I couldn't breathe.

I couldn't move.

I couldn't see.

My shirt was soaked in sweat and blood. My legs and arms were tied with a strong rope and dug into my skin all the way to the bone, or at least that's how it felt.

I leaned back against the uneven stone wall, licking my lips with my dry tongue. I was so thirsty. I couldn't remember the last time I drank water. Was it yesterday? Two days ago? Five perhaps?

I gave up trying to remember and I closed my eyes, but it didn't make any difference. There was still darkness, so I opened my eyes and stared straight ahead instead.

What was the color of the stone? I looked up, hoping the moon would shed some light through small grid window, but the trees or bushes covered the moonlight.

I blinked slowly and closed my eyes again. Maybe I could go for another nap. I did felt tired. The longer I sat here, the more tired I became. Since I was thrown here, I guess I spent more than half the time here sleeping than I did awake.

I started to nod off when I heard distant laughter. I slowly lifted my head as the voices grew louder until I saw someone move the leaves aside and the moonlight shone down on me.

I flinched at the sudden light and turned my head to the side.

"Ha! Look at the little boy! Hiding like a dirty rat!" One of them commented, making everyone chuckle.

The sound of the rusty gate opened and a few leaves fell down to join me.

"Alright, boy." A familiar voice said with a sinister tone. "It's time."

I woke up with a sharp gasp and sat up, panting and gripping the white sheets. I took a few deep breaths, my chest rising up and down. I felt my hair stick all over my sweaty face and my body shook.

I blinked the blurriness away and when my vision cleared, I noticed I wasn't in my home. I instantly recognized was in a hospital when I looked around. There were machines and an annoying beeping noise. I looked to the side and from the view of the window; I could tell I wasn't even in town. I was in the city.

The city was all lit up and a full moon was half covered with clouds. The cars were zooming past yellow lights and halting on red lights. People crossed over, carrying bags and coffee cups.

I was about to throw the covers off of me when a nurse sighed as he came in the room. He grabbed some gloves and realized I was staring at him. He jumped slightly and put his arm over his chest.

"Oh! You're awake! Dear, you scared me." He chuckled and waved his hand in front of his face.

I parted my lips and realized how dry they felt. "Wh-Where am I?" I asked hoarsely.

The nurse came around and started checking the IV. "Well, you're in the hospital."

He went towards a table and grabbed a plastic cup. He poured water from a container and handed it to me. I smiled my thanks and wanted to flutter my eyes at the relief of the cold water going through my dry mouth and down my throat. I drank it until there was no more and the nurse took my empty cup. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and the nurse returned to checking the monitors.

"How did I get here? I was at home..." I trailed off, trying to remember what I was doing. Was I cooking? Was I on my way to visit Tristian? What was it?

"Well, yes. You were home, but your husband brought you here when he saw you unconscious." He explained slowly, grabbing a chart from the end of the bed.

"Unconscious?" I asked. I don't remember falling or fainting.

"Yes, it appears you fell from a ladder and must've bumped your head."

I frowned and a doctor walked in, smiling at me before grabbing the chart from the nurse. "Hello. How are you doing?" She asked with an unfamiliar accent, putting on her glasses.

"I'm... okay. Um, how long have I been here?" I asked.

She looked up from the chart and took off her glasses. "Since this afternoon." She answered and closed the chart. "Mrs. Galvan, do you remember how you fell from the ladder?"

The nurse looked at me. "She doesn't remember."

"Common symptom for a concussion." She said. "Well, it seems that everything is okay. Your memory will return to normal within a few days. You will need plenty of rest meaning no driving or any strenuous activity. You may also take some over the counter pain medicine if needed."

"That means I can go—" I started to say, pulling the blankets off of me when the nurse touched my arm.

"Not yet, Mrs. Galvan. I would like to keep you for the remaining of the night. I'll notify your husband and you'll be able to go home in the morning."

"Oh... um, okay. Thank you." I said and the doctor nodded with a smile and left.

The nurse put the chart the doctor had left on the edge of the bed and left quietly. I leaned back and covered my eyes with my arm. I suddenly felt tired and I peeked under my arm at the ticking clock on the wall.

"Two forty-seven." I whispered to myself. I sighed and started to close snooze off when my eyes opened wide open.

"Well, yes. You were home, but your husband brought you here when he saw you unconscious."

I sat up again and the heart monitor started beeping faster. Javon brought me here. Javon.

"Oh God." I whispered and hit the button to call for a nurse. Not a minute later a different nurse came.

"Hi, hello. I, um, would like to borrow a phone to call my-my husband." I said.

"Oh, well did you check your belongings to see if you brought your cell phone?" She said, going to my bed and checking.

"No. I don't know—oh, thank you so much." I smiled and grabbed the bag.

"No problem." She softly chuckled and left.

I dug through my clothes and found my phone all the way to the bottom. I turned it on and dialed Javon, my foot nervously swinging side-to-side.

"Hello?" A tired voice answered on the second ring.

"Javon? Javon, explain to me what you were doing at my house?" I demanded.

He sighed and I heard some shuffling around and click. "Drakon's school called me. They said you didn't answer the phone to pick up Drakon. He's been waiting for you for an hour."

I rubbed my forehead and swallowed hard. "Is he with you?"

"Of course. I had to go all the way to pick him up and I was going to drop him off, but I saw you unconscious, so I brought you to the hospital."

"In the city?"

"The hospital at home is fucking ridiculous. I can't stand that shithole." He snapped and I heard him sigh again as if he was trying to calm down. "Is everything alright?"

I fiddled with the blanket and cleared my throat. "Yeah. I'll be stopping by to pick up Drakon in the morning."

"I'll come by in the morning." He said and hung up before I could argue.

I clicked my tongue in annoyance and dropped my phone back in the bag. Placing the bag on the floor, I leaned back and faced towards the window. I wasn't able to see what was going on below, but the lit up tall buildings captured my attention.

I forgot what it was like to spend a night in the city. Though it was late in the night, I could hear dogs barking, cars honking, a group of people laughing and sirens wailing.

I grew accustomed to nights where I could only hear the wind howling and crickets chirping for it was the sound that lulled me to sleep during my childhood.

That and my step-papa's lullabies. Every time I woke up from a nightmare or I couldn't sleep, my step-papa would sit next to my bed, run his fingers over my hair and sing to me. He didn't have that beautiful singing voice, but there was something in his croaky rough voice that lulled me to sleep within a few minutes.

I smiled, remembering how he sang to me and I could almost feel his fingers running through my hair, telling me everything was going to be okay.

How I wished he was still here to tell me that.

-------

I buckled up and rubbed my forehead as the sun glared into my eyes. Javon sighed and pulled on his seatbelt before driving out of the hospital parking lot.

"I want you to stay at my place for a few days." He spoke up.

"No. I am going to pick up Drakon and going home." I said for the hundredth time.

"The doctor—"

"I honestly couldn't care less about what the doctor said! I am going home with my son. You can visit." I interrupted and lowered my arm.

Javon clenched his jaw and his knuckles turned white from gripping the steering wheel, but to my surprise, he didn't say anything. We got to his driveway and got out of the car, slamming the door behind him.

I closed my eyes to calm myself down and waited for him to come out with Drakon. I looked at the one-story house, wondering how he was managing to keep the garden maintained and clean since he always claimed to be working twenty-four seven.

I shook my head and smiled when Drakon came out of the house. I got out of the car and hugged him tightly, attempting to lift him off his feet but only managed to for a few seconds.

"Mom, I missed you!" He whispered, tightening his hold before pulling away.

"Oh, I've missed my buddy in crime, too." I laughed, cupping his cheeks and kissing his forehead.

He smiled and hugged me again. I rubbed his back and noticed Javon was staring at us. For a second, his eyes were red-rimmed and his chin quivered, but it quickly disappeared and his eyes narrowed before he got in the car.

"C'mon. Let's go home." I said, ushering him inside the car. I sat next to Drakon and pulled him next to me. He laid his arm over my lap and leaned against my chest. I ran my fingers over his hair when it suddenly came back to me.

I felt like a bucket of cold water fell on my head as I remembered the shadow man came to visit me. He was trying to take me away.

I opened my mouth and then snapped it shut. No. I couldn't tell Javon. He wouldn't believe me and if he did, he would use that as an excuse to make me stay with him back in the city.

I nibbled on my lower lip and glanced at my son. I was tempted to look for Tristian and maybe stay with him, but what about Drakon? He couldn't know about Tristian. He would probably tell his whole school about the masked man since it was in his nature to babble about anything. He was a kid after all.

We finally got to the house and Drakon and I climbed out of Javon's car. I took Drakon's bag and swung it over my shoulder. I glanced at Javon and thanked him before he drove off angrily.

I sighed and looked at the house. Drakon had already gone inside and turned on the lights in the kitchen. I dragged my feet towards the house and locked the front door.

I walked towards the kitchen and spotted Drakon taking out the milk from the refrigerator.

"Do you wanna order some Chinese? I'm not in the mood for pizza." I added, sitting down.

Drakon shrugged his shoulders and put the milk away. He went to one of the drawers and took out one of local Chinese restaurant menus.

"What do you want, mom? I'll order it for you." He said, looking through the menu.

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. "Oh? Are you going to order? I thought you hated doing that stuff."

Drakon closed the menu and came to stand in front you. "I just want to do something nice for you since you have a big boo-boo."

I chuckled and tucked his hair behind his ear. "I'll get whatever you're getting."

He nodded and grabbed my phone before heading off to the living room. I smiled and stood up. I looked through my bag and took out the pain killer medicine and put away on a high shelf.

I was about to turn off the lights when I heard someone knock on the back door. I frowned and glanced towards the living room. I could hear Drakon ordering the food, so I quickly went back to the kitchen and slowly open the door.

A wave of relief and happiness washed over me at the sight of Tristian.

"I know I shouldn't be here, but—" He started to say and cut himself short, nervously shifting on his feet and rubbing the back of his neck. "I just want to know if you're, uh, okay."

"Stay with me for the night. Please. I-I'm scared that thing is going to come back."

Tristian lowered his arm. "Thing?"

"I couldn't remember at first, but it was the shadow man. He was trying to take me. I don't know where, but he-he had me hypothesized or something."

Tristian didn't say anything until he nodded. "I'll sneak into your old bedroom around midnight."