Something pressed tightly against Charlie's lips, clamping them shut. The hard ground vibrated softly against her back. Water drops fell on her face, in her hair, splashing her chest. Rain? It wasn't supposed to rain today...it's making the ground cold... The ground! They'll stomp on me! She wanted to shout, to make sure they see her, but the thing over her mouth kept her from talking.

It didn't matter...because there didn't seem to be anyone to warn. She saw that she was actually alone. Meow Box was still singing. She could hear them, but they sounded far away. Muffled. It was like hearing music playing from her sister's radio through their bedroom wall. At first, she thought they were muffled simply because her mind wasn't clear enough to process the sound properly, but no.

As she glanced around, she realized that she wasn't even outside anymore. There were walls around her. It was a small room, and she was laying on some type of table. A cold hard table. Her wrists were bound above her head with something metal. Icy water dripped down from a cup or pitcher, but she couldn't see who was holding it.

"It's Jack!" her mind shouted.

Her screams were cut off by the gag, but she gave it her best. The water stopped. Through her moans and stifled screams, she heard footsteps above her.

Panic. How, how, how did she get into this situation? I'm going to die. I'm seriously about to die. She thought.

Unyielding metal bit into her wrists as she pulled. Rope tightened around her ankles as she jerked--

"Charlie!" Shay shouted. Charlie felt the soft taps on her cheek as Shay's hand bounced on her skin. "Wake up, Charlie, please wake up."

Hearing Shay's pleading voice made Charlie's eyes pop open. As if she burst free from the grave, Charlie sat bolt upright, gasping for air. Tears streamed down her face. Her bruised jaw stung. The water droplets beat against her face, keeping the dream fresh in her mind and giving her a shiver.

"What happened, Char?" Shay asked.

"I-I don't know," she said. "My jaw hurts."

"Dan saw you on the ground," Tony said. He pointed back toward Dan, who stood with the others. It seems they'd all come together to help Charlie. Tony continued to talk, drawing her attention back. "You're lucky he could get to you before the crowd swallowed you up."

"Yeah," Marge added, her voice harsh. "You guys are supposed to be sticking together. Always, always have a buddy, and try not to stay in the sun too long. If you get too hot and feel faint, come cool down in here."

Marge was angry. Charlie didn't know what to say. She didn't remember being too hot. She remembered being in the crowd and then the sharp pain on her face...

"But something hit me..."

"Which is why you need to stay out of tight crowds, especially if you get separated from the others," said Marge sharply. She turned to Tony and tugged his sleeve. "Come on, we're wasting time. We're going to miss the next band."

Charlie was stunned that Marge was being so harsh.

"Just...stay together," Tony said, then he backed away to catch up with Marge.

"I didn't think we'd have to do so much babysitting," Marge said as he reached her side. They walked off, leaving Charlie with the others.

"Jeez, what a witch," Jonny said, looking at Marge's back.

"Told you not to even get them," Jake said to Shay. "Marge is so high strung. Just like Tamera."

"Hey!" Tamera said, but everyone ignored her.

Charlie noticed the new piercing in her eyebrow and thought reluctantly that it looked kind of cute.

"I had to, I mean, what if something was really wrong?" Shay said.

"I'm fine, though," Charlie said. "It's okay. Probably just some jerk moshing. Let's forget about it, okay? I'm fine."

But when Charlie tried to stand, she was a little dizzy. Demi and Shay had to steady her.

"I think you need some food," Jonny said.

Food sounded good. Maybe it would ease the dreadful sensation that had been toiling in her gut all day. Maybe it would help her shake the twisted thought that someone had purposely punched her, someone that wanted to hurt her...

Stop it, she thought. She was being paranoid. The thing that happened so many years ago, it was always laying heavily on her subconscious, keeping her from enjoying things, making her afraid. She wouldn't let it ruin this concert.

"Yeah, let's get some food," Charlie said, and surged toward the food stands, determined to knock this creeping feeling of dread that was following her.