would for me." I tilted my head back on the floor and sighed,

"But anyway back to what I wanted to say, if something does happen to me, I want you to give me the promise of keeping Kim safe. I know she is more worried about me, but she can't hide her feelings from me, even if I don't want to read her mind, it is out of my arms." Ya them are the breaks huh? Having abilities that you can't even control is something else all together.

"I know she misses Madison, I been getting some strange feelings that she is still on campus, some where. If I can't get Kim to stop worrying, only Madison will, they need each other. More then Kim needs me, I'm just...a replacement that hardly can help Kim. I want you to keep Kim safe, until hopefully...Madison comes back and takes Kim..."

"I really don't think that happy ending will happen for me, I know in my heart as much as I can't ignore that this will be the end. Something WILL happen to me and there isn't a thing I can do to stop it. Kim will go insane if I disappear, but I know if she is with Madison she'll be ok...not with me...she doesn't need me anymore."

"Don't ever." I sounded as low as it got, deep in agony and sorrow. I looked at her with solemn eyes and spoke with wisdom of experience, "Don't ever think she doesn't need you anymore. Don't ever think that just because you're replacing her true love, that you can't be as much of what she needs. I'm not Meru, I'll never be Meru, but I... I'm still Sondra's wife."

I smiled half heartily, I tried my best to put on that face but it was fruitless. There wasn't a problem, I know I would never replace Madison in Kim's eyes, it is even harder to try if you can read her mind. "It's...a lot harder for me, I know you are soundly safe with Sondra, I kind of know her well enough. It is just..."

I can't continue, or at least on that train of though, there wasn't a point since I know how Kim feels, I can see it in her eyes, even without Empathy or Telepathy, it is obvious. "Kim is very important to me, I haven't had anyone care about me the way Kim does, but I am still just second in her eyes, I don't mind at all, but I know something is going to happen to me soon. If I can not take care of Kim, Madison will never forgive me either way."

I sighed and stared up at the ceiling for a moment, before turning my attention back to Linnis, "So I was saying, if something DOES happen before I am ready, I want you to try and keep Kim's mental state right, she is too fragile. If I can find Madison, it'll be even better... but I can't think about what might not happen."