"Shall we explore further?" Damian nodded and they started walking around again.

Again, it was nothing special; park benches here, lampposts there, a few small playgrounds for children, everything they knew to be in a typical park. Just like Devon, though, they noticed the grey tint of everything. The benches were a dark grey. The lights shined bright white, even though it was still midday. Even the grass, trees, and leaves had a monochrome tint to them, as if the color still needed to be added. There were several scratch marks on some trees, but Damian explained them away as the tree’s natural bark just to put Bethany’s mind at ease. Though he spoke confidently, he couldn’t put his own mind at ease. He knew those scratches weren’t naturally occurring. He took several pictures of the marks, noticing their inconsistencies with length, depth, and direction. Something had done this, but he didn’t want to find out what.

As soon as they started walking again, Damian pulled a granola bar out of his bag. He offered one to Bethany, but she declined. Ever since they arrived here, she'd been uneasy, and she knew he felt just as skittish. A part of her wanted to address the past so they could move on with their lives, but she didn't know if he felt the same way. Every time she looked at him, she swore the muscles in his neck locked his head in place so he wouldn't have to look back at her.

She figured he clearly didn't want to talk about anything going on between them.

From Damian's perspective, nothing could be farther from the truth. He supported Bethany in her time of need, but knew he couldn't say anything for fear of seeming insensitive or antagonistic about it. When he tried to do the right thing, he felt ashamed that he'd only made things worse. He also knew that he'd eventually have to face this issue whether he liked it or not. With Devon and Lexi beginning their relationship and Damian and Bethany being their respective best friends, he knew an encounter with her was inevitable. He'd just wished it could've been more on his own terms and not when Devon springs a sudden bike trip on him.

The silence between them was becoming more and more palpable and uncomfortable. Both knew if something, anything didn't happen soon, they'd do better work trying to kill the other. After enough walking, Bethany had had enough. She seized Damian by the arm and planned to confront him. However, as Damian was turning his head to acknowledge her, the radios clipped their pockets screamed to life.

*EVERYONE! GET BACK TO THE BIKES! *

Tammy’s voice screamed over their radios. *Tammy? Tammy! What’s going on? What happened? * Devon responded.

*WHAT DO YOU THINK’S HAPPENING? WE’RE CHASING A SPEEDING ICE CREAM TRUCK! *

*SOMETHING’S CHASING US! * Paul’s wisecrack almost undermined the situation, but Tammy sealed the deal that they were, in fact, in danger. Then, Damian called in. "Damian to convoy. We’re on our way!" *Copy that. * Devon responded. *Guys! Hang in there and keep going! * Lexi assured them.

When the exchanges were over, they ran as fast as they could back to the bikes.