Morning. It was morning, wasn't it? Yes, the sun was in the East. East meant morning, Gemini reminded herself. She had to keep track. Counting. Counting would help. One, two, three...no, not helping. The young redhead stood up and stretched, shaking her head to clear it. Counting never worked, she should know that by now. The numbers just got jumbled. It had been that way ever since she'd come down with the Breach. Come down with it? Is that what it's called? She's not sure anymore. Numbers. Words. They used to make sense, she remembered. "Okay, once more. My name is Gemini. I am sixteen years old. My hair is red and my eyes are blueish purple. I am unlucky. The sun is rising, and I need to eat." She listed off the facts carefully. It was a rehearsed speech, something she did every day to keep herself sane. Only things that were absolute fact. The last sentence usually changed, depending on the time of day. She knew she was hungry, and you had to eat when you were hungry. Right? Yes. Humans ate food to stay alive.

She sighed. Her mind was always so scattered these days. Sometimes, she couldn't be sure what was real. Only the night before she had started seeing things. A sun in the dark sky, a murderous clown following her, the color green where it should not be. Hallucinations, she remembered, were the first part of the Breach. The speed or strength would follow, but only for a short time. Gemini was determined to stay alive until a cure was found. As a cloud passed over the sun, she heard sounds up ahead. Investigating, she saw that the military were up to their tricks again. It made her smile, though she couldn't say why.
Gemini couldn't count the number of times she had thought of giving herself up to them. Maybe their tests could help, she would think. But in the end, she could never work up the nerve. She heard only bad things about those tests, and besides, what could they do now that she was already infected? No, it was better for her to fly under the radar. Still, she was lonely. She missed her big brother, the golden boy, everyone's favorite.

She had never held a grudge against her brother. They were polar opposites, in every way, but Gemini had loved him dearly. Loved him still. She had looked up to him, and she had even liked the nickname he had given her. Except. Except when anyone else used it, it was an insult. So she only liked it when her brother called her "Black Cat." Because he still loved her. They were twins, Gemini and her brother, but he had been born first, and so he was her big brother. Yes, opposites. Even down to their looks. The only thing they had in common was their birthday, and their brains. They had both been smart, but of course her brother was smarter.

Thinking about it made Gemini sad. Finding a safe place to sit, she did the only thing that helped when she was sad. She started to draw. She still had her sketch pad and pencil, the only things she had taken when she had left home. Her sketch pad was filled with drawings. Looking through it, one could see where the Breach had started to take hold. The images were still beautiful, amazingly detailed and lifelike, but the subjects became more and more outlandish. There was only one constant: yes, her brother. She drew him constantly. "Brother, my brother..." She sang, the melody a remnant of a song from a movie she had once loved. At least, she thought it was. It was hard to remember. This time, she drew her brother smiling down at her. He was taller, of course. Always had been. Gemini smiled. "Now you can still be with me, brother. Even if we're not together."