I lurch back with an oomph as my back slams into the ground, painfully rattling my shoulder. I scowl as I gasp for a breath, both from the stinging pain in my shoulder, and from the fact that the wind has been knocked clean from my lungs.

Beau gives me a lopsided grin when I don't rise, reaching his hand out to help me up. "Good fight Medley, but it seems even you can't beat me-"

His next words are cut off when I grab his hand and yank him down on top of me, wrapping my left leg around his back as I roll to the right to pin Beau beneath me.

His eyes widen in confusion as I press my forearm into his chest, panting at the sudden exertion of force and the subtle sting of my wound. But none of that matters as a cocky grin forms on my lips, as I open my mouth to gloat.

The movement causes our noses brush together, which quickly wipes the smirk from my lips.

Too... close... a warning in my mind screams, but far too late as Beau's pupils dilate, his face starting to morph just like it had in the alleyway.

No, goddamnit NO!

The heat of our bodies together drives me mad, our closeness causing a vine of insanity to wrap around my lungs and squeeze. I scramble off of Beau and fall backward onto my butt, clutching at my chest as I try to heave in deep breaths, but the vine squeezes tighter.

I'm... suffocating. I think sluggishly as my vision blurs, my heart racing faster and faster.

I can hear a few concerned shouts above me, as something grips my arm, trying to tug me back into reality.

It's only been 5 months since I died... and you're already laying on top of another man Harper? A familiar voice rages.

"No! I-I... would never..." I gasp, as an odd drop of water drip down my cheeks.

"It's okay Harper, just breathe... breathe Harper." another familiar voice urges, a gentle hand sliding around my back to support me. The voice then turns away, "Parks! I want a medic in here this instant! Tauren, get everyone out of this room right now!"

SEE HOW HE TOUCHES YOU NOW? He screams in my mind.

I sob, gasping as the vine squeezes unbearably tighter. "Please, PLEASE!" I cry out, my hands reaching out, searching for anything, anything at all to ease the pain in my lungs. They wrap around the soft fabric of something, but I don't care what as I press my face into its warmth.

"Please stop," I sob again, as the hand on my back stiffens, before rubbing circles across my back.

A hand of misery begins to tug on my heart, the pain growing unbearable as I wheeze and sob at the same time. Any control I once had ripped away from me, as my head throbs from the lack of oxygen.

DON'T YOU SEE HOW I SUFFERED? YOUR PAIN IS ONLY A DROP OF WATER COMPARED TO THE RAGING OCEAN I FELT! The voice reprimands, as I feel myself rapidly drifting towards unconsciousness.

"It's okay Harper, just breathe," the gentle voice from earlier urges. "Breathe with me, in through your nose, out through your mouth."

I follow the instructions, trying to shove the raging voice out of my mind. In... out... in...

"Good Harper, now just keep breathing." the voice whispers. "Feel your lungs getting lighter as you take each breath."

I do as the voice says, and the vine around my lungs slightly loosens, yet the hand around my heart still tugs and tugs anguishedly.

Another voice echos somewhere nearby, light and feminine. "I came as soon as I could Agent Allard... how is she?"

"Not good, it seems she had a panic attack of sorts. What should we do to help her?"

I hear shuffling next to me as my lungs struggle to rise and fall, before a mask of some sort is shoved over my nose and mouth. I gasp when a cool stream of air rushes into my lungs, the vine from before rapidly dissolving.

After a few more pants of the unlimited air, I open my eyes and blink away tears to see four worried faces staring back, the rest of the sparring room completely empty. A yellow tube trailers from the mask an unfamiliar woman holds to my face, connecting to a silver oxygen tank.

I move my hands to take the mask from the woman so I can hold it myself, but they struggle, trapped in some kind of fabric. I look down to find my fingers clutching Beau's grey button-up, my eyes trailing up his chest to stare into his bright emerald eyes, filled to the brim with concern.

"Oh my god," I gasp, quickly letting go of the shirt as if it burned me. My horror grows when Beau removes his hand from my back, and I realize he was the one comforting me.

Oh my god, I repeat, unable to think clearly as the warm recedes from my back.

I look up to see Amber standing behind Beau, tears in her eyes, her hand pressed against her mouth as she looks at me in sheer terror. My eyes travel to Gus, who shares the same terror, and I can't bear to look into Beau's eyes again, worried that if I do his concern might be replaced with disgust or worse... sympathy.

"What do you need Miss Medley?" the unfamiliar woman besides Beau asks, and I assume she's the medic he called for.

"I-please get me out of here," I beg, my hand gripping the mask as if it's the only thing tethering me to this world, the only thing keeping the vine at bay. I struggle to grasp the reality of my situation as a murky fog of confusion still plagues my mind.

The medic nods, giving me an understanding look. "Alright," she turns to the others and gestures to the door. "I'm going to have to ask you all to leave while I help Miss Medley here."

"But-" Amber begins to protest, my stomach lurching at the distress in her voice, sending me hurling forward in agony.

"Everyone leave now." The medic says sternly, eyeing each of them with an ordering look, but I don't dare to follow her gaze as I grip the mask in my hands, sucking in every breath I can get.

"Come Mr. Smith and Ms. Talle, let's give her some space," Beau says as he rises to his feet, his tone soft.

When the three of them leave, the woman sets a gentle hand on my uninjured shoulder and gives me a soft smile. "Hello, Miss Harper, my name is Rene. Now, I'm going to ask you a few questions, is that okay?"

I nod, as my eyes take in her soft caramel hair and brown eyes, her round face and big eyes a comforting image.

"I would like you to describe five things around you," Rene says, giving my shoulder an encouraging pat.

"O-ok..." I rasp through the mask, my voice raw with emotion. I glance around the room, my eyes landing on Beau's iron rod. "I see a silver iron rod..." I squint, "about four feet long in length."

Rene smiles when I look back at her, the murky fog wrapped around my mind slightly dissipating. "Good, now what are some other things you see?"

"Well, there's a weapons wall in front of us that has steel hooks used to hold the weapons. There's a set of nun-chucks with wooden handles and a metal chain, and next to it is a long staff that has a tip that ends in a sharp point."

"Very good, and what's the last thing you see?"

I bite my lip, as my eyes land on the daggers I had thrown earlier. "There are about four daggers on the blue combat mat, one of which is standing straight up, its point buried into the mat." The one I had thrown at Beau's calf, I remember, as the events from earlier slowly return to me.

"Excellent! Now, can you tell me what your first name is?" Rene asks when my eyes return back to her.

"Harper."

"And where are you right now Harper?" Rene asks, giving me another one of her gentle smiles.

I rack my brain for an answer, before remembering waking up in the hospital bed earlier and my surprise when Beau told me where I was. "I'm in the Raven Sector complex."

"Correct!" Rene stands up and reaches out a hand. "Do you think you could stand up for me Miss Medley?"

I hesitantly place my hand in hers, my legs quivering as I attempt to stand, but I have difficulty and end up leaning into her for support. Once I'm able to center myself, I take a weary step forward, my legs slowly regaining their strength until I'm able to walk on my own.

The yellow tube that connects the oxygen tank and mask pull taut, which I decide to take off since my breathing has returned to normal. Rene walks up next to me and gestures to a chair set off to the side of the sparring mat. "Why don't you take a seat Miss Medley, I'd like to ask you a few more questions since you're feeling a little better."

I glance back at her wearily, before nodding and settling down into the chair. A strand of loose hair slaps me across my cheek with the movement, and I realize that my loose bun must've come undone during the fight.

"How often would you say you've been having these attacks miss?" Rene asks gently, both her expression and tone neutral as I retie my hair into a ponytail. A sinking feeling weighs down my stomach, as I consider whether I should answer her question truthfully.

"This was the first time," I lie, afraid of what she would think if I told her anything different.

She nods, her expression still startlingly neutral. "Alright, I will talk to the Raven Sector's board on your condition, and they will advise you on what your next steps will be to make sure you can get past this."

"Get past this?" I gap, rocketing to my feet in distress, but regretting it when my head spins in protest. "What's there to get past? I merely had a little panic attack, I can still proceed in my duties here."

Rene gives me a sympathetic look and clasps her hands in front of her. "I'm afraid that that was most certainly not a little panic attack, Miss Medley, but a severe one. You lost your ability to breathe for the few minutes I was there, and I arrived late. If I hadn't have given you oxygen, you could've hyperinflated your lungs and suffocated."

My panic rises as I begin to realize what this might mean for the mission... for my career as an agent. "Then give me a goddamn oxygen tank to have just in case I have another attack, which I doubt will happen... I merely just overexerted myself during the fight." I urge, my tone rising.

Rene shakes her head and opens her mouth to say something, when the doors to the sparring room open to reveal three men dressed in dark suits. The man who leads the group gives me a dark feeling rolling within my gut as I take in the man's black hair and even darker eyes, as those eyes take in both Rene and me.

"Ah, Agent Medley! We've been looking for you," the man greets in a husky french accent, and glances at Rene beside me to give her a clipped nod. "Afternoon Rene."

Her eyes narrow the slightest fraction, but she gives him a veiled smile. "Afternoon Superior Harks. I was just finishing up with Miss Medley here."

Superior Harks smiles back and gestures for one of the brown-haired men behind him to step forward. "Excellent! Agent Bradly, please escort Miss Medley to my office, as I will be there shortly."

Agent Bradly nods and waits for me to step forward, but I look to Rene, trying to read anything within her expression. She gives me a comforting nod, not releasing any information whatsoever. "Go on Miss Harper."

I glance back to Superior Harks and narrow my eyes, but follow Agent Bradly as he walks towards the exit doors. He holds the door open for me and leads me down the hallway and into a large room with a mahogany desk in front of the wall, a set of chairs adjacent to it.

Agent Bradly gives me a clipped nod as he walks back to the doors. "Superior Harks will be with you shortly, please take a seat to wait for him."

The door then closes with a gentle click, which in turn sends a wave of dread racing through my blood, as my body grows ice cold with the fear for what will come next.