Rylee woke up on Adam's shoulder, as they waited in the hallway outside Alec's room. The doctor didn't allow anyone to stay with him during the night. Adam was still asleep so Rylee got up and walked to see her brother from outside his room's window. The whole floor was empty as if it was made just for Alec, the hospital didn't have that heavy stinging smell anymore, or maybe it was just because Rylee has grown used to it. She has memorized the sight of the light blue painting of the wall and the steel blue colour of the tiles on the floor, she learned when the doctors change shifts and knew the face of each and every doctor and patient in the hospital as she stayed there for 5 days now 'or maybe it was 6?' She didn't seem to remember.

She looked at her brother lying on that small hospital bed with the side rails which can be raised or lowered in order for him not to fall, 'if only he can move.' She recalled sadly what happened the other night when she saw him laying in their backyard, covered in his own blood. She was out of the portal with Claudia, Katie, Jon and the other 5, then she waited for Alec and Hayley to get out, she looked stressed when they were late until the portal closed as Hayley fell on the ground in front of lifeless Alec. Rylee dashed to Hayley to help her get up and as Jon shook Alec, there was no response. Rylee walked to him, startled and shaking, her silent tears evolving into sobs at the thought of her brother possibly being... being dead. Hayley shook Alec in disbelief, “Alec,” she let out a deafening scream, one so high that the trees that filled the Sterling's house backyard where staggered in front of them, Rylee screeched too; however the trees remained stagnant.

Her father came rushing in the backyard as he saw his son, he shouted to the guards to take Alec to his car. "We cannot risk carrying him into a portal," her father told her as they carried her brother to her father's black C180 Mercedes, Hayley got into the car with them, Alec's head rested on her lap in the backseat while Rylee and her father were in the front. Rylee cried all the way to the hospital while Hayley and her dad seemed to hold it together, 'of course, the great William Sterling will never cry, not even for his son.' She thought as she was looking for someone to release all her anger at. Most of the doctors and surgeons in Fritzlanda's National Hospital were supernatural, so it was not a challenge to find someone to aid him. They took Alec to the emergency room and the operation took them about 3 hours as they found 4 bullets, 2 of them were near his spinal cord; however fortunately for them nothing hit the spinal cord itself.

It was 3 a.m. when the operation was done. Hayley, Rylee, Mr. Sterling and Jonathan, who arrived shortly after them, went to the doctor's office afterwards. "How come he didn’t heal?" Asked Mr. Sterling angrily while looking to the doctor with his glowing grey eyes.

"These were not normal bullets, sir. Your son was shot by hunters, trained hunters. The bullets were contaminated with Campion poison."

Rylee did her fair share of research on the poisons. The Campion flower was toxic for the People of The Forest and so the hunters collected most of the Campion flowers from all around the world and turned the ones that were needed to powder, leaving the rest for reproduction. The flower weakened their heart, slowing down their circulation and making them very weak and unable to heal themselves. That's why Alec was in a coma because his body couldn't withstand the portal.

"It is a miracle he survived, anyone in his place is as good as dead." Rylee flinched at the word.

"His hybrid genes are keeping him alive at the moment, the mountain genes, your genes," he looked at her father, "are the ones helping him in his recovery and supporting his body."

"And when… when will he wake up?" Hayley asked,

"I don't know. He may stay like this for days, months or even years."

"Thank you," Jonathan said as they all exited his office and went to sit on the chairs in front of Alec's room, room number 525.

'Five is his favourite number, did father do it on purpose?' A thought came to Rylee’s head before brushing it away and focusing on her brother's well-being. Rylee and Hayley stayed up all night in tears, while Jonathan sat alone at the far corner, hands on his head as he stared into the empty space in front of him, and her father was standing in front of Alec's room's window, the same spot Rylee was standing on now. Her father stayed up all night while the rest gave up to sleep. Rylee didn't remember sleeping until she woke up the next day with her father gone and Adam there replacing his absence. He looked behind as Rylee walked up to him, he squeezed her in his arms and she started blubbing again. "What happened?" He asked her when she was dry of tears and she told him the whole story: about the fight and the part when the hunters started shooting. She wasn't angry at Adam because she knew he was with his father, trying to figure who killed that damn goblin.

She went to school on that day, it felt weird. It was the first time ever, they sometimes walked to school together and other times he would steal their father's car and drive it to school with her, they never teleported to school as it was too risky, they could be seen and their whole world would be exposed, of course that didn't matter now. Neither Samantha, Katie nor Claudia were there that day, only her, Adam and Jonathan. They were all messed up, with unbrushed hair and teeth, under-eye bags and not a single smile to any person. Hayley said that she would stay in case he woke up or someone came for him from the hunters. Rylee felt uneasy, as if her brother’s absence crafted a void in her heart. She missed her brother's annoying voice, his infuriating smile and his wide grin. She felt as if everyone's eyes were on her even the two newcomers that arrived that day, they were twins just like Rylee and Alec, except both were girls. A student called Harry greeted them and showed them around, 'that should have been Alec, he would wake up if he knew that two new students were coming to school on that day.' The thought made her smile, though her smile was full of grief.

As she, Adam and Jonathan entered Alec's room on that day, they found Hayley holding his hand and trying to talk to him, yet he didn't answer her. They all stayed in the hospital until yesterday, as Jon's mother needed him to go home for whatever reason Rylee didn't hear, Hayley was gone to get a shower, and Rylee dozed off into a deep sleep. Their father has come everyday but didn't stay for long as he had loads of work to do.

As she stared at her brother she pondered, looking at her brother as he lied so peacefully on his bed despising the scene because her brother was far from being tranquil. She woke Adam up and called Hayley telling them that she will go to school, Adam told her that he will stay for guard duty, even though her father has sent a few guards to watch over his son, and Hayley went with her. When they arrived at school, they saw Samantha sitting alone. Rylee snatched her, without any warning, grabbing her behind the playground, to a place where no one can see them. Rylee's axe appeared in her right hand while Hayley was pushing Samantha towards the corner's wall, "don’t even think of singing, I will gladly cut off that sweet tongue of yours." Rylee threatened sounding like a bully now. Samantha stayed silent, "you are a rude bitch you know, the guy saved your life and you didn't even care to go visit him. Is that how you treat old friends?"

Hayley looked at Samantha with stone cold eyes, she was so infuriated, "and now because he saved your life, you are going to save his." Hayley had Serpent in her hand now.

"And how do you suggest I do that?" Samantha said in an audible whisper.

"With your water abilities? Don't you have healing powers? I may be talentless but do I look like a fool to you?" Rylee had her axe's head on Samantha's neck, her eyes were glowing and her iris was as red as blood, she looked crazy.

"When my father hears about this-"

"Do we look like we care?" Hayley's eyes were full of tears, "just save him."

"Or you die." Rylee finished the sentence.

Jon took the axe from Rylee as he appeared from behind them and told Rylee to calm down, reminding her that she was acting no different from Samantha and that was not okay. He looked at Hayley with disgust and told Samantha to leave. "If you want to owe him one it is your choice, but pay your debt now we will all be even and you won't have to owe any of us anything, we will all be on our way and everyone will be happy." Jon looked so serious but he didn't want to threaten her, he could never violate his no bullying policy. At the end of the day they went to the hospital and still there was nothing. They waited and waited until 5 days later Samantha finally showed up. She entered Alec's room, escorted by all of the group and Alec's father, they took off his t-shirt, Samantha's brown camouflage eyes turned blue and started glowing, and the water tap in the bathroom in Alec's room had smooth drops of water coming out from it, although no one opened it.

The drops settled on Alec's back and then they disappeared as they were absorbed by his skin, his bruises started closing and the monitor showed that his heart beats grew stronger and faster. "I am sorry for how I acted before." Rylee looked at Samantha.

"If my father hears about this, you will really be sorry," Samantha said as she left the room.

Five hours later, Alec smiled.