Reece is already waiting for me at the front door. Ben barely acknowledges me as the three of us make our way to the car, but he leaves the passenger seat for me.

We pull out the driveway, and Reece passes me a piece of paper with different items listed on it. Belt, stainless steel pen, stainless steel water bottle–it is a list of supplies I hadn't been expecting us to head to the store for in the middle of the night.

Reece must know as well as I do that if we're going to Marine World tomorrow, we need to prepare ourselves with weapons, not things that will weigh us down.

"Reece, what are we going to do with a pen?" I want to know. "We're going to need weapons. Guns."

Ben sighs behind me and I resist the urge to swivel in my seat and shoot him a deadly glare.

"There's security checks at the entrance of Marine World," Reece explains, keeping his eyes on the road. "That means no guns. We need to be wearing things we can use as a weapon if we need to. Things that won't be confiscated at the gates."

My fear is back now that I know we're walking back into Marine World utterly defenseless. It hadn't occurred to me we wouldn't be taking Reece's gun inside, and now I feel more powerless than ever.

We pull into the supermarket parking lot before making our way through the entrance. "Grab some clothes similar to the ones the guests would wear, all right? I'll find everything else," Reece says.

I give him a quick nod, grabbing a green basket before making my way through the aisles. I'd spent a year studying the guests on the other side of my enclosure, and I know exactly what kind of clothes to pick so that Asia and Jewel will look just like them.

After scouring the rails, I grab a few t-shirts and throw them into the basket, feeling as if each item I pick is bringing me that much closer to tomorrow. A part of me feels guilty for wanting to put off rescuing Asia and Jewel, but the thought of getting caught and ending up back in my enclosure is enough to make me hope tomorrow never comes.

I grab a hat and some sunglasses before moving towards the makeup section, where a life size cut-out of a beautiful red head stands beside the lipsticks. I study her for a moment, trying to work out which products she's wearing and how on earth she applied them. I know the only way we're getting the others out tomorrow is by making them look unrecognizable, so I throw in whatever catches my attention before moving to the next aisle.

There are countless objects I've never seen before, and I wonder what use most of these things could possibly have. One of the more perplexing objects is a small, orange ball with a soft looking texture. I pick it up, turning it over in my hands.

"It's a stress ball," Ben says from somewhere behind me. "You're supposed to squeeze it whenever you feel stressed about something."

Intrigued, I give the ball a squeeze, expecting the anxiety I feel to suddenly disappear. When nothing happens, I open my eyes and release my grip.

"Yeah, they never really worked for me, either," Ben says, glancing at my basket. "You get everything you needed?"

I nod, putting the stress ball back on the shelf before turning to face him. He looks less irritable now, and I wonder if Reece has said something to bring on this sudden change in demeanor.

"Give me the basket, I'll take it to check out," he says.

I hand it over and watch as he heads towards checkout. Instead of following him, I start to scan the other aisles, watching as shoppers push their carts around. A small part of me envies their independence, the way functioning seems to come so naturally. It makes me wonder whether such normal things will ever feel normal to me.

Sighing, I turn into the next aisle. Jackson stands with his back to his cart, studying a milk carton. I gasp, willing my feet to turn and run, but I stay frozen in the aisle.

He remains oblivious to my presence as he moves up the aisle, snatching things off of the shelves before popping them into his cart. How normal he looks. How easily he hides his true nature. I'd think he was decent, if I didn't know better. I'd think he was kind or good-hearted or somebody pleasant–not a monster disguised as a man.

I should move. I should turn and run before he looks up and spots me, but my feet stay rooted to the ground. All I can think as I stand and examine him is the way Muriel looked the night before she disappeared.

A surge of fury shoots through my veins, and I find myself wishing I'd killed Jackson when I had the chance. I'd convinced myself that letting him live was the human thing to do, but the humans I've met have only ever been cruel. Dangerous. Inherently selfish; I don't want to be human, anymore.

I slink around the corner of the next aisle, brushing the gun tucked in my waistband. I pause for a moment, scanning the empty aisle before looking back at Jackson. He's still browsing for groceries, his back half-turned, and I watch as he studies the shelf with the utmost precision, looking the same way he does in my nightmares.

He ended Muriel's life the day he hurt her. He turned her into something different–something broken–and eventually, she could no longer hide it. Jackson tried to numb her with pills, but Muriel refused to take them. Even in her darkest state, she was as defiant as ever, refusing to be silenced. But he did, in the end, despite her attempts, because powerful people always do.

Slowly, I advance toward him. My anger is blinding, like a thick, red haze, blocking out everything else. The morning I woke up to find Muriel gone plays fresh in my mind. The feeling I'd had when I'd pulled back her covers, confused by the absence of her things. Muriel was my rock, the reason I'd always fought against the darkness, and yet the darkness had taken her, instead.

I reach for my gun. Jackson turns, his eyes about to finally meet mine when somebody grabs me from behind. I am pulled around the corner and into the next aisle. A hand slaps over my mouth as I'm jerked backwards, before my captor turns me to face him.

Reece stares down at me with a quiet fury, his grip like iron. Without a word, his eyes flicker to the waistband of my shorts, the outline of my gun no longer covered by my t-shirt. Quickly, he takes the gun and slips it under his shirt before pointing towards the supermarket exit.

Taking my hand, he leads me down the next aisle before pausing to peek around the corner of Jackson's aisle.

"Ree–" He squeezes my hand harder, an indication for me to be quiet. I swallow my words, my stomach steadily bubbling with guilt. My anger had blinded me, trapped me in a stage between reality and emotion, but now it is dawning on me what I could have–would have–done.

Reece hurriedly pulls me into Jackson's aisle as Jackson disappears around the opposite corner. Once we're to the car, I climb into the passenger seat to see Ben already sitting in the back.

The car ride is silent. Reece sits tensely beside me, his jaw contracted into a sharp, hard line.

"Who died?" Ben asks from the backseat, and Reece glances over his shoulder with a look that makes Ben recoil in his seat.

As soon as we get back to the house, I run up to the bedroom and shut the door behind me, my breath still hitched in my throat. I've never seen Reece look at me that way before, not even when he thought I was dangerous, like I am someone–something–he doesn't recognize.

I pace the length of my room, afraid to go downstairs. I contemplate finishing my book to pass the time, but my mind is too jumbled to concentrate. Instead, I sit against the edge of the bed and take deep breaths, willing my heart to stop pounding.

I'm losing it. I'm losing it at a time when I need to be strong. For Asia, for Jewel–they are the ones who will suffer if I let Marine World get the best of me.

Hey readers! Comment yes or no if you are shipping Aura and Reece ❤️