Morgues aren’t the most welcoming of places. They had taken Emily’s belongings and put them someplace safe for when her next of kin arrived. A really nice lady looked up the address on Emily’s driver’s license. She was surprised it was the address to a mortuary. The woman called the line and informed the man who answered of Emily’s demise. The man, John, said he would come after work to look at the body and gather Emily’s things. Emily’s body lay in a cold chamber. Her name was tied around her toe.

Four hours after arriving at the hospital morgue, Emily woke up. At first, she didn’t know where she was. Then she remembered the ordeal at the mall and the man she left behind. The woman hoped she would run into him again, but she knew the chances of that were slim. New York was a big place with millions of people.

Emily popped the latch on the cold chamber, which really was just a refrigerator/file cabinet made of stainless steel. She hoped no one was in the room; otherwise they may have a heart attack. The room was empty of the living. The girl stumbled around for awhile. She then realized her head was turned backwards. With a quick jerk she turned it back round. Emily found a white coat and wrapped it around herself. Now where were her clothes and belongings? She hoped they had picked up her shopping bags.

Voices could be heard outside the door. Emily rushed to find a place to hide. There was nowhere to go. The only place she could think of was behind the door to the room. She prayed it would work. A woman walked in with John, Emily’s co-worker. Before the woman leading John could turn around, Emily slipped out the door. Now, where to go next?

The woman led John to where Emily should be laying. She opened the cabinet and took a step back. The body was missing. “I know this was the right locker.” The woman looked lost and didn’t know what to do next. John smiled. “I’m sure she will turn up somewhere.” Of course, he knew about Emily’s mutation.

Emily found the room and put on her clothes. She grabbed her bags and other possessions and snuck upstairs. Arriving on the first floor, she stepped out into the hallway and headed toward the front door. A familiar voice stopped her in her tracks. “Well if it isn’t the dead girl? Are you well my dear?”

Emily whirled around. It was the man, the Doctor, from the night she met Aedus. The one who experimented on mutants. She guessed he was a real doctor, because of his jacket and nametag. Emily backed up a little. The man spoke. “Don’t worry, dear, I won’t get you here. But we will meet again, I promise.” He grabbed her hand and gave it a gentle kiss. “You’re so cold.” His smile widened. “Au Revoir, Mon Cheri.”

Emily was speechless. She kept an eye on the man as he turned around and disappeared down another corridor. She stood there in fear for awhile, remembering the ordeal at the storage unit.

Alex lay in one of the hospital rooms on a bed with an IV in his right arm, a doctor taking his pulse on his left arm, and his malachite bracers in his lap. When the ambulance had shown up in order to get the dead woman, they ended up picking up Alex as well, whom had collapsed from the heat. Wearing that black leather jacket in the heat right before his adrenaline went into high gear did a number on him since he didn't have any water in his system. Now, Alex had an IV in his arm giving him water while he took a sip of water every now and then, and a doctor was giving him an examination.

After watching the clock for a minute or two, the doctor shook his head and started to listen to Alex's lungs by putting his stethoscope on Alex's back. "So am I gonna live doc or should I cash in my bracers and live it up for the next few days before I fall over..." Alex said rather dryly. He hated being in hospitals since he couldn't wear his clothes when he was here. The doctor didn't answer at first since he was listening to Alex's lungs, then he sat back in his chair and sighed. "You'll be just fine, but I would suggest that from now on you wear a light T-shirt out in the sun instead of a heavy leather jacket. I know you want to hide those bracers of yours while they're on your arms, but is it worth your live?" the doctor asked as he checked the IV and saw that it was just about empty, so he got up and circled around Alex in preparation for removing the IV. "Logic works a little differently when you're a mutant. These bracers are my life, and hiding them protects me from mobs." Alex stated plainly.

"You have a point there. So how are you feeling?" the doctor stated. "Better now, thank you... but how come you guys keep on telling me there isn't gonna be any charge?" Alex responded as he watched the doctor remove the IV, and flinched a little bit when he did. "Because one of those policeman that escorted the ambulance her already picked up your bill and paid for it. Said something about thanking you for teaching him that not all mutants are monsters." The doctor stated, and Alex smiled. He had a feeling which policeman it was. Soon, the IV was completely removed from Alex's arm and the small wound was bandaged up, not that it mattered since Alex was covered from head to toe in battle scars and a single tattoo on the right shoulder. "So... where's that woman. I should say my final goodbyes. I might not have known her, but she's dead because of me, so I need to apologize one more time." Alex stated sadly as he stood up and grabbed his shirt, which was on a nearby chair.

"I'm sorry but only kin-folk is allowed in the morgue to see the deceased. You're free to stay to give your condolences to her next of kin though." the doctor replied, then covered his mouth when he realized how unfeeling his last sentence was, though Alex didn't notice it. "Very well then. I'll go check myself out." Alex stated as he slipped the bracers onto his arms and started to leave.

"One question before you leave sir. How come you didn't fight back against that mob? You clearly could've taken them apart... literally." the doctor asked, and Alex sighed. "Because only a monster kills someone after they've rescued a child. I'm not a monster, but nor am I a hero. The proper term for me would be vanguard." Alex stated before leaving. The doctor watched him leave and put his hands into his pockets. A nurse, whom had been standing by, gave the doctor a questionable glance, wondering what Alex meant by that. "In war, the vanguard are those on the front lines and they suffer the most losses so those following them don't have to pay a price. He doesn't care about his own life, just the lives of those around him. He was going to let that mob kill him in order to make sure that no one else lost their life. No wonder he's mourning for that woman. What he was trying to prevent was exactly what happened." the doctor explained before turn around to do some paper work.

As Alex made he way down one of the hallways, he saw a doctor, or at least he guessed the guy was a doc because of the white coat, give a woman a kiss on the hand before he walked away from her. As Alex got closer to her, he suddenly stopped walking, his eyes went wide, his mouth hung open, and his face paled. He recognized the woman as the same woman that got killed during the brawl. She wasn't dead at all! "What the hey?! I thought you were... but I saw... didn't that guy... you're not dead?!" Alex exclaimed in surprise, dumbfounded because he thought she was dead.

Emily stood in silence, lost in her world of memories. Sometimes they were more real to her than the present. But her thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice. She looked at the speaker with a dazed expression. Who was this person? The current day came flooding back to her. This was the malachite mutant. She remembered now.

“Aim sorry.” How long had he been standing there with his mouth agape? What had he asked again? Oh right. “Sorry. Ai am dead, act’lly. Um, it’s mai mutation.” She scratched the back of her head awkwardly. “Ai would be much obliged if we left. I’d prefer if someone from the morgue didn’t recognize me.”

Emily glanced around. Hoping no one recognized her. Or even worse, the doctor may come back. She started walking down a corridor. “Do you know if this is the way out?” Emily was spooked. In all honesty, she barely even noticed the man next to her. She was in flight mode and wanted the heck out of there.

Alex stood there for a moment, completely dumbfounded. He had been standing like that for several seconds before the woman he thought had died right next to him finally acknowledged his presences and answered his question... but only after apologizing. When the woman stated that she actually was dead, and that it had to do with her mutation, Alex's mouth slowly closed his mouth and blinked rapidly a few times to get his eyes refocused and so he wasn't staring at her. If she was already dead, then it would explain why she wasn't sweating earlier when they were standing outside by the mall when he rescued that child... and why she wasn't afraid to stand by his side when that mob wanted to pound him for being a mutant.

At her request to leave the hospital before someone from the morgue recognizes her, the malachite manipulator nodded slowly, still a little zonked out from the fact that he was talking to a walking corpse. "Uh, yeah. Lets get going. I'm Alex by the way." Alex stated, and quickly followed Emily. It wasn't until after Alex had introduced himself that he realized that he had given her his real name instead of his nickname. Why did he do that? Thinking that it was because of him being zoned out slightly, Alex rapidly shook his head in an attempt to get his mind focused on the current situation.

Now thinking a little bit more clearly, Alex noticed a sign on a wall that said 'Main Lobby'' with an arrow pointing down a hallway, and pointed at it since Emily was about to walk passed it. "I think the exit might be this way. The way out of a hospital is always through the main lobby, isn't it?" Alex stated calmly, then noticed a look in the zombie woman's eyes that he knew all too well; fear. Something about this hospital scared this woman. Was it because it was a hospital in general, or was it someone in the hospital? That was when Alex remembered that had caught a glimpse of a doctor kissing the woman's hand before Alex himself had approached her, and she seemed to be in another world for a moment before she answered his question. Was it that doctor she was afraid of? Alex wasn't sure, but it didn't hurt to ask.

Glancing back at her as they made their way to the main lobby, Alex brought up the question. "You seem a bit worried. Something wrong?" Alex asked gently, hoping that he could help. She was already dead, so surely she didn't have to worry about most of the stuff that others had to worry about... right?

The main lobby. Right. That is where people enter and exit a hospital. Emily would have walked down every corridor in this place, a rat lost in a maze. Thank goodness for this man. Alex was his name, if she had heard him right. “Name’s Emily. Emily Leveau.” Emily slowed down her pace and walked pass the main reception desk. She gave a polite smile to the woman behind it. “I apologize for mai crassness. That man back thea tried to experiment on me. He cut off my head last winta. Seems he’d lak to dew it again.”

The southerner walked through the sliding doors and onto the outside entryway. The sun had begun to set over the New York buildings. Orange and pink lit up the twilight. At that moment, Emily missed home. She missed the Garden District with the old Victorian homes. She missed Bourbon Street where the street performers came out at around this time. Emily sighed and tilted her head down for a second. She collected herself and gave a genuine smile to the man next to her. “Whea to?” She pointed towards the taxi waiting for people who needed a ride.

As the two of them walked towards the main lobby, Alex glanced over at the zombie woman as she introduced herself and noticed that she seemed to be walking quickly through the hallway of the hospital, as if she really wanted to get out of there. It wasn't until that they were passed the reception desk that he noticed her slowing down, and he did so as well. What she had to tell the malachite manipulator to answer his question about what was bothering her though wasn't something he expected. That doctor had tried to experiment on her? He had gone as far as removing her head? And he had greeted her with a kiss a moment ago? Alex felt like he was gonna hurl. Clearly she had managed to escape somehow, and clearly he wanted to continue his experiment on her.

"No need for you to apologize. He's the one to blame." Alex stated as he managed to resist the urge to go back the way they had just come so he could hunt down that mad doctor and made him pay for his inhuman crimes. It wasn't unheard of for doctors to do experiments on corpses, and some cures came from the experimenting on corpse... but in Alex's eyes Emily was still alive... pulse or no pulse. As they exited the hospital and approached a taxi, Emily asked him where he wanted to go. It was a good question, since he really didn't have any place to go.

On the other hand he did just lose a good leather jacket and needed a replacement. With a shrug, Alex waved at the taxi to tell the driver that he and Emily were going to need a ride. "Do you know of any good clothing shops nearby? I need a replacement for the leather jacket I just lost... or something that would do better in the heat." Alex responded as he opened up the taxi door for Emily, then climbed in behind her and shut the door.

After that, Alex bit his lower lip slightly and sighed. There was a question that he wanted to ask her, but it was really rude. Still though, he had to ask. "So... uh... how did you... uh... learn you had this gift? It's an amazing gift to say the least." Alex stated as he blushed slightly in embarrassment at his own question, knowing full well that the only way she could of found out about her gift was if she had died.

Emily got in the back of the taxi. "I know a great place to find a new jacket. The prices are fair and the guy who owns it is a real peach. He's originally from Georgia but moved up here during the 80's because his wife fell in love with the Big Apple. She passed five years ago. Bless his heart, he just hasn't been the same..."

The undead girl was relieved to be out of that hospital, which put her in a chatty mood. They arrived at the tailor. They left the tailor.

On their way back to Emily's place, she explained her origins as if she was explaining how to do a common task. "My uncle loved me, but I'm not that kind of woman. Oh no. So he had someone kill me. I guess my mutation manifested itself after I died. I was eighteen at the time. I was born in 1824. What does that make me now? Hmm." Emily took a moment to do the math in her head. "How about you? How does your gift work?"

The taxi pulled up to the funeral home. "This is my stop. It was really nice meeting you. Hopefully, we can get together in less extenuating circumstances." Emily handed Alex her phone number and walked herself into the morgue. Hopefully, they would meet again someday.