I long to spend the rest of the evening under the confines of my duvet but after my training session, Rob comes to collect me for what I know must be another experiment.

Reluctantly, I pull the covers back and follow him through the employee tunnels. It always surprises me how dark and gray it is in here compared to the enclosures, as though Marine World doesn't care about the places the guests can't see. We are quiet as we walk, with Rob's footsteps sounding menacing against the silence.

"Do you enjoy working here?" I ask.

Rob turns to look at me, his gray eyebrows furrowed. It is not often that I voluntarily speak to the trainers, but a part of me no longer cares about following the rules.

"I enjoy paying the bills," he says.

We arrive at another ominous door and Rob pulls me inside. He sits me on a chair that is facing the screen. Before me there is a familiar keypad with various different shapes and patterns on it.

"Same as usual," Rob says. "Iwant you to look at the screen and try to remember what order the shapes come in. When the screen turns off, you'll be using the keyboard to show me."

Usually, the memory experiments are the ones I excel at, but Muriel Two's warning plays fresh in my mind. I might have passed all of my experiments, but failing them now might buy me a little more time.

The room goes dark and the screen turns on. Shape after shape appears on the screen, flashes so quick that I have to concetrate to remember them. Afterward, the lights flicker on again and I stare at the keypad.

A part of me is reluctant to get anything wrong after years of trying to get them right, but Muriel's warning isn't one I am willing to heed. I type in the first few shapes correctly: triangle, circle, triangle, square and then a diamond. Instead of following the sequence with a square and a triangle, I press the circle button twice.

A loud buzzer rings out. I flinch at the sound; it is one I haven't heard in a while. Rob's voice comes on the speaker and tells me to try again, but I still get it wrong. After several attempts, he decides to show me a different sequence. Although I get enough right not to arouse suspicion, I make sure to get one or two wrong.

After a few more different sequences, the door swings open and Rob escorts me back to my night enclosure. My heart pounds the entire way, my stomach filled with anxiety. Perhaps Muriel Two's warning was really just a way to get us into trouble, but I have to believe that deep down, she is on our side and not theirs.

My body aches by the time the evening comes around. Exhaustion attempts to lure me to the dark side, but I fight to stay awake. After using the treadmill, I change into my bathing suit and lower myself into the pool.

Even after everything, I still can't ignore the calming effect the water has on me. Even after everything, the water is still the one place I feel as if I belong.

I swim as many laps as I can, my legs feeling free now that they are no longer being weighed down by my tail. I twirl in circles, kicking my legs before breaking the surface to study the moon.

Reece comes in once I am tucked into bed, but I don't look up from my hands, which I've been staring at for the last thirty minutes. I know if I look up I might start crying again, and I've had enough of crying. Of hurting. All I want to do now is fight.

I expect him to be mad that I'd ruined the plan, but instead of lecturing me he sits beside me, not speaking a word.

"I messed up," I say, fixing my eyes on the door. "I was nervous and I did the routine wrong. I had to practice during my break."

Reece looks at me, his eyes bright and intense; not affectionate by any means, but no longer filled with distrust, at least. "I know," he says. "Your trainer pulled me aside just before your break. It's why I didn't leave you my pass. We can try again tomorrow. I forgot to show you how to do the contact lenses, anyway." He gets out the little black box from under the bed, resting it between us. "Come on, I'll show you now, if you."

I shoot him a hesitant look, still not feeling completely comfortable around him. A part of me keeps waiting for the moment he'll jump up and tell me it was all just a trick, that he's really on their side, not mine. That's what Jackson had done, after all. He'd managed to fool Muriel into believing she could trust him, and look where that got her.

Reece scoots closer, a move that sets my stomach alight. He carefully takes my chin between his fingers, tilting my head to look at him. It's unnerving being this close to him, and when he takes out a contact lens and places it on his finger, I can't stop my heart from racing.

"All right, I'm going to gently place it in and then you need to blink a few times to shift it into place," he says, staring at me intently. His face is so close that if I leaned in slightly, our lips would be touch.

I hold my breath. He leans in closer, his mouth some mere inches from my own as he positions the lens to my eye. Once it is in, I blink as instructed, allowing the lens to shift into place. He does the same with the other one, his eyebrows drawn together in concentration.

"There," he says, a boyish smile on his face. I can't help but smile slightly in response.

"Thank you." I open my compact mirror before peering at my reflection. I almost don't recognize the girl staring back at me. My once honey-colored eyes have transformed to a much darker brown, leaving me looking nothing like myself. For a moment, I hate it, but the longer I stare, the more normal I start to feel, like maybe with this new color, I can be someone else.

Reece smiles slightly before carefully removing the contact lenses and placing them back in the box. "I'm coming with you tomorrow," he says after a moment of silence, his eyes fixed on the backpack. "You'll still get on the monorail and head to the parking lot, but I'll be parked there waiting for you."

I look up, surprised. Hadn't Reece told me any more involvement on his part could get him or his father in serious trouble? "But you said–"

"I know what I said," he says softly.

"Reece," I say sharply, forcing him to look at me. "You're not coming."

His eyebrows furrow, the same way they always do whenever he's surprised. "It's not your choice to make," he reminds me.

"Yes," I say, getting to my feet, "it is. I don't want you to come."

It is enough that I've lost Crystal, and that I am leaving the other girls behind, but throwing Reece in the mix? Having him risk his freedom in order for me to attain mine? I don't want that kind of responsibility. I don't want to have to put that kind of trust in Reece or have him put that kind of trust in me.

He gets to his feet, too, his expression growing harder as what looks like rejection flashes across his features. His face is so close that it causes something deep within my stomach to pulsate.

"I get that you don't trust me," he says, "but the fact of the matter is, you can't do this on your own. You need my help, or as soon as you get out of those gates you're going to get caught and this will all have been for nothing. Tomorrow, three P.M. Don't mess up."

He doesn't await my response. He simply turns on his heel and strides out of the night enclosure, slamming the door shut behind him.