Something was suffocating me. I shifted in my sleep, confused, until I realized I could actually feel the hand against my head. My eye shot wide open and I thrust my hands up. Crimson shot upwards and someone shrieked. I rolled out of bed and prepared myself, but instead saw a familiar blonde hit the bed and laugh. "Sorry!"

   "Allie?!" My heart was racing. For a second there, she had me convinced Dani had returned to kill me. My hand moved to my neck subconsciously. "What the absolute hell?"

   "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she wheezed, holding her stomach. "But you wouldn't wake up! Ashley literally dumped a bottle on you and you still didn't move."

   "Freaking hell, Allie," I groaned, getting to my feet. My hands shook with adrenaline and water dripped from my hair into my shirt. "All you need is a taser." A small electric shock would be enough to zap me up, from what Alexie had been using to wake me up for the past five months.

   "A taser?" She stuck her tongue out. "Where the heck am I supposed to get one?"

   I shook my head. "Why are you here? How are you here?" I was pretty sure Alexie didn't reveal where he lived. So how did Allie get in?

   "I'm setting up the party, of course."

   I looked at her oddly, rubbing my eye. "What party?" 

  "Your celebration!" She grinned, sitting up and swinging her legs. "You know, for advancing to the final stage of training. Every neutral has a party when they're almost done with training. Alexie contacted me to set it up."

   "Final stage?" I narrowed my eyes and left the bedroom. Alexie was sitting on the couch, reading. In old pajamas, with wet hair, and sleep lines across my face, I demanded, "You seriously advanced me for that?"

   He looked over lazily. "For what?"

   "For having a temper tantrum?"

   He shrugged. "A powerful one."

   "Oh, come on--"

   "Hey, Mr. Albers, can I have some of this?" An unfamiliar girl was peering in Alexie's fridge. She pulled out a container of cooked pasta. "I'm starving." Her hair was the same color as Allie's, but chopped short. Sharp brown eyes peered into the fridge. She wore a crooked halter top and suspenders.

   "Ask Roxie," said Alexie dryly. "She rules it now."

   "Damn right," I muttered, turning around to change out of my tank top and shorts.

   "Hey, Roxie, can I?"

   "As long as you don't try to kill me in my sleep, fine."

   "I'm sorry!" protested Allie, but I had already closed the door. I leaned my head against it, unsure of what to think. I'd gone from considering myself to as good as dead to being told that I was good enough to be advanced to the final level of training. Alexie had considered my little tantrum to be good. Now he had allowed strangers into his house to throw me a party?

   This guy was the definition of confusing.

   A few minutes later, I exited the room wearing my good ol' jeans and t-shirt. The girl -- I presumed she was Ashley -- had warmed up some of the pasta and was enjoying it. Apparently, I'd slept all the way to lunch. Allie bit into a cracker she'd found and smiled. "This is Ashley, my big sister. Say hi."

   Ashley mumbled around her food. Allie snorted. "We found a good building to rent for tonight. Harley, Blue, Winston, and Liam are all heading that way with some decorators. Ashley's going to find someone to cater the event, too. We're going all-out."

   "How many people are you planning on bringing?" I asked warily.

   She shrugged. "Just your friends and family. Got anyone we need to deliver an invite to?"

   My dad's face popped into my head. "Yeah..." I looked at Alexie. He nodded. "We will being heading to Memphis shortly. Your father needs to hear of this."

   Something settled uneasily in my stomach. The father that had first hidden me away, and then threw me directly into the fray. I didn't know what to think, even five months later. 

   My arm was still burning with pain. It was held funnily at my side. I had popped it back into place, but it still ached viciously. I followed Alexie outside, mentally exhausted. Alexie himself bore a thin sweater and a baseball cap drawn over his head. Only a few bits of hair escaped. "Why the hat?"

   "There are both friends and enemies of mine in that city," replied Alexie, "that I don't wish to meet."

   "Fair enough. Gonna tell me how you pissed off the friends?"

   The look over his shoulder was enough. I snorted. We traversed through the trees until I felt the air shift; we'd arrived at the nex gate. I glanced idly at Alexie, but he looked back at me expectantly. My eyes narrowed. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

   "You will be taking us, this time."

   "Me?!" I gawked. "I don't have any idea how to use a nex gate."

   "Figure it out."

   I scowled. I hated that this was an essential lesson. Being able to use a nex gate was important. I might as well learn it while I could. I closed my eyes and focused on reaching for the gate. My reach passed through the small gap before the barrier and finally hit the current. It flowed and tugged on me slightly. 

   Alexie gripped my good arm tightly. I took a deep breath and concentrated solely on the current. When Alexie had been the one navigating, he had seemed to step into the pull. I exhaled and tried to tap into the current, like I usually did when accessing power. It resisted my attempt. After a few more tries to tap into it, I decided that wasn't to work.

   So me -- being me -- I lurched forward and grabbed ahold of it. Something speared into my gut and I was yanked off of my feet. Colors whizzed past alarmingly fast. Startled, I let go and the moment my fingers loosened, my feet hit solid ground. My eyes adjusted to the bright sun in my face. Instead of standing in a forest, we stood in some sort of Canadian city. I gaped.

   Alexie shook his head. "Again."

   I glowered. Shaking my head, I reached my hand forward and grabbed the river again. My feet left the ground. Images raced past me in a blur. I tried to keep up, but it wasn't working. Dizziness swept over my head and I let go. My feet sunk into some sand and I groaned at the sight of a desert for miles around us.

   "Oh, come on! How the heck am I supposed to tell where I'm going?"

   Alexie shrugged slightly. "Again."

~

   "That's it! This is close enough!" I swore loudly. "Shit, it's cold!" I wrung out my hair from the time that I had accidentally dropped us under a glacier. Alexie and I were soaking wet. It had taken nearly an hour before I figured out how to direct myself through the nex lines. By the time we reached a bus stop on the edge of Memphis, we had fallen into an ocean, tumbled through the Grand Canyon, seen Moscow, almost impaled ourselves on the London Spire, ended up in some trees in a forest somewhere, and then somewhere in China. 

   We were across town from my dad's apartment, but I didn't care at all. Hell, we were in the right state. Close enough. I stamped off for the bus stop as the bus was already braking for it. Alexie was fine with following me. The cap was covering his eyes nicely. I pulled out a few wet dollar bills and handed it over to the driver. We got a few funny looks we we sat down with a squelch from our clothes. We weren't near the water, either. Definitely an odd sight.

   I kept an eye on our surroundings as the bus moved through its route. My hands braided my hair to stay out of my face. The familiar city shone in the sunlight. A bit of tension left my shoulders. It was nice to see it again. After five months of torture, this was refreshing. Finally, I recognized the stop and got up to leave. Alexie followed as I hopped off and gathered my sense of direction. Finally, I was able to point down the street. "I think he's two blocks this way."

   The smell of the city invaded my nostrils. Wet was most of it. Alexie lurked behind me. I snorted myself as I realized he looked like a stalker. Not a weird one, but one that might mug someone. The low cap, the smooth gait, the way he seemed to walk on his toes without it being obvious.

   My eyes finally caught sight of the apartment building. Something akin to dread settled in my stomach. I wasn't sure how I was feeling about this. My father had handed me off to a complete stranger. He obviously thought it was for the better, but he hadn't consulted me. I didn't appreciate it, and still didn't. I'd admit it, I felt a little betrayed.

   Clenching my jaw, I moved inside and punched the button in the elevator. Finding my dad's door was too soon. The number 320 stared at me. He still had the three hanging crooked. A nostalgic smile curled my lips. I lifted my fist and knocked on the door.