Liwei took a deep breath. He look at the door for a long moment, considering the dust floating past the thick metal as he slid his foot down onto the gas pedal and sped away before the others at the compound noticed anything conspicuous. He looked at Mona and nodded. He slid one hand over to cover hers in an offer of comfort. Guilt bit at the edge of his thoughts as the van ate up road and they left the boy behind.

Misha glanced back at the compound. "My... [i]my[/i] friend?" She shook her head, face scrunching in an effort to remember the person they were talking about. "Like I said," she mumbled as she pulled a seatbelt over her waist. "Don't really remember any of this. It's all so spotty."