He couldn't see when he woke up. It was as if he were in a dark gray void. He floated.

"Chris," said a voice gently above him. "Wake up, Chris. Please wake up or I'll powerbomb you through your bed right now."

Groaning, he opened his eyes.

"Chris!" Kurt leapt from his bedside post. "You're awake!"

"What are you doing here?" Chris mumbled, feeling his head. Suddenly he realized that he was in a bed, with a line trailing into his arm. Gaping, he looked at Kurt, who was sitting there, smiling at him. He was in a hospital, it appeared.

"You're in the hospital, Chris," Kurt told him, his eyes bright. "You fainted in the hallway. You've out for about four hours."

"What's wrong with me?" Chris said hoarsely, struggling to remember. The remembrance came in a few seconds. He remembered the dizziness and the pain he had felt when he had fallen. He tried to put a place to it, but he couldn't.

"The doctors say you're just very sick," said Kurt, honestly. "I told them about the earthquake and they think it may be post-traumatic stress."

"Stress?" Chris asked, in rage. "They think I'm sick because I'm stressed?"

"You only started after the quake, buddy," Kurt said worriedly. "It's a logical reason."

Suddenly the plane trip came back to him. The dream about the mists and the dogs and the little voice in his ear. Suddenly he felt weak.

"Kurt," he said, nauseated. "Please get the doctor for me."

"Are you alright?" Kurt jumped to his feet, his face taunt.

"Yes," Chris said, feeling dizzy. "Just get him, Kurt, please."

"I'll get her, Chris," Kurt said, heading out the door. "She can join our sex party."

Chris blinked after him. He was still going about the sex party? He was a disturbed man.

He lay against the pillow and suddenly he felt drained, exhausted. He wanted to sleep. He fell blissfully asleep.

~*~*~*~*~*

The street was quiet and heavy with a fragrance she couldn't place. It was blissful, sweet and happy. Laughing, she ran into the street after the ball that her brother had kicked into it. Light poured down on her from the sun, its rays golden and lilting.

"Throw it back," her brother yelled impatiently from the yard. "Throw it back!"

"I'm throwing it!" she announced and threw with all her might. It flew over the fence into the yard smoothly. She felt happy looking at it. She could throw harder than her brother now, it seemed. The fragrance remained, beautiful and lofty. Laughing, she ran back into the yard. She wanted this moment to last forever.~*~*~*~*

~*~*~

~*~*~

~*~*~

"Kurt!" Stephanie McMahon jogged down the hallway when she saw Kurt's darting frame. "Kurt, stop!

"Stephanie!"

He jerked to a stop in front of her. Loftily, she looked at him. He looked worn.

"Where's Chris?" she quizzed him as she assessed the hospital. Very clean, but she worried for Chris. She had seen his pale pallor before the ambulance had taken him away.

"He's in his room," Kurt said, slightly out of breath. "I'm heading to the nurses' station so they can get his doctor."

"Swell," Stephanie said, pleased. At least Chris wasn't dead yet. "Is he awake?"

"Yes, he just woke up." His eyes went down the hall. "I have to go, Steph. It's down the hallway, room 101. Just walk in. Make sure he's still alive."

"Alright, Kurt, that I can do." She went down the hallway while Kurt darted down the hallway. She hoped Chris wasn't hurt too bad. It hurt her that he had already fainted, but if he was dying or something . . . she didn't want to think about the possibility.

She stopped outside the room and went it.

"Chris?" she asked softly as she entered. "Chris?" She saw him, laying on the bed, an IV stringing into his arm. He was staring at the ceiling and gave no notice of her until she pushed his arm.

"Who's there?" he hissed when she pushed him.

"It's me," she said, surprised at his speech. "Stephanie."

"Stephanie?" His head turned and his eyes burned into hers. "Stephanie, do you see?"

Stephanie blinked. "Uh, yeah, Chris, I have eyes. I see." Was he joking around?

"No, Steph," he urged, his face contorting in passion. "See what I'm seeing. Do you see the trees?"

Stephanie's eyes shot up. "No, Chris, no trees. We're inside."

"Steph," he croaked, his voice panicked. "Why don't you see the trees?"

"Chris, are you all right?"

"I'm scared, Steph," he said, hoarsely, grappling for her hand. Startled, she let him have it. "I'm seeing trees and you're not. Why do I see trees and mist and you don't?"

"There are no trees, Chris," Stephanie said, trying to stay calm. Obviously Chris was hallucinating. She felt his pain. "We're inside, Chris. Just calm down and a doctor will be here in a minute."

"Stephanie," Chris said hoarsely, his eyes bulging. "Stephanie, I'm scared."

"I know, Chris, I know."

Suddenly he held her hand with two hands.

Suddenly she felt electricity ripple through her, a shock wave.

"Chris . . ."

"Trees," he whispered.

"Yes."

~*~*~*

~*~*~*

~*~*~* She saw him, standing, underneath a tree that was covered in moss. A dog was fighting its way through the underbrush, its teeth bared, glowing. Its fur was covered in blood and its teeth glowed wickedly.

"Chris," she said, shakily. "Chris, where are we?"

Chris didn't hear her. He turned to run from the dog and screamed, "No, my name is Chris!"

Stephanie saw the dog break through the undergrowth. It leapt at Chris, paws outstretched, flying.

"NO!"

~*~*~*

~*~*~*

~*~*~*

His hand slipped from hers. She stumbled back, seeing the dog leap, its paws flying.

"Stephanie?" Chris said in a high-pitched voice, one that turned to crying. "Stephanie, help me."

"Chris . . ." Her heart was beating, pounding, bursting through her chest.

"Stephanie," he said, crying, tears running down his face as he looked at her. "What's happening?"

"Nothing, Chris, nothing's happening!" She sat down on the plastic chairs, staring.

Chris continued crying.

She stared. Something had happened. She looked at Chris' sobbing heap. And she didn't like it.

~*~*~*

~*~*~*

~*~*~*