"You bitch!" Alice screeched, scrubbing Mattie's spit off of her face. "How [i]dare[/i] you!"

"Alice," Jacob snapped, voice raised. "Don't you dare hurt her. I don't think you realize what they've done to you. They've turned you into a monster, like I was. Remember? You're the one who helped me get out of that, and yet you yourself have sunk that low. I can't believe you. I can't believe you can call yourself strong but be working for [i]them[/i]. You know what's going to happen. We all know what's going to happen. Unless we stop this, we're all. Going. To [i]die[/i]."

"What?" Nicholas said. He shook his head, squeezing Mattie's hand gently but looking toward Jacob, "I knew it. I knew it was a scam. She...she put something in me. She gave me some kind of shot."

"Figures," Jacob growled, crossing his arms. He stared at Alice, who stared back at him, until the tension between the two was broken when she burst into tears. He stood there, dumbfounded and taken aback by the sudden display of weakness. It wasn't like Alice, not even before she turned to working for the labs. 

Regardless, he wasn't going to let it sway him. For all he knew, it could be a trap. "Come on, guys," he said to Mattie and Nicholas. "We need to get out of here."

"I'm sorry! Please help me," Alice plead, receiving no reaction from Jacob nor Mattie nor Nicholas.

Nicholas rose from the table, keeping his hand in Mattie's. He felt dizzy. He felt sluggish. His balance was off, and he swayed as he walked with Jacob and Mattie toward the exit, leaving Alice doubled over and crying. He almost felt bad, but he shrugged the feeling off. He just wanted to get out of there.