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Havoc glanced around from where he sat leaning back against a pillar. Natalie was sitting in a chair, going over something he assumed was their medical charts. Blight and Vex were sitting next to each other, talking quietly. Chaos was reading a book. And Solace was inching across the grass on his stomach, looking for something. There wasn't really anything that could hurt him out in the small, fenced off area, but Havoc kept watching him anyway. He couldn't help it.

After a while, he let his gaze drift up to the sky and watched as the clouds drifted slowly by. The sky was a bright blue, but some of the clouds in the distance were dark grey. Natalie had said it might rain. He wondered what rain would feel like, look like, even taste like. He'd never seen it before.

Solace let out a shriek, making Havoc jerk in surprise. He shot up to his feet and saw Solace on the ground still, thrashing his arms and legs. Solace got up and ran back towards him, skidding to a stop in front of his brother with his head in his hands.

"Get it out! Get it out! Get it out!" He shouted, squeezing his eyes shut as he bounced from foot to foot.

"H-Hold still!" Havoc caught his brother's head and tilted it down.

He saw something move and grabbed it quickly, untangling a small lizard from Solace's hair.

"I got it out, all right?" He held it up in one hand, laughing lightly. "It's just a little thing, it's not gonna hurt you."

Solace sniffed quietly and wiped unshed tears from his eyes. "What is it?"

Havoc smiled a little. "A tiny lizard, that's what."

Solace put a hand on top of his head. "It got stuck."

Havoc laughed softly and knelt to set the lizard on the ground, letting it run away. "Well, it's gone now," He said as he stood back up, "It can't scare you anymore."

Solace smiled a little. "Thanks, Havoc."

"Don't mention it. . . Seriously, don't."

Solace laughed and took Havoc's hand, pulling him into the grass. "Come look at this! I found a hole in the ground! What do you think made it?"

Blight leaned back against the wall behind him and watched as Solace dragged Havoc along, pointing and running at anything he could find in the small, fenced off area. It was almost comical the way Havoc was being so tolerant, but Blight had seen his personality change too many times to be surprised.

"Are you feeling all right?" Vex asked quietly.

Blight laughed softly and held back the urge to cough. "I told you, Vex. I feel fine. You don't have to keep fussing over me."

Vex crossed his arms and gave a small sigh. "I can't help it. . . If they don't fix those doors soon I'll break them all myself."

Blight elbowed his brother in the side. "They'll get fixed. It'll take a little time to deconstruct and take out the airlocks and replace the doors you already damaged. Just be patient."

"I'm not big on patience."

"You can be. When you want to."

"But not this time. . . I'm tired of being kept in solitary all the time. I want to be able to see you guys when I want to. I shouldn't have to be scheduled in. It's just -" He stopped himself.

"Just . . . not normal?" Blight suggested.

Vex turned his head away, looking upset.

"But we're not normal, Vex. . . We just have to make do. . . Maybe at some point . . . we'll be able to leave this place. . . Or we'll break out. Not like they can stop us, right?"

Vex looked at Blight and could see the smile in his brother's eyes, though the mask he wore covered his mouth and nose. Vex couldn't help but give a small smile back. "Right."

"Which is why they do everything we say. They're afraid. They know they can't stop us . . . so they're trying to keep us confined and ignorant for as long as possible." Solemn, Blight looked out towards where Chaos was sitting, a book in his lap. "But they're failing. Chaos has been reading, learning. Everything. Anything he can get his hands on. . . He's planning something. . . I just don't know what."

"No one ever does," Vex pulled his headphones up, settling them over his ears, "Not even us."

For the rest of the day, they were all allowed to move freely from their rooms to the fenced-off area Natalie had shown them and back. It had been a long time since they'd been able to spend time outside, and they'd never been allowed out after dark. Natalie had even managed to get them a fire pit to use.

Solace couldn't decide whether he wanted to stare up at the stars or keep an eye on the marshmallow currently hovering over the fire. He liked to watch the way the fire danced, but the sky was so . . . so . . . big. So beautiful.

"Careful, Sol!" Havoc reached over and moved the thin metal stick in Solace's hands up. "You'll burn it to a crisp like that. You've gotta be careful and hold it up more."

Solace smiled and nodded, then looked back at the fire. After a little while, Havoc glanced to his right, past Solace, to where Chaos had been standing for nearly an hour, staring up at the stars. Havoc could see how they would interest Chaos since he could see farther than the rest of them, but he wasn't sure that warranted staring upward for more than a few minutes at a time.

Havoc looked back at his brothers. "How long's he gonna stand over there?"

Blight laughed lightly. "By the time we go to bed, he won't be able to look down again."

Vex slid a roasted marshmallow off of the metal stick in his hands, trapping it between two
graham crackers and a piece of a chocolate bar. "Should one of us go over there?"

Blight shrugged a little. "There's obviously something important going on in his head. Maybe we should just leave him alone."

For a while, they sat in silence except for the occasional shriek from Solace when he lit a marshmallow on fire. Finally, Vex pushed to his feet. He walked around Blight and over to where Chaos was standing.

"Chaos . . . it's cold out. You've been standing here for over an hour," Vex reached out and put a hand on his brother's shoulder, "Come and sit with us by the-"

"Do not. Interrupt." Chaos' voice was quiet but severe. He didn't look down from the sky. It was as if he were seeing something no one else could.

Taking the hint, Vex slowly brought his hand back in. He had to admit that even he was afraid of Chaos sometimes. A little dejected, Vex turned and walked back to the fire.

"I told you." Blight said with a shrug, then patted Vex's shoulder when he sat down again. "He's in a mood right now. Don't take it personal."

Vex shook his head slowly. "No. . . There's something going on in his head. I can't shake the feeling that it's something important. . . Something really important."

Solace looked at Havoc, worried, but Havoc patted his head and smiled reassuringly. "Everything's fine, Sol. Chaos is just being a sour puss again."

Solace smiled a little and turned back to finish making the smore sitting on his knee.

Finally, over an hour later, Chaos looked away from the sky. He turned and walked over to his brothers just as they were told to go back to their rooms. Blight was the first to stand and lead the way back inside, following closely after Natalie and the two guards that had been outside with them. Before he could make it inside, Chaos grabbed his arm, stopping him in place.

Looking back at the others, Chaos spoke a single sentence calmly but urgently. "Keep alert tonight."

Confused, Blight paused and let him walk in first. After looking back and getting equally puzzled looks in response, he shrugged and followed after Chaos.