As Nessa gave attention to Apollo's story, she thought of the heart-shaped locket hanging underneath the docks.

Brooke kept the necklace in her bag; but in spite of this, Nessa remembered seeing an ancient snapshot of a prominent family.

"Oh, no." Nessa thought to herself. "Did Jason kill Harper?"

If he did, then why on earth would he do that to Martin—his own best friend? Did it have something to do with Jason's test subjects?

Nessa massaged the tip of her chin. Her worn shoes drift across the white floor. She doesn't know any details regarding the case; but even so, she must find Brooke and the others tell them the news. 

Observing her startled reaction, an inquisitive Apollo asks the young girl: "Do you think Jason is involved?"

"I don't know."

Her response puzzled the teenaged mutant.

"What do you mean you don't know?" he frowns. "Aren't you the one who is looking into Harper's death?"

Nessa scrunched her nose in disgust. "Do I look like a fucking cop to you?"

"No."

"So, don't ask me that question again."

A startled Apollo quickly threw up his hands in self-defense.

"Okay, geez!" he yells at her. "I am just trying to understand what your deal is, that's all."

Nessa tries to come up with a witty insult, but she couldn't hear her over the sound of her beating heart.

Radiant fluorescent lights overwhelmed her vision. Endless white walls drove Nessa to the point where she can't stand being in this room as Apollo.

She slides off of the disorganized mattress, flattens the creases on her jeans, and decides to inform the others about Jason's violent crimes.

"Where are you going?" a curious Apollo asks her. "Is there something wrong?"

"Yeah."

"Okay," said Apollo, taking a meticulous step towards her. "So, are you going to tell me or anything—"

Nessa brutally cuts him off. "No."

Though angry, Apollo understands where she is coming from.

If she told the boy her assumptions, then he might go after the wrong person. But even so, Apollo figures out that the locket is somehow connected to Harper's disappearance.

Now if Nessa can just tell Apollo the truth, the boy will avenge Harper's brutal demise and find closure.

But much to the boy's disappointment, Nessa never tells him about her thoughts. Instead, she puts a front to mask her feelings.

"Sorry, kid," she says sympathetically. "But I have to go and talk to my friends, okay?"

Apollo opens his mouth to speak, but Nessa left before he utters a word of reassurance.

"Hey, Nessa!" he cried out. "Where the hell are you going?"

Dismissing Apollo's agonizing questions, the young Latina fled out of his bedroom and scampered down the hallway.   

Cold winds froze her tears. Her curled locks broke free from her black hairband as Nessa searched high and low for her friends and family.

But as she scampers to the left corridor, a guard came behind her and aims his rifle at the back of her skull.

"Vanessa María Phoenix," he announced in a cold tone.

Nessa froze like a statue. She meekly raises her hands, but for the first time, Nessa didn't fight the guard. 

Not when there are working surveillance cameras staring down at her. 

Taking a bold step towards her, the highly trained guard lowers his rifle and gently drags a terrified Nessa by the arm.

"Mr. Young would like to have a word with you," he says bitterly.

Nessa's heart flutters. "What? What did I do?"

The hardened guard didn't answer; instead, he takes Nessa to the break room, where Jason sat on the deep blue couch.

He dons a white Talking Heads T-shirt, dark blue plaid pajama pants, and no shoes.

Secured in his right hand is a photo of an attractive strawberry blonde woman wearing a white cardigan sweater, red dress, and black loafers.

A cold glass of milk settled itself on the coffee table, but somehow, Jason wasn't attracted to the beverage.

He is simply interested in Vanessa's injuries and her whereabouts.

"Hey, Nessa!" Jason welcomes. "Did you have a nice bathroom break?"

She bobs her head very awkwardly. "Yeah, it was fine."

Jason grins as though Nessa had told him something interesting. "Cool! Where did you run off to?"

Nessa's throat is parched. She badly needed a drink of water, but Nessa is afraid to ask Jason.

"As you said before, I went to the bathroom." she croaked.

"I see," he mumbled. "And what happened to your face?"

Jason peers at her busted lip and contusions, causing a skittish Nessa to look away.

Dark scarlet warmed her face. Nessa inches herself away from the eccentric entrepreneur, but Jason begs her to come closer.

Setting the picture frame of his stunning wife beside him, Jason gets up, ambles toward the timid girl, and gave her a stiff hug.

"I am not going to hurt you, Vanessa," he says in a calm voice. "I just want to know what happened to you."

That's when Nessa's skin begins to crawl.

Oh, God. she thought. Does Jason know that I am lying to him?

Not wanting to see his face, Nessa attempts to push Jason away; but it is as though his body is carved out of stone.

His breath reeked of saltwater taffy.

Jason's head bobbed next to Nessa's left ear as his paper-like lips enunciate a simple command: "Follow me."

Releasing her from his embrace, Jason takes Nessa by his right hand while picking up the glass of cold milk with his left.

Disturbed by his unnatural behavior, the girl quietly asks: "Jason, where are you taking me?"

He responds by opening the wooden door to the bunker room, then directs her downstairs.

Footsteps echoed the pitch-black room. The glass light bulb swung above their heads, irritating Nessa in the process.

"Jesus Christ." she thinks angrily. "What if this thing falls on my head?"

A worrisome Jason paused, then checks to see if Nessa is okay.

"Do you want us to take a break?" he asks.

"Nope." Nessa wants to say. "I want to grab my friends and family and get the hell out of here!"

Her hands clench into fists.

She desired to slap Jason across his smug face, but her insides won't stop churning like buttermilk.

"Look," Jason says to a quiet Nessa. "I know you and your friends are not interested in saving Lovecraft Creek."

Nessa blinks at him in surprise.

"How did he notice?" she ponders. "Was it my body language or did he sent his goons to spy on us?"

"But truth be told, I don't blame you. When I was your age, I wanted nothing to do with this fucking town."

As he says this, Jason stares at his glass of milk.

"I hated those spoiled assholes stealing my father's land." he went on. "Because of them, my parents and I had to move in some shitty apartment complex."

Jason pauses, then drank his white beverage until his throat is moist.

A young Nessa leans against the white stair rail.

"So, when I was eighteen," he added. "I made a promise to myself that I would never treat the poor like garbage."

"Instead, I am going to help those people in need."

Nessa smiles wanly. "Wow, what a story."

"Is that a compliment?"

"No."

Jason smears the white mustache off his upper lip. "So, you don't believe that people can make a difference?"

The teenage girl scoffs a laugh."I believe that people are complete hypocrites."

The eccentric man grasped the glass cup in his hand. He didn't like Vanessa ridiculing his goals, but then again, she is just a teenager.

"Okay," he sighs. "The surprise is right behind this door."

Nessa's eyes follow his finger to the door where it directs her to the bunker room.

"Why is he showing me the bunker room?" she thinks.

As if he heard her thoughts, a kind Jason reassured Nessa that everything is going to be fine.

Opening the door, Jason gently nudges Nessa inside where she sees Brooke, Caleb, and Johnny sitting uncomfortably on the deep blue couches.

Their eyes were filled with confusion, fear, and anxiety as to what plan Jason has concocted up his sleeve.

As soon as they saw Nessa's injured face, the trio became worried.

"Oh my God," Johnny whispers, getting up from the couch.

Both Caleb and Brooke did the same.

Johnny quickly threw his arms around Nessa, easing her stressful mind. "Hey, kiddo. Is everything alright?"

Nessa shakes her head, letting the tears spill down her face.

"What's the matter?" he asks. "Is everything okay?"

Jason, who was watching the siblings, shakes his head. "I heard a rumor that a soldier of mine raped Nessa."

Her friends and older brother both gape at Nessa in sheer horror.

"Vanessa," Johnny whispers softly. "What the hell is he talking about?"

He was talking about the time when Nessa physically assaulted a grown man for information.

Listening to her thoughts, an appalled Caleb stares at Nessa in complete shock.

"You beat up a grown man?" he mouthed.

Scratching her cheek, Nessa bows her head in shame. "Well, I—"

"Yes or no?" Jason interrupts, not giving any attention to the children. 

An appalled Brooke scowls at him. "Leave her alone. You don't have to pressure Nessa like that."

Jason did a sigh. "I know, but the reason I took you kids into the bunker room is that I want to know if you can trust me."

Johnny snorts in disbelief.

"Rape is something I am strongly against."

And yet he likes to tortures sea creatures in his spare time. Caleb thought.

Once again, Jason asks Nessa, if she had been sexually assaulted in the girl's bathroom.

"No," she says calmly.

Nessa lets go of Johnny's embrace and told him parts of what happened that day.

"I ask if he can take me to the bathroom." she began. "I thought he said something cruel, but when I tried to reason with him, he beat me up."

Brooke sighs heavily. She rubs her thumb across Nessa's battered cheek. "Well, at least you have me around to heal your bruises."

Grinning, Caleb pats Nessa's shoulder. "And you put up a good fight."

Johnny ruffles his sister's hair, causing Nessa to blush immensely. Though he didn't give her any compliments, the glimmer in his eyes made Nessa feel warm inside. 

Bobbing his head, Jason drained the remains of his milk and placed the empty glass on the coffee table.

"Alright then," he says eventually. "Everyone take your showers and get to bed."

Caleb blinks at Jason. "It's bedtime already?"

Jason's eyes studied the ticking clock leaning on the wall.

"It's almost midnight," he says, taking the empty milk glass with him. "You guys can have the bedrooms. I put your bags there so you can have a fresh change of clothes."

The four children nod in unison.

"Thanks," said Johnny. "We'll take it over from here."

"Good." Jason yawned as he turns to leave the bunker room. "I'll see you kids in the morning, alright?"

"Yeah."

As soon as Jason left the room, Nessa told the others what she had found out.

"The locket belongs to Martin?" Brooke asks.

"Yeah," said Nessa. "Apparently, Harper lost it while he and Apollo were playing on the beach."

Caleb crossed his arms. "The beach where we fought the monster?"

"Yeah," said Nessa, sitting on the blue couch.

"Who told you that?"

"Apollo did."

Brooke and Caleb both stare at Nessa.

"Are you serious?" Brooke exclaimed. "Isn't Apollo . . . dangerous?"

Nessa slumped her shoulders.

"At first, I thought he was a serial killer. But when we got to know each other, I realized that Apollo is just as scared and angry as the rest of us."

Johnny smirked; he is impressed that Nessa had obtained this vital clue from Apollo. 

"The information sounds pretty credible, but we need more than a trinket to investigate this place."

Brooke collapsed on the thick couch. Her hands ran through her curly afro as she tells her friends what happened in the lab.

"When my parents and I injected the cure in the sea dragon, I notice the doctors were shipping the crates of blood to some of the donors."

Johnny's eyes widen. "What?"

"Yeah." she sighed. "Apparently, clinics need them because they were running out of medicine."

"My parents and I tried telling Dr. Willow that sea dragon's blood is unstable, but she has this stupid belief that it will change science or some bullshit."

Caleb sits right next to her, putting his arm around her shoulder.

"God," said Caleb. "We have got to stop those crates from entering the clinics, hospitals, and infirmaries."

Johnny nods. "You're right. But first, we need to get some sleep, okay?"

Brooke closes her eyes for a second. She badly wants to leave this place, but for now, all she needed is some sleep.

"Okay," she says finally, squeezing Caleb's hand. "Let's get some shut-eye. I'll see you guys in the morning."

The kids showered, got dressed, and shared beds. Smoothing her black Nirvana vintage T-shirt, Nessa slept on the top bunk whereas Johnny snuggled underneath her.

Meanwhile, Brooke curled next to Caleb. She watched him yawn like a little puppy.

"Caleb," she whispered.

"Hm?"

Brooke moves towards Caleb, stroking his eyebrows. "When this is over, I want to get a slice of blueberry cheesecake from my favorite restaurant."

Caleb gives her a tired grin. "Okay, birthday girl." He grasped Brooke's hand and kissed her wrist until Caleb had lost count.

Rolling near the edge of her bed, a quiet Nessa whispered: "When I was little, I have always wanted to try strawberry cheesecake."

She carefully looks down at Johnny and asks what fruit he would like on his cheesecake.

"Probably raspberry or chocolate." was his reply.

Nessa did a pout. "Why not both?"

Johnny scrunched his nose in disgust. "They don't go together. Combining chocolate and raspberry is like eating tuna with peanut butter."

"Ugh." Caleb snorts. "Why do most people eat that crap?"

An exhausted Johnny shrugs his shoulders.

"No clue," he says quietly. "It's disgusting."

Throwing the baby blue covers over his body, Johnny tells his friends and little sister to go to bed.

The children dreamt they were in a restaurant eating frosted cheesecakes.

Heavy cream and sugary fruit juice melt in their hungry mouths. Bits of crackers stuck between their teeth.

At first, the children were at peace—laughing and devouring cheesecakes.

But as the morning rain hit the concrete, the children woke up to hear Sergeant Jones and Nessa's alleged assailant vanished without a trace.