Disclaimer: It's Easter! And if you don't celebrate that, happy weed day!

The twins and Yusei wait in the hall. Martha and Schmidt were still running tests on Maria so they weren't allowed in yet.

Through the window at the end of the hall, Yusei watches the sun meet the horizon.

"So…" The Riding-duelist turns his attention to Rua. "She was out there the entire time we were out there?"

It's not that Yusei and the twins decided not to bring it up. The three were just worried, and maybe no one knew what to say until now to get it rolling.

"I think so," Ruka says tentatively. "But why?"

"Maybe the same reason we were? Claire did say she came to the house."

"Why would she leave before dueling Haley? That doesn't make sense."

Yusei listens without butting in. The twins made a good point—Maria had to be out there for a reason. She was a smart girl. She had book smarts and common sense—enough common sense not to go in the forest alone.

"So she was out there for a different reason then."

The twins voices drop as they come back to the familiar question: why?

The door opens. Yusei stands straight and the twins slide up from the floor.

Martha's eyes are downcast. "You can come in now."

Yusei glances to the twins, sees the expression they share and says, "Don't come in if you don't want to."

"No, we want to make sure Maria's okay."

Martha holds the door open for the three to walk through.

Maria lays on a bed in the center of the room, hooked up to some machine by thin wires and an oxygen mask covering her mouth.

"Is she okay?"

Ruka's question is directed at Martha but Schmidt answers instead. "She is. Just needs some rest. I'm not sure how long she was out there, but it wore out her lungs a bit—could've triggered a minor asthma attack. Or a panic attack."

When Yusei got to Maria she was practically passed out, and she seemed frazzled. On the defensive. Like something was coming to get her.

Yusei wants to be sure he didn't imagine it so he asks, "What makes you say that?"

"As you can see she's unconscious." Schmidt points to the screen of the heart monitor beside him. "But her resting heart rate is abnormally high. My guess is that whatever happened to her resulted in shock, possibly fear."

It doesn't feel good to be right, not in this situation.

"What's that on her shoulder?" Rua points.

Maria's tank top strap barely covers the area and under it lays a reddish splotch that looks a lot like the branches of a tree. It takes root near her heart and spreads to the edge of her shoulder.

"Other than the fact you found her lying unconscious in a forest, this is one part that's confusing."

Schmidt shoots Yusei a glance then looks back to Maria. "They're called Lichtenberg figures, and they only appear for two reasons. A ruptured capillary—which there are no signs of—and being struck by lightning."

With everyone holding on to the revelation the room goes silent. Only the beep beep beep of the heart monitor and Maria's rhythmic breathing keep the room from going dead quiet.

"It hasn't rained for days."

Ruka eyes her brother for the comment. He raises his hands as a silent apology.

"That it hasn't," Schmidt replies with a chuckle. Then he turns to Yusei again. "You would know more about this than I would. Could it be possible that whatever caused this is manmade?"

"It's possible. It doesn't take too many volts to electrocute someone."

"If it were, say a taser, for example?"

Yusei lets the idea settle in his brain; he'd had his fair share of run-ins with electrically-charged objects in the past year. "It depends on the amp count. One volt with twenty amps would leave serious damage compared to twenty volts with point-five amps."

Schmidt nods. "It would also have to be quick enough not to rupture anything."

Yusei sends a glance to Martha, who is at his side and farther from Maria than Schmidt and the twins. He lays a hand on her shoulder and nudges his head toward the door.

"We're going to step out for a minute," Martha says to Schmidt.

Yusei and his foster mother stand in the hall. He watches her take a deep breath before apologizing.

"What for?"

"For what I just said." He hated to be so blunt. But with things being how they are, he'd rather choose a few bold words if it meant helping someone. "And for what I'm about to say now: are you sure that there's no one after her? She didn't get into trouble before she came here?"

"You've seen her—she's a good kid. Smart, polite. There isn't a reason for anyone to want to hurt her."

Yusei nods. "I had to ask."

"I know. You just want to be sure, I know." Martha stares the door down and adds, "But I raised her mother. I know for a fact that Anastasia would never allow her daughter to get into that kind of trouble."

The Riding-duelist nods again and heaves out a sigh.

This was becoming quite the mystery. If anyone has the answers to solve it, it would be Maria herself. Considering she's out like a light, though, Yusei will have to wait until she wakes up to ask.

The best choice is to head home. Take the twins to the Tops and go home to tell Crow and Jack what happened. The gang will come back tomorrow to see if Maria is up by then.

"Yusei?"

He takes his hand from his chin as he gives Martha his concentration. "Yeah?"

"There may be one thing that can help." Martha's lips purse before saying, "Something Aki told me."

I'm relieved there's no one in my room when I open my eyes. I don't need the gang's presence suffocating me right after I wake up.

I mean, I'm already wearing an oxygen mask.

My brain's going into second guess mode. No one knows what happened out there except me; I still have time to retreat.

My heart's telling my brain to shove it. People are worrying, I owe them answers. That's all there is to it.

All I can do is sit here while my heart and head go at it and the oxygen mask bosses my lungs to keep breathing.

I eventually fall back asleep.

—

The next time I wake up it's 10 am. The oxygen mask is gone along with another machine. Good riddance!

The door opens and in comes Martha. I raise a hand to wave and try to hide the wince that follows.

"You're up!" Martha's eyes widen.

Had to happen sometime.

"How's it going?"

Her face straightens and arms cross. "You're kidding me. You go out way past your curfew—no note, no phone call. You get lost in a forest, pass out in said forest, then wake up and greet me with, 'How's it going?'"

I'm dumbstruck by her outburst and even more confused when she pulls me in for a tight hug. I gasp from the pang in my shoulder.

"Lay back and don't move." Martha rounds the bed and wrings out a rag from a bucket on the floor.

I get a glimpse of the splotch. "What is that?"

As Martha lays the warm towel on me, she answers, "It's called a Lichtenberg figure."

"The thing that lightening strike victims get?"

"You know what it is?" I nod. "How'd you get it?"

White fog and gold light flash in the back of my head. I glance at my hands.

"I don't know."

"Maria." She's warning me. She doesn't believe me. "Tell me the truth."

I look her in the eye. "I am. I promise I am." I raise a pinky so she knows I mean it.

"Okay, okay. You don't have to pinky promise. I believe you." She grins, her teeth a great contrast to her dark skin, then asks: "Do you remember how you got out there at all?"

"Not really. I fell asleep here and I guess I woke up out there."

"You sleepwalked?"

"I guess."

Her mouth puckers as she mulls it over. I don't want her to think too hard, not when the stuff I have to tell could make her head pop.

I call her name. "Can I take a shower?"

"If you can make it up there, the water's all yours."

—

The amount of dirt under my nails is disgusting. My hair still has leaves knotted in it. I try to make a list of things not to say as the fiery hot pellets of water sting my skin:

1) Do not mention how you passed out. You don't know what happened yourself.

2) Do not say anything about voices. You've been sick your whole life. You don't need them thinking you're schizophrenic, too.

3) Do not tell them that you woke up on an old lady's lawn. That's just creepy.

I like to think I'm the same girl I was back in Izushi. Back when I never imagined I would end up in the city.

I know you're probably thinking: What are you talking about? You're far from the same. You see ghosts!

But I am. Same skin. Same heart. Same mind. And I know the plain Jane non ghost-seeing me would never give too much away. Not if it means worrying them more. If I can't give them facts I'll tell them about what makes the most sense—the mark.

We'll start from there and work the rest of the kinks out after.

—

I slip on some jeans that stop mid-calf and a loose short-sleeve. I run a brush through my hair and leave it down to dry; I might need it to hide behind later.

This may be the only time I'm alone in my own room. The only time I'm able to breathe.

I reach under my pillow for Mom's picture and place it against my chest. "Wish me luck."

I put it back and grab the moleskine on my dresser.

—

It's after 3 pm when the gang shows up.

Martha's just finished putting ointment on my shoulder, the kind that's hot and tingly at first but gets cooler as it stays on. She sits on the edge of the bed while everyone else stands.

Crow's the first to say anything. "How's it going, Champ?"

I reply with as much sarcasm as my mind can muster: "Woke up with some twigs in my hair, dirt on my clothes. You know, the usual."

"Are you gonna tell us why you went all Red Riding Hood or what?"

Martha eyes Jack and he pipes down. But I'm actually grateful he said something. Everyone standing around all shifty and uncomfortable like this would only prolong the band-aid ripping.

"I would if I could."

"What do you mean?" Rua asks.

"I don't remember."

"So you're a sleepwalker?" says Akiza.

"No. Not usually. But it happened before. Recently."

Martha's dreads swing when she looks my way. "Recently? When?"

I look down and run a finger across the seam of my jeans. "Few nights ago. When I came home in my pajamas."

She lifts off the bed and puts her hands on her hips. "Maria, do you know how serious this is? This happened before—while you were in my house—and you didn't tell me?"

There was no way to explain it. No excuse would help the fact that I lied to her face. I don't say a word.

"We'll talk about this later." I expect her to walk straight out the door but she only trudges to the back of the room.

The gang doesn't say anything, either. Not until Crow, who seems to be an expert at breaking awkward silences, asks: "What do you remember then?"

Earlier today I was wondering how many people needed to make me feel guilty before I gave in; I guess it only takes one. Now is as good a time as any to let the cat out of the bag.

"I know about the mark on my forehead—" I glance at Akiza then the guys, "—the same mark Carly showed you guys."

Everyone looks at each other. The guys, Martha and Akiza know what I mean, but the twins are visibly puzzled.

That's when having the moleskine comes in handy. I flip open the first page and lay it in front of them.

Then I hold it out to Akiza. "Is this what you saw when I fainted?"

She stares at the page; when she looks at me, mouth hanging slightly open, she asks, "How did you know?"

"I heard you and Martha talk about it."

"Oh." Akiza's eyebrows raise. "Oh. But I wasn't sure I saw anything. How did you know what it looks like?"

Crap! That was the one thing I didn't think about! What do I say?

"A dream. I saw it in a dream."

They seem pretty accepting of that. Dreams are normal. Makes sense.

No one says anything so I build up the courage to ask the question I thought of hours ago. "How did you find me?"

Yusei hasn't said a word since he's been in here. When he realizes I'm addressing him, he takes off a glove and rolls back his sleeve. He shows me the red mark on his arm: "It glowed."

"Why would your mark glow if ours aren't the same?"

"The Crimson Dragon knows when friends are in danger. It's done that before."

"And I felt it," Ruka adds. She glances to my bandaged shoulder. "I felt you getting hurt."

It makes as much sense as anything. If I'm marked and so are they, it makes sense that the marks can feel another's presence. A gold mark is what I have, and I saw gold light—maybe it was my mark glowing because it felt the Crimson Dragon ones near it.

"Did you see anything?" I ask Yusei. The fog? The spirits?

"It was just you."

"Or hear anything?" The laughter?

"Screaming."

This, on the other hand, makes no sense. "No. I wasn't."

"What do you mean no?" grunts Jack. "You can remember not screaming but you can't remember how you got out there?"

That's it exactly, Jack. I can remember how I tried to scream. I can remember the feeling in my throat because I'd felt the same one every time I had an asthma attack.

You can't scream if you can't breathe.

Something isn't adding up and I'm the only one who notices. The gang sees more sense in Jack's point than in my silence and the detail gets swept under the rug.

"Guess that leaves the big question then," says Crow. "If we're Signers, what does that make you?"

Dun dun dun~ The cat's out of the bag! Well, some of it. FINALLY.

Can you guys tell I've been watching too many crime shows from that part at the end? And I got all scientific on you at the beginning, bet you didn't expect that. Keep the Lichtenberg figure in mind because it'll come up again in later chapters.

PS—I decided not to put it in here but after Martha told Yusei about the mark Akiza said she saw, he only told Jack and Crow. They didn't talk to Akiza (she knew anyway) or the twins about it and they all just went to Martha's right after the three got out of school. Which is why everyone but the twins knows what's going on.

So yeah. That's it until next chapter. I appreciate any reviews/favs/follows I get so thanks a bunch ^.^

TTFN