Disclaimer: I don't own the Chaos Walking series it belongs to Patrick Ness.

"Viola?" a confused voice echoed through the fog.
But I'd know that voice anywhere.
"Todd?" I cried.
"Viola, I can't find you!"
But I could find him, he was close. I stumbled through the fog until I found him.
"Todd!" I cried as I flung my arms around him.
But when I finally looked at him properly I realized that he didn't look like I last saw him. No. He looked like he did when I first saw him. I could hear his Noise and it just kept repeating 'Viola' over and over again. Dirty old clothes, shorter and so much more innocent. He hadn't killed the Spackle yet. He hadn't fought a war yet. He hadn't lost Manchee yet.
"Viola, where'd Manchee go?" he asked. "And did you get taller?"
I frowned. I had to tell him that Manchee was-
"Todd, Todd, Todd! Viola, Viola, Viola!"
Manchee bounded through the fog and jumped on Todd. Todd grinned.
"Heya Manchee!"
Then he looked back at me.
"Why do ya look so surprised?"
"Todd" I croaked. "Manchee's been dead for a while now."
Todd's face fell and we both looked down at Manchee. He was fading.
'Todd, Todd, todd...' his Noise trailed off.
"Oh..." Todd said as he started to fade too. "I'd forgotten about that."
Then he was gone and I was alone in the fog.
"TODD!" I screamed.
No one answered. I sobbed and crumpled to the floor. Why? Why was fate so cruel? Why did it keep taking Todd away from me? Then I heard something.
'viola'
So faintly, ever so faintly, I could hear Todd's Noise. I stumbled through the fog until I saw a figure laying peacefully on the ground.
It was Todd-
Just like I left him-
I knelt at his side as tears trickled from my cheeks and landed on his. He didn't move, he didn't make a sound. The Noise that I had heard earlier was gone and he was just a body again.
"Todd, Todd" I sobbed quietly. "Why'd you have to go."
And when I opened my eyes he was gone. I curled up into a ball and cried, hugging my knees to my chest.

I sat like that, crying, until I felt a hand on my shoulder. I stiffened and slowly turned my head. It was a man, a man that I'd never seen before in my life. His hair was a sandy blonde and his eyes a piercing blue. I jumped up and quickly dried my eyes.
"Who are you?" I snapped.
He looked at me incredulously.
"I ain't forgotten you! How have you forgotten me?"
I looked closer and realized that if he were just a little shorter...
"T-Todd?" I stuttered.
He nodded and smiled.
"B-but..."
I took a step closer and pulled up his shirt.
"Not even a scar..." I mumbled.
Todd blushed and pulled down his shirt.
"Don't do that Viola" he said.
His Noise repeated my name and an image flashed through quickly. There was this older Todd and an older me lying on a bed and they were-
No. I tried to block the images from my mind. I did not want to see that. Todd carefully buried the image in his Noise and rubbed the back of his head bashfully.
"Sorry" he mumbled. "It's been hard keeping track of what goes through me Noise since you ain't let me block it anymore."
"What do you mean?" I asked and then shook my head. "No, I fell asleep, this is just a dream. A stupid, immature, hopeful dream."
"No it ain't" Todd said. "I remember you telling me bout a dream like this the day I woke."
"What do you mean?" I said trying to smother the small spark of hope that had ignited in my chest.
"You told me bout a dream you had last night bout me telling you that I was going to wake" he said with a smile. "Looks like yer gonna see me soon Viola."
He started to fade like the younger Todd had before.
"Can you do me a favour?" he asked.
"Anything" I nodded.
"Can you gimmie a chance to talk before you suffocate me?" he said and I blushed.
I nodded and the last thing I heard was also the first as I woke.
'Viola, Viola, Viola!'