A/N: Hellow :3 Sorry about a long update. I've been very much wrapped up in Salvation. And between you and me… this chapter for this story is my favorite XD I know it's a little short. But I couldn't wait to show you guys.
Andyway. I'll see you guys later.

Evelyn

As soon as I have hooked up the internet router, Ashah logs onto her laptop to make sure it's working. Giving me the okay, I hook the Xbox up to the small television to the side of the room. Desmond, I am starting to feel anxious about. Ash told me that he was rambling on about being a Horseman of the Apocalypse. Honestly, if he told me anything now, I'd believe him. he gave me my ears, and I am forever in his debt.

I hear a whoosh sound as the Xbox comes on. So that's what it sounds like, I think, shrugging it off. Terri laughs from the front seat. After asking us all if we're ready to go, she starts to drive. followed by many waves of anxiety from me. We get stuck in traffic for a while, thank god. The only downside to that is Desmond's pain. He tells me it's not as bad as it was when it began last week, but he's still hurting, and there's not a damn thing I can do about it.

Sighing, I sit down next to his unconscious form. Whenever we move even the slightest bit in the traffic, I cringe. Ashah tells me from behind her computer that we're safe and to calm down. I try to - not for my own comfort, but so they don't worry about me.

The traffic starts to lighten up. I look out the window behind the couch Desmond and I are sitting on. The weather is dull and snowy- just how I like it best. A truck next to the motorhome accelerates, revealing the fact that we are crossing a bridge. I stare into the icy waters with a horrified look. Fear washes through me, but I don't make a sound. Instead, I check to see if Desmond is awake. When I see he is not, I very gently grab onto his hand to reassure myself. A few minutes after, just as we get off the bridge, my fingers are lightly squeezed. I look down at Desmond to see that he is awake. His eyes are barely open. He winks once, and as soon as he does, his body jerks forward. I cringe, knowing that he's in pain.
He takes a few deep, calming breaths. "I'm fine, Evelyn." Desmond says, giving me a small smile.

Anger starts to rise in my gut. This poor man has been shackled down for how long, with no break. This Council Ashah told me about won't allow him to live. To love. I want to know who he is, or who he once was. I can tell he wants me to know, too. So, letting my anger settle in the back of my mind for a while, I sink back next to Desmond. He wraps an arm around me for a sense of comfort- whether it be for me, or him or, both. I set my head on the front of his shoulder. I can almost feel his pain in my chest too, but I don't move. I can sit here with one of my now closest friends and not have this damn Council interfere with it.

x-

"Desmond?" I ask quietly. We have hardly moved. Raye is up driving, and Ann is keeping her awake. Everyone else is asleep. The time has gone so quickly- it's already eleven at night.

"Hmm." He answers nonchalantly, looking up at me.

"...What's your… your n-n-name? Your real name?"

A tremor shoots through his body, but he replies with one word I don't understand. As if knowing I wouldn't, he signs, "Death."

He says it aloud. "Death." I try and memorize the sound of the word- and in his voice, too.

"Death." I repeat. He nods, and smiles. "…why?"

He chuckles, and his hands start shaking. "That is the name I chose for myself."

"...what are you?"

He switches to signing. "A Horseman of the Apocalypse. Though my race is Nephilim." Half of the words are spelled out, and I hardly comprehend them in time, for he is moving quickly.

"Why are you here?"

Each question sends another jolt of pain through him, but he still answers. "They want me to study human life."

I choke back slight tears. With a shaking breath, I ask, "Why are they torturing you?"

He gives me a sorrow filled smile. "They can read my thoughts. They know I love you." My head explodes in panic, but then he calms me down, "Not in the way you're thinking."

I laugh a little, saying aloud, "Oh."

"You should sleep, Evelyn."

I shake my head. "No."

"I will be fine."

"I know."

It is silent for a moment as I look at him. Only now do I start to feel a bit self conscious. I'm sitting with my legs tucked up against his and leaning back against his chest. The small lights underneath the cabinets to my left are dimmed, and the moon is shining through the windshield on my right, casting one half of the room in a candlelight color and the other in a gentle blue.

Death signs, "I will make you a deal. If you sleep, then I will sleep." I nod. Going to stand up, he pulls me right back. "You're staying here."

"...alright." I know he doesn't mean this in any other way than us being good friends. I know it.

I stay stiff for a while. Death sits back, sighing and resting his head against the back of the couch. I try closing my eyes for a while. Being next to him, in a way, keeps me calm. I find that I don't want to move. The vehicle speeds up, and the sound of the engine calms me. I sink back so I am comfortable, and slowly fall into a deep sleep.

x-

"You've distracted the Horseman from his duty, child. What do you have to say for yourself?"

The room around me is made completely of a deep red rock. Smoke, ash, dust, and multiple other impurities are scattered through the air, which already most likely has a low oxygen level. The temperature must be in the least one hundred degrees. Magma is everywhere around me, and three faces carved into the jagged stone seem to stare straight into me. Fire is spitting out of their mouths each time they speak.

"Answer, child!"
"I did not distract him from his duty. He distracted me from my hellish lifestyle and gave me a better one." I sign, completely silent.

"Death has ignored our call. He will be punished."

"How long has he been serving you?" I ask.

"That is not of your concern."

"Tell me."

The heads are silent for a long moment. Finally, they reply, "Many eons."

Hate burning in my eyes, I speak loudly, "Leave him be."

"His fate is ours to decide!"

"He is just like any other being." I switch to signing. "He lives. He loves. His mind is not yours."

"...Very well, human." The head to the left growls as the center one speaks. "Because you care for the Horseman to such an extent, we will leave him alone. But you will not tread as lightly."

Suddenly a very sharp pain rushes through my bloodstream. I gasp, but as the amount of pain grows, I black out.

x-

I wake up screaming before I even feel the pain. Desmond immediately jumps up and wraps his arms around me. "Evelyn? Eve! What's the matter?!"

I hear choruses of my name from everyone that I just woke up. "It hurts!" Tears squeeze themselves out of my eyes.

"What hurts?!"
"Everything!" I clutch my chest and kneel down, letting out another soul-ripping scream. It feels as if something has a tight grip on my internal organs, and is slowly choking me.

"Evelyn, I can help if you tell me what is wrong." Death says quietly.

Ignoring the other's, I sign shakily to him what I am feeling, only being able to do so while holding my breath. When I am done, I don't continue breathing. A few moments pass when Death realizes. "Evelyn. Breathe."

"What's going on?" Ashah asks from a few feet away.

"They've stopped my pain and put it on her. It's the same, and she doesn't know how to handle it as well."

"As well?! How the HELL did you handle it better?"

"I've been dealing with it for eons!"

"SHUT UP!" I scream before even knowing what I am thinking.

Now hyperventilating, Death picks me up and sets me on the couch. "I need you to tell me if anything out of the ordinary has occurred lately." I scream in pain again. "I know it hurts, but I might be able to help."

Unable to form a proper reply, I drop hints of what I saw in my dream. "T...t-three!"

"Three? Okay… what does three-"

"F-f-fire!"

"Fire…"

"A….a...and…" The pain is starting to pull me under. "Rocks…"

Death's breath hitches. He says slowly, "Three heads. Made of rock. Encased in fire. Right?"

I nod. The pain get's indescribably worse-it's as if magma has replaced the blood in my body. I grip tightly onto Death's wrist. "I…I'm…. I'm scared…"

"I know, Eve." He smiles, setting his free hand on my cheek. He turns to the others, "Go back to sleep, or whatever you were doing. I'll do my best to keep her comfortable. Evelyn, I'm going to relieve you of the pain-"

"No!" I whisper frantically.

"No?"

"T-the pain… will be put back on you…"

"It's alright. I've been dealing with it for so much longer than you have…"

"I don't care…"

"Evelyn. They won't kill me! You mean nothing to them. They can kill you in an instant. You're human."

"Y…. your human… too… for a while…"

He sighs. "Eve…"

"I… I won't let the pain… return… to you… I love you too… Dea-"

And everything goes black.