SUBJECT NINE | KIRIN O'CONNOR

SEVEN

"WE WERE ALL talking about what little food we had left. Henry was worried about starving to death, Ivan was worried about his mom not finding his novella. I guess everyone was worried about their own things." Frances shrugged.

"And what we're you worried about, Frances?" Daniel questioned, his brows knitting together.

"I guess everything." The girl muttered. "I was worried about the normal things like, being hungry, dehydrating, not seeing my family again, but also them finding out that I was a girl."

"What happened when they did find out?" Dean leant forward curiously.

"Is that how the big divide happened within the group?" Daniel continued to ask, not even giving the blonde a chance to answer the first question.

"Woah, woah, woah. You're getting ahead of the story now." Frances smirked, knowing that she was getting on the detectives nerves for not rushing to answer their questions. "To understand the full thing you must sit through the details because there's so much hidden in them, you'll see."

D A Y    T W E L V E

"Starvation is a notoriously horrific way to die." Henry spoke up, looking around at the group awaiting their response. "Right up there with radiation poisoning and crucifixion."

Frances mouth fell agape, her heart began to pound at the idea of starving to death. She felt her mouth become dry, they all needed something to drink. But when she suggested telling everyone about the waterfall, Kirin shot her down and told her that she needed a safe place and that the waterfall should be a last resort.

"Jesus, could you not?" Kirin snapped once he saw how Henry's words were bothering Frances. "No one's fucking starving to death."

Frances looked up at Kirin, wondering how he remained so optimistic. Her eyes flickered down his exposed chest, which was something that didn't go unnoticed by the boy.

"This can't be all that's left can it?" Kirin asked as he crouched down beside Frances. His hand rested on her shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. "It seems impossible."

"Yeah, I'm sorry. It just, uh, it can't end like this for me." Ivan spoke nervously as he jotted things down in his book. "I mean my mom doesn't even know where to look for my novella, so how am I supposed to be published posthumously?" He hummed. "It's on my google drive mother. Just click on the second folder marked Novella W-I-P."

"Shut up, Taylor." Kirin snapped. "We'll be fine. We just need to slow down on the food since obviously, rescues not-since they're taking longer than we thought."

Each day was becoming harder to hide the fact that Frances was a girl. Every time someone shouted 'Phineas' she would look behind her for her brother and Kirin would have to nudge her so that she remembered to answer. She barely talked and when she did, she had to lower her voice so much that it was beginning to hurt. The only peace she got was when she was at the water fall with Kirin.

"We could play a game? Like as a distraction?" Josh suggested with a smile. "I always play my x-box when I want to stop snacking on refined sugars. My nutritionist encourages it."

"Not a bad call, any suggestions?" Seth pointed over to Josh with a grin.

The group broke out into a discussion about which games they could play. Ivan suggested a theatre game, which Kirin instantly shut down.