"Do you think she's ever going to wake up?"

"Oh, she will, dear. I promise you. It has only been a few hours. People usually sleep for much longer than a day when I use my potions on them. It'll be a miracle if she wakes up tomorrow."

The two people conversing next to me were loud. They weren't yelling, but they might as well have been. My eyes refused to open. I didn't know where they were. All I could feel were my pounding temples and my hands, pinned down by something solid and heavy. I tried to move them but they wouldn't budge.

A rhythmatic sequence of drums repeated throught my whole body. It was loud, suddenly louder than the people talking next to me, whoever they were. Unsure of where I was or why I was given a potion, I began to panic. Logic told me I wasn't safe, that I needed to leave, I was going to be hurt or killed...

The drums pounded louder, growing in speed. All I could feel was my body pulsing along with them, feeling like a speaker, unable to talk.

One of the voices spoke again. "Mom, I think she's waking up. Listen." It was quiet for a second, followed quickly by heavy footsteps.

"It's too early. There's no way her heart rate is up to normal."

"Mom, it's speeding up. What do I do?!"

"Wait a few minutes for her to find her own self."

"Mom, I-"

"Hush!"

The son let out a loud huff. "It's too fast," he muttered.

A loud smack souded through the room, followed by "OUCH!" The mother's voice said, "I know what I am doing. You asked if you could watch, then watch. If you can't keep your mouth shut, then you can leave."

I was unable to tell what was said next because it was said softly through breath, but from the apology that came straight after it, I could guess it wasn't too kind.

It became silent straight after and slow breathing replaced it. I agreed with the boy, however. He needed to help me. I couldn't find any part of my body.

"Mom-"

"Shut up."

Fast, slapping footsteps interrupted the minutes passing by in silence. "Mom," came a different, high, angelic voice. The little girl from the day before. "Someone's here."

Pause. "But the store is closed."

"I don't know, they said that we're usually open so they want some coffee..."

"Fine, I'm coming. Kayden, watch her."

"Roger that.... Okay, I-think-your-name-is-Julie, she's gone. I'm gonna wake you up."

Fingers pressed against my arm, sliding up to my throat and then my eyes, a painful burn following it. I knew where my eyes were now, so I opened them. "Ow," I groaned, the burn from his fingers still lingering.

The boy from yesterday, Kayden, stood above me, a sheepish look on his face. He hadn't changed clothes since yesterday, his pajamas even more rumpled. His black wavy hair covered his cheeks and I could barely see his eyes. "Sorry," he said, "You had to wake up somehow. I used witch fire to wake you up. Don't worry, it isn't going to hurt for long."

"You need a haircut," I said stupidly.

"Aha, I get that a lot," he responded grimly.

We stared at each other awkwardly for several seconds, both unsure of what to say. I tried to listen to what was going on in the front, but the only thing I heard was the coffee machine rolling. I assumed she opened up the store. "Is this fire thing gonna burn for much longer?" I asked.

"Nah, you'll be okay, kid." He grinned at me, revealing dimples. "Besides that, are you feeling any better?"

I maneuvered my body a bit. I was. My headache started aching less, but it still hurt to move my muscles, indicating that the bruises weren't going away anytime soon. "Yeah, I'm great."

We didn't say anything after that. He was silent and slowly walked to the chair next to the bed I was in, and rested his head in his hands. I just watched him, for a long time. There was something about the way he moved that was almost like he was always gliding. 

It was kind for these people to take me in, but why would they? They don't know me... Well, not personally. I had questions for them, like I'm sure they had for me, but I didn't even know if I had any of the answers.

I jumped at a sudden changed. It took me a second to realize it was just Kayden that had moved. As he began to stand up, he glanced at me. His eyebrows scrunched together as he turned away to walk out of the room. I was alone now. And although I had been sleeping for a whole day, I was exhausted. My body wasn't ready to physically wake up yet. Mentally? I was ready for war against the 12 Angry Men. But I was tired, and before I knew it, my head lulled back down to the pillow and I was asleep.

"No, no, no, no, no," I cried out. I don't want this. I don't understand. Why am I being punished again? Help me God, if you are out there. Cas says you are, but I can't believe him if I don't know.

The man laughed. "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes." He was standing a few feet from me, a smile teasing his lips as he just looked at me. I bet I looked pathetic. My eyes were swollen, skin bruised, clothes half-torn. The tears that had been streaming down my face were gone, held at bay by the hollowness of my body. I was alone in this. And this time no one was going to save me.

He moved closer, slowly, and I knew that what had happened would be repeated. I looked down at my arms, unable to look at the man any longer, the man I didn't know and knew too well, and saw goosebumps. I wouldn't fight like the last time. It would make everything worse. Besides, my limp arms were too weak to even move on their own accord, so I just layed there.

My bare stomach hardly moved from my breathing. Was I holding my breath? I couldn't tell. His fingers trailed all the way from my forehead to my stomach, and then I could see my stomach move up and down, the way it should. Maybe too fast, but there wasn't anything that I could do.

"Please..." I croaked.

He just laughed. He grabbed my pants, slowly, as if he was trying to be sensual, and-

I bolted upright, my heart stammering and covered in cold sweat. I hadn't dreamt in so long that I forgot I could... Except that wasn't a dream. That was hell.

I never wanted to relive what I had already been through.

It hadn't affected me that much before. I had mostly blocked it and refused to think about it. 

But now, I was having dreams? And not of the real thing... Of a different person?

I put my head in my hands, willing myself not to throw up. The feeling was still lingering on my skin, the nausea, the pain, the fear, crawling into my skin, like bugs were not on my skin, but in my skin, wanting to see me fight them. I forced myself not to cry, but the burning behind my closed eyelids hurt more than the bugs.

"Are you okay?" A timid voice asked. My head jerked up. It was Kayden, who were a worried expression on his face. He stood across the room, leaning against the doorway. He had showered, his hair dripping water onto his shoulders, and he wore different clothes, although they were also pajamas. 

I swallowed the lump in my throat, trying to ignore my thudding heart. "Yeah," I croaked, then coughed. "I'm fine."

He just looked at me, scrutinizing, trying to figure out whether or not it would be good to push it or not. In the end he decided it wouldn't be a good idea. With a sigh, he walked to the chair beside my bed and sat down, a foot away from me. Involuntarily, I leaned back. I wasn't afraid of him, but the dream wasn't out of my head yet. He didn't move. His eyes were on mine, but they weren't angry. "What happened to you the other day?" He asked.

"I..." Where do I begin?

"Take your time," he said kindly. "I have all day."

We just looked at eachother, almost daring the other to talk first. I couldn't handle his piercing stare, so in the end I gave up and looked at my hands. I opened my mouth several times to start, but then closed it right after, realizing that it wouldn't be the right thing to say. "I'll sound crazy."

"I put witches fire on you to wake you up from an induced coma that was put there by my mother, so I don't think that this will be the weirdest thing to happen lately."

I partially smiled. "You have a point, I suppose."

"I know."

Where do I begin? "Well... I... I was in this hospital looking for this-- THE GUN! DO YOU HAVE THE GUN?!"

Kayden jumped at the sudden outburst. "Yes, yes, we have it. Is there something special about it?"

"Where is it?" I felt a bit frantic.

He pointed to a shelf above my bed, holding a demon warding sign. I sighed in relief.

"You were looking for the gun..." He prompted.

"Yes, I was looking for the gun with my two brothers. We were in an abandoned hospital. We were ambushed, separated, and long story short, I jumped out of a window. Then I had to run so no one would catch up with me. I'm still unsure on how far I ran, but I must have ran pretty far, seen as my legs are sore, and not only because I jumped out of a window. You know, now that I say it out loud, it seems pretty unbelievable." I shut my mouth before I said anything else.

"No, you're okay, I promise. That explains the broken leg, however. How dumb could you be, jumping out of a window?"

"Not as dumb as you think, seen as the only other ways I would have gotten out were either death or possession, and neither option seemed very fun to me, personally."

He nodded, deep in thought. "No, those don't sound too fun."

I laughed. He looked up, a new light in his eyes. "Let's learn things about eachother. I know you're Jules, and that you like insulting boys you just met, but I mean things that matter. Like what's your favorite color? When is your birthday?"

I laughed. "How long am I going to be here?"

"Until your leg heals, I'm afraid."

"Let me repeat the question: How long am I going to be here?"

He thought about it. "Well, with normal doctors it would be about 5 weeks, but with my mom's special stuff, it'll be about 3 more days."

I wanted to see the boys before then. "Oh," I whispered.

"Awh, cheer up," Kayden said. "It'll be great. I'll come down here every day to make sure you aren't bored. Do you want any books?" 

I shrugged.

"Oh, come on. What do you want to do?" 

"Go to sleep." I thought about the dream, and then changed my mind. "Actually, I want to talk to your mom. Can I, please?"

His smile faded just a bit. "Of course," He responded.

I nodded a thank you, and he was out the door in a flash. I waited for him to retun with his mother,although luckily I didn't have to wait too long. She walked in, her red hair trying to escape the high ponytail she wore. She looked exhausted. The shadows under her eyes and the wrinkles surrounding them indicated as much. But when she looked at me, she let out a little smile. "Good afternoon, Jules."

I nodded to her. "What time is it?"

She checked her watch. "About 9:30 pm. Maybe it isn't quite afternoon anymore, but you understand."

I squinted at her outfit. "Weren't you a nurse? Also, what is your name?"

She laughed. "I'm Nancy. Yeah, yeah, I know, it's an old person's name. And I am a nurse. I'm just taking this week off of that because my sister needs me to take care of the shop."

"Ah." I nodded my head in understanding. She looked at me, waiting for me to say more. Now that she was here, I didn't really know what to say though.

Kayden looked between the two of us, staring at eachother. "I'm... gonna go this way. Bye," he said, and then left.

Nancy shook her head and sat down. She opened her mouth to way something, but I beat her to the punch. "Is it coincidence that you were my nurse that one time? Or what?"

"It actually was coincidence. I did know who you were, because of your brothers, but... I didn't go to a random hospital. You guys came to mine." I nodded in understanding. "And before you ask, I am not a witch. I'm a witch doctor, which is basically just a hunter that uses some witches supplies. Speaking of..." She reached down to grab some stuff under the bed I was in. I gasped. She sat back up quickly, and looked at me, alarmed. "What?"

"Your tattoo!" I yelled out in understanding. "I knew I recognized it from somewhere! I have one now, too!" I pulled down the top of my shirt a bit, to show the anti-demon possession tattoo. "I knew there was something different about what you, from the time I met you." I smiled. That means that I can trust her. Demons are the things I can't trust.

 She smiled and breathed out in relief. "I'm glad."

I nodded. "By the way, when you say you knew my brothers, were you guys friends?"

She shook her head. "They are, in a way, famous. They started, and then stopped, the apocalypse. Although that was years ago...." 

"Mmm."

"So," she started, and I could tell from the change in tone that she was going to get started on something serious. "Why are you here?"

WIthout pausing or making things tense, I told her all I had told her son. She didn't interrupt, and I was grateful for that. I finished with telling her that I needed to find my brothers, and I needed the gun.

She smiled sheepishly. "I'm afraid you can't have the gun until you're completely healed. Don't worry, three days is nothing." 

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Ay an update eh heh heh