Azazel just sighed.

"No I haven't." he told her.

"....well... okay, that's a lie. I have been." he admitted.

"Secret stuff. But not illegal stuff." he went on.

"I mean, it's barely legal, but still legal. And there's some ethical debate on it, but it's just mining for ore, so I say it ISN'T an issue." he insisted.

"...regardless, something like that wouldn't cause a LOCKDOWN." he assured her.

"Wonder when we'll find out what this is about, though..." he mumbled.

"...................." Azazel was silent for a moment, before he tossed a blanket over to Aedan, covering her up.

He knew she didn't really care that much about being exposed, but he decided to make things just that little bit less awkward. Potentially, anyway.

"Yes?" he then asked.

"Who are you?" he asked them.

"What are you doing here?" he asked further.

"And can we help you?" he then inquired, before pausing a moment.

"...and I assume this is about the lockdown." he added.

"....yuh-huh." Azazel responded.

"Whatever." he said.

He then sighed, and sat back down, turning his attention to the TV.

"Suppose I can't fault the efficiency in that answer." he muttered.

"Kinda like dealing with a government organization." he then said, before looking at Aedan.

"And yes, demons in Hell ARE better company than people with that attitude." he told her with a very slight smirk.

"Their personalities may be putrid, but they're still personalities." he added.

That was one thing that was starting to rub off on him from Aedan... he was getting a bit of her snark and smart-ass.

Azazel and Aedan looked at each other, and thought for a moment.

"Uhhhh.... no, not really." Azazel responded.

"Not that I can think of." he said.

Aedan just shrugged.

The person then turned to leave, but just as they got to the door, Azazel spoke up.

"Oh!" he exclaimed.

"Kiah!" he said.

"Aedan, remember when we were last at the lab, and her questions and note-taking were... well... sparse and generic?" he asked, before looking back at the person.

"Dr. Kiah Remmington, here at the Unit. She does tests on us because we're durable as all hell, and we're essentially volunteer guinea pigs." he explained. "But... like, a couple of days ago, she asked us very general and generic questions, and wrote down hardly anything, when she's normally extremely detail-oriented and fastidious." he told them.

"Knowing Kiah, the lab." Azazel replied.

He then made his way to the floor plan that was on the wall.

"We're right here." he said, gesturing to where they were on it.

"And the lab is just up these stairs." he told them further, pointing to a set of stairs.

"So, if you're simply combing the floor, you'll reach the stairs anyway at the end of your scan." he then shrugged.

Azazel watched the person go, before looking at Aedan.

"Nooooo idea." he said.

"And I get the feeling we won't ever find out." he told her.

"Well... not 'officially', anyway." he clarified, before sighing.

"...I just hope they find what they're looking for." he said. "If they've been called in to do this, it means whatever's here is dangerous."

"Which sucks." Azazel muttered.

-About a day later-

More of the Unit had been opened up, and more people were allowed to move around some more, and interact with each other.

At the moment, Peyton was speaking with Jake.

"Seems Anya's going to live." Jake told her.

"Just barely, but they managed to get her to bounce back." he said further.

"...that was one hell of a scare, though..." he then mumbled, shaking his head slightly.

Jake returned the hug, and nodded.

"Yeah, that's true." he said.

However, that was when Peyton had a strange thought enter her head. One she'd never had before.

The world is dangerous.

"Thanks for listening to me." Jake then said.

Some reptiles EAT mammals... like foxes. another thought told her mind.

"You want to go to the cafeteria for a drink?" Jake then asked.

That statue was there... it would have killed you. Is something else going to be there to try and kill you? Or someONE else? echoed in her mind.

"Oh." Jake responded.

"All right then, sure." he said.

"Just be careful, don't need anything happening to YOU, after almost losing Anya." he told her with a smile.

Life is fragile. the 'voice' told her.

You don't want to hurt Jake by risking something happening to you, do you!? it frantically 'asked' her.

You need to be safe! You need to get away from all danger! NOW! it then practically yelled.

One of the people she passed was Tyson, who didn't even get a word out before she was gone.

"...huh." he muttered.

"That was... weird..." he said.

Meanwhile, in the dorm, the thoughts in Peyton's head just wouldn't go away. They filled her with frightening thoughts. Horrible thoughts. Thoughts about how the world was dangerous, how she was so frail, and how she needed to protect herself, no matter what.

Later that day, after hearing that Peyton hadn't come out of the dorm ever since he'd last seen her, Tyson made his way to the door and knocked on it.

"Peyton?" he called in.

"You in there still?" he asked.