Chapter 3: Recovery

"You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave..." - Hotel California, The Eagles

Devi's senses drifted back to her slowly, one at a time. First, she was aware of a faint but pervasive scent of sulfur that seemed to stick to the back of her throat, along with something like burnt feathers. A sour taste in her mouth and a buzzing in her ears were the next to fall into place. She shifted, feeling a firm, but yielding surface underneath her and stiffness in her limbs, cramped from being in the same position. Her eyelids felt like sandbags, and she seriously considered staying unconscious to save herself the effort of opening them, but a voice, muffled, distant, yet slowly becoming clearer, pulled her back to waking.

"...look so sweet and innocent when they're asleep, don't they?" The low gravel of the voice seemed familiar, but Devi couldn't place it. "Come on, pet, open your eyes." Devi grudgingly obeyed and found herself staring into cold hazel eyes, squinted slightly in contemplation. Oh, right.

Devi attempted to sit up with a moan before slumping back bonelessly. Her skin was clammy, and she felt as shaky and weak as when she had gotten the flu the previous semester. Looking up, she glanced around the room. She was in a hospital bed in a bare, industrial sort of room. Nearby was an adjustable lamp, like those used for medical examinations, along with a crash cart and few dusty monitors that seemed to be tracking her vitals. She looked down, noting electrodes on her chest and arms, and an IV running up to a drip stand on her left. There was another man, or demon, she supposed, minding the monitors with the an air of exasperated desperation. Devi hazarded a guess that life support was not usually a concern for Crowley's organization. He was a twitchy, greasy, weasel-y type, and she glowered at him when he tried to adjust one of the electrodes; he backed off, preoccupying himself with checking the gauge on the IV instead.

Crowley cleared his throat, drawing her attention sharply back to where he was leaning against the crash cart. His gaze was intent enough to make her hair stand on end – "hunger" was the best word for what she saw there.

"What did you see?" His question catapulted her mind back to where it had been before waking, and the images hit all at once, like a flood. She groaned, leaning forward to rest her head in her hands as she tried to pick apart the tangled skein. "What did you see?" Crowley's tone was terse, his meager patience dwindling. Devi tried to focus, chasing the most vivid strand of thought.

"Colored glass, green and red, like... like a stained-glass window," she said at last. Once she started, it was easy enough to follow the thread. "The paint on the frame is old and peeling, looks like it hasn't been redone in years." She took a deep breath and continued, "A big room with rows of... benches, I guess... but the rows aren't in order. There's a cross on the wall, one of the ones with the body on it."

"A church," Crowley finished for her, "He's hiding in a church." He mulled over this for a moment before turning back to her, "What else?"

Devi sorted through the remaining images, "There are a couple rooms off the main one, behind... the podium or whatever it's called..."

"Not about the church,"Crowley snapped, "What else about the location? D'you get a place name, a street-sign, something we can act on?" Devi frowned, mentally sifting through the images again, trying to find something significant that she might have missed. Coming up empty, she looked up at Crowley with a frightened, blank expression. "No," Crowley narrowed his eyes and tightened his jaw, "an abandoned church, that could be anywhere in North America - that's all?"

"Wait," Devi interrupted, "there were trees outside, I could see them through the higher windows."

"Right. Narrows it right down," Crowley snorted irritably.

"The leaves on them were still green – they haven't started to turn yet," Devi pressed.

"Late September, that's still not much of a lead," he cocked his head at her, "bit disappointing for five hours' work."

Devi was sure she'd misheard, "Five hours! I was out for five hours?"

"Just about," Crowley said carelessly, looking at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Why'd you move me here?" Devi peered around her again.

"You squirmed quite a bit when the drug first took effect, wriggled right out of the chair" Crowley shrugged, then grinned slyly, "We may need to consider tying you down next time – wouldn't want you to knock that precious noggin of yours on something, now would we?" Devi scowled at him; that was definitely not happening. "Though, as I said, you didn't give us much..." Crowley continued before trailing off. Seeing her crestfallen expression, he chuckled, tucking a finger under her chin to raise her eyes to his. "Chin up, darling, I'm sure you'll do better next time. After all," he smirked, his voice going softer, "you're highly motivated."

Devi swallowed, remembering the stakes; her family's safety hinged on her ability to meet the demands of this creature, a stranger to mercy. "Next time?" she asked hesitantly.

"'Course! There's still another two doses of the solution," Crowley replied, "unless we up the draught."

"Increase it?" Devi contested, "What you just gave me this time was enough for a five hour trip!"

"And despite all that time gallivanting about on the astral plane, you found no real information," he snarled, his sudden rise in volume enough to make her jump. Devi bit the inside of her cheek, looking down. "Still," he regained his composure smoothly, "not bad for a first go. An acceptable test-run, shall we say." He turned to the other demon, "Rest and fluids – bring her to me in three hours." The underling bustled over to increase her saline drip. Crowley glanced back to the dejected girl on the bed, tossing a "See you soon, pet," over his shoulder before closing the metal door behind him with a clang.