a.n. Okay, so, writers block officially sucks. Like, mega suck. If you like this, I just let out another story that I am trying called Favors of Shadow. Please read and review that as well. Sorry this is so short. I'm going to the movies! Yay! thank you fall break!

"Gahhh!" That was the attractive noise I made upon waking. My head felt like someone had taken a hammer and beaten into it. I could practically see the dents in my head. A nasty taste lingered in my mouth, and I could tell I needed mouthwash. On the plus side, I no longer felt the need to empty my stomach of any and all fluids, so I wasn't on the plane anymore. That was good. I don't planes. They should never have been invented in to first place. Stupid Wright Brothers. I didn't even remember mercifully getting out of the plane. I thought back, trying to remember. I had a feeling that someone was carrying me...I remembered voices, worried ones.

Oh, yeah. That freaky dream, the fire. Someone calling my name. And the girl. The girl in my dream. I knew, she was important. That must be...that must be Ashlee. The one that was kidnapped. But who were the people behind the black door with the red handprints? Maybe someone was just collecting half-bloods. But, from what I had heard, most half-bloods didn't make it to their 80's or up. There were a lot of old people.

I moved a little, and I heard the rustle of the covers around me. I was laying in a hotel bed, with big fluffy pillows and a paisley bedspread.

Someone tapped the back of my head lightly. "Eeeeep!" I cried, bundling up the covers around me. I was still wearing the clothes I had been the day before.

The sudden movement made my vision go fuzzy, like I was looking through cotton. When it cleared, I saw an amused smile and a bunch of golden blond hair.

"Joshua!" I asked exclaimed, blinking away the remainder of whatever was hindering my eyesight. "Don't scare me like that!"

"I didn't know you were going to freak out." He flipped his little golden coin up and down in the air absently. He looked at me sidelong, his gray eyes peeking out of his curly blond hair. He smiled a little, but it looked fake. Kind of like he was trying not to worry me by hiding his worry, if that makes any sense at all. I doubt it does."What happened?"

"I was about to ask the same thing," I asked. My face turned a little red, remembering how he sang me to sleep, but my confusion masked it, do I don't think he noticed too much. "Last thing I remember was falling asleep..." My voice dropped off, asking him to fill in the blanks.

Josh frowned a little. "You just slept for a while, perfectly normal. But then..." he cleared his throat. "You started convulsing and whatnot." He paused, looking at me uncertainly. I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, I know what convulsing means."

He nodded, smiling a little. "And then you started wimpering and flinching, like whatever you were dreaming about actually hurt." He looked at me hard with his gray eyes. "You had me really worried. Oliver and Avery too, of course."

I didn't say anything. I just sat there, chewing the inside of my cheek. This was so...weird.

"Tell me. What were you dreaming about?" Josh asked, worry thick in his voice.

Well, I couldn't tell my soul mate no, do I went over the whole thing. The itchy clothing, the red-headed girl in the white dress, then the black door with the eerie hand-prints, the people chained together. I relived the screaming numbly, trying not to think about it too much. I shivered when I got to the part about the person in the hallway. My hand absently went to my cheek. "But...it probably isn't anything anyway. Maybe I ate magic mushrooms or something...That can happen, right?"

"It's true that demigods often have dreams like that. But..." Joshua's fingers twitched towards his bronze knife he kept on his person at all times. "We already proved that you aren't."

"That girl, was that Ashlee? Did it sound like her?" I asked. I needed to know. It was killing me.

Josh nodded slowly. "It's strange, though, that you saw her wearing a dress. She isn't really, well, a dress sort of person." He fidgeted with the little gold coin.

"She didn't look comfortable," I agreed. "But all of the other people, they weren't wearing anything like that. Do you think she is, like, a partner or something? Maybe she is helping the dude in the hallway."

Josh looked physically hurt, like I had slapped him. I wished I could take it back. "No way," he answered, his voice undeniably firm. "Not Ashlee. Besides, you said that she was in the cell, with you. She wouldn't have been in there if she was working with the man."

I nodded. "So, then, here is something different between Ashlee and all of the people in the room...and me," I added.

Josh nodded. "But not enough that it makes them want to let her go. After all, they kidnapped her in the first place. I doubt they did that just to make her wear something other than pants."

He sat on the edge of my bed, and suddenly laid back around my feet in exhaustion, and I saw that his eyes were tired. "Did you stay up all night?" I asked suddenly, crawling over to him and poking him between the eyes.

He kept looking at the ceiling, like he was trying to make in crumble with his laser vision. "Yes."

"That wasn't very smart," I scolded playfully. I suddenly realized how close we were.

He took a deep breath. "Well, Tori—"

"Tori!" I was immediately surrounded by a mess of curly black hair and little limbs, belonging to a little girl who had a very long nap. Kylie.

Avery was smiling a little, looking at Josh, who let out the deep breath he had just taken. I could tell, she was silently laughing at him.

Oliver, however, was openly laughing at him.

Avery kicked him.

Oliver stopped laughing.

"Hi Kylie!" I said, a little groggily. I realized how stiff I was. I wondered vaguely how long I had been asleep.

"I missed you! you looked dead!" she cried, hugging me. "You smell!" she said, which contrasted largely with the huge smile on her face.

I suppressed a grimace, took a little sniff, and silently agreed.

"Come on, let's let Tori get ready," said Oliver, plucking Kylie up off of me. "We have lots to do today." I could see in his smile as well,it was the same as Josh's. Like he was worried but didn't want me to know. Stupid stubborn older brother.

"Can you buy me that ice cream you promised?" Kylie was asking as Oliver carried her out of the room over his shoulder like a potato sack.

Josh, sighing, got up as well. "I need to talk to you," he said to Oliver, rushing out after him. His face was a little red.

Outside, almost out of earshot, I heard Oliver laugh long and hard. "I sense a budding romance!"

My ears felt warm. How dare my own brother embarrass me that way? I wasn't...that obvious.

"Oh, boys, they are so easy to understand," Avery said with a little laugh. Seeing my confusion, she passed me a tightly wrapped package. "It's a gift. Open it tonight." Then she passed me a bundle of clothing. "And take a shower."

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Here!