Disclaimer: I do not own The Mortal Instruments universe or any other elements that could be recognized from the books. That right lies solely to the original author of the series, Cassandra Clare. I do own any OOCs that will make an appearance and all the original elements. Now that I've stated that, enjoy your reading.

Chapter I

The house was dark and cold, the air humid and suffocating. It felt like she was inside a cave, not the apartment that had been her home for over 26 years. She didn't bother to turn on the lights. There was no point. The darkness had something of a comforting feel and she couldn't bear seeing herself in the mirrors that littered the house.

Taking her clothes off, she went to the bedroom, lying on the bed, but sleep would not come. The screaming inside almost made its way to her lips, but she bit down on them deeply so that none could escape. The silence was deafening and only made the sounds inside stronger. Her eyes burned, but still, no tears came.

She spent the night in a semi-comatose state…the sleep didn't come, but she couldn't move. But the mind kept working, reliving over and over the car accident. The heart-stopping horror when she realized that she was the only one left. That the car was totally crashed and the mind-wrenching sensation of wanting to die, so strongly that her heart had stopped for a few seconds. She had escaped with just a few bruises and scrapes. She remembered the force of the impact and the way the car rolled and rolled until it came to a stop against a tree. She remembered the choked sounds that seemed to flood her brain before she realized that they were coming from her and that around her the silence was deafening. All she could hear was her own breathing, hyperventilating, choking, and the screech of twisting metal. Her mother and sister were silent, so silent it terrified her, their bodies twisted at unnatural angles, despite the seatbelts. Looking around, she could see the body of her dog lying deathly still and realization flooded her brain with cruel certainty. She was alone.

Raising a trembling hand she tried to reach her family, tried to see, to feel, hoping that her eyes were cheating her and that they were just unconscious. But then hands reached for her, pulling her from the wreckage and she fought, clawing and biting, wanting to stay and see if her family was alright. But then her aching body betrayed her and all the fight went out of her when her mind registered the voices, their words throwing shock over her like a blanket. The words were implacable, burned strongly on her mind "The others are dead, call an ambulance for the one that's still alive."

She screamed…she screamed so loud that the hands let go of her and she crashed to the ground, legs unwilling to support her anymore. She tried to drag herself back to the twisted metal that was left of the car, to the broken bodies of her family, but the hands came back, unforgiving in their strength, keeping her down, unable to go back. She screamed until the ambulance came, she fought against the hands even after the doctor had given her a shot in the arm with something.

And suddenly, it stopped. The part of her mind that was still conscious, logical, realized that the doctor had given her a tranquilizer, but she couldn't bring herself to care. It was over. Everything was over. She was God knows where, among strangers and she was all alone.

The light of dawn came, unforgiving, making the apartment seem all the more deserted and she rose mechanically. The clock on her phone read 5:25 am and she dragged herself towards the kitchen. She needed coffee. She needed anything that could help her get past the coming day. And the next, and the next after that.

She dressed only half conscious of what she was doing, getting ready for work in a series of motions that were almost automatic.

She registered with only half of mind the surprised faces of her co-workers when she arrived and ignored their advice. Why should she go home? What for? It was empty, just like she felt. She needed to work. She needed something to focus on. And with that, she went towards the waiting room of the clinic, looking for the first patient of the day, looking for anything that could erase the images of torn metal and twisted bodies that kept rolling and rolling behind her eyelids every time she blinked.